Development, Communication and Social Behavior in the Dog

Lecture Notes

This is Lucille, Tulip's mother. She was relinquished to CCHS this past spring. She was part of a group of four dogs and seven cats. As you can see, she's a pit bull mix. She had her puppies on May 31, 2009. So, at this point, Tulip and her brothers and sisters are entirely dependent on the dam. It's best to think of the dam and her puppies as one functional unit during this time. Newborn puppies are unable to regulate internal body temperature, and defecation and urination are reflexes that are elicited by the mother's licking and cleaning of the perineal region.