Vet exam -- tail dock ✓ and dew claw removal ✓

Today (1/31) the pups made a road trip to Chino Hills Animal Hospital for exams, tail docking and dew claw removal.

Emery came with us for the trip as it is best to let her nurse the babies before and after the procedure.  We had quite an adventure being routed around SoCal due to a major crash that shut down 3 lanes of I-5 North. All in all the trip was more than 4 hours.

The pups were troopers and I supervised Emery nursing them on the way while a good friend chauffeured us back and forth.

Car rides are no big deal! 

Emery's big belly and updates

Update on Emery on Day 62ish . . . 

Em is showing some nesting behaviors like digging, she ate her breakfast like a champ but she is otherwise quiet. She is currently sleeping under my bed on a soft shag carpet . . .  Hoping she doesn't want to have her babies there! <wink>

Our whelping room is ready for the puppies to arrive!

Some notes on the last few days of Emery's pregnancy . . .

Week 9 

• Watch for her temperature to drop. 
• You may take it rectally if you want but she's just plain old cool to the touch compared to what she has been the last 8 weeks.
• She may also become restless, seek seclusion and in the last few days. 

Due Date January 29th (approximately) 

• Expected date of whelp. Average is 62 days but may take place from the 58th to the 68th day. 
• Keep watching for that cool to the touch.. if you're actually taking the temp, it does drop from 101 to 98 degrees.
• Appetite will disappear as whelping approaches.
• May see a clear discharge from the vulva.
• At onset of labor may pace, dig, shiver, pant and/or vomit. 
• First fetus will be delivered within 4 hours of the onset of labor.

We have an exiting week ahead, I believe in you Emery! 💘

Drum roll...🥁

Emery was NOT happy with waiting for her breakfast until after the x-ray! 😚 

I brought her food and she ate right after the vet visit! 

X-ray Day! Take a peek at the upcoming Believer Babies!

X-rays are an invaluable resource when whelping a litter, a couple reasons "why" I do radiographs on pregnant dogs. X-rays are generally done after Day 50+ of gestation, otherwise the skeleton hasn't ossified (calcified) enough to count the babies. 

You can usually count puppies readily on radiographs, again +/- one puppy. (Count skulls, not spines! Most people count BOTH). Even then, someone can be hiding behind another puppy or along mom's spine. This helps me plan for the whelp and know what to expect. 

The other advantage is that the skulls can be compared in size to the width of the dam's pelvis (not usually an issue with Vizslas).

Drum roll...🥁 Emery had her X-ray today with Dr. Beckie Williams (Chino Hills Animal Hospital). How many babies do you see? Don't forget to count the skulls and the spines!

Beautiful belly! 💖

Look at this beautiful belly on the Baby (aka one of Emery's nicknames) 💖

What is a Fetal Heart-rate Doppler?

Yay! Puppy heartbeats for the Baby Believers were detected by a hand held fetal heart rate doppler (I listen for the fast beating). Emery laid quietly on her side while I checked the puppy heartbeats, she is such a patience and sweet girl (and I think she likes the treats she gets for the "belly check").

A normal puppy heartbeat (near full term) is between 170-230 BPM (beats per minute) and somewhat resembles the sound of galloping horses. An adult dog has a heart rate between 90-120 BPM.

Ultrasound doppler equipment has been used in human medicine for over 20+ years to confirm pregnancy and monitor fetus development and well being. 

In a canine, fetal heart rates can be detected around Week 5 of gestation. The doppler detects the motion of the beating heart and translates that motion into an audible heart beat (some dopplers, like mine, have a display showing the heart rate). Using a doppler throughout gestation allows me to confirm a pregnancy (after Day 30), and approximate the number of fetuses in the litter (Day 45 and up). I also use the doppler during whelping to monitor the fetusues and communicate any issues to my reproductive veterinarian.

🥁 DRUM ROLL 🥁

Christmas came early -- I am thrilled to share that Emery is expecting puppies by Jett! For those wondering about the recent road trip, I wrote a song about it ... 😉

🎶🎵 This past Thanksgiving the Vizslas gave to me ... 🎶🎵

• Two feet of snow ❄️❄️

• Three thousand miles driven 🚙🚙🚙

• Four states to visit ☀️🌵 🎨 🏔

• And a belly full of babies for my favorite Emery! 🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶

Thank you Michelle (Rhapsody Vizslas) and Sean (Jett's owner) for making this breeding happen despite the Holiday week and snowstorm, and to Judy (Boulder Vizslas) for the cold weather survival gear!

In the meantime, Emery will receive the best of everything (food, veterinary and general care) as her pregnancy progresses.  Puppies expected on or around January 29th. 

I AM SO EXCITED! 😍

Ultrasound date 12/23/19

Emery will have an ultrasound at Chino Hills Animal Hospital on 12/23/19. Ultrasound is the best technique to detect the pregnancy from around three weeks in, the ultrasound is safe and uses sound waves to create pictures of your bitch’s womb.

Ultrasound won’t tell you how many puppies are in her womb as it is extremely difficult to count them with what is resulting from that type of scanning imagery.

YouTube video of an ultrasound (not Emery).

Planning, progesterone and dog sex (oh my!)

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!