Kelly Can Do It!

Hallelujah!!!!!!!

2007-01-19T22:21:00.000-07:00

Fizz is in Florida.

That may not sound like such a big deal but trust me, it's been a difficult week.

When Fizz's new mom Maria got back into the country after being gone for the holidays, we started making arrangements for her to come pick him up. The original plan was that she'd fly in, pick him up and take him back in the cabin, just the way Echo and Nina got to Texas. But at 12 weeks of age he was over the in-cabin weight limit of 15 pounds.

So we figured Maria could fly in and take him back in cargo as an "accompanied pet". But as it turns out that was a very expensive plan. If he had to fly as cargo anyway, it would be several hundred dollars less for him to fly by himself. So we began researching flights.

*Nothing* flies from Colorado to Jacksonville non-stop. And I've never known anyone who has been able to fly a dog out of Colorado Springs. So we tentatively planned on a flight from Denver to Atlanta, change planes, then Atlanta to Jacksonville. He was going to go tomorrow.

Then on a whim I checked the Delta flight schedules and discovered that Delta actually flies out of Colorado Springs to Atlanta! Yeah! No two our trip to the Denver airport! No $30 in tolls! And he could leave sooner (today) and actually get there with a shorter flight. Reservations were made for a 7 am flight.

What I did not take into consideration was the weather. It has to be at least 20 degrees for a dog to board a plane. And when the Delta people helped me make the reservation I don't think they realized that our weather here in Colorado can easily have a 30+ degree difference in temperature during the day. Just because it's was supposed to be close to 40 degrees during the day does NOT mean it would be more than 20 degrees at 7 am when the flight was scheduled to take off. It was in fact 14 degrees at 7 am. In fact, I don't think we've had a single day inthe last month when it was over 20 degrees at 7 am.

So that flight was canceled and reservations were made for a flight leaving at 2:37. Only the plane didn't get in until 2:45 and didn't take off until 3:08. Meaning the 50 minutes that Fizz had to change planes in Cincinnati (instead of Atlanta) was now only 20 minutes. YIKES!!!

I shouldn't have been worried. Poor Fizz (and everyone else going from Cincinnati to Jacksonville on flight 4564) sat on the runway for 2 HOURS AND 8 MINUTES while they waited for a flight attendent to show up. Care to guess how many calls I made to Cincinnati during those 2 hours and 8 minutes?

Poor Maria had already left for the airport before the flight was delayed so she got to spend two hours waiting anxiously ... she was at the airport before Fizz even left Cincinnati!

So hear we are with Fizz scheduled to arrive at 11:45. Jacksonville Air Cargo closes at midnight. Care to guess how may more phone calls I made????

Finally, FINALLY the plane lands. At this point things go lightning fast. Maria had Fizz in her hands less than 15 minutes after the flight landed. Sometimes it can take as long as an hour. I guess all those phone calls paid off :)

Maria thinks Fizz was worth the wait :)

A Letter From Casper!

2007-01-09T06:24:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone

It’s me, Casper! I’ve been having SO much fun since I got to my new home in Nevada. Why just today it really snowed hard and my daddy took me outside to play in it. We sure had fun and I didn’t want to come back inside, but Dad didn’t want me to get too cold so he made me come inside. Dad was kind of shaking and looked sorta blue? He kept jumping around and yelling, go pee, go pee go pee. Does anyone know what that means ?? Anyway, I sure had fun running and digging and making the snow turn yellow!

I sure like my big brother Neko. He’s soooo cool ! He let’s me chew on his head and ears, and sometimes I sneak up on him and grab him from behind and do this funny little dance? This really drives my daddy crazy ,but I think it’s FUN !

Oh !! I also have a little sister called Erin. She lives upstairs and won’t come down when I’m awake. I don’t get it ! My new Mommie, Becky says she’s just shy, whatever that means… Here’s a picture of me and my big brother Neko and Daddy.

Here’s a picture of me and Neko! I sure like my big Brother !

Here I am with my favorite TOY !

Daddy says it’s a SQUIRREL ! He says I’m a natural born “SQUIRREL DOG” . He says it “ runs in the family ”. I don’t know what that means ,but I sure love my squirrel !!!

Ok, I gotta now… Now Daddy is jumping around and yelling ,don’t pee, don’t pee ,don’t pee. Oh boy! We’re going outside to play in the SNOW again! My daddy’s so funny!!!!

Bye bye, now. CASPER

A Letter From Nina

2007-01-04T16:38:00.000-07:00

Happy New Year Mommies Kelly and Anne!

I have been having a great time in my new home in Houston. I’ve met so many interesting people already! And lots of dogs around our neighborhood too. My new mom Mary has two cats too!! I like to bark at them but I don’t get too close because once I got swatted…..

I’ve seen Echo three times already—we romp and play every time.

The other day we took a trip to see where Mom works.

Here’s me with my boy Michael in Mom’s office:

And then we went to our vet’s office just to meet everyone!

Oh, and I loooooove my crate too!

Mom’s really good about feeding me when I’m hungry, but sometimes she’s just not fast enough!

At the end of the day, I’m exhausted…..

I miss you and Kelly and all my relatives—but don’t worry, I’m having a great time and I’ll write lots!!

Look What WE Can Do!!!!!

2007-01-03T16:14:00.000-07:00

Winter can do stairs. Lots of them!

And what's this that Ryan is doing?

Is she standing on her front feet like a Circus dog?

Is she break dancing?

No, she was caught by camera in mid leap as she escapes from the exercise pen! For the fifteenth time in 30 minutes!

The pen is now 36 inches tall instead of 18 inches....

Tomorrow.... a Letter From Nina.....

10 Weeks.

2007-01-02T15:58:00.000-07:00

Oh my, has it REALLY been 10 weeks?

Meanwhile....

Echo and "his boy":

More Echo:

Echo and Nina:

Finley and his "brother":

Winter in the snow (Can I come in?):

Kelly's Kids

Don't forget, ALL the pictures from the past 10 weeks are posted in Kelly's Kids - A Gallery of Puppies.

And Then There Were Two.

2006-12-27T12:52:00.000-07:00

Only Fizz and Ryan remain here at WhiteStar. Finley left yesterday morning and Winter left early yesterday evening. Here are their Going Home stories....

Finley Goes Home!

After the excitement that surrounded the departure of Casper, Nina and Echo I was worried what might happen when Gary and his daughter Laura came to pick up Finley.

But other than getting up at 5 am to make the trip, missing a turn about a half hour from my house and getting a little lost, it all went smoothly!

The trip home was uneventful. Yay!!

I had an update from Gary this morning.... Finley slept thru the night quietly after being completely worn out by his new best friend and big brother who happens to be a Corgi!

Gary promises more pictures soon, but in the meantime, one last picture of Finley before he left...

Winter Goes Home

Brie arrived yesterday afternoon to pick up Winter. He is her graduation present to herself and his arrival has been much anticipated!

Winter will have two new brothers and a sister at his new home... it's an interspecies family as they are all cats. In fact I think almost all these puppies have gone to homes with kitties!

Brie reports Winter's first night at home was not quite as peaceful as Finley's....

Fizz goes home in a few weeks. In the meantime, I'll keep the Kelly-Cam up so that his new mom Maria can keep an eye on him!

9. Weeks. Old.

2006-12-26T18:02:00.000-07:00

Casper (Green Boy) left Thursday.

Nina (Yellow Girl) and Echo (Black Boy)left Saturday.

Finley (Purple Boy) and Winter (Orange Boy) left today. More on their departures in the next post. Before they left we did the regular "birthday portraits"...

And YES, I do cry when they leave. Except for Casper. Not that I didn't miss him.. it's just that I was so excited for John and Becky to have FINALLY made it and to FINALLY see their puppy and hold him... that I just couldn't be sad at all. But I cried for Nina and Echo. And for Finley and Winter.

Oh! The Drama!

2006-12-23T15:41:00.000-07:00

(Nina and Echo Go Home)

Mama Kelly says "More people are coming today, you puppies better behave!"
Donna and Mary came to pick up Echo (Black Boy) and Nina (Yellow Girl) today. Unlike John and Becky, they didn't have to battle any blizzards to get here. The sun was shining, the snow is melting, their flight from Houston was on time. They arrived at my house about 11:30.

What could possibly go wrong?

About 30 minutes after Mary and Donna had arrived, just after they had met their puppies and about the time we were starting to look at the paperwork, my husband comes downstairs and says "Ilsa just jumped the fence."

(It should be noted here that although my fence is 5 feet high and electrified, the recent snow caused drifts in some spots that brought the fence level down to less than a foot. Yes, that means 4 foot snow drifts. Which are smaller than the 6 foot drifts in my kennel runs. Yesterday I had checked the areas of drifts and no paw prints came within 5 feet of the fence. They respect the electrical properties of the fence and don't get near it, even when it's not capable of shocking them because it's buried under snow. Or so I thought.)

I look out the window and sure enough there's Ilsa headed down the road at top speed. I apologize profusely to Mary and Donna, my husband gets in the truck, I get in the van and we go in hot pursuit. By this time Max has also hopped over the fence. The last I see of the terrible twosome they are heading down a dead end street and across an open field.

