Countdown!

Red dog is looking VERY large. We weighed her last night and she is a whopping 24kg, SIX kg heavier than normal. Anyone would think she has a bellyfull of  puppies ;)
The countdown is well and truly on and the whole family is *very* excited. 10.5 days to go, pups due next Thurs PM, could come anytime from Weds -Fri PM. She is currently with my parents, but I will get her back Weds morning and have a week off work to make sure everything is going well. I have been buying things for the puppy pen, as I want to very much have an 'adventure playground' for them when they get to 3-4 weeks of age.
I have been doing a lot of reading about the importance of early socialisation and stimulation and how it has resulted in better performing adult dogs. There are a few new things I have not heard of before, but I will try to perform the 'Vigour for Life' test at birth, as well as the early olfactory stimulation exercises. I am very sad that Helen King is not going to be able to help me assess their structure, as she very sadly passed away a few weeks ago. My plan is to get them show stacked (hopefully with some assistance!) and they try and assess myself. I did and loved Helens' course, so hopefully I can do a good job of that. Structure is the most important factor I will be considering when it comes to which pup I will be keeping.
Here are a couple of (truly terrible!) pictures of Rosi showing her belly and nipples.