At about five and half weeks she also started leaking some urine.
We tried the store-bought doggie diapers first, but they were expensive and even the extra-large size didn't fit. So, after doing a little research online we found that men's jockeys with a baby diaper safety-pinned inside worked fairly well. Bella wasn't crazy about having to wear them, but she tolerated it. (That's our cat, Louie, photo-bombing Bella's picture!)
At this point, we also took Bella to the groomer and had her belly and back end shaved. Even though she will naturally lose some of the hair on her belly, this will make it easier for the pups to nurse when they are born. And trimming her back end will help to keep things cleaner when she delivers.
By week six, there was no doubt that Bella was pregnant! Her belly was pretty large, and she was starting to produce milk. Her annual checkup fell during this time, and the vet assured us that she's a healthy mama-to-be.
We're in week seven now, and have collected the puppy supplies we need, and brought a whelping box into the house. Bella wasn't too sure about the box at first. She started "nesting" a couple of days ago, and appeared to have chosen a carpeted spot under our dining room table! So, we blocked her out of that room, and added some old bath mats to the whelping box. I also started putting her treats inside the whelping box so that she'd have to go into it to get them. Today I noticed that she has started digging at the bath mats (nesting behavior). I'm also seeing that she's more sluggish than usual and looks a bit more uncomfortable. Though her due date is May 4, I'm suspecting we'll have pups here before that!
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