puppy picnic
I uploaded 22 pictures to Facebook (Kate Roberson)) of the puppies outside today. They are giant and getting gianter.
“Sardines.”
individual pictures
Finally, here are individual pictures. Wordpress was giving me grief, so they aren’t large here, but click for the giant size.
Miro and Quarra told me that their names did not suit them, and didn’t like any of the other “Ender” themed names I offered. Miro says he is Milo, and Quarra says she is Claire.
“Valentine”
“Milo”
“Petra”
“Ender”
“Claire”
welcome, babies!
Ella is exceedingly pleased with her brood of five pupplets, delivered between 11:45 pm on the 28th and 2:40 am on the 29th. She was waiting for things to settle down around the house, I suppose, as she was holding off all day. When I was sitting on the floor in the mud room cleaning the cat box she came in and asked to curl up in my lap, so we retired to the pool. She then begged that her granny (Rebecca) be there, so we all laid down on the bed together from about 9:30 to 11 pm and napped. At 11 she started to push (and had decided that the pillow Rebecca’s sleeping head was on would be the best place), so I sat in the pool with her from 11 on. She pushed from about 11:15 to 11:45, making progress, and SCREAMED when the first baby came. She was bred by AI, so the tissues were intact in there and needed to be opened. Always smart, and always a planner, she had her smallest puppy first to clear the way. Her second puppy was a full 3 oz bigger! After the first, it was over an hour until the second big puppy, but he came easily, as did everyone else. She didn’t seem bothered at all. She was instantly amazed and in love with her first baby, her eyes big and fascinated. Bronte was a great mother, but she didn’t love her babies, perhaps because she was sick with Lyme at that time and didn’t have the strength. (Lessons learned… ::sigh::) Ella was astounded by what she had done, and as proud of them as she is of her fetching toys. I knew she would be a good mother, she loves puppies, but WOW, she LOVES THESE BABIES, and is keeping them immaculate and well-organized. She is so fastidious that I haven’t had to change the bedding.
“Mommy! Granny! Look at these babies! Ain’t they the prettiest babies you ever seen? They’s so colorful and nice, all lined up.”
And they are, too. Everyone is prettily marked. The black is BLACK, and the blue is clear, and they are unbelievably healthy and vigorous. I could feel how strong they were while they were still inside. I put a huge amount of maintenence into Ella during this pregnancy, making sure she got to do all of her favorite things (to whatever degree she could do them), that she got a lot of exercise, that she was happy (studies have shown that the levels of cortisol – a stress hormone – that bombard a fetus will affect how they behave their entire lives, i.e. a happy mother makes happy puppies/adults, a stressed mother will make worried, stressed puppies/adults, because they are expecting to come into a stressful situation and need to be prepared to survive), that her nutrition was more than adequate, and far above par, that she stayed an ideal weight… And let me tell you how obvious it is. This is a stunning litter, even if not a single one makes it to the ring – which is at the bottom of my priorities, anyway. They are SOOO HEALTHY and vigorous.
I was going to name them all after stars or constellations, since the theme for their registered names is “Astronomy” (Note: Sorry, everyone, these aren’t Ellaments. That was when she was being bred to an element, “Neon Black,” which was not to be. I do, however, have plans for a certain very lovely and wonderful boy as a future hubby for Ella, and his registered name fits well with the Ellaments theme, so that theme will be making an appearence in 2013 or so if all goes as I want it to…) but Rigel, Sirrius, Polaris don’t exactly roll off the tongue, and are very sterile, rigid sounding names anyway. Last week, while cleaning the horse paddock, it occurred to me that I ought to got with an “Ender” theme for puppy names. Ella herself is named after an Ender character, and I’ve had a ton of names from those books on my puppy name list for years, so I decided to clean house. And, since it’s a SciFi series, goes well with the Astronomy theme.
So…
#1 @ 11:45 pm – “Valentine.” Black girl with a squiggly, asymmetrical blaze and a small fairy kiss on the back of her neck. 10 oz. Pretty and feminine and sweet.
#2 @ 12:59 am – “Miro.” Black boy with a black spot covering his nose. He wants to be white-factored, as his white comes up in a square over both shoulders and there is white along the front of each back leg from his socks to his belly. 12 3/4 oz. He is very mellow and quiet, reminds me of Uncle Dex as a newborn. I think he will be a love.
#3 @ 11:15 am – “Petra.” Mismark blue girl. Light grey, the whole right side of her head is white all down her neck, with the right ear all blue. She is very conservatively marked on her show side, though. 12 oz. She will be her mother’s daughter. You can already tell that she is very, very smart. She understands that the shortest distance between two points is a straight line, and is very deliberate in what she does, and she already oozes personality.
