Cocoa's Puppies - 1 Week Old

The first week has come and gone already!  And it was a growing week for Sammy, Charlotte, & Flower.  All three of them spent the week sleeping and eating - two important activities for newborn puppies.  Between 7 and 10 days, we expect them to double their birth weight.  Sammy reached that milestone this morning at 10 ounces.  Charlotte weighed in at 9 ounces and Flower at 13 ounces.  Both of the girls should reach that milestone in the next few days.

We spent the first week doing an important job as well - observing.  We do our best not to interfere with Cocoa's mothering in the beginning.  She typically has things very well under control with the puppies clean, fed, and snuggled in beside her.  So, we simply observe.  Some of things we look for that indicate happy, healthy puppies are twitching & piling up as they sleep, a pear-shaped abdomen (indicating they are full of Mama's milk), shiny coats, "swimming" movements to get to Mama (see below), and proper weight gain.  We also monitor Cocoa's temperature and food intake.  She gets so involved in her puppy care that she sometimes forgets to eat.  She's also very reluctant to leave her babies to go outside to do business.

Photographing newborn puppies looks sweet and idyllic (and it is compared to bouncy 7 week old puppies), but newborn puppies don't just lie still for pictures.  When you pick up a puppy and then set it down on a warm blanket for picture, he/she will usually exhibit a swimming motion across the blanket in search of Mama for food and siblings for warmth.  Though not convenient for photos, swimming is an important skill for puppies to have to find nourishment and warmth, as well as develop muscles for walking.  Below is a picture of Sammy doing the swim.

Sammy doing the "swim"

If I'm lucky, the puppies will swim for a bit and then cuddle down to sleep for good photo.  Be sure to click on their pictures above to see all my photos of each puppy this week.  Sammy & Flower obediently went to sleep for me, but Charlotte was a bit more wiggly.

Thanks for stopping by & watching our puppies grow!