Skip to main content

Tulip (pre-parturition) - 45 days


Bronson & Tulip litter

Tulip shows no sign of slowing down. She is always the first one out of the door and the last one in. Tulip began digging in the yard several weeks ago. Typical behavior for a mom-to-be! As she progresses through her pregnancy, she will search for a den in which to give birth to her pups. Clearly, we have a cleaner, warmer environment for them to be born in.


No matter how much she eats, Tulip remains slim. She is now eating two meals a day, but in the next couple of weeks, that will increase to three and maybe four meals daily. Tulip's abdomen now measures 80 cm or 31.5 inches. 

The gestation period for dogs is 63 days. On approximately June 16th, we look forward to the miracle of birth once again. Seems like forever since we had puppies!

39-day-old National Geographic fetus

The puppies digestive and respiratory organs, muscles, bones, circulatory, genital and urinary systems, skin and hair, nervous system, and sensory organs-including the eyes, inner ear and peripheral nerves-have all formed by day 30. 

Puppies' organs, bones, eyes and spinal cord develop fully during weeks four to six of pregnancy. When a fetus is developing, it starts to resemble a dog with whisker buds on the face and claws and toes on the feet. In week six, puppy skin pigment begins to form and a heartbeat can be heard. Puppies have all their features at this point in their development. Their growth will now accelerate until they are born.

Stay tuned ……

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

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...
2 comments
Read more

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...
Post a Comment
Read more

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...
Post a Comment
Read more