When We Grow Up…..

We want to be just like our Dad!

Lzy Mtn 3-D Brown Bear SH      "Bear"

Lzy Mtn 3-D Brown Bear SH “Bear”

1491689_10153749848669724_4159043630968321359_n

“Forrest”

12049493_10153749844089724_8213935347995908041_n

“Green” Male

12794637_10153749846454724_1980333667793111490_n

“Lime Green” Girl

12800250_10153749839919724_6549000180685841153_n

“Yellow” Male

12800317_10153749857399724_6074761894210204073_n

“White” Girl

12800410_10153749855399724_347526265581984671_n

“Pink” Girl

12801257_10153749852309724_6118534428246107899_n

“Blue” Girl

12803015_10153749836889724_2765540369898010978_n

“Orange” Girl

12813938_10153749842774724_7530582118944080888_n

“Red” Girl

I had fun doing this photo shoot and was pleasantly surprised when “Bear’s” owner sent me the picture of Bear in the wagon. It totally fit with my wagon theme and I just had to share it with you all. I sure hope these puppies turn out like their dad, hopefully they will get the best of both Glory and Bear and be super dogs!

Gambler And Choptank Upcoming Litter April 2016

Last week you may have seen if you follow my Sand Spring Facebook page that Gambler had a house guest. This house guest was his girlfriend for the week. “Choptank” HR Krauts Choptank Revisited came down from upper Michigan to hang with Gambler. Of course they did more than hang, they did what dogs do when they are together for breeding.

DSC_0891DSC_0898

DSC_0906 DSC_0951 DSC_0923DSC_0956DSC_0926 DSC_0931

Isn’t she beautiful? Don’t you think they will make beautiful little Gamchops? Stay tuned for good news that there is a pregnancy and Gamchops on the way.

You can see the breeding announcement here

You contact Rick at sauerkraut26@gmail.com 

You can also visit them on Sauerkraut Facebook page. 

Barks And Bytes

We are joining Linda at 2browndawgs and Jodi at Heart Like A Dog for this great blog hop.

Glory’s Scheduled Cesarean Section

IMG_52971

We are six days into Glory’s scheduled cesarean section which took place at Veterinary Village on February 6, 2016. I chose to do a scheduled csec after talking in depth with Dr. Greer about Glory and what would be best for her and her puppies. Dr. Greer is my reproduction veterinarian for all my repro needs. I also consult my doctors where I work as a Veterinary Technician at Harmony Pet Clinic between us all we came up with a game plan. This breeding was a surgical AI using frozen semen that was also done at Veterinary Village, you can read that post here.

First we took into consideration that Glory didn’t have a “normal” whelp with her last litter. Glory gave birth to a dead puppy 5 hours after her last delivered live puppy. This puppy looked normal in all aspects except that it was dead. That constitutes not a “normal” whelp.

Second Glory’s due date landed on the weekend. If by some chance Glory had problems with her whelp and became distressed the reproduction clinic or an emergency clinic would be over a hour away that is not a good distance to have to travel with a bitch that is having problems delivering. The percentage of survival of puppies is higher with a scheduled csec than letting the bitch deliver naturally if the bitch becomes distressed and it turns into a emergency csec. This has been proven by Paula Moon et.al study that she did “Perioperative risk factors for puppies delivered by cesarean section in the United States and Canada.” JAAHA 2000, Vol 36, N. 4, p. 359-368.

Third thing we took into consideration was that x-ray showed that Glory was going to have a large litter. Even know the x-ray shown that she was going to have at least 8 puppies Glory was very large which made me think she had more puppies in there than on x-ray for they were 8 really large puppies.

This decision is one that isn’t taken lightly and should be well thought out and discussed with your reproduction veterinarian. You know your dog and you know what you and your dog can handle so you need to do right is right for your pregnant bitch.

Without further adieu let me take you through Glory’s c-section experience.

Date: February 6, 2016 time to be at Veterinary Village 12 pm, time to leave Stancerville 11 am. Friends Tom and Irene (who own Josey from Glory’s last litter) arrived promptly at 10:45 am, we loaded up the van and were off on an adventure that we will never forget.

Supplies we took with.

Supplies we took with.

Supplies we took with: Comforter for Glory to lay on in the van, basket to bring the puppies home in, heating pad to keep the puppies warm, power inverter for the heating pad, blanket for puppies, towels for basket, notepad to keep notes, soda, cookies, camera, chocolate and chapstick for the vet staff.

Blood draw, catheter placement.

Blood draw, catheter placement.

Once we arrived at the clinic we checked in with the receptionist, Glory weighed in at 95.5#, we were then taken to our examination room where the pre-op stuff would take place. First Glory had her blood drawn for her pre anesthetic blood work which will check her internal organs check a complete blood count and a coagulation panel. While the blood work was being run on the in house chemistry analyzers Kassie one of the Veterinary Technicians placed the IV catheter. This would be for IV medications and for IV fluids during the procedure. She then received steroids through her catheter site as well as flush to   make sure the catheter was patient. An Adaptil collar was put on at this time. The collar which is a calming collar should be put on a couple days before any whelp. It has dog appeasing pheromones that help calm the mother.

