oops sorry a little late.. end of 3rd trimemster..

I will now be doing bi weekly Dekklet diary updates.

Week Three (first trimester is OVER!)

Feeding changes
None really. This week she got salmon , elk, chicken, and her mush mix...

Behaviour Changes
Not much.. still very clingy and needy. Sleeps a lot.

Physical Changes
I measured her belly and got 35cm.
She has lost her waist when looking from above



as well as from the side.

Week 2

Feeding changes
Not really any changes other than I added a bit of unpasturized buckwheat honey. (i am going to try adding it to snip's food to see if it helps with his allergies)

Dekka (and the rest) got elk RMB this week. Plan to get some bison next week.

Behaviour changes

Not really any change. Seems more tired than usual but that could be from staying up and being on foal watch.

She thew up a few days ago.. I got excited but it seems its to early for any morning sickness.

Physical changes
This was interesting. Dekka's empty belly was 34.5 cm this morning and she didnt' eat any extra yesterday.. will measure her belly a few mornings this week to see if this small increase is actual.

What is (hopefully) happening in there
The blastocysts have implanted into the uterine lining and begin to grow into embryos. Over the next 2 weeks important organs will develop.

The Dekklet's Dad.

Should post a pic of dad...

So this is Natural Instinct R. Isn't he a handsome boy?!

Too much of the rich foods...

Dekka started having some nasty liquidy poop (on my front entrance stones no less!) I think the mush mix is a bit rich to be having so much right off.

I cut back a bit on the mush mix and upped her RMB intake a bit and that seems to have fixed the problem. I will slowly increase the mush mix to two table spoons. Dekka seems more ravenous than usual.. but that could be for so many different reasons.

Still hoping there are Dekklets inside!

The adventure begins.... (we hope)

This is posted on a popular forum but for those who wish to follow along with out all the forum chatter....

Dekka was bred repeatedly from April 11 through the 15.

The goal for this breeding... I hope to improve on Dekka's lack of angulation front and rear. Her neck looks short.. but its not, if she had a better shoulder angle it would appear longer. It also tends to make her back look long because she holds her neck out vs up due to the shoulder neck assembly.

I also hope to get some better chests. Dekka has a very small chest.. even easier to span than other dogs her size.. but its oval (or keel) shaped if you took it in cross section. It should be round (hole shaped) I hope to keep her good coat (its better than Dad's) I hope they have a little less edge than her Dam's line does but keeps the hardness and desire to work for humans.

Whilst Dekka isn't overly fast herself I hope for fast puppies. Snip (Dekka's littermate) has won lots of reserve and champion in racing and his sister Trix who no longer races is even faster. I expect a litter of all unders (less than 12.5 inches) and hope for most under 12.

Week One

Feeding changes
This is my first soley raw litter. The last one (pretty much 4 years ago) I fed kibble in the AM and raw at night...
Dekka is not getting fed any more than usual. But as my current feeding scheme is balance over time I felt I needed to change things. Dogs are pregnant for such a short time and critical development periods go so swiftly I am doing more of a balance by day.

I also added things on the recommendation of people who have been raising dogs on raw for over 20 years. So I made up a "mush mix" for Dekka to get daily along with a raw meaty bone. In the mush mix is..

Ground lamb (bone in)
Ground beef offal
Raw goats milk
Omega eggs (with shell)
Kelp meal
Arctic vigour (a oil from arctic fish)

Right now Dekka only gets a table spoon or so of this at night. But she LOVES it and thinks its the most wonderful food ever. As she progresses she will get more and more of the mush. I am also making sure she gets a variety of protein sources (she has no issues with any protein so far). Right now as I type she is mowing down on a pork neck. I also have chicken frames and necks, and turkey. Will have to grab some bison or venison neck bones at the market in the next week or two.

Behaviour Changes
She is cranky and needy. Not sure if the neediness is from being abandoned at a strangers house (tho she quite liked Ken and Kate) She got in a fight with Bounce, and whilst Dekka didn't start it she actually poked holes which isn't something she normally does in a fight. Snip (the one with paws) gets snarked at when he is in the bed at night. I told Dekka she shouldn't' be guarding the bed as she is NOT whelping her Dekklets there anyway.

Physical Changes
None. I measured her belly and got 31.5cm. I will be measuring it on a weekly basis just out of curiosity.

What is (hopefully) happening in there
The fertilized eggs have migrated down the obiducts and into the uterine horns. The eggs should now be blastocystes.