River has an appointment for an abdominal xray the week of April 8th, which we do to count puppies and make sure there are no concerns about a natural birth (such as a puppy who may be too big to get through the birth canal). There is still the possibility of her re-absorbing the puppies, but she's definitely getting a little bigger every few days, so I'm feeling good about it so far.
In other news, we have the Raleigh dog show cluster this weekend, which is very convenient for us to attend. Mischke (from Oakley's second litter) will compete in the puppy match on Friday night and will be shown in bred-by classes on Saturday and Sunday. Logan (River's brother from the first Oakley litter) will be coming up from Southern Pines for the show, and I'll show him in bred-by classes as well on Saturday and Sunday. Hobbs, another brother to River and Logan, will be competing in best of breed on Saturday and Sunday. I'm really looking forward to the mini-reunion and to spending time with Logan and Hobbs and their owners. I'm a bit obsessive about not bringing in any nasty germs from the dog show - especially when I have a pregnant female in the house. So, we'll be washing dog feet, taking off our shoes, and disinfecting as much as possible before we come in the house. If you've ever been to a dog show, you'll understand how nasty the grounds can be.
Will post some pictures from the weekend visit, and I hope we'll have some good news from the shows. Wish us luck at the shows and for a nice litter of happy, healthy puppies, and an uneventful whelping for my sweet River.