Feeding Time!

Reflections...

Fifteen years ago today, my beloved first Vizsla, Ricochet, was born. I first saw this little pup when she was about a week old. I remember the excitement that built during the next several weeks until it was time to bring her home. I had no idea how my life would change over the next 15 years. Ricochet got her name when I first visited the home of her breeder, Carol Wynn. I watched Carol's Vizslas race around her yard and commented that they sort of ricocheted around the place. And Ricochet certainly lived up to the name. As a young pup, she would fly up or down the staircase and literally bounce off the wall on the landing to make the 180 degree turn. When she whelped her first litter, I pondered what kennel name I would adopt as my own. I could not come up with anything better than her call name, thus the birth of "Ricochet Vizslas".

Ricochet has been gone for about two and a half years now, but her memory lives on, as does her spirit in the generations that have followed her. Dylan and Dixie's pups, three days old today, are Ricochet's great-great grandkids.

The "Pound Puppies" are Growing Fast

I jokingly refer to Dixie's litter as the "Pound Puppies" because they all weighed in close to a pound at birth. Here it is a little over two days later, and my how they've grown! Tonight's weigh-in goes like this:

Black (male): 16.6 oz
Blue (male): 18.0 oz
Yellow (female): 18.7 oz
Red (female): 20.0 oz
Green (female): 17.5 oz

Tomorrow they take their first road trip - to the vet's for tails and dew claws. They will look more like Vizslas and less like rats in the next pictures!

Puppies Have Arrived!

Signs of labor started on Friday late afternoon. Dixie's temperature had dropped, and she was getting restless. She and I both just catnapped throughout the night. Hard labor didn't begin until after noon on Saturday. I figured the first pup was going to be a whopper because she was having difficulty pushing it out. Finally, at about 3:00 pm, he arrived. For the next four plus hours, the pups came, and they all were quite large. Sadly, the last pup's sack broke prematurely and I was not able to get the puppy out in time to save her. Resuscitation attempts were futile, so I had to lay her to rest. But Dixie and the rest of the litter are all doing fine.

Each puppy has a color ribbon around its neck to easily identify them, especially in pictures. So Dixie, Dylan and I proudly introduce:

Black - male - 15.7 oz
Blue - male - 15.6 oz
Yellow - female - 16.5 oz
Red - female - 17.1 oz
Green - female - 15.6 oz

Still on Puppy Watch

No puppies yet. She may wait until the weekend. I don't think she has "dropped" yet - not really seeing the backbone like you do when that happens. Here she is this afternoon:

Puppy watch

It's definitely "Puppy Watch" time around here. Dixie is getting rather HUGE, but not yet showing any signs of labor. Her temp is normal, her appetite has not left her, and she hasn't been unusually restless. Here's a pic taken earlier this evening:


And from the rear:

One More Week (or so)

Here's a picture of Dixie today. We're getting ready to start counting down the days instead of the weeks now. I am guessing that pups will arrive late next week or next weekend. Typically, puppies whelp 9 weeks (plus or minus one day) from the date of ovulation. When the breeding is done via artificial insemination, progesterone testing is done to determine the date of ovulation and thus the optimum breeding window, which is 3 to 5 days after ovulation. This was a natural breeding and no progesterone testing was done. So I have to go with dates of the actual breedings and assume that ovulation occurred a day or two prior to the first breeding. That is not always a good assumption - some dogs will breed prior to ovulation. But it's a place to start. I'll be using the temperature drop method along with plain old observation to determine when puppies are on their way.

I think Dixie is telling the kids about the accomplishments of their granddaddy as she gazes at all his awards.

Puppy countdown - 2 more weeks

In another two weeks, give or take, we'll be welcoming Dixie's brood to this world. This pictures were taken this evening.