Follow Along!

09/05	*Julia was bred to Bongo, but the breeding did not take*
06/19/06		9 1/2 months after her last heat, Julia starts her season. (picture taken 6/18/06 placing at CWA match, shown by her favorite handler "Uncle Steve" Buchholz).
06/26/06	First Progesterone drawn (Day #8)	Result was 1.2 Since she ovulated so late last time, we will wait to draw again until Friday.
6/29/06	Second Progesterone drawn (Day #11) A change in discharge to clearer color was noted, so we drew a day earlier than anticipated. The usual recommendation is every other day, but we are trying to minimize blood draws.	Result was 3.2 which indicates that LH surge has occurred and ovulation is imminent. Will draw again on Saturday. Looks like we may be on track for breeding early in the week.
7/01/06	Third Progesterone Drawn (Day #13) Our wonderful vet, Dr. Kate Schottman (http://www.sunsetpethospital.com) is going to call the lab on her day off tomorrow to let us know if we should head immediately north to BC or wait until Monday.	Result was 5.2,which indicates that ovulation has occurred. At least 5 is the magic number that we were looking for. Once the eggs are released in ovulation, they need two days to mature before they can be fertilized. This means that we will be heading up to Canada on Monday for the first breeding and on Wednesday for the second.
7/03/06 Day #3	First Breeding (DAY #15)	Bongo KNEW that Julia is ready. Julia wasn't quite sure. It was an outside tie, but everything went where it belonged. We will try again on Wednesday.
7/05/06 Day #5	Second Breeding (Day #17)	YAY! Today, we had a 15 minute inside tie. If all goes as planned, approximate date of whelp will be September 5, 2006, appropriately, right around Labor Day in the US.
7/06/06 Day #6	Recalculating Due Date (If fertilization occurred/breeding took we have two cell embryos)	If puppies are born 63 days after ovulation, on average, and we know for a fact that Julia ovulated on the 1st of July, then in reality, puppies should be due on September 1, 2006, give or take a day (range is 62-64 days)
7/08/06 Day #8	If fertilization occurred/breeding took, we have four cell embryos. Julia was demo dog at a stretching workshop that I gave today. I've asked her a few times if she is pregnant, and this is the look I get------------------------------> She was also laying on her duckie today. I got a picture. I think that she misunderstood something that I said about fertilizing eggs and making babies. She may think that she is hatching them. Today she told Ingrida, a friend who has talents in animal communication that she needs to "pay attention to her body".
7/10/06 Day #10	If fertilization occurred/breeding took we have 8-16 cell embryos in the oviducts. I did some preliminary measurements to follow along with in case Julia is pregnant. She is a svelte 17 1/2" just behind her ribcage and 15 1/8" around her tuck up, and 20" around her rib spring. This picture was taken for fun today when we were talking on Whippet World about Whippets who lay in the frog position.
7/11/06 Day #11	If fertilization occurred/ breeding took the embryos now have16-32 cells, have the appearance of a berry, and are considered "morulae"	What is a morula? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morula There is a drawing here, but the timing that they give for arrival in the uterus does not apply to dogs (or fox, for that matter...) Both have "primary oocytes" that have to mature after being released from the ovaries, and this takes a few days.
07/13/06 Day #13	If fertilization occurred/ breeding took there is intra-uterine migration of blastocysts between horns.	What is a blastocyst? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blastocyst *"They're blasting stuff inside my UTERUS?!"*
07/16/06 Day #16	If fertilization occurred/ breeding took, the blastocysts are getting larger, and the migrating within the uterus continues. The zona pellucida is getting thinner in preparation for implantation.	What is the zona pellucida? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zona_pellucida *"Not sure what you are waiting for mom, but I will wait patiently too."*
07/17/06 Day #17	If fertilization occurred/ breeding took, the blastocysts have now stopped migrating, but they continue to grow.	"As long as all of the migrating and blasting is over, I can take a nap"
07/20/06 Day #20	If fertilization occurred/ breeding took, the embryos have now grown to greater than 2mm. They are inside of a 3-6mm uterine vesicle. The zona pellucida is gone, and they have a thin mucoid coat, in preparation for implantation to the endometrium	We are headed for vacation for a few days to Texas, returning on the 26th. I hope to see some changes in Julia upon our return! There won't be new pictures posted until we get back. "Ahhhhh, VACATION!"
07/22/06 Day #22	**If fertilization occurred/ breeding took the embryo is attached. Invasion begins.**	"Isn't science fascinating?"
