Day 21 A.M. & P.M.

Three weeks old. Amazing.

This is Mariposa with a toy that has been through multiple litters, including Suzanne’s. It makes noise when it is bumped, and that kind of novel sensory experience is what puppies need at this age.

But it is supported novel experience — it happens in the context of a safe, secure, and familiar place. The goal is confidence, and to develop that puppies (and humans) need new experiences but ones that can be mastered without fear and anxiety. Baby steps — or rather, Puppy Steps.

The Wildflowers are certainly gaining mastery of their bodies. Walking is confident and steady, and they can roll around at will — this is Clarkia.

After rolling, she chewed on her foot a bit — how cute is that?!

Clarkia is a good example of why puppy placement is a puzzle and hard to decide in advance. Puppy personalities are emerging, and I can tell you Clarkia deserves to be in a smart working home with someone who will appreciate her potential — this puppy will go far with the right person.

Daisy continues to keep her puppies clean, well fed, and happy. This kind of maternal attention is absolutely critical to development, and so we support and encourage it and that includes by supporting and encouraging extended and frequent nursing of puppies.

Some people start puppies on “solid food” at this age.

I remember a long-time breeder who once told me she weaned puppies at three weeks because she, “could feed them better.”

So so inaccurate.

Human parents used to be told to introduce solid foods early (six weeks!) — now the World Health Organization says human infants should be exclusively breast fed until six months old.

The next two photos are a sequence of Paintbrush and Larkspur.

We are growing in our understanding that gut microbiota is a key component in immune functioning; we need to care about this as we build and maintain healthy immune systems.

In a review of existing research on the topic of infant intestinal microbiome, Meropol & Edwards (2015) report that, “type of feeding, breast milk versus formula, has a large influence on microbiome composition (p. 230).

Breast milk has evolved to provide exactly what babies need — including what is needed by the baby’s microbiome.

Introduction to solid food changes the gut microbiome in humans and animals, and it is not without consequence; the practice of early weaning in piglets causes significant GI issues and prompts widespread antibiotic use in that industry (Gresse et al., 2017).

Early introduction to solid foods is linked to a variety of unfortunate long-term outcomes in humans, and so one has to wonder about the rush to replace optimal nutrition with sub-optimal.

One article I read about human breastfeeding discusses a social coercion of weaning theory (Stearns, 2011). Interesting! I think there is social pressure in weaning puppies as well — and likely just a lack of updated knowledge.

Clover and Clarkia

The Wildflowers — and their developing gut microbiome — will continue to benefit from being exclusively breastfed.

With all the evidence pointing to the importance of this, why would I do anything else?

This morning we added some new blooms to the Wildflowers’ lives — thank you to Marti for this fun-tastic gift.

Larkspur

The flowers crinkle and so offer wonderful and age-appropriate sensory experiences — and they are stinking cute!

Puppies love playing with each other — this is Sage and Mariposa.

Please have a healthy day — and take good care of your own gut microbiome!

EVENING: PHOTOS FROM THE DAY

I forgot to mention something this morning — first social tail wag! Larkspur greeted me this morning by wagging his tail — MY HEART! They are also running now — it is crazy how fast they change.

Mariposa and Buttercup

Paintbrush

Lupine

I think the photo below is hilarious — Clarkia is tipped over in a milk coma and Paintbrush just walked over the top of the nursing puppies…

Who need hair gel when your mom is free with her spit?!

The puppies are biting Daisy now - this is Mallow.

The play structure was out for about two hours today — this is Mallow again.

It is getting crowded!

Larkspur and Clarkia…

Mallow

Karma stopped in for a visit. She licked Larkspur for a bit…

…and all was great until Paintbrush grabbed her tail and got swatted. OOPS.

Larkspur assaulting one of the Bobs.

Three weeks is a wrap! Good night, Friends.

Work Cited

Meropol, Sharon B ; Edwards, A. (2015). Development of the infant intestinal microbiome: A bird's eye view of a complex process Birth Defects Research. Part C, Embryo Today, Reviews, Dec 2015, Vol.105(4), pp.228-239.

