Update 6/16/09 Zurri is in heat! I'm still waiting for the owner of the stud to get all his information to me. As soon as I have it for you I'll post it. It's been a long time (nearly 2 years!) since we've had puppies, here and we're VERY excited for this litter!
We will post as soon as we're accepting applications and deposits! Please note that all previous litters have sold well in advance of delivery. (we have had some families wait as long as a year before bringing their puppy home!) These puppies can be expected to be ready to travel to their new homes approximately November 1st, 2009.
Zurri and Primo have had a couple romantic afternoons, and we're happy to report that after 3 years of waiting, if Mother Nature cooperates, we'll have puppies arriving sometime around September 1st, 2009! The hardest part is going to be waiting until the end of July when we'll have an ultrasound done to confirm the pregnancy. We are so excited! Are you?
July 18th, 2009....
Zurri is just hanging out, being Zurri! So far she shows no signs of morning sickness, and continues to lounge around in her favorite position. We can hardly wait for the first week in August, when we will do an ultrasound to confirm the pregnancy! Once we know there are puppies in there, we will begin taking deposits on the litter! So exciting!
July 30th, 2009...On Monday, July 27, Zurri had her ultrasound done to confirm her pregnancy. We DID confirm that she's pregnant. Unfortunately we were only able to visualize ONE puppy! Now that does not mean there is only one in there. We have had ultrasounds done on other dogs, visualized 3 or 4, but ended up having 8-13 puppies! This ultrasound was done at the early end of the "prime" time. In fact, in this ultrasound that puppy is just a blob with a beating heart, but if we'd done it 5 days later we would see feet and toes! So, we are hoping that our xray done approximately day 60 will show SEVERAL puppy heads!
Aside from the obvious issues with a small litter, in large breed dogs, singletons have to potential to cause problems with whelping. First, with only one puppy, often the hormone levels are not high enough to cause the female to go into labor. Secondly, singleton puppies often get VERY large in utero, making them too big to deliver naturally, making a c-section necessary. Not only is this hard on the mom, but it's also VERY expensive. And, to be honest, one puppy does not pay for a c-section. Needless to say, we are praying for NO c-section!
The dark blob at the top of the picture is the amniotic sac, and the light spot in the center if it is the puppy's heart. In this picture it's really hard to see the puppy's body, but it's there! LOL
Getting ready! Day 50, time to shave Zurri's belly in preparation for nursing puppies! Can you tell this is her favorite position? While she does look pregnant, she should be about double this size!
August 28, 2009...Day 61.
A couple days ago Zurri had her xray. This allows us to get a skull count so we know exactly how many puppies to expect. (This is very helpful if, during the delivery, the mom gets into trouble, or her labor stalls out, you know if there are more puppies to come and maybe has a stuck puppy, or if she's just done.)
Sadly, we found that our day 30 ultrasound was correct, and there is only one puppy in there. Not only that, but it is one very large puppy. Singleton puppies come with their own challenges. First of all, the increase of the hormone progesterone is what causes the female to go into labor. Often there isn't enough progesterone produced by just one puppy to cause this chain reaction, necessitating a c-section. Also, a singleton puppy often gets very large, causing it to be too big for the mom to deliver. Zurri can have her puppy and day now, but if she hasn't gone into labor on her own by Thursday, September 3rd, we'll have a c-section performed.
The other problem is it's now my responsibility to teach the puppy everything it would have learned from it's litter mates! I certainly have my work cut out for me.
Can you find the single puppy? Hint: Click on the picture to make it bigger.
September 2nd, 2009....5:29 PM.
Zurri just went back into surgery for a c-section. Fun times! It's been a long week of waiting, lets get that baby out already!
Meet Adeen!
"Adeen" is the Russian word for "one", which is very fitting for this little boy who will be raised as an only child! This is the end of Zurri's pregnancy journey. I'll be starting a page for Adeen so you can follow along with his journey here at D & L Doodles!
