J&A's Brittanys - Toph's Radiograph Oh My!

Toph's radiographs.... 

Since there's a few more than anticipated - there are puppies available from this litter.  All Things True & Toph Link

J&A's Brittanys - Toph's Day Draws Near

J&A's Birch Spring Breaking New Ground JH, NA Prize 1

Sire: CH J&A's Magnificent Obsession of Acton JH (Hemi)

Dam: CH Birch Spring PC Lunar Eclipse JH, NA Prize 1 (Luna)

Holly's half sister "Toph" is fast approaching her due date.  She is 8 weeks along with one more to go.  We anticipate pups to arrive anytime on or after Independence Day.  The litter nickname is the Patriot Litter.  She's our daughter's Brittany.

We have been taking our time getting Toph acclimated to where she will have her pups.  She loves the whelping box and her blankets that came from home.  Although it has been several years since we had the joy of two litters close together, we are set up to manage both litters quite well. Our daughter will be here to help whelp Miss Toph's pups. I heard from the owner of Toph's mother Luna that she was an easy whelper which is of course a good thing!

Holly Beth continues to be an absolutely wonderful momma dog. Tonight she cracked me up.  Holly was nursing all 5 of the contented liver pups.  I looked further and discovered all 4 orange pups were lined up neatly and sound asleep in BACK of her!  Coincidence?  Or intentional on her part?  All I know is that the sight was very beautiful and interesting.  

Soon we will know how many puppies Miss Toph is having.  After all we've been through we will just not take any chances.  It is well worth it to confirm a pregnancy with the ultrasound, then get an accurate count via xray, and even go back afterward to be sure that all pups were delivered.  It is NOT worth it to leave it to chance or guesswork although for many, many years that's exactly what we did without any problems. Until Treasure had a live pup delivered by c-section almost 24 hours after she'd finished whelping OR until we almost lost Pippin and did lose 5 of 8 puppies.  

Another late night but all for the right reasons. Thank you everyone for your prayers and support of our breeding program.  Going to go love on some older dogs who have been very, very patient lately.  Take care and God bless.

John, Ann, and All Things Brit

J&A's Brittanys Just Born Puppy Photos

The 'TIMELESS TREASURES" Litter

72 hours have now passed since Holly gave birth to her beautiful babies.  She is doing so well for a first time momma. Over the past 5 days I have only spent one of them sleeping in my own bed.  The rest of the time has been spent close enough to intervene with Holly if necessary yet at a far enough distance so that she has the privacy to develop an intimate bond with her puppies. 

Public Service Announcement:  Okay.  So it's 5:30 pm on Wednesday afternoon.  I just fell asleep at this keyboard and when I opened my eyes I saw about a dozen lines of dddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddd's.  Not tired, no, not at all!  We'll return to our regularly scheduled blog. 

I don't like to use collars, rick rack, markers, nail polish or most any other method to identify pups when they are born. What has always worked for John and I at least since the inception of digital photography is time stamped images. As John helped Holly with each puppy, making sure things were going well with placentas, cords, breathing etc. I was busy weighing, disinfecting what's left of the umbilical cord, aspirating raspy sounding pups, and trying my best to get a just born photo in the scale while at the same time recording the weight.  Not to mention gender.  Believe it or not, in the hustle and bustle of delivering puppies and doing all that I just mentioned it is possible to get the gender wrong! 

I make simple ID cards ahead of time so that all I have to do is circle boy or girl, note time of birth and weight. I keep them in a pile next to the scale where just born information is noted.  When everything is said and done, like about 72 hours later, I can go back and put it all together. So that's what I have been doing this afternoon but that's enough of about my OCD.  You want to know how the puppies are!

John came up with most of the following litter nicknames

Legend (Heartfelt Legend, Pips name)

Mo (Mopar equals Hemi engine or something like that)

Star (Treasure & Wish when you WISH UPON A STAR your DREAMS COME TRUE)

LJ (for Jack dog = Little Jack)

Dude (Bullet nickname)

GIRL NICKNAMES

Dudette (Julie and a friend use this)

Polly (rhymes with Holly)

Dolly (rhymes with Holly)

Beth (Holly Beth) 

(These are all temporary although sometimes people will keep them.)

