Unfortunately Ruby stopped feeding the pups shortly after these pictures were taken and I had to start the process of weaning the pups onto solid food. I wasn’t surprised as the pups have been particularly lively and were clearly making feeding very uncomfortable for her. I cant complain because for such a young mum she has been absolutely brilliant in the way she has coped and looked after the litter.
I started by giving them small amounts of best steak scrapings to get their stomachs ready for normal food.
In addition to the tiny bits of steak I have also been getting them used to taking Whelper milk from a small dish.
Today they have started eating soaked Royal Canin Mother and baby food with best mince mixed in.
This will now be their food 3 times a day and in the evening Whelper milk and cereal.
Today all the pups enjoyed playing and sleeping in my garden on the grass in their playpen. It was interesting to see even at this tender age they all automatically sought the shade from the sun provided by two large umbrellas.
A puppy being weighed to make sure he is developing as he should.
A relaxed young girl having her needle like nails clipped.
Ruby is spending less time with the pups but she always has ready access and sleeps with them at night. She is wanting to get out and about now but I still need to be careful where I take her as she could still pass on an infection.
So far so good all the pups are looking well and making good weight gains. Tomorrow I will be putting puppy collars on them as they are getting harder to tell apart. We will also be photographing each puppy individually tomorrow ready for the puppy naming competition.
I will sign off until next week’s update when they will be 5 weeks old.
Paul Glennon D&C Police Canine Development Officer.
They have grown tremendously and are looking independent already
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