Sonya "Before" breeding
Sonya @ 4wks
Sonya at 5 wks (4 wks to go)
Sept 22, 2010: Sonya is now in "season".
Sept 29, 2010: Progesterone test on Day 8 was 1.6 ng. It'll be a few days...
October 1, 2010: Progesterone test on Day 10 came back at 3.2ng. Getting close-- ovulation happens at ~5 ng, and we want to do the first insemination 2 days after that point (takes 2-4 days for eggs to mature after ovulation for fertilization). I ordered first shipment of semen based on past progesterone histories w/ my girls. This shipment arrived on a Saturday by Fedex but will keep a total of 5 days if need be (in refrigeration).
October 4, 2010: Dr. Mike suggested we do an AI today as a precaution due to the weekend interfering with testing. The semen shipment looked very good. We did another progesterone draw to confirm ovulation and indeed she was at 9.5 ng. This first breeding should have been good but I have another shipment ordered for Weds arrival and AI, as I want to make sure we fertilize as many of the the eggs as possible.
October 6, 2010: Did a second AI today. Another nice shipment... now it's all up to Sonya!
Sonya measured 29-26.5-23 (chest- last rib- waist) at breeding and I'll be measuring her weekly for my records. This is just a game I play to try to guess the numbers. Not really that scientific but keeps me occupied anyhow. ;)
October 24, 2010 (+3wks): Sonya has increased by one inch at her waist!
November 7, 2010 (+5wks): Sonya measured 29- 28.5- 25 today, up by 2" at the last rib and 2" at the waist. I started to increase her food just a little this week. She's still taking 3 mile walks w/ the rest of the crew to stay in condition.
November 10, 2010 (+5.5 wks): She really looks like she's "growing" so I measured again: 29-30-26! She gained 1-1.5" in a matter of 3 days! She's seeming to be extra hungry this week too -- all good signs.
November 14, 2010 (+6 wks): Measurements were 29.5 - 30.5 - 27.5 (see +6 wk photo).
November 19, 2010 (T minus 16 days...): Saw a good sized kick in her loin this morning! I set up the whelping box today and Sonya jumped in sniffed around and wagged with approval.
November 21, 2010 (+7 wks): Sonya's measurements are 30 - 33 - 30 (see +7 wk photo). I've started to feed her 4 meals per day now instead of 2 since she's slowing down in that department. Still plenty active in play though!
November 27, 2010 (almost 8 wks): Sonya's measurements are 30 - 34.5 - 31 (see 8 wk photo).
Any guesses as to how many?
Dec 1, 2010 (day 59): Sonya's temperature was only 99.2F at 7am. Had been 99.5-99.7F the past week or so. By 11am, it dropped to 98.7F.. indicating puppies were on their way in the next 12-48 hrs. This is pretty much as early as you want for a litter of pups since puppies born before day 58 don't have good chances so I was hoping she'd hold off until Friday. I had one more job to do in Pasco, and took Sonya with me, just in case (at least there are vets and friends available in the area!). Sure enough, by the time we were within 5 miles from home, Sonya starting having hard contractions and was now "yipping" at me to let me know.
Within 2 hrs, the first pup was born-- small but healthy: only 11 oz. He ended up being the smallest pup of the 9 born. Largest was born last and weighed 14 oz, but sadly, she was probably in the birth canal too long and I couldn't revive her. The 2nd to last born was a boy who also started out slow but seemed to be doing fine until the next morning when he started to have problems; he died by Thurs afternoon.
Dec 3, 2010: Final tally of surviving pups is 7: 3 girls and 4 boys. All are doing well and have gained between 1.5 and 3 oz by Friday morning (1.5 day old). I have an appt for dew claw removal this afternoon so vet will check them all over then too. This picture was taken Weds pm so there were still 8. It was lime green who died Thurs.
