Day 64….

Day 64 and counting!! Not much change today…she’s still doing pretty well. She was up a lot last night, but that’s to be expected. She just finished helping herself to some dog biscuits right out of the box and was drinking the cat’s water. Besides her bloated belly and less energy, I think sometimes it would be hard to tell that she’s pregnant. She thinks it’s perfectly normal for a dog 64 days pregnant to go wading through 2 and a half-foot snow drifts, jump off 3 foot high bridges, chase the cats, and direct traffic in the driveway. I really wish she would slow down and take it easy! Especially with the jumping off our bridge part.
Her temperature is back up today, so I doubt if I will be delivering puppies tonight. But you never know!! My younger siblings keep asking me when the puppies will be coming, and I keep saying, “maybe tonight!” They are definitely taking that phrase with a grain of salt now. She seems to be too content and generally pleased with herself right now to go into labor, but I will be keeping an eye on her tonight. Until tomorrow, then…

Day 63

As I write, Goldie’s walking in circles in my room, looking for the most comfortable spot on the carpet. She’s still breathing quickly, but hasn’t started panting yet. Yesterday evening I was beginning to think she might be going into labor, at least starting Stage 1, but, like the other previous nights, she calmed down as soon as we started going to bed. Her eyes are still bloodshot, which, as I found out by researching, is because of stress. Right now, like every other time she lies down, she’s making this low groaning, somewhat like a snore, but more prolonged.
Her temperature was two degrees up this morning from last night, but dropped a little this afternoon. I had a pretty easy time taking her temperatures till last night, and it’s quite a hassle doing it now, so I have been slacking off. I figure that, as all her temperatures so far have been “labor” temperatures, I’ll just let her tell me when she is going start having her pups! I’ll let you know tomorrow what her update is. Thanks for reading.

Day 62

Today’s day 62 for Goldie. She’s much more peaceful today, in comparison to her anxiety Sunday morning. She’s been mostly sleeping today, probably pretty tired after staying up most of Sunday and the night before. I have noticed a few changes, though. I started taking her temperature last night, and it has been dropping bit by bit, beginning with 99.6, then 99.3, then 99.1, and then 99.3 again for this afternoon. Everything I’ve read says that as soon as the dog’s temperature drops below 100 degrees, the dog will begin labor in the next 24 hours. However, despite her readings, she doesn’t seem to be any different from the past few days. I think we still have 2-3 days left.
The puppies definitely look anxious to come out though! I have heard noises I didn’t think in existence coming from her tummy, and have seen ( and felt!) many puppies squirming and pushing. Goldie’s biding her time, though, keeping us all in suspense! I’ll update tomorrow on Goldie’s countdown.

Final Countdown..

We’re getting excited here at Elkhorn Mountain Saints! Today’s day 61 for Goldie, and we expect puppies in a few days. Goldie’s much bigger and slower, but just as well-behaved as ever. She’s been spending much more time sleeping indoors and less time romping around in the field. Also,  which is somewhat disturbing to me, but very understandable considering her condition, is her complete lack of appetite. She has barely eaten anything…she hasn’t eaten any kibble, only some chewies. Today I did get her to eat some leftovers from our church potluck, which she readily enjoyed…but I still wish she’d eat regular dog food! I don’t expect her to EVER turn up her nose from ham and rolls, though.

We are hoping for around eight pups. She seems to conceal her pups better than our other dog we’ve previously bred, but that is usual in the larger breeds with bigger chests. I’ve begun assembling supplies for when she goes into labor— extra sheets and blankets, puppy pads, a thermometer, rubber gloves, etc.

Bomber has no idea what’s going on. He seems to think that Goldie should be playing with him like she did three months ago. Today as I let her out to do her business, he was waiting for her at the door. He proceeded to drag her about by her ear, leg, tail, neck ( all very gently and in a Bomber-like fashion, of course) in the attempt to get her to play. Of course, she would have none of this and tried to ignore him. I just find it funny that he can’t even see that she’s getting slower and has no desire to romp around in the field with him right now! It’ll be interesting to see his reaction to the pups when they arrive…

I plan on posting every day, if I can, during the final countdown. We can’t wait for them to come!

Our Whelping Box

Things are going pretty smoothly here at our place. Goldie’s doing fine, and is just as active and perky as ever. At day 56, she doesn’t seem to be feeling any discomfort and doesn’t appear to be any more sleepy than she usually is.
Clarke and I brought her whelping box into the house. It’s nice and high, four feet by six feet, (perfect for tall Saint Bernard puppies) and has a pig rail and a door with a latch. Of course, Goldie has decided that the door should always remain open, otherwise she will jump over the edge to get out. Not a good idea, considering her condition.
All in all, though, she loves her box and sleeps in it continually. Of course, she prefers the hard cement floor to the soft cushions and large comforter I put inside the box, but that’s her choice. Whatever makes her comfortable. Below are some pics of her box. Please comment below! I’d love to hear your suggestions on whelping!

The Great St. Bernard Chase

Our dogs (especially Goldie) have no greater joy than to run as far away from the house as they can. If this means just going for a run, visiting with the neighbor dogs, or investigating deceased animals in the fields, they will do it. It doesn’t matter how much or how long Clarke or I call, we will probably end up driving around for 15 minutes just looking for them. Or, as in the case of last Sunday, for half an hour.

Anyway, I let her out for a few minutes, and was planning on joining her after I finished what I had been doing prior to letting her out. But after calling my head off till my voice was sore, Clarke and I headed out in our truck to search for her and Bomber. Of course, they were no where to be seen. I was getting worried, thinking she might be digging a burrow somewhere out in the wild or fighting with another dog. After a long search, we finally found her and Bomber running through a neighbor’s field. I’m glad I found her soon enough, and Bomber was certainly glad he decided on running away with Goldie as he got to go for a car ride on  the way home. Here’s a few pics of their favorite roaming places.

Just Chillin’….

‘Just Chillin’ is exactly what I’ve been doing tonight with my pretty couple. Goldie’s getting nice and fat, but is just as unruly and bouncy as ever. Apparently, she doesn’t think she needs to calm down and take it easy for the poor pups inside her…
Bomber’s really putting on some nice weight. I love how he’s finally filling out.
Yes, I am in my pajamas. Before bed is the best time to play with the dogs. I always put them down for the night around 9:30, and sometimes they like to come in the house to play.
Enjoy the most recent pics. Of course, both dogs think they need to be sitting on my lap for all photo shoots…but then, what better way to control them and get them to face the camera? Let me know of any of your tips for getting your dog to smile when trying to snap some shots of them.

Bomber giving his mommy a kiss…
He’s such a sweety!