I wish you a Happy Thanksgiving — or if Happy is not attainable, I hope it meets the bar for Adequate. Regardless, it is Thanksgiving.
I am grateful that I will not be Driving Miss Daisy on Thanksgiving. Her progesterone is taking a slow, leisurely climb into FertileVille.
LH = Luteinizing Hormone. That is what triggers ovulation but it is hard to measure, and so we measure the companion hormone, progesterone, instead.
Unlike humans who ovulate eggs ready to be fertilized, a dog’s eggs have to mature after ovulation before they are ready to tango. This maturation process takes 24 - 48 hours, and then the eggs remain viable for 2 - 3 days.
Pinpointing ovulation helps us breed on the optimal days; poor timing is the most frequent reason for failure when breeding dogs. Based on Daisy’s progesterone level, it appears that she should ovulate today; we will draw blood again tomorrow to confirm. That means her optimal breeding days will be Saturday and Sunday.
Since Daisy’s breeding involves travel — in a pandemic — precision in the timing is even more important because I want to minimize the time I am out in the Great Viral Unknown.
The pandemic makes all of this so much harder. It is challenging enough finding a stud dog who checks all the boxes but in the age of Covid, an additional requirement had to be added: Stud Dog Owner Takes Covid Very Seriously.
Mission Accomplished. I am very, very happy with the choice of Daisy’s future husband, both because I love the dog but also because his owner is smart and careful and safe.
I highly recommend a Pandemic Kitten — Rosebud is hilariously entertaining.
Sparkle and Rosebud
The Wildflowers are six-months-old today! Happy Half-Birthday to all of them, including our Pozy Clarkia…
This is Pozy on the walk down the driveway away from our house and towards the main road.
As I wrote that, I realized I need to clarify that the main road is that dirt road by the small house. A Main Road in Montana is different than — say — California.
Wherever you are, whatever you will be doing or eating today, I hope you find the things that inspire gratitude.
Please have a Grateful Thanksgiving.