Della is eating for England and had a lovely long time bottle feeding earlier. As much as possible our Mistress is trying to get them to feed from Shadow so that her milk flow continues, but when one is clearly struggling to find a teat or is crying as they cannot get enough our Mistress is scooping them up and trying to supplement them. They are all going the right way, but progress is slow and we are hoping that trying the sponge method tomorrow will be easier. Little by little Shadow’s infection seems to be clearing so we are hoping it will only be a day or two before her milk supply is good enough to feed the pups as much as they demand. Shadow is eating quite well so that’s good. Our Mistress says that the diarrhoea seems to have improved, for which she is grateful, but Shadow now has unpleasant wind, which in a small room being kept warm and draft free is not the best for them all.
I think our Mistress is going to have a serious attempt at bottle feeding them all at bedtime in the hope she will get at least a couple of hours sleep before they want their next feed. As yet they haven’t got into any pattern, but that will come in time. D’Artagnan and Duchess are both showing early signs of being quite strong willed. Our Mistress says she will be paying careful attention to that and talking to their prospective owners. I suspect they will be like their Mum and will just need an human to make clear who is in charge.
One of the remarkable things about this photo is that all the pups are eating at the same time. Shadow is looking happier too.
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