Bowie’s Puppy Journal
Puppies Have Arrived: Wednesday 5th March
Our beautiful Bowie delivered naturally, 4 healthy puppies; 1 girl and 3 boys on the evening of Wednesday 5th March 2025. All puppies arrived at good sizes, with weights ranging from 450 grams to 580 grams. Puppies are born with their eyes closed and ears sealed, so they find their way to mum and their siblings through smell.
Although they are unable to walk yet, they are highly efficient at moving their little bodies around the whelping box.
Bowie’s babies will spend their first few weeks eating and sleeping. Mum is doing a fantastic job of feeding them and keeping them clean.
We weigh puppies at the same time, twice a day to ensure that everyone is tracking upwards on their growth chart and as you can see from the photos, everyone is doing a brilliant job! On Day 3 we started Early Neurological Stimulation (ENS) and Early Scent Introduction (ESI) to give pups a flying start.
Pups have also had a pedicure this week, and we will continue them every week to make sure that their tiny puppy nails don’t scratch mum when they are feeding. We are thrilled for our puppy families and hope you are enjoying the journey.
One Week Old: Wednesday 12th March
It is hard to believe the Awesome Foursome are already 1 week old. Bowie’s babies continue to grow steadily, with all having doubled their birth weights in 7 days. This week’s weights range from 1080 grams to 1175 grams. Their button noses, tiny pink paw pads and bellies are all darkening. Whilst they are unable to bear weight on their legs, pups are tucking those legs under their bellies and eagerly pushing off to scoot around the whelping box at quite a pace!
Mum is doing a brilliant job of feeding and cleaning her pups and she is gradually spending more time outside of her whelping box while her babies snooze.
We are catering to all climates at Islamore! The air-con is running and we have a heat pad in the whelping box which the pups can move to and from freely. I hope you enjoy this week’s photos and can see some changes in our ever-growing babies. I will start sending through some puppy notes for you to have a read through, and as always, if you have any questions, please reach out.
Two Weeks Old: Wednesday 19th March
Bowie’s babies are 2 weeks old! Everyone is toddling around the puppy box, building strength in their legs with every step.
Puppy eyes and ears have opened and they are soaking up new sights, smells and sounds. We will finish our ENS and ESI this week on Day 16.
Bowie is still feeding her babies whenever they call out to her and we have started them on puppy mousse with some enthusiastic “full-body” eating going on, with faces, paws and sometimes bellies in the food bowl!
The puppy box has been extended to allow our babies to wander further and some have started toileting on their own, in the designated toilet area - clever cookies!
Puppy weights are all tracking upwards, ranging between 1720 grams and 1995 grams.
Three Weeks Old: Wednesday 26th March
Bowie’s babies are 3 weeks old and are growing and changing every day. Weights range from 2200 grams to 2500 grams, and they are now eating Royal Canin puppy mousse and kibble! When you bring your puppy home, please continue to feed your pup the same food while they settle in, to avoid tummy upsets. This week we have introduced something ‘new’ to the puppy box each day to offer new textures, shapes and sizes. Because we are intentional about how we raise our puppies whose minds are blank canvases, we have thoughtfully exposed them to new sounds that they will likely hear in their adult lives. This week they have heard power tools (from a safe distance), a vacuum, an all important coffee machine, Mozart and Beethoven. Research has shown that dogs who listened to 45 minutes of classical music barked less and slept more than dogs who listened to other types of music. With that in mind, we make deliberate choices about the music we play in our home.
Four Weeks Old: Wednesday 2nd April
Bowie’s babies are 4 weeks old! Our babies are growing beautifully with weights ranging from 3500 grams to 3900 grams. Bowie is still feeding her puppies, but less frequently and they are mostly eating puppy mousse and kibble. We continue to offer new experiences to the pups each day, including accompanying us on different trips around the house; to the laundry, to the front door, to the fridge and to the coffee machine. They are hearing, seeing, smelling and feeling new experiences. A huge THANK YOU to our puppy families who came to visit last weekend. We love that you are a part of this journey and get to see how we raise our puppies. We have been busy setting up another bigger play space for Bowie’s babies and we look forward to sharing it with you over the coming days.