July 21, 2010 - Wednesday:
Thyme sure flies!

Just a few more days and everyone will be in their forever homes.  Time sure flies, seems like only yesterday they were mini me's.

Ph'nx and Dixie traveled to NM with the adults for some agility (adults) and socializing (puppies). They did AWESOME - able to sleep in the crate from 10pm until 6am without a peep.  Ra and Rosie stayed with Katy.

Below are their 8 week photos:

Here are their front and rear views.  Dixie's head is missing as I was stuffing her full of cheese.  They did not like being so high this time so their ears are paying tricks on them.  All in all they did great considering I only get them on the table once a week.

July 4, 2010 - Sunday:

The pups are six weeks and 4 days old today.  They have grown by leaps and bounds.  They run and jump and play - so much more advanced than any other litter.  We have taken a number of field trips.  We went to a posh shopping center up the road where they were encouraged to play with a few kids and adults.  We have been to where the adults do their indoor agility practice.  Maureen - our instructor - who did V and Jane's temperament testing thought this litter is tops!  Much more social and less 'stranger danger' issues then previous.  She fell in love with a few - but especially Trece.  We went to Dr. Rademaker's house where she commented on how "mature" they seemed - being able to track balls and their mobility and dexterousness at age 6 weeks compared to 6 week old pups that come in to the clinic.  We have taken car rides just for the sake of riding in the car.  Today we plan to visit Katy's house for the first time and perhaps her dogs (one at a time of course).

Next week we have our eye exams then a puppy party planned with seven (yes! 7) Wheaten terrier pups who are a few days younger.  That should be interesting and fun!

Here are some links showing how we spend our days:

Practicing their default behavior for supper 6 weeks old:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04bbLC56M7A

Dog walking at a little over 5 weeks old:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJ36ckA4SYU

Meeting the Funky Chicken No1:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41Mw3aAWjnM

Meeting the Funky Chicken No2:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMTA4g1xpQI
 
 

June 13, 2010 - Sunday:

Thyme Marches On!

The pups are three weeks and 4 days old already.  I can not believe how quickly they are growing.  To be honest I forget how young they are as they seem the most advanced of the three litters.  I am finding it hard to keep this page updated since I tend to send pictures and little updates through Facebook.  Heck, I am not even sure anyone even reads this page anymore with the advent of Facebook.

Their eyes and ears are open, their teeth have erupted and they have discovered self mobility and toddle hither and yon albeit quite unsteadily.   They have also discovered their littermates and delight in breaking in their teeth on each other.  I say - better them, than me.  So far they seem to be a quiet litter.  A few mock growls, some whining when scared but overall - silence.

They are being introduced to food other than momma's milk, various surfaces with which to walk and explore and have been outside several times; they are slowly learning these are all good things.  They love climbing on and over anything in their path, humans included and have taken a liking to licking arms and legs.  Seeing how we taste before biting becomes their MO perhaps?

We have awesome homes lined up.  Folks whose excitement makes Katy and I excited too.  I well remember waiting for Tre to arrive - seemed to take forever but was - oh so worth the wait once he finally flew in!  I hope these folks think similar once they pick up their new charges in the coming months.  Only thyme will tell!

Here are three recent pictures:

Let sleeping dogs lie..

Ra (top) Phoenix (left), Trece on back.
 

Trece chewing Ra's ear.

DiVa posing.

May 24, 2010 - Monday:

Why Thyme?

As some of you already know (or may have guessed) the theme for this litter is Thyme.  This is a play on my heart dog - grandma Sage's name, you know - Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme - even though Sage was named for her wisdom and not as a spice.  Katy and I also felt Thyme was quite appropriate; in order for this breeding and litter to be successful we needed the timing and co-ordination to be 100% perfect - which as we all know it was!

The four pups together this morning at 5 days old and already twice their birth weights:

Ra (boy), DV (last born girl) Trece (3rd born girl) RG (2nd born)
 

May 20, 2010 - Thursday:

Thyme for toe-sies

One of the awesome vets I work for, Dr. Rad came by this afternoon to remove dew claws since Katy was out of town.  Katy and I did the previous litters dews (V and Jane's litter) using hemostats and neither of us liked this method so we hoped to just use scissors this time around.  Another Dr. kind of freaked me out - saying we had to use hemostats or risk blood gushing and squirting all over.  Luckily Dr. Rad likes to use scissors so I hoped to learn something; which I did.

