The countdown begins....

[Colleen]

Got a call from Fletcher's breeder this weekend, and my girl pup (GSP) is due sometime in the next week!! Can't wait to go pick her out!!

[Wireviz_lady]

My Grace is due this week too. Cant wait...I am a bundle of nerves. Mine are Vizsla.
Keep us posted on the progress.

[Rusti's Mom]

I'm behind ya'll on this one. Rusti was AI'd last Thursday, so I am impatiently waiting until the 16th, when we do an ultrasound to see if it took. I am supposed to keep her quiet for 2 weeks. RIGHT. ................ One can only keep a short hair quiet for so long.

Good luck on your litter, and on getting your pup.

You will have to share pics so I can get my "puppy fix" until I find out if we are "with pup".

Pat

[Wireviz_lady]

we didnt do the ulrtra sound but had an Xray. SO breathtaking to see those little ones in there. My husband is giving me a bad time because I am stressing...he actually thinks that Grace can do this without me. :roll: Can you believe it??? Grace's temp dropped this morning so anytime now in the next 24 hours I will be a Grandmother. I will have to have my hubby pass out cigars at work. I will keep you posted but probably wont be on here for awhile.
Bec

[Colleen]

Haha, keep her quiet. I remember my vet telling me to keep Fletch "quiet and calm" for a week after he was fixed. :roll: Right. Little monster.

Just out of curiosity, is AI common to do? Or do you just do it when you pick a far-away stud and it's the only option? Just wondering.

Wireviz, good luck, hope everything goes smoothly! And Pat, hope you get some good news from your vet!

[Rusti's Mom]

Good luck with the whelping.

I had to help Rusti with the first pup, as she was so big, but after that, I just watched as each one was born. It is just an incredible feeling to see each pup come into this world.

Xray showed 6 to 8, but when she was done, there were 11. This was her first litter. I am praying for a smaller litter this time.

Keep in touch when you can. Enjoy every minute.

Pat

[Rusti's Mom]

Colleen,

We wanted to breed her to Cecil, but he has gone to doggie heaven, so the only way was to do frozen semen. It has been an unreal two weeks. I had to take her on the fourth day of bleed to have the Progesterone levels checked and then every other day until it was the right time to do the surgery. AI can be done two ways, but with frozen semen, it is better to do it surgically. I watched and it only took about 20 minutes + another 10 to let her wake up and we were gone.

A lot of the owners of studs that I know are freezing right now. Most of them want the ease of not having to meet with the bitch and it can be shipped all over the world. However, it does place a LOT of strain on the owner of the bitch. I.e., trying to keep a GSP quiet for two weeks, not to mention the trips to the vet/surgeon.

Pat

[Country-Side Breeders]

My Cassie is due on Wednesday! I can't go on the temp. theory with her, however...she's always in the 99-98 degree range...maybe it'll drop down to the 96-97 range. It's just too exciting to have new litters come, isn't it? This is the best part of the business, IMO. I need to get a sub for me on my Tuesday night trap league...never know if she'll be early or not...although my team-mates think I'm crazy for cancelling trap to deliver pups...they just don't get it, do they?

[Rusti's Mom]

Even the guys from our NAVHDA Chapter, cannot believe that I will not be at our Handler's Clinic on the 2nd and 3rd of October because if she is pregnant, Rusti will be due on the 4th. Duh....someone else can just handle it those two days. I can do all the prep work on it from here. There will be NO WAY that I will leave her.

The ultrasound guy wants to wait until the 23rd to do the first one. That will be the 18th day since the AI, but it already seems like it has been ages. Grrrrrrrrrrr.

Good luck with your litter. Send pics.

Pat

[Country-Side Breeders]

The waiting is the hardest part...although worth it once it's been confirmed that the pups are really in there! I don't generally do the ultrasounds or x-rays, even with my A.I.'s. Unless there is a medical need for them, I'd rather wait and feel for them myself around the 26-28th day. I know my bitches well enough that I can tell within a few weeks after breeding if it's taken or not. Their attitudes take a 180 turn...and get into the "mothering" mental state.

[Wireviz_lady]

Grace is killin me! Her temp took a dive last Mon morning and I still dont have any pups. Of course today is Friday the 13th so My hubby and are laughing that today is the day. She was FULL of energy last night. So restless it drove me nuts. Last year when I did the AI on her she had a false pregnancy. It is so great to see the babies wiggling inside her. There is one that is the most active about 3 a.m. I told Grace it served her right...That was her favorite time to play too.
Bec

[Country-Side Breeders]

That's the main reason as to why I don't rely on the temp. method...although a lot of breeders do. I guess I'm fortunate enough to be able to constantly be watching them (with them being in the house and me being able to work from the hosue), that I can see when things start to happen. I'm not one of the breeders that lock their bitches up in the kennel 2 weeks before delivery, either. I try to keep their lifestyle as stress-free and comfortable throughout the entire pregnancy as I can...maybe I'm too neurotic about it.

