Chapter 3 - Amazing Mother

So my puppies had all made it through the night and were feeding well and Phoebe had miraculously turned into a wonderful, caring mum. I sat at the end of the whelping box, watching her clean & feed her brood.  But I was aware how critical this neonatal period which lasts for 14 days

Crucial 48 hours

I knew the first 48 hour were important to make sure all the puppies got to enough Colostrum to ensure Phoebe's antibodies & immunity were passed to the puppies. There is a very short window when the puppies can absorb the Colostrum, when their intestines are open to allow it to pass through and this wall closes within 18 hours, and the mum only produces this for 12-18 hours.  After that period the puppies can absorb the Colostrum but they won't benefit from it.

Phoebe was reluctant to leave her new brood, cleaning them, helping them go to the toilet, keeping them warm as they were not able to regulate their body temperature; making sure none of them were in distress.  I checked the rails to make sure none could get squashed and was constantly washing towels for the pen. 

As I slept on my camp bed in the whelping palace, I could hear the puppies wriggling around and using the heat sensors in their nostrils to find Phoebe and the food, they were literally heat seeking milk missiles! I watched the puppies as they twitched in their sleep, called Activated Sleep, knowing these small electrical impulses helped build muscle and were a key indication that the puppies were doing well.  Puppies pushed themselves off the other puppies to find a teat.  This helps to build coordination and muscle and teaches the puppies to deal with frustration. I tried not to intervene as these stresses and struggles in small doses were good for the puppies as it helped them grow up to be strong, healthy well-adjusted adults.  The only challenge I had was keeping their Velcro collars on as they wriggled around and had to put nail varnish on their toenails to ensure I could identify each puppy!

By day 4 Phoebe started to look happier as I gently stroked her puppies and was happy for me to hold them.  

Early Neurological Stimulation

By day 5 I felt ready to start the Early Neurological Stimulation (ENS) protocols which were developed by Dr Carmen Battaglia. During this neonatal period the puppy’s neurological system is forming, and research shows that very slightly stressing neonates produces beneficial effects on them for the rest of their lives.  It has been shown that stimulating the neurological system of the puppies in this neonatal period changes the puppy for the rest of its life with a greater tolerance of stress; greater resistance to disease; faster adrenal system and stronger heart rate and stronger heartbeat.  The window for the ENS is between 3-16 days of life and there were 5 stimulating exercises I had to perform: -

• Tactile Stimulation using a cotton bud and tickle the puppies between any one of its toes for 3-5 seconds. This wakes up the neurological system.

• Head up and tail down and count for 5 seconds so the blood drains from the brain and heart has to pump blood to the brain to maintain equilibrium.

• Turn puppy upside down for 5 seconds and the neurological system has to work in an opposite way.

• Supine Position, put the puppy on its back for 5 seconds and they will resist, and the neurological system is being challenged and made to go to work.

• Soak a flannel in cold water and place in fridge for 30 minutes then place the puppy on it for 5 seconds.

As Phoebe was now  happier to go out into the garden for a little longer for her toilet breaks,  so I used this time to carry out the ENS with each puppy, and carefully recording their responses on my spreadsheet. I would weigh them too and here is Stanley snoozing in the scales.  It wasn't long before I needed bigger scales!

I also introduced Early Scent Indication (ESI) on day 10 too, where each puppy was  introduced to a stimulus of a new smell for around 5 seconds. I introduced a range of different scents including rosemary; cloves, grass, tennis ball, rabbit skin, lemon, flowers, coffee.  This protocol was developed by Gayle Watkins, a breeder of Golden Retrievers and co-founder of Avidog, a breeder education forum. The long-term results of ESI were studied in a 7-year breeding test.  And the success of puppies trained in ESI compared to a control group was remarkable. In their adult life they achieved scenting titles much earlier accumulated more titles overall and their abilities were more complex. ESI has since been used widely by breeder enthusiasts involved in scenting disciplines and the protocol has been endorsed by the American Kennel Club.  The puppies were allowed to move freely as I let them take in the new scent and I recorded their reaction.  

I was very careful to make sure during this neonatal period that there we had few people coming to the house, so that Phoebe didn't feel stressed by visitors.  My friend Julia popped over to see me and Phoebe was delighted to see her, and let her sit and look at her puppies. Eric took over preparing our meals and walking Lucy so that I could concentrate on the black blobs!  The only issue we had was on day 13 when it became clear that Phoebe was suffering from an ear inflection, probably due to spending so much time in that warm whelping box.  The vets tried to get me to bring all the puppies to the surgery but I refused and I was able to whisk her in for some treatment, and gave her a thorough clean when she came home.  And my Puppy Cam was a godsend, as I could watch the puppies sleeping whilst I was at the vets.

I was so delighted so see their weights increasing on my weight charts daily and that they were all thriving.  I started to breath a sign of relief!