River walk

The stick killer hits the Bow River in Calgary.

Pregnant

Darbs is pregnant!

Vet counted "at least 5" on the ultrasound.

This week the puppies are forming their toes and whisker buds.  They'll grow up to 30mm and are now looking like little dogs.

Cute

November 2007

One of Miikka's puppies crawled up on her nose for a nap and Miikka laid there...wide awake...the whole time so as not to disturb her little buddy.

If you DON'T think this is the cutest picture you've ever seen (or at least top ten), then there's something wrong with you.

Seminar

Anybody who is slightly involved in breeding has heard of Dr. Robert van Hutchinson.

I am going to a seminar today on "Advanced Canine Reproduction" and I am so excited!

Dr. Hutch comes from Ohio and he is a guru in the breeding world.  I can't wait to meet him and hear him teach for 2 days.

Bird Catching

I have a series of photos of Darbi catching a goose on the Old Man River last year.  The bird obviously had an injured wing.

The dogs love chasing birds off the river, I just don't think they ever expected to catch one!

Goes to show that one should never give up hope.

Day 21

Today is day 21 post ovulation.

Eggs should have implanted on day 19.

This week:
eyes and spinal cords develop
faces take shape
fetuses grow up to 15mm

Little guys are growing!!

Ultrasound appointment on the 24th.

Heartwarming

I miss my "girls" when I'm away at work.

Miikka has a 1/2 sister who is owned by a colleage and she stopped by for a visit.

Mya is 6 months old.  I was feeling a bit burnt out this morning and a puppy hug made it all better.

Serial Killer

Uh oh.

Looks like the stick killer has hit again.

Two at once?  She's out of control.

Practice makes perfect

I take about a thousand pictures that look like this...

to get one that looks like the one of Darbi on the right.

4 Cells

This is what one of Darb's puppies look like right now. Isn't she cute?? Looks just like her.

The cells are 4 cell at the start of the 2nd week and 64 cell by the end. The embryos are also entering the uterus.

We may or may not see morning sickness in Darbi this week, but we haven't noticed anything yet.

My experience tells me that I'll have NO IDEA if she's pregnant or not up to the ultrasound booked for the end of this month.

A dog's hormones stay the same, post heat cycle, whether they get pregant or not-hence the unavailablity of a pregnancy test for dogs before 30 days of pregnancy.

How to kill a stick.

I think it's dead Peanut.

My Party

It's my party and I can cry if I want to...

This picture...from the "air conditioning extavaganza" day makes me laugh.

Lili

Meet Lili again.
You first met her in the Miikka and Lili picture in July on this blog.
She was born at 1447 on November 6, 2007. The first puppy born from Shaq x Miikka litter and assigned the "Pink" collar.
As a little one, we called her "Dora" as in "Dora The Explorer". She was a very busy and brave puppy.

Lili now lives in Calgary in a very active hunting and hunt test home. She already has several passes at the NAHRA Started level.
When Lili's owners went on vacation, we offered to baby-sit her for the week. As you can see, when in our house, couch time is essential. It's hard to see in this picture, but that is Lili laying between her mother and Darbi.

Darbi is looking rather perturbed that Miikka is in HER spot.

Lili's owners sent me this picture of her training in Idaho not long ago.

I think think she likes her job, no?