Thursday, August 6, 2026.

We agreed with the vet to have her progesterone levels checked one more time, just to be sure her levels had indeed continued to rise.

That turned out to be the case; she was sitting nicely at 19 ng/ml. In the afternoon, Richard and I drove over to Sjaak and Nelleke’s place again. Once more, the matings were successful. Now it’s a matter of waiting to see if she is pregnant. We have an appointment for an ultrasound on September 2nd.

Wednesday, August 5, 2026.

Sjaak didn't get home until after 6:00 PM. That worked out well, as Richard and I were heading to Wageningen in the afternoon for Jodey’s eye test first. We went home afterward to drop off Jodey and pick up Ginny. Then Richard and I drove together to Sjaak and Nelleke Meijer’s place.

We started by having coffee and a nice chat, then Dembe was brought out. He and Ginny played together for a bit. The mating with Dembe was completed, and then Robbie came in. Ginny growled a little at Robbie, but she did move her tail aside nicely.

After the mating, we had another drink and then drove home. We got back very late.

Tuesday, August 4, 2026.

We had an early appointment at the vet for a progesterone check. She also underwent an internal examination to see how far along she was. The internal exam indicated she was almost ready, but the progesterone level is the deciding factor.

The progesterone level had risen again. The advice was to proceed with mating the following afternoon. Our male, Xavi, was already going crazy; he even jumped right over a stair gate just to get to Ginny. We really had to pull him away from her. Ginny was already standing nicely for it, too. Monday, August 3rd.

We have an appointment at the vet at 3:00 PM for a progesterone test. In the morning, we are heading to Zeist first. Ginny's first daughter, Jodey, needs to undergo HD and ED screenings and a BAER test; that is why the progesterone test is scheduled for later in the day.

Once again, the blood draw went perfectly. We received the results quickly. Just like last time, the level had risen sharply: 7.09 ng/ml. The advice was to have another test done on Tuesday morning.

Friday, July 31, 2026.

Today is the eighth day of Ginny's heat. We made an appointment at the vet for a progesterone test. We aren't expecting much, as Xavi isn't reacting to her at all yet. Ginny was perfectly fine with everything at the vet's office; she always sits very calmly, making it easy for the vet to draw blood.

We received the results at the end of the day: 0.9 ng/ml. As we suspected, she is still in the very early stages of her heat. The advice was to test again on Monday.

Thursday, July 23, 2026.

It’s that time again: our Ginny has gone into heat. Richard and I had frequently discussed which male dog we would want to use if Ginny came into heat. We both agreed that the previous pairings with Xanthy, Robbie, and Dembe had worked out well.

We contacted Sjaak and Nelleke Meijer to let them know we would like to use Dembe and Robbie again, but this time with our Ginny. They were happy to agree. Fortunately, they weren't away traveling for a dog show at the time.