I learned that gushing does not really occur, how to properly hold to minimize any blood loss and best of all - their discomfort was over in a mere nanosecond vs. what seemed like an eternity using the hemostats.  Thank doG for Dr. Rad!!  Can't wait to try it myself on the next litter - assuming I have another.

I asked various lists how best to deal with V and Feigh's segregation.  I have always felt that the key to their continued friendship would be to always have them together.  Having puppies kind of puts a damper on that.  I received a few suggestions which I tried but with only so-so results.  It was not until Lisa M. emailed me and told me she has had four related bitches living and whelping together with no problems that I got what I needed.   She wrote that from the get go - the new momma goes out with everyone to do their business as though nothing different has occurred.  Thank you Lisa for taking the time to write to me!

So I tried this and the next thing I know - V is out running around with the others with nary a problem.  We did have one glitch, shortly after the dew claw removal when V thought Feigh was trying to get into see the pups (Feigh does not have access to the pups and while she has met them one on one with me holding - she will not have access to the rearing room until they are out of the gerbil stage and acting more like dogs.) V charged after Feigh and lit into her, which Feigh took a bit personal. My quick actions averted a fight and I put V back in with the babes, figuring it was just too soon after the babes toes were cut off, where V could hear and see them fussing and wanted to help them.

While I waited for things to cool between the girls I made sure that V had to eat every meal next to the baby gate where Feigh plays sentry duty.  This way V has a positive association with Feigh in the form of food while they are not able to actually interact with each other.  This helped tremendously getting them together again by the next evening.  Just this morning (Mon. May 24th) V met us at the gate wagging her tail and did not say a peep when she came out to integrate with everyone else and wait for breakfast to be made. I can not tell you how ecstatic I am that this is going so well; I am truly blessed.
 

Day 63 (May 19, 2010 - Wednesday):

Right on Thyme!

V had been acting kind of odd the previous two days.  She would jump off the couch from a dead sleep and try to crawl under the TV armoire - a space of about 3 inches high.  I had to work all day Tuesday so Rand came home early to spend the afternoon with her just in case.  Her temp was pretty stable Tuesday morn so I did not anticipate any pups on Rand's shift however when I came home from lunch she dug around her snoozy bed before settling down.  Hmmm.  Rand happened to mention he had to rescue her from under the couch while he was eating lunch because she was to rotund to get out from underneath, despite having the same girth when crawling under.  At first Rand just thought she went after a piece of food he had dropped and got stuck but we have to wonder.  I think Rand is praying hard nothing happens until after I get home. Can't say I blame him.

Tuesday evening V started going to the dog bed in the living room to scratch around a little bit.  This did not last long and she would come back to the couch and sprawl herself across waiting for tummy massages.  At about 10pm she once again jumped off and earnestly began to scratch and nest so I bid Rand and the crew adieu and took V to the designated whelping area.  Luckily I had everything ready as I felt babies were a'comin within the next 12 hours or so.

By 11pm nothing much was happening.  V would scratch and nest, then fall asleep over and over again.  By 11:30 I gave up, put V on leash so she could not exit the bed without me knowing and took her to bed.   She of course could not get comfortable which meant I did not get any sleep.  Every time she moved, I was jarred awake. I can not imagine how anyone can sleep with a newborn baby in their bed - I would end up a walking zombie from lack of sleep.  Around 3:30-ish a.m. she seemed particularly restless so I bundled her off to the whelping pen and laid down to watch the sun start to rise.  Up, down, scratch, up, down, scratch.  It was relentless but this time she started whining and crying.  I have to admit - whining and crying are my least favorite dog noises, add to that exhaustion and I was not a happy camper - assuming she was just fussing cos Feigh was on the other side of the baby gate/door whining back at her.

Around 5am I realized she was serious; sure enough she started labor in earnest by breaking her 1st water bag.  I sent Katy, our co-breeder who is in Santa Fe for continuing education, a text that it was thyme!  I then quickly reread key parts to my whelping books: 1/ don't interfere unless absolutely necessary 2/ number one priority is to break the sac so the puppy can breathe 3/ the umbilical cord can wait 4/ be prepared for anything 5/take a deep breath and remember to keep breathing!