I drive around for 15 minutes or so then remember there were OTHER DOGS OUTSIDE with Max and Ilsa. Where are they now? I think I remember bringing Sam in....

I go home and sure enough Sam is in, and (thank goodness) Mary and Donna brought Taiya in. No sign of Ilsa or Max. I leave my cell phone number with Mary and Donna and head back out. Again, apologizing profusely.

Periodically I run into my husband. Neither of us has seen them. I am beginning to feel totally panicked. These are my BABIES!!!!!

After about another 15-20 minutes my cell phone rings! It's Donna and Mary!! Max and Ilsa are in front of the house!!!

Donna and Mary are holding down the fort, they can't catch them, but they are keeping them interested enough so they are not leaving. I get home and without too much trouble manage to catch Ilsa.

Max is another story. He takes off into the neighbors pasture where Max the Herding Dog discovers their horses. Well at least they keep him from going any further. He circles them. He stalks them. He wants them to MOVE and they won't.

I knock on the neighbor's door and tell her what's going on. She grabs one of her poodles to use as bait for Max and we head down to the pasture. After about 10 minutes (thank God Max was REALLY interested in the horses) we finally catch him.

All in all they were gone less than an hour. It took about 2 hours, but my heart rate and blood pressure did finally return to normal.

All the dogs will be taken out on leashes until the snow melts.

Mary and Donna? They were great sports about it all. And they learned a valuable lesson about NEVER EVER EVER trusting your Samoyed when the open range calls.

And Yes, they got their puppies and headed back to Houston without further incident.

Kelly explains the proper way to care for her babies

Wow. I bet Gary, Brie and Maria can't wait to see what happens when they pick up their puppies....

WhiteStar's Perfect Storm?

2006-12-21T17:42:00.000-07:00

Casper (Green Boy) went home today. The title above may be his new registered name.

Why?

You're never going to believe what his new family went thru to get him.... they will have a story to tell for years....

John and Becky left their home in Genoa, Nevada Tuesday evening. They had to drop Becky's daughter off at the airport in Reno that evening and were going to spend the night in Reno, then catch an early morning flight into Denver, arriving about 9:30 Wednesday morning. The plan was they'd rent a car, travel down to Colorado Springs leisurely, maybe see a few sights, then meet the pups at about 3:00, help me take them for their CERF exams at 4:00, head back to Denver and fly home on an 8:30 PM flight.

Well, on Wednesday morning John and Becky flew right into one of the biggest blizzards Colorado has seen in awhile. So big and bad that by the time they landed their return flight had already been cancelled. And by noon Denver International Airport had shut down completely!

It took them several hours to get to their rental car place. They upgraded their rental vehicle to an H2. John was determined to pick up his puppy!

By mid afternoon I-25 (the main route from Denver to Colorado Springs) was shut down. By taking back roads, John and Becky made it to Castle Rock, normally an hours drive from DIA and about 45 minutes from my house. They spent the night in Castle Rock where the only thing open was the Waffle House and their Motel. (They have stories to tell about the motel...)

Bright and early they headed out again. Back roads, as I-25 was still closed. I've never seen anyone so determined as John was to get his puppy. Back tracking and turn arounds. Snow drifts 6 feet high. Late this afternoon, just as the sun broke thru the clouds, John and Becky pulled into my driveway, 30 hours after landing in Denver, normally 2 hours away.

"Casper" met them at the door. John says he is worth every minute of the last two days :) This is the best part of being a breeder.

DIA is closed until noon tomorrow. Becky and John think they are just going to take the rental Hummer and hit the roads heading South (where the weather is already melting off the snow) and drive back to Nevada.... they have what the came for.

SnowBabies.... and... Who's Going Where!

2006-12-19T20:12:00.000-07:00

This morning when I put the puppies outside so that I could clean their pen, they got to experience something new, something no other WhiteStar pup has ever had a chance to see this young....

SNOW!!

Unfortunately, every time I tried to step outside and get good pictures, they mobbed me. So I settled for going out on the other deck and snapping a few shots. Note the wire mesh around the deck to keep them safe... it's about a 10 foot drop off that deck!

Where Are They Going?

WhiteStar's Sleepless in Seattle (Ryan) is staying right here.

WhiteStar's Ninotchka (Nina) is going to Houston, Texas to live with Mary and her family.

"Casper" is going to Genoa, Nevada to live with John and Becky.

Purple Boy is going to Los Almaos, New Mexico to live with Gary and his family.

WhiteStar's Scotch 'N' Soda (Fizz) is going to Gainseville Florida to live with Maria and her family.

WhiteStar's Polar Express (Winter) is going to Colorado Springs to live with Brie.

Black Boy is going to Houston, Texas to live with Donna and her family.

Do we see a theme heavily favoring movie titles for names in this litter???? 3 of 7 so far....

8 Weeks Old

2006-12-18T11:57:00.000-07:00

Is it really possible? Are they 8 weeks old already???

More than any other litter I've had it seems like the time has flown with these little guys.

This is the last time we'll have all 7 puppies together for Monday morning portraits. This time next week at least 3 of them will be in new homes, scattered around the country. Another leaves Monday afternoon.

Who's Going Where?

Yesterday we did puppy evals. Several friends (and one new owner) came over and we put the puppies to the test. Who is the most laid back? Which puppy needs a firm hand to guide him? Which puppy is dominant and which puppy needs coddling? Testicles were checked, bites (the way the teeth sit in mouth) were examined. Coat was considered as well as size.

I still have a few specifics to work out but it's just about decided where each puppy will go... announcements to be made as soon as all new owners are told first.

16 Degrees

So you know how last week I whined about the weather and how these "poor puppies" had not been allowed to go out because it had been too cold? You know inthe low 40s?

Well they really LOVE being outside. So much so that when I open the door of their pen to get them out so I can clean it, they head, in a huge thundering herd, to the back door. When they headed that way this morning I started to round them up to put them in another smaller pen.... it was only 16 degrees out! But they would have none of it, they wanted OUTSIDE. So out they went.

They had a great time herding their Cousin Sam around the deck.

After the pen was cleaned I brought them back in. After all it was COLD out! Their protests were so loud they are now back out again. It has warmed up to 29 degrees and they all seem quite happy.

Next on the Agenda

Three puppies go to the vet tomorrow to be issued health certificates. They'll be flying out with their new owners over the next few days. On Wednesday they all go to the opthamalogist for eye checks. That will be fun. me and 7 puppies in the van for the first time....

View From the Kelly-Cam at Noon...

2006-12-13T14:52:00.000-07:00

Finally!

Ears Up!

Yes, really for real this time.

Cousin Max

CH WhiteStar's Beyond Thunderdome HIC

7 Weeks!!

2006-12-12T12:20:00.000-07:00

The weekly pictures are a day late but the puppies are freshly bathed!

Yes, they got their first bath today. Winner of the Most Well Behaved in the Bath award was Purple Boy. Winner of Worst Behaved in the Bath was Blue Boy. Black Boy LOVED being dried with the dryer, Orange Boy not so much.

A few of them look a little bit like the Flying Nun with their ears starting to come up.....

Tomorrow I hope to get these guys outside in the yard for their first safari. The weather has NOT been cooperating. Earlier today it looked like it would be warm enough by the time they were thoroughly dry but it's dropped from the high 40s to the low 40s so I might wait until tomorrow when it's supposed to hit the 50s.

I did post the latest weights, taken yesterday morning. Looks like Blue has gone from being the smallest of all the puppies to trying to challenge Orange for Biggest Boy Bragging Rights. Yellow Girl has decided the best things come in small packages.

In other puppy news...the puppies have claimed their first victory. They have officially beaten my washing machine to a pulp. It gave up the ghost and died last Sunday so I'm off to buy a new one today which will hopefully be delivered on Thursday. I sure hope so, as I already have two loads of "puppy laundry" waiting to be done. My laundry can wait, theirs can't!!

More pictures when I finally get them outside.

Drive By Shooting Blogging

2006-12-11T18:30:00.000-07:00

We are back from Amarillo and Cousin Max is a new champion!!! Yay!!!!!!!

Puppies have been weighed for this week, I'll post the results later tonight (it's more work to update the template than to spit out a quick message and it's just about feeding time here at WhiteStar) and new pictures will be up tomorrow after the puppies all get a bath.

The puppies will be receiving visitors next Sunday...several friends are coming to evaluate them. At that time suggestions will be made on where each puppy will go based on what the potential new owners are looking for.

Here's all I can say for now.... one goes to Florida, one to Nevada, one to New Mexico, one (or more?) stays here in Colorado and one (or more?) to Texas!

Hallelujah!

2006-12-04T22:39:00.000-07:00

I think the puppies have figured out what the litter box is for!

They are using it for it's intended purpose about 90% of the time. It always amazes me how they just sort of figure it out after about a week.

6 Weeks!!

2006-12-04T11:16:00.001-07:00

Wow! 6 weeks old already. And before I know it they will be 7 weeks. I am going to a dog show in Amarillo Texas this weekend and my husband is taking time off work to keep an eye onthe puppies. I'll be leaving Wednesday morning and not getting home until Sunday night so they really will be 7 weeks old in a flash of time.

