We Still Need Our Mommy

Many people think that since mother dogs don't want to nurse their pups much starting around five weeks that puppies can be taken from their moms by six weeks. But mom dogs do more than feed their babies they also teach them valuable lessons about how to behave. If one bites her too hard and she'll use her muzzle to push and hold him down for a minute, essentially giving him a puppy time out. If one the puppies is yelping, she runs to check to see if he's ok, which helps the puppy feel safe and learn to trust. Sometimes I'll see her correcting a puppy by pushing him down and giving him a soft bite, I don't know what the puppy has done wrong but I'm confident Connie does.

We still like Mom best!

This litter of puppies is taking their time adjusting to solid food. And if Connie is anywhere near by they ditch the food for a drink of milk. So I keep Connie away until the puppies have eaten all they're going to eat. Then I let her out to eat their leftovers - I think all moms eat their kids' leftovers.

It's very funny to see Connie try to eat what's left of the food and at the same time try to keep the puppies from nursing. She usually spins in a circle around the dish, scattering puppies as she goes. Don't think she's a neglectful mom because she doesn't want to nurse them much anymore, it's natural for a mom with puppies of this age to run from them when they try to latch on. She knows they need to adjust to life without her. She still feeds the puppies though, mainly at night when there isn't any other food for them.

Connie's Boy #1

We updated the Petfinder photos earlier this week, but the pups are sooooooo photogenic so there are lots of leftover pictures to post...

First, some of one of the little boys - his Petfinder page is here.

All Quiet in Puppy World

Not a lot going on right now with the puppies - they're just eating and growing. At this point they weigh between 4 and 5 1/2 pounds, which is great.

Their foster mom says that they're doing really well, starting to show their personalities. At this point, they are more excited to see her in the morning than they are to be fed (now that's love!).

Connie is spending more and more time inside the main part of the house with the family, really enjoying some adult time. While she's been so devoted to the pups, she clearly looking forward to when they move out on their own (and she gets her own home).

And the Boys!

And a few updated photos of the little boys as well. There are also more new photos on their Petfinder page!

The Girls...

We have some new puppy photos - these are the three little girls. Check out their Petfinder page for more updated photos! We'll post the boy photos here tomorrow.

Adventures in Dining

It's always exciting and messy introducing babies to their first solid food, and puppies are no exception. First step, soak some dry puppy food in water until it's soft and mushy. Second, pour the food in a large shallow pan. Third, add puppies. And I do mean "add the puppies" - the first time I literally put their front paws into the dish. What happens next varies. Sometimes one smart puppy figures out right away that this ushy mushy stuff is food and starts licking at it. Most of the time though the puppies just walk through the bowl getting themselves nice and messy (sometimes they crawl on top of one another in the bowl, it's a little like mud wrestling). Clean up isn't a problem though, as soon as they've had enough fun and food, I let their mom join them. She finishes off the puppy mush and then licks the puppies clean.

The little white girl puppy took to the food on the very first try and by this afternoon - the third day and the sixth meal - all of the puppies showed some interest in the food. Maybe not coincidentally, the three smallest puppies eat the most - perhaps the two fat boys are so full of mom's milk they can't be bothered with puppy mush.

Puppy Socialization

I take this phase of puppy fostering very seriously. Proper and consistent socialization is key to the development of a friendly, well behaved dog. My husband, two daughters and I make a point of holding and petting the puppies many times during the day.

My next door neighbors have two wonderful gentle children, five and three years old. Yesterday they came over to meet the puppies for the first time. Sitting on the ground, they held the puppies in their laps. The children were thrilled and the puppies enjoyed their gentle pets and sweet voices. The three year old boy was not happy when it was time to go home.

The Joy of Puppies

The puppies are now three weeks old, their eyes and ears are open, and best of all they're ready to start making human friends. Dogs are amazing creatures, after years of selective breeding, they are hardwired to crave and depend on human companionship. All that is required is for their human friends to reinforce this innate tendency with gentle loving contact. These babies are no exception - when I say "what sweet babies" in my sweetest voice, they wag their tails and move towards me. If one of them is feeling lonely or neglected by mom - they are babies after all - she'll immediately stop crying if I pick her up and cuddle her.