Gresse, R ; Chaucheyras-Durand, F ; Fleury, MA ; Van de Wiele, T ; Forano, E ; Blanquet-Diot, S. (2017). Gut Microbiota Dysbiosis in Postweaning Piglets: Understanding the Keys to Health. Trends In Microbiology, Oct, Vol.25(10), pp.851-873.

Day 20 A.M. & P.M.

Markings.

Very few Berners have “perfect” markings.

Although Lupine appears to be correctly marked with her white blaze and muzzle, four white feet and white tail tip, she actually has a marking flaw — it is just not as noticeable as Paintbrush, who does not have much white on the left side of his muzzle.

Note below how Lupine’s white extends past the corner of her mouth on her right side.

You can really see it in the photo below — it is called a Swiss Smile.

The small bit of white on the back of her neck is called a Swiss Kiss — that will all but go away as she grows. Both Mariposa and Lupine have those Swiss Kisses.

White on a puppy — or lack of white — creates a certain illusion. For example, more white on one paw than the other can actually make the white paw look bigger. White faces seem to make the heads seem bigger — although, to be fair, Lupine has a big head!

Things went great overnight in the new Wildflower Place. Dear Husband again stayed up all night — I do not know how people raise litters without a night shift person as it makes ALL the difference. I wake up mostly rested, and both Daisy and the puppies get fed well overnight.

But we will now start to transition back to a more normal sleep routine, which involves Dear Husband staying up to his usual 1 — 2 a.m. (he is naturally a Night Owl ) and me getting up between 4 — 5 a.m., which is normal for me.

This means there is just a short gap where Daisy and the puppies do not have an awake person with them — just close by. Since they will be three weeks old tomorrow (how did THAT happen?!) and they are safely in the escape-proof Wildflower Place (aka Dining Room), I think we are all ready.

This is Mallow — so cute.

Back to markings — this is Mariposa and Lupine. If you look at the next two photos, you can see that both puppies have rust to the corner of their mouths; Lupine’s Swiss Smile is only on the right side of her face.

Larkspur is a nicely marked puppy but again — not perfect. Look at the difference between his muzzle white and the two girls above.

Sometimes I take photos and forget to also take one with the collar so I know who it is — like this one.

Puppy Posse.

Definitely Larkspur.

The Milk Bar is one big party all the time.

Sage has lovely face and head markings but will have dark feet and a four-hair tail tip.

Bottom line — those who want perfect markings on a Berner should look HERE.

For the rest of us — who embrace dogs and people with imperfections — we have the practically perfect Wildflowers.

Video HERE.

EVENING: PHOTOS FROM THE DAY

So much toothless chomping going on around here.

Clover

We created a nursing alcove so that Daisy can still do shift nursing outside of the puppies’ bedroom/playroom. This is all nine!

The paws — love!

Sage

If you watched the video you will know that we set up the play structure that Lori sent us for our last litter. They are a perfect age for this.

All of the puppies interacted with the structure with no concerns or issues — it was awesome. It won’t stay in their space all the time — novelty is important and so it will come and go, and the things that hang will change as well.

Mariposa

Good Night, Friends!

Day 18 A.M.

I got up extra early today to relieve Dear Husband, who continues to stay up overnight with the Wildflowers. This 24-hour coverage means that Daisy receives meals about every 2 - 3 hours around the clock, and the puppies are fed on a fairly regular schedule.

Lactation is a big priority here — and for excellent reasons. Nine of them, in fact.

I continue to explore what is optimal for babies, and have spent the past few hours researching and reading professional, peer-reviewed articles from the past ten years in the areas of formula vs. breast fed, effects of early weaning, and so on; I list just a few of the articles I cite and/or read below.

I am mindful that none of us can always do “optimal” — we are imperfect humans living in an imperfect world. This reality, however, is not an excuse to throw up our hands and be a Slacker.

Rather, we need to continually aim for optimal — as Peale said, “Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars.”

Larkspur — with ears!

I hope it is not news to anyone that "human milk … is considered the gold standard for feeding infants” (Moukarzel et al., 2018, p. 1). Not for puppies of course! Dog milk is the gold standard for feeding puppies.

The amount of research into the benefits of an extended period of only breast feeding are both staggering and not limited to physical health. Moukarzel et al. (2018) noted that “suboptimal provision of nutrients during early postnatal development may have lasting consequences on the brain…” (p. 1).

