Pepper, Day 56 days (pre-parturition)

Our cuddly Pepper hasn’t skipped a beat. She continues to happily hang out with the pack and enjoys cooling off indoors in the air conditioning. She has however excavated a lovely den in the backyard for her pups. Since she’s due next week, we will introduce Pepper to a lovely clean warm environment known as “the whelping box” for her to house her puppies in.

Pepper is loving her three meals a day. Usually a very slow eater, she now devours her meals which consists of a nutritious and “unprocessed” raw meal of veggies, meat/bone, raw eggs, beef liver, pre and probiotics and vitamins. Today she is enjoying a spa day with lots of pampering in preparation for the big event.

National Geographic image of a Golden Retriever puppy fetus

At this stage, the puppies have a full coat of hair and can be felt moving around in her tummy which measures 33 inches or 88.8 cm. The coat is one of the last organs to develop along with the intestinal tract. The majority of a puppy’s growth in size takes place the last couple weeks of gestation.

Pepper is shedding the hair on her belly in preparation for the birth. She is a very affectionate and cuddly girl at the best of times, but she now just wants to hug and cuddle all day long.

Stay tuned....

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