Last trimester

Galena has now entered her final "trimester" (last 3 weeks) of gestation.  now the pups are pretty much fully formed - just a few litle "details" left, including calcification of the skeleton and finishing off toes and fur colour. Most of what they wil be doing for the next 3 weeks or so is growing a LOT bigger so they are big enough to move around and face the big wide world (with Mama's love and protection for the first few weeks at least!).

She is definitely showing signs of pregnancy now wit a slightly swelling belly and teats - these will all get rounder by te time she gives birth!

It may not be a full 3 weeks yet - she was a few days early with her first litter, so I for one am expecting the pups to arrive before the end of August.

Stay tuned!

Doodle Romp reminder`

Don't forget the Doodle Romp this Sunday 11 August afternoon from 4 to 6 pm. Given the situation in the locale we usually use, we will meet at a nearby school and then cross the grounds to the hydro easement behind the school (details have been sent to confirmed attendees and DragonRam puppy owners). We will set up our agility equipment in the nearby field, start the Romp there with a chance for all interested dogs and their people to try their hand (or paw) at this sport, ehtn walk around a bit and - if the weather`s nice and people bring their stuff - enjoy a picnic supper at the site.  

We have 2 bar jumps, a tire jump, a weave pole set, pause box, tunnel and chute.Don't forget that we can set the jumps at any height so even the pups an participate. 

Hope to see you there!

Galena's ulrasound!

Galena had her ultrasound last night to confirm her pregnancy. At five weeks’ gestation (out of nine) she is beginning to show signs of pregnancy – picky eating, tummy filling out a tad. The pups are still very small – a bit less than an inch long – but in the next 3-4 weeks they will grow like crazy.

At this stage in their development, the embryos have fully formed nervous systems, eyes covered by eyelids, other facial features, lengthening leg buds with the beginnings of toes, and sexual characteristics. (So if we could see really well on the ultrasound we might be able to tell how many females vs. males, but it’s too fuzzy and the characteristics are not as obvious as on humans. It’s more a question of “Is the little bump closer to the navel (male) or to the tail (girl)?” than “what does it look like?”) Over the course of the next two weeks they will complete their skeletal development, gain pigmentation (fur and skin colour), and form fully developed limbs and heads. After that it will just be a matter of gaining size so they are real for the real world out there!

So how many are there? Well, we counted 8 puppy blobs (maybe 7). Which means that – provided we didn’t miss one on the ultrasound and and none of them is lost between now and then – the finalists in the “Guess How Many Puppies Contest” has been narrowed down to Tristan or possibly Amélie or Suzanne (or me - but I wouldn`t actually give myself a prize). We’ll need to wait for whelping to see who has guessed the closest time and date for a final winner. And, of course, whether the ultrasound was accurate or it’s actually those who guessed Y or Z puppies who are the finalists!!