Dory is so wide that these days getting through the dog door is a challenge. Her sides rub the edges. She ate (and ate, and ate) last night. Doctor Donnie said she could have all the food she wanted. You’ve never seen a bigger grin on a dog’s face than on hers when she heard those magic words. Last night, for the first time ever, she told Chase he could not come into the whelping room. He was very hurt — partly because he is the king and his subjects do not speak to him in that manner, and partly because she had extra food in the whelping pen and he was sure he could score a bite or two.
The Giant Dorito has finally messed up the pads in the whelping box — not a frantic nesting — just a little housekeeping. I suspect we will have puppies Sunday night. When you calculate ovulation by the progesterone results, you pinpoint a 5.0 reading as the time of ovulation. We did not draw blood at the moment she hit 5.0. Rather, we tested her on a Tuesday morning and she was 7.3 which tells us she ovulated within the preceding 24 hours. That means ovulation could have occurred from Sunday afternoon through Monday afternoon. At ovulation the little eggs that could become puppies are released. They take 24-48 hours to ripen. If eggs are fertilized, puppies will be born 63 days from the date of ovulation. That would be this Sunday into Monday. I’ll begin taking Dory’s temperature tonight. Within 24 hours of whelping, her temperature should drop significantly. So we check the temperature twice a day when we are nearing the projected date of whelping.
The Name Game: Breeders often choose a way to identify all the puppies from a litter. Some folks name their litters alphabetically, some use a theme. I am a theme person. This is co-breeder Anne Kowalczyk’s first litter. She would be using registered names that begin with the letter “A”. So, a melding. The registered names for the Dory/Chase puppies will be colleges beginning with the letter “A”. “Auburn” and “Arizona” have already been claimed. I think it would be fun if the puppy owners looked at the mascot for their “A” school to find a call name. However, that is entirely up to them.
I’ll post news as we have any. Please think good thoughts for an easy whelping, healthy, strong puppies, and a quick recovery for mom. I am looking forward to welcoming the College Kids into the world.
