Diaras Pregnancy
On 19.4.24 the time had come:
The ultrasound confirmed it! Puppies are on their way.
For all those who are interested, I will write and document a little diary of Diara's pregnancy here.
One of the reasons for this is that it has helped us enormously as first-time breeders to look at other people's experiences: how did it go with them? Did the bitch's behaviour change? How did the change of food go? etc.!
Therefore:
Enjoy reading!
Pregnancy Diary
22.3.24 ~ Stud day/1st day
After Diara's progesterone value was 8.21ng/ml or 26.13nmol/l on 21 March, we went to the stud dog in the evening and the next day (more details under planning phase).
31.3.24 ~ 10th day
Today we set off with Diara and the car to Spain, where we will enjoy 2 weeks of sun, beach and sea on the Costa Brava. So far we have not noticed any changes in behaviour. Diara eats, walks, plays and sleeps as usual.
Weight: 33.7kg
11.4.24 ~ 21st day
Now after the 2nd week of pregnancy we think we can observe an increased need for sleep and rest in Diara. She walks closer to us, is no longer interested in the ball after throwing it 2 times and sleeps outside in the sun for 6/7 hours during the day. Today she had slight diarrhoea due to sea water, but is otherwise in good health (digestion was normal again the next day). She is eating normally, we have even increased her food ration slightly as she had lost some weight (visually).
15.4.24 ~ 25th day
We are on our way back to the Eifel. The holiday was much calmer, especially compared to last year. Although Diara still enjoyed jogging and cycling, her stamina was much lower than usual. She also slept a lot more and demanded less exercise/activity than usual. Today we made a stopover in Lyon (at 30 degrees, there really wasn't much thought of exercise, even for a non-pregnant dog). During our morning walk we met a German shepherd who couldn't be moved away from Diara's bum. He even tried to ride up, but Diara didn't find that funny any more and made it clear to him that he would see the radishes from below if he tried that again! Diara continues to eat normally.
Belly circumference: 77cm
16.4.24 ~ 26th day
Winter has returned to the Eifel: 4 degrees and sleet. The cooler temperatures visibly revive Diara and there is little sign of the sluggishness of the holiday (which had temperatures most of the time only just under 20 degrees, but still). The morning rounds are getting longer, but she still sleeps a lot around lunchtime. We weighed her and compared to before the holiday Diara had lost a good pound in weight. Today, for the first time in ages, she hadn't eaten her food in the evening and her lower teats are already slightly enlarged.
Weight: 33.1 kg
19.4.24 ~ ultrasound day/29th day
4 weeks have passed since the mating day. Diara has been eating poorly for the last 3 days (at least her main food, treats are practically INHALED). This morning I went jogging with her again, which she obviously enjoyed. Then at 11 o'clock the news everyone was waiting for:
Diara is pregnant!
While lying on the examination table, I saw the infamous transparent discharge for the first time, which is one of the surest signs of pregnancy. On the ultrasound we could already see 3 amniotic sacs with beating hearts (😍), then we stopped looking. Weight on the clinic scales again about 400g more than 4 days ago, despite poor eating.
Weight: 33.5kg
21.4.24 ~ 31st day
The 5th week has begun. Diara is still eating poorly. Sometimes you can really tell by looking at her: uff, now I feel sick. Sometimes she only eats 2/3 bites, only to devour almost everything 2 hours later. Puppy food has been ordered and will be added to her food tomorrow. We will also start feeding her in the morning and evening to hopefully make it easier for her to eat. We will now also reduce search and rescue training slightly and only train short bursts until it is probably paused completely from the 6th week onwards.
28.4.24 ~ 38th day
Start of the 6th week. Meanwhile, a little baby tummy can be seen and the milk line is beginning to become more defined. Diara has regained her appetite and a whole lot more! Anything that looks remotely edible is devoured without chewing (even a mouse had to bite the dust🫠). Her current mass is around 33.8kg and she is now starting to put on weight. Even if she's not quite as active as usual, she's still always ready to go for a short jog and walks are still going well. We won't be cycling any more (she has noticeably less stamina) and search training has also been paused as of today. She has been on puppy food for a few days now, a handful in the morning and 1/4 cup in the evening in addition to her normal food.
Yesterday we also borrowed a whelping box from Diara's breeders (Hovawarte vom Wirbelsturm) and will soon put it up.
Weight: 33.8kg
07.5.24 ~ 46th day
The last trimester has begun! Diara is getting noticeably calmer and the walks are taking longer (not because the distances are getting longer, but because Madam prefers to follow behind rather than run ahead) Food is still the be-all and end-all and there is also a lot of sleeping. The whelping box has been set up and we have already tried it out together (very comfortable!). Diara cleans herself a lot, so you can't see any discharge. Visually, her pregnancy is starting to show. At the last weigh-in yesterday she weighed 36.2kg, 3kg more than before the pregnancy. Her belly circumference is about 81cm (but with my measuring skills I can't guarantee the accuracy of the values XD). About 2-3 weeks to go, then it's the day of days!