It's been challenging to feed Holly.  One minute she's loving nursing mother's pudding and the next she hates it.  This is true for whole fat cottage cheese and whole fat yogurt.  All three of these are high in calcium and that is the goal right now.  We give her calcium tablets with every meal (1 Tums). The other day John roasted a turkey just for Holly!  I've been boiling liver and keeping the liver water from it just in case one of the pups needed a little extra nourishment.  Pups on the other hand are all little piggy puppies.  The average litter weight at 72 hours is 13 oz.  The pup who's just born weight was 6 oz now weighs 11.  They are gaining more weight every day.  Personally speaking, I like to see a pups weight closely coincide with how many weeks old they are. I'm already comparing these pups weight with that of Holly's litter and all of Treasure's litters, and of Wish's average litter weight at this stage.

Puppies are agile, strong, active and very content.  They move around the whelping box from one end to the other. Like little wind up clocks though they do run out of steam.  I love to watch Holly watch her puppies. It's funny, she sits up in the whelping box sometimes to nurse.  It's like she has a better vantage point to keep an eye on them.

The room is kept warm and under the heat lamp it is much warmer.  Think of a brooder light for chickens. The warmth is not too hot for pups but a little rough on mom. High temperatures are desired for puppies the first week or so. Lots of reasons including preventing a few diseases. Holly has yet to leave the box very often even if she's panting.  Eventually though, once pups have been fed and are fast asleep Holly will begin to step out and rest in a cooler area. Holly has enjoyed running and jumping.

Yesterday tails were docked and dewclaws removed.  We like to do that within the 36 hours or soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo  

Okay okay this time I left it here so you can see.  Stick a fork in me, I am done for the day!  I'll catch up again soon. And stay tuned, we're coming into the final countdown for the ever sweet Miss Toph!  zzzzzzzzzzzz 

J&A's Brittanys: Introducing Holly's "Timeless Treasures"

The "TIMELESS TREASURES"
Sire: CH J&A's High Caliber Harris Special SH "BULLET"
Dam: J&A's Carry the Dream of Acton JH, NA 110 Prize 1 "HOLLY BETH"

On June 24, 2018 at 12:30 a.m. Holly delivered the 1st of her 9 beautiful Brittany puppies.  The last one was born at 5:00 a.m. It was a joy to see that she carries the same strong maternal instincts as her own mother Treasure and her grandmother Wish. Holly is doing great and so are all 9 puppies. We're all very, very exhausted but that goes with the territory.  After not having a litter of puppies here for 4 years, it is just awesome to look at Holly and her puppies and feel such a sense of joy and happiness.  I have to thank our Puppy Prayer Watch group of Kira, Julie, Teri, Christine, Bo and others who prayed us through. Holly delivered her 1st puppy just about 12 hours from when her temperature dropped, thus the importance of charting the highs and lows. 

For several days John and I will take shifts and stay 24/7 with our pups.  One of our vets dropped in today to check in on the happy family.  He was very pleased with how Holly and the pups were doing as well as the set up we have. Tomorrow the puppies will have their dewclaws removed and their tails will be cropped per the requirements of the American Brittany Club and the American Kennel Club Breed Standard.

The first 72 hours are key.  We're watching weight gain, is momma cleaning and stimulating the pups, is every puppy getting a turn to nurse, and more.  So far they all have gained weight and the litter's overall average birth weight is 10 oz as we close in on 48 hours old.

What I can tell you tonight in all honesty is that there is a near sense of reverence to sit back and watch the bonding and the love develop between Holly and her pups. It is beautiful especially in the light of the heat lamp and the ambiance of the music playing.  I'm also using Lavender essential oil not only for aroma therapy to relax but also to keep poopy momma smells to a minimum! 

Soon I will upload photos to our Facebook page. There's a link to that in the column to the right and I don't think you have to be on FB to see them. I have a gazillion pictures! 

"Thank you Lord that we are witness to the miracle of life through these amazing, graceful animals called the Brittany. They are your 'lesser creatures' given to us to care for and also enjoy. But they give back so much to us right from the beginning, even to the end of their all too short lives. I ask that beginning now and until that day you'll keep them healthy, safe, protected, and loved. As these coming weeks go by please allow all things to work for good because we love you.  I pray now in Jesus Name for each and every person who is awaiting the first day of the rest of the life of their new puppy.  Help them as they prepare to welcome that pup into their heart and home.  Give us all wisdom when it comes to the selection as you have done in the past.  In the meantime Lord, for these brief 8 weeks that will fly by, please strengthen us and equip us to do our very best in preparing these pups for the day they will leave.  Help us as we give them the start that they deserve as we are responsible to bring them into this world.  Comfort Holly Beth as she regains her own strength. I pray also for sweet Miss Toph as her due date is quickly approaches. And especially tonight - I bring my nephew Billy to you yet again. Please intervene Lord as he fights this cancer, strengthen him in the hospital, let us see a miracle in Jesus Name.  Amen" 