#4 @ 1:45 am – “Ender.” Black boy with a blaze a lot like Val’s, but thicker. The entire back of his show side ear is white. 12 1/4 oz. He seems a little keener than Miro, but is a very calm puppy.
#5 @ 2:40 am – “Quarra.” Slate blue girl, huge black patches. Pretty, pretty, pretty. Her markings, and her white, are so interesting and indescribable. You’ll have to wait for pictures. 11 1/2 oz. She will be a very, very beautiful dog. Heidi wants a blue girl from this litter, and I promised her pick of blue girls (in an attempt to try to keep myself from retaining yet another one), so if she turns out she will go to Heidi. I am already very jealous. 🙂 She is calm and sweet.
Points are all minimal. Valentine has the brightest ones, so I think she will have bright brindle points. No one should be tan-pointed in this breeding.
This morning we celebrated with mimosas made from the bottle of sparkling Dexter’s mom Susan gave me for the occasion (Barefoot winery, which I can only assume she did on purpose, LOL), and have been admiring our fine specimens all day. Ella wanted to fetch first thing outside, and did so for about 3 minutes, running fast and reveling in it. She already acts like nothing happened. After 3 minutes she was ready to go back to her babies, though. You can’t take them more than a foot away or she comes after them. She is the best and most perfect dog in the world. She is the dog of my lifetime and I am so proud and in love with my girl.
Pictures in a bit…
memorial weekend puppies
We’re having the puppies – today or tomorrow. I won’t be able to update the blog until all is over, but will update Facebook by phone when possible, and will take lots of pictures.
FIVE! (or six)
***UPDATE: I only find 5, but lots of people see 6, and I wouldn’t doubt it. We’ll probably find out today!***
almost there…
Ella is now 49-53 days from her breedings, meaning we’re either two weeks or a week and a half from babies. I will be getting an x-ray on the 27th for a count, and hope that there are enough of them in there that she can free-whelp them. Any less than 4 worries me, and my guess runs from 3 on the low side to 6 on the high side. I am inclined to say that there will be 4. Ella is happy for a light load, as she can still run around pretty much unbothered by her baggage. She does seem a perplexed about why she can’t go as fast as she used to, and why she gets tired so fast. We are keeping her light and fit. She gets lots of walks and play sessions with the chuck-it. She can only fetch a few times before she has to go flounder around in her pool to cool down.
I’m still working on getting my backlog of posts up. That is my intent for my free evening, but I am having trouble figuring out how to get the pictures on my PC onto this Mac. Doesn’t help that I have never owned a Mac, nor worked on one. We’ll see if I’m a clever enough monkey to figure it out.
due dates
Based on the standard 63 day canine gestation model, if Ella is indeed pregnant then our little “astronauts” should touch down between May 29th and June 2nd. I’m betting on June 1st, seeing as it’s a new moon. 🙂 You might be able to tell that I am just a little excited. Putting all my wishing and hoping into getting babies this time. Grow, babies, grow!
just when you thought it was safe to take your snow tires off
Yesterday morning…
The same spot THIS MORNING…
Though I really didn’t have a choice in the matter, as far as the tires went. On Sunday I got a flat on one side, and when we looked at the other tire we realized that the wall was bulging (and, indeed, looked like popcorn on the inside when we took it off). I had planned on leaving them on until the state-mandated date in April when the law required they come off. At the very least I was going to drive to Alabama on them, ’cause we killed one of my summer tires last year with fix-a-flat, so I was going to have to buy at least one new one.
When I got the tires changed the shop informed me that I had a bad wheel baring on the left front. That was funny, I said, because I paid $300 just last month to have that replaced. We took it to my step-dad’s mechanic for a second opinion, he confirmed that was what it was, and I called the shop that had done the repair to redo it, gratis. If my tires hadn’t gone, the wheel probably would have flown off on the way to Alabama. Funny how things work out.
The dogs last night, when the snow was two inches deep instead of six.
This morning.
“Aaaaarrrrrrgggggghhhhhh!!!!!”
I am slated to leave on Saturday, unless Ella is ready sooner. OMG OMG OMG it’s actually happening!!!
Let me say, again and again, that Heidi is the most wonderful stud dog owner. I cannot believe how kind and accommodating she is being to me and to Ella. When I talked to Bonnie Money a few months ago (she had a litter by Rush out of her Minute) to ask how she liked her puppies, she said that not only did she love her puppies, that they were lovely and had absolutely outstanding temperaments, but that Heidi was a delight to work with – so nice, so involved with the puppies, just an all around great person. So if you are thinking about using Rush, keep that in mind as a perk.
