Check out the bottom of this page for photographs of all the puppies!
Video link to the Rissa puppies - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGT_077CnQY
Video link to the Rissa puppies - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGT_077CnQY
Legend
From Show Ring to the Herding Ring
Rissa
Herding Cheviots
Rissa's puppies pedigree
5x Sel. Ch. Kismet's Heartthrob ROM
Ch. George-Ann's Zurich ROM
Ch. George-Ann's Steel Magnolia ROM
BIM Ch. Tara-Airway Carly's Legend v. Kck CGC, TDi, HCT,RN,CD,HT, OFA h
Ch. Ken-Delaine's Taylor Made ROM
BIM Ch. Tara-Airway's I'm So Vain
Tara's My Molly B of Airway
10/10/11 3 girls, 2 boys
Ch. Kenlyn's Aries v. Hicliff ROM OFA h/e
GCh. Regency's B.B. Cody v. Kridler OFA h/e
Signature's Tootsiroll v. Kridler ROM OFA hips
Karma's Raising the Bar PT
Lee Ray's Black Hawk v. Kck PT, OFA hips
(Ch Rocky HXAs son)
Karma's Russian Sable OFA hips
5x HIT Karma's More is Better RE,CD,HSAd,
HXAs, HTAD III, HRD III
(Sel. Elvis daughter, Ch. Rocky HXAs
granddaughter)
__
12/7/11 The weeks are in some ways going faster and faster...and some ways, not so much!
This past weekend, we all went back up to Michigan for the last time. We did get a chance to take a walk around Cheryl's property, just me and the puppies. They remind me of a little flock of ducks under foot.
Monday we drove back and stopped at Dr. Mike's for their first chiropractic adjustment. They had various things out of alignment...Lex's neck was out a fair bit. Dr. Mike asked if he had had a rough birth? I replied,
Breech and fluid filled lungs...that kept him upside down for the first few hours getting his chest thumped on. Is it silly to have the puppies done this young? I don't believe so. When they have a 70 lb. mother tromping on them, I believe it best to help them start their growing life out as straight as possible.
they went for their wellness check on Tuesday. Yep, they have four legs and more importantly, sound hearts. Rissa went for her OFAs today. They look fine. We'll see what OFA says in about a month.
They will get their first inoculations tomorrow. I wanted them to be in the middle of being home and settled when I give it to them....not coming or going with mild "Road trip" stress. Yes, they travel all the time, but still... it is a mild stress on top of vets and chiro's and sheep.
We instinct tested them Tuesday. Genie came out with the strongest response. I sat her down, she looked at them, and started walking into to them. No hint of fear. Straight in, eyes forward.
Ducky came out second. Again she was very bold and readily tried to move into them and follow them. She was a little more concerned about where I was at, than Genie.
Sequel saw them, was very aware of the bubble, and left. Several times she would leave and come back. Leave and come back. I believe that once she is bonded to Mandy and has a support structure,she will be much more willing to stand up and be counted. Ducky walked in partly because I was with her. Right now, Sequel doesn't really have anyone.
Lex didn't show much interest. He was more interested in playing with his sister than focus on the sheep. That's okay, he's going to a home with out sheep anyway.
This weekend will be our last outing together. We head down to Cincinnati for a two day clinic and then we take off for Tennessee and Lex's new home. When we get back, the two girls go to their new homes, and Ducky and I start our learning together.
This diary will stay up. As I get news of the puppies, it will go here.
Ducky will start her own page. I will be putting up entries of our adventures together in learning
11/20/11 It's getting a little hard to find new things for them. They've mastered stairs. They fly up and down them to get outside. Their potty training is going miraculously well. I get them out the door many times a day. When I can't, they go over to their papers and go. There are VERY few accidents....and those are pee only.
They got left alone a lot this weekend. We were all out to Hado-Bar for the Turkey-Trot Trials. Possum(the Border Collie) had gotten sick, so I pulled her entries and gave them to Rissa. So after 4 months off, and only one week back to work, Mom goes out to run her first ever trial class with no prep work....she had never even seen a free standing pen, let alone put sheep in one. She won the class. The next day she earned her first trial title, HTAD I. She was pretty wild for that set! I gritted my teeth and kept reminding myself how well she was doing....considering.....
I kept worrying and thinking about the puppies the first day. They had never been left for that many hours. Kelly Drake was scheduled to come for a lesson with her Terv, and to puppy watch. She got to the house before I did, and did clean up. She said they were very good, everything on the papers.
The day before was a bit enlightening. I had left them outside while I did lessons. They were in an x-pen. Friends came over throughout the day. The first set walked up to the pen...I was in the field giving a lesson... I heard a puppy shriek. When I went over they said that Sequel (the puppy former known as Saphira) had spooked and screamed. By the time I got there, she was coming up to the fence. I had her do that to a client mid week. I thought it was from the experience down in Cincinnati. Everytime someone would walk thru the garage, that Aussie would bark and carry on. I think she started to associate bad things with people approaching. Friday ended up being a great thing for her. People were in and out all day. She was able to be reminded that people approaching is a GOOD thing, not a bad thing like the Aussie said it was. It just goes to show how quickly an experience can imprint on a puppy. The happy ending(?) is, today Deb Barrett came over, stepped into the kitchen and all four puppies came running up to see her.