07/26/06 - 07/28/06 Day #26-28	If fertilization occurred/ breeding took serum Relaxin is rising, as well as Fibrinogen. In the fetus, limb buds form, embryo grows in length from 5 to 10 mm. If we wanted to, we could do a Relaxin test (canine pregnancy test) now, but it would require a blood draw. We'll just wait until Monday when we have an ultrasound scheduled with Dr. Wilcock in Kirkland. Any changes in Julia's body are not apparent right now. Her nipples are enlarged, but not swollen and pink, and her waistline looks about the same as it was before we left. Karma's (Julia's mom) waistline didn't start to expand until well after 30 days of pregnancy, and we had no clue that she was pregnant until at least day 29 of her pregnancy, when she started to have some mammary development.	What is Relaxin? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Relaxin "I thought THIS was Relaxin'"
07/29/06 Day #29	If fertilization occurred/ breeding took, toes are taking shape, whisker buds are visible, the umbilical cord has formed, and the puppies should be about 18mm long.	With that fact in mind, we had a set of experienced hands palpate Julia's abdomen today. she said that though hands can be fooled it seems very likely that Julia is pregnant! We will be excited to see what ultrasound says next week! "I'm not ready for my close-up Mr. De Mille"
07/31/06 Day #31	No more of this "If fertilization occurred/ breeding took" stuff. Ultrasound says... DRUM ROLL PLEASE.... we have at least six puppies! Due on 9/01/06 plus or minus one day.	How many boys? Girls? Are they Brindle? Do we have any dilutes?
08/01/06 Day #32	First Close-up belly picture. It looks just a LITTLE pooched out! Nipples are getting pinker and starting to enlarge. The puppies are starting to have dog-like facial features, and weigh about 1 gram each (1/30 of an ounce, and are about 22mm in length!)
08/03/06 Day #34	We have a belly! Julia is very lame and saw Drs. Salewski and Schottman yesterday. Dr Salewski did a chiropractic adjustment (she was actually doing pretty well as far as her spine is concerned), and helped figure out that it's Julia's outside bones in her foot that hurt. Dr. Schottman did an X-Ray. Radiologist sees inflammation in the joint and a small bone chip. We are trying to figure out what we can do for Julia for pain. (addendum 08/27/06... we eventually put her on Duralactin, Cosequin, and "Body Sore for Pregnant Moms", an herbal remedy that Dr. Schottman found. Julia is no longer lame as whelping approaches) In the mean time, Julia is more tired, and VERY sweet and snuggly. We took advantage of that this evening and took a short nap together on the couch. Doug snapped a picture because he thought we were "cute" together.	23" Rib Spring 20" behind rib cage 17" Tuck-up Sleeping with mouth open and eyes half open.
08/06/06 Day #37	Further development of both internal organs and external features. Puppies are about 45 mm in length and 6 grams in weight. Skin pigment begins to be visible.	Speaking of visible.. Karma (L) and Winnie (R) didn't think it was fair that they were not visible on this page... so... lest they get upset... here they are. Karma is Julia's mother, Winnie is Julia's Auntie.
08/07/06 Day #38	Puppies on the move! We were sitting on the couch this evening, and Julia was napping. My hand was on her belly. I felt what I thought at first was just intestinal rumblings. Then it happened again.. in the same spot AND a different spot under my hands. I started to pay closer attention, and it became apparent that what I was feeling was not intestinal rumblings, but puppy movement! They are running their first races!	23 1/2" Rib Spring 21 1/2" behind rib cage 18" Tuck-up Even at THIS size, they're runnin' like mad!
08/10/06 Day #41	The pictures don't really do justice to the ever expanding belly (as you can see by the measurement change in just three days!). It is possible to see a difference day to day. The biggest difference is her breadth. She is getting wider every day, which these pictures, at least, do not show. If you look up at the photo of her with Uncle Steve, check out the difference in her loin! Julia has yet to miss a meal. She has just a little bit of reflux or heartburn if she eats too much, but that certainly does not keep her from eating! She now knows what the words "preggie lunch" mean, and she expects it to happen as soon as I say it!	24 1/2" Rib Spring 23 1/2" behind rib cage 19 1/2" Tuck-up
08/14/06 Day #45	I'm amazed at the rapidity with which Julia's body changes on a daily basis. She looks different when she goes to sleep at night than she did when she woke up that morning. She's a little more solitary than she usually is. We had company last night, with their dogs, and she chose to hang out on the couch rather than in the dining room with us. I have been comparing her to pictures of Karma, her mother, when Karma was pregnant with seven (including Julia). I'm a bit frightened by the difference! Julia is carrying much bigger than her mother ever did. She looks like Karma did just before she delivered, and she still has three weeks top go! Here are pictures of them at six weeks, and six weeks, two days, respectively. I know that Karma is longer and has more places to put puppies, (and that she is high in the rear in this picture), but even with an extra two days , she did not approach the girth of her daughter! It's difficult to show how wide Julia is without perspective. Suffice it to say that she beats her mom. She is by far not the WIDEST I have seen, but she's not looking as though she has a SMALL litter either!
