63 Days until Puppies

KONA RAYNE WAS BRED TO MAX MAVERICK - MAY 31,2023

Due Date: Aug 3

Our Kona Rayne was bred 3 times live cover with my proven stud Max Maverick. We allowed them to tie multiple times over a three day period. Kona is a non fading gorgeous Fib dark red Tuxedo Aussiedoodle, Max is an F1 tuxedo merle, with heterochromia blue eyes and a beautiful red/auburn coat. We are expecting some gorgeous pups with theses two. All will mature to under 20 lbs.

This is Kona’s first pregnancy, Max has sired multiple litters, and produced some beautiful puppies!

Sperm can survive up to 7 days before fertilization, so it may occur several days after mating. At gestations the ova (eggs) are fertilized by the males spermatozoa (sperm) and start off very high in the uterus. They travel down to two uterine horns where they will float around until they implant into the walls of the uterus - a process known as NIDATION. This occurs between day 15-18. Canines are not like humans who have only one uterus - dogs have two uterine horns where all of the puppies will develop and grow.

Day 50 !!

A lot has happened in the last 10 days. The fetus’ have begun to look more like little puppies. Their organs have completely developed, they have toes, nails, and whiskers. Sex organs deleoped by day 42 and they began the journey of becoming male or female. The puppies are starting to move around.

We are headed down the home streatch ! Kona is noticably larger and has begun to eat much less as the puppies continue to grow and crowd the abdominal space. The puppies are pushing on her internal organs, especially the digestive tract. She is not very interested in eating and we are have having to feed her very high value foods to give her the necessary nutrition. She has been on puppy food (which should be at least 30% protien and 20% fat) for a while, which is much higher in protein, mineral count and calories. Lots of raw eggs, cheese, chicken, cottage cheese and bone broth. We find it much better to free feed and continue to do so. At this point the fetus’ are a 75% of their full size at birth. Pregnant mamas can and should be dewormed at this point.

By day 50 the fetus’ skeletons, including the pelvis have ossified and an x-ray may be performed to do a puppy count if desired. Puppies will be visible on an x-ray. The fetus’s now have fur and are getting very crowded. When I use my stethescope I can indeed hear the puppies heartbeats - soft, and quite rapid . The fetal heart rate (HR) is typically >220 bpm but averages about 230 bpm. It has been audible since day 28.

All of the internal organs of the puppy have develped, the eyes will remain closed until about two weeks after birth.

Day 60 !!

At day 50 all of the organs of the puppies are well developed

At day 55 the fetus is now completely covered with hair / fur. Pigmentation of the skin starts

At day 58 the fetus’ lungs are now developed – they are viable from this point on.

At day 59 the belly on Mom becomes loose as the fetus’ move into position

At day 60-65 – we are waiting for the expected birth. This can occur anytime between day 59 and day 67.

24 hours prior to birth Mom shows no interest in food. Her temp will drop from 38-39 deg celcius to 36.5-37.5 degrees celcius. In imperial this is 100.4-102.2 Fahrenheit which will show a drop to 97.7 - 99.5 Fahrenheit.

Join us in witnessing the birth of Kona’s Aussiedoodle puppies!

Due Aug 3, day 63

Our third little one was a boy - Liam. He is a red merle. The merle lengths must be very short as there is very little distinction, you would bareley know he is a merle and will look like a solid red tuxedo as he continues to grow. He weighed in at 240 gms. Beautiful little boy - and the only boy! He had a nice little bit of white on his head and is a full tuxedo - white chest and legs, even a white tiped tail.

Emma was the last to be born at 1:00 pm, shortly after lunch….not mine, but somebody’s lunch! She weighed in at 260 gms. I thought at first look she was a black tuxedo loike her sister but with a full color. When she dried off it was clear she was not black at all, but rather a black based Agouti. Her hair is red underneath and has red tips. This color is fairly rare to achieve. She is gorgeous. I will be holding her back for our breeding program.

Normal gestation in dogs is usually 57 -65 day, with the average being 63. Predicting the actual day is sometimes a little difficult as the exact date of implantation can vary slightly.\

The growth of the fetus or blastocysts, as they are known at this point, is very rapid during the early days and will double in diameter every 7 days!

At the end of the first 30 days a fetal heat beat can be detected and the development of the fetuses speeds up dramatically. The fetus’ have nearly tripled in size and have grown to about the size of a walnut - about 15mm. Less than 30% of the overall growth occurs during the first few weeks.

DAY 35 - This is the end of the Embryogenis, or the 1st phase of canine pregnancy.

DAY 42- Kona is as of today at day 42 (week 6) take or minus a day, and she is visibly pregnant. Her abdomen is rounded and hard and her nipples have lengthened and darkened. The fetuses weight will increase now by 75% by the time they are born. From day 42 on the rate of growth rapidly increases as Kona enters the 3rd and final phase of Gestation . This is known as fetus stage - day 35 until birth.

