Happy Birthday! Puppies are 1 week old.

Last Thursday, in the wee hours of the morning, Eve gave birth to six puppies - two girls and four boys. Two of these males were tan and white, while the remaining puppies were all tri-color. Eve's first delivery was not easy, as the puppies were quite large, and we were close to calling the vet about performing a c-section. However, we managed to avoid this and were excited to welcome all of the new little lives into the world. Sadly, within the first two days after birth, two of the male puppies passed away. These two puppies had the most difficult deliveries, so we speculated that the deliveries may have contributed to their deaths, but unfortunately we will never know why these puppies didn't make it.

Given our concern over the deaths of the two male puppies, we have been carefully monitoring the remaining puppies for any signs of problems. Luckily, everyone looks to be healthy and thriving. They are nice and chubby, gaining 1-2 ounces daily and everyone already weighs over a pound! So, without further ado, let me please present our beautiful new additions...

Tan & white male (2nd born)

Tri-color female (last to be born)

Tri-color female (4th born)

Tri-color male (3rd born)

X-rays tell the tale... Six puppies expected!

There's no doubt about it, Eve is expecting! If her huge belly didn't give things away, the X-ray above showing six little skeletons definitely tells us puppies are coming. We've moved Eve indoors with us so we can keep a close eye on her and we are currently busy getting everything ready for whelping. 

So when will puppies arrive? The answer is, soon! Today was Day 57 from Eve's first breeding and typical gestation period for dogs is 63 days.  We've rarely had one of our beagles make it to Day 63, but we usually like to see our moms-to-be make it to at least Day 58, as puppies are more likely to have health issues from being born premature prior to this. Since puppies could be here as early as this weekend, keep a close watch for birthing news.

The belly says it all! Puppies are on the way!

Check out that

Well, there's not a doubt in our minds that Eve is going to have puppies. Last week she began waddling and she already looks bigger now than she does in the above picture, which was taken a few days ago. Eve goes to the vet on Tuesday so we can get x-rays to determine how many puppies to expect. With the way she is showing, we are anticipating a fairly large litter of at least 6-8. This is only a guess, of course, so we'll find out how accurate this guess is once the x-rays are done. Her official due date will be August 13th, which will be Day 63 from her first breeding, but with a large litter, she is likely to go sooner than that. Stay tuned for more information in the upcoming week!

Practicing her yoga poses?

Sire is FC Shawn's Choptalk Mr. Sam

Hopeful...

AKC Westside Rogue's Let's Call it Even (Eve)

Well, we were once again disappointed this spring.  Initially, we were very excited that Rose tested positive on a pregnancy test, this being our final attempt to get puppies from her.  However, when we took Rose in for x-rays, there was no evidence of puppies. We x-rayed again one week later, but still no puppies. This means that Rose resorbed her pregnancy.  This is different from aborting.  It means that something happened to make her body absorb the fetuses she was carrying.

Since this is the second year in a row that we found out we were not having puppies, we quickly started making arrangements to breed Rose's half-sister, Eve, who was due to come into heat.  When she finally did come in, I drove over 6 hours to central Virginia to drop her off at Mike Mooney's place, where he had a field champion stud named Mr. Sam that my husband had been wanting to breed a dog to for quite some time.  All in all, it was a 13 hour round trip to and from that I made twice - once to drop Eve off and once to pick her up a week later!  Now we are cautiously holding our breath and crossing our fingers that we may finally have puppies on the way again.  We should know more within the next week, so for those who have been waiting for some kind of news from us for a while, stay posted.  I hope to announce some good news very soon!

Back to the drawing board... Rose not pregnant

Such disappointing news!

I've had several people write to inquire as to the availability of puppies and we should have been expecting puppies any day now.  However, we found out several weeks ago that Rose is not expecting.  Since this IS supposed to be the place to go for Westside Beagles pregnancy news and litter updates, I wanted to make sure that this blog got updated, albeit a little belatedly.  While I directly contacted those folks who were on the waiting list to give them the news that Rose was not pregnant after two consecutive pregnancy tests came back negative, I overlooked posting the news here on the blog.