ECG and shave.

ECG and shave.

While the steroids were incubating (needed at least 45 minutes) a ECG was taken of Glory’s heart to make sure it was beating correctly, they didn’t want any surprises in surgery if there was something that could of been detected before surgery. Her abdomen was then shaved so there could be a sterile surgical field lastly she was given a couple subcutaneous injections which were calcium, reglan and atropine. Calcium was given because it has been anecdotally reported to improve maternal skills and aids in uterine contractility. Reglan has been shown to improve lactation. Atropine will cross the placentas and aid in maintaining fetal heart rates. *taken from the book Dr. Greer wrote: Canine Reproduction and Neonatology. Published by Teton NewMedia.

PicMonkey Collage5

At 1:45 pm Glory was induced, intubated, hooked up to general anesthesia and IV fluids and prepped for surgery. When they are prepped a plastic drape is put down and only the incision area is scrubbed so the puppies are more apt to take to the nipples since nothing was put on them. Dr. Greer and Dr. Ahmann performed the c-section while Dr. Griffiths was monitoring the anesthesia as well as Glory and keeping track of the surgery as what puppy came out first and out of what horn of the uterus, what time the puppy came out and who it was given to in what color towel so the puppy could be kept track of from start to finish. Their were 4 support staff members handling the puppies as they came out. Heather and Cassidy are Veterinary Assistants, Cassie is a Technician and Dr. Greer/Griffiths daughter Katie was home for the weekend so she helped out also she is a nurse.

It’s show time, at 1:54 pm the first puppy was born, the last one was born at 1:59 pm.

The video shown what a well oiled team this is. Everyone had their duty and place.

Surgery report.

Surgery report.

Another puppy coming out.

Another puppy coming out.

The puppies were popping out like popcorn so more hands were needed on deck to help stimulate the puppies and get them warmed up and breathing good. The first stop for the puppies was at the puppy resuscitation center.

The more hands the merrier.

The more hands the merrier.

I thought the rubber maid container with heating pads inside of it was most clever. That way if you needed to let go of the puppy there was no chance of it falling off the table. There were heating pads in the bottom with a towel over it to keep the puppies warm. Each puppy came out and was put into a specific colored towel so they could keep track of who was who. At this table was where the puppy’s throat got suctioned out with a DeeLee Mucus trap, caffeine was given to help stimulate them, dopram was given if needed help breathing where oxygen was given too if needed. They stayed here until they were stable then were transferred to another table where another team member did their work on them.

Weight, id, umbilicus table.

Weight, id, umbilicus table.

At the weight, id and umbilicus table where the Dr’s daughter Katie was tying off the umbilical cords from the placenta using a sterile hemostat and suture material. Once tied off then the placenta could be cut off and the umbilical cord dipped in iodine. The puppy was weighed and a small spot of nail polish was placed on the head before it headed to the incubator to stay warm.

PicMonkey Collage7

The supervisor.

PicMonkey Collage6

Another puppy coming out and resuscitated.

The surgical suite.

The surgical suite.

While Dr. Greer was overseeing what what going on in the treatment room with the puppies Dr. Ahmann was suturing up Glory. Glory was done at 3 pm.

Glory in recovery.

Glory in recovery.

While Glory was in recovery the puppies were all doing well so I asked if the Dr. could remove their dewclaws right away so I didn’t need to make a trip back with them since I live a hour away. Each puppy had rear dewclaws that needed to be removed along with the fronts.

Removing dewclaws.

Removing dewclaws.

The technician holds the puppy pressing on the cephalic vein that goes down the leg at the elbow while stabilizing the leg for the doctor. A sterile surgical scissors is used to remove the dewclaw, kwik stop is applied and surgical glue is used to seal the incision. Once done the puppy was given to me to see if they wanted to nurse on Glory.

Trying to nurse.

Trying to nurse.

The puppies and Glory wanted no part of nursing. It was too soon for them so instead of taking any chances that they might not get Glory’s colostrum which is a valuable part for puppies to develop adequate passive immunity and should be given within 12 hours of birth Dr. Greer decided to get them started on fresh frozen plasma.

Giving plasma via tube feeding.

Giving plasma via tube feeding.

Since I needed to give the plasma once we were home via a feeding tube I needed a refresher course on tube feeding. I learned it in technician school but I haven’t had to do it in a very long time. Dr. Greer was explaining to me what I should do. You take a feeding tube and stretch the end of it to the last rib and the nose. You put a mark on the tube where the end of the rib landed. You then tip the head of the puppy down and insert the tube into the left side of the puppies mouth and guide the tube down the esophagus, once you get to the mark you made on the tube you hold the head in your hand while holding the tube and using your other hand you pinch the puppy to get it to cry, if it cries then the tube is in the stomach and not the trachea and then it is ok to administer the fluid. If you can’t get the puppy to cry then reinsert the tube.