From day 35 on the fetus’s (or in many commonwealth countries “foetus”) , as they are now called will begin to look more like little puppies.

Eyelids develop by day 32
Toes day 35
Claws day 40
Coat and Skeleton day 45 - Although the skeletal bones begin to calcify by day 28, they will
not be detectible by radiography until day 42-45, prominently
by day 47-48.

Raw diets should be avoided from day 30 as they leave small abrasions of the GI mucosa from the bone they eat. No matter how meticulous the food is prepared (both homemade and commercially prepared) it always contains pathological bacteria. Normal healthy dogs that are not pregnant can dispose of these bacteria before they leave the gut and enter the bloodstream. Pregancy depresses the immune system and these bacteria may enter the bloodstream and will preferencially go to the placenta because of the increased blood supply. There they may cause infection and or fetal death or abortion. The immune suppression will continue for 3-4 weeks after whelping the puppies.

Puppy Watch had begun!

Since the last addition to the blog at day 50 a lot has occurred. This is the period of time where there is the most growth.

Kona weighed in at 13.5 lbs before her pregnancy and has increased in weight by 8 lbs. she measured 24” around at day 58 (an increase of 2” since day 50) but is now back to 22.5 as the puupies shift into position, and get ready for birth. Her belly is slightly softer as the puppies move further down towards the vulva.

She has begun wanting to nest – especially outside under the tall grass, in places that are totally surrounded and hidden from view. The whelping area is out and she occasionally will dig in the blankets. I think she likes outside better LOL……..not happening!!!

At day 60 puppies are viable and will be born any day now. Kona is very uncomfortable now and even has a pregnant waddle! She finds it very hard to sleep on her stomach and finds in much better on her side on a cool surface.........but it is summer and Chicago heat and humidity can be brutal!

The puppies weight increases about 20-55%. the last 10-13 days. They are now very easy to feel and I can clearly hear the heartbeats with a stethoscope.

Day 58+ is considered full term and puppies are all viable at this point, although the average length of pregnancy is 65 days.

As I write this Kona is laying at my feet, trying to stay cool and looking very uncomfortable. She is still fairly lively at times, but is definetly showing signs of an impending birth. I will begin taking her rectal temperature twice a day until a drop in temperature occurs. I will then know we will be expecting puppies, usually within the next 24 hrs !!

I will keep you updated and will post pictures and hopefully a video as soon as our little fur babies arrive!

Puppies Arrived right on que!! - August 3, 8:40am

The night of August 1st Kona started panting all the time - it began my vigil of never leaving her alone. You have not lived until you have slept on the floor beside a whelping box - or in it LOL, waiting ……………..in my case 2 nights and 1 full day on the 2nd of August. The night f August 2 the panting increased and she became more restless. Endless digging in blankets. Outside I had to keep her away from the flower bed and she would of dug here way to China in those!!

I took here outside for a little walk arounf the yard at 7:00am and came back in to some more panting and increased restlessness and a little whining. At 8:40 the first little girl was born - a little black and white tuxedo weighting at 220gms! Charlotte continues to be the smallest of the litter.

At 10:33 we welcomed Sophia into the world. She is a Tuxedo Blue Merle. She was a littel difficult to get out as she was coming breech - feet first. I could see the sac protrude, then retract. Then Kona broke the sac so I had precious little time to try and get her out. It seemed like it took forever. I did a little feathering to get more contractions which finally seemed to work. She was born at shortly thereafter. She weights 60 grams more than Charlotte did and being breech did not help. She was a little quitet when born but with a little rubbing and cleaning airways, holding pointing downwards she came to life very quickly..

Isabella was born 4ourth in line and is another Tuxedo blue merle. She las a smaller amount of white on her head, but a full white chest and underbelly, white paws and the tip of her tail the same as her sister Sophia. The only difference is Sophia has a split face - a line where the black and merle meet, otherwise they are very similar.

So 4 little girls and 1 boy, that was quite a litter for littel 13.5 lb Kona. She is a great Mom and settleig in to feeding every couple of hours or les round the clock. Sometimes you will see her sleeping away while all of the puppies are nursing.

63 days from nothing more than a microscopic cell to a living breathing little puppy with all of their organs, claws and hair. Able to crawl to Momma with just her scent imprinted on them. They wil be blind and deaf for about 2 more weeks. They will slowly open their eyes to a wonderful world awaiting them. they will absorb all of the sights and sounds around them their hearts full of joy and wonderment. It will only be another 8 weeks and they will be able to leave Momma and go home to theor forever family. It has been a wonderful journey.

5 gorgeous puppies are awaiting your arrival into their world!