Paradigm Rhodesian Ridgebacks
| Dinah's Blog for her 2010 Litter (Chaos & Dinah): CH Paradigm Total Chaos Reigns JC x CH Paradigm's Fire & Brimstone |
 | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  |
| Contact Us: Mike & Martha 860-887-9635 paradigmrr@sbcglobal.net |
January 2010:
- the 20th: Dinah lounging with her momma, Ella.
We're all waiting for her to come in season. Go
Dinah! Go!! - the 30th: Dinah finally came in season -- Day 1
- the 31st: Decided we would take a shot of her while
she has her svelte figure, which will (hopefully) be
gone in a month or so! :-) Dinah would rather not
be bothered by such trivial matters. Being in
season is very serious business to her.
February 2010:
- the 4th (Day 6): Dinah & Mike head up to Framingham, MA (a 2 hour drive) for Dinah's
1st progesterone and pre-breeding health screen. To read about progesterone etc,
click HERE! They also did a vaginal smear -- a quick and dirty indication of
determining how far along she is in her heat cycle. Want to know what all this
means? Read more about it here! The repro vet highly recommends we use the
entire 1.3 breeding units of Frozen Chaos. This will be an all or nothing risk! To learn
about how we will try to maximize our success of conception, click HERE. - the 5th: Martha arranges for release and transport of Chaos' frozen semen from
Synbiotics in MO. It is scheduled to ship on Monday, the 8th, and will be delivered on
Tuesday -- plenty early for Dinah's surgical implant. Another OUCHER bill! - the 6th (Day 8): Dinah's 2nd progesterone was taken this a.m. at our local vet in
Colchester. We should have results tomorrow. Although, Dr. Berard warned us that
the sample might not make it to IDEXX, given the mid-atlantic snow storm that is
raging right now. - the 7th: the sample did make it to the lab. Dinah's progesterone level for Saturday a.m.
was 0.7 -- still close to baseline. She has another blood draw tomorrow at 8:00 a.m.,
so will be late getting to work. - the 8th (Day 10): another progesterone draw for Dinah. We received notification that
Chaos' semen was shipped from Synbiotics. - the 9th (Day 11): Things are happening! Our repro vet called and said Dinah's Monday
progesterone was 1.2 ng/mL and requested that we take her to the vet today for a
blood sample to reserve for her LH calculation. A sample from each of Dinah's blood
draws have been reserved and frozen at our local vet. When Dinah's progesterone is
rising to 4 or more, the repro vets will ask that the samples be delivered so the LH
surge peak can be calculated. You can read about it at the above links or here is
another good article! See the chart below to see how LH surge and progesterone rise
are related, as well as prime fertility time. Anyway, Martha got Dinah in at 3:45 p.m.
Let's just say "The Princess" is no longer amused with car rides. Dinah has a very
descriptive expression -- there was no issue in reading her communication to me!
This morning we also checked FEDEX's tracking number on Chaos and saw he was
hung up in the midwest due to heavy snowfall there, finally was in transit to Boston and
missed the courier in Framingham, MA. After a panic-e-mail to the repro vet, we
received notification it had been delivered. Our vet also called and left a message that
the semen straws were intact and safe and in their storage unit. Thank goodness,
since the NE is supposed to be hit with a big snowstorm. Another progesterone blood
draw is scheduled for tomorrow at 8:00 a.m. - the 10th (Day 12): Mike says we're "in the Red Zone" -- not being a football fan, I didn't
appreciate his cleverness. Another blood draw for progesterone this a.m. Because
we are in the middle of a snow storm, our vet recommended a vaginal smear -- just in
case the blood sample doesn't make it to the lab for tomorrow's read-out. Dinah is
fully cornified (>80%), which means that if she hasn't ovulated she is close to it. Again,
this is a subjective test, but certainly lets us know things are progressing. After
discussions with our repro vet, they most likely will want us to take Dinah up tomorrow
(Thursday), as well as all her frozen blood samples for LH testing. We won't know for
sure, until we get results back from progesterone (assuming sample gets there). If
the LH numbers and progesterone indicate that ovulation has occurred, breeding is
estimated to be Saturday or Sunday. If you look at the chart to the right, we are
shooting for "Day 5" from the LH peak. That is why we have all these frozen reserved
blood samples to take to the repro vet so they can plot it all out. - the 11th (Day 13 heat; Day 3 LH): busy day -- Martha worked at home, anticipating a run
to MA. A call to the local vet early this a.m. confirmed that the progesterone sample did
not make it to the lab. After conference with repro vet in MA, I picked up the reserved
blood samples for LH calculation from our local vet -- neatly worked in a "work" (i.e. this
is paying for everything) teleconference; and I have a new boss who probably isn't too
happy with my excuse "my dog is ovulating.....") -- dashed all the girls up to MA for
Dinah's appt. After all, why deprive everyone else of a 2 hour joy ride. Results: Dinah's
LH peak (see graph) was "raging screaming" on Monday, the 8th. Calculate 5 days out
-- we want maximum eggs fully matured -- ends up being Saturday -- "D-day" -- 12:30 p.
