Pregnancy

Reba is definitely pregnant.  After being gone for a week the changes in her physiology jumped out at me.  It's funny seeing my lean little girl develop a distinctly wider midsection.  Even funnier are her humongous nipples.  Being a paranoid type A person I've been doing a lot of research on whelping.

And in the process managed to scare the bejeebers outta myself.  I'm wondering if ignorance is bliss?  After all thousands of dogs have babies unsupervised and in less than ideal conditions all the time.  But this is my dog we're talking about and I want her to have the best chance for a healthy and safe delivery possible.

This week, I'll be going into to town to buy the materials to build her a whelping pen.  (Or buy one if I can find one.)  Next, I plan to set it up in the large bathroom near where I sleep.  I'll start keeping Reba in here at nights to encourage her to "nest" in her new bed.  Next on the list is a trip to the vets.  I wasn't going to do this but after scaring myself decided I wanted to know what was going on.  So Reba will get X-rayed to see how many pups she's carrying and if there are any visible problems to anticipate.  

In the meantime, we'll continue on with our exercise program, going for walks and I'll keep feeding her an egg a day for some extra nutrition.  Countdown is on - we're in week 6 (of 9).