We took new video of the puppies Tuesday. They screamed for the first half hour going out. Thank Diety they were quiet coming back. I wish they would catch on to car rides a little quicker. We carried them into and out of the building, it was so wet. As you can see in the video, they had no shyness...they went thru like a barbarian horde. No corner was safe. We had worked the adult dogs first, then let the sheep out so we could video. Our first plan had been to tape them in the ring, but it was too dark, so we filmed them on the concrete pad. After we got done, I let the sheep back in the building. It was interesting to watch their separate reactions. Sequel saw them, hackled up, and ran parallel to the fence. A minute later, she came back and watched. Ducky and Lex were about the same. I looked over and saw Ducky laying against the fence with her head almost thru the fence. On the other side, were two sheep staring at her. She stared at them, they stared back. She didn't back off. Lex did pretty much the same thing a little while later. Genie sat about a foot from the fence, and just stared. Her head was up, she was calm, and she stared...for a long time actually.
Next week they will go back out to the farm and we'll see what they think about stock. Judi has a couple of young lambs that are calm. I'll put them in the barn and test each puppy. We are doing out there so Mandy can film it.
They get their second Interceptor tomorrow. I took a fecal in this week. It was negative.
Next week is pretty eventful. They will go to the chiropractor on Monday. They will go to the vet for a standard check...yes they have four legs, check that their hearts are good. I'll give them their first puppy shot. They will be 8 weeks old. Soon it will be time to start their new lives.
To see the new video go to YouTube and type in: Rissa x Legend puppies 2 and 3
11/23/11 I talked to Deb yesterday about naming the boy puppy. His name is now:
Karma's DragonLord v. Kck "Lex"
I was talking to Kelly Drake the other day and I think I know how the puppies managed to get roundworm. I was so paranoid about Rissa not aborting the litter that I didn't give her any drugs during her pregnancy...not her Frontline OR her Interceptor. I bet the stress of pregnancy + no Interceptor, allowed a couple of dormant roundworms to surface from her muscle tissue. That's my guess at this point anyway.
11/23/11 The pups are in the process of mastering stairs. There is no way to get into my house without going up two to three stair steps. They have going up, down pat. I open the door and they are faster to get up the stairs than Danny is. (He hates the open stairs going down to the basement.) Going down is more problematic. When I take them out of their pen I pick them up and carry them outside. There is no way I can get all of them out the door before accidents would happen. But we work on master the down staircase at other times. I put them on the second stair...front end on one step, butt end on the upper step. They then go down just fine....for the most part. You have to look at it from their point of view. Right now they are about as tall as one stair step; so that is like you or I jumping down out of a first floor window!
Each day or two I try to introduce something new to them. Right now its easy. New can be: Let's go out the front door instead of the back door. New smells/sights for them. Let's all hang out in the dining room for awhile and let you experience all the nuances of living in a pack...with family members of diverse personalities. Their mom and I love, adore and would never dream of hurting them; other members of the family don't have the same bond. Don't get me wrong. There is no lurking homicidal motives. But still, it's a new thing for them to be around beings that could care less what they want. (...although I have to say, Danny is much nicer/gentler playing with them than their mother. She flings herself into playing with them....and flinging them..... Oh, well. They are going to visit the dog chiropractor when they are 8wks old) Each day, I try and get them to walk a little further away from the safety of the house. You can see the atavistic fear of open spaces. Somewhere in their genes is the awareness that they would make good hawk food. They like to hang under the porch, under the trees or bushes. Open space is negotiated with swift trepidation. They hang around my feet when they come to me out in the open.
I bought them some more toys to play with. Different textures;rope, rubber, plastic. More tennis balls. I figure if I just keep buying them, the adults will eventually glut themselves on them and quit stealing the babies toys. Rissa and Danny both adore tennis balls.
I tried giving them a two inch tall box to play KIng of the Mountain with, but they haven't shown much interest in that. I'd like to get a big box to let them play Cave in.
I still reach for them under the chin. I want them to come into my hands without thought of shyness. Once I am touching them, then I move my hand over their heads, rub across their eyes and on down their bodies. Puppies at this age are still very myopic. I don't want them to shy off from an object over their heads. As they get older and can see better, I'll reach over top of them. My foundation bitch, Shania, their great-great-grandmother was very myopic as a baby. she couldn't see three feet in front of her until she was well over 8 weeks old. These guys are much better. I can be standing straight up, and they will look me straight in the eye...from a few feet away. Even so, I still reach under.
The weekend trips give them plenty of new experiences needless to say. I've had litters on the road before, but not to this extent. It's working out well so far. Thanks so much to my clinic hosts for being willing to be invaded by my horde! I've been paranoid in the past about disease. I started in dogs when there was no vaccine available for Parvo. Watching dogs die in a pool of blood, knowing your own dog was at risk, stays with you for decades. But I thought about it, and the places they go, the people they meet are as caring or more than I am with mine. So far,so good. And the benefits to them meeting scads of new people will stay with them for life. (...and car sickness will NOT be a problem!!!)
The play biting is about over. They forget every once in awhile, but they self correct for the most part. I've only been correcting them for biting flesh. I haven't said anything about clothes. I have to leave something for their new moms to work on!
