Monday, 22 July 2013

Puppy development



Galena is now entering the second “trimester” of her gestation. Except in her case it’s weeks 4‑6, not months 4‑6. At this stage the signs of pregnancy are minimal. She may be starting to get picky with her eating (she was VERY picky with her first pregnancy!) but other than that you’d never know she was expecting.

The pups are still very very tiny – little more than oval-shaped cell clusters, albeit with a developed nervous system, that have implanted into the uterine wall – with as of yet no real puppy characteristics. That will happen quickly over the next three weeks, and by the time she enters her final “trimester” the foetuses will actually look like very tiny puppies with most of their characteristics quite well formed. The third “trimester” is devoted to completing the final development, calcification of the skeleton, and a whole lot of general growth.

In two more weeks we’ll take her for an ultrasound to count how many puppies she’s carrying. Stay tuned!

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