Things Are Lively In Paisleyland!

Pups had a busy day. When I got home at noon, we took all four into the backyard for some exploring. The pups were cold at first, but soon warmed up and had a great time zipping around, playing chase games and digging in the leaves. Too bad it's really too cold this time of year for them to stay out for very long.

Yesterday evening they all came up to play in the family room with the big dogs. Watson and Argus particularly enjoy puppies, so it was great fun to watch. I crated old Sid, who would swear at any small spotted brats who sniffed his crate. Coral mostly stayed out of their way, and silly Josie tried to figure out if perhaps these were her puppies. In the end she just laid on top of all the squeaky toy babies to protect them, but when Clark sniffed around she offered to let him nurse. She's lucky he didn't try, as those teeth are mighty sharp!

I do wish that Lana did not insist on carrying her tail so high, as she's looking very nice right now. Ava is a heartbreaker, with an almost invisible (under ear) patch keeping her out of the show ring. She's so sound and beautifully spotted, with a calm sensible personality. Gracie is very slight of build, and although she has a really pretty front, nice markings and her father's personality, she really is not exactly what I wanted from this litter. I'll probably run her on for a bit, and then place her in the right situation. I only have room for one more girl, and I don't think it's probably her. Clark is lovely, although has a little more reserved personality than I am used to. Not timid, but not an in-your-face sort of guy like his dad. That may change when there are fewer pups to compete with. He's a very easy puppy, and extremely handsome. It's awfully tempting to keep him, but I really do not need an Argus son yet, as Argus just turned two.

So I'll run Gracie and Clark on for a bit before making up my mind. My friend Meg has bred her Coral daughter who I co-own, to a handsome young dog I admire, a half brother to Argus. Perhaps my puppy will be in that litter. Violet McSherry came out well on her health testing, and will probably be bred to Argus this winter, with the pups being done here, so I have that to look forward to as well.

We'll see. We go into each litter looking for the "perfect" pup, and are always pleased if we get some good ones. This litter was healthy and sound and had a number of very nice pups who should do well in the showring, plus some awesome pets, but perhaps no one that will stay here forever. There's always next time!

I'll try to get the 7 week litter pictures posted to my website this week, and add a few more cute pictures to the puppy page. Tom will keep up his blog, and can use it to post new pictures. I am signing off on mine. See you down the road! It's been fun, and thanks for reading along.

Sue

The Pups Are Here . . .

Things just got a bit busier, and I'm quite sure I won't have time to post tomorrow! I picked up Clark, Gracie, Ava and Lana tonite, and got them settled into a pen in the basement. A couple of pups were a bit drooly, but no one got carsick this time. I'll take them out for another ride tomorrow evening, just to make sure Lana will be OK for the long road trip up to her new home in Canada. Ava will be flying out on Wednesday, so she needs to spend some time in a Vari Kennel to prepare her for that. They both need to start wearing collars tomorrow too. Still have to get the health certificates picked up, and get the puppy packets finished.

They've grown since Friday, really shooting up. Clark and Gracie are still the slimmest, obviously not chowhounds like chubby Lana. They will be staying with me for awhile, so I can get to know them better. I've got Gracie figured out already - she's a BRAT - very full of herself, and determined to have her own way. She just looks you right in the eye and challenges you. I can tell she's a smart one and has her father's in-your-face sort of personality. Clark just does his own thing, not quite as clingy as some of the others. He's friendly, but not as needy. My Josie is like that. Friendly and affectionate, but does not have to be under my feet and touching me all the time like Argus and Watson do. Argus is always watching me, and whenever I look at him I find that he is looking back. I see Gracie doing exactly the same thing.

Wish it were going to be warmer this week, so the pups could spend more time outdoors. They can have such fun in the yard this time of the year when there are no flowers that need protecting.

I'm sure things are very sad at Tom & Dawn's tonite. They have put so much time, work and emotion into this project for the past four months. And now they are left with just their two puppies . . . Even though you know you can only keep one or two, there is a huge emptiness when the puppies leave. When I picked up the pups tonite, Dawn wasn't there. She couldn't watch the puppies depart. And I had expected that. Tom kept a stiff upper lip, but I know how he was feeling . . . I hope they take comfort in the fact that I have done my best to insure that the pups have the very best of homes.

If Clark and Gracie don't stay with me, they will go to equally good homes.

Time to give the pups their bedtime snack!

The Puppies Come Home

Today will be a busy one, as I finally will pick up Clark & Gracie, as well as Lana & Ava who will be going to new homes this week. I was going to get my two pups on Friday, but because Gracie is a climber I would have needed to take my big puppy pen home - and probably Lana & Ava too. So everyone stayed at Tom's for a few more days. Hope Tom & Dawn are prepared for this, although Sherman's departure was probably the toughest for Dawn.

This will give me a chance to know Clark and Gracie better, and decide whether or not either will stay with me or move on to new homes. Both are lovely pups and will go to show homes if I sell them. It will be very tempting to keep Clark, as he is particularly handsome, but I really do not need an extra nice Argus son right now - and really do not need another male anyway! I just happen to prefer male Dals. . .

Lana will be picked up on Tuesday, and Ava will fly out on Wednesday. Lana's new owner and a friend of hers will be driving down from Canada, along with their four pre-schoolers (two each)! Four little kids and a 10 week old puppy sounds like a wild trip! Ava will be flying NW VIP, which means she is last on, first off, a lot easier on pups than flying regular cargo. Actually, pups ship very well and generally just sleep the whole time. Ava is very easy going, and should handle things very well. Gotta pick up health certificates for both pups to travel with.

