It’s still too early to know for certain if Lucy is definitely pregnant. She’s currently around a possible 4 weeks, if the first tie was successful. She visited the vet recently just to have another health check and I also learned that the pregnancy test I planned to do is fairly inaccurate and expensive on top of it. The only real option is an X-ray closer to her due date that would see the puppies inutero. But X-rays can be potentially harmful to mama and puppies so that is an easy no for us. We will be going in blind with puppy numbers and waiting for any natural signs Lucy may give - tired, enlarged nipples, weight gain.
In the meantime, Lucy is still getting her diet of salmon/chicken/rice kibble (no corn/no soy)(sprinkled with Diatomaceous Earth as a natural dewormer - she won't eat garlic sadly). I add in a morning dose of either ground beef or some kind of meat (right now it’s venison scraps from my husband’s latest hunt) and always a few chunks or organ meat. On the farm we have easy access to organ meat that Lucy happily enjoys, much to my children’s relief (not many of us enjoy liver). And I actually do give her scraps or leftovers that are good for her - scrambled eggs the toddler didn’t finish, those bits of fat everyone carves off their meat, leftover bone broth from a bowl of soup. Not only does it make my frugal spirit happy to keep waste to a minimum, I know she is getting something that is fantastic for her health. (I always put it directly into her bowl and avoid feeding her from the table or licking our plates to avoid encouraging her to beg for people food). Often she will leave the kibble completely and eat the yummy bits out but she is what our vet calls a “self-regulator”. She never eats when I fill her bowl - but only when she feels hungry. She rarely empties her bowl and if she does, it’s a little here, a little there all day until its gone. I worried at first that she would be underweight because she didn’t scarf her food like I remember all my other dogs doing in the past. But I was assured that self-regulating dogs tend to be thinner and it’s actually healthier for them to have a natural gauge that keeps her from becoming overweight.
Midway through her pregnancy, Lucy will be switched to puppy kibble alongside her tasty
tidbits. The extra nutrients and protein for growing puppies is also great for a mama growing puppies! DHA will be added to support the development of growing brains. We want strong, healthy little puppies that have a great start from the very beginning!
If there is one things I understand it is feeding people!! With a family of nine, I often feel like
my sole purpose in life is making food. Trust me, I get so tired of it some days. I feel like a factory, cranking out the meals, only to have them devoured in under 15 minutes, spending another several cleaning it up and then someone says they’re hungry (insert agonized face here). Long before I had 7 kids I learned alongside a good mama friend the importance of what we put inside our bodies as fuel. And the so-called “quality” foods we often buy at the store often are a whole lot of nothing or loaded with a lot of hidden garbage. I’m particular about what I buy and I make most from scratch. We avoid added unpronounceable ingredients lol. It’s a lot more work to make bone broth, sauerkraut, soak grains, raise your own meat, but I believe the benefit is worth it. I have to or I would have lost my mind by now trying to keep up with it!
That being said, I have come to realize that if I want optimal performance from myself, my family, and my pets, I need to feed them accordingly. My past dogs were fed the cheapest food available (money always is a bit tight), and even though we've always had very healthy dogs, we wanted to treat Lucy like more of a member of our family (another bonus: she's allowed in the house unlike past pets) and avoid any health problems if possible. I want her to have the longest, healthiest life she can live and feeding her well is the first step.
If you are interested in puppies and would like to complete an application, it is available here.
Please email me with any questions at bramblymountainfarm@gmail.com.
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