Dec 4, 2010: Dew claw removal went well and the pups were plenty strong! Once again the vet remarked he was glad I didn't wait til Monday! All the pups are gaining weight nicely, though Sonya thinks they should be nursing her more. She gets pretty frustrated when they fall asleep on their heating pad and "ignore" her. She's an excellent mom-- so much so, we've offered to take on a couple extras from a friend who had a litter of 12 surviving (14 total) pups just a day younger. Will take on blacks from that litter if needed so identification will be easiest.
Dec 6, 2010: It's been ridiculous here the past 2 days. It seems that half sis / aunt Mata (black) is trying to "puppy nap" Sonya's pups. I caught her nursing one yesterday, and *4* this morning...... she was in season about the same time as Sonya (was not bred), but definitely has the hormones going! Will be interesting to see if she actually gets milk. If you look close in the last picture, she has one pup hidden under her neck! Pups now range from 21 - 26 oz.
Dec 9, 2010: The puppies are now 8 days old and have doubled in weight. Auntie Mata is indeed lactating, so the puppies happily nurse on whomever is present. Shaking my head. They also have the cleanest bums in the west w/ all the nannies around here. Thankfully my girls all get along great!
Dec 11, 2010: The puppies are 10 days old now and as you can see, are doing great, whether nursing on mom or Aunt Mata!
Dec 13, 2010: And then there were 10! Last night a good friend decided it would be best for her new mom, who whelped the day after Sonya, to give me 3 of her black lab pups to foster. Her girl had 14 total, 12 surviving, and her girl is quite small. With 2 of mine nursing, this is actually beneficial for us too as I was getting worried about the possibility of mastitis if Sonya (or Mata) produced more milk than was needed. Suffice to say, all is going well with the blended family. Weights for my litter ranged from 2.0 -2.25# last night. The fosters are ~1/2# smaller but they sure are trying to catch up!
Forgot to mention earlier that these pups (including the new additions) have all been undergoing the Early Neurological Stimulation (aka Super Puppy or BioSensor program) since day 3. This program will be completed on day 16.Dec 15, 2010: Sonya's pups will be 2 wks old tonite! Yellow collar girl's eyes are starting to open now, but the others aren't quite ready yet. All have really "found their wheels" the past couple days too.
Dec 17, 2010: Four of the pups had their eyes open today, 3 more to go for us. One of the foster pups also had his eyes open. I gave them some formula to lap starting yesterday and as you can see, they had a lot of fun with that! I think Blue boy thought it was a swimming pool... they still love mom's cooking the best though!
Dec 19, 2010: The pups are 2.5 weeks old, but since they were born 4 days early, I still think of them as only 2 wks old --and that makes sense since their eyes opened so much later than I'm used to. Despite that, they range in weight from ~2.6 to almost 3.0# so are doing well. I laid some stinky newspaper in the corner last night, and a few are starting to gravitate to that area for potties already, so I can't complain there! Now when I get into the box and sit down, I'm mobbed by 10 busy little bees piling into my lap. This is a cute, but demanding stage.
Dec 22, 2010: 3 weeks old tonight! Pups range from 3.15 - 3.5# now. Tooth buds are prominent now, so it'll be a matter of days before the needle teeth emerge. Sonya and Mata continue to be quite the team.
Dec 25, 2010: Merry Christmas! Pups are 3.5 wks old tonight and weigh from 3.73-4.27#. The sharp teeth are starting to poke thru now. Took some cute pics today of the gang:
And a couple rude interuptions in the photo shoot by Terrible Tango (Mata's youngest--- not quite 9 mos old):
Dec 26, 2010: Potty training is going pretty well. We get into a traffic jam every now and then after meals but otherwise they are hitting the pan far more often than not, so that's good. Hopefully they'll be pretty solid in a few more days. Mata is still helping w/ the nursing duties probably ~3x a day, and is usually the first in line to see if the puppy pans need "cleaning". She's a good helper. Sonya's pups are really gaining weight now and were at 4.0 to 4.5# tonite-- our fosters are a bit smaller at 3.17- 4.0# but gaining nicely and are very content.