Hope I can bend over far enough to pick up a pup this evening! I've been taking out old carpeting, a mean dirty job. I don't think that bedroom furniture has been moved since it first arrived, and it is aaawwwfffuuullllllyyy heavy. Really sucks to get old!

Got my new red Chinese Hi Fin Swords settled in to their new tank. Such gorgeous fish! Their dorsals are like flags, and they resemble Sailfin Mollies as much as Hi Fin Swords. I've been wanting a group of them for so long, and finally found the right importer to buy from. These fish seem to be pretty fragile, but are incredibly gorgeous, and far more beautiful than any of the red Swords available in the US. Because they are not very prolific either, they are in very short supply. The most recent group offered on Aquabid (the EBAY for fish folks) sold for $175.00 for 5 fish, plus shipping. I bought privately, though have often bid on those fish on Aquabid - but my limit is $150.00. The pair I purchased for $100.00 lasted about a week. Fortunately these fish look MUCH healthier. FIngers crossed.

New Puppies!

No not here, although Josie is having a false pregnancy and thinks she has puppies. She's gathered up the squeaky toys and is carefully tending them with great concern. Her puppies consist of a purple rubber dumbbell, a green rubber frog, a brown football, an orange knobbly football, and a red ball. Certainly more colorful than your standard black and liver spotted litter! Every now and then Argus will dash in and take one of the "babies" to play with, causing poor Josie great concern. She follows him around, humming to herself until she can recover her baby. Last night she got up for a drink of water and Sid plopped himself down on the cushion "crushing" the babies. Poor Josie stood and stared at him, but because Sid is the boss she did not know what to do. When she saw me laughing, she "explained" at great length what a bad situation it was (Josie makes a variety of sounds when she is excited or under stress) and asked that I get Sid off her babies. When I bribed him with a biscuit, she gently laid back down and carefully washed her babies and gathered them up close, all the while talking to herself about what bozos the boys are!

Nope, the real babies are in Florida, Argus's first litter sired by chilled semen. Hopefully Carolyn wanted a boy, because she has a lot of them. Last I heard 6 boys and 1 girl, one patched boy, pups of both colors. We only know Reggie from pictures, as she did not have to fly to Minnesota. Instead she got a series of progesterone tests so they could predict when she would ovulate, and when she should be bred. When tests indicated that the time was right, Argus went to the reproductive specialist and they did a semen collections, mixed it with an extender of some sort, packed it in ice (dry ice I think) and sent it off by plane. Carolyn picked it up early the next morning, took it to her vet, and it was surgically implanted. Because of the surgery, only one breeding was required. If artificial insemination is used, then we might have done two seperate breedings. Obviously the timing was just right, as the litter arrived on schedule, with a normal number of pups - too bad there were not a few more girls though!

A Worthwhile Pastime?

A friend of ours decided to get out of dogs because she wanted to do something more useful than "just being a dog breeder". She was at the time a wife & mother to two teenagers, worked a part time job and was a Dalmatian hobbyist who bred very good dogs and was an excellent handler, active in a Dal club and an all breed club. Because that was not enough for her, she got out of dogs and went back to school, and is now working in a career that I hope she finds satisfying.

Breeding & showing quality dogs is not a career, but rather a very satisfying hobby, something most of us do in addition to our "real" lives. It certainly is not a money-making hobby, and if you figure in the time you spend on doing a litter of pups PROPERLY, your time could be better spent as a greeter at WalMart. It can also be an expensive and heart-breaking hobby, as breeding dogs is not without risk. Sometimes a breeding does not take, after you have spent money shipping your bitch to Mr. Superstar and paying a huge stud fee. Sometimes things do not go well at all. My first Dal died during a caesarian, as did 10 of her 13 puppies. And I still had to pay the stud fee and the vet bill. . . Sometimes you have deformed or sick puppies to deal with, and with Dals there is always the chance of having deaf puppies. We once lost a wonderful bitch several weeks after whelping and were left with 4 orphans to raise, a very time-consuming operation.

Even when things go well, and the puppies are healthy and all hear, you may not get the show potential pups you were hoping for, and the homes may not be there for the pets. After the popularity boom for Dalmatians in the early 90s, the bottom dropped out of the Dal "market" and there was NO homes for pet puppies. Many breeders kept pups until they were 6 months old or more. Those pups had to socialized, housetrained and obedience trained, so that IF the homes came along the pups were placeable. And there are the pups that come unplaced for whatever reason. The breeder is/should be responsible for those pups for their lifetimes, and if they need to be rehomed (or perhaps even euthanized) that has to be done.

Dealing with puppy buyers can be wonderful, and many of our buyers have also become our good friends. When I go to the National each year I renew acquaintance with many people who have owned my dogs and my granddogs, or bred to my males. I love to get Christmas cards with the whole family pictured, including the beloved Dalmatian, and when the end comes I also get calls from people to tell me what an important member of their family the Dal was, or how it was the best dog or best Dal they have ever owned. I've cried over the phone with many grieving owners, and know that I'll continue to do that for years to come.

Some owners turn out to be much different than you had expected. No matter how carefully you check them out, some are not willing to honor their committment to the puppy and the breeder, some find that pups are a lot more work than they expected (even though we make that point over and over), and sometimes financial, personal or family issues become overwhelming, and the dog gets shortchanged. Sometimes you just shake your head and can not believe the stories. Years ago I got a call that someone wanted to returned a Dal - one they had had for ten years. They had made the decision to sell their house and move into a condo that did not accept dogs! They were making the decision my choice, not necessity, and their livestyle change was not including the dog that had been a member of the family for ten years! Fortunately, they did change their mind when I explained that ten year old dogs are not placeable, and that euthanasia was the most likely option in this case.

