Sunday, September 24, 2017

Week Five (Days 28-35) of Zene's pregnancy

At this stage, amniotic fluid in the uterus increases in order to protect the pups around day 32 of gestation, and so you or your vet will no longer be able to detect the presence of puppies by palpating the abdomen. 

From week five onwards, the puppies are much less susceptible to developmental issues and defects. The individual toes begin to form, and claws and whiskers start to grow. Fetuses grow from 18 mm - 30 mm. The foetuses also develop their male or female sexes during this time. The puppies will begin to develop their markings and the skin pigmentation that will eventually determine their color and looks.

The fetuses develop their sex organs and begin to look like actual puppies. The leg buds lengthen and develop toes. Your dog's belly will begin to look noticeably swollen as the pups take up more space. With less room for full meals, it's time to think about serving smaller meals more frequently.

  • Dam begins to lose her "tuck-up" as weight increases and puppies shift
  • Swelling of the vulva becomes more noticeable
  • Be aware of her weight, do not over feed

Sunday, September 17, 2017

Week Four (Days 22-28) of Zene's pregnancy

Development of the Puppies
  • Development of eyes and spinal cords 
  • Faces take shape 
  • Fetuses grow from 5-10 mm to 14-15 mm 
  • Organogenesis begins -- Embryos are at their most susceptible to defects 
  • Days 26 - 32 are the best days to palpitate (i.e. feel for the puppies) 
Changes and Care Required in the Momma Dog
  • Possible clear vaginal discharge 
  • Mammary development begins 
  • After Day 26, palpitation may be possible to diagnose pregnancy 
  • Limit strenuous activity (such as working, jumping, long runs) 
  • Add 1/4 cup cottage cheese or a hard boiled egg to food on alternating days 
Breeder "To Do " List
  • Schedule ultrasound (Day 30) or palpitation with vet if desired

Friday, September 1, 2017

What is the Goodies Litter?


Litter themes are the norm when going to such great lengths to plan a litter of puppies and the 2017 Teak x Zene litter is no different. 

Puppy parents-to-be, Teak and Zene made their love-connection the weekend of the prestigious Santa Barbara Kennel Club dog show in August 2017.  The event is near Goleta in Santa Barbara County, which was initially named “The Good Land”.  The town is situated between the Santa Ynez Mountains, which offer a scenic backdrop to downtown, and the Pacific Ocean with temperatures warm enough to be outside all year long, and a list of things to do that includes cycling, world-class surfing, stand-up paddle boarding, hiking, camping, and golf.  In searching for a litter theme it made sense to tie back to the Good Land and the Goodies was too cute to pass up.

Each pup in the litter will have an AKC Registered name which must include the word "good" or "goodies". Their "call name" can be anything but it can be cute if they tie back together. For example, Zene's call name means "music" in Hungarian, and her AKC Registered name is CH Moonlight's Rock'n Ow't RN JH CGC.  Make sense?

Here are some examples of names, but feel free to let me know if you come up with others:

Moonlight's Good to See You
Moonlight's All in Good Time
Moonlight's A Good Spell
Moonlight's In Good Company
Moonlight's Bill of Goods
Moonlight's On Good Terms
Moonlight's As Good as New
Moonlight's For Good and All
Moonlight's Get On My Good Side
Moonlight's Get the Goods On
Moonlight's Good Lovin'
Moonlight's Good Enough to Eat
Moonlight's Good for What Ails You
Moonlight's Good for You
Moonlight's Good Luck
Moonlight's The Good Life
Moonlight's Have a Good One
Moonlight's In Good Company
Moonlight's in Good Graces
Moonlight's Kiss Good-Bye
Moonlight's Let the Good Times Roll 
Moonlight's So Far, So Good

Sunset at Goleta Pier - Unknown

Planning, progesterone and dog sex (oh my!)

Zene is fairly predictable as far as her heat cycles go -- she came in season on August 16th which is six months after her last heat.  In looking at dates, I realized we may have the opportunity to breed her to Teak the end of August.  Teak's owners were heading to Santa Barbara for the prestigious Santa Barbara Kennel Club dog events so the timing was perfect. When doing a breeding, step #1 is to do progesterone testing. Good breeders do progesterone when organizing each breeding (whether "live cover" or an AI - artificial insemination breeding).  

What the heck is progesterone testing, you ask?

Basically, progesterone is a hormone produced by the ovaries that rises as the heat cycle progresses. Early in the canine heat cycle the progesterone values will usually read less than 1.0 ng/ml. The first significant, sustained rise in progesterone usually coincides with the "LH Surge". The LH stands for luteinizing hormone and is released by the pituitary gland in the brain. This is important because ovulation occurs about 48 hours after the LH surge. The progesterone value at the time of the LH surge is usually about 2-3 ng/ml. The progesterone will rise to about 5-8 ng/ml at the time of ovulation. Canine eggs are not ready to be fertilized at the time of ovulation and take about 2 days to mature. Once mature, the eggs remain fertile for 2 to 3 days and then begin to deteriorate. Of note: progesterone stays elevated for about 2 months whether the bitch is pregnant or not. We like to know when the "surge" is so that we have an idea of ovulation, when to breed, and to estimate the whelping day.

Zene's progesterone testing came back as 2.4 on Thursday, August 24th. We're looking for the LH Surge of 5+. She met up with Teak over the weekend and there was a "love connection" regardless that she was lower than a 5. Over the next few days we had successful breedings and Zene travelled with Teak to his home in San Diego for more of the same. 

More details to follow . . . We will we plan to do an ultrasound in four weeks to verify a pregnancy. So please check  back . . . 

And then there were NONE!

Baby Gigi (Purple Girl) stayed at Moonlight Vizslas and became "Emery" and she's exceeded my expectations in every way ....