Puppies: week 5

puppies

7 Mar

Week five and the puppies are really coming on. Ziggy is still being a very good mum, coming back regularly through the day to feed them. She has been spending increasing amounts of time away from the pups leaving them to their own routines. Their world involves feeding from mum, feeding from the bowl, playing and sleeping.

Mum had plenty of milk and was keeping herself in good condition. As the puppies teeth are starting to come through the teats were getting quite a chomping. In the previous week they had got a bit over enthusiastic and the skin had got quite sore. This is where a few remedies can be very useful. Calendula and Hypericum a very good to help the skin heal.

One of the mammary glands had got a bit congested and the was a blocked duct creating a small nodule. A few doses of the remedy Phytolacca over a few days helped this resolve.

The puppies were now eating the weaning formula as part of their nutritional intake. This was a complete kibble puppy food, which was soaked, then liquidised to make it into a mush. It was then put into a ring feeding bowl where they could all fit around to get their feed.

They were all growing nicely and now needed some more space. Their pen area had been extended so they had much more room to run around. This involved some rearrangement of the furniture and strategic use of puppy pen fencing.

The underlying floor was tiles so a good surface to cope with the cleaning necessities. There was also a layer of washable absorbent pads which worked very well. They had taken to going in one area of the pen for their toileting needs. Taking advantage of this habit, they now had a litter area with shavings in it to help with the toilet training.

Play was continuing to evolve and was becoming more robust. Chasing and rough and tumble was the on going favourite. Toys of various sorts were played with a bit, especially thing to chew and tug. The characters were also continuing to evolve. The bold and the energetic, the quieter and more reserved, the comics, the adventurers, the team members, the individuals. All these characters, and more, were starting to come through.

The pups were growing up and becoming their own individuals.