The latest news

Okay, so I'm behind in my updates!!

The last two of Harmony's puppies both found homes. Levy went to his family on 20 August and Aristotle on 27 August. 

So now we have just Galena's puppies, which are growing like weeds! They turned six weeks old yesterday, so the next three weeks will be the eventful ones. We microchipped them yesterday. Wednesday of next week they are having their temperament assessment in the morning and going for vaccinations and checkup in the afternoon. The following weekend (Sep 16-18) will be puppy selection time for our families. Then Wed 21 they will be neutered and ready to head for homes as of Sep 23. 

Six of these puppies have been reserved, and we expect to place one or two as breeders, so might have one or none left depending on the breeding prospects. 

Both Phoenix's and Harmony's litters had a couple pups that were quite noisy and demanding, but this litter seems much quieter. They do whine a bit when they are hungry or want attention, but none of them get too loud about it. That is nice for us when we want to sleep in a bit of a weekend!! Of course, now that school is in there won't be as much sleeping in happening, especially not on weekdays for the kids!!

We have MORE puppies!

Well, Galena did it again! Last November our vet had counted six pups on the ultrasound but she gave us six. Now, I am very pleased to announce that Galena surprised us in the wee hours of Sunday morning by giving birth to EIGHT beautiful babies, rather than the seven our vet had counted at the end of June. Cumin is the sire to this litter as he was to the last.

We have:

Puppy #1: male, 201g, caramel, born at 12:38am (Qibli)

Puppy #2: male, 238g, chocolate silvered phantom, born at 12:56am (Apex)

Puppy #3: female, 187g, light caramel, born at 01:21 (Mica)

Puppy #4: male, 255g, chocolate with white chest, born at 01: 49 (Bruno)

Puppy #5: female, 209g, chocolate phantom, born at 02:06 (Brooke)

Puppy #6: male, 250g, very pale cream, born at 02:53 (Zeus)

Puppy #7: female, 233g, solid chocolate, born at 03:17 (Piper)

Puppy #8: male, 221g, dark caramel/red, born at 03:22 (Flame)

So yes, my daughter Tristan and I had a pretty sleepless night, getting to bed around 4am (once we were sure she was done) and sleeping in until around 11.

This means that the winner of the Guess How Many Puppies contest is Catherine, who guessed eight puppies with the first born on 24 July at 3:00pm. When she submitted her guess, I remember thinking “24 July? No way, that’s way too early!” So much for my assumptions! In fact, Galena had been scheduled to come to us the afternoon of July 24, but her Guardians called up mid-Saturday asking if they could bring her over that evening as they didn’t think she would last until Sunday afternoon. Were they ever right!

Three of these puppies are already reserved, leaving five available. If you know anyone who is thinking of getting a puppy, send them our way!

Pregnancy confirmed!!

Galena had her ultrasound yesterday afternoon. We are happy to announce that YES!! We are expecting more puppies!!

The vet counted (most likely) seven little active healthy pups - give or take one.

Galena is due the week of July 25. So far we have a reservation for one of her puppies, so there are still lots available - but that is likely to change quickly enough. 

Here is the list of puppy guesses on her Guess How Many Puppies contest. We have a number of likely finalists - remains to be seen when the first pup arrives to determine the final winner. 

Name	# of puppies	date/time
Martin	4	28 July 14:30
Janet B	5	26 July, 19:20
Adrienne TC	5	27 July, 16:30
Melissa B	5	27 July, 17:00
Suzie Baril	5	27 July 18:15
Jennifer O	5	28 July 15:00
Barbara B	5	28 July, 23:00
Emma P	6	25 July, 17:00
Susan CB	6	26 July, 13:42
Sarah P	6	26 July, 16:30
Suzanne	6	28 July, 16:45
Tristan	7	27 July, 21:00
Amélie L TC	7	27 July, 17:30
Patrice P	7	27 July, 19:07
Karen P	7	28 July, 14:00
Joséphine L TC	7	28 July, 15:00
Monica	7	28 July, 16:00
Catherine C	8	24 July, 15:00
Katie GM	8	25 July, 16:00
Laurent L TC	8	28 July, 19:30

Guess How Many Puppies - Galena edition

Since Galena has been bred, we can open up another edition of the Guess How Many Puppies contest – this time for Galena.

I hope that people will be somewhat more adventurous with their guesses, so we actually have a correct number guess! Galena’s first litter was six, her second was eight, and her third was six. So I’d say guesses of 5, 6, 7 or 8 would all be in line. (Possibly also 4 and 9, though less likely.) Remember, each member of a family can enter their own guess, so Mom could guess 5, kid #1 could guess 6, Dad could guess 7 and kid #2 could guess 8 (for example) to spread out your chances of winning. (Of course, the winner might need to take the whole family out to Timmy’s to celebrate…)

To the number of puppies, you need to add your best guess as to the date and time that the first puppy will be born (to pick the winner among all those that guess 8, for example). As I noted in my last post, her actual due date is July 26, but she tends to be two or three days early, so July 23 or 24 might be good dates to guess. But then, she took her time going into heat this time (eight months instead of six or seven) and once she was in heat, she didn’t “ripen” for ten days (as opposed to four) so who knows, she might be our first dog to whelp after her due date. (Ha ha! Just to keep things exciting.) In which case guesses of 27 or 28 might be apt!! All her first pups have arrived in the afternoon.

So, guess away!! You have until the date of her ultrasound (likely around June 24) to submit your guesses.

Galena bred

Our girl Galena (mama to Angel, Nellie, Matilda, and lots of other lovelies) went into heat on May 15. Since she usually “ripens” pretty quick, we tested her hormone levels on May 19 but she was still really low. We retested on May 24 and found she was pretty much ready.

Galena and Cumin honeymooned together, and now we are expecting another 2016 litter! Her due date will be around July 26, and these puppies will be ready for new homes the last weekend in September. The pups will be chocolate (solid or phantom) and caramel. They will be full siblings to Fozzie, Cooper, Charlie-Peeta, and Charlie-Evrial in Ottawa, and Kobe and Romeo in Toronto.

Stay tuned!