January 1, 2011: Happy New Year!!! With the new year, comes new "digs"-- at least for a few hours during the day. The pups ate their first lunch in the bigger pen in the garage today and seem to like it quite well. They really like the crate as you can see-- which is a good thing!
January 6, 2011: It's been a busy week. Until last night, it was too chilly to heat the garage as much as needed for the puppies, so they had to sleep in their whelping box, but the weather is cooperating now. The puppies really seem to appreciate having a little more elbow room and I know they like being able to see all the big dogs too. Tango even takes them some toys every now and then (but then proceeds to steal one of theirs!).
They are now 5 wks old, eating softened puppy food 4x a day and still nursing at least that many times per day. Weights range from 6.5 - 7.5# with most at 7.0#. They received their first parvo vaccine today and all did well. Since I didn't schedule much work today to be home with them, I was able to take a few out one at a time to "socialize" in new rooms in the house. Envy, Kiku and Tango happily volunteered to be helpers. January 13, 2011: Another busy week here... but we're 6 wks old! The weather has lightened up a little, so the garage has been easier to heat other than one night when the fireplace was needed as a supplement. I added the tunnel in on Sunday, just before the foster pups left. You can see how that went-- there were 6 stuffed in there when I went to weigh everyone! Speaking of weights, they now range from 7.5 - 8.5 lbs, which is great. They also are getting out to play daily, and even went out to the "great white" outdoors today!
Sonya @ 6 wks
Sonya @ 7 wks
Sonya @ 8 wks ( 1 wk to go!)
The boys: BLUE
RED
GREEN
WHITE
The Girls: PINK
YELLOW
PURPLE
Mata loves helping with the dishes. Pups have been nursing "piglet style" for a few days now.
10 little piggies sleeping off dinner and dessert!
Lunch time! Same food, different diner....
Hey, this nest is comfy, and it came with a new duck pillow too!
Me, Me, Me!!!
Take me upstairs!
I'm not scared of this "Animal" either.
Hey sis, let's PLAY!!!!
January 16, 2011: 6.5 wks old and already 8.5 - 10#! Sonya thinks it's time for them to grow up and stop nursing but they aren't taking the hints that well. The pups have enjoyed lots of visitors the past week or so and have played with bird wings and even a quail. I am hoping with a few more nice days, some of our snow and ice will disappear, but we'll see.
January 20, 2011: 7 wks old! We had a rough day yesterday w/ some diarrhea going thru the litter, but all are doing great now. I have seen this in some of my spring litters so figure they ate something in the ground while outside playing (the snow has melted!!!) which upset their tummies. First combination vaccines will wait until the morning just as a precaution.
Has this crate shrunk?
Mama Sonya getting accosted!
Okay Mister... it's time you learn some manners!
January 23, 2011: This is the big weekend for evaluations. One friend helped me with structural evaluations and photos yesterday, and another with live pigeons today. Some pups held still better than others for their side shots, but that's normal. They all did nice jobs!
January 24, 2011: Vet well checks went super today! Everyone got microchipped and had a clean bill of health. The ride wasn't even bad -- a little bit noisy on the way there, but very quiet on the way home. :) CERFs tomorrow. Hopefully they'll be nice and quiet for the ride!
January 25, 2011: CERFs (eye checks) all went off w/o a hitch today! Yea--- Clean bill of health for all, always glad to have that behind us! They did destroy a bit more of my hearing for the first part of the drive though... Had a great romp at a Lab friend's house prior to the exams, so were good and tired out for Dr Collier. :)
January 29, 2011: All but 2 pups have left now-- and it's already so much quieter here. And yes, I got to sleep in until almost 7am this morning! Hopefully all is going well with the new families. Mr. Blue will leave tomorrow. And Ms Purple???? Who knows! I'm working on a hopeful co-ownership with her but in the meantime, she'll help entertain my big dogs here!
Miss Purple standing pretty, almost 8 wks
7 wk face shot
Tango plays with Blue and Purple
Assorted 10 wk shots of "Roxy"