m. The repro vet wanted to go ahead and send a progesterone sample out (since we
didn't have yesterday's sample for guidance) to ensure her progesterone was
climbing. I guess some bitches with fertility problems never ramp up and,
consequently, never ovulate. At this point, my mom would say "let the tail go with the
hide" -- actually a saying from my paternal grandfather -- an interpretation maybe from
buffalo days something like "why worry about the cost of the tail -- it is cheap compared
to the cost of the total hide." Will have to confirm that. Bottom line: breeding Saturday,
the 13th, at 12:30. - the 12th (Day 4 LH): Our repro vet called and said that, based upon Thursday's
progesterone (6.7 ng/mL), Dinah's progesterone was rising slower than they expected
-- she clearly was done ovulating, though. But, to give maximum chances of the eggs
being mature, Dinah's surgical implant was moved to 3:00 p.m., Saturday, versus mid-
day. These repro specialists are very detail-oriented, which is a good thing. - the 13th (Day 5 LH): Dinah had 1/2 breakfast at 5:00 a.m. -- something she did not
appreciate. We will head up about 1:00 p.m. to Slade Veterinary Hospital in MA to
arrive at her 3:00 appt. We thank everyone for their interest and expressions of best
wishes. Will keep you posted. - the 14th (Day 2 -- hopefully): Dinah's surgical implant went well. We didn't get home
until 7:15 last night. Her uterus was in "excellent" condition. Chaos had plenty of
active sperm that 'woke-up', but the straws did not thaw out at the expected 70-75%.
So we are likely below the recommended "gold standard" 100 million motile sperm.
To ensure that we would have puppies, the repro vet recommended that we bring her
up today (Sunday) and do a fresh AI on her with another dog. Mike and I already had
decided, though, it was Chaos or nothing on this litter. If it doesn't take, then we will
breed her on her next cycle to another dog. Having said that, though, we are highly
optimistic and expect that everything will work out fine. We absolutely nailed Dinah's
timing -- it could not be better. It is a textbook lesson on perfect timing. And, that
parameter alone is why most breedings fail. Dinah is doing well this a.m. -- she's a
little sore and is wearing a t-shirt to make sure she doesn't lick her stitches. Here is a
pregnancy calendar link so you can see what is hopefully going on physiologically. I
think if you put the Feb. 12th as the breeding date that will more closely resemble this
breeding since the travel days for sperm are different with surgical implant. - the 16th (Day 4): Have had lots of expressions of concern for Dinah so here's her
update. Dinah has definitely re-attained her Princess Di status. While Ella and Eva
are banished outside to the heated kennel during our work day, Dinah, instead,
reclines on our bed upstairs watching snowflakes make their descent. Our petsitter,
Lori, is coming at noon to take her outside to potty and to check her incision. This is
definitely how a princess should live! Although, Dinah is starting to get a little antsy
with her confinement and anxiously looks out the window at Mike playing with the girls
when we get home from work. I expect that it will be a little more challenging to keep
her quiet for the rest of the week. - the 27th (Day 15): Many requests for updates. Dinah is fully recovered from her
surgery. We've been rolling her over and checking her nipples the last couple days to
see if they are starting to pink -- its still early, however, and Dinah thinks we're freaks! ;-
) She is trying to convince us, however, that her food rations should increase
dramatically. We don't think that is significant, though, since she was trying to convince
us of that prior to the breeding! :-) Dinah has an appointment at 9:00 a.m. on March
12th (28 days) for a manual palpation. This won't be a headcount, simply verification of
pregnancy. Hopefully, late next week we'll see some positive signs, as described in
the calendar cited above.