[Rusti's Mom]

Well, I think it took as she immediately stopped bleeding. I don't know if that means anything or not. This is our first trip the AI route and may be the last as it is too stressful on the both of us.

I didn't do the temp thing with her first litter and I do't think I will with this one. She was really good last time and hopefully will be this time too.

Everyone is anxiously awaiting to see if this took as this is the first time they have used this stud's frozen semen. At first they were going to do the ultrasound on Monday, but it will now be done on the 23rd. "Inquiring minds want to know".

Good luck everyone. Sounds like it will be a busy weekend.

Pat

[snips]

I have a good bit of frozen on my dog Snips Ticked Off, but as log as he`s able I am not fooling with it. Natural is better and not a hassle. If the vet on the bitch end is not super, then it`s hard to catch, then you have to worry about repeats.

[Rusti's Mom]

That is why this is so expensive. The vet/surgeon is ranked #3 in the nation. Fortunately, he just happened to reside in Houston, so we didn't have to go too far. Every other day, he did a blood test to check her progesterone level, and hopefully it was the right day. He is so confident, he had her due date calculated before she was awake. No further tests by him, just let him know how she is progressing.

I, on the other hand, will not rest until we do the ultrasound to make sure.

Pat

[Wireviz_lady]

I actually did AI with fresh semen last year. Bitch wouldnt allow a live cover. There is a higher conception rate with fresh semen than frozen. Next year when I import semen from Europe for my Scout I will have it done by the vet though. AH what we go through. It does open more options to be able to get HOF dogs semen that have already passed away is AWESOME. THe choices we have now have broadened.
Bec

[Rusti's Mom]

:blob7:

Just got back from the vet's. Rusti is pregnant. Ultrasound shows three as she wouldn't lay down. Today is day 18, so all I wanted to know was if the breeding took. Now I can calm down and quit chewing my nails, grumping at everyone and wait until the 13th of Sept. for another ultrasound to see how many. That will be day 39 so we should be able to see all.

Three or four will be fine with me as she had 11 her first litter and that was a little hard to manage as they got older. I am just thankful that all looks very good and she is in wonderful shape internally. I was freaking out as the two vets were checking out all organs, as long as they had the chance, and I told them to hurry up and let's get to the uterus, and then they could look at everything else for as long as they wanted.

They just chuckled.

Your pups look great.

Pat

[Country-Side Breeders]

Congratulations on the new litter-to-be! And, how exciting!

I had a double litter a few years ago (even though everyone advised against it seeing as I raise them in the house) and I thought what harm can be done...it's both their first litter, how many could they have...they each had 12 pups! THAT was a bit hard to manage when they got older, but I can't complain. They were all gone by 14 weeks. I've since learned to only have 1 litter at a time.

[Rusti's Mom]

THAT, I cannot immagine. My husband asked me if she was going to have as many this time? He well remembers "the herd of 11" charging him all at one time.

When we would go out to the back yard, I would throw 12 dog bisquits out just so we could get out of the back door. Also, taking them to the vet was a three person job.

I have heard different stuff about AI, 1. Litters are smaller, 2. It doesn't matter. My vet says it really doesn't matter especially since it was done surgically, and she and the Dr. doing the ultrasound said the sperm would stay alive for 3-4 days???

I am just glad she is pregnant.

Pat

[Colleen]

Saturday we drove up to the breeder's to put a deposit down on our new GSP pup. They were born August 19th, so they're still really small. We reserved one out of Fletcher's mom, the other bitch he bred has a lot of titles in her pedigree, but since we're not showing, trialing or any of that, we went with what's been tried and true for us.

It was great, Fletch knew where he was right away. He ran straight up to the kennel where his mom was with her new pups to say hi, then right over to where his littermate was tied out in the yard before he bothered greeting the other dogs. His littermate is a TANK!!!!! All he does all day is eat and run, and he isn't neutered so he is a lot thicker than Fletcher. But he's got the same sweetheart disposition, you walk over to him and he just leans into you to be loved on.

Anyway, I forgot my camera, but I did get a Polaroid for my "receipt." She's going to be a pretty girl, she's got a solid liver head (the rest of her littermates have blazes like momma), a few big patches up toward the front of her back, she'll have a good amount of ticking on her body and her legs will be very heavily ticked. Can't wait to tell people that not only are she and Fletcher the same breed, they are half-siblings.

He has two litters right now, so when we go back in mid-October to pick her up and they are older and more active it will be pup craziness!!! Now it's time for the hardest part though, having to actually wait a few more weeks till we get to bring her home!!!

[Rusti's Mom]

We only have 29 more days until we can see our litter. This is day 33 of the gestation. Next Monday, I will get the 2nd ultrasound done to see how many. I have just been hanging out with Rusti, trying to keep her from getting too hot.

Good luck with the new pup and try to get some pics posted when you get her home.

Pat