Meet Huck!

This darling little guy is "Huck" (AKA: Huckleberry Hound).  Yes, he has as much ticking on his body as a bluetick hound (hence the name). 

He was one of 12 toy fox terriers relinquished from a commercial breeder last month.  They all were extremely shy.  Huck would rather work than be touched but he insists on following me everywhere.

I figured since he was just a puppy, we'd only have him briefly...I was WRONG! 

Sadly, we have not had a single inquiry about him. 

Huck is an amazing little guy...quirky...but amazing...full of fire, attitude, confidence (except men are ogres to him), and an incredible drive to train (we won't talk too much about the tantrums he throws when we are done training). Of course the agility trainer/handler in me is going crazy as I know this little guy has the potential to just smoke Keegan. 

This past week I decided it was in his best interest to get serious about training and I enrolled him in Agility Foundations class.  Huck definitely needs to be in a home that will appreciate his talent, so for now...we will...and hope that his forever home will find him...just hope he hasn't already decided that he's found his forever home!

Energy and Gestation

The waiting continues.  This week we passed day 28 of gestation for Miss VIP and she's doing great.  We've palpated at least two puppies and my excitement is growing.  Up until this week, there have been no adjustments made to her diet, and it won't be until after day 40 that the fetuses will really begin to take off and start draining some of her energy stores.  The recommendation is to increase energy intake after week 4 of gestation by 26 kcal per metabolic body weight. 

Metabolic body weight is an estimation of the body's actively metabolizing tissues rather than total body weight.  It is typically calculated by taking the animal's body weight in Kg and raising it to the 0.75 power.  In research settings and according to the National Research Council's Nutrient Requirements, energy requirements of dogs range from 95 - 200 Kcal x their metabolic body weight.  This is where we all get into trouble by reading the labels of our dog foods.  The labels reflect these values and if I used the values published for "highly active pet border collies" for my border collie, I'd be feeding her 175 Kcal x 6.19 Kg (Karma's metabolic body weight...yes she really only does weigh 25 Lb) or 1,080 Kcal per day.  I can tell you I feed her about 1/2 that amount.  For the majority of dogs, the labels drastically overestimate the energy that dogs really need, hence the serious weight problems we see in most pet dogs. 

So, little Miss VIP was actually getting 100 Kcal x her metabolic body weight (2.12 Kg) or 212 Kcal per day to maintain a good body condition.  I increased that by 26 Kcal so she's now at 126 Kcal x 2.12 Kg or 267 Kcal per day.  I actually won't bother with this amount much unless her body condition tells me otherwise.  She's getting her regular raw dog food daily, along with a tablespoon of Activia yogurt, and her fishoil.  Additionally, twice a week, she gets a raw chicken wing or pork rib (previously frozen) in lieu of her evening meal. 

The waiting continues.

Should I increase her diet now?

Well, today we are at day 14 (assuming my math is accurate).  As she's curled up here on my lap, I wonder how many little pups might be developing.  Right now at this stage, there isn't a huge drain on her energy stores.  It won't be until after the 4th week of gestation that the little guys will really begin to grow and develop and drain some of her energy.  That is when I'll increase VIP's energy intake in order to accomodate the weight gain and development of fetal tissues.  But, for now, she's still getting the same amount of food as before.  She is in super shape, great body condition, eats good, and seems very comfortable.  I had increased her diet a couple weeks prior to breeding as I felt she should have a couple more ounces on her.  I tend to like to see my dogs very lean so figured I'd let her go into this a tiny bit heavier than where I would normally keep her.