Week #6.5

I am posting this picture a bit early because I think we will start to see a change for the better. I finally have been able to get Envy to eat after 2.5 weeks of barely eating. Here she is with 2 big cans of wet dog food in her gut....hopefully now that I've found something that she will ingest we will see this belly grow! You can actually see the muscle wasting in her shoulder if you look closely. I will start posting more pictures.

Week #6

Here is the weekly picture taken today (above), but on her bed...it was so hot that I didn't have the heart to make her move.

I took a picture yesterday of Envy in the usual spot but Nava started feeling very left out and decided that she needed to be in the picture....I didn't edit her out so that you can see just how needy Danes are! Worse then Raven for needing to be in pictures. Now everyone can see why I keep saying that my non-pregnant bitches look more pregnant then the pregnant one!

Friday 13th proved not to be the best day for me, I ended up getting bitten by a clients dog - a 120 +lbs Malamute X (that she insists is a wolf hybrid) - owner wouldn't even apologize...what a hag! We're waiting to hear back on the x-rays to see if it's broken, which I doubt but a green-stick fracture wouldn't surprise me. Fun-fun, can't be that bad though, still went to work today - downfall of owning your own business, you don't get to pansy out and stay home!! lol

Week #5
I know that you guys are thinking to yourselves, why does she keep showing us the same picture over and over again?? But trust me that it isn't, I take a different one each week and then pout when there isn't a big difference, take comfort in the fact with Envy not eating or eating very little for the last week but she is slightly getting bigger by next week there should be a noticeable change (at least that is what I am telling myself, and Jack learned his lesson about not to bursting my bubble!)

Ultrasound

It's not the best picture, but it's the best we could get with the illusive puppies. At one point we thought there might be five, but Envy sneezed and we couldn't find them again through all the poo! So the next step is to take an xray after day 54, so anytime after July 25/26th,
but at that point 6 days later she would be whelping them!

Week #4

Here is the pregnant belly picture, my guess is 3 puppies, but maybe we will get a surprise on Tuesday and there will be 5....that would make me happy.....and as some of you have learned, keeping me happy is the way to go!! *Insert pity for poor Jack here*

I thought everyone would like to see how she passes here days playing in the fields, the photo of her sun tanning unfortunately didn't turn out but was rather funny!
Envy has decided that eating is too nauseating for the last several days, but Nava has stepped up to her plate to help finish everything off.

Bets, place your bets...

So I couldn't wait until tomorrow and took her in for an ultrasound today...of course she was completely 'full of it', and wouldn't go potty so we could only see one baby. So she is pregnant, but we have no ideas about numbers, other then seeing the one, but will go back on Tuesday after the long weekend so that I might be able to get a better U/S.

I have my puppy, so the rest of you will have to keep your fingers crossed! LOL

Nay-sayer

I'm starting to have my doubts. Darcy said that I was feeding the girls way more then he has been feeding and so they all look pregnant except Envy! I think if maybe I could somehow stop staring at her it would be better, but that's really not an option! LOL

I have palpated her myself with no luck, her abdomen is just too tight and it's just been too long since I last did it....can't wait much longer....mind will explode....starting to feel head swelling...*POP goes Michele*

So here I go to sit in the corner and pout until 2:20 on Friday.

Week #3

6 more days to put us all out of our misery and find out one way or the other!

For all of you that are local, don't forget that the Dane Specialty (a dog show only for Great Danes) is on July 28 2007. More information can be found on either:
www.classicshowservices.com
or
www.westerngreatdaneclubofbc.com

Week #2

Here is Envy's belly at 2 weeks post insemination, I haven't increased her food yet but she seems to be really getting thicker, I realize that it's hard to tell in a photo when you don't get to actually see her.....I hate to admit it but I'm starting to get my hopes up - which is never a good thing until we have confirmation of an ultrasound. I'm so superstitious as to not even let people know they can have a puppy from a litter until they are over 2 weeks of age.

Dane theme song!!

I love this song!!!! All Dane people should have it playing while driving down the road!

http://www.smytheandtaylor.com/blacksamplegreatdane.mp3

Week #1

One week has past so far, here is Envy's picture...Here is another picture which, in my mind sums it all up - she's laughing at us silly humans for staring at her tummy every week!!

...patience Grasshopper...

Am I the only one who feels like there are ants on my pants about this whole thing?? I know that it is TOTALLY ridiculous to think that I can see a difference in Envy already but there is something.....
....look past the razor burn, caused by the bad shave job...all the pictures I take are after dinner time for the dogs, usually about an hour or so after - this one about 2 hours after her dinner. Maybe it's just a swollen dinner tummy?

Being an only child really doesn't give me the ability to wait well (I have discovered), so forgive my ramblings!!

