Waiting...

Paika lost her appetite for dry kibble and today she refused breakfast of kibble mixed with canned food. I checked my pre-whelping notes from last year, and she went through several days of eating very little or not eating at all. Yesterday she ate quite well, especially raw diet, but what she liked the most was a mix of rice, egg and ricotta cheese.

During the day she rests a lot, mainly on her back, but if she hears other dogs going to the field she is ready to join them. I think we are still several days away from whelping. The whelping box is ready in my den, and yesterday she checked it out and spent some time in it. She has my den all to herself as Summer and Sky's crates have been moved to another room. Now we just have to be patient...

Todau she is going to get a bath, and I'll groom her some. By the way, we don't know how many pups she carries. I would say maybe 6. Her belly is hanging low, but she is not very wide. When Keena had nine pups her middle section looked like a ball.

One week to go!

Paika still has one more week to go with her pregnancy. The pictures show her with Mielikki, who is inviting Paika to play. Paika's temperament is solid. Even though playing with Mielikki is not what she wants to do, she finally gives in.

Paika is getting big

Paika has 9 more days to go in her pregnancy, and she is getting big. It is actually not obvious from the above pictures, but now her belly almost touches the ground. She looks bigger than last year when she had 5 puppies. I hate to guess and be wrong, but I think that we might be having 7 puppies?

We expect two new litters of wirehaired dachshunds really soon!

In 2012 we are going to have two litters of puppies.

Keena came in heat on January 15, and we bred her to FC Tom vom Linteler-Forst on January 26 and 27. She should be delivering around March 28. If everything goes well (and with dog breeding you never know) pups would be going to their new homes around June 2-10.

Keena is almost seven years old, and this is going to be her last litter. She was examined by a vet prior to the breeding, had her full blood panel and x-ray done, and everything looks very good. She was declared to be in superb health and got a green light from our vets for breeding.

This is going to be our "T" litter.  Tommy does not have the gene for short coat so we expect all the pups to have wirehaired coats.

This picture was taken on March 20. It does not look like Keena carries a lot of puppies, I would say 3 or 4. We have an appointment with a vet on Monday, March 26, to check how many puppies she will be having.

Paika came in heat on January 24, and we  bred her on February 3 and 5. This is a repeat breeding of our very successful S-litter sired by FC Nurmi v Moosbach-Zuzelek (aka Moose) owned by Chuck Collier, MI. Paika's pups from this litter will have "U" names. Paika does not have the gene for short coat so we expect all the pups to have wirehaired coats.

These pictures were taken on March 20. Paika still has more than two weeks to go in her pregnancy. My estimate is that she will have 5-6 puppies, but of course I might be wrong!

Good day for Paika

Today was a good day for Paika as she was pretty active. Last night she finally ate a full portion of Canidae, and today she has been eating pretty well. In the morning she ate some of Oma's Performance raw food. Later I went shopping for groceries and got her fresh chicken giblets. She really liked them.

She walked around quite a bit and once she came across a rabbit scent trail, her tail went up and she was ready to follow into thick brush. She does not look like she will be whelping soon. And this is fine with me as it gives me more time to get ready!

Getting closer...

Today we got a whelping box ready for Paika. It is placed in my den, and this is where Paika and pups will be staying for the first few weeks. Paika went right into the box and stayed there probably 40% of the time. She has been eating very poorly today even though I offered her a variety foods. Even though she usually has a voracious appetite, she is probably not going to eat much until she whelps.

Today I have been reading the latest book by Myra Savant-Harris "Advanced Canine Reproduction and Puppy Care", and I learned some new things. I highly recommend the book, which currently is on sale at amazon.

I think that Paika might start to whelp as early as Sunday.

Paika is most comfortable resting on the back

Paika on July 28 - 57th day from the first breeding

Deworming during pregnancy

Today Paika was given 3 grams of Safe-Guard (fenbendazole) in order to prevent prenatal infection with roundworms. The treatment has to be given 3 days in a row. For more information on deworming a pregnant bitch go here or here.

Paika is getting big and losing her appetite

I am going to document here Paika's last two weeks of her pregnancy, mainly for my own records. Paika's projected whelping date is around August 3 so we still have two more weeks. Today was the first day that in the morning she would not eat her breakfast consisting of dry Canidae food (for all life stages). However, when offered canned Canidae, she ate it with gusto. Her appetite is not as strong now in the morning as it used to be. She gets now three meals a day.

Two more weeks to go

I took Paika for our usual walk last evening. It was really hot, and we went to the pond. She went in right away, and after she came out all wet, I could really see that her bell is getting rounder quite rapidly. Two more weeks to go!

This feels sooo good!

update on Keena

Today is day #61 since Keena's first breeding, and she is getting ready. Her temperature in the morning was 100.5. She refused her regular breakfast, and the only thing she accepted were chicken gizzards.

She tried to eat a bit later int he day but then she threw it up. She is uncomfortable but quiet.


My guess is that she might be whelping tomorrow but probably not tonight. Last time she had puppies, two years ago, this preparatory stage took Keena two days.

Keena is carrying seven puppies

Keena is due to whelp this coming Monday-Tuesday, and today I took her to a vet to check how many pups we should expect. X-ray of her belly showed at least seven puppies. Wish us good luck! I hope that she is not going to whelp this weekend but it is a possibility.

More puppies on the way

This is going to be a very busy spring as soon we are going to have two more litters. Keena (white collar) is due around March 31 and Gilda (orange collar) is due on April 8. As the pictures show, both girls are very much pregnant, and they are doing really well.



Keena, even though looking as a small balloon, is very playful and loves to interact with younger males - Joeri and Tommy. The picture shows her playing with Joeri.

I will be taking her to a vet for an X-ray this coming Friday so we know how many puppies she carries. Also we'll alert the vets that we might need help even though I really hope that everything goes smoothly. This is going to be Keena's second litter. In the first litter, two years ago, she had seven puppies, and the whelping went without any problems.

Keena loves to bask in the sun, stretch and rest on her back. It is nice to see her in such a good shape, so relaxed and happy.

Gilda is Keena's dam, and she was bred to Billy. This is a repeat breeding that produced Keena. She looks big for her stage of pregnancy as she still has 2.5 weeks to go. Gilda has aways whelped with ease, and she is an excellent mother. In her last litter she had six puppies but she looks "more pregnant" this time.

As you see this blog is going to be very busy as we will be raising two litters at the same time, and Emma's puppies are going to stay with us for the next 2-3 weeks. Stay tuned...