SoftMaple 2002 litter


Jet and Seger

January 30th Seger comes into Season. 1st tie Feb 11th. Second tie Feb 13th.
Pregnancy Calendar for SoftMaple 2002 Spring Litter
Jet and SegerPedigree of 2002 litter; pictures of parents and grandparents
Sire:CH SoftMaple's O' Dark Thirty JH SH CD WC WCX CGC CR-536G27M-T cardiac, CERF
Dam:CH SoftMaple's International Fling CGC Cardiac Clear, CERF CR-640G26F-PI, CR-640G26F-PI
Breeder:Cathy & Mark Lewandowski, SoftMaple Curlies. softmaple@curlycoat.org
Mon 11 Feb 2002
  • First day of mating.
  • 48 hours after the first mating the bitch should be mated again. Subsequent matings occurring over a period of time enhance the chances of fertilaziton taking place.
  • The spermatozoa migrate up through the cervix.
Tue 12 Feb 2002
  • Sperm travel searching for a mature ripened eggs.
Tue 12 Feb 2002 -
Wed 13 Feb 2002
  • Spermatozoa reach the eggs in the oviducts.
Wed 13 Feb 2002 -
Thu 14 Feb 2002
  • Fertilisation occurs in the oviducts which lead from the ovaries to the uterus.
Thu 14 Feb 2002 -
Sat 16 Feb 2002
  • Fertilised eggs migrate down the oviducts and into the uterine horns.
  • The migration continue to enable even spacing of the embryos.
  • During this migration the eggs will grow into a blastocystes.
Fri 22 Feb 2002 -
Sun 24 Feb 2002
  • The blastocystes implant in the wall of the uterus.
Fri 22 Feb 2002 -
Fri 8 Mar 2002
  • The blastocystes will grow into an embryos.
  • During the next two weeks the important organs will develop.
Mon 25 Feb 2002 -
Mon 4 Mar 2002
  • Dams nipples begin to pink enlarge.
  • The fur on the dams belly and around the nipples may become thinner.
Sun 3 Mar 2002 -
Sun 10 Mar 2002
  • Morning sickness might occur due to hormonal changes or stretching and distension of the uterus. Dam may appear a bit apathetic. She may be off her feed for a while and vomit from time to time.
  • Feeding the dam several meals spaced throughout the day might help.
  • Your veterinarian may want to prescribe a drug to relax the uterus.
Fri 8 Mar 2002 -
Tue 12 Mar 2002
  • An experienced person (a breeder or a veterinarian) can tell by careful palpation whether the dam is pregnant.
  • It's now the best time to do this because the embryos are walnut-sized now and easy to count.
Mon 11 Mar 2002
  • Start to increase the dams food ration.
  • Don't overfeed, excessive weight gain should be avoided.
  • The foetuses are now and are fully developed miniature dogs.
Sun 17 Mar 2002
  • The Dams abdomen starts to get larger.
Wed 27 Mar 2002
  • It's very easy now to feel the puppies, counting them might be a bit more difficult.
Sat 30 Mar 2002 -
Sun 7 Apr 2002
  • Dam begins to spend a lot more time in self-grooming.
  • Her breasts become even more swollen.
  • She may become a bit restlessness and begin to search for a suitable place to have her puppies.
Mon 1 Apr 2002
  • The dam might lose her appetite during this period. Her abdomen can be crowded with puppies.
  • It is better to feed several smaller meals spaced throughout the day.
  • You can easily detect abdominal movement now.
Mon 1 Apr 2002 -
Tue 16 Apr 2002
  • Nipples and vulva should be gently cleaned with warm water, you might want to trim the hairs surrounding the nipples, to allow easier access for the puppies to suck.
Thu 11 Apr 2002 -
Sun 14 Apr 2002
  • Milky fluid may be expressed from the nipples.
Fri 12 Apr 2002
  • You might want to start taking the dams rectal temperature each morning and evening.
Mon 15 Apr 2002
  • Twelve to 24 hours before she is due to deliver, the dams rectal temperature may drop from 101 to 98 degrees.
  • Clear discharge from the vulva might occur.
Tue 16 Apr 2002
  • Expected date of whelp. Of course this is just an average. Whelping may take place from the 59th to the 65th day. Puppies born before the 58th day will probably be too young to survive.


