Day

Date

Comments

1

7/6/06

First day of discharge.  Also first progesterone, which was scheduled because she had been swollen so large for more than a week.  Progesterone = .3

2

7/7/06

3

7/8/06

4

7/9/06

5

7/10/06

Progesterone = .2

6

7/11/06

7

7/12/06

8

7/13/06

9

7/14/06

Progesterone = 1.1

10

7/15/06

11

7/16/06

12

7/17/06
Monday

Progesterone = 5.8 / Lab says best days for breeding 7/18 thru 7/21 / Attempted first breeding with Rogue at his house.  Unsuccessful.

13

7/18/06
Tuesday

Second day of breeding attempts with Rogue at his house.  A little more interest on his part but unsuccessful.  AI unuccessful.

14

7/19/06
Weds.

Third day of breeding attempts with Rogue at my house. Unsuccessful.  AI unsuccessful.  Vets believe that the injury he suffered in April is preventing him from breeding Flame. /  Redrew blood for another progesterone = 12.6 / Go to plan B and try to use Shane (Rogue's litter brother in California).  / Telecon with Don Morris.  He is willing to start driving tonight and meet me half way.  Lesson learned:  Always good to have a back-up stud dog ready to go!

15

7/20/06
Thurs.

Up at 4 am to drive to Medford, OR, with Mary Berry as co-pilot.  She got us an appointment for an AI (if needed) at Medford Animal Hospital, Stephen Bernard, DVM, 619 Market St., 97504, (541) 772-2222 at 11:40 am.  Met Don at 11 am at motel.  Dogs sniffed noses and flirted in the parking lot.  Went to vet clinic where they allowed us to use their play yard (15 x 15 fenced & covered run).  Within a minute of unsnapping leashes, Shane was on and quickly achieved inside tie that lasted 13 minutes.  Flame was perfect brood bitch – flirted and stood totally still.  I supported dogs during the tie.  She whimpered a little a couple of times.  Shane was the perfect stud dog.  Vet looked at drop of ejaculate remaining on penis after he withdrew and found “moderate” amount of sperm.   Heat wave in Medford – temperature 104 degrees.  Went back to motel with Don & Shane.  Dogs crated & just fine while we went to eat and spent several hours in room. / Both dogs & all humans very happy & tired. / Vet staff was WONDERFUL – send flowers & thank you card.

16

7/21/06
Friday

Met Don at 6 am at vet clinic where we achieved second natural breeding with another 13 minute inside tie.  Temperature forecast for 109 degrees.  Theme for litter – HOT temperatures or HOT to trot. / Both dogs & all humans very happy & tired. / Got back to Seattle at 8:30 pm.   Very tired, relieved and happy. / Don drove home to pick up Carol, Kayla and more dogs so they could then head to Reno for obedience & rally trials this weekend. 

Day *

Date

Comments

1

Sat.

Discharge is definitely much less.  Some watery & light colored with one spot of darker red in britches.

2

Sun.

More discharge than yesterday; brighter red (more blood colored).  Acting very sweet; wants to cuddle even though it’s very hot.  Unusual for Flame to want to cuddle so much when it's this hot.  Tyler is flirting with her.

3

Mon.

More discharge than yesterday; brighter red (more blood colored).  Can you tell by her expression whether or not she's pregnant?   Tyler still thinks she's pretty cute, but she won't have anything to do with him (in that way!).  Photos taken today.  Journey, Keeper, Flame & Tyler (left to right) in group photo.

4

Tues.

Very little discharge; very diluted & watery; only ate about half of her dinner

5

Weds.

Very little discharge; ate about 3/4 of her breakfast, ate all her dinner ravenously

6

Thurs.

Minimal discharge; no longer needs to wear britches; ate all her breakfast ravenously

7

Fri.

8

Sat.

Sun.

10

Mon.

It's so hard to answer the question:  is she or isn't she?  Only Mother Nature knows for sure.  Interesting observations:  She is definitely more affectionate than normal and wants to cuddle more.  AND, she threw up (regurgitated :-) the last few bites of her dinner this evening -- a behavior not uncommon to nursing mothers and/or pregnant bitches who might have a little morning/evening sickness. 

I've always been a big believer in getting first-time mothers used to their whelping box long before the puppies arrive.  Flame's box is now set up in the dining room, which is just off our kitchen through a doorway.  I like to have the box in a corner so mom feels more secure, but when whelping time comes we can pull everything out to the middle of the room for easier access.   Although this isn't my perfect house for whelping puppies, reprioritizing the use of the dining & living rooms, together with rearranging furniture, will make it quite comfortable and workable.

Because Flame is in major nesting mode (yes, already), trying to find a dark, low spot to prepare as a place to whelp, I draped a sheet over the x-pens on either side of the box and put some stuffed toys inside (yes, she's been laying on top of toys lately, too).  My goal is to convince her that the whelping box is better than the area behind the couch, behind the computers, in the closet, under the fireplace hearth, etc., etc., etc.  This location is close enough for Flame to feel part of the group, yet it can be baby-gated off from the other dogs, and still allows the rest of the family the rooms in which they're used to spending a lot of time.  There are comfortable chairs for visitors to sit and hold puppies, a shelving unit for supplies, the dining room table for a work surface, and a little view of Lake Washington for daydreaming.