I really hope you are following along in the book that is required reading for our puppy people, The Art of Raising a Puppy by Monks of New Skete.  You'll love knowing what development stage your pup is experiencing.  If I wasn't so tired I'd share more about it but yeah, I'm about ready to nod off at the keyboard and it's been awhile since I was that tired.

Take care and God bless,

John & Ann & All Things Brittany

ritory. 

J&A's Brittanys Preparation Continues

Daddy's girl. Her temp is back to 100 this morning. 

Whelping Preparation
Starting with the "Whelping Supply" list, I made sure to have everything on hand a couple of weeks ago.  We keep a well stocked supply of all manner of items relative to dog care, first aid, veterinary items etc. but I pay particular attention when we have pups due.  But since it's been 4 years there was a lot that needed replenishing. I still am awaiting the order from Revival Animal Health.  All the linen involved has been laundered and disinfected.  I think we may need to replace our digital postal scale that we use to weigh puppies.

I'm sure my Calsorb will be here in time to give to Holly once labor begins but just in case it's not John brought yogurt, cottage cheese, plus the ingredients for me to make a large quantity of our "Nursing Mother's Pudding."  Basically it is a a recipe for vanilla pudding made from scratch with extra egg yolks and corn syrup added to replace the sugar. I actually use a recipe called "Old Fashioned Cream Filling" from a cookbook called Cooking Downeast by Marjorie Standish.  You can see by the picture the pages are well used. Yogurt is a staple here for all of our dogs and is often added to their diet.  Cottage cheese is sometimes added to a nursing mother's diet.  Any calcium supplementation is best done shortly before, during, and after whelping.  In the past though the advice was to give a pregnant girl 1 Tum a day.  We really never had any problem doing that but science says calcium reserves in the mother are overwhelmed and basically will shut down when they are most needed. Mom's in whelp need to be able to have forceful contractions and too much calcium in their system is conterproductive as their body is fooled into thinking there is already enough stored.

Additionally, oxytocin (a naturally produced hormone) has been known to work together with the calcium in their body towards a better delivery.  Some breeders will routinely inject their girls with oxytocin (give a pit shot) during labor to speed things along.  My experience and understanding indicate this is dangerous to do without a vet on standby.  Old school says 'give her a pit shot' and get those puppies out!  In the event of dystocia (prolonged and dangerous labor) a pups presentation could be complicating the delivery such as blocking the way for other pups yet to come down etc. In this case, to indiscriminately administer a pit shot just for the sake of speeding things up could cause the death of some pups and even mom.  Ultimately though, it is beneficial for experienced breeders to obtain a prescription for oxytocin and have on hand.  We've never used this although it's been available to us. Instead we rely on the very natural act of the just born pup nursing on it's mother which should be adequate to bring about another contraction due to the release of her own natural oxytocin.  The early nursing is so crucial to pups overall well being too for they receive the valuable colostrum in their mother's milk.

It's suppose to be in the 90's today so we're staying cool.  John met our daughter and her children over to the training field early morning. Zuko (their other Brittany) had a nice run and pointed several of his birds.  A Brittany's happiest moments are when it's with those they love and especially when they're all together in a bird field!

Stay tuned... !
Take care and God bless, John, Ann, and All Things Brittany

J&A's Brittanys Charting Holly's Temperature

Last week....

This afternoon! (Yellow = watch range)

What an uncomfortable puppy our sweet Holly is.  We continue to spend more time in the whelping room aka puppy cave aka grooming studio.  Brittanys are versatile, so are we.

Almost a week ago I began to monitor Holly's body temperature using a chart I created for that purpose.  Today, as you can see, we've just had our first temperature drop. This initial drop indicates for me it is time to begin to monitor her temp every 12 hours instead of once a day. (I use a thermometer that is specific for veterinary use.) It's also time to watch her much more closely for those ever so subtle signs that 1st stage of labor is drawing near, a stage that lasts about 6-18 hours.

