Sounds like you have everything under control. I always breathe a sigh of relief when all the puppies have doubled their birth weight; I truly think that is THE major hurdle when breeding dogs. The next hurdle is a fun one: waiting for the eyes to open. The shortly after that the ears open and then they start noticing each other and playing.

Can you tell I love breeding?? I envy you having a litter on the ground now. We bred one of our girls a few weeks ago and are now in the waiting mode. Sure hope it took. All the signs are there that it did.

As to peeing and pooping the pups, you can do that yourself without the mom. Just wet a wash cloth with warm water and stroke the puppies just like the mom would do. Works like a charm by mimicing what the mom does. Also good to know if you ever have a problem in the future where the mom has to be away for a period of time.

Hope you have continuing good luck with your litter.

Bruce