Most homes are wonderful, and the joy that the dogs bring to their families makes all the frustrating and heartbreaking parts more than worth it. Most buyers reserve pups well in advance and wait for their new family members, This is really the best, as it gives people a chance to have second thoughts before they buy a puppy. We never sell a puppy on the first visit, just for that reason.

I'm very happy with the homes we have lined up for Boji's pups, and I hope Tom & Dawn will be comfortable with my choices too. No matter how carefully homes are selected, we always worry about how well things will work out though. It's only natural. By the time you have put this much time, money, work and EMOTION into raising a litter, the pups become a huge part of your life. Their welfare is your concern, and it that concern does not end when they are carried out the door.

Which reminds me, I need to check out a couple of Josie's pups whose owners have not been in touch with me for awhile! Hopefully I will get Christmas cards with pictures from many of their owners!

Winding Down

Apologies to all for not getting the 7 week pictures up, but I've been doing catch up here and "playing with my fish". That means water changes, 30-40% on each of the 40+ fish tanks (done every 7 to 10 days). Takes me a couple of evenings every week, especially when I stop to admire my scaley beauties! Argus is my Assistant Fish Keeper and loves to "help" which means I am forever tripping over him. He pretends to bite the fish, leaving mouth marks on the glass, and his favorites are the black spotted Knight Gobies, my Dalmatian spotted fish. I'll work on pictures and a webpage update tonite!

Sherman & Spencer leave tomorrow morning - the babies birds are leaving the nest! How can that be? Seems like only yesterday we were discussing the litter, and now the pups will soon be leaving for their new (and hopefully, forever) homes. An enormous amount of money and time have been invested in this litter, and we can only hope that the new owners follow up on what we have begun.

Although I agonize over each puppy placement, we've been extremely successful with that over the years. Very few of our pups have come unplaced for any reason, and when they do it has generally been because of family issues, primarily divorces. Pups are placed with the understanding it is forever, but people's health, financial, and family situations change, and we can only hope for the best for both the pup and its owners. The most recent situation occurred when the youngsters developed serious allergies and a new home had to be found for the 6 year old Dal. Fortunately I had someone waiting who was happy to take on an adult. One of the most aggravating situation was when a buyer dumped one of my pups at the Humane Society rather than notifying me that they were having problems. Fortunately, someone who was looking for a Dalmatian adopted the handsome liver boy who came with paperwork - which contained my name and address, and he contacted me. That dog lived a long and happy life in an excellent new home.

All the homes this time are previous Dal owners. Two parties I have interviewed, and who have met the pups, another I had previously sold a puppy to some years ago, and a fourth that is a referral from Bonnie, who had previously sold them a dog. We don't anticipate that they will have any problems with new puppies, but I always tell people that my pups come with Lifetime Service Policies - if you have problems PLEASE CALL ME! It's much easier to solve small problems than large ones, and many issues do not go away on their own, but may have easy solutions.

I started an Excel spreadsheet to show the various costs of raising a litter, and sent it on to Tom so he could add his expenses. Whew! Now I know why I don't normally track those things - I might never do another litter!

But . . . We are waiting for Violet's CERF eye exam, and if her eyes check out fine (her OFA xrays looked good) she may come to spend the winter in Paisleyland. Because she is liver factored, we will see what Argus will do in brown. But that's the subject for another blog . . .

Not Enough Time In A Day!

Know I won't have time to do this tomorrow, as I will have pups to entertain before leaving for work, and before that I am driving my sister to the airport so she can visit my nephew who is in the Navy. Whew. Work will be relaxing!

Dawn met me at the Vet Clinic with three crates of puppies, but they all came home with me in one large crate. Check ups went perfectly and all 8 pups checked out well. Sherman acted just like his dad Argus, and assumed that the whole event was set up for his personal enjoyment, and although some of the pups were a bit overwhelmed, they all kissed Dr. John during their exams. Because a couple of the pups will probably have to be shipped (did you hear that David?) their information is already on file for health certificates too. When I got the pups home they all played in the yard for half an hour. They were cold at first, but once they started playing they had a great time. Time for a small meal, and then my friend Linda (Granmma O) and daughter Jess showed up for pictures. The photo session went much better this time and I was quite pleased with the results. Tom has been working with the pups on the table and it shows. Grace especially was much better, and Clark was a real trooper this time. Gotta get them cropped and put on a webpage - when I find the time.

Tom will pick the pups up after work tomorrow and take them home so he and Dawn can enjoy the whole litter together for just a few days more. The pups will be 7 weeks old tomorrow, and have had their first shots, and are thoroughly socialized. Won't be long now, before they start departing. Looks as if Rita and Sam will be staying on at Tom's although I want them to come here for some additional camping. I will probably be taking Grace and Clark, at least for awhile.

Now I have to tell David and Patti they will have puppies soon - unless they read it here first! Spencer will be going to Joe & Kay, and Sherman-the-clown will be going to Deb & her family. I think I will miss Sherman the most!

Puppy Packets & Buyer Responsibility

Holiday today, but hardly a day to relax. I could clean house, but have a million other things that need my attention too - most of them a lot more fun than cleaning house! Argus is snoozing on the sofa, obviously tired from his busy weekend. I could join him, but . . .

Gotta set up some sort of pen for the babies today, as they will be spending Tuesday night here. Have to clean up the guestroom a bit too, as my sister is also spending the night, as she will be flying out early the next morning to visit my nephew in Florida when he graduates from his naval training. Hope the pups sleep rather than yell about their strange surroundings! Perhaps I should warn Kris and advise her to bring earplugs.

