Skip to main content

Princess Whitney, Day 55 (pre-parturition)


Whitney is certainly showing!
As we head into the final week of Whitney’s pregnancy, she is certainly continuing to slow down. Her abdomen measures a whopping 36 inches or 91cm. She is eating her meals very slowly but still polishing them off. Whitney is now receiving 4 meals daily but we may increase that to 5 or 6 meals daily as we move closer to her birthing date. The pressure of her growing puppies increases when she's near to term so she may want smaller more frequent meals.

Whitney has now begun to nest as all moms-to-be do. In the wild she would have carefully chosen a safe area in which to dig herself an appropriate den. Without human intervention, this is where she would have her puppies!  But not to worry, she’ll actually have them in a nice warm and sterile environment known as the whelping box. Over the next week we will make all the final preparations for the arrival of her puppies.


We have begun monitoring her temperature twice daily as any significant drop would signal the onset of labour. At day 59 the puppies can be safely born but the gestation term is typically 63 days or 9 weeks from ovulation.

It is easy to feel the puppies moving around now as they begin to grow more rapidly now. We will continue to pamper Whitney as we await the BIG day!
 
National Geographic image of a Golden Retriever pup fetus.
Toward the 50th day of gestation, the fetuses’ skeletons are ossified. At this point, the puppies’ coats of fur are fully developed and they will rapidly gain in size in preparation for their birth. The puppies have basically finished their development and are just growing bigger at this point. Puppies are born without the ability to see and their eyes don’t open until about 10 days after birth.

Stay tuned ….

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Bronson and Tulip Litter – 7 weeks

We're 7 weeks old today! It has been an adventure-filled week! It was the puppies' first-time riding in a car! Introducing them to new experiences begins at this age. Rides in cars, sounds, meeting new people, etc. Our puppies are often taken to Home Depot, Winners, Homesense, Petsmart, and other pet-friendly stores after they receive their next set of vaccinations. While they still ride in the shopping cart, their horizons are broadening. We’ve expanded the puppies play area which is either in our kitchen, outside in the yard or on our porch depending on the weather. They enjoy playing together and are becoming more and more confident. Their play area includes toys an activity center, a crate, and tunnel.  Jolly Pets' Jolly Ball was a huge hit today. The puppies seemed to take turns carrying it! All of them weigh between 13 and 15 pounds. Their appetites are good, and momma Tulip occasionally stops by with a vanilla milkshake. Beef, turkey and chicken are among the protein...
Post a Comment
Read more

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...
2 comments
Read more

Bronson & Tulip Litter– Week 6

A very happy 6 week birthday to this eye-catching litter! We are loving every minute we have with this litter and the weeks are flying by. The milk bar continues to be provided by Tulip who is an excellent mom. We had a wonderful time outside in between the rain showers this past week. The pups are confident and didn't seem nervous at all. Immediately they were at ease in their new surroundings, sniffing and exploring this new exciting adventure. Each time they go out, they explore further into the backyard but are always under the watchful eye of Tulip. This litter continues to be very quiet, which means they are very happy and content. They are all approaching 10 pounds in weight and it amazes me from one day to the next how quickly they grow up.  Mom begins weaning the pups and teaching them discipline. Through puppy play-biting, the pup learns bite inhibition and socialization with its siblings. Normal behaviour at this age. Six-week-old puppies still have a lot to learn from t...
Post a Comment
Read more