Monday, December 17, 2007

nine days old, the first night

The above picture was taken when the pup was finishing his morning feeding. You can see a tube at the end of the syringe that he seems to prefer and works well to get the formula down his throat so it doesn't spill out of his mouth.


The pup is nameless, I haven't even had time to think about it yet. I think it would be better to wait until he is older and we can see his personality. He is starting to show a lot of personality already, he is just a sweetheart.

Last night I fed him at 10:00 pm and put him to bed. Bed is a cardboard box with a heating pad in the bottom, turned to low, and a soft t shirt for him to waller around in. His bed sits on a stool next to my bed. It reminds me so much of when I brought my babies home and kept them in the bassinet right next to my bed so I could hear every little noise. He wallers and squeaks until he finds just the right spot. He has the softest little squeaks.
I went to bed at 11:30 pm and set my alarm for 2:00 am. When my alarm went off at 2:00 am he was still sleeping so I warmed his syringe of formula and then I woke the pup up to feed him. He woke right up and ate and went right back to sleep. I reset my alarm for 6:00 am and didn't doze off until 3:30. At 4:30 I started hearing him squeak and move around. He would do that occasionally and then stop. I imagine he is looking for a new warm spot. But the squeaking didn't stop. It started to grow in intensity, so I got up at 4:45 am and fed him. Unfortunately my 3 year old daughter got up as well. She watched me feed the pup and clean him up. Feeding also includes stimulating urination and she thought it was fascinating how the puppy pees on a Kleenex.
Pup was then satisfied and happy. I put him back to bed and he went right back to sleep. Unfortunately my 3 year old did not. She stayed up until 6:00 am and then she dozed off. I get up at 6:30 so I just stayed up. Not much sleep for me last night.
Pup got up again at 7:15 and started crying. My 11 year old daughter got him out and held him while I warmed his formula. We noticed that he looks bigger today and stronger. When he was at the breeders he spent most of his time alone in his box. Since he is half the size of the other pups the breeder was afraid that the other pups would get on top of him and hurt him or kill him by accident. Now that he is here he is getting a lot more attention, when he wakes up he is being held, petted and talked to. I really think the contact and attention is making a difference. He is also being fed more on demand rather than by the clock. Like my babies were.
I hear him waking now, I better go get his mid morning meal ready.

3 comments:

Corky said...

Hoping the pup is doing well this am - Sure must be tough and heart-breaking! HUGE PINGS - Corky

Amber Forest said...

bravo! your kindness is yo be applauded. but, I am sure that the reward is a joy in itself. I too come from the daily coyote site, and will be stopping by your site to see how you are getting on. I live in San Diego, so it's extra sweet knowing that the little fellow is not to far up the road from me. he's going to be a beautiful dog. you're great. Amber

Amber Forest said...
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