we are having puppies

Eventually, with a little homeopathic assistance, Tuuli came into season.  I wanted to take as few chances as possible with getting a successful mating, so I wanted to know the very best days for making the attempt.  With a view to finding that out, I had her progesterone tested.  For those who don't know, this involves the vet drawing a blood sample which is sent off to a lab and the amount of progesterone in the blood is measured.  The progesterone level increases throughout the season until after ovulation when it gradually decreases again.  By using this method we can determine the day of ovulation and thereby calculate the best days for getting a successful mating.  And by 'successful' I mean not only accomplishing the deed, but actually getting some puppies as a result.

Armed with that knowledge, I picked up an eager Taito.  As his family, Emma & co, were away, Jane very kindly agreed to assist me with the mechanics.  Two very sore backs later (the humans, not the dogs), we had one success.

I always prefer two matings on successive days as I believe it is likely to increase the possibility of having a good-sized litter.  However, my back was not up to the job of a second attempt and so I had to content myself with one mating at exactly the right time.

A month of waiting and then the fateful day when Tuuli had an ultrasound scan and we found out that she is indeed in whelp.  Big cheers all around!  The radiographer saw only 4 puppies with a possible 5th, so this could be my smallest litter to date.  This is the very reason I don't like to keep too many people on my waiting list at one time - the inevitable messages that with such a small litter there will be some disappointed people who will now have to wait for the next time.

In the meantime, we are now on belly watch, and Tuuli is already starting to fill out.

 Standing

Sitting

Lying (and punching her front paws)

In the meantime, Taito is a bit knackered but quite smug and very handsome.

 Photo: Blake Bower

And while I was popping in and out with Taito, I grabbed a quick pic of his little brother, Buddy (Infindigo Persikka Sonni).

no poll result

If you've been checking out my Twitter feed (which shows on the right-hand side of the blog window under the photo slideshow as well as on the news page of the website), then you will know that Taika is indeed in whelp. Sadly I cannot announce the result of the poll though because, whaddeya know, things didn't go quite as planned.

On Friday I had a call to say that the ultrasound machine had broken and could not be fixed. Oh, the timing! A new one has been ordered, but it won't arrive probably until Taika's puppies do. So that left us all at the mercy of Kate's vet who very helpfully rearranged their afternoon appointments on Saturday to squeeze Taika in to have her scan there. The only problem with that, of course, is that vets are notoriously squeamish about naming numbers. I don't know if they are afraid of unreasonable comeback from people after the birth - "But you said she was having sixteen!" - or whether it is simply because they are not radiologists and so do not have the expertise to make any kind of accurate estimate.

That's what's great about using the people who are experts. They're not afraid to name the numbers, and we all know that 4 can actually mean 2 or 7 and that 9 can mean 5 or 10. We just accept that it's not exact - but in my experience, the helpful woman I've used in the past has always known.

So for a fat fee, the vet was able to confirm that yes, Taika is carrying puppies - plural. Strong heartbeats & plenty of space. All seems well with however many are in there. But she wouldn't even say she heard/saw 2 or 4. All she said was she didn't think there were "lots" in there. My question would be how many she considered "lots" to be. "Lots" for, say, a Labrador would be 12 or 14 whereas for a Lappy, "lots" could be 6 or 7, although a vet would be very unlikely to know this.

So, after all this, you would think that in 4 weeks' time we are guaranteed to have puppies, wouldn't you? There are several people who are certainly hoping that's the case. But it's not entirely that straightforward. (Did you really think it would be?) It's true we will probably have puppies. But as with seasons & mating, there are certainly no guarantees, and this is another likely reason vets don't want to name numbers. For example, she could be in whelp with 4 puppies now but re-absorb, say, 2 of them before the birth and so we only end up with 2. Also, stillborn puppies are certainly not rare so they might not all make it. The scariest scenario is that something goes wrong and the mum needs to have a Caesarian. This can also result in one or more dead puppies.

So, in case you have uncrossed your fingers, toes & legs, thinking we were out of the woods now, please just give your limbs all a good stretch and then re-assume the position until all the puppies arrive safe and sound.

tomorrow

So there is one more day left to vote on the poll and that means that tomorrow is the day. If I told you that today was going to be the day, I apologise. I apologise whole-heartedly for giving you a full 24 hours more anticipation than you thought you were going to have. Today could have been the day, as it is the magic day 33 after mating. However, I couldn't quite manage to get all the necessary people in the same place together until tomorrow. Kath the scanner and Kate with Taika, that is.

So as soon as we get back, you'll be the first to know the result. Well, right after the very few who have been waiting a year now for this event (!) and who have been faithfully promised a puppy should we be lucky. They'll be the first-first to know. And if you're waiting with bated breath for a text tomorrow night, don't think that no text means bad news - I remember from past experience that the village we're going to has notoriously poor mobile phone reception. And, to add insult on top of that injury, what the village lacks in phone masts it more than makes up for with its terrific pub so we're off there for dinner after the scan to either celebrate or commiserate and plan our next move.

But don't worry - as soon as I can let you know, I will let you know. Promise.

On other other hand, if the news is bad I'm not sure I will have phone reception or access to a computer from Venezuela or Outer Mongolia or wherever it is I will have to flee to if Taika does not prove to be in whelp. Do you suppose they have good beaches in Outer Mongolia?

new poll

I've been rooting around looking through the blog archives and enjoying the puppies all over again. It's hard for me to believe, but I haven't had a poll on the blog since Sept 08 when Maija's litter were going off to their new homes. Has it really been that long? The polls are fun and when there are puppies in the house there are loads of events to have a little game about, so I thought I'd kick off with the first one about Taika's litter.

Hoped for litter. Do you suppose I'm jinxing the whole thing by even referring to it? There is one school of thought - the School of Superstitious Paranoia - that says you should keep your mouth shut about stuff until it happens. But where's the fun in that?

So, I'm giving readers plenty of time to vote in the poll as these news-less days I know many people only check in with the blog occasionally. The most votes I think I ever had on one of the puppy polls was 16, which was pretty good, actually. However, there are a lot more people reading these days. I've had messages & emails from all over the world from all sorts of strangers saying how much they enjoy the blog, and that's very nice, folks - thanks! So it will be interesting to see if some of those readers participate in the polls too and bump up the number of votes.

In 3 weeks Taika will be scanned to see whether she is indeed pregnant and how many puppies she is likely to have. By the time the scan date rolls around we'll probably have a pretty good idea whether she is pregnant or not, but the number of puppies is always a big mystery. Kath, the woman I go to for scanning is excellent, I must say. With my first litter she said "It's a bit early but I can definitely see 7." And Neka had 7. With the second litter Kath very kindly agreed to see me as she was practically on her way out the door heading for the airport and her holiday. It was the earliest possible day it's even worth scanning and I was on my way back from a show. So, we were all in a bit of a hurry. She had a very quick rummage before Neka shifted position and she lost the image and said she saw 7 again but that if she had more time she might find more. Yep, that would be the 9 then.

So, Taika will also be going to see Kath but it won't be so early. With Neka, either by the time of the scan, or literally 2 days later, it was very obvious that she was pregnant. So, I guess we'll know with Taika too, even if we suspect bad news and don't want to admit it to ourselves. The poll, then, is this. How many puppies will the scanner find?

I was going to add an option to vote that she won't be pregnant at all, but that really would be tempting fate, so I'm just not going there.

For those of you new to the Infindigo polls, you can find the voting buttons at the top right of the blog. Happy voting! Check back in 3 weeks for the result. And if, in all the excitement, I somehow forget to post the results, I'm sure someone will remind me.

Now we're off to the beach, so photos later.