Thoughtfully-bred puppies do not just appear. As I sit here trying to think of how to explain the arduous process, the best I can compare it to is getting an advanced degree.
To others, the Ph.D. looks a bit like, “TA DA!”
As if I just woke up one morning and there it was on my wall.
Au Contraire.
It was years of effort, time, sacrifices, self-doubt, writing, researching, learning. And I did it while raising three children and working — the impact of that are another kind of post.
Graduation! Me, my two sisters, three children, and my father sitting on my Granddad’s Bench at the UC Berkeley campus. The bench is located next to Sather Gate in the redwoods.
Anyway, that is my best analogy for one of my thoughtfully-bred puppy. It might seem as if one day puppies just appear but that is very far from the truth. And so I have decided with this planned litter, I would bring you all into the process earlier than I have in the past.
The breeding might not work and then you will — perhaps — feel the disappointment along with me. And it could work and then we can celebrate together 🎉
To begin, take a look at Capella’s Berner-Garde page and note all the health testing that has been done. Check out her titles. Look at her relatives.
Data matters. How else can we make informed decisions?
In order to know the exact right time to breed, we need to know when the female ovulates. This information is not only critical to successful breeding but it also allows us to predict the whelping date with surprising accuracy, which supports the safe arrival of puppies.
It is the luteinizing hormone (LH) that triggers ovulation but it is expensive and impractical to measure in dogs. Progesterone, however, tracks with LH in a predictable way, and so we use progesterone testing as proxy for LH.
Hollinshead and Hanlon (2019) published, Normal progesterone profiles during estrus in the bitch: A prospective analysis of 1420 estrous cycles (2019) adding excellent data to what was already understood about using progesterone to time breedings. Based on their research, we expect that LH is beginning to surge when progesterone hits between about 2 - 3; we call that day LH0 and it starts the breeding clock, so to speak.
Ovulation is predicted to begin two days later (LH2) when progesterone is between about 4 - 6.
Here is where things gets tricky. In dogs, the newly ovulated eggs are not ready to fertilize — they have to hang out and “ripen” for at least a day and likely longer. Further, eggs are not ovulated all at once and so there is a stream of ovulated eggs that have to get ready for action, and once they are available for fertilization, they are only viable for a day or so. The sperm, however, can live for longer — up to a week for fresh and less if fresh chilled or frozen.
This all means we need to establish the breeding window — typically the days we call LH4 - LH6 — using progesterone testing.
Here is a table that shows progesterone testing done for the Bright Stars (n=10). CMC is the progesterone level — I named the category for the hospital lab that was running the results because we also ran the same blood through another method, which I do not recommend. I insisted the breedings be based on the CMC results — thank goodness. [The semen was fresh chilled.]
Claire’s progesterone testing.
Capella’s progesterone was 0.3 yesterday (Saturday, 12/7; Day Six of her cycle) and will be tested again tomorrow. Earlier this week she also had blood work to assess her general health (all good) and we also ran a test for brucellosis (negative). Capella’s intended also had a negative brucellosis test last week.
And so that is where things are at right now.
Welcome aboard, friend.
🩷🍀