The was taken yesterday
My Angel on a short walk, the belly seems to be growing daily. I feel that now she is expanding so rapidly that it may get uncomfortable for her in a crate over night. She may not like being turfed out of her bed but I think we may need to reconsider her sleeping arrangements. The whelping box has been moved into the kitchen today for setting up tomorrow. Not sure whether to see if she wants to move in early or sleep in the bedroom for a while. Her father will not be amused as he sleeps with us but it will only be short term. My bed is in the kitchen too, folded it takes little room, the camera is ready for setting up and tomorrow I'll check the heat lamp.
With her last pregnancy I was worried about the drawbacks of a small litter. Worried pixie and dixie would grow too big for a natural birth ... this time I'm worried about having the Italian football team in there .. there really is no pleasing me is there! What will be will be, you can't make a booking, place an order, whatever amount of puppies come you accept and do the best by all of them.
Sammi is still getting about quite well, though sleeping a lot in between and eating well so far. She almost grabbed a piece of chicken off my plate earlier, not normal behaviour for her but we make exceptions in these circumstances don't we.
You may recall that I have not tested Sammi for the long coat gene, so I have no idea if she carries it. Kaiah does but could have inherited it from Merlot, her father and not from Sammi. Sisco does too, so if Sammi carries the gene we will have both coat varieties .. not that I care really. Long Coats are not a problem to sell .. just an issue for me as regards choice. I would still prefer to keep a standard coat .. especially after being told today that the long coats soak in rain water like a sponge .. which brings me back to the same thing, is the coat practical for a working dog? I have my opinions, you decide for yourself. Sisco does produce some white feet and white flashes on the chest, usually they fade though some stay with the dogs into adulthood. I can't recall any Blanik bred pup having a white foot past puppy hood but there are bigger issues than colour to address in the breed, I would not allow the risk of some white feet stop me using such a fantastic dog. Today is day 51 - I'm not expecting the litter to arrive until around the 20th, but after day 57 live full term puppies can be born ... the countdown begins....
