Day Eight A.M. & P.M.

Mary-Ann Sontag June 3, 2020

What a big relief to get past that first fragile week of life.

The puppies had an adventure yesterday.

Some of you know that last June we had three rooms of the house gutted due to a dishwasher leak and have been in reconstruction ever since. The pandemic sure slowed things down but so did the arrival of the wrong countertops — black instead of white.

Yesterday the correct countertops were installed and Daisy and her crew relocated with me to the bedroom for most of the day while that was happening. Thank goodness for that floor chair Lori sent!

The new countertops are special.

They have sparkles and when the light hits the sparkles, little rainbows spread across the walls and ceiling.

The bad news is we once again have no running water in the kitchen — two steps forward and one back, but we are getting there.

While we were hanging in the bedroom, I observed two puppies attempting to mouth each other. It was awkward and clumsy but very definitely the start of interaction.

I saw it again this morning — how cool is that? It means the puppies are starting to engage more with the external world.

They are also gaining additional mastery over their bodies.

Rolling is now a thing, in addition to big stretches. They are also trying hard to get up on their tiny feet but mostly move around by dragging themselves, with occasionally lunges and staggers.

They continue to spend most of their time just eating and sleeping.

And being endlessly fascinating.

Daisy continues to be a relaxed and attentive mother, which is so awesome for the puppies — and us!

Mariposa and Paintbrush (???) or Clarkia (???)

Weights continue to rise evenly and steadily — and we have a new Heavyweight Champion this morning: Clarkia! She weighed in at 30.55 ounces.

Clover, Sage, and Lupine are all at 28+ ounces and so they are close.

Mallow is the smallest at 23.15 ounces but don’t feel too sorry for him as he is likely to be the first to double his birthweight — that should happen this evening or tomorrow morning.

The pace of a puppy is amazingly fast — it will be fun to see what new things happen today!

Click HERE for five minutes in the life of Clarkia — make sure to listen with sound so you can hear her audition for the Puppy Choir.

EVENING: Photos from the Day

I caught some mouthing! Not a great photo but you can get the idea — this is Mariposa and Lupine.

Note what is being used as a chaise lounge.

Good Night!

Day Seven A.M. & P.M.

Mary-Ann Sontag June 2, 2020

A friend asked if I had homes picked out for the puppies. No, she said, she was not looking for a canine sibling for her dog — she just finds “the CIA worthy process” fascinating.

She went on to say she imagines a color-coded spread sheet, fluid samples, finger prints, secret agents, and yes — a writing sample (she is also an educator).

She knows me well.

I have too many home options for the puppies. This is a good problem to have but it means disappointing people, which I do not enjoy.

Sage and Larkspur in the foreground, Clarkia and Mariposa behind

The truth is my commitment is to the puppies — they are my priority — and so I will make decisions that won’t land well on humans in order to do what I believe is best for the puppies.

Our website offers clues to what I value in potential homes. For example, I clearly identify we place puppies with those “…who are committed to giving our intelligent dogs an interesting life, and who value — and will contribute to — data transparency and integrity.”

How do we know if someone offers an interesting life for a dog and values data transparency and integrity?

Past behavior is an important predictor of future behavior.

In addition, my commitment to community should be evident: “thoughtfully-bred Kaibab puppies are placed with engaged members of the Berner community, and those seeking to join our community.”

I do not have grab ‘em and go puppies. Rather, I think in terms of building community around puppies — not losing them to strangers.

A child can never be loved well by too many adults.

In the same way, a puppy benefits from having a smart, caring community around her or him.

In fact, I think the benefits of community and teamwork are so important to a puppy that the CIA worthy vetting process my friend noted absolutely includes assessment of ability and willingness to play well with me — and others — in the puppy sandbox, so to speak.

I won’t judge those who prefer to just go it alone with their puppy (which won’t be one of mine, by the way) — if you agree not to judge my more Kumbaya approach to Life with Dogs.

