Galena's ultrasound

We took Galena for her ultrasound on Wednesday, January 2 to confirm her pregnancy and get a rough puppy count. Guardians Martin and Carole said they were sure she must be pregnant as she has been a very VERY picky eater the last few weeks. I hope she starts eating better soon as she does indeed have a bunch of pups who will soon be starting to grow very fast as they finish developing and put on muscle, fat and fur in preparation for birth!

The ultrasound showed 6 healthy foetuses on the way! The vet said it looked like there had likely been 7 but one was resorbed – not an uncommon occurrence with dogs, it seems. No one really knows why, but it’s possible the foetus wasn’t developing properly so the body just shut it down and didn’t let it continue.

The six remaining are all a good size (about 1.25cm or ½“ at 33 days gestation). They had strong heartbeats and you could see the beginnings of leg buds. According to our puppy development chart, they have eyes already and eyelids too, and the nervous system is fully developed. In the four weeks between now and the expected whelping date, they will grow about 14cm (5½“), gain a whole lot of weight (up to say 200g or 8oz).

As for the guess the puppy contest, here is the final tally of those who submitted guesses before the deadline:

Name	# of puppies	date/time
Roma Q	8 puppies	31 Jan, 14:45
David Q	8 puppies	1 Feb, 15:30
Niloufar S.	8 puppies	1 Feb, 18:00
Mathom Q	7 puppies	31 Jan, 13:00
Tristan Q	7 puppies	1 Feb, 03:00
Monica S	6 puppies	31 Jan, 21:00
Mary Q	6 puppies	1 Feb, 17:00
Martin L	6 puppies	2 Feb, 16:30
Carole M	6 puppies	3 Feb, 06:00
Linda A	5 puppies	30 Jan, 03:00
Adrienne tC	5 puppies	2 Feb, 16:19
Denise C	5 puppies	3 Feb, 11:15
James B	4 puppies	31 Jan, 01:15
Beth D	4 puppies	1 Feb, 09:00

So the prime contenders are Monica, Mary, Martin & Carole. It remains to be seen when the first pup makes its appearance to decide the final winner. Though we do also need to have them all born, because there is the possibility that there was one hiding that the vet missed, or that another is resorbed and we end up with just five.

Stay tuned for a birth announcement in about four weeks!