Grace 7 1/2 wks pregnant

not much change in the girth, goes up close to 27" and then close to 26", it's fluctuating
then I started thinking, ya know she grew 2 1/2" in a week, she can't possibly do that every week!

the weather is warm here, we've cooled down to the low to mid 90s, this weekend we are expecting fall like weather about 80 degrees ... LOL, I'm from Washington, that's summer.  So you can see that being pregnant and being in very warm ... ok, hot ... weather has influenced Grace's eating habits.

I have some NutriCal on hand, today I've mixed some into her food with ground turkey, kibble and rice.  The rice was a fav at first but she's not liking that so much right now.  Her puppies are growing and Gracie is having a tough time eating much at a time.  Today I am feeding her anytime she wants besides the free fed kibble.  She's really liking the NutriCal so will continue with that.

otherwise, Momma Grace is doing well, eating, sleeping, being picky and very affectionate.  I'm thinking once the weather cools down (even though I have the a/c on for her most the time) I think the cooler weather will bring more spry into her step.  Last week I bathed her and trimmed off most of her coat to keep her comfortable and cooler.  Seemed to do the trick, but it does wear her out and takes 1-2 days to recoup from a lot of fussing.  Just feeding her and letting her rest now.

She's definitely entering into her 8th week, I havn't seen her "jog" the acre once in the last few days, she's walking slower, sleeping more, and picky at what she eats.   

I think she has a couple less puppies than last year which puts us just about 7-9 puppies

.... but then again,

more girth talk:  I was browsing Hilde's blog from April and I have to make this comment.  With these small standard girls being bred to very small caniche moyen males ... the birth weight of the puppies are much smaller than an average standard poodle puppy's birth weight.  In fact, that's how we can tell if it's a moyen or a small standard at birth.  In these litters, it's rare to have a 1# puppy at birth, and most certainly not ever see 1.5 - 2# puppies ... being the puppies are smaller than an average standard poodle, the count will look lower when we are talking about the girth compared to the number of puppies expected.

examples:

Hilde's girth was 27 1/2" at full term (starting at 21") with the rule of thumb she should have had 6-7 puppies, she had 8

Tigre' the same thing, she was 33" (starting at 24") and had eight puppies, they are mostly small standards

Grace last year was at 32" at full term (starting at 22") and had 10 puppies, sure she was right on!   will see if she is this year

Please keep in mind the girth is also just an estimate, nothing is for sure until the puppies whelp.

Grace is 8 wks pregnant on Monday, 9.26.11

I suspect another jump in Momma Grace's girth as the puppies gain weight

usually takes a few days to see on the outside changes the puppies are making

- - - -

my next experiment is a comment that I found on the internet,

and yes this blog will hear all about it!

Debbie Jensen says that she can count puppies with a stethoscope

... ok, so not all that ground breaking...

but

she says she can decifer the gender of the puppies by the sound of the heartbeat!

interesting . . .  I'm In!

I've ordered a stethoscope

she says the boys are faster and sound like Morris Code 'dots'

and the girls sound like Morris Code 'dashes'

(odd, human babies are the opposite, boys' heartbeats are slower, girls are quicker)

too interesting for me to pass up,

more "stethoscope" talk later

pictures of Momma Grace coming this weekend,


- - - -


oops, one more thing


Grace is 9.5 wks pregnant on the 6th of October
I will be looking for signs of onset labor starting October 3rd, expecting puppies by the 10th



remember, Jim is making a guessing chart, your guess is as good as mine!  send in a guess for gender and color, we are giving a prize
and yes, you can change your guess until puppies start being born

p.s., please wish Jim Happy Birthday, he turns 53 today and is in WA on his birthday, we miss him and love him,

blessings, Paula and the poodles