- the 12th (Day 28): This is a rollercoaster litter! Our local vet was unable to feel any
puppies during Dinah's palpation exam this morning. I was stunned! By Wednesday
of this week, we were highly confident that Dinah was pregnant. Long story short, our
repro vet in Framingham, MA was able to squeeze us in at 12:40 for an ultrasound. A
puppy immediately popped up on the screen, followed by another. The Vet's comment
was, "she's definitely pregnant, but WOW SHE IS GASSY!" Dinah's intestines were
inflated and hiding the pups. So, our vet said there was no way she could give a
headcount, but there were at least 4 pups and likely more. She just couldn't tell. To
the right are some ultrasound pictures. The black bubble is the pup. She measured
the gestational sack of the pups and they are right on target for development and
whelp on April 14th. We celebrated by buying 5 cases of canned goat's milk -- the
pups will be weaned on a goat's milk based puppy formula. - the 23rd (Day 39 -- 3 weeks to go -- YIKES!!): Everyone has been incredibly patient for
an update -- we realize that. To the right are pictures of Dinah. She is doing very well,
but WOW!! What a personality change. She is on red-alert, barking at the least
suspicious noise, trying to lick everyone's mouth like a puppy, and the bizarre thing last
night was when she chose to snuggle up with Eva on a dog bed, instead of her own.
Eva loves sleeping with others, but Dinah finds it quite offensive (usually). The final
thing was tonight I pulled out the show lead to stack her -- usually a thing of delight that
sets her in to fits if she sees me put it on someone other than her. She slunk away
from me and skulked over to Mike, as if I was going to beat her! Quite pathetic indeed.
Nonetheless, I put it on her and pulled out the bait and she immediately switched her
brain. In case no one believes the ultrasound and confirmation of pregnancy, just read
the above and check out the pictures. :-)
- the 8th (Day 55 -- 5-6 days to go!): Sorry for the silence -- I was out of town visiting
family. Dinah continues to do well and is growing bigger -- although, not quite as big
as we expected. We suspect that she may have a smaller litter than our traditional
litters in the past (11-11-12). Mike says he thinks she will have 7 pups. Who knows,
though, we may be surprised. While we talked about getting a x-ray, we really could
not justify the radiation exposure to the pups and Dinah merely to satisfy our curiousity
(at least that is what Mike says!) :-) The whelping room was set up 2 weeks ago,
bedding for the whelping box has been freshly laundered and bleached. So, we are
ready to go. We will start taking her temperature this weekend to get a baseline.
Within 12-24 hours of whelping, her temperature will drop a degree or 2 -- can't
remember now. We obviously need to read our whelping books this weekend too!
Will also try to get some pictures up, but our hard drive is full right now. - the 14th (Day 61): 6:30 a.m. -- Dinah's temperature dropped last night and further this
a.m. Her baseline temperature over the weekend was 100. Last night at 9:00 p.m. it
was 98.7 and this morning it was 98.4. You can read about the different stages of
labor here. Dinah is not panting yet, but has checked out her whelping box (which we
have looking like a den) and has engaged in vigorous digging. She also checked out
the dog house in the kennel. She is resting comfortably upstairs on our bed with Eva
and Ella. Mike says that we are in the REAL red zone now. :-) - 3:00 p.m. -- It is going to be a long night. Dinah still hasn't started panting nor does
she have obvious contractions. I'm not sure why our dogs like to whelp at night. She
is more restless and is still not convinced the whelping box is where she wants to
raise her children. Under the deck step is a favorite, as is the dog house in the
kennel. She is also eyeing some shrubs. We let her do what she wants and just keep
an eye on her. We did notify our vet of her temperature drop and will give him an
update later on, as well. Click HERE for more updates (webpage is full) & to right.
|
Back to 2010 Litter.
Click picture to enlarge.
March 2010:
The black bubble are the pups. In
the top 2 pictures, the "clouds" to
the side and below are the Dinah's
expanded intestines from gas. We
can attest that the last 2 nights, we
could hardly sleep from the
stench! Not a usual occurrence. :-)
To the right, Dinah recovering from
surgery (Feb. 14th). Below, Dinah
losing her figure at 39 days (03/23)
-- 3 weeks to go.
the top 2 pictures, the "clouds" to
the side and below are the Dinah's
expanded intestines from gas. We
can attest that the last 2 nights, we
could hardly sleep from the
stench! Not a usual occurrence. :-)
To the right, Dinah recovering from
surgery (Feb. 14th). Below, Dinah
losing her figure at 39 days (03/23)
-- 3 weeks to go.
Click ultrasound to enlarge.
April 2010:
- Dinah never went in to full-stage labor, because it
turns out, there was only 1 puppy. There were no
other signs of any fetuses -- mummified or
otherwise. She had an emergency c-section,
resulting in a robust, healthy show-ridged girl. :-)