Puppies are three weeks old

Uta

Utah

Uncas

Time to get to work puppies!

Puppies' whelping box is located in my den, and now several times a day I take them out of it and let them explore their surroundings. Today we added some toys and a deer leg. Time to get to work puppies!

A busy whelping box: dachshund puppies at 19 days

A video clip of Mielikki with her puppies shows what a patient Mom she is! Puppies are quite mobile, they crawl fast, but now they can also take few steps at a time. They have started to interact with one another, and you can see it in the video. It is time to give them toys to play with.

Puppies get to meet our family

It is a Memorial Day weekend, and our family from New Jersey came to visit. Emilie (John's daughter), her husband Ron and two boys Sam and Ben were accompanied by their five-month-old Lab Luke. I was a little concerned that the commotion might disturb Mielikki but I was proven wrong. Mielikki was delighted with all the attention she and her puppies have been getting. Pups can  hear  now (their ears are closed when they are born) and they respond to human voice.

Ben is natural with animals and Mielikki did not mind when he held the pups and played with them.

Ben was helping with feeding Mielikki. Judging by the pups' reaction to the smell of the food it looks like they are ready to try it.

Puppies got some serious loving!

A good morning follows the restless night

It is 7 AM on Saturday, and Mielikki is getting her breakfast. Last night she did not get much sleep and had to go out multiple times (in pouring rain). I gave her extra calcium, and she has a good appetite so all seems to be fine now.

Puppies might be getting too fat

Mielikki has been eating a lot, but maybe it is time to cut her food down a bit as her puppies are getting too chunky. She is mainly on raw diet with a little bit of kibble now and then.

Mielikki and Sky's puppies: the first two weeks for the U-litter

We wrote about the whelping and first couple of days of Mielikki's puppies on our main blog. To read about  it click here and here. We are happy to report that Mielikki has been a terrific mother and her puppies have been doing really. Today they are two weeks old and their eyes are open. I took them for a short while outside as the sky has been overcast so the bright sun is not going to harm their sensitive eyes. Nobody was crying and pups were not stressed out. At this age they seem to be very easy going and laid back. They like to be handled and stroked, and they give little kisses. They don't struggle almost at all when turned on their backs. We will be learning much more about them in the next few weeks.

These are the pups
Boys:
Urho - blue at birth 280 gr, now 895
Uncas - red at birth 285, now 925
Girls:
Ursula - green at birth 285, now 780
Utah - yellow 261/835
Uma - white 244/760
Uschi - pink 215/790
Uta - no ribbon 215/670

Day #11

Day #2