Day 23 A.M. & P.M.

I am happy to report that Daisy seems almost back to normal — whew. Very little swelling and no fever, and Daisy seems to feel fine.

I mentioned last night that the Wildflowers’ teeth are erupting and yes, they are sharp! However, they do not yet have jaw strength to bite down too hard and so their mouthing doesn’t yet hurt — but it will soon. When that happens, toys and Puppy Palace items will have to change a bit and/or be closely watched because the puppies will be chewing on everything in sight.

These block toys, for example, are great now but may be too soft for stronger puppy teeth. Sage figured out how to crawl through the little tunnel — he is an Adventurer Puppy.

I try to get photos of new skills — like this puppy picking up one of the flower toys that Marti sent (they are SO cute — thank you, Marti).

Clover dishing out some sass.

Soon the puppy teeth will be capable of hurting each other and Daisy (and humans). People imagine mother dogs put miscreant puppies in their place — nothing could be farther from the truth. When a puppy gets too rough or annoying, the mother simply leaves. She has nothing to prove to a puppy, after all.

As I am writing this, it occurred to me that we absolutely do not want mother dogs modeling aggression or dominance to puppies. Rather, we want and need puppies to learn that when annoyed, they should walk away — not lash out.

Future puppy homes take note. Walk away from a biting, over-excited puppy and especially from anyone who tells you to show dominance to said puppy.

That whole show-them-who-is-boss is NOT a thing. People who need to prove something to a puppy need a therapist — not a dog.

I have strong feelings about this topic — can you tell?

Good leaders do not need force or fear to create a team.

Teeth do not impact nursing because it is impossible to bite and suck at the same time — try it! If a puppy bites, the mother will leave and so babies of all species quickly learn their good nursing manners.

We have some familiar toys this morning and new things.

One of the new things is this great platform because puppies like to climb. Sage is demonstrating what puppies do when they encounter something new — they chew/bite. Normal behavior for a puppy. We all need to remember this when they are chewing on us!

Clover is also an Adventurer Puppy and so she went over to check things out.

Karma decided the puppies needed some help figuring out the purpose of the platform.

The puppies are rarely all awake at once — only when they are collectively telling us they are on the verge of imminent starvation and need to nurse this minute or they will perish (because they have not eaten in 33 minutes!).

Some are usually playing and some are sleeping.

Daisy is free to come and go from Puppy Central but we do not want puppies wandering. The gate can close and lock them all in but Daisy needs to be able to get a drink or a break as needed and so I added this fancy puppy barrier.

Daisy can easily get over it but the puppies cannot. They will, however, soon be able to chew it and it is one of the things that will need to change when jaw strength increases.

Daisy is running off with that Mother of the Year award. Maternal care and attention is critical to building well-adjusted puppies — she apparently read all those research articles and is determined to do her part in raising Rock Stars.

Even when everyone is done and sleeping, Daisy likes to hang with her sweet babies.

#winner

EVENING: Photos from the Day

Daisy continues to be just fine — thank goodness.

Daisy and Buttercup

The other thing I wanted to share is that all nine puppies had their nails done today with the Dremel.

Mallow

I use a regular Dremel — not a pet one — because more power means it is faster. Mine is electric and has variable speeds — very important. I set it on the lowest speed and waited until the puppies were sleepy — and then I did about 150 little tiny nails.

Sage

I have previously used toenail clippers and so they are used to having their nails done — the Dremel was just a step up and no puppy had an issue with it.

Lupine

I will continue to dremel nails 2 - 3 times a week — it is my preferred way of doing dog nails for sure.

The platform was a hit!

Paintbrush

At first they simply walked off the edge and tumbled (hence the soft towels under the platform) but by the end of the day they were controlling themselves as they walked off — very cool to see.

There are no toys or other things in Puppy Central at night — both for safety reasons and also to help them understand about day and night. We play and have fun during the day — we sleep at night (in theory).

