Carolina and her Puppies video and update, days 4-6

Contributed by Carolina's and her puppies' Foster Mom

Carolina and her puppies all continue to do well today. All the little puppies continue to gain weight, with Beaufort being the smallest at 8.7 oz . They are arching their back more when you pick them up. They are also quick to think. If you touch them they think you must be there to feed them and start looking for the right spot. LOL!

Here is a video of them if you'd like to see them in action (mostly sleeping):

If you can't see the embedded video, please click here

Salisbury and Baby pup Patterson are still improving!

Contributed by Salisbury and her puppies' foster mom


Mama Salisbury's temp is down to 101.7 now and baby Patterson weighed in at 5 oz this morning.He is making slow, but steady progress. Everyone is going to the vet this afternoon. Puppies to have their dew claws removed and Salisbury to get checked over by the vet once more.

The other puppies are doing great....gaining like little piggies. And boy do they complain if they can't find their spot on the buffet quickly enough!

Puppy Mouths, Ears, Eyes and Thermostat

Contributed by CP's founder Danielle Rackstraw

Hi everyone:

Lori and Kathy are doing an amazing job being foster Moms and the babies are simply precious. I'm passing on a little information here for some of the newer people who may not have been with us for other litters or may not know.

Puppies are born with their eyes sealed closed. They typically open on the cairn at about 10 days. Larger breeds obviously have everything happen much faster . . . so I'm speaking of the cairn here. The same with the ears and hearing . . . although we DO UNDERSTAND that the cairn can only hear when they want to and the words they want to hear. The pups are totally blind right now and their eyes will open in generally one day and they will have a blueish hue at first and then over a few days they change to a dark color.

With the hearing, you talk to pups now by putting them under your chin by your throat since they love the vibration and they can hear a tink. The ears open with full hearing at the same time the eyes open. Dogs are born with absolutely NO WAY to control their body heat which is with the shiver response. The shiver response which causes dogs to have the ability to regulate their body temperature again takes place about the time the eyes and the ears open. Larger breed dogs have all of the above happening very quickly but the foster Moms have to pay really close attention to the temperature of the room which is why is hang room thermometers in the baby room, have room heaters and heating pads and when the babies have to go to the vets like to be dew clawed they need to be put in what is called a READY BOX which is basically a box with little air holes, no drafts and hot water bottles. Right now, the babies being able to digest their food and stay alive is totally dependant on their Mommas body heat, our heating pads, room temperature and of course their general over all health. If they get chilled they quickly *shut down* which is the ability to digest food or have energy to suckle.

You can see why it's so important to keep the Moms hydrated and it's constantly trying to get them to eat and drink nutritious liquids and water and really healthy food . . . as much as they want and as many times a day as what they want . . . they have a lot of little mouths that eat constantly. When they start to gain regular weight they will typically gain between 1/2 and 1 ounce a day depending upon their size and weight.

The growth of the upper jaw and the lower jaw is totally separate and you will be a lot of mouth movement for the first months of life where they can really go from what would be a beautiful bite in appearance to being under shot or over shot in just days and it goes back and forth.

Salisbury and Baby pup Patterson Update, he's gained back some weight!

Contributed by CP's Salisbury and her puppies' foster Mom

Salisbury and her pups

Baby Patterson gets a 'lift'!

Baby Patterson has gained an 1/8 ounce!

Here are pics of Patterson nursing while we watch and help him, plus mama Salisbury and his siblings. The last pics of the pups alone are while Mama Salisbury went to the vet with foster dad. Her temp spiked to 104.7 and off to the vet to have her checked over. X-ray looked okay and exam showed her uterus going down. She is now on a second antibiotic to take with the first. If this doesn't help, then she will probably need surgery. For now she is home and feeding her babies. Even though she has to feel miserable, she is a dedicated mom.

last update: Salisbury's temp is down to 102.2 this morning. She feels so much cooler to the touch and I am sure she feels a lot more comfortable since she has to be in the hot puppy room. Patterson's weight is back up to 4 5/8!

