Nearly forgot about photo's & updates. Last week recieved some lovely photo's of Sammy one of Lucy's Cavapoo pups. It is photo's of Sammy on his first big walk. Sammy has been going to puppy classes & Racheal says after being a bit shy to start with was then chasing everyone about having lots of fun. Aparently he is a boisterious chap full of beans & is proving very good to house train. He did eat a door spring the other day which is the spring that stops the door springing back & hitting the wall but Racheal informed me that a couple days later it passed through him luckily. The only think he is a little naughty with is nipping & I have suggested to Racheal that to ask her puppy class trainer to give her tips on how to discourage this behaviour if it is a problem, as pups can go through a nippy chewy stage that they grow out of. Racheal ends her update to me by saying that "he is a lovely dog & so lovely to go downstairs in the morning to see him." Today I got a great capture of Florrie who is Bonnie's 1 year old daughter. She meet a horse for the first time & as Amy said "Fearless". Thanks Rachael & Amy for sharing these lovely moments with Sammy & Florrie. Well got through the weekend & losing the hour. Why do we still change are clocks as its a bit soul destroying to go back to getting up from bed in the morning when it is dark again. Bobby has found a new home with Angela. Angela visited us on Sunday with her husband to see Bobby. They I feel are the ideal couple to give Bobby the one on one care he will love & they have taken on adult dogs before so understand settling an adult in with themselves. Bobby seemed to like them & all going well they will pick him up on the 17th April. Millie is now coming off heat & Rollo returned home yesterday to my sisters after his working holiday with us. Millie will be scanned any time after 28 days from yesterday to confirm pregnancy & we probably will scan her & Bonnie at the same time as Bonnie is only a couple days behind her but at the moment today is still mateable so Oscar has worked his charm on her again. Oscar is proving to be a worthy stud dog & now it will be down to finding out if he has the fertility to go with the looks. The weather has been glourious which makes everything a bit easier. The dogs are all looking well with just Lucy out of coat after her litter of pups but carrying plenty of condition if not to much condition. Are young girls Smudge & Primrose are growing into lovely young ladies with Primrose being the show dog of the pair but Smudge is a beautiful strong really well put together spaniel who is a little plain about the head but as a brood bitch she is a fine type with great confirmation & colour. Both of these girls are such wonderful tempered dogs being very gentle & loving. Some of temperment is nuture but as we find out more about genes that a lot of the basic temperment of a dog is also genetic, so these means that Dad being of sound temper is as important as Mum's temperment. Are young boy Reggie is doing fine & is a very funny little chap who is very adventurous & sociable. Rocco are young Toy Poodle stud dog will soon get a chance to prove himself as a stud dog with Lucinda hopefully coming on heat any day now. Rocco is a very elegant young boy with exceptional movement which is always commented on by onlookers when he is out. When he jumps over things its like he has springs in his legs as Poodles do make excellant agility dogs with their natural athletic stride & being highly trainable. Got a couple lovely photo' of Primrose today looking at my 3 year old horse in the paddock by the house. We have not had a horse in this paddock since last year & Primrose I think was not sure whether it was a horse or a very big dog.lol Yet again the weekend is here & this year seems to be racing on. We have been very busy yet again this week with two girls on heat at the moment & ready to mate, this week it has also been a little stressful with Bobby not showing interest in being a stud dog so then having to draught in the back up Rollo my sister's Miniature Poodle & change my plans of breeding Cavalier's from Millie this time & breed Cavapoos instead. Bobby we then decided to neuter & on wednesday we had this done, as I feel he is not cut out for the life of a stud dog. Bobby is very submissive & very gentle mannered dog who we feel will be better in a home away from the hurly burly of a breeding home, so we have someone coming to see him this weekend to see if they would like to give him his new hopefully forever home. He will not leave us this weekend as this is a visit first & we would not let him go until 10 days post op after being neutered. I must admit that it is a great disappointment that Bobby was not interested in being a stud dog but this can happen sometimes & now it is important to find Bobby a good home for him to relax & enjoy life. This week also Ysabel visited the vets for a dental. At nearly 4 years old she had got a bit of plaque on her teeth & she had this removed in the vets. She came home with teeth any celebrity would be proud of. It is important to take good care of your dogs teeth as if plaque is allowed to get to much, teeth