Regalgoldens Golden Retrievers

Hard to believe it's our 1st week Birthday! “Topsy Turvy” She kept us in suspense for a couple of days, making us wonder whether we’d possibly mismarked our calendar, but after midnight last Friday Sierra made it clear that her puppies were on the way. Finally at 1:13 in the morning, we welcomed Mr. Sunshine, then Mr. Aqua, Mr. Cloud and Mr. Navy. When we thought she couldn’t possibly have five of a kind, along came Miss Lavender at nearly 5:30 a.m. to make it a royal flush. Sierra has always been a lady of leisure. After two or three days in the whelping box nursing puppies, Sierra decided she would changes things up and get comfortable by laying on her back. The puppies were confused at first because the plumbing wasn’t where they expected to find it, but they eventually managed to navigate their way to the inverted milk bar. In due course, many of the pups emulated their mom by sleeping on their backs as well. Most of the puppies in both Sierra’s and Bailey’s litters qu...

Happy One Week Birthday!  “Hide and Go Seek” Bailey has always been one to come late to the party. We had her pegged to deliver her puppies on Friday, then Saturday, then Sunday and when that didn’t happen we knew it was time to consider a C-section. It was then we welcomed the seven puppies we were expecting plus one! Bailey’s girls are Miss Saffron, Miss Chile, Miss Pepper and Miss Garlic and the boys are Mr. Basil, Mr. Salt, Mr. Curry and Mr. Nutmeg. Normally a mom is a somewhat perplexed by the sudden appearance of the puppies that she thought she was going to deliver so there can be a bit of a disconnect. However Bailey stepped up to the task like an old pro and allowed the little ones to nurse right away. Another of mom’s jobs is to stimulate the puppies to eliminate by licking them. That took just a while longer to become part of Bailey repertoire. Nevertheless, Bailey’s maternal instincts are in full force as she is a very doting and loving mother. She even needed t...

Sierra on the hunt for a den for her soon to be born puppies! It’s hard to believe that Sierra will be having her puppies in about 12 days. Despite her pregnancy, she continues to enjoy everything that life has to offer. Sierra has always been a very happy girl who has a swagger in her step and we often catch her howling with delight……literally. Pregnancy (and life) certainly agree with her! Sierra is being fed three times daily now and she ravishingly eats all her meals. At some point she will slow down and when that happens we will reduce the portions and increase her meals to 4 or 5 times daily. As the pups grow, there will be less room in her tummy for larger meals as Sierra’s tummy has expanded to 31.5 inches (81.2 cm).   This is an amazing photo by National Geographic of an embryo at 25 days. 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 o...

  Baily with 9 days to go! As we head into the home stretch with only 9 days to go, our Bailey is losing her figure and the look on her face tells us she knows it! She is slowing down only slightly and prefers to lounge by the warm fire while chewing a bone. Bailey’s abdomen has expanded and is no approximately 34 inches or 86.3 cm. The puppies are growing rapidly now so we are feeding Bailey smaller, more frequent meals. She downs her food in about 4 seconds flat, so no morning sickness for this girl! This weekend, we will set up the whelping box for her to get familiar with once again. Bailey will begin to search for a den outside to have her pups in. This is instinctive so we do monitor her trips outside.  With all the snow we have, she will have to build an igloo for her pups! We are just trying to make these last eight days as comfortable and stress free as possible for Bailey. She will continue to have light activity and of course get belly rubs...

Fun time outside with mommy. “Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow” They were impervious to the cold and the wet snow which dotted their furry coats. It was as though Whitney’s brood was training for the winter Olympics and you couldn’t find a happier group of youngsters. An epic outdoor festival from start to finish, the gang played chase, practised ski jumps, tobogganing or luge, went hiking and exploring or made snow angels. Ever the good sport, not only did Whitney come around to nurse her pups, she also spent a good deal of time playing with them, both in groups and one on one. The little ones were tireless as they raced around and even gave us a workout as we attempted to collect them to put everyone back in their whelping box. Once they were nestled in the warmth of their little shelter, it didn’t take long for everyone to drift off to sleep….including mom. The holiday season afforded us many opportunities to spend time with each puppy – one on one. Not only have they ...

