9.23.2009

I'm back from Indiana and the puppies grew so much while I was gone! They had to have some living quarters changes. A few of them thought it was hilarious to crawl out of the pen, use the corner for a toilet, and then crawl back into the pen. They were so good at it, LaRita was even putting paper in the spot where they were going. It's not really safe to have puppies running loose so they're now properly confined! There are five-week photos now on Flickr.

9.11.2009

The puppies turn a month old on Monday - already! They are eating from a bowl a few times a day and trying to crawl out of their pen. Elsa has settled into her role as Mom. We are posting all of our photos on the Flickr page. I am off to Indiana on the 14th and will be gone for a whole we so we'll be cramming in several photographs this weekend. Stay tuned!

8.19.2009

Elsa had her babies late on August 17, 3 boys and two girls. In her typical style she did it her own way. We didn't think she was in full labor because she had been so quiet and sleepy during the day. Apparently she is not the drama queen we had expected! Elsa snuck off down to the end of the hallway, made a nest out of clean dog laundry and delivered the first one by herself, without a peep. The rest were delivered in the whelping box though Elsa loves to pick them up and move them around which causes us a little stress! All are healthy and gaining weight. Click here for more photos!

8.14.2009

This weekend brings the possibility of Elsa having her puppies! We posted new photos to Flickr earlier in the week. Please click here to view them. She is getting relatively uncomfortable and I think she is ready to be uburdened of all of that weight. We can feel them kicking around inside and doing their gymnastics. Elsa's temperature is still normal so she probably won't have them Saturday. My guess is whelping will be the middle of the night between Sunday and Monday! Elsa sits outside of the den sometimes and listens to Hazel's two piglets. We will be moving Hazel, whelping box and puppies into LaRita's bedroom as soon as Elsa's temperature shows signs of dropping.

8.3.2009

Elsa has really taken to the idea of napping in the whelping box and lounging around in it with Hazel. Her belly is still getting noticibly bigger. Elsa is not a smaller Weimaraner so she's hiding whatever she has especially well. We have noted that she licks and kicks at her belly like a lot of first-time Moms do when they start feeling babies wiggling around.

7.26.2009

Here are some new photos of elsa taken today. She normally has a pretty extreme tuck-up. As you can see the tuck-up is disappearing! She is carrying them pretty high up behind her ribs. I am not willing to make wild guesses about how many are in there at this juncture. Photo 2

7.20.2009

Elsa seems to have a bump in the belly region these days. We've been schooling her in the new whelping box so she can get used to the routine. The babies have implanted by now and are probably a little larger than a walnut.
Photo 1 | Photo 2

6.29.2009

Of course it is too early to tell if Elsa is pregnant, but LaRita seems to think she is. She looks the same to me as she did a week ago... I guess we'll see if intution bears this out.

6.17.2009

Well, we had "it" happen again today which is really promising for Elsa conceiving. With natural matings we have more of a ballpark for a whelp date. If had to take an educated guess, the puppies will whelp Aug.16-18. It looks like we won't be making it to the Greeley Kennel Club show this year!

6.15.2009

Elsa and Dutch finally...um... got the job done! Puppies are due around Aug. 16 or 17. We should know if she is pregnant in about 28 days. Despite my earlier griping we're going to have both of our litters about ten days apart. On the bright side - at least the weather will be great!

6.2.2008

We were hoping Elsa would wait a tiny bit longer so her litter would be a awhile after Hazel's. If Elsa has taught us anything, it is that she really does things in her own good time. We will be expecting to mate Elsa around June 16th for puppies in mid August. Wish us luck this time!

1.13.2008

Elsa decided our time-line was not to her liking and came into season with everyone else in the house in Janaury. We decided to postpone the mating until her next season in May, otherwise we'd have two litters, two weeks apart. After pulling off that stunt last year, we weren't eager to do it again.

12.14.2008

Elsa should be back in season around February 2009. We'll expect puppies in April and they should be ready for their new homes in June or July.

11.19.2008

We tried to mate Elsa and Dutch in August of 2008 but they were not in love enough to make it happen. We will try again next spring, maybe with some help from the vet.