I am weighing all the puppies every day, although they are getting pretty wiggly and my scales are a little small for them. Today, at 8 days of age, several of the puppies have doubled their birth weight. The interesting thing is that the smallest puppy, a fawn girl, was among them. She started out at 8 oz. and weighed 17 oz. today. We had given her a little extra time with Mom and the most productive teats for a couple of days to help her catch up and it seems to have worked. The other puppies that doubled their birth weight were two of the brindle boys with the 3rd brindle boy very close.
As far as weight gain, it could be argued that total weight gain is the most important because a puppy that is significantly smaller than the others will have a harder time to compete for prime nursing spots. On the other hand it seems that the total percentage of weight gain is a better indicator of overall health as long as it is combined with a healthy energy level and activity level.
Supplementing smaller puppies seems to me to be appropriate only in extreme circumstances because nursing does a lot more for puppies than give them nutrition. The puppies exercise most of the muscles in their body when nursing, including their core muscles, their front legs (to pump for milk), their rear legs (to push themselves up) and their neck muscles. All this muscle development is perfect for developing sound movement once they can see and hear. The development of the neck muscles especially helps to develop a balanced gait with proper reach and drive, important for both show and performance dogs but even helpful for pets. The competition when nursing helps puppies learn social skills (using primarily tactile and scent skills at first).
Dancer has been very patient with her puppies but is also learning to leave them alone for short periods of time. Yesterday she went for a short walk where she took the time to chase after her frisbee. Lucky girl has regained her girlish figure after only 6 days and from behind one can not even tell that she just had puppies.
As far as weight gain, it could be argued that total weight gain is the most important because a puppy that is significantly smaller than the others will have a harder time to compete for prime nursing spots. On the other hand it seems that the total percentage of weight gain is a better indicator of overall health as long as it is combined with a healthy energy level and activity level.
Supplementing smaller puppies seems to me to be appropriate only in extreme circumstances because nursing does a lot more for puppies than give them nutrition. The puppies exercise most of the muscles in their body when nursing, including their core muscles, their front legs (to pump for milk), their rear legs (to push themselves up) and their neck muscles. All this muscle development is perfect for developing sound movement once they can see and hear. The development of the neck muscles especially helps to develop a balanced gait with proper reach and drive, important for both show and performance dogs but even helpful for pets. The competition when nursing helps puppies learn social skills (using primarily tactile and scent skills at first).
Dancer has been very patient with her puppies but is also learning to leave them alone for short periods of time. Yesterday she went for a short walk where she took the time to chase after her frisbee. Lucky girl has regained her girlish figure after only 6 days and from behind one can not even tell that she just had puppies.