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  • 16 hours ago
They were each the size of a mouse — wait until they get spunky and start running all around the kitchen ❤️ We talked to Violet and Dash's foster family, Kelly and Landon, about tube-feeding these frenchie puppies with cleft palettes for weeks until they were ready for their play pen, and how taking care of two was twice as hard but double the fun!

Category

🐳
Animals
Transcript
00:00What you got?
00:01Two cluckers of Pellet Baby Funchies.
00:03Oh my goodness.
00:06Nursing on your finger?
00:07I remember feeling a little bit nervous that not only one, but two in the litter had clucks, which isn't
00:13a great sign.
00:14Are you hungry?
00:15But we got right home when we started feeding right away.
00:19Got them in the incubator and just crossed our fingers, crossed our toes and hoped for the best.
00:24I mean, they were tiny.
00:26They were five and six ounces, the size of a mouse.
00:30Surprise.
00:31They were born last night via C-section.
00:35So I felt really nervous, like, okay, here we go.
00:38Hopefully they'll both pull through and do well.
00:41This is a little girl with a cleft lip and she has a partial cleft palate just in the front.
00:46And this is a little boy and he has a complete cleft lip and cleft palate.
00:52So I have a great relationship with a local med office.
00:55They called and said that there was two puppies in the litter that were both warm with cleft.
01:00And so we went and picked him up.
01:02Where are we going?
01:03To get the puppy.
01:04Ah!
01:05She just took her second tube feeding super good, but now she's just nursing on a nipple.
01:11She didn't like the pacifier.
01:12He actually really liked the pacifier.
01:14But she's nursing on this instead.
01:16It's good for them to suck on a pacifier or your finger or something.
01:21So they still use those jaw muscles and get those sensations.
01:25And it's always a good sign when they have a suckle.
01:27They have to be fed every two hours, which ends up being even more frequent because by the time
01:33you finish, you're up an hour and a half later.
01:38So I got pooped on twice today.
01:41So the first few weeks are a lot.
01:49Keeping them in a humid and warm environment 24 hours a day is super important.
02:02So this is my setup for the newborns.
02:04I'll show you what I do.
02:05So I have a wipes warmer and then I set up a little feeding station here.
02:08I've got a suction close by, always just in case.
02:11And then I sterilize these with boiling water in between every single feeding.
02:15And then, of course, I'm so grateful to have this amazing incubator.
02:21I started working at the vet tech when I was 17 years old.
02:24And tube feeding, doing some more severe medical stuff was, like, no problem for me.
02:29So when my youngest son, Landon, was born, he joined our family with his own cleft lip
02:34and palate.
02:35And then when he was, like, three, four, I was like, let's start fostering again.
02:39Like, let's have some fun, exciting things going on in health.
02:43And so I started helping out cleft puppies.
02:48And he just, like, took to it.
02:50But then I'm like, hi, little boy.
02:53He was so gentle.
02:55I mean, animals were just naturally gravitating to him.
03:00And I was like, wow, like, he really is connected to animals.
03:05He's truly an animal.
03:07I love helping out.
03:09It's still good.
03:11Like, he loves having others.
03:13And I've had two grandchildren.
03:15Hi.
03:17Hi, Tashi.
03:19Oh, my goodness.
03:23There's kind of this moment when their eyes finally open and their ears start to open
03:28and they start to be aware.
03:30And they're like, mom's here.
03:31Oh, Tashi, you're so cute.
03:33You just kind of feel almost relieved, like, okay, we've made it to this point.
03:38Yes.
03:38We're strong.
03:39They're doing good.
03:41They're reaching milestones.
03:43It's a great feeling.
03:46So, we're going to feed.
03:49And we're going to set up a little playpen.
03:51I moved them out at week three into, like, a larger playpen.
03:57Okay, we moved.
03:59We moved.
04:00Anytime you see positive growth, it's a wonderful feeling, and you're always looking for the
04:05positives.
04:082.2.
04:10Like, okay, we're growing.
04:11Yay, we have solid poop.
04:12You're excited about these silly milestones, but it all means that you're heading in the
04:17right direction.
04:17She can only go way bigger.
04:19Dash.
04:20Dad.
04:21Dash.
04:22As they get a little bit bigger, and they start to get their teeth, then we lean into
04:26weaning them.
04:27That's kind of, like, the sweet spot.
04:31There she is.
04:35There we go.
04:37There we go.
04:42Teach them how to use a water bottle.