CP's Salisbury's puppies have names! Baby Patterson needs your prayers

Contributed by Salisbury's foster mom


Staying with the North Carolina theme, I have named the puppies after famous people born in North Carolina. There were other that I would have loved to include, but their names had been used already:)

Girls

Harriet.... (Harriet Ann Jacobs-activist and journalist 1813-1897) birth wgt 5 3/8, now 6 1/4
Julianne.... (Julianne Moore-actress 1960-) birth wgt 5 5/8 now 6 3/8
Mabley ....(Moms Mabley-comedian 1893-1975) birth wgt 4 1/4 now 5 1/4
Simone.... (Nina Simone-civil rights activist, pianist, singer, journalist 1933-2003)
birth wgt ? now 5 1/2
Boys

Dodd.... (William Edward Dodd-historian, diplomat 1869-1940) birth wgt 7 1/8 now 7 7/8
Cosell.... (Howard Cosell-talk show host, new anchor 1918-1995) birth wgt 5 1/8 now 6 1/8
McKissick.... (Floyd McKissick-civil rgts activist, legal prof 1922-1991) birth wgt 5 5/8 now 6 1/8
Patterson.... (Floyd Patterson-boxer 1935-2006) birth wgt 4 1/4 now 4
Hiram.... (Hiram R. Revels- US representative, minister 1822-1901) at the Rainbow Bridge

The names are matched with weights and updates. I know I have been slow with this, but it has been pretty busy around here, since we were not expecting puppies so soon.

Salisbury even beat Contralto, who was here just 24 hours before whelping. Salisbury's got the record at 16 1/2 hours. I don't think I care to have anyone beat this:)

Salisbury Puppy Colors and Weights and update

Simone was born at the vet and I do not have her birth weight. 4 Girls are listed first and then the 4 boys. As you can see little Patterson is not doing well. He is the weakest of the puppies and we have been staying in and holding up to nurse, but it doesn't seem to be helping, do I will be tubing him, hoping this will give him the jump start he needs. Mama Salisbury is eating and drinking well. She is running a fever due to the problems she had. She is on an antibiotic and my vet is aware. We are keeping a close eye on both her and Patterson right now. The other puppies all seemed to be active and doing well. They can be quite noisy too. Especially little Mabley. She complains the whole time she nurses.

Names and Colors below names

Harriet Julianne Mabley Simone Dodd Cosell Mckissick Patterson

brindle wheaten wheaten wheaten lt. brindle wheaten wheaten dk. brindle

Please keep Mama Salisbury and baby Patterson in your prayers.

(Angel Baby Hiram at the RB)

CP's Carolina with her puppies - We have a picture!

Photo contributed by Carolina's foster mom



You can see how happy she is to be a mom and have her puppies in comfort and freedom! Thanks again to CP and to her wonderful foster parents Kathy and Barney.

CP's Carolina has had her six puppies in freedom!

Contributed by Carolina's foster mom

Carolina with her toy

Carolina pre-delivery

We have wonderful news! Carolina, one of CP's newest intakes and part of CP's Tar Heels has had her 6 puppies today! There are no names yet but here are the 'stats':

Baby 1 dark brindle female 7.o ounces

Baby 2 dark brindle male 6.9 ounces

Baby 3 dark brindle female 7.5 ounces

Baby 4 black brindle male 7.2 ounces

Baby 5 dark brindle female 6.9 ounces

Baby 6 dark brindle female 7.6 ounces

Foster Mom says 'I'm watching to make sure there weren't any more hiding from the x-ray machine as her x-ray showed six, but the vet said with this many and the crowded conditions, it could be possible for one or two more to have been hidden. I'm hoping for her sake that wasn't the case. This is a lot of mouths to feed! And a lot of bums to keep clean! Carolina's worked hard all night - these were some pretty good> sized puppies. She's feeding them right now and cleaning them up again.'

We hope to have pictures to show you in the next day or two. Congratulations Carolina!