Still waiting

So the way this works is you can count gestation from the first breeding or the last. Fern's last litter she went almost 63 days exactly from the first breeding. We assumed she would be the same as last time. Well we are now way past 63 days from the first breeding but from the last breeding it could be all the way into this weekend. About two weeks ago Scott an I were commenting that she didn't seem that big and that maybe she didn't have as many puppies as last time. Well it's two weeks later and I'm not sure she could get much bigger. She is behind our schedule for her ;) but right on her own schedule. I need to practice my patients, the puppies will come when they are ready but MAN I've been ready for a whole week. I watch and feel the puppies dancing around inside her. I like to do this to reassure myself they are okay in there. Fern is in surprisingly good spirits and other then her breathing being a little shallow from lack of space inside there, she is doing well. I took her temp on thursday and it was just below 100 degrees, which is supposed to indicate when labor is going to start ( anything below 100). I am not sure if my thermometer is broke but its been down below 200 for a week.
I'll will let you all know as soon as REAL action starts.

Waiting

Just patiently waiting for the babies to arrive. I think they are waiting to be mother's day presents!

Somewhere over the rainbow...

Taken on our hike today. Fern is relegated to leash walks now that she is in the final days until due day. We are predicting May 11th or 12th. Puppies will be a great mother's day gift! I contacted my Vet today to make sure she would be in on the following Monday to dock tails and dew claws. That is the not so warm and fuzzy part of puppy rearing. Doctor Sandy did a great job on our last litter and she will on this one too. We are hoping she has 7 puppies in there. She had 11 last time and 2 were still born.  Seven would be perfect. Until next weekend... we will be waiting!

 

Hmm, Toto kinda looks like a miniature Fern and well Dorothy and I could be twins, just kidding.  Hope everyone has a great weekend.

Waiting Game

Well we are a little over half way to puppy-paloza. This is always such a hard point in the waiting game. This is when the real magic is starting to take place inside Fern's belly. Up until about a week ago, the puppies were mere cells in her uterus, but now they are taking shape, forming facial feature, whiskers and claws. Enough with the science-y gore... On the outside Fern is tired, not eating tons. Although, she was super psyched when I dropped and entire Tupperware full of vegetable soup on kitchen floor this morning. I have never seen broccoli and carrots be consumed so quickly. Fern was even unlucky enough to be in the line of of the soup splat, she had it all over her backside, lol.
So we are continuing to wait. Just a month or less to go. Watch for updates as the due date approaches.  We are still taking names for our waiting list. Contact me at lindsey.bona@yahoo.com, if you are interested.

Fern pointing a Hungarian partridge

 

Back from Vacation

Fern is back home from her vacation in Choteau. We are hoping that she is now pregnant. We should know in about 30 days whether or not the pregnancy took. It is nice to have her home, although I will admit that having just one dog to take care while she was gone was so much easier.

While the rest of the country is enjoying balmy weather, it is a typical spring here in Montana. Rain, snow, cold, warm winds, gray and occasionally sunshine. The ski areas continue to get hammered with snow. We haven't taken advantage of this spring skiing :(

Here is a picture of Fern on our walk the other day. She is so regal, if I do say so myself. Notice her chain collar. This is about the 5th collar I have gotten for her. Sunny her daughter has managed to chew-to-pieces every single fancy collar I have purchased for Fern. So now she is relegated to this ghetto chain thing. That solved the problem though.

We are still taking puppy requests. Please feel free to contact me via email or phone
lindsey.bona@yahoo.com or (406)531-4092 with questions or to get on my list. The approximate timeline for puppy mania is mid-May for whelping and pups would be ready for homes around July.

Fern Pictures

Sunny (fern's puppy from our first litter) and Fern



Fern loves fishing almost as much as she loves bird hunting.

2012 Litter Planned with Ear Mountain Hobbes

I am off this morning to Choteau, MT to bring our dame Fern to Ear Mountain Griffons for a hopeful successful breeding. This is our second time working with Greg Curtis of Ear Mountain Griffons and we were really happy with the first litter. We will be using a different stud this time. He goes by the name Hobbes. I have not met him yet but we thoroughly trust Greg's opinion. We do have these pictures of him and his pedigree. He is said to be a fantastic hunter in the field as well as a great companion. His owner is a contractor whom takes Hobbes to work with him everyday and doesn't even use a leash. View Hobbes' pedigree here as well as our dame Fern's here.