Today, I took Owl for an evaluation of his reproductive status. We visited Dr Robert Hutchison of Northview Animal Clinic in North Ridgeville, Ohio. Dr Hutchison is an expert on canine and feline reproduction. He has many, many years of experience and has shared his knowledge with breeders in seminars all over the country. I figured it would be worth the 3.25 hours drive north for Owl to be assessed by this guy. 

The bad, but not surprising, news is that Owl has a fertility problem.  Dr Hutch said that normal canine sperm counts run about 10 million per pound of dog's body weight. Owl weighs 20 lbs so we would expect something like 200 million sperm. Owl's count was 42 million.

One would think that 42 million of anything would surely be enough!

But it gets worse. Of the 42 million sperm, 58% were immature. Dr Hutch explained that, like other glands in the body, the testes are 'used to' a certain level of production and that Owl was likely much more fertile when he was younger. So, in an effort to 'keep up the numbers' in the ejaculate, the testes are throwing out sperm that have not yet matured. 

This is the reason, I was told, that Owl was not able to settle either Taya or Tasha this spring.

Now for some good news:

1. Owl has sperm. I was half-afraid there wouldn't be anything in there. 

2. The motility of the sperm was good.

3. The morphology of the sperm was largely normal.

4. Ultrasound showed no masses or significant lesions in the testicles.

5. Ultrasound showed an enlarged prostate but the amount of enlargement is moderate and well within normal for a dog Owl's age. 

6. It was also clear that Owl does not have an infectious process going on; there was no blood or pus. Prostatitis is a leading cause of acquired infertility so this was very good to hear. 

I had shown Dr Hutch the semen evaluation from a different repro specialist done February, 2013. Unfortunately, the report was rather vague. I repeated what I'd been told and what I saw, which I had also relayed to Diane Webb in an email at that time.

Three months later, based on what I had seen and been told, Babe was bred to Owl. Babe did not conceive.  But she was six years old. We thought Babe had the problem.  :  (

Again, though, no prostatitis today, (if there ever was). Instead, Dr Hutch said it looks like we have a hormonal problem related to aging. I asked if these hormonal changes in Owl are normal. He slid me a look sideways for effect and said. "Oh yes. Very normal. Owl is something like a 60 year old man."  I am pretty sure the good doctor Hutch is in his 60s!

The rest of the good news:

7. Owl's libido is fine. 

8. He received an injection of testosterone with pre- and post- level blood tests and the results were good.

9. He is not obese and he doesn't smoke.  ; )

I had had to make a decision, before the ultrasound, blood tests, and medications, how far I am willing to go to try to obtain a litter from Owl.  Considering everything: his health, vitality, and energy level which are all truly extraordinary, his sound conformation, size, intelligence, eagerness to work at anything, his voice, coat quality, pedigree, I could go on and on...

I decided to do what seems reasonable. Not less. Not more. Dr Hutchison agreed with this. He said, "I am a logical, reasonable person, too. So let's do what is logical and reasonable and see what happens." I was able to connect with that statement.

Owl has been started on Megace 5 mg daily for 21 days, then 5 mg weekly. I was surprised by this. Megace is a progestin, a synthetic progesterone. Really? Megace? Yes. See Progesterone: a male hormone for more information. I learn something new every day!

He was also started on a male fertility supplement in capsule form called, um, Male Fertility Supplement, manufactured by Coast Science.  Doc said he began prescribing MFS after a conversation with a human urologist. Sub-title on the container is "The Male Prenatal." Well, I can hope so. Owl is to get one capsule of the powder on his food each day.

Dr Hutch wants to re-evaluate in eight weeks. So we will. Please hope with me for a positive outcome!

Unfortunately, I must report that the patter of little half-pints will not be heard here this summer. Neither Taya or Tasha became pregnant by Owl. It is very disappointing to all of us.

As Owl was becoming older, I had his semen evaluated in February 2013 and it was good. But with both of these girls failing to conceive, Owl's fertility is today a looming question. I have an appointment for Owl with Dr. Robert Hutchison in northeast Ohio coming up on June 19. Dr. Hutch is known to breeders nationwide for his expertise in canine reproduction. We will see the results of the evaluation and make decisions based on that. I AM planning to mate Taya again in her next heat. At this point, though, I do not know who the male will be. I will keep you posted.

A number of people have asked me if Taya is pregnant. Unfortunately, I do not yet have an answer to that question. 

Or, I should say, the answer is "I don't know." 

With Taya's due date next week, how is it possible for pregnancy to be so up in the air at this late stage of the game?

First of all, I did not have an ultrasound done to confirm pregnancy. With one exception, I have never done it. While it is nice to confirm that a dog is pregnant, especially on a highly anticipated or long-awaited litter, I usually figure that I will know in a month or two anyway. Besides that, ultrasounds are not infallible. Stan and Tina Knoll had one done on Nadja and were told that she was not pregnant but Nadja whelped three puppies. And Diane Webb and John WIllmore had an ultrasound done on Olive that showed two puppies. Two weeks later, the fetal sacs were empty. The puppies had been absorbed.

Through  the weeks since the two matings with Owl, Taya's vulva has remained enlarged, and she has had a slight amount of clear vaginal drainage that has clumped hairs together and provided me with great hope that she is in fact pregnant. In the past, this type of discharge has been an infallible sign.

And her nipples, while not yet large, have never decreased in size to what they were before Taya came in heat.