For the Petfinder pages for the puppies, click here for the boys and here for the girls.

Another (Related) Success

Connie has spawned another successful rescue (in addition to Randy) - a wonderful couple who applied to foster Randy has taken in Layla. Layla has a similarly heartbreaking backstory - she originally landed in a shelter as part of an abuse case. She spent 2 years there while the case made it's way through the courts. When that was through and her time was up, a solo rescuer pulled her.

Unfortunately, the rescuer had a bigger heart than she did capacity to help animals, and Layla spent the next couple of years in an outside kennel with lots of other dogs. She didn't have a place to go indoors in the winter (and pit bull coats are *not* made for outside living), didn't get any attention and developed a bad skin infection.

When we found out about Layla, we brought her to the northern VA area for vet care. Her skin condition cleared up with regular care, but finding a place for a 10 y.o. pit bull is not easy. However, she's now spent the last week in a home; above is a photo of her with her foster brother, enjoying a sunny nap. (Layla is the white dog in the back; her foster brother she's snuggling with was adopted from the same shelter Connie and Randy had been at.) More pix and info about Layla are here.

Before this whole experience, I'd only placed 3 pit bulls - hounds and shy herding dogs are more my "thing" (since that's what my dogs are). But working with Connie and the associated dogs has really made me think more about helping these pups that die at such disproportionate rates in shelters, and are treated so much worse as a group than other dogs outside of shelters.

A Little Free Time

Connie does enjoy her yard time, sniffing around and stretching her legs a bit. The whole time we were outside the puppies were squeaking in the background so she could hear that everything was alright. She seemed to like some privacy for going to the bathroom (or maybe she just wanted a minute alone!). She is an enthusiastic and accomplished digger, so she'll either need a home where that isn't a problem (do you have a garden you need tilled?) or where she won't be spending time alone outside.

Body-Surfing!

Naptime

Weigh Ins

I met Connie on Friday for the first time - she's much smaller than I guessed based on the photos. She's about 37 pounds right now - she'll still lose some of the baby weight, then hopefully fill out some (you can see all of her ribs), so she should end up about 40 pounds. She's very sweet and submissive - she holds her tail low and it wags back and forth quickly at any hint of attention.

She's very attentive to her babies, checking on on them after each time she goes away for a drink, or they're taken away. Apparently she's nervous if people she hasn't met handle the pups, but after greeting me at the door she was fine with me there. I have photos I'll post tomorrow.

The two boys are the largest pups - they're both black and white and the larger weighs 3 pounds 2 ounces. The smallest girl - who is almost pure white - is only 2 pounds 2 ounces. Their eyes are starting to open but they can't stand up and walk around yet. Connie is really cute with them, curling up with them and resting her head on their backs.

It really does take a village

I received an email tonight from the Animal Control Officer who picked Connie up, so we have more of her background than we did previously. She was found on Clopper Road (in Montgomery County) one night in January, with the white and black pitbull whose photo is in my post from last week. Three police officers actually stopped traffic so the two of them could safely get out of the road. Connie and the male are named after the ACO's mother and father.

The ACO said she was so happy to see the pictures of the puppies and Connie since she and the other ACOs and Police Officers never really know how the dogs they've picked up are doing or where they end up. [Not that we actually know where Connie will end up yet, but, wherever it is, it will be a great home - we'll be looking for a very special adopter for this sweet girl!]

Unfortunately, thus far the male pit (Carl) hasn't been as lucky, since he's still at the shelter. Unless someone comes forward for him, his days are numbered. :-( The ACO says he's also very sweet, an outgoing guy - he jumped up to meet her when she walked over to him and bumped her with his head, and she had a headache all day.