We do not yet have definite plans on when we will breed our next litter.  Tentatively, at this point, we will most likely breed again in November or December in hopes of having an early Spring litter.  Keep checking back and thanks for your continued interest in Westside Beagles.

The wait is on...is she or isn't she?

Rose's half brother tries to take her for a walk (picture taken last summer)

Hi everyone,

I know you are probably anxious to know what is going on with Rose.  So far we have no news.  If Rose is pregnant, she is around 23-25 days along, which is just a little too early to start noticing any physical changes.

The options for determining pregnancy in dogs are as follows:

1. Wait for all of the obvious signs, such as weight gain & lactation. However, some dogs may go through false pregnancies where they show abdominal distension and even produce milk! This is definitely not the most reliable way to tell!
2. At ~22 days post-breeding, ultrasound can be used to detect fetal heartbeats. It may be difficult to tell exactly how many hearts are beating, but this method can still be used to help estimate litter size.
3. At ~21 to 31 days post-breeding, abdominal palpation may be used to try to feel the walnut-sized fetuses. Ideal timing is to palpate at approximately 28-30 days. This requires skill and experience and is not the best way to estimate the number of puppies present.
4. After ~21-30 days post-breeding, blood may be drawn to run an early pregnancy test for the hormone relaxin.  Relaxin is a hormone that is released into the female's system when fetal placentas attach to the lining of the womb.  Ideal timing to test is 28 days post-breeding.  This is a negative or positive test, but false negatives are possible earlier in the pregnancy. A positive test is a reliable determination of pregnancy, but does not give us any information about litter size.
5. At ~45-48 days post-breeding, puppy skeletons have begun to calcify and can begin to be picked up on x-ray.  Ideal timing is closer to 50 days.  This can be used to help estimate the number and size of puppies. As for any safety concerns, x-rays are commonly done in this later stage of pregnancy and are considered to be relatively safe. Early pregnancy is when x-rays pose the most significant risk to unborn puppies.

While we typically wait to do x-rays to confirm pregnancy because it allows us to estimate the number and size of the puppies, this time around we are planning to do the pregnancy test.  Rose is scheduled with the vet next Wednesday when she is potentially ~29-31 days into her pregnancy.  Once we get the test results back (probably next Thursday), I will make sure to update all of you!

Tomahawk: Dad-to-be?

The First Wait is Over!

Hi Everyone!

So...exciting news today!  Rose finally came into heat and with that news, we were able to make a decision on whom to breed her to!  After considering several different males, including our own male, Potter, we have decided on FC Schmitt's Platinum Tomahawk.  Tomahawk is a good-looking, medium-fast hound who has already produced 2 field champion puppies.  We previously had a litter sired by his dad, FC Woodside Platinum Plus, and the puppies grew up to be very friendly and outgoing, not to mention gorgeous!  In fact, our male, Potter, is Tomahawk's half-brother.  We bred Potter to Rose's mother, Rogue, last year and were very pleased with the resulting puppies.  Therefore, we are quite hopeful that this breeding will produce puppies with similar qualities.

Since Rose just came into heat, it will be ~11-15 days before she is ready to be bred.  Bitches normally have a surge in luteinizing hormone (LH) on Day 10 after they first start their heat cycle.  This triggers ovulation to occur in 1-3 days following, which makes this the ideal time to breed.  We plan to take Rose to be bred a week from this coming Thursday - then, the countdown for pregnancy begins!  We'll keep you guys posted!

FC Woodside Platinum Plus - sire of Tamahawk and Potter (below) from separate litters

Potter is  half-brother to Tomahawk and sired a litter with Rogue (pictured below).

Mom-to-be Rose with her own mother, Rogue (left)

 

Dallas and Eve are puppies out of Rogue (Rose's mom) and Potter (Tomahawk's half brother).  Our hope is that Rose and Tomahawk will have puppies who turn out similarly!

Previous puppies out of Tomahawk