October 19th

Norm and Donna are still figuring things out. We moved a space heater into the "lab"oratory - the room where the whelping box is kept. Did you know that puppies need to be kept at 85 degrees for optimal health?? We also added a piece of carpet padding to insulate from the concrete floor and a tarp for easy cleaning. On top of the tarp we're layering three blankets. One is just a blanket, the second is an old Egyptian cotton blanket that adds extra warmth, and the top layer is a polar fleece blanket. It appears that we've got the formula right, as we often come into the laboratory and see the puppies napping all over the place, and not just in the puppy piles that they use to keep warm when needed. We have two complete sets of blankets, so we can change them every day and clean the alternate set. Hopefully this will help with odor control. We're using essential oils for cleaning for the same reason. For those who are interested, the formula is 15 drops Cypress and 15

drops Lemongrass to 2 cups water in a spray bottle. This is sprayed on the tarp that goes underneath the blankets and on the surrounding floor, then damp mopped and allowed to dry. No essential oils come into direct contact with the puppies. Cocoa's diet is being supplemented, as well, to help her make plenty of milk. Nine puppies is a lot to feed!