The first week

Thursday, November 21^st – Wednesday, November 27^th

Beans is such a good mama! She is happy to get up to go outside and then eat and drink, but then she hurriedly climbs back into the whelping box. Beans rearranges her puppies into a neat pile and then curls around them to offer them her nipples.

A few times, she gets stuck in awkward positions as they latch on. She patiently stays there until it’s convenient to lay down.

Thursday, when Beans is outside, I quickly move the puppies into a box, weighing them and checking their genders in transit, and change the bedding in the whelping box. Beans is waiting impatiently by the door before I finish my job. I get the puppies back in and rush to let her get back to them.

The puppies all look to be in good health. They are all around a pound. There are 3 females (the ones that are mostly white) and 3 males (the ones that are mostly gray).

By Saturday, Beans asks to round the corner of the yard. She wants a walk! We go around the cul-de-sac. She sniffs and meanders on the way out, but drags me back. Sunday, she still pulls me on the way back, but not as desperately. I spy her laying outside the whelping box on my pet cam. I spread out a cozy comforter right beside the box so that she will be comfortable during her mama breaks! By Monday, she is ready to go around the block, about a 15 minute walk. Tuesday, she is happy to take several 20 minute walks. She is spending more and more time away from the puppies, little by little. She feels safe. She feels secure and happy.

Beans is eating and drinking a LOT! She has dry food available to her 24/7, and eats about 2-3 cups of it each day. She also has 4 meals daily, 2 cups of dry food plus a half can of wet, which she eats right away. Daily, she is consuming around 10 cups of dry food plus 2 cans of wet food. She has two bowls of water available to her and she is emptying them (and I am filling them!) several times each day.

We are, thankfully, done with the nighttime bathroom emergencies. I have not heard a peep from Beans during the night this week. She is one of the most reliably house trained foster dogs we have hosted, so I am not waking to any messes either.

The puppies are steadily growing. They are all almost 2 pounds at 5 days old and about 2 ½ pounds by Wednesday, at one week old.

From the foster perspective, week 1 has been a breeze. We are sleeping through the night and taking care of potty needs exclusively outside. Puppies are healthy and growing. Mama wants to be with them most of the time so she agreeably returns to the whelping box after her excursions. Beans is cleaning up all the puppies’ excrement. For as simple as this week is though, I know this sweet family will be more work in the weeks to come.