Two weeks old already! This was a very busy day for the puppies. Toe nail clipping, weighing and DNA testing all in one day. They were all very cooperative for their pedicures and they now weigh between 1 lb. 13 oz. and 2 lb. 1 oz. so now there is a 4 oz difference between the biggest and the smallest. I am happy that they are all growing uniformly. Now that their eyes are open they are becoming aware of their surrounding. 
Let me explain the DNA testing procedure for those of you who are interested in the scientific part of this. What we are checking for is to see which puppies received a copy of the normal uric acid gene from Topper. It could be none or many. If it is none I will be disappointed because I am hoping to keep one for future breeding. If it is many, I will be thrilled if I have more than one to choose from.
What I had to do was collect buccal cells on brushes and then send them to UC Davis in California. How this is done is by swirling a brush vigorously against the inside of the check and gum. Actually three brushes were collected from each puppy. The puppies had to be separated from Gambit for a half hour before the testing but I kept her away from them for one hour to be sure I was safe. Then I washed my hands between each puppy to make sure I didn't have any DNA from a previous puppy on me. Although I never touched the brush itself I am anal about such things so I was very careful. The picture below shows all the brushes and the paperwork ready to go before I started. I had to label three brushes for each puppy so they could be identified. After the brush had the buccal cells on them they were inserted back into the sleeve with the identifying information on it. It was a big job and I am glad it is over. All I have to do now is insert everything in an envelope with a check for close to 2 weeks take home pay and send it off and wait for the results.
Let me explain the DNA testing procedure for those of you who are interested in the scientific part of this. What we are checking for is to see which puppies received a copy of the normal uric acid gene from Topper. It could be none or many. If it is none I will be disappointed because I am hoping to keep one for future breeding. If it is many, I will be thrilled if I have more than one to choose from. What I had to do was collect buccal cells on brushes and then send them to UC Davis in California. How this is done is by swirling a brush vigorously against the inside of the check and gum. Actually three brushes were collected from each puppy. The puppies had to be separated from Gambit for a half hour before the testing but I kept her away from them for one hour to be sure I was safe. Then I washed my hands between each puppy to make sure I didn't have any DNA from a previous puppy on me. Although I never touched the brush itself I am anal about such things so I was very careful. The picture below shows all the brushes and the paperwork ready to go before I started. I had to label three brushes for each puppy so they could be identified. After the brush had the buccal cells on them they were inserted back into the sleeve with the identifying information on it. It was a big job and I am glad it is over. All I have to do now is insert everything in an envelope with a check for close to 2 weeks take home pay and send it off and wait for the results.
2 comments:
Praying for some nice NUA babies. Good luck. They are all so beautiful! LaDonna
That head shot of Topper is absolutely gorgeous! He is such a lovely dog, what a great match between him and Gambit. We will be hoping for many NUAs for you to choose from. Tracie
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