will become loose & they will suffer with gum disease also muck from the teeth going down to the stomach can cause liver & kidney function problems in worse case scenarios. I find in Cavaliers the shorter the jaw the higher the chance of plaque build up & my vet confirms to me that they see more problems with teeth in dogs with short jaws, so that is one of the reasons that I prefer the Cavalier type with the longer jaw which also gives a more elegant look to the face. Pupster who is 7 years old now has very clean teeth, has never had a dental & sports the longer jaw which some show breeders frown on, but please refer to breed standard & history of these little spaniels to see what I mean. I feel that this little dog is probably being taken in the wrong direction in the show ring especially seeing the show ring dominated by dogs with a deep stop when the breed standard says quite clearly "Shallow stop" & also the slow decreasing in size of this breed in the show ring. The vets has almost become my second home recently with eye tests, heart checks, vaccinations , neutering & dentals. Its always like this in the spring getting all the routine vet work done. My next planned visit will be to have Millie scanned in around 28 days to hopefully confirm pregnancy, so fingers crossed. This weeks also was the birthday for two of are children with Matilda who is the youngest 2 years old on Tuesday & Bert my oldest turning 11 years old on Wednesday. Luckily Matilda is young enough to enjoy celebrating her birthday with her big brother & the last two years have made a joint cake for them & have put a photo below of them with this years cake. Bert also likes sharing his day with his youngest sister. Although Bert's birthday treat is tomorrow going ten pin bowling with 3 of his friends from school. Oscar is showing that he has the potential of being a good stud dog & has been mated with Bonnie with no problems. Millie & Bonnie if both in pup will give birth a few days apart if all goes to plan. Lucinda should be due on heat now any day so we could have 3 litters potentially only a couple weeks apart which will be lots of work but hopefully the weather will be with us so making a bit easier as it is lovely to have pups in the summer months as you can get them outside more & also makes house training easier. So we should be a hive of actvity in the coming months. Well thats me now signing of for the weekend as I know its going to be a very busy one so will not probably blog until monday now. Have a great weekend as the weather is lovely here at the moment so going to make the most of it learning how to play ten pin bowling, painting fences & gates, mowing grass, walking dogs & watching children playing rugby, these will be just a few things we will try to do this weekend. Two of Lucy's Cavapoo pups say "Hello!" tonight. Tracey sent me some beautiful photo's of Roxy & has found out that she loves playing football as whilst at the park she joined in with some people playing football & Tracey says " she was the one booed for removing her from the pitch.lol". Tracey a few days ago has also been brave enough to allow Roxy off the lead at the park & she has been good to recall but on this one occasion the football was just to tempting. The next photo's I have & update are of Albert who is sleeping through the night. Kim who's family he is a member off was having a few sleepless nights with him to start with but has now got past this with Albert now sleeping right through the night. Kim says that Albert is proving very quick to learn especially when treats are involved & he is doing really well at puppy training classes. All the reports of the Cavapoos we have bred so far are that they are very trainable & learn very quickly. Thanks for the updates & photo's Tracey & Kim as always much appreciated. Had a very hectic week that has carried on into the weekend. The weather is good so you start trying to do all those outside jobs & with me forget the time & then the children start asking whens tea & the dogs are looking at you expectently. Millie is just approaching being a week on heat & now Bonnie started on heat on Friday so starts the journey for are next litters of pups. I always count the first day of heat as the first day you see a bloody discharge as a bitches vulva will start to swell slightly at first & then after 24 to 48 hours of the swelling starting they will start to have a bloody discharge from the vulva. Most bitches are at their most fertile that is ovulating around 11 to 14 days but this can vary so care must be taken with a bitch throughout her heat to catch her at the right time. A heat lasts around 21 days but this to can vary by a few days each way. There are a few tests that can help in knowing when your bitch is at the best time to mate & these are a good idea if you are travelling far to a stud dog & need to know it is the right time so your journey is not wasted but we use the old method of letting the dog see if she is interested in a little romance. When you have your own stud dog it does make it easier & I feel more likely to be a successful mating as very little stress is envolved due to no travelling, not being in