Day 6 A.M. & P.M.

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!