Week 2

Week 2

The puppies are still sleeping and eating a lot during this week. I started supplementing their mother's milk with a bottle - 11 puppies is a lot for Maddy to feed alone. Some of the puppies love the bottle - Sassafrass and Sequoia are bottle junkies, some of the puppies seem to find it insulting that I even try to give them something that is not from their mother.

The puppies are "getting eyes" and making the first attempts to walk (rather than crawl).

øåØåFipronil (Frontline) is effective against both fleas and ticks. It acts by binding to GABA receptors, resulting in excitation of the nervous system and death in insects.

Fipronil is available as a 10% spot-on formulation (Frontline Top Spot), or as a 0.25% alcohol-based spray (Frontline Spray). Both the spray and spot-on formulation show a greater than 95% efficacy after 36 days. Fipronil is not easily removed by shampoos or water. It accumulates in the sebaceous glands of the skin, and is slowly released via the hair shaft ducts. Fipronil is very safe, since the GABA receptors of mammals are different from those of insects. It is safe for very young puppies and kittens, and pregnant/lactating dogs and cats. Incidence of adverse reaction to the application of Frontline is less than 0.0005%

The Bad news : Fleas

We have been so very fortunate that we have not ever had flea problems on our home. Until now, that is. I just found two fleas on the puppies. Yuk! Since we have not had fleas in the past, none of the Labradoodles have ever been treated for them. Now, there are 15 dogs and our outdoor cat to treat! I am going to wait until tommorrow to treat the puppies because I want to talk to the Vet first about none-chemical treatment (it is a national holiday today and everything is closed).

The adults will be treated today with Fipronil (Frontline). Fipronil acts by binding to GABA receptors, resulting in excitation of the nervous system and death in insects. It accumulates in the sebaceous glands of the skin, and is slowly released via the hair shaft ducts. Fipronil is very safe, since the GABA receptors of mammals are different from those of insects. It is safe for very young puppies and kittens, and pregnant/lactating dogs and cats. Incidence of adverse reaction to the application of Frontline is less than 0.0005%

Even though we have pups in the house, the adult dogs, our cat Mulle, Megan, Emma and I still need our exercise. Maddy especially needs a break now and then. She loves going for the walks, but will suddenly run directly home and sit by the door as soon as she starts missing the pups - the pups are lucky to have such a devoted Mom!