The Wonders of Rescue

On the topic of Randy... what can I say? Rescuing Connie and Randy has been such an amazing experience. Neither one of these dogs should have made it out of the shelter - not that they didn't deserve to but really, there are so few who will work with pit bulls. And yet, looking beyond breed, in this big goofy body of his, Randy is gentle to the core; desperate to be loved and worthy of a rescue. I remember visiting him once at the shelter and through the chain link fenced-in runs, his eyes followed me as I walked through the entire room until I returned to him and then he licked my hand and scooted in to get as close to me as possible. I continued to visit my little "scooter" and he always seemed to remember me; he always welcomed me as though he didn't realize where he was and what could happen to him; always happy; never depressed. And every time I saw him, I loved him even more.

And Connie - so full of life; her body wiggling with anticipation of her next cuddle, despite her big pregnant belly weighing her down; her spirit never revealing the neglect she must have at one time suffered. When Randy and Connie met for the first time, they offered each other lots of kisses - who knew then that they would go on similar journeys?

Whatever Randy and Connie have experienced at the hands of humans may have been cruel but these two gentle souls are remarkably resilient. Sometimes you meet a dog (or two! or more!) who pull at your heartstrings and beg you to not leave them behind - they cause you sleepless nights filled with worry - until the day you pick them up from the shelter and drive them off to their first day into safety. That day and the day you see them go to their forever homes is one of the most amazing and rewarding experiences for a rescuer - and the miracle of all of the planets aligning to allow you to help these dogs is nothing less than wonderful!

Not much to report - the puppies are getting fat and seem content. At this stage, their eyes are still closed so all they pretty much do is sleep and eat. But with puppies, no news is good news - they're so fragile at this stage.

However, in (sort of) related news, the male pit bull we tested Connie with before we pulled her (to make sure she didn't have any dog issues) was sprung from the shelter tonight! He was in his final days, and a wonderful couple contacted us to see about adopting him! He's with a temp foster tonight, then he's heading to the vet tomorrow to be neutered, then off to his adoptive home.

The employees at the shelter were so excited that he was going to a home - they even added notes in his paperwork saying "I [heart] this dog!!" and "!!!!!!!!YAY Randy is leaving!!!!!!!!", and all came out to see him off. His paperwork is really heartbreaking, though - for all his butch bully looks, he's a timid boy who was clearly on his own for a while before ending up in the shelter for 4 months. His muzzle is pretty scarred, and he was thin enough when he came in that they switched him to puppy food. His temperament test is great, but shows a dog who hasn't been treated nicely but so desperately wants to be loved. The folks at the shelter called him "Scooter" since he'd scoot side to side in his cage, just trying to be near anyone who came in the room for the 4 long months he was there.

Randy and Connie (and her babies) are the best sort of rescue stories - sweet dogs that made it. But they almost didn't have a chance - pitbulls rarely make it out of shelters. Through some luck and with the help of a great foster (for Connie) and wonderful adopters (for Randy), though, both now have the opportunity to for great lives.

This makes all the rescue heartbreak matter just a little less.

Giardia

Connie's had diarrhea so we had her tested and it turns out she has giardia. It's been a struggle to keep her fully hydrated between that and nursing, but hopefully now that we're treating her it will be fine. We're hoping the puppies don't start showing signs of it, since they can't be treated until they're at least 2 weeks old and can get dehydrated really quickly.

A Group Photo

Sometime in the next week or so the puppies' eyes and ears will open up and they'll start learning to walk on their legs - right now they scoot around like baby seals! They are generally pretty quiet but when one of them rolls off of the puppy pile, s/he squeaks until s/he's managed to get back with the others again. They also squeal whenever Connie leaves the whelping box, which makes it very hard for her to get any kind of break from them. It isn't easy being the mother of quintuplets!

Naptime

Connie's Whelping Box

The sixth grade class at Unitarian Universalist Church of Rockville built a whelping box for their class project this year! A whelping box is especially designed for mother dogs and their newborn puppies and has special features to keep everyone warm, comfortable and safe. This is so much cozier than the area I had created for them using a pair of old speakers, a crate and a bookcase.

The rails around the sides are called pig rails, they prevent a mother dog from trapping and smothering a puppy against the walls (this actually happened with one of my first foster dog families). The front panel is hinged so when the puppies are older I can put the side down to let them out. It's down right now to make it easier for Connie to get in and out herself.

Thanks to all of you who helped with the box!

