1. Mom is eating like a horse! Just started yesterday....like, 3 or 4 times what she normally eats in a day! What's up with that?
She needs lots of food to feed those hungry babies. I have a litter about the same age as yours and my mom is really putting the food away too. They need plenty of food to make milk, especially if they are feeding a large litter.
2. One of the pups was out peeing and then playing....mom was eating from her dish and pup came along and was frantic to nibble on moms food! Can it really be time for that already? I was planning on waiting till they were 4 weeks old which is this weekend....and then ground some up for them and see what they do. Thoughts?
My litter of 5 will be 4 weeks old on Friday. They are up and walking around so yesterday I put out the ground up dry food and water and they have been nibbling on it. If you pups are walking then they are ready for some food. If you use the ground up food make sure it is ground very fine like corn meal. I grind the food then sift it through a colander. I don't want to take any chances on a pup choking on a kibble.
3. At what point do you guys take the whelping box out of area and place dog beds in there....or do you not do that?
Usually around 3 weeks you can remove the whelping box. I removed the whelping box about a week ago. I have the heating pad under the bedding where the pups sleep. They have a nice size area right now. As they get older I slowly expand their area so eventually they will have the whole bedroom to romp and play in.
4. At what point do I expect the boys to lap up water?
As soon as they can walk they can start lapping the water. Just leave it down along with their food and they will slowly starting drinking it. |