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Dogs carry an average of 10 puppies, which explains
why there are more than 100 million pups in the world! From the day of
conception, it takes just 63 days for a puppy to be born.
Inside the womb, the embryos of a golden retriever are about the size
of a pea when they're 20 days old. By day 30, the embryos are the size
of a grape and the puppies have beating hearts. As the puppies
develop, their intestines grow outside the body because there's not
enough room inside. As the puppies get bigger, the intestines slowly
move into their abdomens.
With less than a month to go, the fetuses are about the size of a golf
ball. The puppies must constantly move in utero to keep their joints
from freezing. With only a week to go, the puppies have grown a full
coat of fur.
After 63 days, the tiny golden retrievers are born
blind and unable to walk. Moments after the birth, the mother
instinctively tears open the birth sac so her babies can breathe.
Then, she eats the placenta to ingest chemicals that stimulate milk
flow.
To survive, the puppies use their noses to find their mother's
nipples. They will bark for the first time about 18 days later, and at
just six months old, these little pups can start having puppies of
their own!
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