Our Mayhem x Marlin puppies have all sailed through the critical period and we are excited to introduce them as the Paw Patrol Litter!

First born, at 9:03 pm on the 25th- Zuma! Zuma is a black female and her birth weight was 11.9 oz. She is up to 22.1 oz today. Her collar color is red stripey.

Ryder, a black male, was the next to arrive at 9:13pm. He wears a blue collar. He was 10.8 oz at birth and is up to 18.6 oz now.

After a short break, Marshall was born at 9:45. He wears a neon collar. This black male puppy was the largest at birth, weighing in at 12.6 oz, and he’s up to 22.9 oz now- still the biggest!

Rubble was born 4th at 10:37. He wears a green collar. He was 9.2 oz at birth and is 18.1 oz now. Another black male!

Finally, another girl! Pink-collar, black female Coral arrived right on the heels of Rubble at 10:44. She weighed 9.7 oz at birth and is now 19.1 oz.

Then a chocolate girl! Everest wears a black collar. She was born at 11:30pm and weighed 10.5 oz. She is a plump 22.2 oz now.

Tracker was the grand finale for this litter, born at 11:51 pm. Our only chocolate male, he was also the smallest at birth (by a smidge)- 9.1 oz. He has already grown to 17.2 oz.

Fun Facts about baby puppies:

1. There is a smallest puppy (and a biggest puppy) in every litter, but not every litter has a runt. A “runt” is a puppy who fails to thrive for some reason or another. They might be perfectly fine but just started out with a low birthweight due to a large litter, and they find it hard to compete with bigger puppies. Or, they may have gotten chilled or had a low-grade infection very early in life and are having to catch up from that. Maybe there is something a little off internally. Some runt puppies grow up to be perfectly normal healthy dogs, and others do not make it, even with dedicated help from the breeder. But, the important thing to know is that a range of birthweights is normal and that when there is a range, someone is going to be the smallest even if they are perfectly normal, healthy and in the expected birthweight range and growth pattern. Most litters do not have a true runt puppy but all litter have a smallest puppy. That is the case with our Paw Patrol litter- no runts, all normal healthy puppies growing at the expected rate of 1-2 oz per day.

2. The size at birth does not predict the puppy’s size at adulthood. For example, the puppy who is the biggest at birth, will not necessarily be the biggest when the litter is full grown. Often the biggest puppy at birth is the first born. That is not because the puppies are sorted and birthed by size, but it’s because the puppy who is closest to the exit has the most space to grow while they are developing (no neighbour on one side!) Final adult size is determined by genetics, however. Birth weight is determined in large part by their placement in the womb. Did you know that puppies actually grow in the uterine horns? So there are two rows of puppies- in this litter, it is likely that two puppies from one horn were born, and then the 3rd puppy born was from the other horn. This explains why puppy 1 and 3 were the biggest!

3. Toenails are very soft when puppies are first born, not scratchy. But after a few days in the outside world, they harden up. The Paw Patrol puppies will get their first nail trim later today, and then their nails will get trimmed about twice a week until they go to their new homes. This helps get them used to the process of nail trimming, which is required throughout life. It also protects mom’s delicate belly from their fast-growing talons!

Puppies require a lot of feeding and grooming to keep them clean and happy!