Need to finish up the puppy packets too. I've done the contracts and printed all the material that goes in the folders. Still need to put everything together. Now, if I could just figure out how to insure that the buyers will read all the information I send along . . . It does annoy me a bit when I get calls asking the questions that I took the time to explain at great length in the folder. It tells me that we have a communication problem. And there is the Dal boy I sold several years ago who blocked with urate crystals when his owners fed him a canned liver-based dog food - even though my booklet emphasizes why you should not feed such things to male Dalmatians. ARGH.

The big problem with the last litter was the carelessness of the buyers in taking their pups in for their second shots. Puppies still die of Parvo and Distemper, but three of the pups did not get their second shots on schedule. This is an area where selling to previous Dal owners is a bit of a problem. First time dog owners, especially young couples, pay far more attention to what I tell them and are much more likely to read all the information. Those that have had dogs in the past are sometimes "know it alls" and some of them try my patience a bit. Some buyers also forgot what they agreed to when they signed their contract - like not tying the dog out and the requirement that ALL pups attended an obedience class - and that does not mean only a puppy kindergarden or socialization class. I'm currently tearing my hair over one of the buyers of a pup from Josie's last litter who continually argues with me about that point - even though that is one of my requirement to sell a puppy.

It's rather like being a parent! When your children leave home it does not mean you stop worrying about them. When my puppies leave here they are still my responsibility for as long as they live. Although I am always here to help and answer questions, I have to trust the good intentions of my buyers. Although I am very careful about how I place my pups, that does not mean I don't second-guess myself about some of those placements!

Great Weekend!

Finally, a moment to get caught up here. Didn't get a chance to do a blog entry before heading off to dog shows this morning.

Saturday's good news was that the pups were all BAER bialteral, as expected. I learned how to home test and recognise any unilateral puppies because I did not want any surprises when they are tested. The pups had a busy day, with additional company and a photo shoot too. Not sure how things went today, except that I know Tom and Dawn are probably missing Boji terribly. She came to stay and have her final litter of pups, and is now officially retired. Boji's breeder Ronna Hill (who has Boji's mother Morgan) has a friend who really wanted Boji, so she has her forever home now. Boji is a terrific dog and will make a wonderful companion, and we wish her and Shanna well.

On Tuesday the pups get their Vet check up and their first shot. Dawn will bring them to visit my Vet Dr. John, and I will meet her there and take the pups home with me. Another car trip, a vet check up and an overnight at my house will be perfect for the continuing socialization process. Visiting other locations with their littermates helps them to become brave and adaptable in new situations. While they are here Jess and I will take another set of pictures, and I will let the pups interact with their dad Argus, and my other male Watson who is also great with pups. Coral and Josie will probably want to say Hi too, but I can just see the look on Coral's face - OH NO, NOT MORE PUPPIES! Old Sid will probably swear under his breath, curl up in his crate and put his face to the wall. Sid has seen far too many pups in his lifetime, and finds them most annoying at this age, but he does appreciate girl pups once they are a bit older. I'll also take the pups one at a time into one of my extra bedrooms, so I can see how they respond on their own. That's one of the projects for this week, individual socialization. It seems as if they were just born, yet several of the pups may actually be leaving next week . . .

Argus had a wonderful weekend of dog shows. We entered him in four IABCA International shows, which are somewhat different than AKC shows. Jess handled him on Saturday, as I was busy with other things - like pups. She and Argus had a most successful day, winning two Groups, a Best In Show and a Reserve Best In Show (they run two shows per day, which is sort of like a 5 ring circus). Tough act to follow, but Argus and I did equally well today, finishing his Int. Championship, winning two groups and again going Best In Show and Reserve Best In Show. Very exciting, lots of fun, and the rosettes are great!

The 6 week puppy pictures are posted on a webpage, with a link from the regular puppy page.

BAER Testing

This will be a big day for the puppies, as they will be BAER tested. BAER stands for Brainstem Auditory Evoked Response. I've added a link that explains it better than I can. Although it is not hard to identify deaf pups, and a breeder can learn to identify unilateral hearing pups (those that hear in only one ear) most responsible breeders have their litters BAER tested, to at least confirm their own results. Because there are a limited number of test sites, this can be an expensive and time consuming thing for breeders in some areas. There are several people in our breed who have portable BAER testing equipment which has made testing a lot easier and more accessible to many. Prices range from $25.00 to well over $100.00 per dog, so this can be an expensive thing to do.

Dalmatians are a generally healthy breed, but their basic problems are quite well known, deafness being one of them. Deafness in Dalmatians is related to their color, and the white coat with or without patches, is the culprit. Although various organizations, including the Dalmatian Club of America have spent enormous sums of money on researching deafness, it is still with us. Historically about 10% of the breed has been deaf. However deafness can be reduced by BAER testing all breeding stock, and using test results as well as a dog's hearing statistics (what he/she has previously produced) when planning a litter. Although there has always been controversy surrounding this issue, most responsible breeders choose to euthanize deaf pups. It takes a special and very committed home to raise a deaf dog, and although there are many stories of wonderful deaf dogs, there are also many more stories of deaf dogs who did not work out. It's an individual decision for a breeder, although the Dalmatian Club of America suggests that deaf puppies be euthanized rather than placed. Another 20% of the breed may have unilateral hearing, being deaf in one ear but normal in the other. Unis make perfectly good companions, have been successful in performance events and are even shown if the breeder considers them to be exceptional specimens. Although unilateral hearing dogs are more likely to produce deaf puppies, breeders sometimes make the decision to breed from a uni dog, knowing the risks involved and using exceptional care in selecting a mate.

