We are excited to let you know that our Mayhem x Marlin litter arrived on Monday evening, November 25th. Normally, I post updates to facebook directly, but they are being really crazy about tagging every single dog photo as an illegal advertisement lately…. so for this litter, I’m going to try doing updates here on our website blog. You all can let me know if you find this better or worse, but I hope it will let me add a few more details too so it could be extra interesting!
The day started out with some clues. Miss Mayhem opted to hang out in the crate rather than beg for breakfast while I was eating. That was my first sign that we were getting ready for puppies. (Mayhem didn’t skip her own breakfast or supper though… that can happen in some dogs, but isn’t super common in Labs!)
During morning walk, I could tell Mayhem was definitely more subdued and when we got back, I checked her temperature- it had dropped to 98F which generally means labor will begin in the next 24 hours. More signs!
By early evening, we were getting more obvious clues. Mayhem started to do a little nesting- which often happens as contractions are starting. She also started getting super clingy! By this time, we had moved to the puppy room in preparation. Sometimes, the first signs of labor are long and drawn out, and sometimes, they are very brief.
The first puppy arrived just after 9pm. The last one was born just before midnight. A quick arrival for this litter of 7- 3 black male, 1 chocolate male, 1 chocolate female, and 2 black females. All puppies and momma are doing great!
As of today- November 27th (which by the way is the first birthday of Mayhem’s first litter!), the puppies are growing well. Mayhem is being a doting mother, she has a ton of milk, and our little ones have gained weight- around 2 oz each so far.
“Hey Erin, you are Canadian, why do you measure the puppy’s weight in ounces and not grams?” It’s annoying, isn’t it. But when I first started breeding, my breeding mentors and resources were all American and so I learned that puppies were weight in oz. Now, I don’t want to switch because my brain automatically knows that an 11 oz puppy is a normal birthweight and that gaining 1-2 oz a day is ideal. My brain does not want to have to relearn the new figures in grams. I do like to be able to easily compare to all my previoius litters, too. So, weights are in pounds and ounces and that’s just how it is!
So what happens next?
Well, we consider the first 3 days as the “Critical Period” for baby puppies. During this time, they are especially vulnerable. Getting chilled or being squished (by mom!) are the two biggest concerns and we mitigate those risks by close supervision, temperature control in the puppy room, and keeping things as calm as possible. There is also always the risk that a puppy has been born with some sort of hidden defect and, if that is the case, it is generally revealed in these first few days. So far, I don’t see anything concerning at all but we will continue to be really cautious until we are through this critical period.
Day 3 is a big landmark for puppies. At that point, they have made it through the critical period. It marks the point where the litter earns their ‘theme’ and each puppy will get a temporary name- their future families may decide to change the name of course, but while they are here, it’s nicer in my opinion to refer to puppies by a name rather than ‘puppy number 2’ or ‘pink collar puppy’.
On Day 3, we also start Early Neurological Stimulation and Early Scent Introduction. These are simple, structured ways to introduce the puppies to mild stress and various odors. I’ll post more about them next time.
Oh! One more cool thing you may be interested in.
The matting in the whelping box is chosen for 3 reasons. First, it is nice and absorbant, so any little pees that momma Mayhem doesn’t catch (yes, momma’s clean up all the potty business for the first couple of weeks- never get a smooch from a momma dog!). Next, it is cozy and warm. Lots of fabrics meet these two criteria. But, the main reason we like THIS particular type of matting (it’s called “Vet Bed” if you are wondering), is because of the TRACTION.
Slippery surfaces are not great for dogs of any age, but baby puppies (and seniors- but that’s a topic for another post!) are especially vulnerable to slippery conditions. For our very rapidly growing newborn puppies, who are starting from scratch with their mobility strength and skills, we want to provide really great traction for them so that they can push themselves around, lift themselves up off of their feet, and get mobile- build strength! We want muscles, tendons and ligaments to get a chance to grow strong- without injury. We know that when a dog slips and hyper-extension occurs, they risk stretching or tearing their soft tissues. When a GROWING dog has a minor injury – say to one of the tendons that helps hold the hip in the socket- this can be a real problem. If the ball of the femur isn’t in just the right location while the hip socket grows, because a tendon got stretched, it can create laxity, damage to the ball or socket, and result in lifelong issues like hip dysplasia. So… we REALLY want to avoid slipping in the puppies and highly value good traction in the whelping box. Newspaper isn’t good enough traction. Those baby pools that some breeder suse because they are great for containing puppies and easy to clean? WAY too slippery to be suitable for growing puppies. They really need good traction!
Here’s a cool video that I took last night- watch the puppy with the pink collar on the right, and especially how she plants her rear feet, is able to stand up (she is less than 24 hours old at this point) and even pushes herself up over mom’s foot and up the puppy mountain. Think about how she’s building muscle and rehearsing good form because she’s able to get such great traction.
New puppy owners- when you get your puppy home, you also want to consider good traction. No wild games of fetch out on the ice, no jumping off the couch onto the hardwood floors, etc. It’s a good idea to expose your puppy to slipper surfaces so they can learn to be comfortable on them, but they should not be spending most of their time on slick floors or doing any sort of wild activities on them either.
The reservations for this litter are full. Please visit www.eromit.com/puppies to learn more about our breeding program and watch for upcoming litter plans.
Eromit Labrador Retrievers 
What a lovely little family! Thank you for the thorough first update for Mayhem’s litter and thank you for addressing the traction matter. I have cringed in the past seeing brand new puppies struggling and sliding around on newspaper.