$2096.06 and Counting

I paid the stud fee today. And Yes, I have permission from the stud dog owner to publicly post what the fee was. Some stud owners can be "funny" about that.

What most of you reading this don't know is that Kelly herself is a Million Dollar Baby. She ate a pair of pantyhose when she was a puppy and keeping her here on earth cost me $10,000.

So it's really not about the money. If Kelly is pregnant and has even one puppy I will be overjoyed with my $2000+ puppy.

But as a breeder, it gets really old when the general public thinks that breeders are just raking in the cash. Maybe back yard breeders who breed to the dog next door are making tons-o-money, but those of us who love the breed, pay the bucks to do all the health testing, make sure our dogs are structurally worthy of being bred and then pay to breed to the best boy we can, are not making money as a general rule. And people need to know that. That's why I decided to post the nitty gritty finacial details of this breeding.

And then lets not even talk about the general "money pit" that is the sport of compeittive dogs... I offer up the following:

The Most Expensive Collar you ever bought? Why of course ..that very first
show collar!

How it all began:

In the Beginning...
You got your dog, a real show dog, and quickly realized that you needed the correct collar to show him on.

Which in turn led you to that wonderful buttery smooth three foot leather lead.

At your very first show, you noticed that you just HAD to have the proper grooming supplies also.

Slicker Brush $9.00
Comb $10.00
Spray Bottle $4.00
Good Conditioner $15.00
Water Bottle $4.00
Pin Brush $15.00
Bait $10.00
NEW Collar (your dog has now out grown that first one) $14.00
Chalk $9.00
Chalk Brush $15.00
Cholesterol $10.00

YOUR FIRST POINT.*****YOU'RE HOOKED********

Bait $10.00
Dog show calendar $12.00-don't wanna miss ANY shows now

By now you're beginning to realize the back seat isn't a proper way to transport your dog.

Dog Crate for the car $80.00

At your very next show you begin to feel a bit more confident and relaxed at dog shows. Borrowing and waiting to use your friends grooming table is so inconvenient.

Grooming Table $95.00
Grooming Arm $50.00
Bait $10.00

You begin to start collecting dog show things, old towels, skirts with pockets, dresses with pockets, Good comfortable shoes, rain gear, umbrellas, water jugs,
etc $100.00

Too many grooming supplies?

Tack Box for supplies $50.00

Good comfortable Camp Chairs $35.00-we seem to be spending much more time at shows lately.

Suddenly you realize all of these items AND your dog don't fit in the family car anymore.

Used Mini Van $15,000.

Somewhere around this point you get tired of waiting to use your friends blow dryer.

New blow dryer $150.00
Extension Cord for Dryer $15.00
Five-way plug for sharing electricity with your new dog show friends $10.00
New and improved dog show collar and lead $40.00
New type of improved Coat Conditioner $15.00
Bait $10.00
Your friends favorite Shampoo and Whitener $35.00
New Comb and Slicker brush $25.00 (you lost the old ones at the last show)
Scissors $30.00 (kitchen shears just don't trim those pads right)

Muddy Show grounds..Roll up mat for covering ground $45.00

YOUR DOG PICKED UP HER NINTH SINGLE
The hunt for majors begins.

After wasting much money on entries where majors didn't hold you begin to get frustrated and search out and find that new male show puppy and a perfect match for your female!

Crate for new dog $80.00
Show collar and lead for new dog $50.00 (your tastes have been refined now)
Handling classes for new dog $40.00

The very first show teaches you, your Mini Van will not
carry both crates and all your equipment.

Brand New Larger Mini Van $25,000.00

Now having two dogs to show and get ready quickly teaches you a generator is required!

Generator $325.00

Two Dog Kennels for outside $1,000.00

Just gotta pick up one of those majors on your female -Handler for those major shows $200.00 (+/-)

YOUR FEMALE FINISHES!

Your new male is too young to breed.
Updating & Health Clearances on Female $200.00
Stud Fee $1,000.00
Progesterone Testing $200.00
Whelping box $250.00
Vet bills-x-rays, sonograms, well mother checks $400.00
Putting first aid whelping kit together $300.00
Vaccines for new litter $150.00
X-pen for puppies $80.00
Whelping pads, fleeces, toys for puppies, weaning supplies,
etc $450.00
Baby Scale $45.00
Well puppy and mother exams $150.00

Spectacular puppy in litter will be new show dog.

Immediately realize Mini Van will NOT hold three dogs and
show equipment

Motor Home or Full size dog show van $30, 000 to $100,000.00!!!!!!!!!

You suddenly realize you are eating macaroni and cheese while your dogs are eating Human Grade Dog food at $55.00 a bag.

Congratulations!

You have now earned the title of "Dog Breeder!"

Aren't you glad you are finally making those big bucks breeding dogs?

So far you have invested $75,652.00 in showing your two dogs.

This figure does NOT include dog food, the initial cost of your dogs, entry fees, motel bills, general vet bills, toys and Many other ownership incidentals.
Your litter of pups yielded six puppies, you kept one and sold the other five for $500.00 each.

