Scarlett had her ultrasound today and the vet showed us that not only is she pregnant, she has at least eight puppies and they are large and healthy. For those of you with deposits on these puppies, we know for certain that they are growing and that in four weeks we will be able to introduce you to the puppies in this litter! We do not yet know the gender, color, personality, and final count of the puppies, but we do know that Scarlett is carrying at least as many puppies as we have deposits. We will even take a couple more deposits at this point because we have a good sense that Scarlett is going to deliver eight to ten puppies (her last two litters were 10 each).
If you want to get on the puppy list for this litter, contact us quickly because we know these puppies will go fast.
Here are pictures of previous puppies these two have produced.
Scarlett will deliver in about four weeks. We will keep everyone up to date with all the events leading up to her delivery. Keep checking back in!
We got news today from our vet that Meggie's progesterone test this morning proves that she has ovulated. The level was 10.7. As I mentioned in the previous blog, once she passes 5.0 she has ovulated and then in a couple of days she is fertile and ready to become pregnant. Well, today she was well past the 5.0 and she has been bred three times in the past three days (twice today alone because she and Seeker decided to have a second encounter while we weren't watching ;-).
That means that Meggie is most likely becoming pregnant as I write this blog. Today is the perfect day for breeding and having a healthy litter. That means that all of you who have put deposits in on this litter can celebrate. Nine weeks from now we will be introducing the litter to you all and we will begin that magical time of frequent updates on the little ones.
Scarlett is going in for her ultrasound (at four weeks) next Tuesday and we will be letting all of those who are waiting for her puppies know of the news of confirmed pregnancy and likely number of puppies who will be making their entrance in the next four weeks. July will be a busy time at our home. We will have a bunch of puppies making their happy noises and getting lots of love from us.
I want to let you all know that we have bred Meggie with Seeker. We have been tracking Meggie's progesterone levels. Monday a week ago she was at .02 and Saturday she was at 1.3. She ovulates when her progesterone level reaches 5.
We also watch her behavior. Yesterday she was crying to be around our male puppy who is not mature, but is an intact male. She followed him around the house and was "flagging" him (raising her tail and waving her rear end in his face) and trying to entice him into some romance. I knew it was time to bring our mature male, Seeker, into the dance. I picked Seeker up today from his guardian home and brought him home. Meggie was very interested and the two had a "tie" almost immediately. A tie is when the two have a successful breeding. This tie was very peaceful and both dogs were equally interested in each other. This was a great breeding.
We will follow up with another progesterone test and then follow up breedings every couple of days. The importance of the progesterone test is to tell us that Meggie has indeed crossed the "5.0" barrier so we know that she has indeed ovulated. Once we know when she ovulated we can gauge when the puppies will be born. We are looking forward to this litter. One puppy will become a breeder in North Carolina, and one will be a breeder in Holland. Four others will be pets in other parts of the country.
Scarlett continues to have an uneventful pregnancy. We have he ultrasound to confirm pregnancy and number of puppies. That test will be run on May 29th. Once we get the results we will post that on our web page blog and will also contact all those who have put down deposits on the puppies. It is going to be about four weeks later that we have the puppies born. Exciting days ahead!!
We have had a progesterone test earlier this week to determine when Meggie is fertile and ready to breed. She will need to hit level 5 before she has ovulated. Once she ovulates she will have a few days before she is ready to be bred and her eggs can become fertilized. The test she took on Tuesday placed her at .02 and so we are going to retest her this Friday to find out if she will be ready to breed over the weekend.
There is a lot of science as well as art involved in breeding great dogs. We want to do our best to make sure that we are producing the best Australian Labradoodles we can in terms of health, temperament, and aesthetic beauty. The puppies from this litter will be small mediums or large minis. They should have red to apricot colored coats, and they will have beautiful fleece coats.
Scarlett is almost ready for her ultrasound to definitively confirm her pregnancy and to give us a first sense of how many puppies she is carrying. That will be a very exciting day for us here at Evergreen Manor Labradoodles. We always enjoy knowing that there is evidence of the work we have done and we love to tell the families who are on the puppy list when the pregnancy is confirmed. We have an appointment for the ultrasound on Tuesday May 29th. Look for an email that evening if you are one of our buyers for this litter!
We will keep you all updated about where things stand with the breedings and with the ultrasounds.
Great news! We learned today that Meggie is also in heat. She will be tested for her progesterone levels in a few days and once we know she is close to fertile we will be breeding her to Seeker. That means that in a little over eight weeks we will have her puppies here (around the Fourth of July), and after that it will be another eight weeks before we are able to deliver them to their forever families (Labor Day Weekend?). We have already closed the reservation list and have people who are preparing to welcome their new family members into their homes. These puppies will be going to homes in Oregon, Washington, and even to the Netherlands! We have two breeders coming out of this litter.
Scarlett is doing very well and is several weeks into her pregnancy. In a couple of weeks we will be having an ultrasound done to confirm the pregnancy and to give us an idea of how many puppies she will be having. We have at least one family on a waiting list in case we have more puppies with Scarlett than the reservations we have already taken. Scarlett is known for having eight to ten puppies per litter, and we may well have more puppies than the number already spoken for on our puppy list. We may know more clearly what to expect once we have the results from the ultrasound.
Stay tuned, we are in the midst of exciting days here at Evergreen Manor Labradoodles.