Evening: Photos from the Day

Good night!

Day 6 A.M. & P.M.

Mary-Ann Sontag June 1, 2020

All is well, although Sage seems to be whining quite a bit this morning. He is eating well and moving about — he just seems discontent.

Puppies need stimulation for both urination and defecation — mother dogs do this by licking. To ensure Sage does not have uncomfortable toileting issues, I held him as Daisy performed duties all human moms are glad to say are not part of THEIR job description.

There is no obvious issue with Sage and since puppies can get stomach aches — and he gained 1.5 ounces overnight — I will try to quell my anxiety while keeping a close eye on him. (Update: Sage seems slightly more content).

I wonder how people who do not camp out at the whelping box would even know low-level whining is unusual and signals discontent of some kind? Although, they do say ignorance is bliss.

As usual, Dear Husband did a great job with the overnight shift. Puppies continue to gain well and evenly, in part because we do nursing prime times based on the previous 12-hour weight gains.

For example, I weighed each puppy this morning. After their weigh-in, they went to the little nest as I weighed the rest.

Once everyone is weighed and out of the whelping box, I clean and change it and then Daisy nurses the least-gain group plus an extra or two to help with milk letdown…

…while the other group continues to sleep.

Once the least-gain group has had their fill, everyone is back together; puppies need to be with their moms, and not just during feeding.

I continue to read up to inform and enhance my awareness of what newborn puppies need — and do not need.

They absolutely need continued and appropriate maternal behavior and contact. Anything that interferes with maternal behavior is Bad News for puppies.

I am struck with how often initial reaction to hearing that “optimal” may not match typical practice is for people to point to positive outcomes — “my puppies turn out just fine” or “I got spanked (drank from a hose, ate Lucky Charms, walked six miles to school — uphill in both directions) and I turned out just fine.”

People smoke for 60 years and die from being run over by a bus — that doesn’t mean smoking doesn’t have negative health impacts.

Children are abused by parents and go on to be successful — that doesn’t mean the abuse did not impact them.

As we understand more and more about the brain, stress, and trauma, it becomes so clear that we need to care about what constitutes an adverse experience for a newborn, and do everything we can to avoid those things.

Sometimes we cannot avoid a Bad Thing and then we need to mitigate in informed ways to reduce the damaging impact of the Bad Thing on a puppy or infant.

All of that involves an openness to learning, and an appreciation for knowledge. Most of all, we need a certain humility to embrace the reality we don’t have all the answers and continually need to learn new things.

I LOVE learning and do not feel diminished when I find out I need to adjust course — but I know that is not how everyone handles new and different information.

New puppies do not need to be intentionally and externally stressed. Period. No evidence supports this practice and there is plenty of solid research to suggest it is a bad idea — and it is unnecessary.

Newborn puppies regularly have periods of challenge they resolve in developmentally appropriate ways that typically end with the maternal attention that seems key to creating positive hard wiring in puppies.

For example, Larkspur was frustrated because Daisy’s foot was not producing milk (!)…

I watched as he whined in frustration and tried to figure things out. This went on for some minutes. He moved in the wrong direction multiple times. He searched different parts of Daisy’s feet for a nipple. Finally, Larkspur was successful in orienting himself to the milk bar…

…and was therefore reinforced for his persistence, problem-solving, and scenting work with a meal.

I could have helped him but that kind of event is the real-life and developmentally appropriate learning experience we want for a new puppy. Larkspur was never away from his mother, could smell her at all times, was secure enough to keep working, and received reinforcement for his sustained efforts/success.

This happens all day long — I know because I am here to watch and observe.

The puppies do not need me to provide additional stressful events. Their newborn life — blind, deaf, unable to move well or regulate body temperature or even poop on their own — provides all the challenges a newborn puppy needs.

EVENING: Photos from the Day

I am pleased to report Sage settled down and has been perfectly fine all day — whew!