These little beauties are 4 weeks old, soon to be 5 weeks! Time absolutely flies (unless you're a new owner waiting on them to grow up so you can take them home - haha!)
These little loves made the move from the pup pool to the pup pen yesterday and were not overly excited about it... but they will soon love it. They now have food and water in their pen and will slowly start trying both. I don't tend to do the puppy mush (something I used to do). With a healthy litter I've found that Momma will teach them what the food is for and they will try it out on their own. Eventually they will just start eating kibble when hungry. I also use a super shallow bowl for water so that they don't fall in and drown themselves on accident. Water bowls get washed on an as needed basis (sometimes a few times a day) to prevent any dirty puppy feet from contaminating the water and causing any intestinal issues such as Coccidia. The next 5-6 weeks are a whirl of cleaning as Momma will stop doing bathroom duties herself and it will now be my job to clean up after them and keep the pen and them clean. I would expect the first bath sometime next week!
Miss Valentina on the bottom, Rosa directly behind and Bo in the back.
So when do I use mush? If we've had to bottle feed a litter for whatever reason, I will start introducing mush as soon as possible. Between 3 and 4 weeks if the pups are strong/big enough to stand and slurp it up. After weeks of 2-3 hour round the clock feedings it is a big and most welcome step to any breeder who is supporting a litter entirely on their own. Puppy mush is regular puppy food soaked in water and then mashed up. I personally mix it with puppy formula so that the smell is still somewhat familiar and they are getting those important nutrients. Especially when first introduced they tend to leave the actual mashed food.
Valentina is still available y'all!
Valentina and Bo (behind her)
Bo in the back with Rosa photobombing in the front!
Check out their individual postings for more pictures.
I am thinking of going live with these little loves next week for a little while on TikTok. If you're interested in watching, let me know!
Also if y'all have any questions I'm happy to answer.
Till next time!
~K
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