I'm sure Tom will take some pictures of the puppies being tested, so watch his blog
for details.

Pictures - ARGH!

Well, the first batch of puppy pictures are out of the way, and the photo session was quite an ordeal! This was not the easiest litter to photograph, nor are these the best pictures we've ever gotten. We're scheduled for a second session of shots next week, when the pups have an overnight at Grandma Sue's. Argus's breeder Carrie had commented that some of Andy's pups (Andy is Argus's brother) needed an extra week or more to really look the part, and I see that on some of these pups. Although the basics are there, they do not have quite a finished looked to them - a bit "babyish" in appearance. That was true with Rob's litters too.

We learned a great deal about the pups during the 3-hour puppy visitation. Jess made observations as she stacked them, and I got to see how the pieces fit together, and how they handled being on the table, stacked by a stranger. The pups were wild when we arrived, and several of them were quite resistant to standing still. Because they had spent the day in their pen (it was not one of Dawn's days to work from home) they just wanted to run and play. Clark especially was hard to stack, and did not want to stand or sit still. He appears to be the most boisterous puppy too, and is always on the go. By contrast, Grace was the softest, and got a little shakey after a bit. She will benefit from another week. We went from too much energy, to pups who were too tired to stand. While I was kneeling at the tripod, the pups were racing through the room, peeing a pooping, slamming into the tripod with great regularity, and trying to bite through my jean's pocket (they could smell the treats in the pocket). They eventually fell asleep on my legs - I was on my knees. Tom's assignment for the week is to work the pups on the table.

So where are the pictures, you ask? Only a few on this page. I ran out of time and did not get them up on a web page yet. When I got home, I still had fish chores, Argus to walk, and email to answer. If I didn't have to sleep at night I could get a lot more done! I sent off uncropped shots to Carrie and to Bonnie Rose (the co-breeder) and hope to get the pictures finished up tonite.

Tom reports that the pups passed a lot of worms again today. I have almost no experience worming pups and have not had a litter with worms for many years. These guys are more typical, I guess. Bitches who had worms can have encapsulated worm larvae in their tissues, which are passed on to the puppies through the placenta or through the milk. Icky concept! These guys will need to be wormed every couple of weeks for a few more weeks.

BAER testing tomorrow, another experience! I'm sure Clark will not be impressed with that either! Hopefully the pups will be tired before we start. Hometesting tells me that they are all bilateral hearing. I have not been wrong on a pup for a long long time, as I prefer to KNOW my hearing stats and just let BAER testing confirm them. BUT it's always nice to get the confirmation!

Next Tuesday the pups will have their Well Puppy Check Ups at my own clinic. Dawn will bring them in, and I will take them home from the clinic for an overnight. The staff at the clinic are looking forward to seeing the new babies!

I've been going to the same Vet Clinic for FORTY years, and have seen a lot of changes in equipment and staffing. My old Vet was also a good friend of mine and shared many "life events". I'm sure that I cried on Tom's shoulder more than anyone elses, and he grieved with me over the passing of special old dogs, the loss of beautiful Isabel who died when her pups were three weeks old, and my beautiful liver puppy Simon. He shared my tears too over beloved Rob who adored visiting the clinic to see his friends. My new Vet Dr. John is younger and has a lot of newer ideas which he shares, just as Tom shared ideas and suggestions. He's interested in the breed, and wonderful with the dogs, and I trust his judgement. Wish I liked my Doctors as well as I liked my Vets!

Another Doggy Day

Whew, too much happening today. Tonite is puppy picture taking night, and I still have not found my tripod. I rarely use it, but it should make for a steadier camera when taking these pictures. And where are my extra batteries? Gotta remember to put the memory card back in too - it's currently in its computer slot, as I was downloading pictures I have not had time to put on the website yet.

Tom has the finest photography equipment, but I make do with a series of moderately priced point-and-shoot cameras for doing puppy pictures and miscellaneous dog shots. Although I once took a photography class and briefly belonged to a camera club, I was wise enough to pass on yet another expensive and time-consuming hobby! My current camera is a simple Canon PowerShot, which takes "good enough" pictures without a lot of bells and whistles.

I am heading over to Tom's after work, meeting Jess there to get the project accomplished. But before I can go over there, I have to get Joy shipped back home to Tennessee, as her flight leaves later this afternoon. She's a delightful dog with a totally charming personality, and we've enjoyed her stay. Hopefully she will have a beautiful litter, with pups as sweet as she is. Ah, another hour of vacation time lost. Hard to accumulate it when there are pups, and I'll have to take additional time if I ship one or more of the puppies later. Thank goodness I live close to the airport (and not under a flight path).

The stacked shots will consist of a sitting shot with an emphasis on head and expression, standing front and rear shots to show the width, straightless of front legs, and how they stand on their rears, plus shots of each side of the puppy. We do both sides, because Dal markings vary so much, and many of them will have better markings on one side or the other - and we always hope for the best markings on the "show side", the left side that the judge sees when the dog is stacked. Hopefully the pups don't take after dad in that respect - Argus has OK markings on his show side, and near perfect markings on his "off" side. Bad planning!

The side shots will show the puppies outline (overall shape), proportions, neck length and shape, angulation, body shape, topline and tailset, underline, whether they can correctly stand over their fronts, and give us a general idea of how the dog will look as an adult. I rely heavily on puppy pictures, and also on Jess's observations of what she is seeing as she stacks the pups. Some pups "go together" beautifully, with no work at all, while others need more work to stack. It tells us a lot about their personalities too, and how they are about handling. Because Jess is a relative stranger to them, it is also excellent socialization.

