I don't think Flipper is two weeks old. "Two weeks", in my mind, means 14 days. His eyes aren't even open yet. I guess what the former owner meant by two weeks was "in week two of development".
So, I think what I really have is an eight-to ten-day-old puppy. But who knows; he was the runt and apparently his siblings are twice his size, maybe he's a bit delayed in development.
4 comments:
Sometimes, their eyes don't open until they are 16 or 17 days old.
My pups usually start opening eyes at 10 days, and start teething at about three weeks or so. Small breeds are sometimes slower. I had a litter of IGs that were premature by several days and they opened their eyes closer to three weeks, IIRC.
Once they are about three weeks old, the can learn to lap.
Forgot to add, since 'runts' which are considerably smaller than the rest of the litter (assuming a breed or mix that produces consistently sized pups; sometimes you end up with a couple that get all the 'small genes,) are typically the result of either bad placement in the uterus or poor placental attachment, slow development is not surprising. Not to be a buzz kill but such pups sometimes have other things wrong with them as well :(
Don't worry Jess you're not a buzz kill: I'm fully aware of the possibility he may not make it after all my work.
Poor Flipper has the leg issue, and yesterday I noticed he has an umbilical hernia, which could mean nothing, or something serious down the road.
For now, he's eating and pooping and gaining weight so why not keep trying.
Post a Comment