a strange place & not meeting a dog for the first time. All are dogs know each other & every day all happily run out together, so have a sense of pack which I feel does help with the breeding process. When are bitches are mated we put the bitch & male dog in an enclosed area were I can keep a check on them & then check every few minutes, as I believe if two dogs can not get it together naturally then they should not be mated. Mating is the start of health & temperment selection for me. If the dog is not capable of mating a bitch on his own merit then he should not be a stud dog & the same goes for the bitch if she is to timid or scared of being mated & is right on in heat she should not then have a lined up mating were she is held against her will & forced to be mated with the dog. Temperment & health are what we are trying to reproduce in are pups if Mum & Dad need help at the conception then I feel that this is not a good platform to then build on. Most bitches even if they have had pups before may yelp a bit as the dog mates them as once the dog ejuculates the bitch for reasons that we are not to sure of constricts her vagina & holds the male dog who whilst this is going on still attached to her positions himself bum to bum with her & this is called the tie which we all like to see in a mating although the dog will of ejuculated all his sperm in the first minutes of mating the longer they stay tied the better we think the mating has success but matings can occur from what is called a slipped mating when the dog just mounts & ejuculates & does not tie. The bitch may get slightly frantic as the tie occurs & if very stressed I will hold her then smooth & talk to her which normally calms the situation. They can stay tied upto an hour but the norm would be around 20 minutes. We mate every 48 hours whilst a bitch is on heat so they may have two or three matings as a bitch may be susceptible to a male dogs charms for a couple days or sometimes a week. Bitches can concieve from seperate matings so can concieve from two or three different dogs if allowed to be mated with or accidently mated with. Have got some nice photo's today of a couple of are boys below & Pupster are old neutered boy who still is a charmer even though he is neutered. Hit the ground running today as up at the crack of dawn to do the dogs whilst husband tended the children & then I was off to Rugby with the 3 boys in Barnstaple getting there at 9.45am. Husband David stayed home due to the fact that he needed to cut & split wood for are woodburner that we get all are heating from & hot water. Luckily it was a bit fresh but sunny. The Rugby did not finish until 1.15pm. I enjoy Rugby but was starting to loss the will to live by the end, lol, so quick bite to eat in Barnstaple Rugby Club house & then zoomed up to Clarks shoe shop in Barnstaple High Street a place I rarely venture for 3 pairs of school shoes for the boys, then across town to Argos to buy a new shower & order a new dishwasher as the shower burnt out a couple nights ago. The dishwasher blew up last night, I think my electrical appliances are trying to kill me at the moment as opened up the dishwasher last night for sparks to jump out at me then all the plugs tripped out thankfully. The only good thing that came out of the dishwasher blowing up is that it made me be in Argos the same time Toni came in who has got Big Poppy from are last litter of Cavapoos. Toni said "Hello" & she was with her Mum & Dad on the way to taking Poppy out to Westward Ho! for a walk on the beach. So I got to see Big Poppy who is now just over 3 months old & what a gorgeous little girl she is. I am sure she remembered me as she licked my face & then was equally happy to see my 3 boys. That made my day ! Thanks Toni for waiting for us & the email you have sent me too, what a wonderful job you are doing with Poppy she is a credit to all your work. Well after seeing Poppy it then was a whirlwind trip around the dreaded Tesco's for food supplies & home. From leaving Rugby to getting home 2 hours I am proud of that time, buying shoes, going to Argos, the assault course that is Tesco's & home in the door in just under 2 hours that has to be some sort of record. Managed to get a lovely leg of lamb on the meat counter half price to, so bunged that in the oven or husband David did that as luckily for me my husband will cook & clean the same as me & does not see jobs as a woman or a mans but he does think its best that he does not teach me to use the chainsaw as I am not the most safety concious which I tend to agree with him on that one.lol. So meat in the oven , groceries unpacked, children out running about then its doggy time. A good brisk walk with dogs & children then back home potatoes roasting, veg steaming, Roast dinner, children to bed & crash out with David & dogs lovely end to a very long but enjoyable day. Monday tomorrow must book some dogs in for eye tests at Tavistock. Looks like the weeks going to start like it ended ! Lastly tonight as need to get to bed. I got an update on Florrie who has just been spayed & is doing fine. She is nearly 1 years old & is Bonnie's daughter. Amy sent me a photo of her just after the