As Lucky as the Citibank Group!

This is a really amazing video clip of a penguin making a lucky escape! Definitely worth checking out!

Puppy Post – Day 10

Today the puppies are 13 days old, as near as I can tell, anyway. I know that we have had them since the Sunday before last, which puts us at Day 10, and I believe they were around 3 days old when we got them. They still haven’t opened their eyes, so I’m hoping all is well with them. Yesterday, the vet rechecked them and didn’t see any problems, so that’s a good thing.

Jake, The Pup

[caption id="attachment_124" align="alignnone" width="285" caption="Jasper, the Pup"][/caption]

They are still down with pneumonia, but it certainly hasn’t effected their appetite. They are wolfing down the formula at the rate of a bottle every 2 hours. We began putting some rice cereal (the kind you give human babies) into the mix, and this seems to fill them a little more. They are gaining weight at the rate of one ounce per puppy, per day!

Right now, they have started developing features that make them look more like dogs. Their ears are floppier, they have longer noses, and their tummies are bigger. They’ve grown about 3-4 inches since we took them in as fosters.

They still can’t do much, although they are getting much more adept at walking and climbing. We just got a new carrier in for review and these will be the new ones we try it out on! We’ll let you know how it works out. So far, we love it! More on the carrier this week.

Finally, the pups HATE the antibiotics. I swear, it’s just like getting a little kid to take their medicine only little humans will listen to you after awhile. These two are still blind and deaf and wouldn’t listen to me anyway. But, they’re cuteness factor more than makes up for it.

And now, I may try to get a nap in… Right after I feed these guys (again)…

Puppy Pneumonia.. :(

Yep, puppies get pneumonia. Well, I kind of knew that, but still…. Now our little fosters have “Aspiration Pneumonia”. This is a result of me being incompetent as a caretaker, but hey – I’m new at the “Puppy Raising” thing…

I have, however, realized the error of my ways and after taking them into the vet’s for antibiotics (Amoxicillian, which the tan one HATES), and obtaining an actual baby bottle, they are already doing much better. The white thing that looks like a maxipad is actually a “heater”, the kind you put on your neck or back. This is another neat trick we have found. In addition to putting them into a room without drafts, we have an electric blanket under their box (on low setting 24/7) and to be sure they are extra cozy, we stick the neck warmers around the box.

Foster Pups Nov 22, 2008

Tricks We’ve Learned
Here’s a little trick for all you fosters out there. Don’t spend money on the bottles you get at pet stores, as they are largely inefficient. We are using a Playtex Ventaire, which is perfect for the pups. The bottle vents excess air itself, is curved and has a larger nipple for easy puppy suckling.

Wow… Never thought I would be talking about nursing anything… I’m just VERY happy that it deals with puppies and not humans.

In regards to the pneumonia, these are the symptoms you want to watch for and trust me when I say that you need to get them into the vet the hour you start noticing them. Luckily, we caught in time and they are doing beautifully… Yay!

Symptoms can vary, but generally you’ll see a pup “blow milk” through it’s nose while feeding. This is your first clue. The next one is a heavy “wheezing”, that sounds like he’s breathing fluid. It’s very similar to what bronchitis sounds like in ourselves. Next, the pup may stop eating, may whine or cry a lot and be unable to sleep due to the breathing. (We never got to that point, but if you do, you need to reevaluate your priorities and get this pup to a vet.)

Bottom line is that they are sounding MUCH better, we’re due for a followup on Monday, and we have every hope that these two will recover quickly and live long, very happy lives!

Twilight….

Tonight (midnight) is the first AZ viewing of the movie, Twilight. While I’m not much of a midnight “crowd” person, and I have two puppies to keep fed every 2 hrs, I won’t be hitting the premiere. I’m excited about it anyway.

I know it has no possible hope of living up to the book, no movie really can. But, I’m still anxious to see it. This was, after all, the book that got me over my insane fear of vampires. Never thought that a vegetarian vampire would be possible. So, my gratitude goes to Meyers for a work well done.

The book also inspired one I’m writing. Okay, mine is definitely not a “teen” book, but 70k words into it, I am seeing that it might still hold some interest to that crowd. I guess time will tell… It may not even get a second look from anyone and never see the light of day. But, that is the risk we take as writers and Alex, my character, has made it clear she has a story to tell regardless. Even if I’m the only one who ever reads it.

In honor of the opening, here’s a clip from one of the soundtrack songs in Twilight. And Stephanie – best of luck with new writing endeavors. It’s my hope you change your mind and bring back the Cullens…

Beyond The Video: Decode

Puppy Fostering 101

Let’s start the week out with some information that we recently garnered on Puppy Fostering! We currently have two pups we’re fostering and they are, as of today, only days old. The momma was in AZ Rabies Animal Control and was just so sad… I wonder if animals go through postpartum depression? If so, she was in the throws of it.

And who could blame her. I’m not sure of her story, but she started with a litter of five pups, two died the first day and one more passed away on Day 4, when we picked up the newest members (albeit temporary) of the PetsWeekly Pack. The momma was not caring for the pups, likely due to her own hard life. She had given up – you could just see it in her eyes… So we relieved her of her puppy burden and pray that she will soon feel much better.

The Pups: In the meantime, Pup 1 and Pup 2 (both males) are doing amazingly well. They are feeding well, sleeping a lot, and whining when they are supposed too. We, however, have had a quick lesson in Puppy Fostering 101!

We hope that this week’s posts will provide you with some insight into caring for a new foster and we dearly hope that it inspires you to contact your local shelters and learn how you can provide a temporary home for puppies or kittens who have been abandoned or orphaned.

Down and Dirty:
The first thing about puppies is that they sleep, eat and poop. In that order. That’s all they do. They are like human infants, but their eyes and ears are sealed. At the age of 5 days, they operate solely on touch and smell.

Feeding:
These two are eating about 0.50 – 1 oz of fluid (we use Esbilac for Puppies) each, every 2 hrs or so. This works well for me, because it’s hard to get me away from the computer that often. If I hear a puppy crying, it forces me to get up and attend to them. Good for me, good for the pups. We’ll discuss more about feeding tomorrow.

Heating:
Heat is very important to these little ones. Right now, we have them in an enclosed room with no drafts, away from the other pack members (despite our pack’s affinity for new arrivals, we opted isolation for safety reasons). We use an electric blanket on low placed on the floor, the small crate they are kept in are kept on that, and if they still get chilly, we add a magnetic heat pack under the box towels they sleep on. This way, they can decide where they want to be. They can crawl pretty well…

Pooping and Peeing:
Since they can’t even do this on their own, we have to use a warm, wet cotton ball of paper towel to “copy” the mother’s licking/cleaning response. This is the bad part of the event. Puppy poop is sort of disgusting… I would get into other poops, but you know… We do this twice, before and after feeding, in order to cover our bases.

<strongToys:
Although these guys are too little to play, we learned a lesson from the numerous squeaky toys that we bring in for our other pets. They’ve learned that if it squeaks, it’s a toy. Not a great lesson for your pets if you’re trying to foster… We’re working on establishing the difference between live pups and chew toys with Cheiss right now.

More to come… And please consider taking some fosters of your own in. Tomorrow we’ll discuss feeding methods and get into a little more detail on the heating, pooping and things to look out for in your new puppy foster! Meanwhile, be sure you’re signed up for PetsWeekly’s newsletter. We’ve got tons of great deals, new product reviews and everything an animal lover could love in our next issue!