We try to just stack the pups, rather than relying on food which can distort the look. We see a lot of pictures with "peanut butter spoons" where the pups are licking/chewing on a spoonful of something tasty while the pictures are being shot. We do that as a last resort, trying to get nice natural images. Digetal cameras make this a lot easier and a whole lot cheaper, as we can afford to take lots of throwaway shots to get the right pictures.

Tom is starting to agonize over the homes and whether or not they will be "good enough" for his babies. He'll be just like the doting father who finds all his daughter's potential suitors to be lacking. :-) I've got excellent homes lined up, all previous Dal owners, plus a couple of good reserve homes too.

Things are progressing well on leasing the lovely Ch. "Violet". Her hip xrays looked good and have gone off to OFA, and her CERF (eye) exam will be coming up soon. If all goes well, she will join my dog family next month, and be bred to Argus, with spring pups on the horizon.

Dogs Are A Luxury!

I always remind potential buyers that dogs should be considered a luxury. We certainly don't need them, but they do make life much nicer and more satisfying - and potentially a lot more expensive! General maintenance is certainly affordable. Food, toys, obedience classes, shots, and perhaps a yearly vet check for healthy adults. No big deal. Then there are cleaning supplies and additional laundry, and any damage created by unsupervised pups - but that's the owner's fault - and perhaps board bills if you go on vacation (but that is part of the cost of the vacation. Still do-able and won't blow the budget, assuming the damage does not require new carpeting, re-sodding or a new sofa. But other things can happen too.

Coral has always been a healthy dog, and at 9+ she generally only visits the vet for her yearly bloodwork and a rabies shot every third year. She's a Power Chewer like her grandpa Morris was and enjoys working on those big shank bones, and at the age of two she fractured a tooth. Naturally, it was one of the carnassial teeth, a big triple-rooted tooth that is expensive to extract. Surprise!

We had been noticing a little blood on the floor for several days, but could not identify the source. I kept checking all the dogs but could not figure out where it was coming from. Pyometra? A draining tumor? What was it? Josie had just been in season, so it wasn't that. I thought it might be old Sid, but could not figure out what was causing the bloody looking fluid on the floor. Several days later I noticed that there was blood where Coral had been sleeping, and concentrated on her. Finally I saw blood on her nose. Her nose? When I checked, it was coming from inside her nose, so I googled the symptoms and found that it might be a foreign object (no foxtails in Minnesota), a tumor, etc. Omygawd, it's probably cancer.

We went to visit Dr. John yesterday, who checked her over and looked up her nose with an instrument. Ugh. Explained the possibilities and options - antibiotics, or to sedate her to check more carefully, or to do skull xrays, or a referral to the Vet school for a more serious exam with special equipment. He said that the most common cause of these symptoms was an absessed tooth. Go figure, an absessed tooth causes a dog to drip blood from its nose. And the most common tooth to cause the problem was the carnassial tooth, but Coral's carnassial on that side had been removed. He explained that because that tooth is huge and has three roots, that sometimes a bit of root remains after the extraction, especially when teeth are removed the way my old vet had done them years before. His hunch was that that was the problem. John's hunches seem to be good ones, so I opted for a sedated exam and skull xrays, and left Coral in their care.

Yep, John's hunch was correct. He dug a small piece of root out of her gum, and removed a lot of necrotic tissue. As he was doing that, the fluid was draining out of Coral's nose - the abcess had created a tract that allowed it to drain through the nose. Who would have thought it? Coral came home later that day, with her usual big grin, antibiotics, and a piece of tooth root in a pill bottle. And my checking account balance is unexpectedly lower . . .

Dogs are indeed a luxury. Too bad Health Partners doesn't cover dogs too!

Sidney's Time

This is the most peaceful time of my day. The young dogs are outside - probably annoyed, as it is COLD here today - but generally chasing each other, playing keepaway, tugging, wrestling and watching for rabbits. If I hear a blood-curdling scream, it will mean that Josie has spyed a rabbit. The scream will be Josie, not the bunny. When she's excited she lets out a shriek. In the summer, when the neighbors have windows open, I either calm her down or bring her inside. This time of the year I let it go, knowing she will only do it a couple of time. She's not a nuisance barker, and in fact is very quiet - she just screams, "I SEE ONE, I SEE ONE" for rabbits, squirrels or the neighbors' cats. Argus also has some odd vocalizations, but Watson rarely says a thing and never ever barks.

Until this past Sunday, Indy would have been a part of the group too, but she has her own cats to play with now. Poor things, they are probably thinking, "Well there goes the neighborhood".

Coral and Sid like they time of the day. They have the house to themselves and can doze wherever they wish, with no competition for the dog beds or cushions or dog hassock. Coral prefers the raised bed next to the loveseat, so she can be as close to Ron as possible, when he is sitting in his regular place. Sid likes the hassock, so he can be higher than the other dogs, or the cushion by the back door. He's the Keeper Of The Bitches, and does not allow the younger boys to sniff around the back door when there is a bitch in season in the basement. Annoys them no end, but Sid is in charge.

This is also Sid's time to play with his toys. Because the young dogs are tough on squeaky toys, especially the furry ones, Sid's toys are only taken out when the others are outside. Then he can play with them in peace, "playing" the toys to get an enormous variety of sounds from them. When he was young, he had a toy called the Fuzzy Chicken that was kept in a certain drawer and taken out only for him. That toy is long gone now, but Sid will occasionally stand by that drawer, talking to himself, wondering whatever happened to his toy. If I do an imitation of the toy and go "cockadoodle doo, wake up, wake up!" he moans in anticipation of his beloved toy. I've never been able to find another one, and although he still enjoys toys at the age of twelve, he still misses that one. Me too!

