Temperature Pre-Labor Talk

I looked at my notes from Grace's last litter.
on the 23rd her temperature was  100.2 am  99.5 in evening
on the 24th her temperature was    99.0 am  dropped to 97.3 at noon evening was 99 again
                          2 days after temp dropped once to 97 labor began
on the 25th her temperature was    99.8 am  98.6 in the evening (dropped once to 98)
on the 26th her temperature was    99.2 am  at 6am
      9am we had a cream boy  (the smallest puppy of the litter, we nicknamed him Brox)

Grace's temperature this week:
8/29th  10am  99.6    9pm  100.1
8/30th   7am   99.6     5pm   99.3    9pm  99.9
8/31st   6am  100.0                                                      
                                     8/31st   girth back to 30" (didn't she do that before she grew 2 "?)


Jim says this Saturday, I say Thursday for puppies

Day 57 picture on it's way

Grace was really, super, agitated and nesting last evening.  I got her calmed down and settled in for bed.  Up several times last night thinking this could be the night,

I shaved her belly yesterday to prepare for the puppies  ...   I think the people got eager with the girth now 31", but still too early.

Her temperature was 99.6 this morning.

In theory when her temp drops to 97-98 she will have the puppies in 2 days.  She's getting ready and we are keeping a calm eye on her.

Day 56 -- preparing for puppies and keeping the people calm

Starting Day 57 is when it's time to take her temperature every 12 hours.  We took her temperature this morning for a base line of what's a normal temperature for her.

Note:  regular temperature for a dog is about 101 degrees.
A bitch getting ready to whelp, her temperature will drop to 97-98 about 12-24 hours before labor starts

We took Grace's temperature this morning and it's 99.6, her vulva has softened and slightly swollen.  The puppies have times where there is constant movement mostly can see and sometimes the roll/kick is felt.  She's really huge, geez.

The people got a little anxious, probably have until Thurs to Saturday to send out the announcement of who's the winner of the guessing sexes and colors.  HAVE YOU GOTTEN YOUR GUESS IN?

Day 55's Girth

Today is Day 55, she's due Day 60 to Day 65

Grace's girth this morning is 30"

if you missed the previous conversation about females and her girth, there's a rule of thumb that for every inch the dam grows (measured right before she whelps) in girth, is one puppy.  At one week pregnant she was 22" and today ... wow!  8" in growth and have a few more days to go,

guess the measurement thing works out, it's useful for non-ultrasound pregnancies but we already know she is carrying 9 puppies.

no wonder she's been so uncomfortable, she's grown 2" this week

woo-hooo Day 54

Grace slept well last night, I heard her once walking around the house.  This morning ... starving ... after eating she sits and watches.  I checked her tummy and there's LOTS of kicking, rolling ... playing?

She's happiest when she's with the other dogs and us and can potty whenever she needs.  She just wanders around the house, the yard, sleeps well, constantly looking for food.

I visited a friends blog for her previous puppies and she did the same thing I'm doing ... did I calculate correctly?  Is she uncomfortable, are the puppies moving down today, what the heck is going on in there?  We are on puppy watch

FYI
Did I mention we "nickname" the puppies while they are with us?  
This is the "C" litter, they will be introduced by nickname and color ID at birth
Puppy's registrations come with Barefoot Pudel's and then the letter that the litter is designated?  (i.e., Barefoot Pudel's C) the rest is the owner's pick of name
The puppy depositors will be invited to the personality testing on Day 49 to observe
One of the puppy depositors have decided to wait until next year, everybody bumps up
First sign of starting to whelp is a drop in the temperature then discharge


Blog your guess of color and sexes, we have a football square guessing chart going, please do send your guess, it makes it fun for everybody.

National Geographic Fetus Growth

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsLfWgAFFIE&feature=fvw

If you are interested in seeing fetus development this is awesome!


one more,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uD3bmHyVEyo&NR=1

puppies in the womb, UTube

Day 53

As she was settling in for 'night night' she looks at me, looks all around the floor, "here?  now?", I'm like, yes, but not yet.  (In doggy and people conversaiton it went like this:  questioning look at me and the area?  my shaking head said, no, not now)

she's got quite a load and feeling it.  About 3am she goes out to relieve herself.  The earliest we want puppies is Day 60, couple of days after that would be better.

I measured her girth yesterday and it was 1/2" less than last measurement.  That's the puppies shifting into place.  The puppy deep in the pelvis moved and gave the biggest kick, so no they aren't ready but going down the canal getting in their birth order.

At least seven more days to go Grace, hang in there baby!

