How to De-stress your dog and Pinkerton's 1-week-old Puppies

Pinkerton our English Cream Golden Retriever had her miniature Golden Retriever puppies a week ago today, and my, how the week has flown by! We have started charting their growth and the puppies are THRIVING! At 3 days old they started their ENS and we took them for their vet check on Friday October 6th and had their dew claws removed. We do not always have the dew claws removed, but our vet recommended it for this litter. Dew claw removal is the removal of the 5th digit on a dogs paw, it sit higher than the other 4 digits and is usually on the front foot but can be on the back feet as well. The dew claw removal is controversial and banned in some countries. The reason for suggested removal is protect the dog from getting the dew claw caught on something and having it torn off. Our vet numbs the area and removes the claw with a laser to cauterize, our vet did a GREAT JOB. Unfortunately, Traveling and the dew claw removal put a lot of stress on our litter and they needed tons of rest and quiet to recover happily. Thankfully they are doing fabulous.

Poor Pinkerton developed a bad case of diarrhea the day she delivered. The second night after her pups were born she was up every hour barking to go out and relieve herself. I took her to the vet and had her stool evaluated, our vet gave her a check-up and said she looks great. Since her stool sample came back clear of any parasites, our vet suspected she got the diarrhea from stress. He said this can happen to new mama's and he prescribed a medication that is safe for lactating females called Endsorb. I also immediately started researching and found this article from Life's Abundance, the company I work for as a field Rep. We used some of the de-stressing protocol recommended and she has solid stools now, whew!

It's always important to find out the root cause of diarrhea. If the diarrhea lasts more than a few days I will collect my dog's fresh stool in a ziplock baggy and drop it by my vets office and they will run a fecal test to make sure there are no parasites. Sometimes our vet will want to do an exam, which is great, because then he can get a good look at her overall health and he let me know if there is anything we can catch early like the dreaded Parvo. Thankfully we have NEVER had Parvo (knock on wood a hundred times).

BIG NEWS! We did a photo shoot with the new babies and here they are!

Introducing:

Female puppy #1 -Elinor

**Elinor is a cream colored female; she was born at 8:58 on 10/3/17 and her birth weight was 14.8 oz she currently weighs 1 lb 9 oz**

Female Puppy #2 -Lucy

**Lucy is a light gold colored female; she was born at 9:50 am on 10/3/17 weighing 13.1 oz. She currently weighs 1 lb 4 oz.**

Male Puppy #1- Dashwood

**Dashwood is a light gold male; he was born at 10:18 am on 10/3/17 weighing 13.2 oz; he currently weighs 1 lb 9 oz.**

Female Puppy #3 - Fanny

Fanny is a light gold female with a white blaze; she was born at 10:54 am on 10/3/17; she currently weighs 1 lb 7 oz.

Female Puppy #4 - Marianne

Marianne is a cream colored female she was born at 11:16 am on 10/3/17 weighing 12.6 oz. She currently weighs 1 lb 5 oz.

Male puppy #2 - Colonel

Colonel is a solid gold male; he was born at 11:33 am on 10/3/17 weighing 1 lb. he currently weighs 1 lb 14 oz.

Male puppy #3 - Willoughby

Willoughby is a cream colored male born at 12:56 pm on 10/3/17 weighing 14.8 oz. He currently weighs 1 lb 13 oz.

Male Puppy #4 - Middleton

**Middleton is a light gold male with a white blaze; he was born at 1:50 pm on 10/3/17; he currently weighs 1 lb 13 oz**

OOOH they are so precious and they will be opening there eyes and ears by next week! Our next photo shoot should have them with eyes OPEN! We are sure enjoying this beautiful litter. My Baby is in love with these babies, I have to watch him carefully, but he instantly knew how to hug the puppy!