It's always been a rule here that we keep no more dogs than we can give adequate attention to. Each dog needs to have a "special time" each day, and be kept groomed and exercised. A breeder friend once joked that I was the only Dal person she knew whose dogs were always in show condition, even the oldsters. I try to keep it that way - although I see I missed doing nails again this past weekend. UGH. It's important for the dogs to have individual attention every day rather than just feeling part of a very small pack. Sid especially, needs HIS time, when he does not have to compete with the younger pushier dogs. I love old dogs, especially this old dog, and appreciate every moment we still have left. Give your old guys a hug!

Busy Weekend

Yuck, my Monday is not off to a very good start, but the weekend was terrific! This morning my Chinese-made under the cabinet Black & Decker coffee maker spewed its contents all over the counter, just as it always does if I don't stand there and tweak it every minute or two. This was my replacement for a B & D pot that worked perfectly for 22 years . . .

Indy has a new home and is fitting in perfectly. We drove her to New Ulm on Saturday, to meet her new family Jan & Del who recently lost a beloved older Dalmatian. From the looks of their scrapbook, Dal China had been an important member of the family. I'm sure Del didn't stop smiling from the minute Indy covered him with kisses. They have a wonderful house in the country, and wanted an afffectionate & loving house dog - Indy fits the bill perfectly. She greeted them with hugs and kisses and moved right in. Del reports that she is working out perfectly, although the four house cats are going to take some getting used to it. I shed a few tears, but am always so pleased to put my dogs in such terrific homes.

A brewery tour and beer tasting at the Schell's brewery made for a very fun day, and Watson got to ride along because he hasn't had a chance to do many interesting things lately.

On Sunday I went to visit the pups and stayed for the afternoon. So pretty! I went with the idea of sorting the litter a bit, perhaps designating two on the non-patched as companions. But I couldn't! I loved them all and saw tons of potential in all of them. Because I have a couple of terrific pet homes waiting, we will probably end up putting some extra nice pups in pet homes - but that's OK, as there seems to be plenty to work with. The most important thing is that they all end up as beloved pets.

My favorite was again Clark. He's just so darned pretty. His brother Sam Spade is the favorite of Tom, Dawn & Nicole, and he looks so much like Clark - but isn't quite as naughty! Remember, Tom and I both want to keep girls. It's always like this. Sherman will go as a pet because he is a patch (unfortunate, because he is so handsome) and that leaves Spencer. I was so busy concentrating on Clark and Sam I didn't pay much attention to Spencer until I took a last look - and he's gorgeous too.

Rita and Grace are my favorite bitches right now, very different in type, but both sound and well spotted. Lana is also beautiful, nicely marked and very feminine, but carries her tail higher than the rest - but they could all be carrying their tails like that at six weeks! Ava the underear patch is the most perfectly marked of the girls, and is slated to either become a performance dog or a gorgeous pet - we'll have to make that decision in the next week or so.

Can't wait to do stacked pictures on Thursday - actually seeing them in profile, and listening to Jess's observations on "how they go together" will help me make some decisions, but I think it's still going to be tough. I keep saying to myself, "I don't need another boy, I don't need another boy" and then I start thinking of registered names that would fit Clark . . .

A Busy Weekend

Sounds as if the pups will be busy this weekend. Visitors will include me, of course! I'll be meeting up with a family who may be getting a pup from the litter, plus I need to spend some time just watching them trot around and interact, and I will start stacking (standing) them on a grooming table. This is the week when we start seriously considering who will stay and who will be leaving. Because my friend Libby is looking for a performance puppy, I want to concentrate on Ava this weekend, to see if she has the right kind of personality for competition. Libby will wait for just the right black-spotted girl, to join her multi-titled and multi-talented Pierce who we sent to her some years ago.

This is also an important week for puppy socialization. Because they will be leaving soon, the pups still need to be exposed to many additional things. More kids, more places, more noises, smells and surfaces. Now that the pups are eating well, it's time to start making a lot of racket while they eat - by associating loud noises with a pleasurable activity like eating, it insures that the pups will not have problems with dog show noises, thunderstorms and the 4th of July. Pups who are "protected" from such things as babies, have trouble adapting to them later. When the pups are at my house, I kick coffee cans, roll food pans down the stairs, and drop pots on the floor. It's a great way to vent a little frustration too! (And no wonder my neighbors shake their heads.)

We're hoping to do stacked pictures later this week, pictures of all the pups from all angles. I have 40+ years worth of litter pictures, and Tom will want to start his collection too. Jess and I have been taking puppy pictures since she was about 8 years old, so she's had LOTS of experience stacking puppies, and ignoring my endless observations and suggestions. (Marriages have probably ended over puppy pictures - maybe that's why David and I split up years ago!) I will be stacking them too, although not for pictures. You can tell a lot about a puppy when stacking them, and can see and feel how they fit together. The stacked shots, continual observation of their personalities, and watching how they move at a trot, will tell us a lot over the next week or two. We know the cosmetics (spotting, trim, faces) are good, now we need to concentrate on structure and personality. Then we also need to be sure the bites are correct (they must be scissors) and the little boys are "complete".

