Now that the puppies are roaming around the puppy pen sans confinement in their whelping box, I was expecting the beginning of poopapalooza. (For those who have never cared for a litter of very young puppies, poopapalooza = the condition in which puppies play and party so hard that poop covers every square inch of an area and inevitably yourself upon entering.)
On the contrary, Mama Bean, bless her, has continued to help clean up after the puppies by eating about half their poops. She has definitely slowed down on this endeavor and will often sniff one and leave it, but I still appreciate how tidy the pen is in the mornings.
And the puppies have either inherited or learned the tidy habit from mom. When Beans is hanging out outside of the puppy pen for a few hours, the puppies have been eliminating on the puppy pads some. Sure, there’s the occasional poop in the food pan or a pee on a blanket, but the puppy pads have been soaked and the poops are generally on or near a pad. Clever pups!
The puppies are continuing to grow and develop beautifully. Mama Bean is nursing them less and less, and they are eating more and more solid food. They added drinking water from a bowl to their skillset over the past couple days.
These puppies love people and they love to play. So fun to watch them thrive!
Zulu with Mae 
Pinto with Dane 
Sprout with Dane 
Vanilla with Mae
Hope your good poop fortune continues as they grow! I’m curious if Beans lives in their puppy area full-time or whether you intentionally seperate her from them. This is something I’ve struggled with because my puppy room is so small, so i have to schedule mama’s time in with the pup and always find myself trying to time it so it’s not right before or after they’ve eaten and then questioning the wisdom of that.
Each new foster pup presents a whole new set of logistical issues! Our mamas usually phase out of being with the puppies full time after 4 to 5 weeks. At that point, they usually join the family and only go in with the puppies at night, when we leave the house, or when it’s been a while and they are requesting to join them. But every time is different, keeping me on my toes! I addressed some of the complications of this logistical issue in today’s post (we spend so much time thinking about this!).