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01-01-2012: Almost one week has passed since Waggie whelped, and everything is going so well. All the puppies grow well and they are moving around in the whelping box quite well.
If you compare the weight curve for this litter with the curve for Waggie's first litter, the average weight at this time is more than 20% above that of the first litter on the same relative day. Not alone was the birth weight for this litter 13% higher but they are even groing faster and increased the weight difference over the first six days. To put it short the average weight for this litter of seven puppies is equivalent to the heaviest puppy from the first litter.
Even bigger is the difference if you compare with the second litter. The average birth weight for the seven in the whelping box now was 6% over the average birth weight for the last litter. But after six days the average weight is 27% above the last litter on the same relative day. It should be noted though that Waggie's second litter was of 11 puppies.
It is most likely that a lot of this difference will be smoothed out over the coming period, and absolutely nothing can at this time be said about the adult size of these puppies!!
Waggie herself is in super shape. On the one hand she is very motherly and carefully attends to the puppies, but on the other hand she is still the lovely social dog who enjoys a good walk with the others, even if the work that she is being offered is more of a symbolic nature.
New years evening was no problem. Of course the puppies neither see nor hear anything, and Waggie is completely unaffected by the fireworks.