11/21/11 This weekend was a bit tough on the kids. They bitched again about the road trip, but settled down. When they got to Cincinnati, they were met by barking. Lots of barking. Lots of noise. The hosts of this clinic do Aussie rescue. They dogs bark....a lot. There is one bitch in the area that the pups stayed in that hates anyone not of the house. She is one of the unadoptables that are there for life. Every time I moved or talked to the pups, she threatened to eat my liver out. It threw the pups for the first day. After the second day, Charlene moved her out. It helped alot. Soon, the pups were relaxing and exploring again. They met a couple of new people, with tails wagging. When we got in the car to drive home, they were fine, same as how they were with the Michigan trip....whining go up, quiet coming back. They are eating close to eight cups a day now. I'm taking them out several times a day, trying to get most of the poop outside, and keep it clean inside. For the most part, they are doing well. Today was nail day. I did the puppies sitting at my desk, then started doing the adults on the floor in the dining room. It was pretty cool. I'd look up and see Danny laying flat on the floor with puppies crawling over him, Rissa wrestling with a pup, Possum trying to steal a toy from somebody, and Drum trying to crawl as close to me as possible to make sure everyone knew I am HIS.
11/17/11 It's been such an eventful week I don't know where to start!
Friday, I packed the pups up and took them up to Michigan for the weekend. They weren't happy in the beginning about the car ride. They rode in the big crate, their mom rode in the back. Drummer ended up riding shotgun because there was no room left. They settled down after 15-20 minutes. I had a lesson waiting for me, so they stayed in the car for a half hour after I got there. I carried them into Cheryl's dog room and plopped them in the big run. I left them to settle for a couple of hours, after feeding and sitting with them. In the evening, I let them loose into the room. I was so proud of them, they started checking it out right off, no hesitation or fear.
They ended up meeting 4 or 5 people over the weekend. They did better if I held them, and the new people petted them, or, if they got down on the floor with them. They were a little concerned with new people holding them. Patty Terrio got down on the floor with them and they were crawling right over and around her.
Monday, I packed them up and took them home. Michigan was a success. Another new place and experience under their belt. They made not a peep on the way home. Car rides are now so boring.
Tuesday I was busy and did get to do much with them.
Wednesday I took a fecal in for testing. I started taking them outside for brief periods;sometimes with their mom with us, sometimes it was just us. They found it pretty overwhelming...at times. Sometimes it was cool, sometimes it was really BIG. At one point the ducks approached in masse, they aren't ready to meet livestock yet, so I asked their mom to move the ducks away (....she was the one who had brought them over in the first place).
Since Saturday, I've been letting the other dogs see and interact with them. Possum was a bit of a pill at first, Drummer is politely aloof, and Danny is trying to play with them. All the Shepherds went out for first morning potty this morning. The puppies didn't know what to look at first.
The fecal came back positive for roundworm. Neither the vet nor I understand this since Rissa has been on Interceptor for ever. The vet proscribed Interceptor for the pups, one this week, one in two weeks. They are not light weights. The biggest is the boy at 10lbs. and Genie is the smallest at 8. The other two are 9lbs.
I've decided to keep Splash. Her name will be Karma's DragonFlight v. Kck , "Ducky" She is a bit of an "Ugly Duckling" right now that I think will grow into a swan.
I've been giving them toys for the last week or so, they have been following the movement a bit, but not really catching on. Chasing sibling tails and hands has been much more interesting. But, just last night, Ducky was both following and catching the tennis ball, and the other three were grabbing the broom, the new long line that was coiled up, the ball, and a ripped up rope toy. They were actually carrying the toys...a big leap up.
12/7/11 The weeks are in some ways going faster and faster...and some ways, not so much!
This past weekend, we all went back up to Michigan for the last time. We did get a chance to take a walk around Cheryl's property, just me and the puppies. They remind me of a little flock of ducks under foot.
Monday we drove back and stopped at Dr. Mike's for their first chiropractic adjustment. They had various things out of alignment...Lex's neck was out a fair bit. Dr. Mike asked if he had had a rough birth? I replied,
Breech and fluid filled lungs...that kept him upside down for the first few hours getting his chest thumped on. Is it silly to have the puppies done this young? I don't believe so. When they have a 70 lb. mother tromping on them, I believe it best to help them start their growing life out as straight as possible.
they went for their wellness check on Tuesday. Yep, they have four legs and more importantly, sound hearts. Rissa went for her OFAs today. They look fine. We'll see what OFA says in about a month.
They will get their first inoculations tomorrow. I wanted them to be in the middle of being home and settled when I give it to them....not coming or going with mild "Road trip" stress. Yes, they travel all the time, but still... it is a mild stress on top of vets and chiro's and sheep.
We instinct tested them Tuesday. Genie came out with the strongest response. I sat her down, she looked at them, and started walking into to them. No hint of fear. Straight in, eyes forward.
Ducky came out second. Again she was very bold and readily tried to move into them and follow them. She was a little more concerned about where I was at, than Genie.
Sequel saw them, was very aware of the bubble, and left. Several times she would leave and come back. Leave and come back. I believe that once she is bonded to Mandy and has a support structure,she will be much more willing to stand up and be counted. Ducky walked in partly because I was with her. Right now, Sequel doesn't really have anyone.
