Skip to main content

Bailey – 42 Days (pre-parturition)

Bailey out for a stroll

Beautiful Bailey is not showing any signs of slowing down, however she has become more affectionate - if that’s even possible. When she’s not engaging with the rest of the pack, her favourite activity is snuggling up on the dog bed next to our fireplace.

Bailey has always had a ferocious appetite and she certainly continues to eat her food in record time. She is enjoying a very nutritious raw food diet, fresh organic puréed veggies with folic acid, prebiotics and probiotics daily.  As her waistline expands, she will have less room for food so we will increase the frequency and reduce the size of each meal. Bailey’s abdomen now measures 80 cm or 31.5 inches. 

Fetus at approximately day 39

By day 30, digestive and respiratory glands, muscles, bones, the puppy's circulatory, genital and urinary systems, the skin and hair, the nervous system and all of the puppy's sensory organs--including the eyes, inner ear and peripheral nerves have formed. During weeks four to six of pregnancy, the puppy's organs, bones, eyes and spinal cord begin to fully develop. The fetus starts to actually look like a dog with whisker buds showing on its developing face and claws and toes differentiating on the feet. By week six, the puppy skin pigment is formed and you can hear a heartbeat. At this point in their development, the puppies have all their features. Now they will begin to grow rapidly until they are born.

Stay tuned……

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

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...