Do the Dew

This litter I decided not to remove the front dew claws. Last litter I did but it just seemed a lot of effort for something really un-important. These aren't working dogs, they won't be in the bush tracking large game, they won't be coursing dogs, you can see the dewclaw and will likely remember to cut it(not like breeds with hair) ... all these things combined plus the ugly scar you end up with made me decide against removing them. The rear dewclaws however must come off cuz they're gross. Only 4 of the puppies had them out of this litter - the ratio was higher in the last so I was surprised. Off they came and they are all healing just fine. The puppies barely notice as it's a quick pinch and they fall back asleep.

As a side note ... some people think that docking tails on some breeds is okay because the puppies nervous sytem is not completely developed. Tell that to the puppy who had it's tail stood upon by Halo who didn't notice the screaming and I had to tell her to move.

So now it's come down to me telling Halo she HAS to stay with the puppies. Not only that - she has to lie DOWN. We had an incident at 6am where the puppies were crying and hungry and Halo thought it would be more comfy to sleep in my room and not with the puppies. This happened last litter. They are boring - I get it - they are little lumps of puppy and they are not that interesting. The couch is soooooo much more comfy than the whelping box. Right now she is napping on the couch. This is why I have to sit in the room with her to make sure she bloody stays there. It's more important now because there are so many that need to eat.

Despite this they are all still gaining - orange boy who I'm most worried about actually gained 2 ounces last night so and everyone is creeping up the scale. It's good to see. I'm still supplementing the ones who seem to need it and definitely supplementing orange.



Black boy sharing a moment with Mom ...