Regalgoldens Golden Retrievers

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...

Mr. Jet Black is the first to be born. “Fly Ball” She’d been down this road before, but she needed some assurance that everything would be alright. On the eve of puppies’ births, Whitney snuggled up to spoon with us and to get some quality touches before the big event. Nearly five hours later at 4:15 a.m., Mr. Jet Black poked his head out. We were afraid might see his shadow and go back inside but with a little encouragement he said hello to the world. Forty-five minutes later, Mr. Camel made his entrance followed by Mr. Mint. Then Whitney made us wait for an hour and a half before Mr. Tangerine was born which completed the ensemble of four boys. The girls must just have been polite to wait their turn. After another hour and a half, Miss Carnation made her debut. Fortunately we only had to wait another ten minutes for Miss Chiffon as we all know that girls are more punctual. The big surprise was that while Whitney was out on what was supposed to be a pee break, she delivered M...

Whitney is certainly showing! As we head into the final week of Whitney’s pregnancy, she is certainly continuing to slow down. Her abdomen measures a whopping 36 inches or 91cm. She is eating her meals very slowly but still polishing them off. Whitney is now receiving 4 meals daily but we may increase that to 5 or 6 meals daily as we move closer to her birthing date. The pressure of her growing puppies increases when she's near to term so she may want smaller more frequent meals. Whitney has now begun to nest as all moms-to-be do. I n the wild she would have carefully chosen a safe area in which to dig herself an appropriate den. Without human intervention, this is where she would have her puppies!   But not to worry, she’ll actually have them in a nice warm and sterile environment known as the whelping box. Over the next week we will make all the final preparations for the arrival of her puppies. We have begun monitoring her temperature twice dail...