Holly's progesterone level will drop about 48 hours prior to whelping. We are not there yet though.  It most likely will go back up a little bit.  It's important to realize that the temperature drop may or may not be indicative of the actual time pups will arrive. For me though, it's always been pretty darn reliable! My rule of thumb is once her temp drops below 100 and STAYS there, and continues to drop further she will not be left alone.  Today is just the first significant drop so I had to look twice!

Holly soon will be separated completely from the other dogs, we'll do our best to eliminate unnecessary noise and  unexpected visitors (no offense intended). As it approaches and also during the 1st stage of labor it's important for the momma to be kept as calm and to avoid as much stress as possible. She'll be having mild contractions during this stage and her cervix will begin to dilate.

I have my Kindle and my Urbanista charged up so that I can have Pandora playing and my choice of relaxing, calming music is piano solos.  This time we will be using an Adaptil calming collars at the suggestion of one of our vets. I also have lavender essential oil to diffuse as needed. We have our surveillance camera/monitor set up so that we can see and communicate with each other if needed. One of us will always be with her.

I'm still waiting for my order of Calsorb to arrive so in the meantime I will be making a batch of Mother's Nursing Pudding.  Once labor begins and the first puppy arrives we will give Holly calcium. The Calsorb should be here by then but we'll still have the pudding.  John brought home cottage cheese and yogurt too so we'd have it handy. The importance of the calcium can't be taken for granted.  She'll also be given Pedialyte in her water bucket because they lose a lot of electrolytes during the whelping progress.

Stage 1 labor ends and Stage 2 begins when contractions begin to become more forceful and involuntary. The water sack bursts and then momma dog will begin to give birth. Holly's mother and grandmother were considered to be 'easy whelpers'. She has a half sister who followed in their paw-steps so we're hoping Holly will too!

Stage 3 comes when all pups and placentas have been delivered. momma is visibly resting, and her uterus begins to relax.

Don't be worried if there's no communication from us during this upcoming time-frame.  We won't be getting any sleep and life will literally be on hold for us with the exception of 'all things Holly'.

Speaking of which, it's time to cook some more chicken for our girl and make a batch of nursing mother's pudding to have on hand.  Stay tuned!  This is the hurry up and wait phase.

Dear Lord please be merciful as Holly approaches the birth of her first litter. We thank you for your faithfulness to watch over and protect all that concerns us in Jesus Name we pray, Amen.

As always, take care and God bless and thanks for your interest. It means a lot!  John, Ann, and All Things Brittany

PS Our waiting list is nearly full, there's still some availability though! Thank you to those who have confirmed with us this weekend and to those who have referred people to us.  But mostly I thank God for causing our paths to cross.  I am looking forward to this expansion of the ATB Family as we approach with great excitement the arrival of the 4th generation of J&A's Brittanys. Yes I am excited and proud :)

J&A's Brittanys - Holly's X-ray Images

Holly's x-rays taken today.  Her ultrasound showed 7-8.  

Today we counted more!

J&A's Brittanys Whelping Notes on Throwback Thursday

Good morning!  I had no intention of blogging again so soon.  My plans for the day included catching up on all things administration which consequently, led me to digging through some files. You know those quizes that are supposed to help you determine what your gifting, personality, etc. are? Well years ago when I was studying for ministry credentials I took a test to help determine my calling. That in itself is another story.  The results identified a very strong spiritual Gift of Administration.  Now John and others who know me may choose to differ 😅😍 but! it is a fact that I truly do enjoy organizing, administrating, writing, and managing files. I love to write both longhand and electronically.  I also like creating forms, graphs, etc.  As for those of you who don't know me well (yet) might roll your eyes and yawn, don't worry - I do find enjoyment in a myriad of other ways! But I digress.

I have written in the past about my dad's whelping journal:
"I have my father's red and well worn whelping diary which he wrote in the 60's.  To a non-breeder the chicken scratch on each line of each page would make little sense. To me, it is a walk down memory lane as I read about the birth of my Lily Belle, the puppies of Snooky and Rosie, the surgery of Little Frankie, the emergency trips to the Portsmouth Animal Hospital and more." 

I have also shared previously about my own well worn journal which I've posted above. That journal began in late 2007, just before I started this blog. Prior to that I had created forms for my notations, puppy reservation information, temperature charts, whelping tables, and ways to keep track of inquiries, visits and more.  But these early notes had been missing.  That is, until this morning. 