March 3rd 2002. Still too early to really tell if Seger is pregnant. She is eating a high quality diet as she was prior to being bred. I have not increased her food yet, but from the time she came into season I have given her Solid Gold Concept-A-Bitch. Solid Gold Concept-A-Bitch is a natural supplement for brood bitches.
o Contains kelp and red raspberry leaves. Red raspberry leaves have been used by breeders for many many years to help to bring lubrication to the birth canal and after whelping it helps to tone the uterus to help lessen the possibility of infection.
o Wild yam provides natural progesterone, which may help the fertilized egg to become attached to the uterine wall.
o Also contains folic acid to aid lactation and as an analgesic, and beta carotene and vitamin A to help produce colostrum.

I don't know if it really helps, but I have used either the Concept a bitch product or just the raspberry leaves with all my litters. While Seger isn't getting any more food yet, I am gradually changing her over from her normal kibble to the puppy formula. This will increase the calorie content, without increasing the amount of food.

The Kibble I feed is Premium Edge Chicken & Rice Adult Dog Formula. (she also gets a partial BARF diet)

Guaranteed Analysis Chicken & Rice Adult Dog Formula
Crude Protein
Crude Fat
Crude Fiber
Moisture
Ash
Calcium
Phosphorus
Omega-6 Fatty Acids
Omega-3 Fatty Acids
26.0%
15.0%
3.0%
10.0%
6.0%
1.0%
0.8%
2.5%
0.4%
minimum
minimum
maximum
maximum
maximum
minimum
minimum
minimum
minimum


Guaranteed Analysis Large Breed Lamb & Rice Formula
Crude Protein
Crude Fat
Crude Fiber
Moisture
Calcium
Calcium
Phosphorus
Omega-6 Fatty Acids
Omega-3 Fatty Acids
27.0%
15.0%
3.0%
10.0%
1.2%
1.4%
0.9%
2.6%
0.4%
minimum
minimum
maximum
maximum
minimum
maximum
minimum
minimum
minimum


3/20/2002 Seger looks pregnant. She is quite the wide load already. Her nipples are prominent. She is very affectionate with her toys, and uncomfortable already. Just starting to increase her food. Adding a mid morning meal that makes the other dogs very jealous!

Here you see Seger has lost her girlish figure, and looks more like a cow!




3/27/2002 Seger is already lactating. You can see the hair around her nipples is thinning out.





Happy Easter!


4/2/2002 some pictures of Seger walking around the yard. Usually all the dogs go on a 3 mile walk through the woods with us. Today is the first day Seger didn't go with us. Over the past days, she had gone from running with the other girls, to just walking most of the time beside us. She still gets plenty of exercise, but from now on we are cutting out the main walk. (instead of her walk, it is a good time for Seger to get her mid-morning meal.....and the other dogs don't have to see her eating!)

Yesterday I went to Mary's and took some photos of Jet. You can see them here.
Jet is just waiting for the snow and ice to go away, so he can get down to some hunting business. (the men have it so easy!)


4/5/2002 Its easy to feel the pups move now. Seger twice today only ate half her food. The other half she neatly wrapped up in a blanket (food bucket and all) and tucked in a corner. Its her way of trying to save food for her pups. That would be fine, except I don't think the cottage cheese and ground beef would keep too well!


4/9/2002 Nothing yet....but getting things ready


4/10/2002 First pup is born 9:32pm..... click on the picture to see more...





All the pups grow up!


Order your copy of The Puppy Diary for $24.95
($4 Shipping and Handling)


See SoftMaple's 2004 litter plans

Ripple comes into season 2/5/2004


This Site Created By SoftMaple Curlies