Ginevra whelped a litter of 3 boys and 2 girls on Sunday 8:30 am  to 12:30 pm.  Will post photos and more news soon.  I am still a bit tired but Ginna was out chasing a stick this morning with the other dogs.  Wow!

We are starting our final countdown before Ginevra whelps her first litter.  She is still very active, but now studies the issue a bit longer before she jumps up onto something.  She had to have a "foot and belly bath" today after enjoying a romp in the resulting mud from all the snow melting.   She sure has not let the puppies slow her down much.

Adrina and Vando after a romp in the snow with John.  Can you believe this is Arizona?

Ginna is now 10 pounds heavier than before she was bred.  We just received our Whelpwise equipment and I practiced listening to heartbeats last night.  She was a good girl and laid very still.  The first sound startled her at the first, but she was good with that cold gel on her tummy and me poking around.  It is fun to hear those heartbeats.  With the doppler, they sound sort of like the clippity clop of a horse running.

Ginna is really growing.  Looking from above she resembles a furry football with legs.  Her ribcage has already expanded, and she is eating a lot more.  She is now past 6 weeks post breeding.  She is still very bouncy and enjoys running at top speed.  The only difference I note is that she is not so hungry in the morning, preferring to have an extra meal late at night.

I was going to give her a short haircut but we had snow and high in the low 40s today so I will wait until later this week when we get back to the predicted 60s.

We are pleased that 3 of Vando's 6 offspring have OFA hip scores of 1 Excellent and 2 Good.  The mother of that litter had a score of Excellent, just like Ginevra.

Here is a peek into the wonderful mystery of nature using today's technology.  These are Ultrasound images of the puppies at 4 weeks of development.  5 more weeks to go.  Isn't this wonderful!?  From this stage the puppies develop a bit more, then they grow and grow until time for delivery. We were able to see heartbeats in these views.  Currently we are past week 5 and as you can see from my previous post, Ginna's tummy is now starting to show that she is pregnant.  She doesn't act differently yet and is still as agile and active as ever. 

  The canine uterus has two horns and fetuses place themselves along those horns on either side of her body.  I am not sure about how the puppies organize themselves for delivery, but it certainly is a miracle of birth.