I had pulled my Thistle/Bullet and Pippin/Wilson puppy files to review. They were our last two litters 4 years ago. I had other folders out too of  those ATB families who are getting another Brittany from us.  I just use their prior questionnaires. As a breeder it's a true sense of joy working with someone who already has had a Brittany from us in past years that has given their dog an amazing life. I found the files I needed but just as I was about to put everything back I noticed an unmarked, well worn tabbed and bulging file folder.  I was curious as to what I may have overlooked.  As I recognized the contents of this folder I just as let out a big exclamation of "WOW"!   

JUNE 2006 WHELPING NOTES
 Day 46 Wish's hair is shedding around her nipples
Day 57 Wish is very unconfortable, restless, not eating, vomited late PM/seems to be having light contractions, content but changes position a lot
Day 58 Trying to get Wish to eat. Egg or liver separately, also some Esbilac. Acts like she feels miserable. Taking Temps now every 12 hours.
Day 59 Temp dropped to 99.9. Mild straining, pushing, stretching at 3 pm.  Temp down 99.1.  Licking herself, digging papers, more/mild contractions/ 8:30 pm Temp is 90.  Fairly regular contractions about 10 minutes apart. Tries to sleep but contractions intensify.  Think her water broke at 11:20 pm.  Digging, straining, licking, she is getting so restless and looking to me for assurance/staying right with her.
Day 60 (June 16, 2006) 6:35 a.m. Wish whelped the first of 7 beautiful pups/her labor went very well, close deliveries, she got them nursing almost immediately/had basket with infrared light ready and she seemed to communicate to me when to put them in and when to take them out based on the whelping of each pup/very little assistance, just two aspirations and one cord needed cutting/a 'breech' birth (o/w/male) required a lubed gloved finger to help delivery head, pup was fine just a little blue at first/Gave Wish Pet-drops at start of labor and electrolytes during an after/Last pup born after a long delay. I thought she was done!"  

These particular notes are special.  Why?  Because these are the detailed birth record of my beautiful Treasure, Holly's mother.  Those notes were written exactly 12 years ago today.  Treasure's birthday is Saturday! Even so, it is not only the obvious and emotional context that is significant to this breeder's heart.  It is that now I have in my hands the complete whelping history of Holly's mother Treasure but also her grandmother,Wish who passed away last year shortly after her 14th birthday. The value and importance of this information cannot be overlooked, especially for a first time mother who will give birth to the 4th generation of our amazing close working Brittany gun-dogs.  While it is true we always need to be prepared for anything which might happen, I'm thankful for this information today.  It gives me such peace. It's also a great way to recognize "Throwback Thursday"!

The record keeping continues even this afternoon as I take and record Holly Beth's temperature.  She's remaining steady at 100 but it is still too early for pups.  Even so, we're sort of like the midwife from days of old whose first instinct was to 'go boil some water' as a young woman was about to give birth! Everything in it's place and a place for everything, we're ready to boil that water a moment's notice for sure.  In the meantime?  Holly rests comfortably. We will soon have a more accurate count of number of pups.

Toph is doing very well. Our daughter sends updates and photos regularly. Toph and Holly have so much in common.  These days both are enjoying endless belly rubs with lots, and lots of attention.

So that's my story and I'm sticking to it.  I'm now going to make a cup of coffee, kick back and enjoy perusing this little slice of ATB history.

Take care and God bless, and thank you for your prayers and for being who you are. John, Ann, and All Things Brittany

PS I am about to send one more email reminder to a handful of folks who we approved for a puppy. Holly's litter is entirely spoken for!

J&A's Brittanys The Day Fast Approaches

These late spring days have been glorious.  Warm during the day but breezy and cool in the evening. We enjoyed having our 3 oldest granddaughters (including one boyfriend) over for a cookout by the fire the other night. Of course the dogs were a part of the get together.  Holly pretty much stayed to herself, choosing to rest in the grass and watch the goings on from afar. This is not her typical self. With each passing day it is easy to see that the development of her puppies are making her quite uncomfortable. Not much longer sweet girl.  Not much longer. John is 'her person' and they truly are inseparable. We are both well experienced with whelping a litter of puppies together though and it is all about teamwork.  Speaking of which, we are looking forward to being at our daughter's side when it is time for her Brittany, Toph, to have her puppies in a few more weeks.  We are well prepared and the conversion from grooming studio to puppy room is just about complete.  Although not elaborate in structure or designed to impress it is suitable and very functional.  It's important for momma dogs to feel they have a safe place away from it all and that is what we will offer to Holly and Toph. The

whelping boxes are down on the floor, there are latches on the gates and things continue to come together nicely. I recently purchased a couple of yards of fleece at Mardens but wasn't quite sure how I was going to use them.  I found very cool D.I.Y. instructions for a no-sew