At 5:20am, after a quick cry from V, a rather large red and white boy was born.  V seemed more concerned about cleaning up the mess his birth created then cleaning him and taking care of the umbilical cord.  So after a minute or two, when she still focused on the mess, I cracked open the sterile scissors and cut the cord myself.  Just this tiny act seemed to wake V up out of her fog and she proceeded to take care of business.

Less than a half hour later her contractions became strong once again.  I moved the boy to a warmed holding box so V could concentrate on whelping puppy number two.  After the large boy, the tiny girl must have seemed like a cake walk.  Just like her momma, the little girl decided to come feet first. This time V paid less attention to the mess and took proper care of her little red and white girl.  At this point I brought back red boy so I could switch puppies in order to get red girl properly dried.

Once again, about a half hour later contractions started so I moved both pups to the holding box.  V was not impressed so I had to keep showing her the pups before she settled down and got busy whelping her third puppy, sinbajé's 13th pup.  Another girl, feet first like her momma, and brindle like her momma too.  By this time V is a pro at taking care of the umbilical cord, eating the placenta, and cleaning up not only the pup but the mess.  She was so good I was able to capture an iPhone video of it which I posted on Facebook.

By 7:15am her contractions start once again for the delivery of her last pup.  At 7:20 the last girl, another brindle arrives, head first this time. V takes care of all necessities then settles down to allow everyone to nurse.  Four puppies in 2 hours - great work by the new momma dog.  I have Rand take V out for a quick potty break so I can turn the whelping room in to the rearing room.  V comes back and settles down for a deserving rest.

While her work for the moment is done, mine is not and I have had less sleep then she.  Eventually a nap will be in order for me.
 

Day 54 (May 13, 2010):

It's Dr. B day!  Better yet - it's x-ray day!  V is up to 24 punds this week and had another good week though not a good week for Rand's leather loafers.  As any good basenji owner should know - don't leave things lying around unless you want them eaten.  Add to that an expectant momma, and well - you are asking for trouble.  Luckily(?) V only chewed off part of the tongue so they are still wearable.  She did decide this week that the little rug hugging the toilet as well as the toilet seat "hat" must go as she dragged both out into the living room on two consecutive days.  Nothing ruined but they are decorating the top of a shelf, out of her reach.

It's thyme for the countdown!

Before our Dr. B visit we took a quick x-ray.  Well it would have been quick but the *&^% drawerr moved so we ended up with half an x-ray showing one pup.  The retake showed  ..........  four (4) skulls and matching spines!

The thyme is fast approaching.  Excited much?

Day 47 (May 6, 2010):

It's Dr. B day!  We head off in a little while to have our weekly appointment.  This has been a good week in as much as V has done minimal damage to things in the house.  She did go after the corner of a quasi dog cushion so off to the trash it went.  Amazing really as I perused the house quite thoroughly looking for anything she might decide to nosh and that cushion was up high, out of the way and had not been used in many months so I never thought she would be interested in it. Never say never when you have a pregnant and determined dog in the house.

I have changed V's food to a more caloric version of Honest Kitchen - from Keen to Thrive - this week.  This way I should not have to increase the amount I feed since she will be getting more calories.  That said - I am a sucker and cannot resist her soulful eyes as they gaze at the cabinet where the food it kept and I usually stop to grab a few morsels to treat her (and the others) throughout the day.  She of course is getting thicker by the minute and her mammies are starting to become more pronounced.  She is quite funny to look at since her head is so small compared to the rest of her now.  I will be amazed if she has not gained some weight this week.

Pupdate: V passed her Dr. B visit with flying colors.  She has indeed gained about 2 pounds this week - I sure hope it is not all fat!  To counterbalance we go for daily walks, anywhere from 1/2 mile to 3 miles.  Now that the temps are warming up she does lag a bit at times - unless of course she spied a bunny or is hot on the trail of bunny "buttons" of which she and Feigh think are delicacies.  She still has the occasional string of mucous after she urinates but it is normal in color and neither of the other dogs keep checking back there as though they smell something wrong so I am not too worried.   All the girls at work are laughing (in a loving way of course) at her rotund figure.  She would not win any points at a dog show right now!