That's Red on the right, not sure who is on the left, maybe purple.

Yellow on the far left. The rest I haven't a clue!

Who's Who?

2006-12-01T10:58:00.000-07:00

In past litters that I've had, usually by the time the puppies are 5 weeks old you can start to tell them apart. Maybe not all of them, but most of them.

Even if they look very much alike, there will be enough differences.... this one has spotted tummy, that one has a pink spot on the left side of her nose... that kind of thing.

But these puppies are all so similar, and they continue to change SO MUCH every day, that if the colored marks were to wear off I'd have no clue who is who.

Except for Orange. If there is a puppy napping in the litter box, 99% of the time, it's Orange.

Ear Up?!?

2006-11-29T11:44:00.000-07:00

No, not really.

Soon.

Several times today I've looking in the whelping box and Red Girl has had an ear up. It quickly flops back over, but she's getting close to having it up for good I think.

This is Really Gross.... But....

2006-11-28T06:41:00.000-07:00

.... those of you who have been reading this blog from the beginning, and the previous ones, know that the thing about this whole "puppy thing" that fascinates me the most is the instinct the mom dog displays.

How does she know what to do and when to do it?

In past litters I've had mom dogs who, when the puppies reach a certain age, go out and catch "varmints" and bring them back (or try) to their pups. Aliy is the champ, bringing back literally dozens of ground squirrels. Raven tried to bring her kids a baby skunk. [Edited to add: The mom dogs try to feed their kids this way, but trust me... I don't let them!!]

Kelly has never been much of a hunter. Just not something she enjoys. She'll take her meals in a bowl, thank you very much. So I had wondered what she'd do when she got to the point where she no longer wanted to nurse, but knew her kids needed to be fed, and maybe didn't realize I'd take care of it for her.

I have suspected the answer for several days now, based on "evidence" found in the whelping box. LAst night I saw the proof.

She is regurgitating her dinner for the puppies. I told you it was gross. And am I not kind that I did NOT provide pictures?

I've been seeing some spots on the bedding in the mornings that looked like possibly someone had thrown up. And they were big enough spots that I didn't think it was one of the puppies. Last night I caught it happening.

Like I said, gross. But very very natural and to me, very fascinating. Also given that the food was adult sized dog food nuggets and not digested and the pups were all over it, I guess I no longer need to put their little tiny puppy kibble thru the blender to turn it into mush. And now I know why sometimes they are totally not hungry when I think they should be.

Hey, when you read my blog you get the WHOLE story.....

5 Weeks Old! Super Size Me!

2006-11-27T12:10:00.000-07:00

5 weeks old already. In another 5 weeks most of them will be in their new homes. Hard to believe.

This week in addition to our regular size "mug shots", I'm displaying pictures 4 times the size so you can see how cute these guys really are!

Bigger!!!

Red Girl

Yellow Girl

Green Boy

Purple Boy

Blue Boy

Orange Boy

Black Boy

You Want Pictures? I Got Pictures!

2006-11-26T18:38:00.000-07:00

Sorry I didn't get these posted sooner.. my ISP was down AGAIN!!! That's why the Kelly-Cam was down too, it all comes from the same place.... and now the FTP server is down.. so I've uploaded the pictures to Blogger directly. I hope it works....

The puppies have had a BUSY couple days! As I mentioned in the last post, they entertained their first visitor, my friend Tracy, on Thursday. Then on Friday, my friend Brie spent the day with them and today they met two more people, Lance and Sandy from Gallup New Mexico, who stopped by to say Hi Puppies!

They also got introduced to the litter box yesterday. As expected, in the beginning they think it's something to play and sleep in, but they'll start to get the idea soon... I hope!

So.. How many puppies fit in a litter box?

Two...

Four....

Five!

The puppies continue to grow and change every day. Orange is now over 6 pounds. Yellow is the smallest at just over 5 pounds. Of course their size now means NOTHING. In Ravens litter, Max was the biggest from the beginning and now at 20 months, he's the smallest of all 5 puppies!!

People keep asking me who the cutest puppy is. I really can't answer that as they are ALL cute. Actually the truth is that it changes on a daily basis. Today, Sunday, November 26 I'd say Blak is the cutest. As far as the girls go I was absolutely postively certain on Friday that Yellow was cuter than Red. Today I think Yellow looks like a ferret! Yes, they really change that much every day.

People also keep asking me if they are for sale. The easy answer if yes, six of the seven will be sold. But it's not as easy as picking one out and taking it to the checkout at Wal-Mart. I screen my homes by asking lots of nosy questions. I make sure the puppy's personality matches what the new owner is looking for. Once I know where each puppy is going I'll be sure to tell you!

A couple puppies may still be available. I'm waiting to hear back from people who were interested, but have not committed. If you think you might want to get on the list for one of Kelly's kids, let me know!

I can't believe they are 5 weeks old. How time flies.

What's New?

2006-11-23T18:11:00.000-07:00

The puppies have now passed the "head cold" around thru the ranks and all are doing well. Very little sneezing and almost no more runny noses!

They are finishing off a full plate of mush 3 times a day with a yogurt chaser. Still nursing a bit, but I have to convince Kelly to do it.

They now play with other all the time. I need to try to get pictures of the interacting, maybe even a mini movie!

They had thei first visitor today! My friend Tracy came over for Thanksgiving dinner and got to meet the puppies.

4 of them are over 5 pounds! Orange Boy seems to be running away with the title of "Biggest Puppy". Blue Boy is no longer the smallest, having overtaken both Black and Yellow.

What's Next?

Sometime in the next few days I'll be introducing them to the litter box. Maybe on Saturday or Sunday afternoon.

I'll stop blending their food up in the blender soon and instead just soak the puppy kibble in water.

If we get some more nice days (it was in the 60's again today!) the pups may get a taste of the great outdoors next week.

Another visitor tomorrow! My friend Brie will get to meet them. And in about 4.5 weeks one of them will even get to go home with her!

Pictures tomorrow!

Clavamox.

2006-11-20T16:42:00.000-07:00

That's what the vet prescribed for little Yellow Girl.

Yes, I said "vet prescribed". Yes, I took her in.

So much for not worrying about her.

OF COURSE I was worried. I worried all day Saturday, all day Sunday and just could no longer take it today. She was running a slight fever (102.9) and I just flipped out. [edited to add: just took her temp again (5:00) and it's 101.8!]

Rushed her in under an "emergency appointment". The vet is not worried. He listened to her breathing, he listened to her heart, he listened to her breathing again. He said it sounds like the whole mess is in her head and she'll probably be fine in a few days. No sign of anything in her lungs.

No vomiting, no loose stools. She's not interested in eating mush or yogurt, but boy when Kelly gets in the whelping box, she's first in line for the milk bar.

The Clavamox drops (twice a day) are "just in case". And probably a placebo for me :)

She's the only one getting the Clavamox, but if anyone else starts having a runny nose they get to start on it as well.

Y'all did such a good job sending postive thoughts out for Tiffa (She is expected to make it! Yay!!) that I'm hoping maybe a few good thoughts can come Yellows way now...

Four Weeks Old

2006-11-20T10:02:00.000-07:00

Most of the sniffles and sneezes have disappeared except for little Yellow Girl who is continuing to snuffle a bit. But she's still eating well so I refuse to worry. At least not too much.

It's hard to believe they are 4 weeks old already and getting so big. Orange hit 5 pounds over the weekend! They are now eating mush 3-4 times a day and following it up with a yogurt dessert.

How big are they?

Compare this picture taken last night:

To this one taken when they were less than a week old:

Quite a difference!

Sniffles

2006-11-18T22:06:00.000-07:00

The puppies have the sniffles. Sneezing and runny noses. I'm not sure how or where they might have picked something up.

So far I'm not too worried, they are eating well, both from Kelly and the mush I'm feeding them several times a day.

I did consult a vet earlier today, I was not sure if I needed to take them in or if just keeping an eye on them for now was enough. I mean the last place you want to take pups with depressed immune systems is into an animal hospital (potentially) full of germs. I was told as long as they are eating well and their breathing sounds generally good, that watch and wait was a good tactic.

Meanwhile out in Oregon Tiffa's platelets have climbed to 18,000, still low compared to the 100,000 they should be, but a whole lot better than almost 0 as they were 6 days ago.

We had an escape tonight. A very agitated Kelly came to find me and let me know her son, Green Boy, was wandering around the room outside the whelping box. Guess I need to start putting the side of the box up!

Babes in Toyland

2006-11-17T23:01:00.000-07:00

Last week I bought the puppies a few toys. They didn't really seem to like them very much, so tonight I bought them a few more. Very small, very soft stuffed toys this time.

They went over much better!

Red Girl tries to carry the sheep that is almost as big as she is!

Green Boy loves the frog toy!

You can't tell from this picture, but Black Boy is chewing on the sheep's head.

Green Boy thinks the toys are good for sleeping with.

