Here’s a picture of mother and daughter, taken early this morning:
Puppy is a day and a half old in this picture, huddled in between London’s legs. She’s deaf and blind at the moment… her eyes won’t open until day 10 or so. Also, she cannot walk or crawl, just wiggle a little bit by shifting her weight around. But luckily she has her mommy London and step-mommy Judy to take care of her, so she’s not worried whatsoever.
Most important in these first two weeks is that puppy keeps warm (snuggling is a prerequisite!), that she gets plenty of nutrition (London’s milk will help her get the antibodies she needs) and that she keeps twitching. The twitching part may sound kind of strange, so let me explain… At this stage, puppy’s legs are still very weak. The twitching movements that happen during puppy’s activated sleep will help strengthen her muscles so she can crawl by the end of week three and walk, even run, around week four! It’s a true miracle!
Right now, though, puppy sleeps 90% of the time (which makes total sense, because if you can’t watch tv, listen to some music, read a book or even get up for a walk, what’s the point, really?!). And since she’s the only puppy, I imagine things are pretty laid-back. No competing for mom’s attention… No brothers or sisters to push you out of the way when trying to find a nipple… (which I imagine can be quite the task when you’re deaf, blind and nearly immobile!) Our little pup has it made!
Congratulations on the new arrival! Wow she is so small, but very cute!
Thanks! Yes, she’s so tiny still… but before you know it, she’ll be as big as her mom!