Day Three Hundred and Twenty One - A Very Happy Day

Well I'm thrilled to say that our second ultrasound gave us an excellent result today.  Emmi's pups are doing well .... and even better there is a couple more than we last saw.  To say I am thrilled is an understatement.  Without any doubt there are at the very least three pups, and we could see what is most likely a fourth.  A more accurate count will come when we x-ray in Emmi's final week.

Here is an updated ultrasound picture of one of the pups:

Emmi is doing very well.  She has an obvious pot belly now and her girlish waistline is long gone! She also thinks her babies need feeding significantly more and more often than I do :-)

Here at home we are also getting ready, with last minute supplies ordered and arriving, each of which just adds to the excitement.  Hard to believe in just three weeks our precious diamonds will be here!

Day Three Hundred and Two - Mixed Results

Here is a Diamond puppy:

Well, that's the good news .... Emmi is pregnant!

But the not so good news is that Dr Mason could only find two puppies on ultrasound.  While that is sad simply because we were hoping for a few more, and had a few potential puppy owners also hoping for a few more, it is also a bit anxiety provoking.  Such small litters are at greater risk of reabsorbtion. 

So we will return for another ultrasound in a little over two weeks, and in the meantime hold our breath!

Day Two Hundred and Eight One - Insemination Day!!!

Today was the big day!

Emmi had a lunch time vet appointment and I snuck out of a work Christmas party to shoot across town.  When I got there she had been tested already, and the decision made that she was ready for the insemination.

We had planned on a TCI (trans-cervical insemination), which was a fascinating procedure to watch.  Everything was hooked up to video monitor, and once the catheter had been inserted through her cervix and into the uterus it was time for Ressi's part of the process :-).  Luckily the semen on thaw still looked great, with a 70% motility, so given all the stars being in alignment we are very hopeful for a successful outcome.

We will know if it has been successful in about three weeks time.  And if it is, we will have Diamonds for Valentine's Day (her due date).

Day Two Hundred and Eighty - A Very Busy Time

Well Emmi seems to be in quite the hurry to get pregnant!  We started progesterone testing at Monash Veterinary Clinic on Tuesday morning.  Given her usual pattern, I fully expected it to be fairly quiet this week, maybe a couple of tests during the week, with next week requiring the more frequent testing as she got closer.

However, it has been frantic quite quickly.  Her level on Tuesday was already 13.2, necessitating another early morning visit on Wednesday where she had hit 23.8.  Back there again this morning (Thursday) where she is at 42.3!!

Emmi has been staying at my parent's place closer to her vet, and I have been meeting her and my Dad (thanks Dad!!) there (an hour and a half drive away with early morning traffic) for her appointments, before driving from there straight into work.  Those 5am alarms are certainly getting the better of me, but the excitement is helping me through the exhaustion.

Not very long to go now!

Day Two Hundred and Seventy Two - Day One All Over Again

The day is finally here!  After what has seemed an absolutely excruciatingly long four months since the all clear, Emmi is finally IN SEASON AGAIN!!!

And so we go ahead ... stay turned for more news over the coming days.

Emmi certainly hasn't been lazy over these long 272 days we have waited to get her ready for this litter.  She's earned her CCD title in obedience, her HT title in herding, and her JD title in agility, had a hugely successful show year, and is significantly closer to that grand champion title.  Hopefully we'll be entering 2012 with another great achievement ..... the arrival of the Diamond litter!

Day One Hundred and Seventy Three - Great News!

We were finally off to Monash Veterinary Clinic today for Emmi's ultrasound.  This was the big one; to let us know if the treatment had worked and whether she could now come off her medication, so lots of toes and fingers were crossed.

The fantastic news is that we got the all clear!  Her uterus is now cyst free and looking as healthy as a young girl's :-).  So now all we need to do is wait for her to come into season again.

It is hard to know how long that will be.  It can be as early as two weeks and as long as nine months, although the average is about two months.  I'm hoping for the average so we can get through the Royal season and then prepare for the next big adventure - hopefully the pitter patter of Diamond feet!

Day One Hundred and Seventeen - An Achievement

Just a brief interlude to announce that Emmi successfully gained her CCD Obedience title today.  She earned her second pass just a fortnight ago, with 89 and a 4th place in ring, and then today earned her final required pass with 95 and 1st in ring, and promptly followed it up this afternoon with a bonus pass of 93 and another 1st in ring.

I'm very proud of my girl, who will now be known as Aus Ch Lumiturpa Emmi CCD (Imp Fnl).