Toileting

This became one of the most problematic areas. The problems arose from the technique I was using and once I had it sorted out the associated problems disappeared.

The pups need to be stimulated to toilet for the first two weeks. This is normally done after a feed by gently wiping their genitals with a moist cotton pad.

I found that the pups tended to wee first and then poop afterwards, so we always did things in that order.

The problems arose when the moist cotton didn't absorb the urine and it ran down the puppies legs and onto their feet. Urine burns skin quiet badly, but when the mother licks her pups she manages to not only remove the waste, but her saliva also leaves a protective coating.

Using flannels and sponges did not help as the fabric was too coarse and it reddened the puppies skin. Using dry cotton pads only seemed to annoy the delicate skin as well.

Washing the puppies feet afterwards actually made the problem worse. Even though I was using plain water, the water stripped their skin of the natural oils and BIG problems set in. Read more about this in Skin Problems.

Eventually I figured out the problem. I would break off huge pieces of cotton wool from a roll. I would then just dab the genitals instead of wiping. As the cotton wool became soaked I would grab another piece. I went through tons of cotton wool, but it was well worth it.

For the poops I used fragrance-free and alcohol-free baby wipes. These were very nice as they also contained lanolin which left a protective layer on the very delicate anuses. Prior to doing this one of the pups had such dry skin under his tail and around his anus that the skin split and we though he would loose his tail. Fortunately with round the clock care, the wound healed and he kept his tail.

The baby wipes were also used for giving the pups a "once over" every day. When I cleaned the pups too much they developed problems, but a daily "once over" was perfect.

The pups would have their anuses gently "stroked" in an upward motion. Once the poop emerged I would simply gently stroke the underside of the tail to avoid smearing poop all over the pup and thus complicating the cleaning process.

Before each feed and toilet I would get all my equipment ready. For the toileting I would place some roller towel on the bottom of a plastic basin. When it was time for toilet I would hold the pup over the basin, so that everything could just fall in. After feeds I would fold up the roller towel (containing all the waste), throw it away and then wipe the basin down with an anti-bacterial spray.

Echo trying very hard to have a wee all by herself, while her brother Harley distracts her.

Page last updated: 18-09-08 11:02:04 PM

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