Yesterday the Pyruvate Kinase Deficiency test kit came in the mail.  While there is no real reason to test V since Feigh is clear, as is Drew - I have decided to test anyway.  Since Feigh was bred to a male that was not tested himself and does not come down from tested stock that I can find via the OFA website (add to that his English genes  - we all know what many English think about health testing) I figure it is better to be safe then sorry; I would feel more comfortable knowing she is clear then assuming she is.  Which of course will then trickle down to the babes as being 'clear by parentage" - a good place to start.  I have swabbed her cheeks this morning and have sent the test back already. Here's hoping a carrier has not been floating around this pedigree and settle in V!

Next week we have another Dr. B appointment late in the day.  I plan to do x-rays that day as well to get a better head count.  So look for an update sometime after 6pm on Thursday the 13th!
 

Day 38 (April 28, 2010):

Here I sit, typing with my left hand as my right hand is busy petting V under the desk. If I pause, even for a second I will feel the shock of her cold wet nose or the sting of her front foot as she rakes my pant leg begging for more - such a pushy little thing!  She can't get enough loving; since I have read mama massages equates to calm babies, I gladly comply.  If true, these babies should be downright comatose!

Another weekly Dr. B visit yesterday. V has not gained much weight this week - only about 3/10th of a pound but that is how it should be, in my humble opine.  It's not like she will be having a 9 pound baby or anything (could you imagine?  Oprah, here we come!).  At most she might carry a combined weight of 21-27 ounces - assuming she only has three pups.  Dr. B finds it hard to believe I should not be feeding her more at this stage but 'tis true.  That said - she does get a lot of kibble rewards throughout the day so really, she is not starving despite what she may think.

Dr. B feels her incision is once again bothering her and could account for her non food predelictions.  In the past few days, a small pink area has developed in the middle of the incision, with the middle of it feeling soft, like a bruised peach.  Our best guess is some suture is trying to evacuate her body.  I am to rub her scar with some wheat germ oil daily to help break up the tissue in case she has an occluded meridian that needs to start flowing again.  Ain't holistic medicine grand!

The billy goat has struck again.  We are not sure when the damage occurred exactly but it was moderately extensive.  Apparently V feels pillowcases should be open at both ends so she ripped open Rand's pillow case, of which a large piece has gone missing.  So she is no longer allowed on the bed, even to snuggle for a short nap with us; for all I know she ate the pillowcase as Rand was sleeping (you know how men are, deaf and dumb at the most inconvenient time!)  She has also managed to get under two baby gates I have covering the leather couch (the baby gates keep them from playing on the couch while we are gone and having that play segue into trouble) and has eaten the corner off a big leather pillow. Once again we have no idea when this actually occurred - perhaps I am only just now seeing it??  The good news, everything seems to be passing on through thanks to a lot of pumpkin and veggies in her diet.

I can't believe we only have about 3 weeks left.  Where has the thyme gone?
 

Day 31 (April 20, 2010):

Time for our weekly Dr. B visit.  V has gained 2 pounds; I swear I am NOT feeding her more.  I have read you should only increase food intake the last week (by only 25%) as you do not want a fat momma struggling to expel fat babies.  Apparently she needs the most calories right before whelping and up to two weeks post whelping.  I remember Feigh looking like a concentration camp survivor she was so skinny, though her 4 pups were rather <ahem> rotund!

So everyone keeps commenting on V's weight gain; combine that with larger than normal nipples and everyone gets to talking about when she is due.  One would think she was just days from giving birth as opposed to her being only half way there.

I did let Dr. B know my one concern this week.  Have you ever seen a 3-year old walking around with egg whites hanging from his nose?  Well at the agility trial this weekend, I noticed V had this only hers was hanging from her backside and occured right after she urine marked her 500th tree.  Like any self respecting basenji, she promptly sat and slurped it up before I could get a closer look.  Dr. Katy feels that this is normal, assuming the color is normal, and Dr. B seems to concur.

So V checked out a-ok for her visit with only a small change in her supplements, she apparently would like more Tuna Omega oil, please.
 

April 17, 2010:

Never say never!

March was a busy, convoluted month for us with V coming into season and our trying to get pregnant via artificial insemination (AI).

Day one for V's season was February 25th - she is either 7 months early or 5 months late.  Seeing as how she threw us for a loop in 2009 coming into season in June we were not sure what to make of this.  Was it a real season? Most folks told us to skip it, to not waste our time or money as it would not be productive, but something told me to pursue it, so pursue it we did.

