Dollys time nearly up

Dolly is now 7 weeks & 3 days from first mating & is now beginning to slow up & last night could see the pups moving as well as feel them moving. At this stage the skeletal bone is laid down which makes it possible to feel them as individual lumps. Obviously the size of litter will make a bit of difference to when you feel or see movement , as if a big litter, because of less space in the uterus, movement will be seen earlier than a bitch with a small litter. At the moment if I was pushed I would say Dolly looks like she is carrying between 4-6 pups, but some times you an be totally out as the bitch carries a lot of water & there are less pups than thought or she carries not very much water & she has more pups than expected. I still after all this time get very excited about pups being born & still think how amazing any birth is.
Ysabel is 10 days behind Dolly & is now looking very pregnant too, you can not see the pups moving at this stage & would be lucky to feel much movement. Both girls are looking really well & are developing nice udders already, getting ready for their little pups to suckle on.
Click on photos below to see full size.