A maybe pregnant dog combined with a goal-oriented planner-type human with an inadequate supply of patience is a fraught combination. I manage it — barely — with flow charts for the two possibilities.
If Capella is pregnant, then XYZ can happened.
If Capella is not pregnant, then ABCDEFGHI can happen.
Source Unknown
Something that may not be obvious about breeding a working/show dog is that there are significant opportunity costs.
A simple example — there is a local agility trial coming up. Normally I would have been training for it and Capella would be entered. But because I am extra careful with a potentially pregnant dog, we haven’t been training/conditioning for agility and that means even if she is not pregnant, I can’t enter her — she won’t be ready.
Capella
If Capella is pregnant, she won’t do any conformation shows for months, pushing goals well into 2027.
If Capella is pregnant, I can’t travel for TDX tests, pushing that goal for Starry into the future.
Starry G for Gritty
But if Capella is not pregnant, I need to try again and that means I will lose more time and opportunity in 2027. Adding motherhood into the lives of multi-tasking dogs (and their human) is harder than it looks — for all kinds of reasons.
Capella
And it is expensive. I have spent just about $3,000 breeding Capella on this cycle alone.
Consider that I had two failed breeding cycles with Capella due to semen issues that were not known until it was too late 💸
Capella
I learned my lesson — a stud dog must have a semen analysis in the month before I will work with him. Good thing — a dog I planned to use for this breeding flunked the required semen test and I made a different plan as a result.
Definitely not how I feel these days 😂
One benefit of all the anxious waiting is you get to a point where all you want is to know the answer — whatever it is.
I am definitely there.
Happy Tuesday, Friend ❤️