operation wearing her collar to stop her biting & licking the wound but they took it of the next day as she is not taking to much notice of her wound. Also a couple photo's of Charlie who is Smudge's brother whos Mum is Millie. Tess & Lorraine say he is going on fine & he does look a handsome young man. Thanks everyone for your updates I must go now before I fall asleep at the computer. Its been very cold but dry the last few days & when the sun came out glourious weather. The children have been out more than in & I think I have a dog whisperer in my son Thomas who just wants to walk, play & learn to train the dogs which is very sweet as he is 6 years old. He has really got something special going on with Reggie are Miniature Poodle pup. If I cannot find Thomas I look in Reggie's dog bed & there the two of them are snug as two bugs in a rug. The dry weather is lovely weather for long walks with the dogs. The days pulling out now means I have walked the mile upto the village a couple times lately to walk home with the children from school rather than drive making sure I take four dogs, one each for my four children that are at school to lead home but still they can fall out about which dog they want to lead, thats children for you sometimes so lovely you could eat them & then sometimes so annoying you wish you had eaten them.lol I have been busy with the camera the last couple nights when the children have gone to bed. The dogs filter into the front from the kitchen & position themselves on are varies sofa's & puff then I can get some beautiful photo's of them chilling out together with us. My dogs now are so used to be taking photo's of them that they do not take much notice of me hovering over them or lying below them trying to get that magical shot of them. Got these cute photo's of Smudge & Reggie last night having a loving moment together that is very cute. I took four photo's of Reggie licking Smudges face & mouth then it clicked in my head that I should be filming this so then caught a bit of this moment on film as well until I spoke & distracted them. The footage below is interesting as it shows Reggie who is a ten week old pup licking an older dogs mouth which is how they get Mum to regurgatate food for them & is how all wild dogs are first fed solids by Mum & other members of the pack, as in the wild, dogs will all help to rear a litter of pups. I think Reggie was trying his luck with Smudge who is only 10 months old herself, as I have seen Mums do this for pups & other members of are pack do this for pups which are not their own but as they get older it can also be used as a submissive gesture to another dog. Whatever the meaning it was a very gentle moment between Smudge & Reggie which brings a smile to my face each time I watch it. Please enjoy the moment. Turned on the computer this afternoon after my last blog to see these lovely photo's below of Florrie who is nearly a year old & her Mum is Bonnie & Dad Charlie. Amy who's family she is part of says she is happy as ever & never stops wagging her tail. Thanks Amy for the update & photo's of your beautiful Florrie. They have decided to get Florrie spayed now as was the plan as Florrie has a small umbilical hernia which Amy new about when she bought her & that she was not to be bred from. Whilst being spayed it is an ideal time to repair it as well. An umbilical hernia is were the umbilical cord from the placenta joined the puppy inside Mum & for a variety of reasons does not heal right over living a hole which intestine can be pushed through. Florrie's hernia is small & it is only the fact that she is being spayed that it might as well be closed up at the same time. If a very small hernia other than for cosmetic reasons it will do no harm but if it is big enough to cause strangulation of the intestine must be repaired. This is were enough intestine pushes through & then the hole causes pressure causing the intestine to be blocked & this will need repairing as could cause serious health problems & death to a dog. The reasons for a umbilical hernia can be hereditary, trauma to the umbilical cord by Mum pulling to vigouriously when born & infection in the umbilical whilst healing over after birth. I never breed from a dog or bitch with an umbilical herni & would only ever sell a pup with an umbilical hernia as a pet strongly advising to neuter when old enough. It is very tempting to breed from a lovely looking bitch or dog especially when it is only a small hernia but there is a high occurance of umbilical hernia's in Cavaliers so I feel this problem in this breed on most occassions has an hereditary cause so feel strongly that if they have an umbilical hernia should not be bred from. If we get a umbilical hernia in a litter we do not repeat that mating & in the last 2 years we have had 4 litters of Cavaliers with 3 pups with umbilical herni's & in this period we have had 4 litters of Cavapoo's with no hernia's. Reggie are apricot, Miniature Poodle & Rocco are black, Toy Poodle had a trip to the vets this morning. Reggie is just over 10 weeks old & had his second vaccination & then both Reggie & Rocco had blood taken to be sent to Optigen to see if either carry