DNA
Today was pretty quiet. Tiffin continues to improve and today she wanted to spend time away from the puppies when they were sleeping. She still isn't eating as much as I would like her to so we ordered 100 pounds of raw food. I think this will encourage her to eat more. She will be finished with the antibiotics soon so I think her tummy will feel better then.
Today the puppies had ENS in the morning, weighing in the afternoon and ESI in the evening. Plus some snuggles in between. ENS is going well. They are not struggling as much now. The weight gain is steady. The reaction to the scents is not dramatic. Only one seemed to be interested in the scent today which was vanilla. Two of them turned away and the rest didn't show any reaction at all.
Still jumping through hoops with the AKC. They have the information they need but not on the correct form. So now they want the frozen semen collection report which is the same information as the freezing report. After this is sent to them, they will have the information in triplicate. I hope this is sufficient.
So today the DNA swabs arrived. I use VGL at UC Davis. I believe they are the most reputable and efficient DNA testing lab. For those of you who don't know I DNA the puppies for a genetic mutation that affects the Dalmatian breed. Most Dalmatians have a genetic mutation called hyperuricosuria. This is a metabolic defect that can in some instances cause a Dal to form bladder stones. It is not a huge problem in the breed but it is a huge problem for the individual dog who is a stone former. Unless one or both of the parents have at least one copy of the normal gene all the puppies will have the mutation. Because Tiffin has one copy of the normal gene she will not be affected with hyperuricosuria. Dogs that have either 1 or 2 copies of the gene are called LUA dals which stands for Low Uric Acid. All other Dals are called HUA, you guessed it, High Uric Acid. I will swab the cheeks of each puppy and send the swabs in and hopefully the results will be favorable for LUA. Now here is the clincher. Although the LUA pups will have this health benefit they may not be quite as pretty. Time will tell. It is recommended that the pups be 3 weeks old before testing.
Here are a few pictures from today.
Swabs