Purple Boy just thinks sleeping is good :)

Tiffa update: She's still at home with Ken and slowly continuing to improve!

Pretty Boring Puppies

2006-11-15T17:22:00.000-07:00

They sleep.

They eat.

They sleep.

They eat.

Sometimes they interact with each other or Kelly, but really it's all about sleeping and eating.

Pretty soon they will start to play more with each other and their toys.

No new news about Tiffa, and I do think this is a case of no news is good news. When I get an update, I'll post it here! [Tiffa update: I just heard Tiffa is at home with Ken, not out of the woods yet, but gaining strength bit by bit. Keep sending positive thoughts... it's working!!]

3.5 week weights will be posted tomorrow morning!

Tiffa Update

2006-11-14T17:54:00.000-07:00

I know this blog is supposed to be about Kelly's puppies. Well they are all fat, healthy and happy and pretty boring right now. So I'm going to update you all with the latest information on the puppies big sister, Tiffa.

Last night and this morning things were looking pretty grim. As of this afternoon the vet is giving Tiffa a 50/50 chance of pulling thru, which, while still scary, is a big improvement.

She's still not producing any platelets but she is stable. Here in Ken's words is what happened:

"Tiffa at the end of her pregnancy had two life threatening conditions happen almost simultaneously:

One, the uterine horn flipped to the other side blocking the puppies from passing and cutting off blood supply to the uterus, and when the puppies die it sends toxins to the liver and poisons the blood supply...

The second thing is something called Purpura, it is something that happens in humans.. it is low platelets and elevated liver enzymes.. also poisoning the blood.

Both of these things happening at the same time threw her system into total shock... and caused her to go into shutdown... Her blood was battling itself and has stopped producing platelets which the blood needs...

By transfusing her yesterday with Trooper that helped the red cell count dramatically and helped stabilize that area of the blood.. she is also been put on 2 different types of drugs they use on human cancer patients to help stabilize the blood counts. We now have found 2 sources of platelet rich plasma and have it standing by if we don't see improvement in the next 24 hours with the current drug regimen and will do plasma exchange. Her response is looking up and she is now awake and not in so much pain."

If things go as planned, Tiffa may go home tomorrow night. She will still require 24 hour care, IV fluids and meds, but the vet feels that no one could do that better than Ken.

Keep sending those positive thoughts out to Oregon!

Good Thoughts Needed....

2006-11-13T18:30:00.000-07:00

Tonight as I write this, the puppies half sister Tiffa (BIS BISS Am/Can CH Snow'tr's Rap'd N Rhythm O'Snobast'n), owned by my very good friend Ken, is in criticial condition after losing a litter of four puppies this morning.

Tiffa has already undergone a blood transfusion and the word is she now needs a bone marrow transplant. [update: I think what Tiffa actually needs is a platelet rich plasma transfusion. But they are unable to locate any on the west coast so the search is expanding nationwide today.]

Please send prayers, good thoughts, positive vibes, whatever you believe in, out to Ken's little princess in Oregon tonight.

Three Weeks Old!

2006-11-13T12:58:00.000-07:00

My ISP is having problems again. This time I am unable to access the server via FTP to upload any pictures. So I'm trying blogger's picture hosting facility. Let's see if this works....

Each week there is one puppy that doesn't want to be photographed. This week it was Red Girl.

They look like puppies now, don't they??

Puppies, Not Gerbils!!

2006-11-12T18:36:00.000-07:00

I got home from the dog show at about 5:00 this evening. First thing I did was look in on the puppies. And boy did it hit me... They look like puppies now! In just a little over 48 hours they went from looking like rodents, to looking like members of the canine species. How cool is that?

What else happened in the last 48 hours?

They all have teeth. Kelly is NOT happy about that.

They all weigh at least 3 pounds!

After showering and changing clothes (we want no dog show germs near the puppies!) I fixed the puppies their first plate of mush. That's puppy food saturated with water and put thru the blender. Usually it takes a few days for any of them to be interested, but Red and Orange ate a little right away and Blue chowed down big time. Long after all the other puppies had wandered off and fallen asleep Blue continued to eat and eat and eat.

The other news from the weekend? Yesterday my husband looked in on the pups and discovered Blue wandering around the room by himself. Yes, he escaped from the whelping box. My husband removed the pig rail which should prevent any more escapes. Soon it may be time to put the side up on the low hinged end of the box.

3 week pictures tomorrow!!

No Updates for a Few Days!

2006-11-10T12:42:00.000-07:00

Sam, Taiya, Max and I are leaving for a puppy match and dog show in a couple hours!

My husband and Kelly will take good care of the puppies while I'm gone, but there won't be any more updates or pictures until Sunday night. I did post a weight update for today already.

Hopefully the Kelly-Cam will stay up and running while I'm gone.

Making the Puppies Bed

2006-11-09T12:18:00.000-07:00

Step 1: Put puppies in cardboard box.

Step 2: Raise whelping box on cans. A very sophisticated process we have here.

Step 3: Remove old bedding material.

Step 4: Put down new bedding pads.

Step 5: Put down polar fleece.

Step 6: Lower whelping box and pull polar fleece tight on all sides.

Step 7: Add pig rail and puppies.

Step 8: Mix in a few toys.

Done!

Economic Matters, Part 2

2006-11-09T06:43:00.000-07:00

Okay here we go with the knitty gritty. I'll update this post with reoccurring expenses each time I make new purchases. If anyone is really all that interested in following along, it will be linked to in the sidebar so you can find it again.

One time expenses will continue to be listed only in the sidebar.

Yogurt: Yogurt, a staple for raising puppies at WhiteStar. The moms and puppies get it at the first hint of any digestive upset.

10/26 3 medium containers: 6.57
11/4 1 large container: check price
11/19 3 medium containers: 6.54
11/26 4 medium containers: 7.44
12/12 4 medium containers: 7.44
12/18 3 medium containers: 6.57
12/22 2 medium containers: 3.78
12/27 3 medium containers" 6.57

Bedding Pads: These are the large protective "bedwetting" pads. These go under the polar fleece pads you see in the pictures. In the beginning they only need to be changed every other day. By the times the pups are 5 weeks old, I'll be changing them twice a day!

I buy two different sizes (18x36 and 30x36) at either Target or Walmart. They are not always easy to find so I buy what I can get where I can get it.

10/29 2 packs large: 13.30
11/8 3 packs ex-large: 16.98
11/19 1 pack ex-large: 5.66
11/26 1 pack large, 2 pack ex-large: 17.01

Puppy Toys: Once their eyes open, puppies need toys to stimulate them!

11/8 5 puppy toys: 4.99
11/17 5 puppy toys: 7.48
11/26 6 puppy toys: 5.94
12/10 4 puppy toys: 19.35

Puppy Food:The puppies are eating Chicken Soup for the Puppy Lover. It comes in 35 pound bags and by the time they leave here they will be eating about 2-3 cups per day per puppy!

11/10 1 bag 34.09
11/30 1 bag 34.09
12/15 1 bag 34.09
12/22 1 bag 34.09

Puppy Litter: I use Purina Second Nature Dog litter in the puppies potty box.

11/10 1 bag: 17.18
12/1 2 bags: 34.35
12/12 3 bags: 48.30
12/12 1 bag of "corncob litter" - to see if we like it: 19.33
12/22 1 bag: 13.96
12/22 1 bag of corncob litter: 26.84

Puppy Back to Kelly's breeder. When I purchased Kelly, my contract with her breeder says that she gets either a puppy back from Kelly's litter, or the price of a puppy. This is a common agreement among breeders.

Economic Matters

2006-11-08T16:43:00.000-07:00

Those of you have been with us from the beginning, or who have been paying attention to all the junk over there in the sidebar, know that when I decided to breed this litter I thought it would be interesting and educational to keep track of the costs required to produce a litter of puppies.

So far it's been pretty easy to itemize each thing as most have been one time costs. I did lump all of the costs of the initial breeding attempt into one post to make it all easier to follow.

But now we are starting to have recurring long term costs. Things like bedding pads. I use Depends bed pads. I had one pack left from my last litter and have bought two more. Yogurt. I've gone thru 6 containers of yogurt so far. And soon the electric bill will be coming. It will be interesting to see how last years October bill, with the house kept at about 65 degrees, matches up to this years with the house at 75 for two weeks. Not to mention a load of laundry every day instead of twice a week.

And in another week or two we'll have puppy food to buy.

What I've decided to do is create a separate post (which will follow this one) that I'll update when I make a purchase. Then put the lump sum amount on the sidebar.

As a side note you can really see already how much litter size matters in terms of breaking even or losing money. This litter has already cost almost $3000. If Kelly had only had 3 puppies (like Aliy did) I'd already be looking at losing money. With 7 there's hope I'll break even or better. The thing to remember is that good breeders are not in it for the money!!

Kelly's Kids at Two Weeks

2006-11-06T12:23:00.000-07:00

Purple did NOT want his piture taken today at all. Maybe I will try to get a more flattering piture later. Blue didn't want his picture taken either, but at least he finally sort of cooperated. As usual, Orange and Purple were as good as could be.