I know that Heidi really wants a nice blue girl to fill the hole in her family’s heart that losing Rush’s mother, Dixie, left, so put your good thoughts into wishing a pretty blue girlie into existance for her. Oh, and while you’re at it, tack on a beautiful black for me. I want a girl, but I’d take a boy in a pinch. Just sayin’…
“I don’t want any more creepy potatos,” GoGo says. “And they best not touch my perch.”
happy birthday to us!
For those of you who don’t know, my first litter was born on my birthday, March 19th, in 2009 – and yes, we’re still all in Pisces! This past Saturday I turned 31 and the pupplets turned two. Happy birthday, babies! As we set off to get the second generation of Hagaren Cardigan’s brewing, here are some recent photos of my “Song” litter (which were mostly actually named after songs).
Alphonse, now Digby, “Hagaren’s Zombie Woof”
Bonita, now Stella, “Hagaren’s Cinnamon Girl”
Corin, now Pedey, “Hagaren’s Rookie of the Year”
Dexter, “Hagaren’s Street Spirit” CGC TDU, and Ella, “Hagaren’s Kinetic”
Fiyero, now Fergus, “Hagaren’s Free Fallin”
Gretchen, now Scout, “Hagaren’s Magic Jewel”
Hermione, now Maizey, “Hagaren’s Maizey Rockstar”
change of heart
After a bit more thinking I have decided not to do chilled semen, and instead to deliver Ella to her gentleman friend myself. It is only (only) 12 hours, and who am I to turn down a vacation…
I am getting a bit too wound up from this, as I tend to about…well…most things. I am the person who sits and thinks though every bad scenario, and wrings my hands, and thinks some more. With all the logistics involved, I don’t think I would survive a chilled semen shipment. I don’t want to breed her the next three heats (two because of winter puppies, and one because I want to do the Nationals, in the well-known Nationals or Litter, Choose One equation), so it is very important for her to get pregnant this time. This seems the best way to that end. I wouldn’t mind visiting Rush again, and to let Heidi get to know Ella a little, and to see Jeri and her family. And it is a little warmer down there, anyway. That would be nice…
The only step I need to look into now is progesterone testing. My vet up near Buffalo is a touch too far to drive to every other day, so I will see about using a closer vet for that. Mike and Jen, who are getting an Ella puppy, recommended a mother/daughter team just 20 minutes away. I also work with a girl whose mom breeds Newfies, and uses the same vet, and loves them. When I called a few weeks ago they said they weren’t accepting new patients. Maybe if I show up in person, and grovel a little, and maybe drum up some tears, they will at least agree to help me out with the testing.
The dogs are doing beautifully. They are so happy as a family. GoGo was starting to look a little old, but life and youth have returned to him since Bronte came back. I have never seen a pair of dogs so in love with each other as those two. They grab each others’ cheeks and prance together across the property. Bronte, who was always a soft dog who kept herself out of the way, has grown confident and bold and is now alpha of her husband and babies. Ella remains sassy, and Dexter is forever sweet, and they all run and run through the snow, and roll and play fight, and pass out dead on the couches afterward.
one month and couting…
How time does fly. If Ella is on schedule, in about a month we will be attempting to breed her again. We will be shipping chilled semen this time – a first for me. I admit to being nervous about the new experience, but Heidi has been very encouraging and has and excellent repro vet, and they have had great luck with Rush’s lady friends so far.
Ella has started her mommy supplements, and will be going in for her pre-breeding check-up in the next couple of weeks. Here is hoping for a bundle of healthy babies at the end of April, just in time for the start of good weather.
I didn’t enter Ella at Erie because she was naked. I didn’t enter Dex because he doesn’t need singles, and Erie has historically been a low entry show. So, of course, if Dex had entered it would have been a dog major. This always make me mope for days.
I am planning on doing the Louisville, KY, shows this year for our birthday, the 17th, 18th, and 19th of March. Ella will be two years old, and four weeks along (or not pregnant, but at the height of coat either way). I missed Louisville last year in favor of New Jersey, which was not blessed with an entry while Louisville pulled majors three of the four days.
rush x ella: the breakdown
Here is a run-down on my thoughts about this breeding…
Things I’m getting from both:
Nice toplines, nice tailsets, nice heads, nice bone, nice rib spring. Rush has an outstanding coat, and Ella’s is nice – for a blue. Blues often have funky coats, for a reason someone else might be able to explain. Both have nice neck and body length. There are great temperaments on both sides.
