Loving Maddie - 46
days (pre-parturition)
 |
| Maddie can never have enough belly rubs! |
Maddie hasn’t
skipped a beat with this pregnancy. Her appetite certainly hasn’t suffered and she
continues to polish off her meals and look for more food! We don’t want her to
gain unnecessary weight so we are monitoring her food intake.
Maddie’s
waistline has expanded to 77cms. She is becoming increasingly more affectionate
and is demanding more belly rubs as you can see from the photo above. Her activity level has remained about
the same but over the next couple of weeks we expect she will be slowing down.
Pre-natal period: It is an interesting fact that a dog's
tactile perception develops before birth, therefore unborn puppies can detect
touch when the mother is petted from the outside of the abdomen. This establishes
the basis for puppies to tolerate being touched, when compared to puppies born
to mothers that were not petted.
Pregnant dogs that are exposed to stressful events tend to
release hormones that can be detected by the fetuses which can negatively
influence their future development. This underscores the importance of
providing pregnant dogs a stress free and tranquil environment.
I don’t think Maddie is stressed at all!
Stay tuned …..