Eve & Bruce are expecting 7 puppies!

Expectant mom, Eve

Dad-to-be, Bruce

Hi everyone,

It was just a couple of weeks ago that we took Eve to the veterinarian and a canine pregnancy test checking a hormone called relaxin confirmed that Eve and Bruce were expecting. Shortly after we received the good news, Eve began to show a bit of a baby bump. Now, with a week to go in her pregnancy, it is abundantly clear that Eve has more than a few buns in the oven!

Look at that saggy belly!

Yesterday we took Eve into the vet for x-rays to find out just how many puppies she is expecting. Dave and I had our guess, based on her size in comparison to her previous pregnancy, but that was, after all, just a guess. We could've taken Eve in sooner to count puppies - after all, puppy skeletons can be seen on radiographs after 42 days into the pregnancy. However, there are benefits to waiting until a little bit later in pregnancy to do x-rays. Yesterday was Day 56 of Eve's pregnancy and a typical canine pregnancy is approximately 63 days in duration from the time of breeding. Taken this late in the final trimester, radiographs can more accurately help us to determine the number of puppies to expect, as puppy skeletons are more defined and easier to see, but additionally, we can look at the size of puppy skulls in comparison to the pelvic opening to make sure that we don't see any potential issues with any given puppy being so big as to cause a difficult delivery.

Eve gets some lovins' just prior to x-rays.

Eve's radiographs can be seen below. As you can probably see, counting babies isn't as easy as one might expect, but requires careful examination of the x-rays. The official count, as best we can assess, is 7 puppies! Everything looks good and fingers crossed for an uneventful delivery.

 

 

Eve was so good for the radiographs and it is exciting to know how many babies to look forward to. Now it is just a waiting game. I'll keep everyone updated on progress once it seems like Eve is ready to deliver. Stay tuned!