Jolly's Puppies - 1 Week Old

1 week old!  Although the puppies may look similar to their pictures from a few days ago, they changed a lot in size!  This morning, Jewel tipped the scales at 1lb!  Exactly double her birth weight - a goal we like to see reached between 7-10 days.  Her siblings weren't far behind with Ranger & Charity at 15oz, Ebony & Pollyanna at 14oz, and Sasha at 13oz.

The puppies' daily life consists of eating and sleeping at this stage - with one interruption this week with a trip to the vet for tail docks & dew claw removals.  The puppies did fabulous, and it didn't slow down their weight gain!  Jolly (below) was quite concerned to have her babies taken, but soon got them back again!

Jolly & I at the vet waiting for the puppies to return

Pollyanna's docked tail

If you read my post introducing this litter, you'll remember these little gals are difficult to tell apart.  My red sharpie on their toenails idea didn't work.  Since I really don't want to have any ribbons or collars on these little puppies, I did some careful inspection of their white markings, and I have them figured out!  Pollyanna & Sasha can be distinguished by the colors of their right front claws.  Jewel & Ebony can be told apart because Jewel has some white hairs on her back right paw pad.  The white markings will change and somewhat disappear into their adult coats, but, for now, it works!

To care for the puppies at this stage, we make sure Jolly is well fed with plenty of water.  We keep the whelping area very clean by changing the towel several times a day.  We weigh the puppies morning and evening.  We hold them and pet them a little bit, but mostly allow them to eat and sleep and grow!  Puppies cannot see or hear at this age, but that will come in the next week.

I will close with some sleepy pictures and one view of the whelping area.  As you can see, Jolly can choose to be in the box with the puppies or out.  At this point, she stays with the puppies nearly 24 hours a day - leaving them only to eat, drink, & do business outside.  Also, notice the puppies sleeping on a pile - that is a sign of happy, healthy puppies.

Thanks for stopping by!