Mommy comforting Miss Strawberry. “The hills are alive with the sound of music” Well the music is actually the chirping and chanting sounds made by the mini-pack who have finally found their voices. They can be heard off in the distance expressing their opinions or tempting a littermate to play. The hills in this case are the snow-covered ruts in the backyard, which at the size of a six week old puppy, must resemble mountains. This notwithstanding, the group embraced the great outdoors as though they’d been doing it for years. They were completely comfortable and at ease considering the terrain was a far cry from the bunched up towels and shredding they were used to in the whelping box. These new mountaineers were content to explore a good portion of the yard and some even found twigs to munch on. It’s as though gathering up sticks and chewing them is part of a puppy’s DNA. Their mom Whitney always escorts her brood outside and keeps a watchful eye on them. She begins by min...

We are getting bigger, stronger and cuter everyday. “Naughty or Nice?” The days leading up to Christmas always seem a magical time. There is a certain electricity in the air and the puppies are feeling it too. Their play is conducted with a heightened sense of vigour and no one is exempt. Just because a puppy is asleep doesn’t mean they can’t be included in the fun. Every now and again, one of them will voice a complaint about having been awakened. But of course, in true Golden fashion they’re quick to forgive and always rise to the occasion. The new soft doghouse we added into the whelping box has proved to be a big hit. While we’re sure it will sleep one comfortably, we often see two or three of them rummaging around in it at a time. This group will likely go on record as the quietest litter ever. In the past, we’ve had some little ones that screech to some extent almost from the day they’re born until the day they leave. Mind you, their forever families assure us that they’...

Hard to believe we are 4 weeks old today! “In the jungle, the mighty jungle, the lion sleeps tonight….” So maybe it’s not a real jungle and of course it’s not a real lion, but the puppies’ habitat had all the makings of it this week. Miss Linen demonstrated this as she stretched her mouth open as wide as it would go in order to fit Mr. Camel’s head into it, not unlike the hapless lion tamer. Now that the extension has been added to the whelping box, their area has doubled in size and the action inside of it is continually ramping up. We have the requisite stuffed animals in the box, further adding to the jungle theme. Since their hunting and chasing instincts are emerging, the gang practices with their plush toys using them as both pillows and playmates, but the most fun they’re having is the increased interaction with their littermates. And none of them care if their sibling is awake or asleep as was confirmed by Miss Strawberry observed munching on the sleeping Mr. Tangerine’s...

We are spending more time awake these days! “It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time” He was the first at everything and this was no exception. But was it really a good idea? There was Mr. Jet Black, Whitney’s first born in the middle of the bedroom carpet in what was surely seemed to him like puppy-sized mile away from the whelping box. He showed no fear as he stood there surveying the room in search of his mom, or at least that’s our theory. We’re not sure how he was able to accomplish his feat but the little lad managed to escape from the whelping box by some means that involved maneuvering his body over a couple of slats at its entrance that were twice his height. He never did connect with his mom who was fast asleep behind the other end of the whelping box. She was on her break! Now that their vision is established beyond simply being able to detect light, dark and movement, the puppies are becoming increasingly curious about their surroundings and each other. As they are be...

Nap time! “Can you hear me now?” One of the most exciting events for us is when the puppies’ eyes open. Many of the puppies’ critical organs including their brain are not fully formed and they will spend several weeks developing rapidly. Since the gestation period in dogs is short (63 days), the tradeoff is that puppies are quite helpless at birth. Biologists refer to species that produce immature dependent offspring as altricial, which means “to nurse, to rear or to nourish”. It refers to the need for the young of these species to be fed and taken care of for a long period of time. Puppies are born with their eyelids tightly shut because the eye itself is still developing and is extremely fragile. The closed eyelids serve as a barrier to protect the eyes from potential damage. Now that their eyes are open, it will take a few weeks before their eyes mature and their eyesight begins to approach normal. The puppies are also born functionally deaf since their ear canals are closed. Wh...