Weight: 36.2kg
Belly circumference: 81cm
12.5.24 ~ 52nd day
The final sprint has begun, in 2 weeks little hovis will tumble into our whelping box. Until then it's time for lots of rest, cuddles and walks. Yesterday we gave Diara her 2nd vaccination against herpes and tomorrow she will also have a deworming (see Mouse Feast accident). Yesterday I also felt little kicks against my palm for the first time and since then you can often find me with my hands plastered on Diara's belly. This week the first people interested in puppies visited us for nice and interesting conversations and they all had the chance to cuddle Diara (the poor animal gets no love otherwise). People are welcome to visit us for another week before we close our doors on the 20th and wait for things to happen. Today Diara's weight was 38kg, so in one week she has gained 2kg, let's see where we are going to land.
Weight: 38kg
Etwas seltsam mutet es ja schon an, diese ganzen kleinen Knochen IN meinem Hund zu sehen, aber es ist auch sehr interessant! 7 Kleine haben wir auf "jeden Fall" gezählt, vlt. versteckt sich sogar noch ein 8.
So langsam wird es real, dass wir in ca. 1 Woche hier weitere ~7 kleinen Wesen liegen haben.
Die Geburtsvorbereitungen sind weitestgehend abgeschlossen, nur 2,3 Nachzügler müssen noch geliefert werden. Diara ist weiterhin die Ruhe selbst, hat allerdings begonnen geeignete Wurfhöhlen auszukundschaften. Vor 2 Tagen hat sie die 2. Herpes Impfung bekommen und heute gab es auch nochmal eine Entwurmung. Ihr Bauchumfang war gestern bei etwa 85cm.
Das Einzige das noch fehlt, ist die Namensliste für die neuen kleinen Hunde, mal sehen, was uns da noch so einfällt...
Gewicht: 38,6Kg
Umfang: 85cm
Tag 62 ~ Geburt!
Gewicht: 41Kg
Umfang: 92cm
Die letzte Woche hat sich sicherlich gezogen. Besonders für Diara, die wahrlich riesige Ausmaße angenommen hat. Spaziergänge bestanden aus etwa 10-15 min langsamen Watschelns, bevor uns unmissverständlich klar gemacht wurde, das es jetzt Zeit für den Rückweg war. Ab dem 58. Tag habe ich regelmäßig ihre Temperatur gemessen um möglichst genau den Start der Geburt vorhersehen zu können. Das Buddeln der Wurfhöhlen wurde intensiviert und mit einer Verbissenheit fortgesetzt, die sie sonst nur in Sache Futter zeigt. Apropos Futter, auch davon konnte Diara die letzte Woche nicht genug bekommen-bis zum Tag 60. Hier fing sie aufeinmal an - ganz untypisch für sie- zögerlicher zur fressen oder sogar eine Mahlzeit auszulassen. Da gingen bei mir natürlich alle Alarmglocken los, ist das Verweigern von Futter doch DAS Zeichen- neben dem Temperaturabfall, dass die Geburt in den nächsten ~24-48h bevorsteht. Und während sie am Tag 60 dann Abendas doch wieder das Fressen aufnahm, verweigerte sie jegliche Mahlzeit am Tag darauf, Tag 61. Und siehe da, Mittags um 12 Uhr zeigte das Thermometer dann auch nur noch 36,6 Grad an -> prepare for landing! Und dann hieß es wieder: Warten, warten, warten...
Gegen 16 Uhr zeigt Diara Anzeichen von Senkwehen, Unruhe, Hecheln, seltsame Liegepositionen etc. Nun konnte es nicht mehr lange Dauern!
...Dachte ich... aber Diara hatte entgegen der Mehrheit von Hündinnen beschlossen: "meine Kinder kommen nicht Nachts sondern Tagsüber zur Welt!" Daher hatten wir zwar eine sehr unruhige aber sonst unauffällige Nacht vor uns. Gegen halb 8 war meine Mutter dann mit Diara nochmal draußen, natürlich brav an der Leine. Allerdings hielt die Leine Diara trotzdem nicht davon ab mit einem großen Hechtsprung hinter unser Mülltonnenhäuschen zu verschwinden, eindeutig der beste Ort um Welpen zu kriegen!
Wer schonmal selbst eine trächtige Hündin hatte, der weiss: kurz vor der Geburt entwickln die Kräfte...holla die Waldfee. Nachdem weder Bestechungen noch Drohungen Diara wieder aus ihrer Höhle locken konnten hatten wir us mental schon draufvorbereitet das Müllhäuschen abzubauen um die werdende Mutter wieder da raus zu bkommen. Glücklicherweise fiel mir dann aber ein Rat ein, den man mir für ähnliche Situationen gegeben hatte: Ein Quietschspielzeug kann Wunder wirken.
Und tatsächlich 2 Quietscher später saß das da noch runde Stinktier vor mir um ihren vermeidlichen Welpen einzusammeln. Mit Hilfe der Leine konnten wir sie dann davon überzeugen, das es drinnen in der Wurfkiste dann doch etwas bequemer für alle Beteiligten sei!
Um 8 Uhr wurde der erste Welpe geboren, bis 12:40 folgten 6 weitere, insgesamt haben wir nun also 7 kleine Racker in unserer Wurfkiste liegen, 5 Mädels und 2 Jungs!
Mehr über die Kleinen, ihre Entwicklung, Bilder und Infos über Verfügbarkeit findet ihr unter
A-Wurf