Several of the things we can only guesstimate are eventual size, and tail carriage, and unfortunately bites sometimes change when the second teeth come in. Some pups will have their adult size by 7 or 8 months and some will grow until they are well over a year old. Because the breed standard has a height disqualification for dogs over 24 inches, we sometimes sweat that one on boys. Most of the pups will have their tails up at 6 weeks - and there is no surefire way to know which tails will come down to correct carriage - a slight curve upward off the level - and which will look like flagpoles or cuphooks. HOPEFULLY no flagpoles and hooks, but those are rather common faults in this breed. The hardest thing is when an otherwise outstanding puppy goes undershot at 4 months. That's a tough one!

We use the goal of all puppies meeting and interacting with 100 friendly strangers by the time they are 12 weeks old. Gotta keep the visitors coming!

BAER testing is scheduled for next Saturday. We know all the pups hear, but we don't yet know if they all hear in both ears. About 20% of the breed is unilateral (one-eared) hearing. It makes no difference in companion pups, but it is something to take into consideration on show dogs and breeding stock, as uni Dals are more likely to produce deaf puppies. Unis can be shown, but just have to be bred more carefully. Most people prefer bilateral hearing pups for performance, but one of the breed's most titled Agility dogs is a uni, so we know that they can excell in performance as well. BAER testing is done by attaching tiny wires to the puppy's skull, and monitoring the brain waves - sounds worse than it is, as the tiny wires have thin needles that are slipped under the skin. The pups don't mind the needles, but do hate having to sit absolutely still for a few minutes!

Time to feed dogs. Watson and Indy are wresting on the rug, but Argus is staring at me, trying to send me thought waves. Not sure if he wants to eat, or visit Joy in the honeymoon suite. We'll get to that later today. Gotta get Indy ready to meet her new family.

Paring Down The List . .

It's nice to have the pups reserved in advance, but it's not easy to make the decisions on who goes where. Although I like to have enough reservations to be sure all the pups will go to homes in a reasonable amount of time, I also hate to keep people hanging on, wondering whether or not there will be a puppy for them. And if I promise too many pets and realize I had more show potential pups than anticipated, I either put show pups in pet homes where they will drop out of sight, or change my mind and disappoint someone who thought they were getting a pet.

The person who had not been in touch for awhile did contact me, and has dropped off this list - for a good reason. When they came to be interviewed, they apparently decided they really preferred liver, and have decided to wait until a liver pup is available! Many people come here saying that they would only consider a black spotted pup, but once they meet the livers, Coral and Argus especially, they become Liver Lovers (like me!). This is one of the very few litters I have ever had that did not have pups of both colors, but we had suspected Boji was not liver-factored and would only produce black spotted pups. As was the case.

Another of the potential buyers is making too many demands and only wants a pup if the spotting is "just right". Because her reservation is for a pet, and because all of these pups are actually very well marked, I am not willing to wait for her to decide if any of the pet pups have just the kind of spotting she envisions. I suggested she would be better off buying locally in her own area. It's important to me to feel comfortable with my buyers, and for my buyers to trust me to place the right puppy with them, and if friction develops it will only create problems in the future.

So two other people have moved up the list, and I'll add a couple more people to the reserve list.

Joy arrived yesterday to honeymoon with Argus. Dogs normally ship very well, as long as they are well socialized and accustomed to crating. Joy came out wagging her tail and settled in immediately. Her owner Donna does a lot of performance work, and trains and socializes her dogs well, so Joy settled in happily and enjoyed her walks. Joy is a very cute Dal with a puppyish face and pretty markings. Her mama Sassafrass is a fine Agility dog, and a grand daughter of my late Morris. Because Joy has a liver parent, she is automatically liver factored. Can't wait to see if Argus can produce liver pups as beautifully spotted as his black puppies!

ARGH. Dogs are barking. Time to bring them in and give them breakfast. The young dogs spend about an hour in the yard before I go to work. They play hard, and have a great time. Sid & Coral just prefer to do an in-and-out in the morning, and go back to bed for awhile. Gotta walk Joy too, before heading to work. Fish club meeting last night, so I got to bed late, yet again. . .

Working On My Puppy List . . .

We're fast approaching the time when I need to get my puppy list in order, and decide which puppy will go where. The pups are changing rapidly now, so we'll start deciding who should be considered show potential, and who will be OK to go as a pet. Show breeders hate to screw up and have the best pup in the litter end up as a spayed pet, but with excellent homes waiting (more or less patiently) I hate to keep the buyers waiting too long. If I can get my busy daughter to meet me at Tom's for pictures when the pups are about six weeks old, it will make things easier. I have 6 week pictures of 40 years worth of Dalmatians - although the photo quality leaves a bit to be desired on some of the earlier colored shots! Pups at 6 weeks have proportions and outlines very similar to what they will have as adults, they are starting to trot when they move so their gaits are becoming evident, their spotting is pretty much complete (anything added from now on will be a small "tick" mark) and their personalities are starting to develop. The pups are5 weeks old now, so the next week will be incredibly busy.

Tom will be keeping the pick puppy, but the overall quality of this litter appears to be very high, so there may be several "picks". Unless he has made up his mind early on, we'll probably let some of the pups go to pet homes, and keep the others for a bit longer. Some puppies benefit from an extra week or two of development.

One of the people on my puppy list has "disappeared". She has not responded to my emails or been over to visit the pups, so she'll probably be replaced on the list. Because I still have a few more people waiting than I am likely to have puppies for, I've got some flexibility.

I know Ron will be very sorry to see Indy go this weekend, as she has been lots of fun. Because I only keep a limited number of dogs, I needed to keep space open for just the right puppy. Hopefully one of Boji's babies will be that puppy!