4 puppies have their eyes open now... Both girls as well as Orange Boy and Black Boy!

This morning Kelly was laying down outside the whelping box and Orange tried to climb out to get to her. If the camera had not been attached to the PC at the tme, I'd have gotten a picture of his "escape attempt". The boy knows where his meals come from!

I leave you with Blue Boy expressing his opinion on the whole picture taking process....

What's Going On In There?

2006-11-04T18:08:00.000-07:00

Those of you who watch the Kelly-Cam may see me in the whelping box with the puppies several times a day. Besides admiring the puppies, what am I doing?

If I'm sitting there with a towel over my lap, I'm feeding the puppies yogurt. This happens 3 or so times a day. As usual, around Day 5, I start to see some "digestive upset" in my puppies. The vets tells me this is because Mom is feeding them too well. A little yogurt seems to keep things normal and a lot less smelly (I know, that was TMI!)

If I'm sitting there with a big silver mixing bowl and a handful of Sharpies, it's weigh-in time. The pups get weighed and marked twice a day. The bowl is sitting on digital scale which reads down to the tenth of an ounce.

If you happen to catch the whelping box when it's empty, I'm changing the bedding. The pups go in to a big cardboard box, I prop the whelping box (which has no bottom) up on cans of tomatoes, pick up the old bedding and lay down new bedding. Then the pig rail and pupppies go back in, much to Kelly's great relief.

What's New??

All 7 puppies are up on their feet. Unsteady but moving. The REALLY big news? Yellow opened her eyes today!!

Yes.

I was outside.

In the dirt.

In a hole.

Want to make something of it?

A Picture is Worth....

2006-11-02T18:19:00.000-07:00

.... a thousand words...

Hey Black, can I tell you a secret?

They still look like Guinea Pigs...

More Q & A

2006-10-31T18:22:00.000-07:00

Brie asks:

Their noses gradually darken? Is that what I'm seeing?

Yes, most sammies (and I'm guessing all breeds with dark points?) are born with pink skin all over. As they get older their noses, eye rims and lip rims will darken. Many sammies also get black spots on their tummies and their paw pads turn black as well. Usually noses and eye rims are completely dark by 8-10 weeks, lip rims may take longer, in fact, I have one dog who didn't complety fill in until he was 4 years old!

Occasionally they are born with a little pigment, usually seen as a gray shading. Breeders like to brag how quickly their puppies get pigment, but in the end it really doesn't matter how fast it comes in.

Lisa said:

They are growing so fast!

I'm guessing the first one will hit two pounds tomorrow! And maybe even a couple of them will. The youngest I've ever had a puppy hit two pounds was 6 days (that was Babe) but given how big these guys were when they were born, similar to Raven's litter, 10 days seems to be 2 Pound Day.

Eyes may start to open in the next few days... I've occasionally had a puppy open its eyes as young as 10 or 11 days but more typically it's about 14 or 15 days. I'm betting on Red to be the first!

Now walking is a different story... I've had puppies walk as early as 6 days and as late as 21! I swear I saw either Blue or Purple up on his feet actually walking at one point today. But all my efforsts to catch him at it again have been in vain. But I'm betting tomorrow I'll have a couple entries in the Progress Chart!

Kelly's Kids at One Week

2006-10-30T12:26:00.000-07:00

Here they are, one week old already!

What Else Is New?

I added a gallery of pictures to the website, link on the sidebar over there ====>>>

And a progress chart down at the bottom of this page, under the growth chart. Again, there is a link in the sidebar.

Just a Couple Pictures...

2006-10-29T22:48:00.000-07:00

One week portraits tomorrow! Until then...

Q & A

2006-10-28T21:29:00.000-06:00

Several people have written to me or left comments asking about the colored spots on the puppies. What am I using to make them?

Sharpie permanent markers.

Believe it or not, even though they smell *awful*, they are non-toxic.

Claudette asks:

Does everybody have dew claws and do you have all removed?

Yes, all 7 puppies had dewclaws and they were all removed. They only had front dewclaws which has been true of all the litters I've ever had except the first one. A few of those puppies had rear dewclaws as well as front ones. I've since been told that it is typical of the line that litter was from.

The dewclaw removal went as expected yesterday. The vet did a good job, it was over quickly but both the puppies and Kelly were upset afterwards. They did not sleep well last night, so neither did I. Sometimes I think I should skip having the dewclaws removed, but if they remain, and are "loose" on the leg, they can be easily injured in the future, and that can be very painful and can require surgery to fix. So the puppies go thru a relatively minor process now to avoid a potentially major one later.

As far as I know the camera should be up 7 x 24. If it's down for an extended period of time, please leave a comment or email me and let me know!

The Blizzard of 2006.....

2006-10-27T15:40:00.000-06:00

.... was not as bad as it could have been. We had plenty of wind and plenty of snow and my husband (who insisted he had to drive in to work yesterday morning) got stuck about a mile from the house and had to walk home last night. But we never lost power, the heat stayed on and the puppies stayed warm.

I did lose my internet connection and while its back today, it is VERY slow (which is why you probably can't get camera connectivity).

The vet was closed yesterday (not that I could have gotten there anyway) so we have another appointment to get dewclaws removed today at 4:00.

Everyone is over a pound now and Kelly continues to be a great mom.

Pounders

2006-10-25T18:45:00.000-06:00

Four of the seven pups hit one pound today. I'm pleased with the weight gains on all of them, although Blue Boy was making me a bit nervous the first couple days.

Tomorrow is dew claw day. We have a 3:30 appointment. That is unless we get snowed in. Although the weather here is *gorgeous* today, in the mid 60s, bright, sunny and only a few fluffy white clouds, here is the weather report, as of 3:14 MT, for tomorrow:

Blizzard Warning in effect from 3 am to 6 PM MT Thursday...

Yes, I'm serious. Possible total accumuation of 12 inches. High of 32 degrees. And that does not include the drifts which at my house often reach 6 feet. Colorado, love the weather or leave the state :)

Anyway, back to the puppies....dewclaws are usually removed when the pups are 3-5 days old. Because Blue was lagging behind on weight gain, I decided to wait and take them in on Day 4 instead of Day 3. If the weather is as bad as they say, I may be waiting until day 5 or 6.

And if I don't post at least the weight gains tomorrow, or if the camera is down, it's because we have no power.... think warm thoughts for the puppies, we may need it!

The Wanderer.

2006-10-24T19:59:00.000-06:00

There's one in every litter. In this litter it looks like it might be Orange Boy.

Yesterday afternoon:

Last night:

This morning:

Looks like Blue Boy is a snuggler...

Kelly is doing a GREAT job!

Look How Fast We Grow!

2006-10-23T18:57:00.000-06:00

I added a growth chart to the bottom of the page. Weigh in will be every night for the first few weeks, then one or twice a week after that.

1 Day Old

2006-10-23T11:10:00.000-06:00

Kelly is being a *fantastic* mom! For the most part she is very careful about where she lies down. With seven in the box it can be kind of hard to miss them all so I do help her out occasionally by rearranging them or pulling one out from under her.

One thing she is doing that I have never had any other Mom do... if she doesn't like where they are SHE PICKS THEM UP AND MOVES THEM!!! Really freaked me out the first time I saw her with a puppy in her mouth! I know that Mom dogs will do that, I've just never had one actually do it.

Each week, give or take a day I'll be posting "birthday portraits" of each pup. They will be the same size and order each week so it's easy to see how each pup is developing relative to the littermates.

For these pictures the border color will be the puppies color. This is true for any pictures I take where I know which puppy it is. As a reminder, Red and Yellow are the girls.

Umm.. why yes... Brown did become Orange. It's a husband thing that I don't totally understand....

So far these pups have been quiet and happy. Hope it stays that way!!

Seven.

2006-10-22T20:52:00.000-06:00

Black Boy

8:00

11 oz

I'm not saying she's done until sometime tomrorow when it's been 12 hours since the last puppy....

Well. That Will Teach Me....

2006-10-22T20:12:00.000-06:00

.... to believe the x-rays.

Number 6, Brown Boy, was born at 6:45.

14.4 oz.

We're done!

2006-10-22T18:12:00.000-06:00

It's been an hour and a half, Kelly is resting comfortably and the puppies are all sleeping after nursing for the last hour.

5 puppies in 1 hours 40 minutes. Not too shabby.

I want to mention what makes this litter extra special.

3 years ago Kelly ate a pair of pantyhose that caused an intestional blockage.It took 4 vets, three surgeries, a couple plasma transfusions and a lot of prayers to save her. She lost part of her stomach and a foot of her intestines. She was 8 months old.

She made a complete recovery but the One Big Question was whether she could have puppies. I was urged to spay her at the time, the vet was concerned about surgical adhesions getting in the way of a normal pregnancy and delivery. I left her intact so I could show her, never sure that I would breed her.

I only decided to breed her after consulting with multiple other vets who all said it probably wouldn't be a problem until she tried to deliver. Well it wasn't a problem :)

I am so proud of Kelly!! Now I have to tend to a bunch of other dogs who have been **ANGELS** today even though they knew something really interesting was going on. Not a peep out of any of them the entire day.

