Oh Yeah, You Blend

We got the maternal nomograph results from CAVIDS last night. It shows that the optimal time for these puppies’ first distemper/parvo vaccine is 9 weeks then 13 weeks. I will be sending home a copy of this test with each puppy, and the results will be included in the letter I send home for the puppy’s new veterinarian. Nomograph testing is some pretty cool science, it shows when the maternal antibodies will have waned enough to make vaccinating the puppies more effective (while Alice’s antibodies are still at a high level in the puppies’ bloodstreams a vaccine will not provoke the puppies’ own immune systems to create its own antibodies, which can leave the puppy less protected from disease if the maternal antibodies wear off before the next booster vaccine is given).

I am a believer in LESS vaccination, not NO vaccination, finding the happy medium between overvaccination and lack of protection. I’m really glad my repro vet and repro vet tech told me about maternal nomograph testing!

They are motoring around the box quite actively over the last day, this means that they’ve started getting themselves stuck in corners on occasion and squeaking until someone comes and rescues them. Once their eyes open in about a week they won’t get stuck anymore, but this next week between 1-2 weeks of age is when they really need someone watching them (the first week the big danger is mom lying or stepping on them, although Alice has been really careful), the second week is when they’re mobile but still can’t see or hear so they can get themselves into jams.

Here’s a cool little video where you can see the little pops and jerks that are signs of “activated sleep”, where the puppies’ nervous systems and muscles are coming online and getting a workout.