After talking with several basenji breeders experienced with AI's I decide to get our first Progesterone test done on March 1st (day 5) as a baseline.  Of course it was way early and the numbers were not anywhere near what we needed them to be.  As newbies to the AI world we ended up testing far more than needed - all I can say is thank doG I get the lab work done at cost (plus a 10% discount) - one of the many perks of working at a vet clinic!

In the end we did eight (yes, 8!) progesterone tests! During this time we fervently hoped she would not hit the magic number on certain days as both Katy and I had to work and could not take off for a 4 hour round trip to Phoenix.  Bless her heart, she kept her progesterone levels down for much longer then she should have and waited until I was off work for a few days before starting her surge!  What a baby doll.   Poor V though - by test five she was sick and tired of being poked, she let me know each time I drew blood how much she hated what I was doing.  I felt bad.  Test 6, 7 and 8 were done every day as we were getting close to the target number and did not want to miss it; I was worried the little lady would end up anemic!

Katy drove to Phoenix two days in a row, to pick us up (we were stuck in the RV at a show site) and take us to the repro vet for our first visit and one of the eight progesterone tests.  We met with Dr. Hudman, in Chandler, and he explained to us our options and which option had the best rate of success.  He was concerned because both Drew and V were unproven.  His concern being if it does not take, who or what is at fault?  The timing of everything, the method of insemination, the maiden bitch or the frozen semen?  He felt ideally we should do two breedings but I did not want to "waste" Drew's sperm unnecessarily.  We left with much to think about; and spent the next week or so going back and forth about what we would actually do when the time comes.  I was dead set on not doing surgical as I did not want V to be at risk (anesthesia) for something I am choosing to do to her.  At the end of the day she is first and foremost my beloved pet!  I also did not want her to have a weak abdominal wall for when she is housing the puppies.  Back and forth, yes or no.  Ultimately the fact that we were in Tucson, Dr. H was in Chandler and I only wanted to use one vial of Drew's sperm, meant we had one shot and that shot needed to be transcervical or surgical.

So on March 17th, progesterone test number eight showed V was well on her way to ovulation.  Dr. H contacted Hutch, the east coast repro guru, and between them they decided Saturday March 20th was "D" day.  Dr. Hudman had regular appointments that morning so the game plan was to get there by 1 pm and hang out.  I sure felt bad for his staff!  Of course this all falls on a weekend Katy and I both have a local agility trial.

In the meantime, on Friday night, while Feigh, Clay and I are lounging on the couch I notice V being quite flirtatious with Drew.  She is really trying to get him to play, doing all sorts of gyrations and play bows to get his attention.  Next thing I know they are tied in the living room!  Of course Rand was out of the house so there I am trying to keep the two lovebirds from pulling each other around the house and hurting themselves, while keeping the other two from investigating and possibly taking advantage of their fragile positions to get one up on each other.  V is now screaming her fool head off, poor Drew is trying to run for the hills but V won't let him go, and I am calmly(?) telling the other two to sit and stay while trying to hold V in place and no one is listening!  Thankfully, after a few seconds (felt like hours), they part ways and what does V do?  Stops her screaming and starts bugging Drew again!  Just like her mother would do!  I made everyone do down stays until Rand got home, by that time V's friskiness had waned somewhat and we all settled down for a relatively quiet evening.  Apparently the progesterone tests are right, she is raring to go!  The good thing about all of this - any strictures which could have caused problems during whelping, should have been taken care of!

After getting a few quick agility runs in Saturday morning, we arrive in Chandler in plenty of time and end up having a bit of a wait while the clinic finished up their regular schedule.  Dr. Hudman tells us he will first try a transcervical but if it does not work (i.e. he can not thread the cannula through the cervix) he will just move right into the surgical.  I appreciate his willingness to attempt my preference first and at no charge!  We left V with the good doctor while we waited in the car as we had Khonsu and Jane with us (they were doing agility that morning as well). Katy did not like being so far away; since we had the car in shade, we decide to go inside and wait.  Dr. H came out to say V was being very accommodating and allowing them to stick an endoscope up her bum, etc. but he could not get the cannula threaded so he would be taking her to surgery.  While waiting, Katy noticed a woman wheeling a cart past us with what ended up being Drew's pupsicles defrosting and being moved to the surgical suite.

