Probably the hardest part of running a kennel is breeding time. I tell you when Belle Starr comes in season she sets off a cosmic reaction. And that is with all of the other dogs. They all go into this behavior that normally doesn't happen. So we constantly create environment to keep all safe. The only one who doesn't seem affected by this is the Storm Trooper. Cassie was fine with Belle Starr, but would guard off Shadow if he came near her. And she loves Shadow. (She may be just saving him for herself.) So the Storm Trooper and Cassiopeia took turns being with Belle Starr while she was confined to the puppy room, which is a very nice area for a dog. I took her in Monday the 28th and her progesterone level was low. Then took her again on Wednesday and didn't get any results back from the vet. So I quietly in a panic state called to see why I hadn't heard anything and she said she would check into and call me back. Will the call back was to tell me the blood machine at the hospital was broke down. On Thursday machine still down and vet said we should be okay and I made an appointment for Friday morning. Friday morning on my way to the vet, I received a call from the vet and her readings from Wednesday were high and that I needed to call the owner of Hawk the stud dog to collect semen and get it shipped for a Saturday breeding. So we took another blood draw for analysis and set up an appointment for Saturday breeding. In the meantime Friday night our old dog had a bad spell. We got him settled enough for the night and called the vet first thing Sat. morning. So we had a 95 pound dog to take in besides a very hormonal bitch to take in. Since we couldn't lift Drake into my big Chevy truck and that Belle Starr and I couldn't fit into Fred's little truck we took both rigs to Missoula for appointments. Crazy day. They did x-rays of Drake and the puppy pac arrived by Fed Ex for Belle Starr and we did what we had to do. So it turns out that Drake has pneumonia with other complications and we bred Belle Starr. What a bittersweet time. It is now one week later I look back and see that we actually survived. Drake is doing much better and Belle Starr has joined the ranks again as one of the calm pack. About puppies? We won't know until after Christmas. In all of this craziness it comes down to Mother Nature. Picture below is of the potential dad Hawk. One handsome Dude...
Reflecting...
As I look back on the last litter it amazes me that we are in the process of breeding Belle Starr again. The summer litter was easier with less puppies and they were very independent. It was still hard to let them go when the time came. They are all once again in awesome homes. My favorite is getting texts and updates on each of the pups. I even got to deliver Alaska Snow Star to Juneau Alaska. What a fun and enlightening journey. By meeting the family and spending some time with them I never will worry about Snow. I know she is well taken care of and having the good life. As are the other pups. We have Wrigley Fields Chicago in Spokane who gets to visit his older brother Rosco. Then Sugar lives down the street and gets to spend time with Wrigley as well. Waffles is in Hayden and has Pancakes as an older pal. Duke is in Spokane and gets to spend a lot of time with his dad in construction. River lives in Otis Orchards and also has an older companion. Penelope lives in Spokane on the South Hill and is one smart cookie. She has advanced in her training class. These pups will be 6 months old in a couple of weeks. These pups were able to spend a lot of time outside having fun in the sun. My summer was hectic with the litter and trying to keep up with grand kids, reunions, garden, yard, and all the other things that go with summer. Probably why I didn't work much on my Blog and website. But, I did keep up with face book which is a lot of work as well. It is always fun to reflect on the litters and just as important to hear stories of them and receive current pictures of them. Awesome lab oweners...
Loving the warm summer.
About Time
Whew, kinda got away from blogging there. With facebook, training pups, keeping up with life, I have found it easy to skip the blogging. My goal is to get back with it and keep it updated. So much to learn in this business along with a lot of work. The geriatric ward is still doing okay. Both Abie and Drake are slowing down and don't require a lot of work. Belle Starr bounced back from he last litter quickly and is now in a long distance relationship with Hawk who lives in Everette. I almost feel as if I'm cheating on Shadow. Even though Belle Starr and Shadow's puppies are so very awesome, we wanted to produce a full English litter from Belle Starr. So with nervous anticipation we will see how all of this plays out. We should know around Christmas if our long distance breeding is successful. It seems to be pretty simple, just need good timing. Both Shadow and Belle Starr will be 4 this next year and plan on having at least one more litter from them before I retire Belle Starr. Shadow is just a big ole love and is enjoying his lab life. Shed hunting, 4 wheel riding and hikes is his favorite past time. By spring of 2018, Cassiopeia will be old enough to take over Belle Starr's job. Lucky girl.... She is 10 months old today and quite a character. She has done well in the dog show's. Right now she is lanky with good muscle tone, but thinking that she will fill out as she gets older. Storm Trooper has been through a lot of training and has entered 4 obedience trials and has done well. We will pick back up on dog shows in the spring. He has earned his therapy registration and ready to start visiting hospitals, schools, etc. Such a excellent companion. He gets that from his daddy Shadow who even though isn't full English, was bred for therapy and service dog work. He was my trial pup that I kept back to see for myself the quality of pups that Shadow and Belle Starr whelp. He is a keeper and my very close buddy. My favorite part of breeding dogs is all the pictures and stories that I have gotten from the puppies owners. My pups have wonderful homes.
Cassiopeia, Storm Trooper, Shadow, and Belle Starr
7 Healthy Babies almost 4 weeks old
Early Training happening at Happy Labs Kennel. At 31/2 weeks the pups are starting to use the pee-pads to do their wee-wee on. Sometimes LOL They are starting to keep their sleeping area clean, so now I'm starting to crate train as well. Generally pups don't go to their new homes crate trained and basic potty trained. This is one area I have focused on and have been successful at training early on. Also, I have only one litter at a time. That helps. Puppies don't have control of bladder until they reach 14 to 16 weeks, so important to keep training pads available to them. Belle Starr is starting to leave them for longer periods of time so is the very beginning of the weaning stage. They still sleep with her most of the night. It is also the time where I keep a bucket of disinfectant water and a pair of gloves to keep puppy room clean, I use Dawn dish soap with a little Clorox to keep the room smelling clean and not so kennel like. Works good. Today we will feed solid food that consists of puppy formula and Gerber multi grain cereal 3 times. This just supplements mom's breast milk during this growing time. The puppies have all hit 4 pounds and on their way to 5. Each day they start to interact with each other a little more. They all play for a few minutes and then fall over asleep. Something I think I would enjoy.. The ears, eyes, and nose are all starting to develop and we now have to walk quietly if we don't want to wake them. Their coordination is still developing and they stumble and fall a lot. For the kennel, this is my busiest time. Love em all. ..
Getting Closer to Babies
I actually blogged yesterday, but my computer went off line before I saved it. Oh well, called life. Belle Starr is getting closer and starting to show whelping signs. Nesting, big boobies, huge tummy, and very restless. I'm thinking the 10th. It is my son's birthday, and that would be cool. Puppy room pretty much ready. The towels and washcloths are clean and in huge bags. I need to re-sterilize forceps, scissors, and, syringe. The warming bed is set up and ready, as well as the whelping box. Looks like a hospital emergency room. I haven't bought scrubs yet, but have thought about it. I reviewed the birthing book for a refresher. Now just to get some rest before this all takes place. Last week I put ceramic wall tiles around the base of the puppy room. This is to discourage little teeth from chewing the wall. They start off by being bored, licking, then the paper starts to come off. And then it is all fun and games. They do this before 8 weeks of age. It is when they start teething and when you have 11 puppies, it is hard to keep them occupied all the time. Good thing they are cute. I'm hoping this will discourage the behavior so it doesn't become a habit. I will try to do more blogging now that we are getting closer to whelping. Prayers for the Belle Starr.