Lex didn't show much interest. He was more interested in playing with his sister than focus on the sheep. That's okay, he's going to a home with out sheep anyway.
This weekend will be our last outing together. We head down to Cincinnati for a two day clinic and then we take off for Tennessee and Lex's new home. When we get back, the two girls go to their new homes, and Ducky and I start our learning together.
This diary will stay up. As I get news of the puppies, it will go here.
Ducky will start her own page. I will be putting up entries of our adventures together in learning
11/20/11 It's getting a little hard to find new things for them. They've mastered stairs. They fly up and down them to get outside. Their potty training is going miraculously well. I get them out the door many times a day. When I can't, they go over to their papers and go. There are VERY few accidents....and those are pee only.
They got left alone a lot this weekend. We were all out to Hado-Bar for the Turkey-Trot Trials. Possum(the Border Collie) had gotten sick, so I pulled her entries and gave them to Rissa. So after 4 months off, and only one week back to work, Mom goes out to run her first ever trial class with no prep work....she had never even seen a free standing pen, let alone put sheep in one. She won the class. The next day she earned her first trial title, HTAD I. She was pretty wild for that set! I gritted my teeth and kept reminding myself how well she was doing....considering.....
I kept worrying and thinking about the puppies the first day. They had never been left for that many hours. Kelly Drake was scheduled to come for a lesson with her Terv, and to puppy watch. She got to the house before I did, and did clean up. She said they were very good, everything on the papers.
The day before was a bit enlightening. I had left them outside while I did lessons. They were in an x-pen. Friends came over throughout the day. The first set walked up to the pen...I was in the field giving a lesson... I heard a puppy shriek. When I went over they said that Sequel (the puppy former known as Saphira) had spooked and screamed. By the time I got there, she was coming up to the fence. I had her do that to a client mid week. I thought it was from the experience down in Cincinnati. Everytime someone would walk thru the garage, that Aussie would bark and carry on. I think she started to associate bad things with people approaching. Friday ended up being a great thing for her. People were in and out all day. She was able to be reminded that people approaching is a GOOD thing, not a bad thing like the Aussie said it was. It just goes to show how quickly an experience can imprint on a puppy. The happy ending(?) is, today Deb Barrett came over, stepped into the kitchen and all four puppies came running up to see her.
We took new video of the puppies Tuesday. They screamed for the first half hour going out. Thank Diety they were quiet coming back. I wish they would catch on to car rides a little quicker. We carried them into and out of the building, it was so wet. As you can see in the video, they had no shyness...they went thru like a barbarian horde. No corner was safe. We had worked the adult dogs first, then let the sheep out so we could video. Our first plan had been to tape them in the ring, but it was too dark, so we filmed them on the concrete pad. After we got done, I let the sheep back in the building. It was interesting to watch their separate reactions. Sequel saw them, hackled up, and ran parallel to the fence. A minute later, she came back and watched. Ducky and Lex were about the same. I looked over and saw Ducky laying against the fence with her head almost thru the fence. On the other side, were two sheep staring at her. She stared at them, they stared back. She didn't back off. Lex did pretty much the same thing a little while later. Genie sat about a foot from the fence, and just stared. Her head was up, she was calm, and she stared...for a long time actually.
Next week they will go back out to the farm and we'll see what they think about stock. Judi has a couple of young lambs that are calm. I'll put them in the barn and test each puppy. We are doing out there so Mandy can film it.
They get their second Interceptor tomorrow. I took a fecal in this week. It was negative.
Next week is pretty eventful. They will go to the chiropractor on Monday. They will go to the vet for a standard check...yes they have four legs, check that their hearts are good. I'll give them their first puppy shot. They will be 8 weeks old. Soon it will be time to start their new lives.
To see the new video go to YouTube and type in: Rissa x Legend puppies 2 and 3
11/23/11 I talked to Deb yesterday about naming the boy puppy. His name is now:
Karma's DragonLord v. Kck "Lex"
I was talking to Kelly Drake the other day and I think I know how the puppies managed to get roundworm. I was so paranoid about Rissa not aborting the litter that I didn't give her any drugs during her pregnancy...not her Frontline OR her Interceptor. I bet the stress of pregnancy + no Interceptor, allowed a couple of dormant roundworms to surface from her muscle tissue. That's my guess at this point anyway.
11/23/11 The pups are in the process of mastering stairs. There is no way to get into my house without going up two to three stair steps. They have going up, down pat. I open the door and they are faster to get up the stairs than Danny is. (He hates the open stairs going down to the basement.) Going down is more problematic. When I take them out of their pen I pick them up and carry them outside. There is no way I can get all of them out the door before accidents would happen. But we work on master the down staircase at other times. I put them on the second stair...front end on one step, butt end on the upper step. They then go down just fine....for the most part. You have to look at it from their point of view. Right now they are about as tall as one stair step; so that is like you or I jumping down out of a first floor window!