the gene for prcd a type of PRA (Progressive Retinal Atrophy). I have found out that either a swab from inside the mouth or blood sample can be taken to test their DNA but blood is normally better as sure of enough DNA to test than a swab, also this blood test can be done from 4 weeks old so could of done Rocco when we first got him but was told that you had to wait until a year old, just shows you never to take earsay but go to the source of information & get hopefully the right answers. Now it is waiting for hopefully good news. They were both very brave & I must admit as I learn more about this breed & their temperment they win me over more with each thing they show me. How fast they learn, how brave they are & the fact they like to be little hunters endears them to me. I have to admit grooming the little fluff balls is very relaxing too. To me the Poodle does not seem so tarty as Cavaliers though who will just love anyone unlike the Poodle who likes to get to know you first before gayly throwing its self at you unlike my Cavaliers who would seemingly go with any one. Below are some photo's of Reggie & Rocco together & individually taken last night. Got an email today to say that Charlie is settling in okay with Sheila & Vincent. Although I was pretty sure that he would be okay it was great to hear that he is doing fine. The weather here today has been cold but very bright with the sun out most of the day. It is lovely to get the dogs out & come back from a walk without having to towel dry them off or cover the back house in towels to stop to much dirt coming in the house. Reggie are Miniature Poodle pup has settled in really well & he is 10 weeks old tomorrow so we have had him nearly two weeks which has flown past. He is proving to be a very confident chap & is very gentle mouthed for a pup & will mouth your hand with his needle puppy teeth & not leave a mark or make you recoil your hand from him. I must admit I am very taken with him & his easy going attitude. Playing a waiting game at the moment as Bonnie was expected in season mid February but as yet is showing no signs of coming into heat & I feel that she maybe sincronising her heat with her sister who is due on heat the start of April. Her sister Lucinda use to come on heat with her sister Bonnie but after their first litter of pups each only a couple days apart they came on heat at different times the first time after the births, so I feel that they are now going to get their heats back together at the same time again. Bitches can vary their time between heats especially after giving birth they can very often take longer to come on heat & some bitches it does not effect & they can be regular as clock work every 6 month. One of are girls Millie comes on heat every 12 months & had her first heat ever at 14 months old. My Mum used to have a Jack Russel who came in heat regularily ever 5 months, so time between heats can vary a lot from between 5 to 12 months apart. If a bitch was going only a couple months apart with her heats & did this more than once it would be advisable to speak to your vet about this as can be an indication of hormonal problem & it may be best to spay your bitch. Yesterday I meet Sheila & her son Vincent who came to visit Charlie who we were looking to rehome after him being diagnosed with a low grade 2 heart murmer by a cardiologist vet. He is just over 5 & on the advice of the vet he has been neutered. After being used as a stud dog I felt it would be kinder for him to find a retirment home so he could chill out, enjoy life & not be around flirtatious girls reminding of his previous life. Sheila & Vincent after meeting Charlie took him for a walk & on their return had decided that they would love for Charlie to join their family. Charlie seemed to take an instant shine to them both as like me they are very much in love with this breed & lost their Obi just before Christmas who was a black & tan Cavalier boy.
Last night Sheila & Vincent stayed at a Bed & Breakfast & returned this morning to pick up Charlie to travel with them to his new home in Reading. Before they left we had a cup of tea together & Charlie obviously remembered them from the previous day & you could see he was already happy in their company. This has not been an easy decision to rehome Charlie as he is such a sweet dog that is very gentle natured & all round well behaved little man. Sheila & Vincent are going to update me annually on his health & what he has been up to & if for what ever reason they could not keep him he is to return to us. With meeting Sheila & Vincent also talking on the phone with Sheila & her daughter I have every confidence that Charlie is going to have a wonderful retirement with loads of love & fun. Will look forward to updates of Charlie's, Sheila's & Vincent's adventures together. |
“The greatest pleasure of a dog is that you may make a fool of yourself with him, and not only will he not scold you,but he will make a fool of himself, too.”
― Samuel Butler Me (Jane) with Puddin' and Teagol, waiting patiently to flush a patch of kale, December 2019
AuthorHello, I am Jane! Archives
March 2022
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