Day 50

The puppies are shifting and getting into place.  She's due with 9 puppies, it's eveident which side the odd puppy is on.  Felt one little bloop this morning and a strong push down below this evening.  Grace has a lot of bulk to her, the puppies are well insulated.  She's doing well, eating is getting sporatic, back to chicken broth.  Warm today, puppies and momma are sleepy in front of the fan while I'm working on the computer.

Canine Gestation WEEK 8-9 and VIDEO

We are on the last instructions, it's getting soon

WEEK Eight	The pups have fur and are now crowded in the uterus. You may notice a lot of activity as they get into position for the coming birth. Your bitch may begin digging the bedding in the whelping box. This is natural "nesting" behavior. Allow your bitch to feed freely as she is able.
WEEK Eight to Nine	The pups are ready for birth, and may be quite still as they rest in preparation for the marathon to come. Your dog may appear uncomfortable and restless or anxious. Time to begin taking rectal temperature readings 12 hours apart. Normal temperature is 100 to 101 F; a drop down near 97 F held for two consecutive readings indicates labor will begin within 24 hours.

Day 51, Tuesday, puppies are easy to feel rolling around, saw two sonic booms while I was smishing around and wanting to feel the puppies.  ahh, this is the fun part.  And the pups have fur, no wonder Grace is so warm

Day 48 Puppy Movement is Felt

Puppies are easily felt today as soft movement under the skin, of course not strong enough to push your hand around, just bubly rolling around.  My hands can feel several at a time.  They feel darling!

Pictures

our friend Amy came by today and took amazing pictures,

Here's Grace, Day 49, about 11 days to go, you can see her full body and beautiful face.   Grace is looking very short with her hefty belly of 9

Amy also took amazing pictures of Joaquin, Tigre' and Hilde, see our website "Photo Album" to see them, http://www.barefootpudels.com/
 thank you Amy, it's a pleasure having you waiting on next year's puppy,

GUESS THE SEX AND AMOUNT OF THE PUPPIES AND WIN A PRIZE

Jim is putting together a football square guessing grid. 

Guess the amount of puppies of the sexes  (and if he can figure it out the colors) and win a prize ... details coming soon,

my guess starts with 5 boys and 4 girls, Grace is a libra ya know, she likes balance


11 days and counting!

Grace's belly is getting HUGE!

her appitite is big and so are those puppies growing, wants her tummy rubbed with every free hand there is, she's very affectionate, hungry, happy and doing well.  Puppies can slightly be seen and barely felt.  That will increase by the day, today is day 49, eleven to fourteen days to go ...

9 puppies coming, we hope they stay in there until Day 60 which is 11 days, can stay in there until Day 65 which is September 7th.

I'm so excited about seeing so many whites in Grace's background.  Everad's sire and grandsire are creams, wow, wouldn't that be something to get a small white puppy?  we are eager to see the little munchkins,

Grace's Girth

Grace's girth at one week pregnant was 22"
Today, Grace's girth is 28"

(girth is measure around the dog at the last rib)

The rule of thumb of a female due at 9 wks is for every inch around the girth there is one puppy.

At 7 1/2 wks in gestation, the puppies are the length and size they will be, however, the next 1 1/2 weeks, the puppies will complete developing and adding on more and more weight for their birth weight.  At 7 wks the puppies have their pigmentation, eyes are now closed until they are about 10 days old, nails, eyelashes, etc. are growing, mostly internal organ are developing and maturing to be on their own after they come into the world.

dam's meals increases at this time, after whelped and nursing puppies, her feed will increase 2-3 times the amount to sustain her and the puppies.

Day 46 - VIDEO

Heeerrreeesss Belly Belly Momma Grace

Grace with a debut of Everad and Hilde's top of her head

Grace getting her evening "special meal"

Grace with a debut of Everad, Hilde, Tigre' and Joaquin

this is fun I'll have to put more on here

yeah, the puppies will have lots of videos!

Everad's Picture Pedigree

Day 42-49, 7th Week - notes & pictures

Day 42 to 49   (per a breeder's website regarding gestation)
Puppies are well-developed and begin attaining size in preparation for birth

You may be able to see/feel the puppies' movements in your bitch's abdomen

Her breasts start to develop and probably contain a bit of colostrum or "first milk"

Your dog is noticeably tired and may begin search for a place to whelp. 




Time to set up a whelping box, gather the supplies for the whelp, will we ID the puppies, do I have the birth charts to fill in ... lots for us humans to prepare for the day.


DAY 45:  When I rub her tummy there will slowly develop dent or a rounded bump under the skin.  I can't quite feel the puppies rolling around, but I do think I saw a quick splash type motion as I walked by after sitting and rubbing her tummy for a few minutes.   Will be able to feel the puppies' movements pretty soon.  She sleeps soundly, she's taking breaks away from the poodle pack around here.  She still jumps and runs and flips around when I've got her special treat.  I'd like to get that on a video soon and put it on here.  She's eating fine now, still getting those special little meals plus kibble whenever she wants.  She's doing great.