Each day or two I try to introduce something new to them. Right now its easy. New can be: Let's go out the front door instead of the back door. New smells/sights for them. Let's all hang out in the dining room for awhile and let you experience all the nuances of living in a pack...with family members of diverse personalities. Their mom and I love, adore and would never dream of hurting them; other members of the family don't have the same bond. Don't get me wrong. There is no lurking homicidal motives. But still, it's a new thing for them to be around beings that could care less what they want. (...although I have to say, Danny is much nicer/gentler playing with them than their mother. She flings herself into playing with them....and flinging them..... Oh, well. They are going to visit the dog chiropractor when they are 8wks old) Each day, I try and get them to walk a little further away from the safety of the house. You can see the atavistic fear of open spaces. Somewhere in their genes is the awareness that they would make good hawk food. They like to hang under the porch, under the trees or bushes. Open space is negotiated with swift trepidation. They hang around my feet when they come to me out in the open.
I bought them some more toys to play with. Different textures;rope, rubber, plastic. More tennis balls. I figure if I just keep buying them, the adults will eventually glut themselves on them and quit stealing the babies toys. Rissa and Danny both adore tennis balls.
I tried giving them a two inch tall box to play KIng of the Mountain with, but they haven't shown much interest in that. I'd like to get a big box to let them play Cave in.
I still reach for them under the chin. I want them to come into my hands without thought of shyness. Once I am touching them, then I move my hand over their heads, rub across their eyes and on down their bodies. Puppies at this age are still very myopic. I don't want them to shy off from an object over their heads. As they get older and can see better, I'll reach over top of them. My foundation bitch, Shania, their great-great-grandmother was very myopic as a baby. she couldn't see three feet in front of her until she was well over 8 weeks old. These guys are much better. I can be standing straight up, and they will look me straight in the eye...from a few feet away. Even so, I still reach under.
The weekend trips give them plenty of new experiences needless to say. I've had litters on the road before, but not to this extent. It's working out well so far. Thanks so much to my clinic hosts for being willing to be invaded by my horde! I've been paranoid in the past about disease. I started in dogs when there was no vaccine available for Parvo. Watching dogs die in a pool of blood, knowing your own dog was at risk, stays with you for decades. But I thought about it, and the places they go, the people they meet are as caring or more than I am with mine. So far,so good. And the benefits to them meeting scads of new people will stay with them for life. (...and car sickness will NOT be a problem!!!)
The play biting is about over. They forget every once in awhile, but they self correct for the most part. I've only been correcting them for biting flesh. I haven't said anything about clothes. I have to leave something for their new moms to work on!
11/21/11 This weekend was a bit tough on the kids. They bitched again about the road trip, but settled down. When they got to Cincinnati, they were met by barking. Lots of barking. Lots of noise. The hosts of this clinic do Aussie rescue. They dogs bark....a lot. There is one bitch in the area that the pups stayed in that hates anyone not of the house. She is one of the unadoptables that are there for life. Every time I moved or talked to the pups, she threatened to eat my liver out. It threw the pups for the first day. After the second day, Charlene moved her out. It helped alot. Soon, the pups were relaxing and exploring again. They met a couple of new people, with tails wagging. When we got in the car to drive home, they were fine, same as how they were with the Michigan trip....whining go up, quiet coming back. They are eating close to eight cups a day now. I'm taking them out several times a day, trying to get most of the poop outside, and keep it clean inside. For the most part, they are doing well. Today was nail day. I did the puppies sitting at my desk, then started doing the adults on the floor in the dining room. It was pretty cool. I'd look up and see Danny laying flat on the floor with puppies crawling over him, Rissa wrestling with a pup, Possum trying to steal a toy from somebody, and Drum trying to crawl as close to me as possible to make sure everyone knew I am HIS.
11/17/11 It's been such an eventful week I don't know where to start!
Friday, I packed the pups up and took them up to Michigan for the weekend. They weren't happy in the beginning about the car ride. They rode in the big crate, their mom rode in the back. Drummer ended up riding shotgun because there was no room left. They settled down after 15-20 minutes. I had a lesson waiting for me, so they stayed in the car for a half hour after I got there. I carried them into Cheryl's dog room and plopped them in the big run. I left them to settle for a couple of hours, after feeding and sitting with them. In the evening, I let them loose into the room. I was so proud of them, they started checking it out right off, no hesitation or fear.
They ended up meeting 4 or 5 people over the weekend. They did better if I held them, and the new people petted them, or, if they got down on the floor with them. They were a little concerned with new people holding them. Patty Terrio got down on the floor with them and they were crawling right over and around her.
Monday, I packed them up and took them home. Michigan was a success. Another new place and experience under their belt. They made not a peep on the way home. Car rides are now so boring.
Tuesday I was busy and did get to do much with them.
Wednesday I took a fecal in for testing. I started taking them outside for brief periods;sometimes with their mom with us, sometimes it was just us. They found it pretty overwhelming...at times. Sometimes it was cool, sometimes it was really BIG. At one point the ducks approached in masse, they aren't ready to meet livestock yet, so I asked their mom to move the ducks away (....she was the one who had brought them over in the first place).
Since Saturday, I've been letting the other dogs see and interact with them. Possum was a bit of a pill at first, Drummer is politely aloof, and Danny is trying to play with them. All the Shepherds went out for first morning potty this morning. The puppies didn't know what to look at first.
The fecal came back positive for roundworm. Neither the vet nor I understand this since Rissa has been on Interceptor for ever. The vet proscribed Interceptor for the pups, one this week, one in two weeks. They are not light weights. The biggest is the boy at 10lbs. and Genie is the smallest at 8. The other two are 9lbs.
