Some of you may remember that we adopted Allie when she was eight years old. We got her from an acquaintance who had bought her free from a puppy mill. When she was bought, she was pregnant with her ninth litter of puppies. Unfortunately, she couldn't produce nutritious milk, so the puppies ended up with a nursing mother and Allie ended up with us! After just a few days (which were very hard for both her and us), I was contacted by our acquaintance: the puppies needed help again, as the nursing mother didn't have enough milk! We agreed that Allie could provide closeness to the puppies until a new nursing mother was found - but she had other plans. She quickly showed us that she shouldn't be separated from the puppies again. This left us with a new situation: should Allie go back to her previous owner and look after the puppies while she bottle-fed them, or should we take the puppies home with us and bottle-fed them?
They ended up coming home, where they were placed in the feeding box in the office, where there was peace and quiet and a good warmth. My watch was set to ring every hour and a half. When the watch rang, we spent about 45 minutes feeding and then had about 45 minutes until it started again with the feeding!
For the first week we ran this cycle 24/7 - fortunately during the Christmas holidays. Gradually they were so strong that we could increase the interval between feedings and the puppies became more lively. Allie was content and happy, and she enjoyed us helping with the puppies. Ralf and Kato acted as 'play uncles' for the little ones and helped with raising them when needed. They also showed quite quickly that they wanted to keep Alfred. They were very approachable and enjoyed him a little more than the two girls - fortunately they also got their way.
When the puppies reached an age where they could crawl out of the litter box (which they were in when we were not home), they were moved into the kitchen, where they could move around as they pleased. Housetraining was started, and new families were sought for the two girls. The puppies started on food and everything went smoothly with them. We quickly felt like a proud mother: “they are growing up so fast and soon they will be moving out of home” - and they did.
Our adventure was over, and we stood back and enjoyed the moments we had with the puppies. Many nights we were awake, nights where we fought for them to learn to drink to ensure their survival. Tears were shed and laughter was shared. The days passed with coziness and closeness. Our pack developed, and the dogs pushed their boundaries.
The adventure was worth it - crying and saying goodbye to our little puppies was the best feeling!
But! damn, what a hard time it really was: my own needs were put aside, the absolutely necessary things were taken care of, but the rest was left to chance. The feeling of almost being sick due to interrupted sleep and exhaustion… Hereafter, I would also like to acknowledge that I have a lot of respect for growers (and new mothers - I know the feeling of interrupted nights and worries, and how much it can eat away at you)!
About the blogger of the week
This week's blogger is called Nanna Retz Sloth and is 23 years old and the daughter of a dog trainer.
She has been involved as a "foal" since she was a child, first within DCH and is now independent.
I am the happy owner of no less than four beautiful doggies: Ralf, Alfred, Kato and Allie.
Bottle feeding of puppies
Some of you may remember that we adopted Allie when she was eight years old. We got her from an acquaintance who had bought her free from a puppy mill. When she was bought, she was pregnant with her ninth litter of puppies. Unfortunately, she couldn't produce nutritious milk, so the puppies ended up with a nursing mother and Allie ended up with us! After just a few days (which were very hard for both her and us), I was contacted by our acquaintance: the puppies needed help again, as the nursing mother didn't have enough milk! We agreed that Allie could provide closeness to the puppies until a new nursing mother was found - but she had other plans. She quickly showed us that she shouldn't be separated from the puppies again. This left us with a new situation: should Allie go back to her previous owner and look after the puppies while she bottle-fed them, or should we take the puppies home with us and bottle-fed them?
They ended up coming home, where they were placed in the feeding box in the office, where there was peace and quiet and a good warmth. My watch was set to ring every hour and a half. When the watch rang, we spent about 45 minutes feeding and then had about 45 minutes until it started again with the feeding!
For the first week we ran this cycle 24/7 - fortunately during the Christmas holidays. Gradually they were so strong that we could increase the interval between feedings and the puppies became more lively. Allie was content and happy, and she enjoyed us helping with the puppies. Ralf and Kato acted as 'play uncles' for the little ones and helped with raising them when needed. They also showed quite quickly that they wanted to keep Alfred. They were very approachable and enjoyed him a little more than the two girls - fortunately they also got their way.
When the puppies reached an age where they could crawl out of the litter box (which they were in when we were not home), they were moved into the kitchen, where they could move around as they pleased. Housetraining was started, and new families were sought for the two girls. The puppies started on food and everything went smoothly with them. We quickly felt like a proud mother: “they are growing up so fast and soon they will be moving out of home” - and they did.
Our adventure was over, and we stood back and enjoyed the moments we had with the puppies. Many nights we were awake, nights where we fought for them to learn to drink to ensure their survival. Tears were shed and laughter was shared. The days passed with coziness and closeness. Our pack developed, and the dogs pushed their boundaries.
The adventure was worth it - crying and saying goodbye to our little puppies was the best feeling!
But! damn, what a hard time it really was: my own needs were put aside, the absolutely necessary things were taken care of, but the rest was left to chance. The feeling of almost being sick due to interrupted sleep and exhaustion… Hereafter, I would also like to acknowledge that I have a lot of respect for growers (and new mothers - I know the feeling of interrupted nights and worries, and how much it can eat away at you)!
About the blogger of the week
This week's blogger is called Nanna Retz Sloth and is 23 years old and the daughter of a dog trainer.
She has been involved as a "foal" since she was a child, first within DCH and is now independent.
I am the happy owner of no less than four beautiful doggies: Ralf, Alfred, Kato and Allie.