What a pleasureable world with poodles and poodle lovers in it

(I'm new at this blogging, copy the link to view his pedigree if it doesn't work, there's ancestral testing and a picture of Zanto - very cool)

Hi Paula Wilson!


Thanks you for mail.

Zanto (Bjørklyckans silver Harleqin) is in relations vith Lemerles Travelin Lite, in the 3 generation backwards. See his pedigree in the link.

http://www.poodleinfo.no/Bjorklyckans_Silver_Harlequin.html

Regretely I have no picture of Lemerles Travelin Lite.
Thanks you for the praise of my Zanto and my videos of him.

(I am makeing a childrensbook of Zanto and Robin who is saveing Christmas. I hase take pictures of thei make gingersnap, washing floor, and a lot of ather stoff. The bok is in Norwegian. )


You have a fantastic homepage. With beautiful pictures of youre dogs too.

Regret my poor English, but hopes it is understandable.

(p.s. she said Zanto is 25.2")

Momma and babies swim in Puget Sound

I wish we had our phones or camera, but with five poodles taking them swimming with lots of people around we had our hands full.

I took her out where she had to swim, not for too long,  Grace's ears perked up and she looked like she said, "ahh, nice."  I wanted to get her to swim to give the puppies some sensation, by Grace's face, they all enjoyed it.

Talented Training

I was looking for pictures of Grace's ancestry when I was searching for "Lemerles Travelin 'Lite" and found this website, both this poodle and Grace has Lemerles Travelin 'Lite in their third generation back ... what's interesting is that they both have the warm brown eyes.  There's an up close picture of Zanto, his face looks exactly like Gracie Macy's.
check out his website,
http://www.poodles-in-scandinavia.com/torhild_zanto.htm

the below link might not work, try copying it to your browser  BUT it will be worth it!  This poodle is a hoot,  you've got to watch this video, it's his "training"

http://s238.photobucket.com/albums/ff161/Tormaha/?action=view%C2%A4t=ZantoogRobintriksApril2010mlyd.flv

it works in email, I'm working at getting the link to work here,

Grace's PICTURE PEDIGREE

Hanging out on a warm summer day

keeping Momma Grace cool and relaxed

Jim does the special tummy pat that Grace loves.

yep, there's nine puppies in there.  For Grace's comfort, let's hope they are smaller!

Pappa Everad, the Seattlite

Hilde is in season, Grace is pregnant, Everad needed a breat.  We went for an afternoon outing to enjoy the sunny day and warm breeze in West Seattle - beautitful!

Day 28-35, 5th Week

Week Five   four weeks to go

*   The fetuses develop their sex organs and begin to look like actual puppies. 
     The leg buds lengthen and develop toes.
*   Your dog's belly will begin to look noticeably swollen as the pups take up more space.
*   With less room for full meals, it's time to begin serving smaller meals more frequently.

---------

Tuesday, July 27th to August 10th
*  Morning sickness might occur due to hormonal changes or stretching and distension of the uterus. 
 * Dam may appear a bit apathetic.  She may be off her feed for a while.
*  Feed her several small meals throughout the day might help.

Sunday, August 1st to August 5th
*  It's best to do palpatation or an ultrasound now due to the embryos are walnut-sized and easy to count.

Wednesday, August 4th
*  Start to increase her food ration
*  The foetuses are now and are fully developed miniature dogs.

Tuesday, August 10th
*  Her abdomen start to get larger as of today

Day 33

Grace is starting to get her appetite back, Jim's turn to make her a special meal tonight, she does love the chicken broth.  Ya walk into the room, and she rolls back, legs apart to have her tummy rubbed.  She's doing great, running through the yard, the other poodles (especially 12 wk old Joaquin) will walk all over her and lay on her.  I think they are trying to comfort her and make sure she's ok, not quite up to par like her normal prancing around, they know something is up.

Day 32

Grace's tummy is showing, she wants her tummy rubbed and very affectionate.

Day 32 Ultrasound

9 Puppies were counted on the ultrasound

here's a few pups on film

click a couple of times on the image to enlarge

Day 30, starts the blog

Grace is half way.  Her nipples are noticable, tummy is getting wider and bigger, nautiousness is apparent, she does sleeps a lot, plays, looks for nummy treats

Here's about a week ago with Ma and Pa soaking up the afternoon sun,

I'm new at this blog editing, maybe you can click on it to enlarge?