I've decided to keep Splash. Her name will be Karma's DragonFlight v. Kck , "Ducky" She is a bit of an "Ugly Duckling" right now that I think will grow into a swan.
I've been giving them toys for the last week or so, they have been following the movement a bit, but not really catching on. Chasing sibling tails and hands has been much more interesting. But, just last night, Ducky was both following and catching the tennis ball, and the other three were grabbing the broom, the new long line that was coiled up, the ball, and a ripped up rope toy. They were actually carrying the toys...a big leap up.
10/24/11 It's been a really eventful week for the puppies. At day 11 they started opening their eyes. They also started the big muscle twitches that exercise their muscles preparatory to standing and walking.
A few of them managed a brief stand and wobble on day twelve. I'm very sad to report that Half Pint didn't make it. As I mentioned before, his chest was deformed. The bottom half was straight rather than oval. The hope was that a little bit of growing would fix it. However, more growing made it worse. Without the base support of the lower chest, there was nothing to attach his front legs firmly. His right shoulder was caved in and his leg stuck out to the side. His left leg wasn't much better. The bigger he got, the more weight that he added would have made it worse and worse. So, I hid him under my shirt and took him to Dr. Finney. As I drove over to the vet's, I told him that he was loved, and that love dictated that I not let him be in pain and crippled. His gift to me was the reminder that breeding dogs isn't for the faint of heart, and that the cost of doing it right can be very high.
On a much happier note the others are screamingly robust and getting more and more active. They wobble around the box for a few steps then collapse into a nap. They all are getting better and better about being picked up and cuddled. They fall asleep quite comfortably on my chest. Before they would whine and yawn.
I did their nails with the dremel this morning. I'm sure some of you think that's excessive but I can't stand how clawed up the mom's breast tissue gets during a litter. Why have her in pain when it's not necessary? It'll be bad enough when they start getting teeth next week. That's when...and why.. I'll start feeding them. I won't take them away, but I will hopefully get them mostly off of her before she looks like hamburger.
I started brushing and combing them. It's a way to spend more time with them, work with them and teach them how pleasant the sensation can be. Splash is ALL on board with it. The others are okay...they lay there and don't fuss, but you can see she actually likes it. It's amazing how much dead skin comes off them....until you think about the fact that they are growing daily and "splitting" their skins almost hourly.
On Saturday I had 17 GSDs from the Northern Ohio club come over for instinct testing. I took it as a compliment when one of the Fun Day people peeked over the x-pen and said they were what? 5 weeks old? I said nooo, 13 DAYS old.
With all the coming and going, I'm sure some of you disapprove because of the risk of disease. I thought about it and came to this conclusion. One, I can't not work. I need to make the rent. Two, Rissa is healthy and up to date on her inoculations. Three, people aren't picking them up willy nilly, if fact, other than a few close friends, not at all. Four, the places the litter rests are disinfected well. Five, I will be limiting showing my dogs to one show out at Judi Bigham's farm until the pups are well on their way. I had planned on taking Drummer to the I-X but have decided not to risk it. The I-X regularly has severe bouts of disease go thru. I can pursue his obedience career next year.
10/14/11 Why do dogs always seem to show you they are sick AFTER the vet's office closes? My mega chow hound Rissa had been picky about her food since the day after she delivered. Late Thursday evening, I realized that she wasn't drinking either. I had gotten her some ground chuck from the GOOD meat store, and she was willing to eat her dinner. But I had to make a hamburger gruel....lots of water, with meat chunks in it to get her to drink any water. I was then petting her as she lay with her puppies and found a hard teat. FREAK OUT! I started massaging the breast. The good news was, no pus. Her temp was high normal, 102.3
This is about 10 pm. I hate emergency vet clinics. I don't know the vets or how good they are. The charges are way more than I can afford, and they generally want to treat you like you are an idiot. I treated all her symptoms,taped up her affected breast, and then set my clock for 3 am. Everything was good. She was more alert, and more like Rissa. I had assumed her quiet demeanor before had been Momma mode. Wrong.
I got up this morning, retreated her symptoms( checked her temp, it was 101 on the dot, massaged and expressed her breast. Very little came out, but there was still a hard lump in the back tissue, gave her a very soupy breakfast which she chowed down on) and called my vet. He put her on Cephelexin and wanted me to do hot compresses....I had been doing cold thinking to reduce the swelling. He said hot to break it up.
The pups are fine, doing well. Half pint now looks like a new born. He's much less cranky, colicky now.
10/13/11 Everything's settling down into a routine. Rissa is so good with the little guy. If she leaves the box to go under my desk for a break from them, she still takes little guy with her. I think she's aware that he can't get too cold. I pick up each puppy. Already they are different. The big boy is very accepting. He accepts cuddling and being turned over on his back and held. "Splash" the biggest girl, will cuddle and lay on my chest, but don't turn her over. Half pint has been handled so much he doesn't think anything about it. Wings and "Dot" are accepting and quiet. I cut their toenails while Rissa was outside. Three days old and they've met two people, been on three different surfaces and one car ride.
One of the Super puppy premises is to mildly, I repeat mildly, stress the puppies at this age to help grow synapses. Mission accomplished.