Both Rush and Ella are DM Clear. Rush is OFA Good and Ella is OFA Fair. Rush is fluff-free.
It is a minor thing, but I am a pigment nut. I hate butterfly noses, and was happy when all my puppies had black noses at three weeks old. Most of the puppies in Rush’s first litter on the ground (out of Bonnie Money’s Minute) were pitch black at a week old. Rush is black-black-black, and Ella is as deep and clear a dark merle as can be, with an espresso-colored brown eye and spots that are black to the skin. Most people will take a powder blue, but GoGo made me love slate merles. Black noses, dark eyes, jet blacks, and deep merles – just like I like ’em!
Things I hope Rush will do for Ella:
I am hoping Rush will improve her turn of stifle, and shorten her hocks and pasterns, to get a little of the air out from under her.
But, most of all, I chose this dog for his shoulder placement and front.
One of the things I hoped GoGo would do for Bronte is bump the shoulder back on the puppies, as he has loads of forchest. Dex is pretty much a match for Bronte, but Ella did slightly better. I would like Rush to get it the rest of the way back in the next generation. He seems to also have a slightly better shoulder and upper arm than Ella.
But, mostly, it’s that front!
Below is Rush at sixteen months. This dog has a BEAUTIFUL front. A correct Cardigan front wraps in around the rib cage and then drops, with moderate turnout. Ella front is not her fortune. Looking at Ella’s front above, you can see how she doesn’t quite have the wrap, and how she turns out more to compensate. Rush has short pasterns and compact round feet. Ella’s feet are alright, and look nice when she’s laying down. When she stands on them her front construction causes her to stand on the inside of her toes. Looking at Rush, you can see that he is standing more centered on his toes.
Ultimately, Rush is just a handsome, awesome little dog with a great personality and a nice, down-to-earth owner who adores the shit out of him. The health is there, and at the end of the day, he is a beloved pet, as my dogs are pets. Heidi seems very excited about the puppies, and that is a boost.
Here he is showing off just before going in to win Best Black Dog at the 2010 National.
When I was looking at a lot of Fudge sons (’cause, basically, that is where most of the quality black boys are these days), Jeri said I’d do well to go with him. I continued to hash it out in my head, and finally got it down to two, but what finally did it was seeing his babies. It struck me how much his babies looked like “my” babies, and I like the look of my dogs. It must be the Carbon-Inky look, which I apparently like. Any of his puppies would not have been out of place in GoGo’s litter, or Blue’s, or Dex and Ella’s.
Ella should be back in heat in late February or early March. My hope is to hit it right and go down for a week for a wee vacation, to get a natural breeding.
If you would like to check out Heidi’s blog, go HERE. I think it goes back to before Rush was born, or close. I was looking back through it yesterday, but I only got to four weeks old.
If you would like to see the pedigree for the Rush x Ella breeding, go HERE. It will be a Fudge/Carbon line-breeding.
Oh, and this litter theme will be “Astronomical.” If it’s in the sky, it can be in the name. I will put a name suggestion page again, and get all the info on the website as soon as I can.
no-go on the ellaments
Ultrasound says no babies this time.
Surprisingly, I’m not very disappointed. I think part of me held back due to the age of the stud dog and the bad luck breeders are having getting girls pregnant this year. There are lots of reasons why a February breeding is better – warm weather puppies, I can finish Ella’s CH (probably), I will have more time and less stress in the spring, and so on.
Everything happens for a reason. I truly believe that. Sorry to my puppy people. It’s an extra six months of waiting, but you will be happier potty training on grass instead of snow!
Ella says: “I will get more sleep and less sore nipples, so I’m down with it.”
I will settle on plans for the next attempt in the next month or so and update my puppy page accordingly. I may stay with the Ellaments theme, or I may move on to the next theme on my list, which is “Astronomical.”
I was totally cool with them shaving her belly BEFORE she was empty of puppies. Now I’m more sad about that than the emptiness. Oh well, it grows back. It’s not like I was going to have time to take her out and show her over the next two months anyway, with work and all. Grow, hair! Grow!
working for a living
I’ll try to be back in blog land again soon, and to tell you about Kate’s latest unexpected adventure. I survived our hell week leading up to Ellicottville’s Fall Fest – 75 hours logged!
Oh, to have my dogs’ lives.
Ella has her ultrasound this Monday, so we will see if there are any Ellaments in there. Right now many signs point to “YES.”
Hagaren Cardigans 