On October 13, Aster’s ultrasound found no puppies. For about two weeks we believed it. Then, on October 26, we measured her girth and found it up 23 percent. Dogs do not read ultrasound reports.
The ultrasound: Thursday, October 29
We asked for a second look, and Dr. Madeline Jung at Franklin County Animal Medical Center in Washington, Missouri, confirmed the pregnancy. The dark, round pockets on the scan are fluid-filled sacs, each one holding a puppy. Ultrasound can tell you puppies are there, but it cannot give you a reliable count. That had to wait for the X-ray.
Ultrasound of October 29, 2026. Watch on YouTube or PeerTube.
The whelping pen: November 1
Terra has been getting the room ready. The furniture is out and the rubber mats are down. A clean floor went in over the mats, then the black panels of the pen, then the whelping box and its pillow. The towels hanging over the side carry cocktail jokes, because this is, after all, the Happy Hour litter.
Terra’s whelping pen set-up, November 1, 2026. Watch on PeerTube.
The X-ray: Thursday, November 5
On November 5, Dr. Sara Bryan took Aster’s X-rays and counted three puppies. Aster weighed 47.5 pounds, up from 44.0 on October 29 and 40.0 on October 13. Her last litter, in October 2025, was six.
The report below sets out what the films show. The count of record is Dr. Bryan’s. A second reading of the contrast-enhanced images, not by a veterinarian, came to the same number: three separate spines on the side view. Two skulls show clearly in each view. The third is probably hidden behind other bones or gas in the gut.
An X-ray can miss a puppy hidden behind another puppy or behind the mother’s spine, which is why we will still count afterbirths at whelping. Three is the best number we have. It is not a promise.
When?
The banner says November 10. Dr. Bryan could see toes on the film, and since toes mineralize close to birth, she expects puppies about November 8. Our own whelping records for Aster and Etta put it at about November 10 or 11. The report above still shows our earlier estimate from ovulation, November 12 to 13.
We will find out which of us is right soon enough. The pen is up, the towels are hung, and Aster is carrying three puppies, or possibly a surprise. She has already surprised us once this fall.