I have prided myself on being proficient at determining pregnancy by abdominal palpation at about 30 days. But this time, my findings were inconclusive. I found myself doubting my fingers. "Yes." "I believe I feel a puppy there." "One, I think." "But did I really feel a puppy there?" "Maybe not." Like a broken record. As I have said, it is like I want this litter too much!

The last photo is Taya this morning, at day 57 or so. (All the photos were taken this morning.) She followed me with her eyes but remained in the position that allows me to point out a couple more things.

First, you can see that she is in marvelous "bloom". The fantastic sheen to her coat and extra-good physical condition are typical of a bitch during a pregnancy that is very much agreeing with her.

Second, see how large and solid she (often but not always) looks lately when she is sitting or curled up. I have noticed all along how "thick" she appears in the area of the lower rib cage. 

Then she stands up and the bulk pretty much disappears. She has just as much waist today as she did two months ago. Sometimes she appears almost thin. And to date, I have neither felt a puppy move or heard a heartbeat. And, Taya knows, I have tried!

So, that is why I have to answer the question with I don't know. It has been a rollercoaster ride for weeks. She is. She isn't. She is. She isn't. She is. She isn't. She is. She isn't. 

Taya is handling the mystery better than I am.

Abdominal x-ray on Friday will provide THE clue.

How artistically magnificent this is! The photo and the puppies belong to Tor Johansen of Norway.

I posted this on Facebook for 'throwback Thursday.'

Today in eastern Maryland, Taya's conformation was V rated (rated Excellent) by DTK judge Andreas Tornau from Germany. Herr Tornau evaluated the conformation of 30 dachshunds at the fall zuchtschau of the North American Teckel Club. As some readers know, the DTK (German Dachshund Club) requires an official conformation evaluation of Excellent or Very Good before a dachshund can be approved for breeding. So this was the next step on the path to having puppies from Taya in the spring. I plan for this litter to be dual registered with both the AKC and DTK. 

[Babe is ABS3 FC Bob's Babe von Knobydox, owned by Tina Knoll of Mississippi.]

The main reason I drove to Georgia in the first place was to get Babe back to her owners. When Stan called a couple of weeks ago to tell me that Babe had come in heat, he asked me how I wanted to handle the mating. I thought about it and told him my first choice would be to meet him halfway between southern Mississippi and southern Ohio to get Babe. Then, because I knew Stan planned to be at the Atlanta field trials, I said that I would go, too, for the timing was likely to be good for him to get Babe back this weekend.

The timing was great. Babe and Owl mated three times. First time was on Wednesday, March 13. Second time was Friday, March 15. And the third time was Sunday, the 17th. I decided to hold off on updating the Puppies page until we know that Babe is pregnant. For the sake of the good people waiting on puppies, we would like to know as soon as possible. The plan is to have an ultrasound done in mid-April.

In the meantime, I realized that I have very few photos of Babe. So this evening after the field trial, Stan took Babe out and I took some photos.

Babe is of correct size, good temperament, excellent conformation, and has a lot of ability on game. She could use more pigment which is one of the reasons why she was bred to Owl who is quite dark. Babe could also use more coat. So could Owl, frankly, but more hair is not so high on our list of priorities. Besides that, all four grandparents have or had more coat and it is entirely possible that the puppies will, too.

Babe wants to track rabbits! But Stan did not want to enter her in the trials and I agreed with him. The first couple of weeks after mating, we want to keep things as stress-free as possible, including good stress. Babe is 6.5 years old and we are focused on maximizing her chances of "settling" and having a litter.

Babe was grinning a lot. She was happy to see Stan and also to be out of her crate in the car.

By the way, the scars on her muzzle are from Babe being bitten by copperheads. This happened more than once. Afterward, Babe's face was very swollen and she was sick for a few days but bounced back nicely.

Let us hope that Babe is expecting!

True to Stan's assertion that their bitches are ready to breed sooner than has been the norm for mine*, Babe accepted Owl last night.  First day of mating, then, is March 13. Due date to be the middle of May. Here's hoping!

I will update the puppy page soon.

(*Even though they are closely related to mine. Any thoughts or conjectures as to why this might be? Much more sunshine in southern Mississippi than in the Ohio Valley? Living many hours closer to the equator? Different food? ??)

Owl himself as an owlet

Stan Knoll called me Thursday night at work to tell me that their Babe had come in heat. We have had 2+ years plans to breed Babe to Owl. A mating of the two actually took place last year in May. By the time I'd gotten to Mississippi, though, we were on the tail end of her cycle. Babe did not become pregnant. We decided we'd "repeat the breeding again in the spring" and that time has arrived.

Accordingly, Stan and I decided to meet halfway so that, this time, I could get Babe and bring her to my house.

Yesterday morning, I'd set the alarm for 5 am, left home at 7:20 and drove south through a lot of rain. Five hours later, I was in Louisville and 3.5 hours or so after that, with walking the dogs and a gas stop in between, I met Stan at the Kentucky/Tennessee state line. We had coffee and talked for an hour, then I put Babe in my car and we both headed back the way we had come.

I like to drive but it made for a long, long day. And Stan had actually driven about an hour further than I did.

All four of my own dogs were with me and everybody traveled very nicely, as usual.

By the time I again hit the hilly and twisting country roads between Chillicothe and home, I was tired and it was very dark. More cautious on both counts, the drive north took longer than the trip south. I finally arrived home at 1:15 am. I wanted nothing more than to go straight to bed but of course the dogs all needed some attention and time to exercise. It was nearly 3:30 before I crawled (literally) under the covers.

Is there anyone alive who does not think that dog people are crazy?  ;  )