Pictures tomorrow!!!

Purple Boy Arrives!

2006-10-22T16:28:00.000-06:00

4:00

That means she had 4 puppies in 1hour and twenty minutes. That's even faster than Aliy and Raven! I'm not sure it's faster than Kachina had her first four. She was just plopping them out so fast I didn't even have a chance to tell what sex they were.

13.4 oz

Ken is surprised they are this small. they are not TOO small but they are smaller than the puppies Rapper ususally produces.

He is also surprised that she ishaving them so fast.

That being said, she's having more contractions!! Oh Good LORD she just had another puppy!

Okay I'm back.... Hello Blue Boy born at 4:20!

She is in theory, done. We'll see. It would be nice to have another girl to even out the numbers :)

Another Girl! And A Boy!!!

2006-10-22T15:59:00.000-06:00

All I have to do is talk to Ken on the phone and another puppy comes :)

Yellow Girl born at 3:25 weighing in at 13.9 oz.

Green Boy born at 3:45 weighing in at 14.3 oz.

Kelly is doing pretty good, I just wish she'd stop sliming them!!

It's a Girl!

2006-10-22T15:21:00.000-06:00

Red Girl 13.2 oz.

Born breech, needed some help. Kelly thought the placenta was disgusting and thought maybe the puppy was dinner. She kept trying to put the whole head in her mouth.

Only issue I'm having now is Kelly keeps licking her which gets her wet and it's COLD in my house. So for now, after nursing a bit, I put her in a warming box while Kelly has the next one.

Update 1:22

2006-10-22T13:28:00.000-06:00

Her water broke at about 12:10 and she had two small contractions then *nothing* for almost an hour.

A little after 1:00 she had several more contractions then took a 10 minute break then had several more.

And now it looks like she's having a few more. Still can't see anything....

Why am I so worried about all this? Because Kelly had multiple abdominal surgeries at 8 months old and adhesions are potentially an issue. No way to know if they are a problem until they actually become one. According to the vet, I just to have to look for signs she is "in distress"

And also becuase I'm not used to all these drmatics. Kachina, Aliy and Raven just had a set of contractions and popped out a puppy. 20 minutes later more contractions another puppy. None of this multiple hours stuff for them. So this is "different" for me.

On Our Way. Slowly.

2006-10-22T06:52:00.000-06:00

6 am temp: 98.5

I think this is going to take awhile.

I'm not sure who got less sleep last night, me or Kelly.

At least I had a place to sleep. The first two litters I had I slept next to the whelpig box on a camping matress. Then I "moved up" to a 48 inch love seat. Given that I am 58 inches it was less then comfortable. Last week I bought a futon so I have a real bed in the puppy room.

Ummm... we'll finish the Futon story later... gotta go... she just had a contraction!!

2 hours later....

Okay well I *thought* she had a contraction. But there has been *nothing* since. And she does not seem in any discomfrot (other than the obvious). So maybe what I thought was a contraction was just Kelly getting comfortable on the futon next to me.

So anyway, back to last night. We spent the first part of the night with Kelly insisting on pushing her cold wet nose into my face every 30 seconds.

Then we spent the second part of the night with Kelly pacing.. pacing.. pacing..pacing.

Then from about 3 AM to 6 AM she sat or laid on the futon next to me, pressed up against me as close as she could get panting....panting...panting...

Since then (and the contraction that was apparently not a contraction) it's been really hectic here. The other dogs had to be fed and let out and all of that is making Kelly very unhappy. Nothing I can do though other than try to get everyone taken care of and settled. We did take a short walk but all she wanted to do was go back to the house.

She isn't happy in the puppy room, she wants to be in the little crate in the bedroom I wrote about a couple weeks ago. I have tried reasoning with her but she won't listen :) So here we sit, me in the whleping box and her jumping in and out and pacing the room.

I wish I could just get her lie down quietly in one place for ten minutes.

6 PM Temp: 99.2

2006-10-21T19:40:00.000-06:00

Hmmmmm......

She didn't eat her dinner tonight.

And she's acting a little restless.

Let's see what the next temperature reading brings.....

Not Today

2006-10-21T07:51:00.000-06:00

6 am temp: 100.4

The temperature pretty much says it all.....

See How BIG She Is????

2006-10-20T19:00:00.000-06:00

6 am: 100.1
noon: 99.8
6 pm: 100.1

I took this picture this afternoon as she was running (sort of) thru the yard towards me. She was pretty far away so it's not the best picture but you can clearly see her tummy sticking out on both sides! She is usually a sleek 48 - 50 lbs, I'm thinking right now she's at about 65.... and she's really not eating much at all!

Not much else going on here.

I only have two more days of Halloween costumes left for her stunt double....

Coming To You LIVE.....

2006-10-19T16:32:00.000-06:00

noon temp: 100.2

..... from Kelly's whelping box! It's the Kelly Cam!!!!

You do need to have Java enabled to be able to see the cam pictures.

Not much to see, but I figured I better get it up and running before any action started. Now if my ISP can just keep the connection up... yup, I was down again most of today :(

From the Comments....

2006-10-19T07:35:00.000-06:00

6 pm: 100.6
10 pm: 100.4
6 am: 99.8

cheerios left the following comment yesterday:

"interested in seeing kelly and the puppies' pedigree, is there something wrong with the link?"

Why yes indeed, there was something wrong with the link. In fact my ISP said they got hacked yesterday so anything I store on their server (pictures, pedigrees, my entire website) was GONE. I also had no access to email for about 36 hours. Luckily they got it all back around 10 PM last night without losing anything! Yay!

This blog (as well as the others) is on Blogger so that's why it still came up although without pictures or working links.

So why am I talking about hacked servers and blog locations instead of about KELLY?? Because there is absolutely, positively *nothing* going on with her :) Which is good for now. I still think The Day will be Sunday, maybe Saturday.

Milk! Finally.

2006-10-18T11:11:00.000-06:00

AM temp: 99.5

Well it's about damn time.

Kelly Proves Me Wrong

2006-10-17T22:25:00.000-06:00

AM temp: 100.3
PM temp: 100.1

Last week I posted that Kelly was not eating well. My assumption was that she just had babies taking up so much room she wasn't hungry.

Apparently I was wrong.

If someone had asked me yesterday which of my dogs would be the least likely to be able to catch and kill their own dinner I'd have said Kelly. In fact I'd have almost been willing to place money on the fact that she had NEVER caught anything in her life.

Apparently I was wrong.

This morning after turning her nose up at her breakfast she went outside and in less than five minutes managed to catch her own breakfast. I don't know what it was but she seemed to be enjoying it and was not about to let me get close enough to either see what it was or take it away from her.

And here I thought maybe I had a Mom-Dog who was not going to bring her kids her idea of what she thinks they should be eating. But it turns out she is probably going to be just like Aliy and Raven after all....

I Felt a Puppy Move!!!!!!

2006-10-15T07:06:00.000-06:00

7 AM: 99.8

Last night, right before settling Kelly down for the night, I put her on the bed next to me, laid my hand on her tummy... and felt the puppies moving!

The is is always one of the most exciting things during the pregnancy. It's one thing to have the vet tell you she is pregant, even to "see" the puppies on the ulstrasound or x-ray. It's another to see her getting bigger and bigger but it's so totally different when you actually feel them move under your hand.

I went back and checked my records the other day. I usually feel puppies move about 12 days of so before they are born. Most of my firends tell me they don't feel them until about 7 days. I think it is a difference in how and where Kachina and her daughters carry their pups because there is no way Kelly is still 12 days from having these guys.

I sure do with she'd get some milk in. That's another thing that's very different this time. I'm used to having milk come in about the time I start feeling the puppies. But Kelly is still dry as a bone, which I'm told is often the case until they are actaully born... just not something I'm used to.

The Time Has Come.....

2006-10-14T07:00:00.000-06:00

7 AM temp: 100.3

.... to start taking Kelly's temperature. For the next few days I'll take it twice a day. The I'll start checking it 4 times a day.

Why?

It's the most reliable way I know of to tell when the puppies are coming.

A normal temperature for a dog is around 101-102 degrees. But every dog is different and so I need to establish what is "normal" for Kelly. I'll do that over the next few days by taking her temperature several times during the day.

At somepoint in the next few weeks there will be a dramatic temperature drop. It may go as low as 96 degrees. Most dogs experience this temperature drop and it usually means pups are due within 24 hours. In some cases it may mean just a few hours! When Kachina's temperature dropped I had puppies in less than 10 hours.

Aside from using the temperature drop as an indicator that pups are due soon, it's important to monitor so that you know if there is a potential problem. If the temperature drops and stays down for a long period of time and there are no signs of labor, it may be an indication that there is a problem and that a Cesarian Section may be needed, or at the very least, a trip to the vet for check up.

I'll be positng Kelly's temperature in the chart on the sidebar over to the right regularly.

Four. Probably Five.

2006-10-12T16:05:00.000-06:00

I was just kidding when I said 42 :)

Kelly and I just got back from the vet where they confirmed absolutely positively there are four puppies and most likely five.

