Frustrated rant time

PoetikDragon

Gojira started her heat, but the vet that took her cytology yesterday wont have results until Thursday. (WTF, three days for cytology??) So now we're trying to find another vet who can do it today. Our repro vet isn't in the office on Tue/Wed. Our normal vet can take the sample today but wont have time to look at the slides until tomorrow. We could do progesterone test instead and have results in the morning from either vet, but its three times as expensive and I'd rather not do it unless she's close to ovulation. Since she isn't spotting I am worried this is a silent heat and she may already be close. I need to know when I have to leave for Texas. We're planning on Thursday morning and taking three days to drive there, but if she's going to ovulate today or tomorrow I will need to get there more immediatly. If we've got a while still, I'd rather leave Friday evening so I don't miss work. Also, I need to take my Jenny Craig food with me but I only have six days worth. If we're driving I need at least two weeks worth and it all needs to be shelf-stable (no refridgeration). My Jenny Craig consultant is also out of the office today so I probably can't get food delivered tomorrow. Lets also throw in that my husband's truck tire went bald yesterday and may explode and my car registration is expired because it hasn't passed smog, so before I leave one of those has to be fixed. Also there are two things I wanted to do Friday night and Saturday morning that I am going to miss.

TLDR: first time breeding, stress, stress, stress!

ayk

Got an experienced neutered male nearby who can tell for you?

(Just a wild suggestion from someone who hasn't done the cytology or progesterone testings.)

PoetikDragon

Ghidora thinks Gojira smells awesome. He's much more interested in Gojira than in Mosura. He started intently sniffing her, her bed, and places she has peed when Mosura's heat began (11 or 12 days ago) and has shown no interest in Mosura at all. However, he hasn't been restless, digging, or noisy in his crate at night, which he did do the last two times Goji was in heat.

Heidi

Maybe you could use a teaser male like they do for horses. They walk a teaser stallion by and gauge by the reaction when the female is ready. Could be total BS, though, I don't know.

I've also heard of breeders using these things:

http://www.early-pregnancy-tests.com/saliva-fertility-test.html
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Fertility-Ovulation-Saliva-Test-Tester-Lipstick-Microscope-Analyser-Made-EU-/370576888557#ht_2341wt_1037

PoetikDragon

I've been reading up on it. Apparently dogs are unusual in that most mammals ovulate as estrogen rises, but dogs ovulate when the estrogen drops and progesterone rises.

PoetikDragon

Yay, our repro vet is willing to come in at 5pm to do the cytology right away. Now its just an issue of getting my husband home from work in time and which vehicle risk we want to take to get there.

Also my Jenny Craig consultant called me back and can't get my food tomorrow but CAN ship my food to an address in Texas...

shibamistress

Wow, this sounds super stressful! Add it to this list of things people don't think of when they act like breeding dogs is easy (or inexpensive, right?). Anyway, I'm glad things are looking like they're going to work out, but how frustrating!

And I had a friend whose most awful job was collecting semen from stallions. She told me all about the "teaser" horses, though in her case, it was a teaser mare estrus they used to get the stallion in the mood. But yes, they do use teasers with horses. (And I now know more about horse reproduction than I ever wanted to know, and I told her she would probably almost always win in "worst/wierdest job contest!)

ayk

Curious to know how well calibrated Ghidora's nose is. Sounds like he thinks she's in early pre-estrus.

PoetikDragon

I'm feeling much better this afternoon!

In addition to the good news about Jenny Craig, Aaron got off work very early to get new tires on his truck before we went to the vet. We predicted an hour and a half traffic and got there in a third of the time. Figured we'd have to wait around an hour, but the staff called the vet and she came in earlier. She's so nice! And she's excited about our work with a rare breed (and that she gets to be involved by association) and just overall cheerful, enthusiastic, and helpful. The vet did the cytology and thinks we probably caught Gojira on her 1st or 2nd day of the heat. She also did the progesterone test, and we'll have results first thing in the morning. It doesn't look like I will have to rush to Texas, however.

I guess I was still feeling a little "down" after the vet yesterday grilled us and seemed scornful and critical (although she didn't say anything). But now my mood has totally reversed.