Regalgoldens Golden Retrievers

Breakfast is served! “Does This Fur Coat Make Me Look Fat?” We’ve already placed the call to Jenny Craig....just in case. Surrey’s pups are doing very well and are gaining weight as expected. They all have plump little fur-lined bellies, but those will all taper off as they grow. If they’re anything like their mom, it will be quite soon as Surrey is a latent Olympian. Since the mini-pack’s move from the bedroom to the living room, we spend a good amount of our time in the adjoining kitchen and dining room. Despite the presence of a barrier, Surrey, who’s normally quite laid back, will catapult her body over the barrier just to be able to spend time with us - up close and personal. The puppies’ growth isn’t limited to their bellies. They now require weekly pedicures to keep both mom and their siblings safe from scratches. The benefit of Surrey and her crew moving into the living room is that Surrey now has something akin to a V.I.P. lounge at her disposal. She has both a so...

This is how mom sleeps and while we feast! “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” As if the expectations for Surrey’s brood weren’t high enough! Surrey now spends her nights in the whelping box getting as comfortable as she possibly can. This entails sleeping on her back. Not only did Surrey’s little ones need to learn to stagger along on all fours, they also had to hone their climbing skills if they wanted a late night snack from the inverted milk bar. The main attraction this week is that the puppies’ eyes have opened. 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. Many of their critical organs including their brain are not fully formed and they will spend several weeks developing rapidly. The same is true of the eyes. Now that their eyes are open, it will take a couple of weeks before their eyes mature and their eyesight be...

Proud Surrey with her puppies. “Choir Practice” There are certainly many reasons to be thankful at Thanksgiving and Surrey gave us six more. The first to make his debut was Mr. Turkey, followed by Mr. Pumpkin Pie, Mr. Pilgrim and Mr. Corn.  Mr. Mashed Potatoes must have been a little anxious to catch up with the other “dishes” as he exited like a torpedo. We were perplexed about the abundance of boys but were happy when Miss Cranberry arrived. All went well and Surrey enjoyed a few bowls of ice cream between deliveries. The puppies are a bit damp when they’re born so we do our utmost to towel them dry to keep them warm and put them with their mom to nurse. It never ceases to amaze us how the little ones know exactly what to do from the first minute onward. Of course, while they’re nursing, Surrey does her part in overzealously stimulating them with her tongue and so we have to dry them off all over again. Apart from nourishment, a mom’s milk contai...

Surrey has lost her girlish figure The excitement is starting to build in our household once again as we await the much-anticipated arrival of Surrey’s puppies.   Surrey is entering the final week of her pregnancy and is doing very well but we are certainly seeing her slow down. She is now eating three meals daily and her abdominal area has expanded to 82.5 cm or 32.5 inches. Today we will increase her food intake to four smaller meals daily.  Golden Retriever puppy fetus almost fully developed At this stage Surrey is shedding the hair on her belly in preparation for the birth. We can actually feel the puppies moving at this stage - w e’re not sure if it is the stimulation of our touches or if they are just anxious to bust out into the world! The puppies have a full coat of hair and can be felt moving around in her tummy. The coat is one of the last organs to develop along with the intestinal tract. The...

  Surrey taking a nap! Surrey is entering the third and final phase of gestation. Around day 32, amniotic fluid in the uterus increases in order to protect the pups. It’s hard to believe that she will be having her puppies in approximately 3 weeks. Now is the time that her tummy will begin to expand on a daily basis as the puppies head into a huge growth stage and she will shed the hair on her belly in preparation for the birth. As the puppies grow and develop, individual toes begin to form. Eyelids, whiskers and claws start to grow and they are beginning to look more like puppies every day.  It’s an interesting fact that a dog's tactile perception develops before birth so unborn puppies can detect touch when the mother is petted from the outside of the abdomen. This establishes the basis for puppies to tolerate being touched, when compared to puppies born to mothers that were not petted. Pregnant dogs that are exposed to stressful events tend to release hormones that can...

We are such a happy bunch. “Does this Rag Smell Like Chloroform?” We have litters of puppies that are memorable to us for different reasons. In the case of Sierra’s litter, they’re renowned for their ability to sleep soundly. And they’ll do it anywhere. This past week, the gang went on their first car ride to visit our friendly veterinarian. Some litters will punctuate the ride with ear-piercing shrieking, but not this one. They managed to sleep through the entire ride. Once at the clinic, they put their best feet forward and were very well-behaved, but also very brave throughout their examinations. All scored top marks. This group doesn’t always come across as though in a coma. They have their share of rowdy moments and we’re sure it was a team effort that resulted in the inversion of the “tip-proof” water bowl in their whelping box. Best of all, they had massive play dates with Bailey and her eight pups. The weather was agreeable enough that we were able to get everyone outs...

We love Spring and the great outdoors! “Busting Loose” Whenever the gang anticipates that it’s time to go outside, they’re ready to rumble! Like a bull released from its pen at the rodeo, the little puppies spilled out onto the living room floor, just steps away from the door leading to the yard. There’s no time to lose. The weather was great and there was so much to do….so many new adventures, so many games to be played. After the big squeeze through the little opening, they were outside and they scattered in many different directions. Some headed straight for the rock garden while others tore across the winter-weary lawn at top speed. What made some of these outings so much more enjoyable was that they were shared with Sierra’s litter as one giant play date! Bailey was her playful self and engaged all of the pups in various forms of play. Sierra shuffled around with a few pups in tow and even their “Aunt Whitney” joined in on the fun albeit the little ones were confused by W...

We are a happy bunch! “The Code” The code being transmitted was persistent. One-two-three-pause-one-two-three-pause and so on. It’s not subtle by any stretch of the imagination but this is the means by which Sierra communicates her wishes and/or summons us. Our most recent inspection revealed that her roomie, Bailey was lying in the whelping box with Sierra’s puppies. On this occasion, the queen was not amused. Fortunately, Bailey and Sierra are good friends to the extent that Bailey even seems to have adopted Sierra’s pups and has apparently assumed the role of Godmother. As fickle as it’s been, the weather cooperated sufficiently to allow the puppies outdoor playtime. The charge was usually led by Bailey who either demonstrated some gymnastics moves to the gang or played chase with them. A popular activity is the game of tag in which each puppy exhibits a burst of energy in succession. Now that most of the snow has melted, it meant that the rock climbing initiative had been ...

Experiencing the great outdoors! “Follow That Milk Truck!” It was all fun and games during the week when the group was introduced not only to the great outdoors, but a giant playground carpeted with snow. There was no hesitation whatsoever as the puppies scurried off in all directions as though they’d done this a hundred times before. Their mom Bailey was there to chaperone, but also to add to the excitement by playing with the members of her mini-pack. She would frequently tempt them with an offering from the milk bar and dash off with several of them in pursuit. She also demonstrated how to make snow angels, but beyond that the little ones just improvised. They ran, they wrestled, they rolled around and somewhere along the line managed to find some twigs that apparently needed reshaping. A good time was had by all followed by the requisite naptime. While the pups enjoy playing with one another, they delight in their encounters with their two-legged friends. Sunday was visito...