Better Luck Next Time

Zala

Miss Zala has had us pampering her for the past month and a half, acting as though she is pregnant but showing no physical signs. We did what I vowed I would never do again after her mother, Tuloon, convinced us during her first litter that she should be able to order off the menu.
When Zala turned her nose up at the kibble about a month ago, we began to add interesting tidbits to entice her. Then she rejected kibble altogether and we began to cook up chicken with basil and olive oil, hard boiled eggs and raw bacon. Then poo pooed this selection, Neil and I began hand feeding her. All in the name of a healthy mom and pups.

She seemed to have put on a bit of weight and we thought we could see some signs of a slightly bulging tummy. Frequent visitors were also caught up in the hype, thinking she looked a little "different" than their last visit. At this stage she should have begun to lose the hair on her belly and she should have begun producing milk. No signs. We kept hope. On Wednesday and day 55 of her "pregnancy" we took her in for x-rays to take a puppy count.

No puppies. That little stinker had us waiting on her hand and foot. Musher error again. What dog wouldn't? Needless to say, we are sad that there are no puppies. At the same time, things happen for a reason. Interesting that I had planned to fix Zala this spring only due to her smaller size, but when we discovered the current low numbers of Hedlund Huskies, we decided it would be in the best interest of the line to breed her. Prior to the decision to breed, we had also specifically decided to not have a litter this year due to the extra work load I have undertaken with the Minnesota Honey Producers Association's State Fair manager contract. It wasn't meant to be.

As for Zala, after discovering she was not pregnant I discussed with her the reasons why she would not longer be receiving room service and placed her in her kennel with a large bowl of kibble which she promptly ate.

We have no more plans to breed this year but do hope for a litter with Topa when she is old enough.