Two Weeks Down....

So, if Karma is expecting, she is 2 weeks along now. 7 weeks to go. I think we have decided to forgo the ultrasound, because really, just being patient will tell us if she's carrying puppies or not. Even tho we get so anxious to know, time really does move right along & soon, we hope, there will be a whelping box full of beautiful black babies!!

Karma Has Been Bred!

Ok! Karma went to 5.0 this past Wed. So the semen from Slick was collected and shipped for arrival to Tn. on Fri. She was inseminated the same day and again today, Sat. Since she ovulated on the 11th, that means puppies will arrive 63 days from that day, so she will be due to whelp on Oct.13th. Keeping fingers crossed!

Karma's Test Results

OK...so we have the first progesterone test back on Karma & it was 0.2, which is still very early. We are right at the beginning & so, we'll do another test this coming Mon., the 9th.
 Right now we're in a waiting game for her numbers to raise above 5.0 nanograms....
 More results next week!

Progesterone Test Today

 OK, so now we've completed the first progesterone test on Karma today. This is day seven in her heat cycle. Last time she was bred, she didn't ovulate until day 21, so, we will do this test several times in order to pin point exactly when we need to have Slick's semen shipped to us.
 We will know what the numbers are tomorrow. She needs to be above 5 nanograms to time this correctly.
It all sounds so complicated, but, it's just a lot of time & expense....thank goodness we don't have to ship our girls to the stud dog any more....that's the way we used to do it...that or drive, which, a trip to Colorado would be impossible, either way you look at it. Flying is too hot & driving that far is not do-able. Science is a wonderful thing, & we've come a long way!
 I'll be posting Karma's numbers tomorrow!

Stud Dog Chosen For Oct. Litter!

 After much time & consideration, we have finally chosen a stud dog to sire Karma's (aka: Kai Den's Supernatural) litter! We had thought of so many different dogs, but, the final decision was ironically, our first thoughts on the matter...I guess it goes to show that your first instincts are right!

 Anyway, the dog we chose is Ch. Julsby's Hey Good Lookin' aka "Slick", a nice yellow dog from Snowberry Labradors in Colorado. He seems to be producing nice rears & turn of stifle & that's what we feel we need to improve on w/ Karma. She is a lovely girl, correct type, structure, coat, wrapped otter tail & gorgeous front....plus, that sweet temperament. She is dominant black, so all her puppies will be black, but since we are using a yellow stud dog, all the puppies will carry the yellow gene & will produce yellow puppies if bred to another dog that also carries yellow. (Genetics are interesting!)

Karma is a strong producer in throwing her type in most all her puppies. Basically, we needed a dog strong in producing the thing we felt could use a bit more strength w/ her, & that was turn of stifle...which is my pet peeve. Slick seems to be putting that turn on most of the puppies I've seen out of him, so we're hopeful that this will be the right match....Karma's overall type, w/ Slicks rear!

 The semen will be shipped sometime in the next week or so, which means the puppies will arrive in Oct. & ready for new homes in Dec. I'm glad it will be cool when the puppies come, because having them in the heat is not a pleasant thing! I prefer winter puppies, so this is good timing!