14 January Aviendha was mated with Raven. More about this combination and the parents can be read on our kennel website.
Aviendha was already showing signs of a pregnancy. Her belly expanded a little bit. She was sleeping a lot and very deep, just like she did the first pregnancy. She had her nausea days. But this week, she didn't ate a lot. And I even thought her belly was getting flatter. I was getting afraid she absorbed the puppies. Today we had the ultrasound, I was quite nervous. But thank god, the vet quickly said: "there is at least one puppie." 
So pregnancy confirmed. She counted 8-9 puppies. We made a bet at the mating, how much puppies and how many boys and girls. We have to wait who won the bet.

As tradition goes: when the pregnancy is confirmed, we also announce the theme for litter. We choose the pedigree names according to this theme (we have to register the names within 10 days after birth). The names will be announced after birth, obviously. But I like to talk about the theme. 

This litter will have a Wheel of Time theme again. For the people who don't know: Wheel of Time is a fantasy book series, written by Robert Jordan. One of my favourite book series. Aviendha is a character from these books and her first litter had a Wheel of Time theme.
So I was thinking about what theme. I like the Aes Sedai, but I was thinking if the theme couldn't be connected to Raven somehow. And yes, it can. Because there is a group of people in the Wheel of Time world that have a lot of Ravens as symbols in their culture. 
The Seanchan. They have The Prince of Ravens (the husband to the heir to the throne), they have the Tower of Ravens, Ravens and Roses are the sigil of the Emperial family, the Deathwatch Guards have Raven tattoos, and so on. So the theme was for sure something with the Seanchan :)

The reputation of the Seanchan in the books is not so good. They have a very strict hierarchy(too strict), the have slaves that they see as property, the hate the One Power (magic) and leash and control the women who can do this (and treat them worse as their animals). I, at first, kind of hated the Seanchan. But why this theme then?
Well, somewhere along the series, Tuon came along. And Matrim Cauton fell in love with Tuon. And if he can do that (one of my favorite characters), then why can't I?
It wasn't love at first sight with Tuon. But I do love her character. I love how strong she is. And even though she doesn't show it much, she is a loving person and very loyal.
The Seanchan have a strange way of showing their rank in the hierarchy (with hair en nails), that's funny. Honor is very important for them, once someone gives their word it is like a written contract for them (quite the same as the Aiel, Aviendha's previous litter). They are strong, very loyal.

A little bit of general information about the Seanchan: Seanchan (pronounced SHAW-chan) is an empire located on the continent of the same name.
A thousans years after the Trolloc Wars, after unifying the Westlands, Arthur Hawkwing sent a vast fleet led by his son, Luthair Paendrag Mondwin, across the Aryth Ocean. Luthair's fleet never returned to the continent from which they came, and was presumed lost. The fleet had actually made it across the ocean to arrive in Seanchan. By pitting the native nations against each other, Luthair and his descendants eventually subjugated and unified the continent into the Seanchan Empire, a process called the Consolidation.

The rule of Seanchan is provided by an Empress or Emperor who has absolute power. He or she reigns from the Crystal Throne at the Court of the Nine Moons, located in Seandar; the throne itself is a ter'angreal, inspiring awe and wonder of the person who sits on it. Below the Empress and those of her immediate family is the Blood, the noble class of the Empire.

The Seanchan have very strong beliefs in finding many omens in nature. While some of these omens can be passed off as mere superstition, it is unclear wether some of them have some basis to truth. They are a central part of Seanchan culture, with many Seanchan characters being shocked that people in the Westlands are unaware of such things.

What will be the theme of the litter? Rhyagelle
Rhyagelle is a word in the Old Tongue (Wheel of Time language) which means "Those Who Come Home". By the Seanchan it was used as the name of their main invasion force of the Westland (the land their Emperial Family originated from). I thought this was a good theme for the puppies, taken the point of view from the new owners of the puppies, they are coming home :)

Long story, but I love talking about my dog and about Wheel of Time. Haha. A nice video to finish this post.
https://youtu.be/_wkD9AwS3sw