Regalgoldens Golden Retrievers

Baily at day 35. Still looking slender! It is hard to believe that Bailey will be having her puppies in less than 20 days. While her tummy has expanded to 33.5 inches (85 cm), she is not showing any signs of slowing down yet. Bailey is extra sensitive and prefers being close to us rather than with the pack, so her evenings are spent cuddling and getting lots of belly rubs. Bailey has a ravenous appetite and is being fed three times daily now. As the puppies grow, there is less room in her tummy and it’s also easier for Bailey to digest these smaller meals. She is eating a nutritious balance of home cooked organic foods, premium kibble, supplements and raw vegetables.   Embryo at 25 days. Photo by National Geographic. Pre-natal period: It is an interesting fact that a dog's tactile perception develops before birth, therefore unborn puppies can detect touch when the mother is petted from the outside of the abdomen. This establishes the basis for puppies to toler...

Miss Violet (Winnie) “The Wailing of the Banshee” She ran at top speed, her lithe legs churning, kicking up tufts of sod as her paws tore into the turf. She was only too aware of the sound of the rest of the pack in pursuit. She stopped abruptly and swung around in the opposite direction, panting heavily. We watched from a distance as the scene unfolded. Heidi was running back and forth along the fence line with the rest of the pack in tow, but what was not immediately evident was that inexplicably she was outside the compound! Happily, she returned quite readily when we opened the gate to let her back inside the yard. Whether motherhood had proved to be so difficult that Heidi felt she needed to escape or whether she was just being a clever girl, we weren’t certain.   That is, until we did a perimeter sweep and Heidi showed us a section of fence that had been compromised. We now understand the proclivity of her daughters: Miss Scarlet and Miss Violet, for the...

Loving the Spring weather! “World Cup Soccer in Caledon” The puppies vacillate between two extremes. On the one hand, they were the best behaved, quietest group on record during their car ride to visit Dr. Matt, the veterinarian. Each and every puppy was very brave, not to mention polite and received top marks for their checkup. They also received kudos in the parking lot at Ren’s Pet Depot where admiring passersby cooed with delight at the sight of these little balls of fur. On the other hand, this group doesn’t hold anything back when it’s time to unwind and have fun. In a recent World Cup Puppy Soccer match, it was one giant free-for-all wherein the puppies ran shrieking as they chased the ball from one end of the foyer to the other and back again. Afterward, when the water bowls were drained by the thirsty brood, two of their brethren picked up the bowls and ran victory laps with them. One of the more perplexing things we’ve noticed i...

  The Escape Artist - Miss Scarlet “A Little Privacy Please!” Puppies have no sense of discretion. They just want to have fun -  even if it’s at the expense of one of their siblings. Feeling what some might refer to as one of nature’s calls, one of the pack will slip away to a quiet spot to have a private moment. No sooner has the” target” surrendered to his urges when out of nowhere, one or two other puppies converge to take down their “quarry” in a game of rugby without the ball. Another one of the most dramatic sports moments of the week occurred as we rolled a big ball out into the play area. The puppies were mesmerized as they took in the sight of this wondrous red object spinning past them. One by one, they went to investigate until Mr. Ebony, realizing its great power, began to roll it around the floor. The rest of the gang jubilantly followed the procession as if they’d just invented the wheel. We’re sure the Olympic Committee didn’t see this com...

We are a cute bunch! “The Drive-Through” A big step for the puppies this week is their transition to more solid food, which coincides with Heidi’s dream of an early retirement. It seems that mom has limited her contribution to something akin to a drive-through milk wagon. The puppies are drinking more water now as well to keep themselves hydrated. This transition is a welcome change for us too, since this group is one of the messiest eaters on record requiring countless baths and wipe-downs. Boasting plump bellies, the puppies are weighing seven pounds on average. That in itself is starting to become a bit of a workout when we pick them up. And that happens to be frequently since they love to be held and cuddled, with many falling asleep in our arms. The gang is becoming increasingly more curious about their surroundings and about the large humans in their midst. There’s no more sneaking up on them as they react to every sight and sound. This is the beginning of the...