Sub-optimal = Less than optimal.

Early weaning in rat pups — early by just three days! — “caused lower body weight, length, VFM, total body fat, hypoglycaemia and hypoinsulinaemia, all changes linked to malnutrition status” (Da Silva Lima et al., 2011, p. 1409).

Early weaning = Malnutrition = Less than optimal.

Further, “the disruption of mother–infant bonding in the later lactating period, such as early weaning … greatly affected the infant's neurobehavioral development” (Mogi, K., Nagasawa, M., & Kikusui, T., 2011, p. 1236).

Early weaning = Affected development = Less than optimal.

ACK!

All this reading is making me even more strident about the importance of lactation, delayed weaning, and the dangers of supplementing puppies in any but the most urgent situations.

Breast is best — it is our job to make it work.

Breast milk = Optimal!

Another reason for being committed to making lactation work for puppies is the options for replacement and/or supplementation are so so not optimal.

Consider that formula for humans is carefully and extensively studied, and even though that is true it remains inferior nutrition AND more is being learned all the time. For example, researchers have recently identified the importance of Milk Fat Globule Membrane and as a result, human infant formulas have been adjusted.

Larkspur and Clover

There is zero evidence that puppy formulas — homemade or commercial — are studied and developed with the careful attention that human infant formulas are — and again, human infant formulas — even though very, very well-researched and developed — are inferior to breast milk.

What that means to me is supplementing puppies with any formula is just a bad idea if it can be avoided, and if I ever had to supplement a puppy I would not use a homemade formula.

There is just no possible way a homemade formula has been studied enough to be considered adequate; reading about what goes into human infant formula development has convinced me it is much more complicated (and important) than one might think.

Mallow and Sage

I know — people are thinking, “I have used goat’s milk for puppies for twenty years and …” Great — I wonder how much better it might have been if those puppies had been fed in an optimal way — and there is simply no way to know.

Heck — I wonder how much better my health would be right now had my mother breast fed me!

As my dad says, “we can’t change what we had for breakfast.” In this discussion, we can take that very literally!

We can, however, plan for a better lunch and dinner.

EVENING: PHOTOS FROM THE DAY

LUPINE

CLARKIA

SAGE

LARKSPUR

MALLOW AND PAINTBRUSH

You’re welcome

LUPINE AND DAISY

rePete the Cat visits the Wildflowers

CLOVER

PAINTBRUSH - remember that puppy eyes start blue

Daisy and Buttercup

I hope the photos convey what I see throughout the day — puppies who are thriving because they have a devoted, kind, attentive mother in Daisy. If maternal care is the ticket to well-adjusted puppies, the Wildflowers are going to do some serious blooming.

Good Night, Friends.

Work Cited (and just a couple of examples of some that I reviewed)

Aguirre‐Benítez, E., Porras, M., Parra, L., González‐Ríos, J., Garduño‐Torres, D., Albores‐García, D., . . . Hernández‐Falcón, J. (2017). Disruption of behavior and brain metabolism in artificially reared rats. Developmental Neurobiology, 77(12), 1413-1429.

Da Silva Lima, N., Gaspar de Moura, E., Cottini Fonseca Passos, M., Firmino Nogueira Neto, J., Martha Reis, A., De Oliveira, E., & Cristina Lisboa, P. (2011). Early weaning causes undernutrition for a short period and programmes some metabolic syndrome components and leptin resistance in adult rat offspring. British Journal of Nutrition, 105(9), 1405-1413.

Mogi, K., Nagasawa, M., & Kikusui, T. (2011). Developmental consequences and biological significance of mother–infant bonding. Progress in Neuropsychopharmacology & Biological Psychiatry, 35(5), 1232-1241.

Moukarzel, S., Dyer, R. A., Garcia, C., Wiedeman, A. M., Boyce, G., Weinberg, J., . . . Innis, S. M. (2018). Milk fat globule membrane supplementation in formula-fed rat pups improves reflex development and may alter brain lipid composition. Scientific Reports, 8(1), 15277. doi:http://dx.doi.org.weblib.lib.umt.edu:8080/10.1038/s41598-018-33603-8