Congratulations you just made $2,500.00 breeding your $75,652.00 dogs!

Author Unknown

Dollars and Sense

Yikes! I just got the bill for the semen collection, prepartion and shipping from Oregon.

$589

When I get the receipt I'll break down the cost on the sidebar.

And I'll take a picture of the World's Most Expensive Cardboard Boxes. ($114 each and I paid for two....)

And Now... We Wait....

The second AI went well, all things considered.

Rapper's swimmers were plentiful and lively today. Why, oh why, were they not like that yesterday???

The cytology they did on Kelly showed her to be be pretty much on her way out of being in season, but the vet said it was still worth doing the AI.

Based on how well the AI went, he was very hopeful that we got it in time.

I have already scheduled an ultrasound for April 6 - that is Max's birthday, I hope it's a lucky day for Kelly!

I've updated the sidebar with the latet costs - still not included is the collection, preparation and shipping costs for the two contributions that Rapper made to the process.

I made a button for the blog:



Also added Rapper's pedigree and CERF number to the links over on the right.

What Next?

I'm dealing with a bitch who is on her way out of season, if she's not already out. And a dog whose swimmers were sleepy (if not dead) yesterday. So the vet tells me he wants to get the AI done as early as possible this morning to give ourselves the best possible odds. I had a 10:15 AM appointment.

So I get a phone call about 5 minutes ago that not one but two emergencies have come in that only the vet who is supposed to do the AI this morning can deal with and they have to put off the Ai until the afternoon. JUST GREAT!

Meanwhile...

In the comments (YES, you can leave COMMENTS!) Debz asked what kind of vet I am using, if it's actually a repro specialist.

The answer is fuzzy. The clinic I am using consists of 6 vets. All do general vet work but two are also considered "specialists". One specialist is the repro vet I've been seeing. The other specialist is an orthopedic guy, he's the one who does all my hip x-rays.

When the repro guy isn't around, the orthopedic guy is his backup for doing AIs and reading cytology smears. When neither of them is around one of the other vets will act as their backup to talk to you about repro issues. It was the backup's backup who suggested we were fine waiting until Tuesday to ship the semen.

And it's the orthopedic specialist who has gotten tied up in surgery today as the regular repro guy is off on Thursdays. Major Bummer.

The Bad, the Bad and the Good

Well it's not looking very good at all.

When I got to the vet's office this morning with Kelly the vet I'd been working with was concerned about how high her progesterone levels were on Monday. He was not the vet who was working over the weekend.... he inferred based on the results from late last week he'd would have had us ship the semen on Monday. He agreed we may have missed her optimum breeding date. That's the first bit of bad news.

The second bit of bad news? Most of Rapper's "swimmers" were not swimming when they were warmed up. He had been checked just a week ago... he is ten years old and when a dog gets that old there is always concern about the sperm viability.... but he passed the test with flying colors. So why a problem NOW when I'm already dealing with a very late breeding date?????

The good news is the AI was easy. A transcervical AI is done with a little camera on a scope. The vet inserts it into the bitch and, using the camera to "navigate", deposits the sperm right inside the cervix. Sometiems they can't actually get thru the cervix and have to leave the deposit just outside the cervix, lessening the change of pregnancy. But in Kelly's case he had no problems.. it's time we got a break!

Tomorrow I take her back in again. We'll do a cytology to see if it looks like another AI is a viable option and if so we'll try the second AI. Hopefully Rapper's contribution will be stronger this time.

The Results Are In (#4) or... OH NO!

Fourth progesterone test: 11.6

I think we've missed the window.

I KNEW we should have ordered the sperm to go out yesterday. The vet is still saying we will be okay with breedings on Wednesday and Thursday but I think we are too late. I got home this afternoon and Max could care less about Kelly and she's not flagging her tail at all.

Everything I'm reading suggests she ovulated Saturday or Sunday and the breedings needed to be done Sunday thru Tuesday.

The Results are In (#3) or... What Is She Doing???

Third progesterone test: 2.8

It's not supposed to go down.

The vet is not sure what to make of this. He thinks maybe she has not yet ovulated but is getting ready to. He's still saying breeding to occur middle of next week.

He wanted to do another test. Unfortunately, by the time he reached my husband with the results and the request for another test, my husband was at work. He could not get home (60 minutes) and back to the vet (30 minutes) before they closed. So we wait until Monday to do test #4.

I am not at all happy about this. Both the stud dog owner and I think we should go ahead and collect from Rapper and send it out on Monday. The vet is saying to wait. I wish I was home to deal with this myself.

The Results Are In (#2)

Second progesterone test: 3.6

That's a pretty rapid rise in a pretty short time but the vet is still saying middle of next week for the breeding. I think I need to plan on having the dog collected and shipped on Monday.

Because of the pretty quick rise in progeterone level, the vet wants to do another test tomorrow instead of waiting until Saturday as originally planned.

I'll be posting pictures of Kelly and Rapper when I get home next week.