Canine Pregnancy Calendar

Pregnancy Calendar for Dogs
Date:	Mon 4 Jun 107
Sire:	Ch MiHi's A Starz' Born
Dam:	Ch Diamond Danes Heavenly Sin
Breeder:	Michele Grenkow
Sat 2 Jun 107	First day of mating. 48 hours after the first mating the bitch should be mated again. Subsequent matings occurring over a period of time enhance the chances of fertilaziton taking place. The spermatozoa migrate up through the cervix.
Sun 3 Jun 107	Sperm travel searching for a mature ripened eggs.
Sun 3 Jun 107 - Mon 4 Jun 107	Spermatozoa reach the eggs in the oviducts.
Mon 4 Jun 107 - Tue 5 Jun 107	Fertilisation occurs in the oviducts which lead from the ovaries to the uterus.
Tue 5 Jun 107 - Thu 7 Jun 107	Fertilised eggs migrate down the oviducts and into the uterine horns. The migration continue to enable even spacing of the embryos. During this migration the eggs will grow into a blastocystes.
Wed 13 Jun 107 - Fri 15 Jun 107	The blastocystes implant in the wall of the uterus.
Wed 13 Jun 107 - Wed 27 Jun 107	The blastocystes will grow into an embryos. During the next two weeks the important organs will develop.
Sat 16 Jun 107 - Sat 23 Jun 107	Dams nipples begin to pink enlarge. The fur on the dams belly and around the nipples may become thinner.
Fri 22 Jun 107 - Fri 29 Jun 107	Morning sickness might occur due to hormonal changes or stretching and distension of the uterus. Dam may appear a bit apathetic. She may be off her feed for a while and vomit from time to time. Feeding the dam several meals spaced throughout the day might help. Your veterinarian may want to prescribe a drug to relax the uterus.
Wed 27 Jun 107 - Sun 1 Jul 107	An experienced person (a breeder or a veterinarian) can tell by careful palpation whether the dam is pregnant. It's now the best time to do this because the embryos are walnut-sized now and easy to count.
Sat 30 Jun 107	Start to increase the dams food ration. Don't overfeed, excessive weight gain should be avoided. The foetuses are now and are fully developed miniature dogs.
Fri 6 Jul 107	The Dams abdomen starts to get larger.
Mon 16 Jul 107	It's very easy now to feel the puppies, counting them might be a bit more difficult.
Thu 19 Jul 107 - Fri 27 Jul 107	Dam begins to spend a lot more time in self-grooming. Her breasts become even more swollen. She may become a bit restlessness and begin to search for a suitable place to have her puppies.
Sat 21 Jul 107	The dam might lose her appetite during this period. Her abdomen can be crowded with puppies. It is better to feed several smaller meals spaced throughout the day. You can easily detect abdominal movement now.
Sat 21 Jul 107 - Sun 5 Aug 107	Nipples and vulva should be gently cleaned with warm water, you might want to trim the hairs surrounding the nipples, to allow easier access for the puppies to suck.
Tue 31 Jul 107 - Fri 3 Aug 107	Milky fluid may be expressed from the nipples.
Wed 1 Aug 107	You might want to start taking the dams rectal temperature each morning and evening.
Sat 4 Aug 107	Bitches bred via surgical insemination with Frozen Semen traditionally will always whelp on day 60...Puppies!

Wishes

Here are the pictures now that Envy is home and resting in a sun spot. Everyone at the hospital seemed to be happy with everything and they were doing the fertility dances too!

It also seemed to both Shannon (Duke's Co-Mommy - sire of this litter) and myself that it needs to be a star or constellation theme litter....once you see the parents registered names you'll understand! Envy is "Diamond Danes Heavenly Sin" and Duke is "MiHi's A Starz' Born". With that explained you will understand why this is the saying for this breeding:

Star Light,

Star Bright

First star I see tonight.

I wish I may,

I wish I might

Have the wish I wish tonight.

Tomorrow is the day

Got the 3rd progesterone back this evening it reads 13.8 ng/ml, she will be surgically inseminated tomorrow around noon - so think happy thoughts!

Hopefully I will get a chance to post pictures tomorrow...I'm not sure if I will be able to get pictures of the surgery but at the very least you will have post-op pictures.

Progesterone Testing

After a phone call from the Veterinarian today's progesterone is 5.6 ng/ml drawn at 9:30am. The one before drawn on May 28th was 3.1ng/ml......so at this point Saturday is the day for the surgical insemination, but we will continue to progesterone test to make sure.

The current school of thought is that 5 ng/ml = day of ovulation, eggs mature 2 days after ovulation and live for 2-3 days. The trick is that frozen semen only stays alive for 12-24 hours once thawed. One company states that the progesterone needs to be 9.5-10 ng/ml to breed...but who the heck really knows!!

All I am sure of is that the Ultrasound happens 28 days after the surgical implant, so circle the June 29-30th on your calendar for when we should know along with checking back regularly for pictures of tummy progress.

The Fates are smiling!!

Day #1 - Envy's in heat!!! *doing happy dance* After talking to a few Vet friends, we've decided to progesterone test Envy right through her cycle not just to the day we breed her....the thought process behind this, is that we are wondering if she stalled out in her rising progesterone levels with the last breeding....and since she feels the need to only come into heat every 9 months, I'd rather not second guess myself again!!

Update on life

I thought I would let everyone know where we are in the grand scheme of things...

Envy is staying with a friend who has several girls in heat, so hopefully this will bring Envy in sooner.

I apologize to everyone for not being as chatty as normal. After Mom passed away from cancer her estate was burglarized and we had a long battle with some very ignorant people. I also just had a bilateral radical mastectomy so that my girls never had to go through what I went through with Mom.

Hopefully everyone is doing well on this 2007 Valentine's day and eaggerly thinking of puppies!!

New plans

Well we contemplated a lot of different paths and came up with the following plan of action:

Envy is due to come into heat the beginning of February. She will be bred to our Duke (cousin to Travis). This will be a frozen semen breeding.

Everyone who is on "the list" will remain in their postions, but can choose to be moved if they want due to the change in Sire.

If you have any questions please feel free to email me!

And the answer is....

Well with a very heavy heart I am posting that the ultrasound says we have no puppies. The vet searched for over 45 minutes, because she was convinced there should be puppies.

As soon as we have figured out what is the best path to follow is we will let you know!