Holly checks the pillow out

pillow and made one. It came out okay, and admittedly I rushed but I do not think the girls will mind that it's less than perfect.  I brought the pillow out and placed it in the whelping box this evening prior to going out with Holly, Pippin, and Treasure. The three of them crack me up.  The correct term for female dogs is as most know 'bitch'.  We can often expect them to live up to their name when pregnancy and puppies are involved. Even so, it's been so incredibly heartwarming to observe the interaction between these three lately.  Treasure is Holly's mother.  Pippin is her grandmother (sire side).  As experienced as they are one could almost believe they were ready to perform as midwives! Holly has been more resting more lately during the day yet she frequently changes position or gets up to walk around.  Pippin and Treasure are tuned into Holly's every move.  If Holly gets up, they watch to see where she goes.  They will either join her or go back to where she was previously laying down.  One of them always has to be laying near her.  Holly will by choice go to one of them as well.  Some pictures show a few brief glimpses of this. 

Next to momma Treasure. .

With grandma Pippin.

We'll continue to spend more time here so that when labor does begin, Holly will be use to it all. I'm thinking that the way things are going we could be looking at puppies to arrive on the first estimated day which is June 21.  We will find out this week just how many puppies Holly is going to have when we go for x-rays.  That way there will be no surprises such as we have had in the past.

Tonight I began the process of monitoring Holly's temperature.  She is at 100.1 which is a normal, average temperature.  I'm going to be looking for it to drop below 100 and remain there.  I will never discount the usefulness of monitoring a dog about to give birth.  It's reliable in the majority of cases right down to the hour. I'll only take it once a day for the next few days but as June 21 approaches I'll take it more frequently. Gosh, I cannot even believe that we're at this point already.  I'm so excited as is John.

As surely as I am trusting in the Lord concerning All Things Holly & Toph right now, I am leaning on Him about my family.  Not only for the things previously mentioned (my sister and my nephew) but for the safe travel home of our son, daughter in law, and grandson tonight from Africa.  It's over a 20 hour trip.  I'm not worried, I put my trust in the Lord and know He is faithful to watch over and protect all that concerns me. But I'll be glad when they are back home.

I'll be sending another email out.  A few of you who expressed an interest in a puppy have not returned the information we requested. Holly's litter is fully reserved and Toph's is getting that way with limited availability.  I am really enjoying getting to know the rest of you and appreciate that a majority of you already have or have had one of our Brittanys before!

Well, look at that.  It's after midnight! Years ago I always use to joke about doing my blog updates so late at night. That's what having puppies does.

Take care and God bless. I really hope you're enjoying these updates. I so enjoy sharing them.  (I do apologize for the poor formatting tonight though.  I'm too tired to clean it up right now!)  John, Ann, and All Things Brittany

J&A's Brittanys 7 Weeks & Counting

Holly is approaching her 7th week of pregnancy.  Soon, we will begin to take her temperature daily and do that for about a week.  A dogs normal temperature typically is between 101 and 102.5 but usually it will drop below 100 as labor approaches. We'll monitor Holly's temperature more frequently as her due date gets closer and record it on a chart.  Sometimes temps will fluctuate a few times, but when it drops below 100 and stays there, and continues to drop further we know we can expect to see puppies born within a certain time frame.  There are other signs that take place of course and we will be watching for them all!

Holly has become especially fond of her belly rubs lately.  Maryann sent me a picture of Miss Toph also obviously enjoying them too.  Yesterday, as I was obliging Holly I noticed that the hair on her tummy has started to shed.  It will continue to do so, leaving a hairless belly which makes it easier for her puppies to make their way to nurse. And speaking of puppies, they are ever so subtly making their presence known under the lightest touch of my hand. 

The 'puppy cave' is almost fully prepared. Each night I spend about an hour there with Holly, her mother Treasure, and grandmother Pippin. They all lay down together on the quilts and blankets. Holly seems to look forward to this at the end of the day.  She's very big now and even has a little waddle to her walk! 

