Update on the Vikings litter...

Arrival at TLC - probably a day old

On the 19th of this month, VCAS contacted us about a litter of puppies that had been surrendered to them from the general public... By California law, unless an animal can be spayed or neutered, they cannot be adopted by a shelter or a rescue organization... 

And this litter had no mom and was but a day or two old... 

In other words, a bottle-fed litter... 

Not having a foster mom or dad to take on this challenge, they became my fosters and 'so it began' as the story books say... 

So how do you do something like this, you might ask?... With a lot of help and patience (and little sleep)... Luckily, my family members believe deeply in No-Kill for Ventura County and what TLC does... So I get a lot of support from my husband and daughter - not everyone in rescue is as lucky as I am... 

My husband came up with a great solution to my first obstacle to overcome - making sure each puppy got fed... With four white ones, it would be really easy to miss one, thinking they'd already been fed, ya know?

TWO crates, both with heating pads, so that as you fed a pup, you could move them to the other crate... And when you run out of puppies, you are done for the next three hours! (smile)

I have told numerous friends that when folks tell me they don't believe in God, I want them to bottle-feed a litter of puppies... There is absolutely no way you can tell me God does not exist if you do something like this... As you watch them nurse and actually live through the most dire circumstances of their very young and tender lives, you have to believe in the magic and Greatness of God above... 

And the other amazing point?  Momma dogs are incredibly efficient and effective... How they do what they do and successfully raise a litter of puppies is beyond me (and then some)... 

Because they have no momma, it is up to me to keep them clean... Momma dogs constantly groom their puppies and clean up after them, making sure their 'den' is nice and tidy... In my case, it means they end up getting baths every two days... 

First you have to fed everyone a little bit or it becomes like a shark feeding frenzy... They all go nutso when it is time to nurse... So if you at least take the 'edge off', they go through the bathing process much easier!

Once bathed, as you're drying them off, they all have a different way they like to nurse... There is the 'side saddle' pup... If you give him a finger to push up against, he's just as happy as a piglet in mud... 

Another one is a pushy/puller... She pushes the bottle with her feet and pulls the nipple with her mouth at the same time... I'm guessing she's getting more milk that way, but I can always tell it is her 'cause the bottle jerks back and forth as you struggle to hold onto it!

This little girl likes to lay on her back when she is eating... In fact, both of the two dark females like to nurse on their backs, so you constantly have to watch to make sure they aren't nursing too fast and it is coming up their noses by accident... 

One of these puppies 'sings' throughout the nursing process... She makes puppy sounds nonstop for some reason... 

It is an ongoing process... Adjust the water temperature, give them a bath, dry off most of the water and then start them nursing so you can really dry them off with the microfiber drying towels... Once you have one done, you start the process all over again with the next puppy!

They are now 12 days old, so most of them have started opening their eyes... 

They have now figured out that when there is light coming in from the front of the crate, it must be feeding time... So they will gang-rush the gate door, all demanding to be fed at the same time (and I only have two hands!).

Halfway there and an hour later, three are clean and have very full bellies!  Time to snooze and nap... Ah, to have the life of a puppy, huh?

One of the puppies is a 'bottle holder'... He is not going to let that bottle disappear or go away from him... So he tends to hold on tightly (or as tightly as you will let him!)... 

And those little claws?... You'd be amazed at how strong they are for as young and tiny as this litter is!

"This is MY bottle and I'll give it up only when I want to - not before!"

The runt of the litter is really teeny tiny... This is the one I stay worried about... I usually feed her at the beginning and then again at the end again... Her belly cannot hold that much milk at one nursing, but by the time you go through the entire process, she is ready for a small 'second helping'.... 

She weighs 3.4 ounces right now and is about half the size of her bigger siblings... But even for her small size, she is a determined little creature... She's fighting for her portion of the feeding time... 

Makes you marvel at the amount of natural instincts each puppy is born with... And the amount of maternal instincts each momma dog has... They do this with no books or the Internet to reference to... Just know what needs to be done and how to do it, even if it is their first litter...

Ah, this is the life, huh?... Full belly and clean coat... Warm, clean bedding and blankee to crawl into... 

Two and a half hours later, all six are fed and cleaned, ready to take their naps and relax for another 90 minutes before the process starts all over - but just nursing so that's only about 30 minutes with six puppies... 

Thankfully, this week they are nursing every 4 hours instead of 3, so we are getting more sleep now... Even so, there is two of us TLC volunteers bottle feeding this litter... And a momma dog does it all by herself... 

Aren't mommas just the most amazing creatures, regardless of the species?

Paws-itively Yours,
Linda
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P.S. Their names are:
Brown females - Siggy and Helga
White females - Lagetha and Princxess Aslang
White males - Bjorn and Ragnar

Stay tuned as they grow and eventually come up for adoption about mid May!