All Is Well In Paisleyland!

But nothing is happening yet.  Am glad Nena is waiting as she's filled out a lot this week and I'm beginning to think we'll have more pups than I had originally anticipated.  She could have gone in for an x-ray this week, and answered the question on numbers, but I really hate taking pregnant bitches to the Vet and exposing them to who knows what.  So, we'll just wait and see.

From the progesterone reading we had, and the day that the AI was done, we expect pups on the 27th +- 2 days, so they could have come as early as yesterday.  Am betting on closer to the 29th, but it's up to Nena.  If we were planning a c-section, we'd know when to do it, but we always prefer normal whelpings.  I also prefer normal breedings, but in this case Nena was ready to breed sooner than expected, and a chilled semen shipment was our best option.

Nena is still ravenous!  She actually put her feet on the counter yesterday to check out the chicken thawing in the sink.  Pregnant or not this is not acceptable and I grabbed her by the cheeks, put my face close to hers, and reminded her of that.  She was very apologetic, and being a really good dog I doubt that she will do it again.  It's all about catching them in the act, and not accepting that kind of behavior.  She continues to be an excellent houseguest.

If you're on the waiting list for a puppy, here's something for you to read.

"How to Prepare for a Puppy"

 

• Pour cold apple juice on the carpet in several places and walk around
  barefoot in the dark.
• Wear a sock to work that has had the toes shredded by a blender.
• Immediately upon waking, stand outside in the rain in the dark saying, "Be a
  good puppy, go potty now -- hurry up -- come on, let's go!"
• Cover all your best clothes with dog hair. Dark clothes must use white hair;
  light clothes must use dark.
• Float some hair in your first cup of coffee in the morning. Also put some
  hair in everything that you cook!!! And in the pots and pans in your
  cupboards!
• Run out in the snow/rain in your bare feet to close the gate.
• Tip over a basket of clean laundry, scatter clothing all over the floor.
• Leave your underwear on the living room floor because that's where the puppy
  will drag it anyway... Especially when company is coming.
• Jump out of your chair shortly before the end of your favorite TV program
  and run to the door shouting "No, No! Do THAT OUTSIDE!" Miss the end of the
  program :))
• Put chocolate pudding on the carpet in the morning; don't try to clean it up
  until you get home from work in the evening.
• Gouge the leg of the dining room table several times with a screwdriver. ..
  it's going to get chewed on anyway.
• Have a backhoe come in and dig random giant holes in your yard. Then go out
  in the early AM and step in a few. Try not to break anything.
• Take a warm and cuddly blanket out of the dryer and immediately wrap it
  around yourself. This is the feeling you will get when your puppy falls
  asleep on your lap.

Author Unknown

 

Not Long Now

No matter where I am in the kitchen or dining room, I see this face staring at me, sending me thought waves.  "Feed me, feed me", I'm sure she is saying.  Poor Nena has an insatiable appetite right now.  Thank goodness she is not a drooler like her dad Argus or my floor would be an inch deep in slime!  Her family kept Nena in very good condition, and her weight is just right.  We don't want the girls to get too heavy as it can increase the chance of whelping problems.

The pen is ready for Nena, and the box will go in place tonight.  She probably won't be thrilled about moving to the basement, but it's the only place I have where she can have some privacy (no, I don't do pups in my bedroom).  This two story home doesn't have a really good place for a whelping area, but the semi-finished basement has worked fine for many years.  I set up a pen, put the whelping box in the pen, put a thick later of papers on the floor, and use a whelping box liner and blankets in the whelping box. 

There's a table next to the pen that has all my supplies.  Thermometer, Tums for extra calcium during whelping, lots of towels, heavy thread for tying off any cords that bleed, notebook and pen for recording details.  Of course my cell phone will be added to that too!  This evening I will start taking Nena's temperature so she's used to the process.  Most bitches will show a significant drop in temperature before whelping begins.  I'll also check with the Vet we use for reproductive services to find out who will be on call this weekend, just in case we need help or advice.  Fortunately Ron is home during the day, so unless the pups come this weekend, he'll keep an eye on things during the week.

We're getting close!  Sunday would be good, but we just have to wait and see.

 

Such A Good Girl

Nena is doing well here, seems to be settled in and happy.  Stephanie has done a great job of raising Nena who has lovely manners and fits in well.  She's quiet, easy to walk, very good in a crate, respects the doggy gate, and does not steal from the counters or the trash.  Because she's absolutely ravenous right now, I'm particularly pleased she is not counter surfing.  I don't tolerate that from my own dogs, but many of our doggy visitors don't have such good manners!

Tonight I will put the whelping area together for Nena.  I'll lay papers, set up the whelping box, put up the pen around the box and put up the heat lamp for extra warmth.  Nena can sleep downstairs tonight, so she will be comfortable there when the puppies start arriving.  Yes, I will be with her when she whelps!  My dogs never whelp unsupervised!

Just checked to see if there is a cut off date for the Futurity.  Because I am judging the Dalmatian National in 2014, any pups I breed can not be shown in the Futurity that year.  If this litter would be eligible for the 2015 National I will go ahead and nominate the litter.  I suspect they will be 2014 pups, but I just sent an email to the Futurity Chair to find out for sure.

Nena Joins The Family

That's Nena on the right, watching Fern and Max wrestling on the rug.  They have invited her to join in, but she's trying to be dignified.  The introductions went well, and the dogs are all getting along fine.  Nena slept in the kitchen last night, but I'll introduce her to the basement tonight where the puppies will be raised and she can have some privacy.

I was pleased that introductions went so smoothly, but all my dogs have good social skills and have been raised to accept dogs coming and going.  I hate dog to dog aggression, and raise my dogs to be accepting of other dogs.  It's something that I select for in my breeding plans too, as it is partially genetic.  Show dogs, performance dogs, and companion dogs all need to get along with other dogs.

Last Peaceful Weekend For Awhile

My last peaceful weekend for awhile, I suspect.  Nena arrives tonight to get settled in for a week before the pups are due.  She knows us and knows the resident dogs, but it will still be a culture shock for her.  Fern will be determined to engage Nena in play, but I doubt she'll have much interest.  Argus and Max will want to sniff her everywhere which will be aggravating for her, while Josie and Watson will just say Hi and climb back up on the sofa.  Nena will demand sofa space with Ron in the evening, so Fern will have to share her spot.

Basement is all scrubbed down, and the puppy pen and whelping box will go up tonight.  Max will be sorry that his training area has been taken over and his tunnel put away for now.  His favorite game is chasing tennis balls through the tunnel - his reward after we practice his obedience training. 

Argus probably deserves another cheeseburger as his kids had a fantastic weekend with Brit and Piper getting their first points, Mellie and Bert picking up 7 more points, and baby Will winning several times too.  Mellie has 14 points and both majors, so Jana pulled her on Sunday - because she's finishing too fast!  She's done so well, and we'd like her to get to a few more shows before she's done.  I'm not showing Max at any of the upcoming small shows either as I'd like to finish him in the spring at bigger shows.  So pleased with how well the Argus/Holly kids have been doing!

Josie went coursing with her friend Sue on Sunday and picked about another CA leg.  Because she's already 10+ I'm not sure if she'll be running next year, but as long as she stays sound it's possible.  Both Josie and Sue really enjoy the sport.  Josie also went to a Halloween Party, dressed as a cheerleader - she leads an interesting double life as Sue takes her interesting places.