6/11/25 - As Orin predicted yesterday, the first drop of blood today, so we'll call today day 1 and book her in for a blood test around day 10 - 12 (I Think)
11/11/25 - (day 6) I keep checking her, she's bleed, but very little, and there is no swelling, Hmmm!!
15/11/25 - Test 1 - (Day 10) Siska was very low, 0.8nmol/L, the vet suggested I re-test her on Tuesday. Ok I'll go with it, but she doesn't seem to have progressed at all.
18/11/25 - Test 2 - (Day 13) OMG 0.6nmol/L and no physical changes.
22/11/25 - Test 3 (Day 17) she's taking the piss 1.1 nmol/L - but I guess it has gone up. I'm not testing again now till the middle of next week.
26/11/25 - Wednesday - Day 21 - Changes afoot, I've had to separate Orin and Siska, but Beti's season is not helping the boys.
27/11/25 - Thursday - Day 22 -The result of the 9am test today was 10.3nmol/L.
"7 - 12nmol/L (Approximate Range): This range typically indicates that the LH surge has happened or is happening now. The LH surge is the trigger for ovulation, and ovulation usually occurs 2 days after the LH surge." So allowing 48 hrs for the eggs to ripen, Sunday looks like a good day. 
29/11/25 - Saturday - Day 24 - The boys are just nuts, and I'm constantly doubting my decision to leave it till tomorrow, but that would coincide with her second mating to Lucca. The eggs are not fertilizable until about 2 days after ovulation. The optimal fertility window is generally 3 to 5 days after the LH surge. So tomorrow is the most reasonable single-mating choice. She hadn't ovulated at 9 am on Thursday and should she fly forward, and say, ovulate at 3pm on Thursday (Which is highly unlikely) then she still wouldn't be close to being ready till Saturday - and there is obviously a window of opportunity for mating before the ova start to age. Come on Rhian, tomorrow will be Ok.
30/11/25 - Home at last - after a bit of time we got a mating and 20 min tie - wait and see now.
2/12/25 - Wow it's gone quite here and the boys are eating, Wow - there would definitely have never been a second mating 48 hrs later.
4/12/25 - Everyone is calm and quite, but I'm nervous of putting Orin back with Siska just yet. On a positive note, I've always considered an abrupt end to the season as promising sign of conception. The decrease in visible signs of the season (Estrus) can be linked to the rapid hormonal changes that occur after successful ovulation and fertilization, specifically the rise in progesterone. The body begins the process of Diestrus, which is the stage that follows estrus and is characterized by high progesterone, but of course that happens whether they are pregnant or not.
7/12/25 - A week since the mating, and I've just remembered to measure Siska's waist at "normal" size - so 29 cms.
I've been playing with Gemini and she/it says this, "You should start looking for this change between December 18th and December 25th (roughly 2.5 to 3.5 weeks after her ovulation/surge).
The Change: The nipples (especially the ones closest to the hind legs) will become more prominent, firmer, and take on a distinct rosy-pink or "glowy" red colour.
The Cause: This is caused by increased blood flow to the mammary tissue as the body begins preparing for future milk production.
First-Timers: If this is her first litter (a "maiden" bitch), this sign is usually much more obvious. If she has had puppies before, her nipples may already be slightly larger, making the change harder to spot."
24/12/25 (24 days from mating) -There are very little signs that Siska is pregnant. I had been more positive earlier on than I am now. Siska's season had finished very quickly after the mating, she is cuddly and a little demanding, and her nipples are larger than normal but only mildly pink. (But so are Beti's) These are positive signs, but they can also be simply hormonal changes after seasons. What I'm pessimistic about is that she's still eating her breakfast, between 3 and 4 weeks after mating as the embryos implant it is the peak of the "morning sickness window," but of course between days 26 and 32 the hormones (progesterone) are very high, and it's normal for them to be picky or even skip meals then too .. I've been hoping every morning this week that she'd reject a breakfast .... as yet, it hasn't happened!
26/12/25 - (26 days from mating) - Some positive news today, Siska only ate the yogurt and the tinned meat off the top of her breakfast. Bang on day 26 from mating - so 28 days from ovulation - good news but of course not confirmation of pregnancy, so keeping myself grounded is a priority for another week or so!
27/12/25 - (27 days from mating) Today is Day 29 post-ovulation, and her behaviour re food is a "textbook" indicator of pregnancy.
The fact that she is refusing her breakfast but eagerly taking treats is a classic way to distinguish pregnancy nausea from illness. I'm scared to get too excited, as I said yesterday, for my sanity I have to stay grounded.
The staring continues - she sits about 2 ft away from me just staring at me, there is nothing but pure love in her eyes, it's so touching ... If I ignore her she quietly raises her paw.
I really thought, as this was a second litter, that there would be more signs by now. The food thing is promising, but she did it when she had that sort of mating to Vesco too - so that alone in Siska's case can't be a definite indication of pregnancy. Honestly I'm feeling very pessimistic.
29/12/25 - (29 days from mating) - Tomorrow is heartache or happiness day. There are reasons for believing she's pregnant, but sadly so many reasons for believing she's not. In my head, I've prepared my spiel for bad news. I wish there were more definitive signs of pregnancy - tomorrow I'll know!
30/12/25 - Heartbreak no puppies - you think you are prepared, but you never are! I appreciate that occasionally at this stage that one puppy could be missed at the end of a horn - but I could easily see the empty space where last time I saw puppies."Losing" a litter at the scan is a "silent" kind of grief. You’ve been watching her every move, worrying about her meals, and planning for the future. I guess it’s okay to grieve for something that was never there. In this world of dogs, I'm just heartbroken ... again!