08/19/06 Day #50	Julia is a bit more solitary than usual, but is also very snuggly and sweet. We are pretty much prepared for whelping. I just need to wash the little towels and cloth diapers (not to diaper the puppies with, but to help clean them off if we need to!) She seems not to be tolerating the heat as well, but still chooses to bake herself and her babies in the sun a few times daily! X-Ray is scheduled August 28th at 9AM with Dr. Fasciotti at Evergreen, the same place we had the ultrasound done with Dr. Wilcock.	26" Rib Spring 25" behind rib cage 21" Tuck-up
08/21/06 Day #52?	*Have I been posting the days wrong?! I just recounted and I think* that somewhere I was two days off. I'll go back and fix that when I have a minute!**	It's a rough life being a pregnant girl. Julia actually high centered herself today when laying in her side... and she had to rock a few times in order to get up. ROCK... ROCK... HURMPH! Ahhh... OK... I'm standing!
08/21/06 YUP! Day #52!	I had initially posted the days as days from the first breeding. In fact, since we know when Julia ovulated the count starts from then, and is far more accurate. As I said above, somewhere, whelping consistently occurs 63 days, plus or minus a day from OVULATION. I had the whelping date right, I just miscounted for the purpose of this particular calendar!
08/23/06 Day #54	We are using a giant sized Vari-Kennel as a whelping box (size #700). Many Whippet breeders use a #500, but I like the roominess of the #700, and Auntie Stephanie had one that we could borrow (THANK YOU!) We disinfected it today, and set it up. Julia, as you can see, is quite content in there. She has not started any digging/nesting behaviors per se, but she is being quite solitary and "denning" herself when she has the opportunity. I think that the high sides of the #700 make her feel safe and secure. We were going to use a plastic kiddie pool, as we did with Karma's litter, but this is more stable on the sides for pushing assistance. I think that I am going to be happy with it. After whelping, with a piece of plywood bungeed to the front opening, this should serve well for a couple of weeks until their eyes open, they are motoring around, and they move into the dining room.
08/25/06 Day #56	The last time these two were in a whelping box together, Karma had just given birth, and Julia was still known as "Puppy #6" or "Splitz" . They decided to reminisce together tonight.	26 1/2" Rib Spring 26 1/4" behind rib cage 21 1/2" Tuck-up
08/27/06 Day #58	Julia is not very hungry right now. In fact, I think that she may be a bit nauseated. She can only eat in smaller amounts because there just is not much room. With a bit of encouragement we are getting enough calories in, but her tastes have seemed to change. I don't recall that this ever happened with Karma. Green Tripe (XCalibur) from greentripe.com is still eaten quite happily, after the initial encouragement. She's hot an panting because it has been rather warm here. At the moment she is laying in the whelping box, where she has been sprayed with cool water, in front of her own portable fan, fast asleep.	27 1/4" Rib Spring 26 1/2" behind rib cage 22 1/4" Tuck-up
08/28/06 Day #59	X Ray this morning! Can You tell how many there are? I'll never tell! <As always, click on the picture for the bigger version>
08/30/06 Day #61	Ahh. yes. Now I remember. This is the hardest part, other than losing a dog, of being a good breeder. Julia is miserable and I feel terribly guilty. She does not care to eat, she can't find a comfortable position, she is huge, and she obviously feels awful. She had a brief temperature drop last night to 98.6 degrees, but shows no signs of being in labor, so I have to wonder if it was a freak reading or a technical malfunction. Dead camera batteries preclude a picture from today. I will be rectifying that in just a bit when I go to the grocery store. Goat's milk ice-cream is in the ice-cream maker as we speak, for a whelping treat (if she will take it). Here is a picture that I took yesterday that pretty much shows how we are all feeling. The picture is worth clicking on to enlarge. That's Winnie in Karma's armpit!	"We are really tired of waiting."
08/31/06 Day #62	It may be a little unclear, and there is some static, but here is a doppler recording of one of the puppies' heartbeats that I saved to the computer tonight!	Click Here to hear an unborn puppy heartbeat
08/31/06-09/01/06	Puppies were born! Click here to go to their page and follow along as they develop and grow.