Day 28 Ultrasound….
…and it looked promising! We aren’t ultrasound experts so we can’t be 100% sure, but we were pretty sure we saw at least a couple of little puppy globs (called “vesicles”) in there, and we even saw some movement and what might have been a heartbeat! If there are puppies, their ears formed this week, and next week their toes will start differentiating!
Look at that beautiful Zho smiling for the camera!
That black glob with the whitish glob inside it is hopefully a puppy embryo inside its vesicle!
To everyone who has contacted me recently about puppies, I apologize for taking so long to get back to you, things have been hectic. If you don’t hear from me by next week, please re-send your email!
The way I do things is understandably rough for prospective new homes, I really do understand that (it would drive me crazy if I were on the other side of it!). Please understand that my priority is placing the puppies in the best homes for them, that means that I don’t decide who is going where, or even who is getting a puppy for sure in some cases, until they are at least 7 weeks old (one of my puppy owners from the last litter found out just a few days beforehand!). Many breeders do things differently, this is just what works best for me. This is why I don’t do “first come first served”, I don’t want to place a puppy in what might not be the right home for that puppy. If you don’t get a puppy, it isn’t necessarily that I don’t think you’re a great home (I will tell people if I think this isn’t the right breed for them though!), it’s that I might not have a puppy in this litter that will work out well for you. Until their personalities start to really come out, and evaluations are done, I don’t often make decisions about which goes where.
Given the parents of this litter, two dogs with lots of working drive, I am prioritizing performance homes (agility, herding, obedience, tracking, demo dog, etc.) at least at this point (this may change, depending on what we get!). This is not because being “just a pet” is a bad life for any dog (my dogs are “just pets” for 99% of their lives!), but because if a puppy has real potential and drive to work, it is both a shame not to use that drive and potential, and not ideal for the puppy OR the home to place a puppy with a real desire to work in a home where it won’t get to use that drive. A dog who wants to work needs a job, and really often isn’t the right fit in a home that just wants a nice pet. Dogs who want to work will find a job if you don’t give them one, and if they choose their own, you might not like what it is! Even high drive Vallhunds usually have an off switch, but they need an outlet for that drive in order for the off switch to function.
I hope this helps you understand where I am coming from, and please do contact me if I haven’t replied to your email! If you are interested in a puppy, please tell me about yourself, your home, your family and what your plans are for a dog. I get a lot of email, and I unfortunately often end up not replying to emails which simply ask if I have any puppies available without any further detail. This is a labor of love, I put a LOT of work into each litter, which is why I breed so rarely. 🙂
Further bulletins as things (hopefully puppies!) develop!