Mariposa

I had a great conversation with Dr. Laurie Lawson from the University of Wisconsin’s Companion Animal Vaccine and Immuno Diagnostic Service Laboratory earlier today — the topic was vaccinations, of course. I am a Big Fan of Laurie and her work — more on all this soon.

I also did yet another Zoom webinar today — when your specialty is Loss and Grief, a pandemic makes you especially relevant. I can no longer do Zoom sessions in the same room as the puppies — they tend to wake up and start choir practice at inopportune times.

The other dogs are not forgotten! Once Dear Husband was up to be with the Wildflowers, it was Claire’s turn for a long walk.

But mostly I spend my days watching the magic that is the Wildflowers — I know how very lucky I am to be able to do this. Thanks for joining us on their journey.

Good night, Friends.

Day 21 A.M. & P.M.

Three weeks old. Amazing.

This is Mariposa with a toy that has been through multiple litters, including Suzanne’s. It makes noise when it is bumped, and that kind of novel sensory experience is what puppies need at this age.

But it is supported novel experience — it happens in the context of a safe, secure, and familiar place. The goal is confidence, and to develop that puppies (and humans) need new experiences but ones that can be mastered without fear and anxiety. Baby steps — or rather, Puppy Steps.

The Wildflowers are certainly gaining mastery of their bodies. Walking is confident and steady, and they can roll around at will — this is Clarkia.

After rolling, she chewed on her foot a bit — how cute is that?!

Clarkia is a good example of why puppy placement is a puzzle and hard to decide in advance. Puppy personalities are emerging, and I can tell you Clarkia deserves to be in a smart working home with someone who will appreciate her potential — this puppy will go far with the right person.

Daisy continues to keep her puppies clean, well fed, and happy. This kind of maternal attention is absolutely critical to development, and so we support and encourage it and that includes by supporting and encouraging extended and frequent nursing of puppies.

Some people start puppies on “solid food” at this age.

I remember a long-time breeder who once told me she weaned puppies at three weeks because she, “could feed them better.”

So so inaccurate.

Human parents used to be told to introduce solid foods early (six weeks!) — now the World Health Organization says human infants should be exclusively breast fed until six months old.

The next two photos are a sequence of Paintbrush and Larkspur.

We are growing in our understanding that gut microbiota is a key component in immune functioning; we need to care about this as we build and maintain healthy immune systems.

In a review of existing research on the topic of infant intestinal microbiome, Meropol & Edwards (2015) report that, “type of feeding, breast milk versus formula, has a large influence on microbiome composition (p. 230).

Breast milk has evolved to provide exactly what babies need — including what is needed by the baby’s microbiome.

Introduction to solid food changes the gut microbiome in humans and animals, and it is not without consequence; the practice of early weaning in piglets causes significant GI issues and prompts widespread antibiotic use in that industry (Gresse et al., 2017).

Early introduction to solid foods is linked to a variety of unfortunate long-term outcomes in humans, and so one has to wonder about the rush to replace optimal nutrition with sub-optimal.

One article I read about human breastfeeding discusses a social coercion of weaning theory (Stearns, 2011). Interesting! I think there is social pressure in weaning puppies as well — and likely just a lack of updated knowledge.

Clover and Clarkia

The Wildflowers — and their developing gut microbiome — will continue to benefit from being exclusively breastfed.

With all the evidence pointing to the importance of this, why would I do anything else?

This morning we added some new blooms to the Wildflowers’ lives — thank you to Marti for this fun-tastic gift.

Larkspur

The flowers crinkle and so offer wonderful and age-appropriate sensory experiences — and they are stinking cute!

Puppies love playing with each other — this is Sage and Mariposa.

Please have a healthy day — and take good care of your own gut microbiome!

EVENING: PHOTOS FROM THE DAY

I forgot to mention something this morning — first social tail wag! Larkspur greeted me this morning by wagging his tail — MY HEART! They are also running now — it is crazy how fast they change.