Pup Update

Everything is very quiet in puppy land which is just as it should be. The puppies' eyes are closed, as are their ears, and all they pretty much do is sleep and eat. Connie is an exceptional mother. She only leaves the puppies to eat, drink and do her business, otherwise she's curled up around them. I only handle the puppies once a day when I need to put them into a cardboard box so I can change the towel they sleep on.

Connie is such a loving, devoted mother: as soon as I've moved all the puppies into the box she climbs in to join them - it isn't a very big box, so it's funny to see her try to squeeze in with them. My husband Steve has been taking her on walks but says that Connie starts whining after only five or ten minutes, she is so anxious about leaving her babies.

More puppy pictures

Connie is a very attentive mom, constantly grooming her pups and keeping tabs on them. She doesn't like to be away from them for long, especially when people are around, or (even worse) cats!

...and Another

Puppy Pix!

Connie is being a *great* mom, but also keeping up with her social schedule, greeting visitors then returning to nursing. It took her three tries to make it out the door to go to the bathroom because she kept coming back to make sure her pups were still safe. :-)

Reports from the Delivery Room

12:42 pm Water broke! I'm pretty sure that Connie's water broke sometime this morning and she isn't interested at all in eating, both pretty good signs that she's going to have the puppies within the next 12 to 24 hours.

12:58 pm Preparations: I made her a nice spot to have the puppies, a shower curtain covered with newspapers, sheets and towels and when I just checked her everything was all kicked and torn up! Poor girl must be feeling pretty bad right now if chewing up newspapers comforts her!

1:25 pm Puppy Number 1: Connie let out two huge yelps and out came the first puppy! He's black with a white stripe down his muzzle and I can't believe how active he is, he's crawling around everywhere!

4:28 pm 4 pups now: 2 black; 2 white with black spots (one with a spot on his eye!).

5:44 pm All here! These pups seem very vigorous...Number five just arrived, another black and white. To summarize: 3 females, 2 males; one white, two mostly black with white heads or facial markings, and two with black and white patches.

11:20 pm Update: Everyone is doing really well and Connie is a natural at being a mom, although I had some scary moments with two puppies when Connie bit off their umbilical cords too closely and I needed to tie them off to stop the bleeding (she actually chewed the thread off of one and I had to re-tie it).

Baby Daddy?

There's a beautiful, if skinny, unaltered male pit who was brought to the shelter with Connie. They think he might be the father of her pups. If he is, she likes 'em young - he's only 11 m.o.! While we'd love to get him off of death row, we don't have anywhere for him to go. We can get him temperament tested if anyone has interest in fostering or adopting him.

Connie had her babies today!

All five are out and wiggly - already tearing around the place: 3 females and 2 males; one is white, two are mostly black with white heads/facial markings, and two have black and white patches. Connie's been a great mother, licking the umbilical cords loose and generally cleaning up the pups as they arrived (at 1 hour intervals).

Meet Connie

Connie is a super-special girl who is expected to give birth to puppies this week. She was just rescued from a MD kill shelter, where she was slated to be euthanized since she's a single mom who has pitbull in her (we're guessing she's also part Australian cattle dog (blue heeler)). Even if she hadn't been on death row, though, a shelter is no place to raise puppies so we couldn't leave this wonderful girl behind!

Connie is really sweet, both with people and with other dogs - in fact, she charmed the un-neutered male pitbull we tried her with yesterday and gave him lots of kisses! She has been temperament-tested and passed with flying colors. She's also good with (ignores) cats. She's an attentive and somewhat timid pup who just wants to please her people. She is amiable and engaging and would love to curl up in your lap for lots of hugs and kisses.

We'll be looking for a home for this fantastic girl and for her kids when they are ready to be adopted.

Breed Estimate: Pit Bull Terrier/Cattle Dog
Sex: Female
Approximate weight: Unsure - she's not large framed but hard to accurately estimate her weight while she has a belly full of babies!
Approximate age: 4 - 5 years old
Location: Washington DC metro area foster home
Cratetrained: Unsure
Coat Type: Short
Personality: Complete and utter LOVEBUG