Wow! Five Weeks Old Today!
And As Expected It Was A Week Full Of Change
And As Expected It Was A Week Full Of Change
Mash Was Introduced And Thoroughly Enjoyed By All!
I feed my adults... as well as the pups Victor. The adults are on HiPro Plus. The pups on Professional based on protein content. I've read numerous articles from a variety of sources that advise keeping the protein level of food for Doberman pups around 26%. Too much protein during the stage of rapid growth can lead to a condition called knuckling over. Various self accounts I've read state if a pup begins to knuckle the problem can generally be reversed fairly quickly by decreasing protein intake. As a result I try to feed a good food and stick to the 26% in an effort to avoid the situation.
Many people have bought into the grain free hype based on superb marketing and wanting to do the best for their canine companions. It seems though, that may not be the best course of action. There's a great deal of controversy and quite a bit of research directed toward the grain free products. Some of which are very expensive.... Expensive but not necessarily good for your dog. I'm actually not suggesting everyone feed Victor. We all have research tools and Google at our finger tips. I do encourage people to do some research and aim for providing quality food for their pups. Chewy.com is a great source for supplies including foods and clearly states the nutritional content of each. They carry most. Dogfoodadvisor.com rates all or nearly all food and also keeps track of recalls. I feed Victor for a variety of reasons. My dogs do well on it, the company's been around for a long time, their products rate well on on the dogfood advisor site and to date they have had no recalls since tracking began in 2009.
I feed my adults... as well as the pups Victor. The adults are on HiPro Plus. The pups on Professional based on protein content. I've read numerous articles from a variety of sources that advise keeping the protein level of food for Doberman pups around 26%. Too much protein during the stage of rapid growth can lead to a condition called knuckling over. Various self accounts I've read state if a pup begins to knuckle the problem can generally be reversed fairly quickly by decreasing protein intake. As a result I try to feed a good food and stick to the 26% in an effort to avoid the situation.
Many people have bought into the grain free hype based on superb marketing and wanting to do the best for their canine companions. It seems though, that may not be the best course of action. There's a great deal of controversy and quite a bit of research directed toward the grain free products. Some of which are very expensive.... Expensive but not necessarily good for your dog. I'm actually not suggesting everyone feed Victor. We all have research tools and Google at our finger tips. I do encourage people to do some research and aim for providing quality food for their pups. Chewy.com is a great source for supplies including foods and clearly states the nutritional content of each. They carry most. Dogfoodadvisor.com rates all or nearly all food and also keeps track of recalls. I feed Victor for a variety of reasons. My dogs do well on it, the company's been around for a long time, their products rate well on on the dogfood advisor site and to date they have had no recalls since tracking began in 2009.
Early In The Week
The pups got their first glimpse of the great outdoors.
And All That Entails...
I began week four with the weekly photos but since, at least until today, the weather has been too cold and crappy to get the babes out again. This afternoon was pretty pleasant and with it I got started on week five photos. But once again the rains came and caught me buy surprise. Didn't see it in the forecast last I checked. I've got two down and two to go!!!
Tomorrows forecast and the bulk of next week look favorable. Hopefully that bears true. I'll get the photos complete and we'll get lots of outdoor time to make up for the week we missed.
Seems there's always something interesting going on outside. A couple weeks ago it was the neighbors pigs who came to visit. Today it was Buzzards.
Unfortunately, or not... the pups' momma took it upon herself to rid the property of yet another armadillo late last night.
This morning and well into the afternoon the Buzzards arrived for grounds maintenance. They are literally huge and there must have been 20-30 of them present for one medium sized armadillo! Their size alone made me a bit nervous with such young pups in the yard. But apparently there is zero risk a buzzard would go after a pup. Per google it's unlikely they'd go after any meat eating animal, dead or alive, preferring herbivore over carnivores or omnivores. Yep, you guessed it. I did look it up. Didn't think they did but wanted to confirm they posed no threat. Hawks on the other hand, which we have plenty of, will scoop up a pup in a heartbeat. I and the adult dogs are always on watch for them. The dogs actually, especially the females, despise all large birds flying overhead. As a result I had the displeasure of listening to lots of barking today. But also the luxury of watching my dogs attempt to guard the property from that which they couldn't reach or ever catch.
Dogs in action. Something I never tire of watching.
The pups got their first glimpse of the great outdoors.
And All That Entails...
I began week four with the weekly photos but since, at least until today, the weather has been too cold and crappy to get the babes out again. This afternoon was pretty pleasant and with it I got started on week five photos. But once again the rains came and caught me buy surprise. Didn't see it in the forecast last I checked. I've got two down and two to go!!!
Tomorrows forecast and the bulk of next week look favorable. Hopefully that bears true. I'll get the photos complete and we'll get lots of outdoor time to make up for the week we missed.
Seems there's always something interesting going on outside. A couple weeks ago it was the neighbors pigs who came to visit. Today it was Buzzards.
Unfortunately, or not... the pups' momma took it upon herself to rid the property of yet another armadillo late last night.
This morning and well into the afternoon the Buzzards arrived for grounds maintenance. They are literally huge and there must have been 20-30 of them present for one medium sized armadillo! Their size alone made me a bit nervous with such young pups in the yard. But apparently there is zero risk a buzzard would go after a pup. Per google it's unlikely they'd go after any meat eating animal, dead or alive, preferring herbivore over carnivores or omnivores. Yep, you guessed it. I did look it up. Didn't think they did but wanted to confirm they posed no threat. Hawks on the other hand, which we have plenty of, will scoop up a pup in a heartbeat. I and the adult dogs are always on watch for them. The dogs actually, especially the females, despise all large birds flying overhead. As a result I had the displeasure of listening to lots of barking today. But also the luxury of watching my dogs attempt to guard the property from that which they couldn't reach or ever catch.
Dogs in action. Something I never tire of watching.
I got a chance to put my cameras zoom feature to the test!
Remedy In Action
New Digs!
Also this week we left the whelping box behind! Replaced by a new indoor habitat that consists of shavings for a potty area, a cot for a bed and a drinking station. Seems it's a smart bunch. We've only had one accident on the bed which I quickly cleaned up and de-scented. They seem to have things figured out which I greatly appreciate. I've turned the gate sideways to keep the pups contained while at the same time giving mom access. So for now the pups have the best of both worlds. Three meals a day and some supplemental nutrition from Ritz if she feels so inclined to provide it. So far she's been pretty good about venturing in there. She doesn't stay long but does still lay with them on occasion. Destroys their toys too! Unfortunately!
Good momma. Bad momma!
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