10/12/11 I got up at 5a.m. The damned clock didn't go off. I went in and was mildly suprised that half pint was still alive. I fed him, and put him back. I looked down a few minutes later and saw that he was latched on and FEEDING on his own! YEAH! He's had trouble with gas(from the goat's milk) I didn't have any gas-x, so I gave him mineral oil.
10/11/11 Cheryl got home from work about 9, and came bringing goat's milk and yogurt. We gave it to the half pint. We gave him his bottle about every hour. I packed everyone up and headed home about 2. I stopped half way home to feed the little guy. We got home, and they all went into the box I had ready in the office off the kitchen. I fed him every two hours, until 11, then set the clock for 1a.m. and went to bed.
10/10/11 As I was flying across the Ohio Turnpike to get to the birthing, I was strongly reminded of the birth of these puppies great-great grandma, Shania. I was away from the kennel and got a call from one of the kennel help that "Shana just had a puppy and looks like she wants to eat it." I flew, and got a ticket.
This litter came at the end of a marathon clinic schedule that culminated in me dropping Rissa off in Michigan, driving to Cleveland to fly out to Texas, come back into Cleveland and drive BACK to Michigan. I got there with an hour to spare.She was set up like the Queen of Sheba in Cheryl's living room in a swimming pool. Cheryl had to work that night, so she called her friend Sharon Redmer to come babysit.
DIETY BLESS both of them.
I got there at 8:30 and she had the first girl at 9:30. The first puppy was a huge girl, and was stuck. Between Rissa pushing and me pulling we got her out. She has two white lines on her chest that reminded me of wings. So, she is Karma's Dragonwings v. Kck.
The second puppy came about 10:30 and was again a girl. She has three separate white spots/dots on her chest. She was no problem at all. Legend was notorious for siring all boy litters, so I was grateful that I got my two girls up front.
At about 12:30 I made Rissa get up and go outside. She was way too comfortable and looked like she just wanted to settle in. I tried taking her out the front, but Cheryl's cat Einstein kept coming up, and I didn't want to chance Rissa objecting. So, we went back thru the house to the back yard. Rissa squated to pee, and a gelatinous blob hit the ground. I was thinking it was a placenta. I picked it up and it had bones. I started tearing it apart, and still thought it was a half formed dead puppy, but, it wasn't. It was a half-pint sized little boy. He was formed just fine, he's just incredibly small. He had very little suckle reflex, and little strength. I spent most of the night, putting him on, and supporting him while he ate.
Rissa again settled down like she was done. I booted her outside a couple of times. Finally, about 2:30 am, she had a boy. She stood up, and I saw hind legs hanging out. I grabbed hold and pulled. He was really full of fluid. He pretty much spent the first hour of his life hanging upside down and getting gently thumped on the chest to get rid of the fluid.
About 3:30, Rissa had the last puppy. Again, this one was stuck. She is truly HUGE. She has a big splash of white on her chest. We cleaned up, and I zonked out on the couch.
A few of them managed a brief stand and wobble on day twelve. I'm very sad to report that Half Pint didn't make it. As I mentioned before, his chest was deformed. The bottom half was straight rather than oval. The hope was that a little bit of growing would fix it. However, more growing made it worse. Without the base support of the lower chest, there was nothing to attach his front legs firmly. His right shoulder was caved in and his leg stuck out to the side. His left leg wasn't much better. The bigger he got, the more weight that he added would have made it worse and worse. So, I hid him under my shirt and took him to Dr. Finney. As I drove over to the vet's, I told him that he was loved, and that love dictated that I not let him be in pain and crippled. His gift to me was the reminder that breeding dogs isn't for the faint of heart, and that the cost of doing it right can be very high.
On a much happier note the others are screamingly robust and getting more and more active. They wobble around the box for a few steps then collapse into a nap. They all are getting better and better about being picked up and cuddled. They fall asleep quite comfortably on my chest. Before they would whine and yawn.
I did their nails with the dremel this morning. I'm sure some of you think that's excessive but I can't stand how clawed up the mom's breast tissue gets during a litter. Why have her in pain when it's not necessary? It'll be bad enough when they start getting teeth next week. That's when...and why.. I'll start feeding them. I won't take them away, but I will hopefully get them mostly off of her before she looks like hamburger.
I started brushing and combing them. It's a way to spend more time with them, work with them and teach them how pleasant the sensation can be. Splash is ALL on board with it. The others are okay...they lay there and don't fuss, but you can see she actually likes it. It's amazing how much dead skin comes off them....until you think about the fact that they are growing daily and "splitting" their skins almost hourly.
On Saturday I had 17 GSDs from the Northern Ohio club come over for instinct testing. I took it as a compliment when one of the Fun Day people peeked over the x-pen and said they were what? 5 weeks old? I said nooo, 13 DAYS old.
With all the coming and going, I'm sure some of you disapprove because of the risk of disease. I thought about it and came to this conclusion. One, I can't not work. I need to make the rent. Two, Rissa is healthy and up to date on her inoculations. Three, people aren't picking them up willy nilly, if fact, other than a few close friends, not at all. Four, the places the litter rests are disinfected well. Five, I will be limiting showing my dogs to one show out at Judi Bigham's farm until the pups are well on their way. I had planned on taking Drummer to the I-X but have decided not to risk it. The I-X regularly has severe bouts of disease go thru. I can pursue his obedience career next year.
