Emery is somewhat predictable on her heat cycles and I had an idea she would come into season in November. After having a few in depth discussions about stud dogs with Michelle (Rhapsody Vizslas) we both agreed Jett would be a good choice for Emery. I then began planning my road trip from Southern California to Boulder, CO where Jett lives with his owner, Sean.
When doing any 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.
11/21/19 Day 7 - Emery's first progesterone test at Chino Hills Vet came back at 1.5. We're looking for the LH Surge of 12+ to indicate ovulation.
11/23/19 Day 9 - her progesterone was 0.7 via IDEXX at a veterinary hospital in Scottsdale, AZ (en route to Colorado). At this point we decided Emery should meet Jett and after watching the weather I knew I had to get to Boulder before a huge snowstorm hit.
11/25/19 Day 11 - We arrived in Boulder, CO at the beginning of a huge snowstorm. Around 4PM, we made my way to Jett's house. We decided to let Emery and Jett play in the backyard and have Emery stretch her legs. Out of no where we got a 22 minute tie. Neither human was ready for this to happen and we didn't have on the right winter gear -- it was SNOWING 🌨 so I ended up putting my coat over Emery to keep her warm.
11/26/19 Day 12 - We woke up to 22" of snow! Thankfully I had rented a 4x4 SUV to get around town (photo of my car in the morning!). After I was able to unbury my car, we did get another 20 minute tie around 4PM.
11/27/19 Day 13 - Progesterone test came back at 5.1. This was a 3+ hour road trip north on snow packed roads! And it was COLD OUT!
Thanksgiving 11/28/19 and 11/29/19 Day 14 and 15 - We had two more good ties, 44 and 20 minutes. Jett's owner left for the Holiday and I was able to take Jett to the hotel for our lovebird rendezvous. He is a very easy and friendly dog with a fabulous temperament, I was so happy to spend some time with him.
Jett
After consulting with other breeders and vets it was decided to leave town as there was another snowstorm on the way and we didn't want to get stuck in Colorado for the weekend. Bye bye Boulder!
