Regalgoldens Golden Retrievers

Mr. Sambuca just a few hours old.  “The Ventriloquist” Puppies are generally born in the wee hours, but Faith blessed us with one of those rare daytime deliveries even if it was a bit early for us. Her water broke at around 6:00 in the morning on Sunday and by 7:10 am, Mr. Sambuca made his debut. There’s no set schedule for whelping. Miss Limoncello appeared an hour later and Miss Grand Marnier in quick succession 20 minutes after that. And then we waited. Two hours passed. While the first group was huddled together in the incubator where we’d just placed them in anticipation of another grand entrance, we heard a faint cry from one of the puppies. Or did we? It soon became apparent that this little voice was coming from within. A quick inspection revealed a puppy in the birth canal but not within reach.... After some quick thinking, a whole lot of worry and a brisk walk in the yard with Faith, she deposited Mr. Marsala mid-air into a waiting towel. Fortunately, his siblings,...

Chanel enjoying some playtime in the snow! Chanel is sailing through this pregnancy so far, but one thing we’ve noticed is that she’s becoming increasingly more affectionate. She strategically positions herself beside either one of us in the hopes that we’ll take the hint and caress her…..non-stop. She is heading into her final two weeks of pregnancy but so far is happy and enjoying the mild winter “muddy” weather.  Chanel continues to devour her food and is always looking for more. She is getting a very nutritious mixture of ground raw meat, fruit and veggies plus folic acid and raspberry leaves. Raspberry leaves have been used to strengthen the uterine walls and decrease labour time. Next week we will increase her meals to three daily.  Fetus at approximately day 39 Chanel’s abdomen measures 33 inches (84 cm) and this is when the puppies will head into a huge growth stage. Their heartbeats can easily be detected with a stethoscope or ultrasound. They a...

Faith showing off her "baby bump"! As we head into the final two weeks of Faith’s pregnancy, we see her slowing down a bit, preferring to lounge by the fireplace or on our king-sized bed. Faith has a voracious appetite, so we are now feeding her two meals daily and she measures about 31 inches (78 cm). Next week we will set the whelping box up in our bedroom where Faith will be for about 3 weeks with the pups. It keeps her in a quiet environment where we can monitor the pups closely overnight. Our master bedroom has a separate walkout to another yard where she also has privacy for her bathroom breaks.  Faith has begun her search for a den in the backyard to have her pups in which is normal behaviour for a mom-to-be. She has started digging under our spruce tree and since our winter is so mild, on the weekend she came in with mud up to her elbows. We now we go outside with her or monitor her closely through the window. We prefer that she uses our spotlessly clean whel...

Such a tender moment between momma and puppy. “The Shell Game” It was another hot and muggy day in Caledon and the previous evening’s rain had done little to break the humidity.  The puppies were outside for their usual morning romp. These days, the little ones don’t always acquiesce when it’s time to come back inside and today was no exception. One by one, we gathered them up and deposited them in the whelping box. When we did the headcount, we were one short and it’s not as if there were that many to count yet there were no other puppies visible anywhere. We searched high and low and then by chance we heard a whimper, but it was coming from the most peculiar place and that’s where we found her. Since it had rained the previous evening, we tipped the little turtle-shaped pool up against the fence to empty. It seems that Miss Omelette had crawled behind and nudged it so it slid down and trapped her under the shell. Despite our own trauma, the little girl was unfazed. This...

We are growing by leaps and bounds! “Baby it’s hot outside….” Do you think they care? Not one bit. The name of the game this week was play, play, play. As fickle as the weather can be, it cooperated sufficiently to allow the puppies lots of outdoor playtime. The charge was led by both Hannah and Faith 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. Another popular sport involves racing around hither and thither with no apparent motive or destination in mind. The little ones spontaneously dart across the lawn at top speed but lacking the necessary balance and coordination to go the distance, the sprint also culminates in a tumble. It’s a good thing puppies at this age are seemingly made of rubber. The rock-climbing initiative proves to be very popular. In their more relaxed moments, the abundance of fresh twigs that required reworking was also...

We had so many adventures outside this week! “A Day at the Carnival” It was Sunday afternoon and we were going to be tied up doing some grading on Paige’s pups, so we moved Hannah and her brood into the bedroom where we’d set up an x-pen. We went in periodically throughout the afternoon to make sure everyone was content. In the late afternoon, we went in to collect the group to return them to the whelping box in the living room except there were no puppies save for one. Not only that, there was no sign of the other three. It appeared that Hannah figured out how to open the x-pen and her puppies were apparently quite happy about the hall pass. Now for the search and rescue. We looked behind drapes, under the bed, behind furniture and still nothing. Finally, we found two of them in our ensuite snuggling behind our laundry baskets, but there was still no sign of the fourth. A further search revealed he was hiding behind the curtain in our shower stall. What an adventure they all...

What a fun-filled week we've all had! “We Have Lift Off” This week, the boys experienced their first car ride to the friendly veterinarian. Unlike most other litters travelling to the same destination, the group was pretty chattery on the way there. Once at the clinic, most were on their best behaviour. Their examinations went very well and their time at the clinic was otherwise uneventful. On the return trip, the group succumbed to the rhythm of the road and had to be pried out of their crates to come back inside the house. The pups had an absolute blast outside this week. Faith is both a mom and playmate extraordinaire. She lures the boys along with Paige’s litter into play mode with the “will you play with me stance” leading them on chases around the perimeter of the rock garden and jettisoning off a 6” high rock. Then, she rolls around in the grass while some of them try to cop a snack. At this point in time, most moms have long since abandoned the notion of nursing ...