04:44Good boy, Dash.
04:46And then once you get to that point, you're like, yay.
04:50Like, you kind of feel like you've crossed this huge hurdle on their life journey.
04:59It was so exciting.
05:01It was also so, like, shocking how she was, like, exceeding him.
05:06Look at the kibble on your neck.
05:07She just really grew way faster.
05:12She came out of her shell thicker, and he was kind of like, little baby Dash.
05:17He just stayed smaller and more reserved.
05:20They're doing great.
05:21Dashie.
05:22They just got an apartment upgrade.
05:26Apartment upgrade.
05:28But we gave them this, like, super upgraded apartment.
05:31So that we have play space and potty space.
05:35We'll see if we start getting the hang of it.
05:38They can still just kind of be a part of the mix.
05:41And we have them right in our kitchen.
05:46So they're always out running around in the kitchen and running up and down the hall.
05:50And just being, like, so fun.
05:53Good boy.
05:54Come on.
05:56Violet.
05:58Hey, don't you want that.
05:59Don't you want that.
06:02We're steaming the floors.
06:04We're steaming the floors.
06:07Okay, into your house.
06:09Your door is open.
06:11Good boy.
06:13Apartment number two.
06:16It can be a little nerve-wracking because they're so tiny.
06:22But they're so funky now.
06:25They just want to run and be everywhere we are.
06:28Dash has become what I call an ankle miter.
06:32Hey, guys.
06:36He's coming to his own, so he finally, like, got there.
06:41Mommy wants you to take a nap.
06:43You've been running around.
06:44You got a bath.
06:45And you ate.
06:46And you guys are still being wild.
06:49I've expanded the apartment by one panel on each side.
06:54So now we're moving.
06:56We're going to put a longer mat.
07:00I know you want to come back out and play.
07:04Dash specifically getting a lot of messages from strangers.
07:08Oh, we want him to be so cute in his color.
07:10And I'm like, I'm more protective of him.
07:12I just don't want people wanting them for the wrong reasons.
07:15In the Frenchie space, we're seeing, unfortunately, a lot of people breeding for these rare colors and these rare things.
07:24Yes, how do you suffer this and yummy a couple we cure?
07:28Yep.
07:29Instead of her health and the benefit of the breed, we're breeding just for profit.
07:33And that starts to create more problems.
07:35You can do it.
07:36Good girl.
07:38Yay.
07:39We're definitely seeing an increase in clucks being born in multiple of these litters.
07:45Want to kiss her goodnight?
07:46You name it.
07:46We're starting to see a lot of problems.
07:49She's so scared.
07:51We've changed the breed so much over the years and made it so that they can't breed, that they have
07:58spinal issues, that they have all these problems that I just really feel like it's hard to see that being
08:04ethical in any way, shape, or form.
08:06Hi, squaddy friend.
08:09As a society, we need to take a really hard look at what we're doing.
08:12But in the purple world, we would have better laws in place and better breeding practices.
08:18What do you do now?
08:19Boop.
08:20If a clutch comes across our lives, they didn't ask to be born, I'd love to give them a chance.
08:26But I also don't want to be in a situation where we're perpetuating a vicious cycle of bad breeding.
08:32Put the incubator back out.
08:34I don't know how we stop this.
08:39Hopefully they live normal, long, healthy lives and they can live with their families forever and just have left and
08:45be great.
08:46But like, you just never know now and you never know with any fringes.
08:50Do they fit?
08:51Oh my God, they're actually going small.
08:53Come here, sweet.
08:54Hang on.
08:54They still have to go in for their first regular health appointment, start their vaccine journey.
09:01Once we know they're healthy, vaccinated, safe, then they can go to their homes.
09:08To finally have the double puppy experience has been just so much fun.
09:13And like at nighttime, just seeing them snuggling together, like knowing that they've always had an emotional support friend.
09:21And it was like twice as hard and twice as stressful and like so much more time and energy and
09:27effort.
09:27But at the same time, it still worked, I think, because they got to be together.
09:38Everyone's like, how do you do it?
09:39And I'm like, oh, you know, you do it.
09:40But I'm like, I cry every time.
09:42I cry a couple days before they leave.
09:45I cry once they leave.
09:46I just cry.
09:47She just had his words be off.
09:50I'm going to use a little jacket on.
09:52Oh, oh, oh, oh.
09:59Who's that girl?
10:00Who's your little girl?
10:06Oh.
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