10/14/11 Why do dogs always seem to show you they are sick AFTER the vet's office closes? My mega chow hound Rissa had been picky about her food since the day after she delivered. Late Thursday evening, I realized that she wasn't drinking either. I had gotten her some ground chuck from the GOOD meat store, and she was willing to eat her dinner. But I had to make a hamburger gruel....lots of water, with meat chunks in it to get her to drink any water. I was then petting her as she lay with her puppies and found a hard teat. FREAK OUT! I started massaging the breast. The good news was, no pus. Her temp was high normal, 102.3
This is about 10 pm. I hate emergency vet clinics. I don't know the vets or how good they are. The charges are way more than I can afford, and they generally want to treat you like you are an idiot. I treated all her symptoms,taped up her affected breast, and then set my clock for 3 am. Everything was good. She was more alert, and more like Rissa. I had assumed her quiet demeanor before had been Momma mode. Wrong.
I got up this morning, retreated her symptoms( checked her temp, it was 101 on the dot, massaged and expressed her breast. Very little came out, but there was still a hard lump in the back tissue, gave her a very soupy breakfast which she chowed down on) and called my vet. He put her on Cephelexin and wanted me to do hot compresses....I had been doing cold thinking to reduce the swelling. He said hot to break it up.
The pups are fine, doing well. Half pint now looks like a new born. He's much less cranky, colicky now.
10/13/11 Everything's settling down into a routine. Rissa is so good with the little guy. If she leaves the box to go under my desk for a break from them, she still takes little guy with her. I think she's aware that he can't get too cold. I pick up each puppy. Already they are different. The big boy is very accepting. He accepts cuddling and being turned over on his back and held. "Splash" the biggest girl, will cuddle and lay on my chest, but don't turn her over. Half pint has been handled so much he doesn't think anything about it. Wings and "Dot" are accepting and quiet. I cut their toenails while Rissa was outside. Three days old and they've met two people, been on three different surfaces and one car ride.
One of the Super puppy premises is to mildly, I repeat mildly, stress the puppies at this age to help grow synapses. Mission accomplished.
10/12/11 I got up at 5a.m. The damned clock didn't go off. I went in and was mildly suprised that half pint was still alive. I fed him, and put him back. I looked down a few minutes later and saw that he was latched on and FEEDING on his own! YEAH! He's had trouble with gas(from the goat's milk) I didn't have any gas-x, so I gave him mineral oil.
10/11/11 Cheryl got home from work about 9, and came bringing goat's milk and yogurt. We gave it to the half pint. We gave him his bottle about every hour. I packed everyone up and headed home about 2. I stopped half way home to feed the little guy. We got home, and they all went into the box I had ready in the office off the kitchen. I fed him every two hours, until 11, then set the clock for 1a.m. and went to bed.
10/10/11 As I was flying across the Ohio Turnpike to get to the birthing, I was strongly reminded of the birth of these puppies great-great grandma, Shania. I was away from the kennel and got a call from one of the kennel help that "Shana just had a puppy and looks like she wants to eat it." I flew, and got a ticket.
This litter came at the end of a marathon clinic schedule that culminated in me dropping Rissa off in Michigan, driving to Cleveland to fly out to Texas, come back into Cleveland and drive BACK to Michigan. I got there with an hour to spare.She was set up like the Queen of Sheba in Cheryl's living room in a swimming pool. Cheryl had to work that night, so she called her friend Sharon Redmer to come babysit.
DIETY BLESS both of them.
I got there at 8:30 and she had the first girl at 9:30. The first puppy was a huge girl, and was stuck. Between Rissa pushing and me pulling we got her out. She has two white lines on her chest that reminded me of wings. So, she is Karma's Dragonwings v. Kck.
The second puppy came about 10:30 and was again a girl. She has three separate white spots/dots on her chest. She was no problem at all. Legend was notorious for siring all boy litters, so I was grateful that I got my two girls up front.
At about 12:30 I made Rissa get up and go outside. She was way too comfortable and looked like she just wanted to settle in. I tried taking her out the front, but Cheryl's cat Einstein kept coming up, and I didn't want to chance Rissa objecting. So, we went back thru the house to the back yard. Rissa squated to pee, and a gelatinous blob hit the ground. I was thinking it was a placenta. I picked it up and it had bones. I started tearing it apart, and still thought it was a half formed dead puppy, but, it wasn't. It was a half-pint sized little boy. He was formed just fine, he's just incredibly small. He had very little suckle reflex, and little strength. I spent most of the night, putting him on, and supporting him while he ate.
Rissa again settled down like she was done. I booted her outside a couple of times. Finally, about 2:30 am, she had a boy. She stood up, and I saw hind legs hanging out. I grabbed hold and pulled. He was really full of fluid. He pretty much spent the first hour of his life hanging upside down and getting gently thumped on the chest to get rid of the fluid.
About 3:30, Rissa had the last puppy. Again, this one was stuck. She is truly HUGE. She has a big splash of white on her chest. We cleaned up, and I zonked out on the couch.
Above photo is Saphira
Above is Ducky
Above is Lex
Above Ducky and Saphira
Above and below - Ducky
Above photo is Ducky
Karma's Dragon Dreams v. Kck, "Saphira"
Karma's Dragon Wishes v. Kck, "Genie"