I had hoped to post pictures of the x-rays where it would be easy to see the puppies, they gave me a CD with the films on them but when I bring them up on my PC I can't see anything other than one little spine. When we looked at them full size, you could very clearly see many more. Anywhere here's is a little bit of the one where you can see the spine....just barely, but it's there.

X-Ray Scheduled!

2006-10-11T16:02:00.000-06:00

Tomorrow shortly after 2 PM I'll be able to report back how many puppies we are expecting.

Stay tuned for the big news!

Puppy Pedigree

2006-10-10T18:02:00.000-06:00

I finally got around to putting Kelly and Rapper's pedigrees together into one combined one. You can view it here. Link in the sidebar too!

Kelly Can't Eat

2006-10-08T06:50:00.000-06:00

Okay, that's not quite true. She can eat. And she is eating. But she can't eat an entire meal at one sitting.

Other than when she was so sick as a puppy (Maybe I'll tell that story at some point in the future) the only time Kelly does not eat is when we are traveling. She HATES to travel and will dump her bowl and scatter the food all over to show her displeasure.

Her usual "at home" behavior when presented with a bowl of food is to scarf it down almost before the bottom of the bowl hits the floor. In fact she eats so fast that as a young dog I use to scatter the food across the floor of her crate instead of giving it to her in a bowl in order to slow her down as I was constantly worried about her choking!

For the last 3-4 days she greets each bowl with her usual frenzied hunger, eats about half.. and then quits. At first I was a bit worried, but then I realized the 42 puppies inside her tummy ate taking up so much room she can't fit an entire meal in their all at once. So she is now getting fed about 5 times a day with little meals each time.

She's happy, I'm happy.

Big Dog

2006-10-02T11:59:00.000-06:00

Kelly is huge. H. U. G. E. HUGE!!!!

I have never had a girl this big so early in her prgnancy. Shoot, Aliy never showed at all with her second litter!

Does this mean Ken really did fatten her up a lot while she was with him? (I don't think so since when I took her in for the pregnancy test she had only gained one pound since the day she left to go to Oregon...)

Does it mean she has BIG puppies in there?

Or does it mean she has a LOT of puppies?

Or just a lot of fluid?

She is already having trouble jumping on and off the bed. Boom'r and Kachina were still jumping on and off the bed the day they had their puppies!!

Kelly is also visibly uncomfortable when she stuffs herself into her crate of choice in the bedroom. I keep trying to convince her to go in the big crate but she prefers the little (30" by 20") one. Silly dog.

I think maybe I need to set up the whelping box soon and put an ex pen around it and let her spend her "rest time" in there instead of in a crate. As I mentioned before, Kelly is the ultimate creature of habit and I think she needs to get adjusted to her new surroundings well in advance of the puppies coming.

I'll get a picture of the fat girl later this week and post it here so everyone can see my gigantic dog....

Due Dates

2006-09-29T06:41:00.000-06:00

So how do you decide when the puppies are due?

The gestation time for puppies is 63 days or 9 weeks. But it's not that easy if you don't know the exact day the puppies were conceived.

In her fantastic book The Whelping and Rearing of Puppies, author Muriel P. Lee says that you can calculate the due date(s) by counting 58 days after the first breeding and 63 days after the last breeding. This "formula" works well if the breedings were all natural and both dogs were "willing participants.

But in the case of Kelly and Rapper, becuase we were so anxious to have this work, Ken was doing artificial inseminations almost from the day Kelly got to Oregon until it was clear she was out of season, a span of 8 days, making her possible due dates from October 13 thru October 25!!

In my personal experience, the girls I have bred in the past (all the same lineage) have always whelped 59 - 61 days from the LAST breeding they were willing to participate in, or about 63 days from what appeared to be the most breedable part of their season.

Kelly is of different lineage, so I hesitate to make definite statements about when she is due, but given what I've experienced before, and given what Ken told me abut Kelly's willingness to be bred, and Rapper's interest level, my guess is that her actual span of due dates is probably October 16 - October 25.

My personal "target date" based on what I've seen before is October 21st or 22nd.

Anyone care to place bets on a different date???

SHE'S PREGNANT!!!!!!!

2006-09-26T18:54:00.000-06:00

YAY!!!!!

Can I say it again?

YAY!!!!!!!

I picked Kelly up from Ken about 5:00 Sunday afternoon shortly after he arrived at the National. She was glad to see me but she sure does love Ken.

My initial reaction at seeing her is that she looked HUGE. Either Ken had been feeding her way too much or she was pregnant.

Mid way thru the week her breeder, Lynette Blue of Polar Mist Samoyeds palpated her and felt puppies. Meanwhile, Lynette's friend Hal (who is a vet) didn't feel puppies so I was left in a quandry. Did I have a fat girl or pregnant girl?

We arrived home late last night and first thing this morning I called my vet and made an appointment for Kelly to pay a visit. I decided not to ultrasound (so no pictues of unborn puppies today) but instead to do the blood test. I also did a glucose test on her as she is drinking water like there is no tomorrow and I was worried about gestational diabetes.

The pregnancy test was positive (YAY AGAIN!!!) and the glucose test was normal (another yay!).

So now Kelly gets to have extra food (Kelly says YAY!!!!) and do whatever she wants for the next month. Due date is around October 20, more on that in a future post.

Now I'm off to do a happy dance...

Kelly, I'm on My Way!

2006-09-15T23:29:00.000-06:00

Well, I'll be on my way in about 8 hours....

Max, Sam, Babe, Icer and I head out to Post Falls, Idaho at 7:30 tomorrow morning where we'll have a week long party/dog show with our very best friends.... and I get to pick the hopefully pregnant Kelly up from Ken.

See y'all in 11 days....

Random Picture of Kelly #3

2006-09-11T06:52:00.000-06:00

Proving she can get down and dirty with the best of them....

Random Picture of Kelly #2

2006-09-05T12:14:00.000-06:00

Wonder what Kelly looked like at 9 weeks old?

She was pretty cute....

Pictures of Rapper

2006-09-03T12:07:00.000-06:00

Well it's about time, isn't it???

He's about 3-4 years old in this first picture:

And here is what he looked like as a young puppy, about 9 months old:

He's a pretty handsome fellow isn't he? It's easy to see why Kelly and I decided he was the right boy for her! Okay, maybe it was just me who decided.....

Random Picture of Kelly #1

2006-08-28T14:24:00.000-06:00

Aaaand....... We're Done!

2006-08-25T15:45:00.000-06:00

Ken called this morning and told me Kelly is out of season.

All together we got 5 AI's over 8 days. Wednesday, Friday, Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Ken feels the last 3 "breedings" were right on target.

For now Kelly is continuing to spend time with Rapper. Ken says they have become very good buddies over the last few days and are happily sharing a kennel run at Ken's boarding facility (the Bend Pet Resort) while Ken has his decks refinished.

And now we wait.

I plan to get her ultrasounded to confirm pregnancy as soon as we return from the National the end of September.

For the next few weeks there won't be too much to write about, I'll try to dig up old pictures of Kelly to post so that there will be something new to look at every few days. In the meantime everyone keep fingers, toes and paws crossed that we get puppies out of all this!

Report From Camp Snowater - Day 7

2006-08-22T11:38:00.000-06:00

It's hard to believe Kelly has already been gone a week!

The Good News: Kelly no longer wants to kill Rapper! She is flirting and playing with him and even lets him try to "get friendly".

The Bad News: No natural breeding yet. Rapper does not want anyone near him whan he's breeding a girl. Kelly isn't interested in letting Rapper actually do the deed unless she's being held. This is not a compatible situation.

The Good News: Ken has done tthree AIs with a fourth to occur today. One Wednesday, one Friday, one Sunday and one will happen during Ken's lunch break today.

I am still hoping we will get a natural breeding.... but Ken assures me that what he's doing is just as good..... time will tell.....

As Promised.....

2006-08-21T07:33:00.000-06:00

Do you think Kelly likes Ken?

You be the judge...

And here we see Ken showing off Kelly's very considerable sidegait to anyone interested in seeing it.

Ask me how I know what he's doing :)

I can see how happy she is. That makes me happy.

Pictures courtesy of Ron Manor.
Used with permission.

Coming Soon....

2006-08-20T21:24:00.000-06:00

.... pictures from Camp Snowater!!

No, they will not be x-rated doggy porno pictures since Kelly is still not interested in letting Rapper get near her.

But they will be pictures of Kelly enjoying herself as a guest at the Samoyed Club of Washington State Specialty last Friday.

Just waiting for the photographer to give me permission to post them!

Report From Camp Snowater - Day 3

2006-08-17T14:41:00.000-06:00

Actually this report came to me from "on the road". Ken packed up Kelly, Rapper, assorted other dogs, himself and his assistant Lacey, and hit the road for the Washington State Specialty today.

I think this will be good for Kelly. As strange as it may sound to those who don't know her, I think she will feel more comfortable with the familiar yet unfamiliar sounds and smells of a dog show around her. It's something she can relate to, she's done this so many times over the past 4 years.