I have been enjoying the correspondence with those who will be joining our ATB family.  If the estimate given for the number of Bullet and Holly puppies is accurate, then this litter is fully reserved. We do still have puppy availability for Toph and True's litter but that window is closing too.

We will bring her back for an actual x-ray closer to her due date. This will help us to determine when she has actually finished whelping her last puppy.  When Treasure whelped the litter Holly was born into (sired by Hemi) we thought her mother was finished.  Our vet stopped by the next day and suggested we bring Treasure in for an x-ray.  We did and were shocked to learn she still was carrying one puppy. No one expected that it could still be alive but a c-section proved us all wrong and one beautiful little healthy boy puppy arrived! Thus the importance of the x-ray.

In the meantime, I learned that my sister fell and fractured a hip and underwent an emergency partial hip transplant!  She is in rehab now.  I would covet and appreciate your ongoing prayers for her, for my nephew as he fights cancer, and 

 also for our son, daughter in law, and grandson who are on a Missions Trip to Ghana, Africa. 

As my dad use to say 'today is yesterday's tomorrow' and the clock just struck midnight!  Time to wrap it up.  Take care and God bless you and yours always. Thanks for your interest.  John, Ann, and All Things Brittany

J&A's Brittanys Without Further Ado...

This afternoon David (son in law) and Alana (granddaughter) brought Miss Toph for her ultrasound. Maryann would have been there too but she was at work and the boys were not home yet from school.  John and I met them there for the big reveal:

Here Dr. Berry reveals the total number in real time!

John places Toph gently into the ultrasound cradle

I love this picture of Dr. Berry & Toph prior to procedure.

Yes there's the first puppy!

Pointing out the heartbeat and the pup's actual paw (digits)

Such a clear photo

Top 2 photos courtesy of Broadview Animal Hospital

Based on the size of the pups on the ultrasound, Toph & True's pups are due to arrive @ JULY 4th!  A truly patriotic litter and Toph's family has chosen litter nicknames to compliment the timing of their birth. Needless to say we're all doing a happy dance this evening after confirming Toph's pregnancy. And... we're also happy to share that we will now continue to accept and confirm a few more serious inquiries for these much anticipated puppies!  Here's a link that includes the pedigree.

We're so happy.  We thank God.  And we appreciate your support along the way of this journey too!! Take care and God bless, John, Ann and All Things Brittany.

J&A's Brittany's Holly's 6th week

Countdown - 18 Days!

As the collage above shows, Holly is beginning to 'pop' and evidence of her advancing pregnancy shows more each day.  When she lays down on the floor she does what I consider the telltale pregnancy stretch where one back leg extends way out behind the rest of her body. And boy does she love to have her belly gently rubbed!

Holly's appetite is back to normal although she still enjoys some cooked, shredded chicken as a dressing on top of her regular dog food.  This coming week (week 6) we will begin the switch to a puppy food formula. This way she'll be receiving an extra boost of nutrients resulting in a higher amount of energy and protein which is so important at this stage of pregnancy. It'll also help assure that puppies will be healthy.  There are 'all-stage' adult formulas but we have been successful through the years with the switch to puppy food. We'll also increase the total daily amount of food while spreading smaller meals out throughout the day. As puppies grow and develop they obviously take up more space so smaller, more frequent meals are desirable to momma dog.

In a similar way, Maryann told me this past week that Toph had been refusing her food. We talked about ways to help get through this stage and evidently it is cooked, ground beef that Holly's half-sister prefers. She has an ultrasound scheduled soon although I do not expect any surprises.  Ultrasounds are not routine for us but, all things considered over the past 4 years,  early confirmation of pregnancies is warranted this time around!

John judged a field trial this weekend so I worked on pulling the puppy room together.  The room itself has come together so nicely but then again I knew it would.  At one point Holly came in and lay down on a quilt.  Shortly afterwards, Pippin walked in and joined Holly. It was the cutest thing.  Hemi also came to investigate how things were coming along as well as her Treasure.  I sanitized all the bowls and dishes for Holly and her pups and did one big wash of all our puppy 'linen'. My clothes line is currently airing newly washed and disinfected puppy towels etc. and they smell so good! We are getting there.

So that's my exciting blog update for now.  I should have some more news at the beginning of next week to share.  In the meantime, my requests for prayer continue for my dear nephew whose battle against cancer has taken a new turn.  Take care and God bless, John, Ann, and All Things Brittany