A very short time later (much shorter than I would have thought or expected, much less hoped for), Dr. H came out to let us know she was awake and in recovery.  Everything went according to plan, her uterus looked good and he kept her incision small as I asked him to do, if at all possible.  His staff had a meeting that afternoon, so Katy and I went back out to the car while V recovered; Dr. H said he would bring her out to us when she was ready to go.  An hour or so went by when Dr. H appeared, being dragged to the car by V.  She certainly did not look too worse for wear considering she had just had abdominal surgery, I was very pleased to see this.  She slept soundly the whole way home.  As a precaution I applied a large fluffy towel around her neck (folded accordion style) and duct taped so she could rest easily but not bother her incision.  We told Dr. H about their tying the night before and he made a funny comment about how studly Drew must feel, knowing he is nuetered AND still got the girl pregnant!

Arriving home was interesting.  I am always worried about the girls being apart because the reintroduction can be a growl fest.  I did not want to keep Feigh from seeing V thus creating hostility but neither did I want V to feel threatened in her drug induced state.  So I closely monitored and was thankful that Feigh respected V's growls, telling Feigh to back off.  V then slept soundly the rest of the night, on the couch with her towel brace on.  By the next morning both girls were acting normal with each other. Phew.

V spent the next couple of days with her towel brace on and did surprisingly well though she seemed rather depressed with it on.  The few times I would take it off, knowing I could monitor her, she would run and jump around as though to say "Surgery?  What surgery?"  Basenji girls are amazing!  One morning, as I let her out of her crate, she came out without her towel on.  I was scared to see what damage she had done to her incision (having gone through it with Feigh's spay) but found it relatively unscathed though perhaps a bit cleaner and somewhat shiny.  That's my V-bers.

The waiting is hard!

The next 2 and 1/2 weeks rolled along quite nicely.  I had noticed an immediate increase in her appetite so anticipate a positive outcome.  I took her in to see Dr. B, our guru vet and asked her to muscle test for V's prenatal supplements and to perhaps tell me if she is preggers, with how many and what the sexes are, as boys are important.  With Feigh's litter, Dr. B was able to tell me the correct number, the correct sexes and only missed the colors by one (she said one would be black, tan and white, which I took to mean tri color - instead we had V who is a brindle which is technically black, tan and white).  Of course Dr. B did this later in Feigh's pregnancy so we are not sure how accurate she will be with V.  Through muscle testing Dr. B said V has three viable pups, two girls and a boy.  Funny as I have felt all along we would have three but have also felt we would have two boys and a girl.  Will be interesting how it all plays out.  We plan an ultrasound for one week later which will be day 24 post AI.

In the meantime, we are gearing up for a big 4 day agility trial/breed show in Phoenix.  The night before I am scheduled to leave, I reach down to pet V and give her a belly rub, and she squeals!  I look at her incision and it looks as though we have implanted an oval golf ball under her skin to the right of her incision.  We are almost three weeks post surgery, her outer incision looks really good (healed), so what could it be?  My biggest fear is herniation due to a break down of the SQ sutures but that seems odd this far out.  I barely sleep that night and take her to work first thing.  Dr. F feels she is just having a delayed reaction to the SQ sutures and she can not find any breach of the abdominal wall - phew.  I had noticed she seemed itchier in the days preceding the swelling.  Talking to Katy - who had a reaction to Vicryl, the SQ suture used on V, she confirmed it can be itchy.  I am given the green light to go to the shows.  Luckily V is only entered in breed and not agility.

It's all in the thyming....

Ultrasound day arrives and I have to take V into work.  This is not fun as she is a pain in the rear there, having conniptions as though she has never before been kenneled.  Strangely she was rather good, a bit whiny but overall an improvement fromt he howling banshee we know she can be.  Even Dr. Rad commented on how good she was being.  Of course I had a big sign on her cage "Do not talk to me" and when she went to see Dr. B I put a stuffed kong for her to find.  Apparently pregnancy has some positive side effects!

The ultrasound confirms at least three gestational sacs with heartbeats.  There is the possibility for more seeing as how Dr. Stacey, who did Sage's ultrasound 9 years ago, thought Sage would have four.  Sage's x-rays and eventual litter size ended up being six.  Now weekly visits to Dr. B for some fine tuning as we await our due date, May 19th.  In the meantime V ran in agility today, just one run, and was able to earn her Open Jumpers with Weaves title.  Bodes well for future agility stars to be baking in the oven during a qualifying run!