So Yu decided to 'spice up' my yearly holidays and started her heat over a month earlier than I was expecting her heat. And since she can ovulate rather quickly I had to make some very quick plans. And then her progesterone values were low on Monday, still very low on Friday...we decided to retest on Tuesday or even Wednesday...on Tuesday I get the results back - she already ovulated and it was the right time to breed. 😲 Just before midnight we managed to get on the road and early morning we arrived at Nadja and Nikan's place.
We did one breeding on Wednesday and one on Thursday and crossed our fingers 🤞 that we were successful. During the day we visited a nearby forest which has become one of my favorite places in Germany. Yu was happy and relaxed the whole time, she really is the perfect travel companion, settling in anywhere, be it motels, hotels, apartments, or even sleeping the night in the car. 😅 As long as she has 'her human' there, that's all she needs.
We scheduled an ultrasound and our days continued as usual. Since she had one unsuccessful breeding before every little thing that was different made me wonder if this time we were successful. In the first few weeks, as expected, no real weight gain, no difference in looks or behavior. Then a few days before the ultrasound, she refused to go outside in the morning, trying to sleep in a bit more. And she started sleeping more than usual. A day before the ultrasound there was a noticeable increase in her waist diameter. She went up 2-3 cm! 😀
And then the next day, as soon as the vet placed the probe on her stomach, we saw the first puppy! 😍 And then another, and another and another...all healthy and all growing nicely.
Our plans that started 2 years earlier were finally coming true and we are really excited for what is to come!
Yu has now entered her 7th week of pregnancy. Her weight has increased by 16% and her waist just hit 60 cm. For comparison - she started with a trim line of 45 cm. She gets tired more quickly so she's not running around that much on our walks. She still goes out for regular walks and does searches and memories while we're outside. Inside she just wants to cuddle and sleep. And eat. A lot. A whole cow, if someone would just bring it to her on a plate. 🤣
She can no longer jump into her top crate in the car, but I think as long as she can still jump on the couch and the bed by herself, she's perfectly happy.
A little less than 3 more weeks to go before we finally meet all of them! 🥰 I have no doubt that they will become awesome dogs!
Slowly we will start to prepare the whelping area where the puppies will spend the first few weeks. And with the holidays approaching I have no doubt that these last 3 weeks will fly by in a flash.