She did finally leave the deck this morning. Ken says he was packing the motor home and she came over to the fence to bark at him. Can we consider this progress??

Kelly still wants to kill Rapper. That's okay, it's still early in her season. Ken went ahead and did an AI last night just... well... because he could, and we both really want puppies this time around.

The plan is to put them together every day, and as long as no natural breedings are ocurring, do an AI every couple days. Sounds good to me.

The Dog With a Day Planner

2006-08-16T21:50:00.000-06:00

I got the first report from Camp Snowater this afternoon. Kelly is doing well except for one little thing.

She won't go outside.

I guess I forgot to tell Ken that Kelly has a little "issue" with change. She is a major creature of habit. She is the dog with a day planner. Schedule is everything. Change is bad.

That's one reason she won't go outside. It's not her yard, she's not going out on her own schedule. Nothing is familiar.

And I think there is another reason. Two years ago we hot wired our fence.

Most of the dogs got shocked once and figured it out. Ilsa got shocked twice, that was enough for her. But poor Kelly kept getting zapped when she least expected it. Once I saw her accidentally back up into the wire while playing with Ilsa. Once I saw her chasing a butterfly and she ran into it. It's not that she is not bright, she just kept ending up in the wrong place at the wrong time.

She simply could not make the connection to the fence and the shocks. She was convinced the Zappy Monster was everywhere. She didn't leave my deck for two weeks. We went to a show the weekend after the fence went in and she didn't want to go outside the show building. The Zappy Monster might have followed her to the show.

She eventually got over her fear of "outside" and things went back to normal. Or so I thought. But apparently she's having the old fear pop back up. Hopefully she will realize the Zappy Monster does not live in Oregon... then again, I haven't asked Ken... maybe it does?!?!

Meanwhile on the breeding front... Kelly is not intereted in letting Rapper court her yet. In fact, Ken said she was most adamant about Rapper not coming near her today. That's okay it's still early....

The K-Dog has Landed!!

2006-08-15T15:33:00.000-06:00

Ken called me about 20 minutes ago and said the plane was on the ground and her kennel had been unloaded. He said he could see her about 100 feet away, she was standing up and turning around in her crate. She made it on one piece!

I then received a second call just about 5 minutes ago. She was loaded up in his Excursion, relaxing in the air conditioning and on her way to Camp Snowater. Ken tells me that the whole time they were waiting to get her processed, he could see her. How traumatized was my girl? Not very. She fell asleep waiting to be taken thru to the claim area and didn't bother to wake up until Ken claimed her.

She gets a few hours to relax and them Ken will introduce her to Rapper. Based on the results of the progesterone test from yesterday, it's looking like it's still pretty early in her season so we don't expect anything much to happen until the weekend.

Stay tuned....

She's in the Air!!

2006-08-15T10:08:00.000-06:00

I delivered Kelly to the airport at 5:45 this morning and other than that they could not find her reservation!!!!! everything went fine. We got her on the plane which took off on time at 8:05. I waited until I knew she was in the air before heading home.

She should land in Seattle in about 40 minutes. She spends a couple hours in Seattle then gets on a short flight to Redmond, Oregon. She should be settled in at Camp Snowater by mid afternoon.

Ken has already promised to call the minute he has her in custody :)

Leaving on a Jet Plane.....

2006-08-14T12:43:00.000-06:00

Kelly has a flight out of Denver tomorrow morning at 8 AM.

I am alternating between feeling nauseaus and weepy.

I would have been much happier had she gotten on a night time flight but the airport in Redmond no longer accepts "live animal shipments" after 7 PM. We actually had a confirmed booking for tonight when Sherry, the very nice Alaska Air Cargo person called me back and said the Redmond airport had refused the shipment. Better to refuse it now than at 11:55 PM tonight when she landed.

So she goes tomorrow.

And instead of feeling sick for the next 12 hours I get to feel this way for the next 24 hours.

I Really Hate This Part....

2006-08-14T07:11:00.000-06:00

Well, I don't know if Kelly will be flying out today or not.

Ken, Rapper's owner, is making all the flight arrangements for us. I don't fly and have never made airline reservations. Every time I go online and try to plan for one of my dogs to fly I back out. So Ken said he'd handle it all for me. THANK YOU KEN!!!!

Last I heard was that the airlines cargo shipping department is not open on weekends and since you have to book flights 24 hours in advance.... well tonight is not looking good.

I really would have liked her to fly out in the evening because if she were to get "stuck" somewhere, temps would be heading in a downward direction rather than upward.

Keep your fingers crossed that Ken can work some magic and get her on the flight tonight.

Also... added a picture of Kelly to the sidebar on the right... not the best, but what I had scanned in. I'll have to find a better one soon.

We're Back!!

2006-08-13T07:54:00.000-06:00

Kelly is in season again as of a few days ago so her journey towards motherhood begins anew.

Her timing really stinks.

If all goes as it should her pups will be ready to go to their new homes the week of Christmas.... one of a breeder's worst nightmares.

If Rapper (her intended suitor) were not already 11 I'd wait another 6 months to breed her, but every day we wait is a gamble when the male dog is that age.

The plan (assuming I can go through with it) is that she'll be on a plane to Portland Monday evening at 7 pm. I have always said I'd never fly a dog, but the choices are limited here if I want to get a successful breeding. Kelly is a very special dog, this is not an easy decision for me to make.

Today she gets a bath and gets her nails manicured to get her all beautiful for the trip.

Tomorrow she goes to the vet to get a health certificate so she can fly, a brucellosis test and a progesterone test so we have a baseline idea of where she is a in her season.

The First Time Around

2006-08-13T07:15:00.000-06:00

Pre Breeding Exam	34.00
Cytology 1	28.00
Progesterone Test 1	63.50
Progesterone Test 2	63.50
Progesterone Test 3	63.50
Progesterone Test 4	63.50
Semen Collection 1	59.50
Semen Evaluation 1	41.25
Semen Prep 1	37.00
Shipping Box 1	114.25
Shipping Fee 1	42.53
Cytology 2	28.00
Semen Cytology 1	11.00
AI Semen Prep 1	31.00
Transcervical AI 1	131.00
Semen Collection 2	59.50
Semen Evaluation 2	41.25
Semen Prep 2	37.00
Shipping Box 2	114.25
Shipping Fee 2	42.53
Cytology 3	28.00
Semen Cytology 2	11.00
AI Semen Prep 2	31.00
Transcervical AI 2	131.00
Ultrasound	99.00
Total:	$1406.06

Result: No puppies :(

She's Not.

2006-04-06T17:38:00.000-06:00

No puppies.

Bummer.

We'll be back to try again in 5 months or so.

The World's Most Expensive Cardboard Box

2006-04-05T15:57:00.000-06:00

An ordinary cardboard box. A styrofoam insert. Two ice packs. And two pieces of newspaper, folded: $114.25

And lucky me, I have two of them: $228.50

If Kelly is pregnant: priceless

We find out tomorrow!

Pumpkin says "MOM! Think of the biscuits you could have bought me!!!"

$2096.06 and Counting

2006-03-28T12:05:00.000-07:00

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

2006-03-13T13:35:00.000-07:00

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....

2006-03-09T17:06:00.000-07:00

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?

2006-03-09T08:35:00.000-07:00

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

2006-03-08T15:54:00.000-07:00

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!

2006-03-07T17:51:00.000-07:00

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???

2006-03-04T15:46:00.000-07:00

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)

2006-03-03T12:37:00.000-07:00

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.

The Results Are In (#1)

2006-02-28T12:39:00.000-07:00

First progesterone test: 0.7

The vet calls this a baseline and says he thinks she's very early along in her season and will not be ready to breed until sometime mid next week. That's a good thing since I leave for Arizona for a week in just a few hours. My husband will be handling getting the next few tests done and I get to manage the whole thing long distance.

Test number 2 is scheduled for Thursday morning.

In the Beginning....

2006-02-27T15:16:00.000-07:00

When I created the blog for Aliy's litter I waited until she was pregnant before I posted anything. With Raven's litter I did start posting a bit earlier, but it still was not from the very beginning... I didn't really share everything like I plan to do this time. Aren't you lucky?

I'm even going to share how much it all costs. So many people believe breeders make a ton of money selling puppies and it's just not true. Yes, if the girl has more than just two or three pups, and you can sell them for good prices and you don't pay a high stud fee and you have no problems with the pregnancy, whelping or the puppies themselves maybe you might break even. But more often than not you end up losing money.

Follow along with Kelly's expenses on the sidebar on the right over there >>>> and see how we're doing as time goes by.

And Here We Go...

Kelly surprised me by coming in season earlier than I expected. When I checked my records it became apparent the problem was mine not hers. Yes, she was early but only by a week or two, not the month I originally accused her of. Luckily we had a stud dog picked out. Am/Can CH Snowater's Snoop Doggy Dogg aka Rapper is the lucky guy.

I don't fly my dogs, so, since Rapper is in Oregon and Kelly is in Colorado, we'll be doing this breeding via artificial insemination. That means doing progesterone testing to see when the breedings should occur. The first one was done today, we get the results tomorrow.