It's also important that mom-to-be gets used to spending time alone, away from the other dogs and humans.  (That's one of the biggest reasons, in my humble opinion, why some bitches don't make good mothers.  They've been doted on by their humans, spoiled, never left alone, etc., so when puppies arrive the new moms don't understand they have a job to do.  They have to be forced to stay in the whelping box, nurse, etc. and the humans end up doing a lot more of the work to make up for what mother dog is lacking.)   Flame is already used to, and comfortable, being alone because all my dogs grow up with a varied routine -- sometimes they're together, sometimes they're alone, sometimes they go with me, sometimes they stay home, etc.

After Flame's puppies are born and mobile, they can have access to the kitchen, family room and outside to the back yard with just a few alterations to the set-up.   I still need to move extra dining room chairs out of the room, etc., but things are taking shape.  And, most importantly, there's a comfortable couch for human sleeping when the time comes.

I'm trying to get organized as quickly as possible because my dear husband, Gary, goes into the hospital on Sept. 6 for two back surgeries, a week apart.  He'll be hospitalized from Sept. 6 until Sept. 14 or 15 -- and yes, puppies are due Sept. 16 to 18.  Fortunately I have lots of friends who will be helping out.  Some are being assigned to husband-sit and others to Flame-sit, since I don't like to leave a pregnant bitch alone the week prior to her whelping.

Today's photos include Flame on the living room couch.  She's started spending more time on her back, typical of my bitches at this point in their pregnancy.  Flame is starting to get the famous "football figure" and every day I spend a little time with my hand on her belly, hoping to feel puppy movement.  (Not yet!)   The x-pen photo shows Flame spending time confined more closely to her whelping box because the last photo shows a dog's eye view of where Flame is trying to nest now -- under a spare dining room chair because behind the chair and to the left is a cardboard box holding a few pieces of firewood.  Flame was trying to shred the cardboard for nesting material. 

This is about the point in their pregnancy where the breeder starts to feel a little guilty about what she's putting her bitch through, knowing it's only going to get worse (more uncomfortable) until she whelps.  Flame got a special treat last night, sleeping next to me on the bed, and she did a lot of readjusting to try to get comfortable.

Today and tomorrow are my last two full days of teaching classes.  Next Wednesday Gary goes in for the first back surgery.  I owe a debt of gratitude to my substitute instructors as well as my students for their understanding and cooperation during the next month!   I also owe a huge thank you to the various friends who've offered to help out with Flame and the other dogs.  THANKS TO EVERYONE!

In the meantime, it seems that Julia's temperature has dropped, which typically means puppies will be born within 24 to 48 hours.   Click here to see the latest report from Deb La Monica.

Sorry that I haven't had time to do more frequent updates.  There hasn't been too much to report, however (just an ever-expanding belly!).

I am working my hospital visits to see Gary around Flame, making sure I'm not gone for more than 4 hours at a time, so she can potty and eat.   It will be more difficult to visit Gary after his next surgery on Monday, so I am hoping that all goes well.  Fortunately, friends are willing to help out as needed.  

When I came home late this afternoon, there was a noticeable change in her body.  She's "dropped" and definitely looking like a football.  Tomorrow I'll get some standing & top-down photos.   I've also started taking her temperature and will list it in the left-hand columns in red.  "Normal" canine temperature is around 101.5 but lower is normal during the last few days of a pregnancy, usually ranging from 100.3 to 100.8. 

Flame's attitude and energy level are great.  She still wants to run around like crazy, playing with Keeper and Journey -- but I'm limiting that sort of activity.  The last thing we need is a high speed collision! 

You may be wondering where the other dogs are, since I've only referred to Journey & Keeper.  Last Tuesday Tyler went to stay with Aunt Stephanie & her family (Bob, Daniel & Tyler's granddaughter, Crystal).  Tyler visits there on a regular basis and just loves all the attention they lavish on him.  (He's like a retired Snowbird, but instead of going south to California or Arizona, he heads north to Bellevue!.  He'll be there until the puppies are a couple of weeks old and life calms down around the house.  I definitely want him around the puppies because he's a great grandpa type of influence -- puts up with puppies to a point, but then nicely, but firmly, tells them enough is enough.

The PWDs are kept separate from the Belgians as they (the PWDs) don't have the best dog skills.  There have been a couple altercations and I don't want to take any chances with puppies around the corner.  Plus, Gary says that Kalypso was NOT a good mother (Apollo's mom), so we don't want any of that bad mother karma rubbing off on us!   Although it's a hassle to keep the breeds segregated, at least it's fairly easy with the layout of this house and yard.

For my whelping diary, click here to visit the Whelping Page.