Mariposa and Buttercup

Paintbrush

Lupine

I think the photo below is hilarious — Clarkia is tipped over in a milk coma and Paintbrush just walked over the top of the nursing puppies…

Who need hair gel when your mom is free with her spit?!

The puppies are biting Daisy now - this is Mallow.

The play structure was out for about two hours today — this is Mallow again.

It is getting crowded!

Larkspur and Clarkia…

Mallow

Karma stopped in for a visit. She licked Larkspur for a bit…

…and all was great until Paintbrush grabbed her tail and got swatted. OOPS.

Larkspur assaulting one of the Bobs.

Three weeks is a wrap! Good night, Friends.

Work Cited

Meropol, Sharon B ; Edwards, A. (2015). Development of the infant intestinal microbiome: A bird's eye view of a complex process Birth Defects Research. Part C, Embryo Today, Reviews, Dec 2015, Vol.105(4), pp.228-239.

Gresse, R ; Chaucheyras-Durand, F ; Fleury, MA ; Van de Wiele, T ; Forano, E ; Blanquet-Diot, S. (2017). Gut Microbiota Dysbiosis in Postweaning Piglets: Understanding the Keys to Health. Trends In Microbiology, Oct, Vol.25(10), pp.851-873.

Day 20 A.M. & P.M.

Markings.

Very few Berners have “perfect” markings.

Although Lupine appears to be correctly marked with her white blaze and muzzle, four white feet and white tail tip, she actually has a marking flaw — it is just not as noticeable as Paintbrush, who does not have much white on the left side of his muzzle.

Note below how Lupine’s white extends past the corner of her mouth on her right side.

You can really see it in the photo below — it is called a Swiss Smile.

The small bit of white on the back of her neck is called a Swiss Kiss — that will all but go away as she grows. Both Mariposa and Lupine have those Swiss Kisses.

White on a puppy — or lack of white — creates a certain illusion. For example, more white on one paw than the other can actually make the white paw look bigger. White faces seem to make the heads seem bigger — although, to be fair, Lupine has a big head!

Things went great overnight in the new Wildflower Place. Dear Husband again stayed up all night — I do not know how people raise litters without a night shift person as it makes ALL the difference. I wake up mostly rested, and both Daisy and the puppies get fed well overnight.

But we will now start to transition back to a more normal sleep routine, which involves Dear Husband staying up to his usual 1 — 2 a.m. (he is naturally a Night Owl ) and me getting up between 4 — 5 a.m., which is normal for me.

This means there is just a short gap where Daisy and the puppies do not have an awake person with them — just close by. Since they will be three weeks old tomorrow (how did THAT happen?!) and they are safely in the escape-proof Wildflower Place (aka Dining Room), I think we are all ready.

This is Mallow — so cute.

Back to markings — this is Mariposa and Lupine. If you look at the next two photos, you can see that both puppies have rust to the corner of their mouths; Lupine’s Swiss Smile is only on the right side of her face.

Larkspur is a nicely marked puppy but again — not perfect. Look at the difference between his muzzle white and the two girls above.

Sometimes I take photos and forget to also take one with the collar so I know who it is — like this one.

Puppy Posse.

Definitely Larkspur.

The Milk Bar is one big party all the time.

Sage has lovely face and head markings but will have dark feet and a four-hair tail tip.

Bottom line — those who want perfect markings on a Berner should look HERE.

For the rest of us — who embrace dogs and people with imperfections — we have the practically perfect Wildflowers.

Video HERE.

EVENING: PHOTOS FROM THE DAY

So much toothless chomping going on around here.

Clover

We created a nursing alcove so that Daisy can still do shift nursing outside of the puppies’ bedroom/playroom. This is all nine!

The paws — love!

Sage

If you watched the video you will know that we set up the play structure that Lori sent us for our last litter. They are a perfect age for this.

All of the puppies interacted with the structure with no concerns or issues — it was awesome. It won’t stay in their space all the time — novelty is important and so it will come and go, and the things that hang will change as well.

Mariposa

Good Night, Friends!