Well it has been a busy month ! I took a quick trip to Montreal to visit family, always chancy at this time of year, and to add to the excitement Ciara came in season.  I was expecting Lia to follow suit in a month or so but she also came in season 5 days later. So our breeding schedule got going and she was bred on the week end.  Now comes the longest period of the pregnancy, waiting the 28 days to see if she is pregnant.

Contrary to humans, dogs hormones do not change if they become pregnant, there is nothing to measure, so we have to wait.  After fertilization the forming puppies will free float in the uterus for 17 days before implanting in the uterine wall and start forming a placenta, so we give it another 10 days and when performing an ultrasound we can then see the placentas and puppies in their amniotic sacs.

So we wait ! Lia does not mind playing princess while we wait !

I also have been busy taking classes; last summer I took a class from the University of Minnesota in Canine Reproduction these are called MOOCs ( Massive Open Online Courses) see Duncan McCue’s piece on CBC .  I enjoyed it very much and I have been taking different courses since.  This term I am taking the second term of genetics, which is fascinating but also a lot of work.  Here is my professor Rosie Redfield  ( also featured in Duncan Mc Cue’s piece) from the University of British Columbia, she is fabulous and .. very colorful !  Genetics is very much a love it or hate it subject. Fortunately I love it and it is a useful piece of knowledge to have for breeding better dogs !!

So, for those wondering what I have been up to, as there has been few updates, now you know 😉 .

I am planning on taking Louie to the Halifax show in a few weeks, weather permitting as it has, along with the rest of the country been pretty wild around here; we even had all 4 seasons in one day !

I will post updates on Lia’s pregnancy as we go !