Mango and Steele Litter

Mango, Day 60 (pre-parturition)

Our beautiful Mango waiting for the ball to be thrown her way!

Mango continues to blossom and if you catch her at the right angle she doesn’t even look pregnant! One thing that has not changed for Mango is her love for retrieving. She can still outrun anyone to catch that ball. However, these days we do limit her activity and let the other dogs win sometimes!

Mango’s abdominal area has expanded to 88 cm or 34.64 inches. She really doesn’t have much room for food and is rather picky with her meals. We offer her various embellishments to her regular food and her current favorite is a couple fried eggs every morning.

Remarkably she still can jump on the bed at night for belly rubs and has decided that the bed is more comfortable then sleeping on the floor. It is easy to feel the puppies moving in Mango’s tummy now. I am not sure if it is the stimulation of our touches or if they’re just anxious to bust out into the world!

At this stage we are monitoring Mango’s temperature twice daily. Any significant drop in temperature will indicate the puppies are soon to be on their way.

X-ray of Mango's tummy showing all the puppies!

Above is an x-ray taken this week of Mango’s abdominal area that shows how many puppies Mango is going to have. How many puppies do you count?

Only a few more days ‘till the big event, so stay tuned !

Ruly and Tulip Litter - Week 1

Ruly and Tulip Litter - 1 Week Old What a week it's been! The Tulip puppies continue to thrive, gaining weight steadily and remaining fairly quiet. Tulip dotes on her family, rarely straying far from the whelping box. As you can see on the 24/7 camera, she is starting to spend a bit more time outside the box, but she consistently checks on her babies. Tulip currently eats around 4 pounds of food per day, along with calcium and pre-probiotics supplements. As her pups grow, her daily food intake will be gradually increased, reaching 5 - 6 pounds per day by the time the pups are about 7 weeks old. This increased caloric intake is necessary to meet the energy demands of milk production and to maintain Tulip's own body condition. Tulip still believes an outdoor den would be best for her pups, so we are monitoring her closely when she ventures out. The whelping box is lined with padded bedding and clean, white bleached towels on the bottom. The white towels allow us to quickly spot a...

Ruly & Tulip Litter - Week 2

Many viewers of the 24/7 puppy camera have raised questions, such as what are the pipes running alongside the whelping box. These are called "pig rails" and they are designed to protect the puppies from their mother accidentally lying on them, ensuring the puppies' safety. Since the puppies are unable to regulate their own body temperature, we use a heat lamp over the whelping box to keep them warm when Tulip is outside the box. However, we turn the heat lamp off when she is nursing the puppies. By 3 to 4 weeks of age, the puppies can regulate their temperature, which should then be in the normal range of 100.5°F to 102.5°F (38°C to 39.3°C). The most significant event this week is that the puppies' eyes have opened. Mr. Devil's eyes (the one with the red collar) were the first to open. Each puppy followed and within 48 hours they had all opened. The puppies are now weighing almost 3 lbs, and Tulip provides them nourishment at least every 2 hours, often throughou...

Ruly and Tulip Litter - 7 Weeks Old

Tulip’s Puppies Celebrate Their 7-Week Milestone! Another week has flown by, and it's hard to believe these puppies are already 7 weeks old. For the most part, they've been a very quiet litter. Don't get me wrong, they have their moments of boundless energy, running around in circles like little tornadoes. But compared to some of my more "vocal" litters at this age, these pups have been relatively calm. They love attention and cuddles, which is a delight for us humans. The big adventure this week was the trip to the vet for their health checkups. I'm happy to report they received a clean bill of health and were a big hit at the clinic. However, I'm always on guard at the veterinary hospital, as that's where sick dogs go. So we quickly wheeled the crates into the exam room on a trolley, making sure to keep all other dogs and people clear of my pups. This time of year, the threats of kennel cough and parvo are ever-present. The puppies weren't sure a...

Regalgoldens Golden Retrievers

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