Pregnancy Confirmed!

Pregnancy was confirmed today by ultrasound.  We had a feeling that Roxy was, indeed, pregnant given her change in eating habits in the past week to 10 days.  Our vet told us that the due date is May 1st/2nd.  We will go back April 25th for an x-ray to get a puppy count but have a lot to do to get ourselves ready before then!  Huge thanks to Dr. Carver-Raffa at Town & Country Animal Hospital!

Girl Meets Boy

This past weekend, Roxy traveled to Florida for her blind date with Jasper, and it was love/lust/animal magnetism at first sight. Roxy typically greets other dogs very confidently and imperturbably: tail up and patiently going through the sniffing rituals. She put to rest any doubt of our breeding timing when she saw the big, handsome fella that is Jasper. He needed no pick-up lines. He had her at I'm-a-male-canine. The game was on.

It was so reassuring to meet Jasper and know that we had made a great match. He is a large Chinook with a beautiful coat, and he danced quite elegantly with Roxy all over the yard. But most striking was his wonderful temperament. He was the perfect gentleman, not pushy with Roxy and always attentive and responsive to his human. He greeted me and my 13 yr old son appropriately and was neither territorial nor elusive.  This gentle giant is a lover. And it was easy to see that he's the apple in his human's eye. She adores Jasper.

Despite the willingness, the flirting, and the foreplay, we did not achieve a natural breeding. Despite her relatively large overall size, Roxy is anatomically a bit narrow for a natural breeding, and Jasper ended up a bit frustrated. We ended up doing two side-by-side artificial inseminations.  We're keeping fingers and paws crossed for several buns in the oven, and we should have confirmation around March 28th! We're thrilled to have paired two dogs with such great hip health, and we look forward to pups with the fantastic disposition and intelligence of their parents.

Cupid Struck on Valentine's Day

Roxy's Valentine weekend was an exciting one, as she was matched for her upcoming breeding with Cloudburst LedgeBak Jasper and also came into heat so that we now have a better idea of the timing for this litter.

Jasper

The match was made with attention not only to their lines (the four generation pedigree for these two has no common ancestors and is nicely diverse) but also to the results of Roxy's DNA testing through Genoscoper (she is CLEAR of the MDR1, DM, and Dwarfism mutations).  Roxy does not carry the recessive red allele and therefore will not produce buff puppies.  She carries the recessive black allele and the long-coat allele, and Jasper may as well, so there could be some black and tan and/or long coated puppies in the mix.

We are excited to be able to move forward with plans for a natural breeding (Roxy's first trip to Florida) and to working with Jasper and his owners/agents. We are so grateful to Bashaba Chinooks for working so tirelessly to find the perfect match.

As of now, it looks as if breeding will most likely take place the week of February 22nd, with pregnancy determination at the end of March and possible puppies at the end of April.  Stay tuned!

Puppies

Announcing Roxy's pending breeding!

We are in the process, with the support of Bashaba Chinooks, of selecting a mate who keeps the coefficient of inbreeding low while also complementing Roxy's structure and temperament.  In the Fall of 2015, we were able to have Roxy evaluated through Genoscoper (thank you to Bashaba), and those results will aid in the matching process.

Our current best guess is for puppies born sometime between mid March and mid April...ready for their new homes in Spring weather that should be just right for puppy training.

This litter will be raised in the Atlanta area (and we won't think you crazy if you travel a long way to bring home just the right Chinook puppy...we traveled from Atlanta to Colorado and to New Jersey for our two girls).  If you have an interest in talking with us about this litter, please use the contact form in the sidebar.  If you would like to submit an application for a puppy from this litter, you can find that here.