Regalgoldens Golden Retrievers

Mr. Sambuca just a few hours old.  “The Ventriloquist” Puppies are generally born in the wee hours, but Faith blessed us with one of those rare daytime deliveries even if it was a bit early for us. Her water broke at around 6:00 in the morning on Sunday and by 7:10 am, Mr. Sambuca made his debut. There’s no set schedule for whelping. Miss Limoncello appeared an hour later and Miss Grand Marnier in quick succession 20 minutes after that. And then we waited. Two hours passed. While the first group was huddled together in the incubator where we’d just placed them in anticipation of another grand entrance, we heard a faint cry from one of the puppies. Or did we? It soon became apparent that this little voice was coming from within. A quick inspection revealed a puppy in the birth canal but not within reach.... After some quick thinking, a whole lot of worry and a brisk walk in the yard with Faith, she deposited Mr. Marsala mid-air into a waiting towel. Fortunately, his siblings,...

Chanel enjoying some playtime in the snow! Chanel is sailing through this pregnancy so far, but one thing we’ve noticed is that she’s becoming increasingly more affectionate. She strategically positions herself beside either one of us in the hopes that we’ll take the hint and caress her…..non-stop. She is heading into her final two weeks of pregnancy but so far is happy and enjoying the mild winter “muddy” weather.  Chanel continues to devour her food and is always looking for more. She is getting a very nutritious mixture of ground raw meat, fruit and veggies plus folic acid and raspberry leaves. Raspberry leaves have been used to strengthen the uterine walls and decrease labour time. Next week we will increase her meals to three daily.  Fetus at approximately day 39 Chanel’s abdomen measures 33 inches (84 cm) and this is when the puppies will head into a huge growth stage. Their heartbeats can easily be detected with a stethoscope or ultrasound. They a...

Faith showing off her "baby bump"! As we head into the final two weeks of Faith’s pregnancy, we see her slowing down a bit, preferring to lounge by the fireplace or on our king-sized bed. Faith has a voracious appetite, so we are now feeding her two meals daily and she measures about 31 inches (78 cm). Next week we will set the whelping box up in our bedroom where Faith will be for about 3 weeks with the pups. It keeps her in a quiet environment where we can monitor the pups closely overnight. Our master bedroom has a separate walkout to another yard where she also has privacy for her bathroom breaks.  Faith has begun her search for a den in the backyard to have her pups in which is normal behaviour for a mom-to-be. She has started digging under our spruce tree and since our winter is so mild, on the weekend she came in with mud up to her elbows. We now we go outside with her or monitor her closely through the window. We prefer that she uses our spotlessly clean whel...