Miss Coral having a nap! “The Free-for-All” It all starts innocently enough. One puppy will lick or nibble on another puppy’s ear or any exposed body part, and that one in turn does likewise to an unsuspecting sibling and so on and so on. Before long the entire mini-pack is engaged in a friendly brouhaha. The playing field is pretty level between the boys and girls as Miss Amber was witnessed trying to ingest her brother’s leg. Along with the nibbling, the activities include jousting and wrestling punctuated by miniature growls, squeaks and barks. Mind you, it’s all good fun and after a period of frenzied activity, it culminates in a big snore-fest where the puppies use each other as pillows. Now that the whelping box has an extension, the puppies have room to run laps. They use the original portion as their lounge where they sleep, play, dine and cuddle with each other. The addition which is lined with unprinted newspaper and shredded paper is used as a...

What a wonderful world it is! “Change of Address” This week Heidi and her puppies made the big move from the bedroom to their own little hideaway in the library. The extension was also added to the whelping box to provide some extra room for the puppies to pick up a bit of speed when they’re on their little walkabouts. No matter how much room they have, they always seem to gravitate back to that safe haven known as mom. This week saw the introduction of the puppies to gruel or mush:  a healthy concoction of oatmeal, honey, goat’s milk and vitamins to supplement the feedings they get from their mom. One never knows how a new litter will embrace this new confection. Initially, the gang was a little apprehensive about consuming something that their mom did not dispense. With their heads bobbing up and down into the bowl at high speeds, Mr. Walnut (aka Walter) and Miss Amber sent a message to the rest of the group that this new delicacy was indeed fin...

Heidi with her precious babies. She is an amazing mom! Cabbage Patch Mom A breeder’s (or a mother’s) life is not without its challenges. This week Heidi contracted mastitis, an inflam m ation of the mam m a ry gland , usually the result of an infection caused by a little bite or scratch. This is not uncommon in large litters and not serious when diagnosed and treated in its early stages. We opted for two courses of treatment: the medical solution of a regimen of antibiotics and the homeopathic one of strapping a cabbage leaf to the affected area. Heidi’s malady improved very rapidly, but the rest of the pack sure was curious about this mobile salad bar. The big news this week is that the puppies have opened their eyes – the windows to their little souls. While they can initially only differentiate between light and dark through a kind of haze, this will clear up very quickly over the next week or so until they experience normal sight. The little ones are able to hear quite well...

Miss Ivory and Mr. Ebony all snuggled together! As the first week draws to a close, we reflect on the journey that has brought us to this happy point in time. Heidi has become the stellar mom we always knew she would be, although it didn’t quite start out that way. For the weeks leading up to the birth, a mother-to-be knows she’s going to have a litter. When puppies are delivered via C-section, it’s a bit perplexing for her because somehow the babies have magically appeared when she awakens from her anesthesia. It takes mom a while to realize that these are her babies! In Heidi’s case, she immediately allowed the puppies to nurse, but kept a wary eye on these tiny creatures as they moved around in the whelping box. Part of mom’s job description is to stimulate her newborn pups to encourage them to eliminate by licking them. For the day or so that it took for her to fully embrace the notion that these were her puppies, we had to perform the task by rubbing each puppy with a tow...

Welcome to the world!   Heidi and Hudson’s pups make their grand entrance! We are delighted to announce the safe arrival of Heidi and Hudson’s puppies. It has been a whirlwind twenty-four hours. A trip to the vet revealed that Heidi was having very weak contractions and the puppies were ready to make their debut but her cervix was not open. At approximately 9:00 pm on Tuesday, February 26 th , Heidi gave birth to twelve adorable and vocal puppies via C-section - six boys and six girls! Dr. Rasa Levenstein   We would like to thank everyone at Graham Animal Hospital for their amazing compassion and dedication. Special thanks to Dr. Carol Graham and Dr. Rasa Levenstein for once again going above and beyond . The entire event occurred during a tremendous snow storm, however the puppies were snuggled together, keeping warm in our incubator during the lengthy trek back home. The puppies are doing well and mom ...