Today marked a special milestone in our journey with 'Oodles of Bernedoodles' as we headed to the vet for Coco's first dog pregnancy ultrasound. Wondering if she's pregnant? Unlike humans, there's no simple pregnancy test for dogs. The first real confirmation comes with an ultrasound, at least 30 days after mating.
Having gone through numerous personal ultrasounds, I've become somewhat of an amateur analyst of these images. Two of my kids had structural issues that were picked up in my prenatal ultrasounds. I remember studying my pictures, trying to decipher them as the doctors did.
Coco, interestingly, didn't show the typical signs of pregnancy and had even lost a couple of pounds. The vet was initially skeptical, but as he prepared her for the dog pregnancy ultrasound, his skepticism turned to a smile, suspecting he felt a puppy. And then it was time for the ultrasound.
In ultrasounds, I've learned to look first for black circles - areas where fluid appears black. Cysts also appear black, so the next step is to spot shapes within these circles. As soon as the wand was pressed on her stomach, we immediately spotted three black circles. Three puppies! The mating had indeed been successful. Watching the little ones wiggle, showing their faces and limbs randomly, was pretty cool.
In total, we counted six puppies. A wave of relief washed over me – my recent YouTube binge of dog-birthing videos, showing litters as large as 11, had me a bit anxious. Six is a nice average number for Bernedoodles, which is good for Coco as a first-time mom. And it’s true, even one human baby can be overwhelming, so I imagine it’s the same for our dogs.
The puppy already learned how to do the Metroid ball.
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