That is a video of me tubing the puppy and giving it the plasma. Fresh frozen plasma can be purchased through HemoPet. The donor dogs have their health screenings so they are disease free so you don’t have to worry about introducing diseases. The tube feeding went well. Glory was recovered enough to go home with her pups so it was time to pack them up.

Time to go home.

Time to go home.

We took the puppies out of the incubator, placed them in their heated blanket and into the van we went.

Ice Cream for the ride home.

Ice Cream for the ride home.

On our way home we stopped for ice cream and of course I was busy texting my friends telling them all was well with everyone.

So far I am very pleased with my decision to do a scheduled c-section. I have the best well organized repro clinic a breeder could have. Since I am a technician and know how a facility should be run it was so nice to see this clinic being run that way. Everyone was so professional and took such good care of Glory and the pups. They all had their jobs and they did them well. I can’t thank the staff at Veterinary Village enough for allowing Tom, Irene and I to partake in such an amazing delivery. So far all 9 puppies are doing very well and so is Glory.

THANK YOU!!!

Barks And Bytes

We are joining Linda at 2browndawgs and Jodi at Heart Like A Dog for this great blog hop.

 

Eastwood Sisters Tour T-Shirts

This weekend I made my own Eastwood Sisters Tour T-Shirts. It was easy and fun when you read the instructions first! Note to other’s who want to make their own iron on transfers to put on things like t-shirts, bandannas, tote bags you should read the printing instructions completely before printing all the transfers that come in a package.

I bought my t-shirts and computer iron on transfer paper at Hobby Lobby. I used Transfer Magic Inkjet Transfer Paper.

IMG_4798

Now going back to reading instructions, I have done transfers before and when I did them I needed to “mirror” the image so when you ironed it onto the t-shirt the image and writing was correct and not backwards. So I did what I did in the past, printed all 5 transfers and then went to iron them on the shirts and whoops I wasn’t suppose to “mirror” the image, I was to leave it the right way as that is how this transfer paper works. Gads! I just wasted all that ink and a whole package of paper! READ FIRST!

Now onto how I did this project.

IMG_4753First you want to pick your image and create your project. Read the transfer paper instructions and either “mirror” the image or leave it alone and then print out your design.

IMG_4754

Lock up Gambler before you start your project or he will drag out a blanket and proceed to rip it.

IMG_4799

Cut around the design and cut off the excess white paper.

IMG_4800

Iron the shirt and let cool before you do the transfer. Iron on a hard surface not on a towel.

IMG_4801

Read the instructions on how long you should iron over the transfer, times vary for full sheet transfers like this one I had to iron for 3 minutes.

IMG_4802

Let the transfer cool for a bit then peel the backing off slowly.

IMG_4803

Ta Da the final product.

IMG_4806

I did 4 t-shirts today, I would of did 2 more but I ran out of transfer paper due to not reading instructions!

I also bought some tote bags from Walmart so I decided we needed tote bags for our show items.

IMG_4807

you do the tote bag just like you do t-shirts, easy peezy.

IMG_4813

I added the girl’s names and paw prints to the bags so we would know who’s was who’s. I used fabric paint for the names.

IMG_4809

Josey got two bags as Tom can decide which bag he feels manly in and use for the show.

IMG_4812

Preachers finished bag and t-shirts.

I think this project came out very well. Time will tell as to how the t-shirts hold up to the washer machine. The Eastwood Sisters tour will start in less than two weeks as they have a UKC show coming up on Feb 13-14, 2016. If they hit it big time maybe there will be shirts for sale to the general public.

 

Dura-Whelp Because Glory Deserves It

Glory is due to have her and Bear’s (Lzy Mtn Piper’s 3-D Brown Bear SH) puppies the weekend of February 6th. Now is the time to break out the whelping box, set it up and have Glory get used to it. You know from the last breeding I did in July Glory used Nellie’s old wood whelping box that I painted to try and make it seem “new” to her.

The wooden box.

The wooden box.

I thought for this litter Glory deserved a new whelping box so I did my research and found that Dura-Whelp was the way to go by Breeder Base. I ordered one up, ordered a pad to go with it and waited for it to arrive which took 2 weeks (I did order it on a Saturday). Yesterday was the day to set it up as I had off of work.

What is Dura-Whelp?

*Dura-Whelp® is the Original PROFESSIONAL whelping box.
The worlds Cleanest & Easiest & Safest whelping boxes“since 1994”

Corrugated plastic is somewhat flexible yet extremely durable and easy to clean. Our patented floor-to-wall design eliminates parts with complicated slots, grooves and gaps for poop/urine to get trapped in & leak through. Our flat and open surface area allows for easy cleaning! Outdated wooden boxes are not only heavy but impossible to keep sanitary. Painting introduces diseases, skin lesions, etc. & the probability of puppies eating the paint. The entire Dura-Whelp® Box can be easily cleaned with Bleach, Quatricide, other detergent or disinfectant.*

*from Breeders Base website

The shipping box doubles as a storage box.

The shipping box doubles as a storage box.

I hauled this big box up stairs to my bedroom all by myself so it was actually quite light. My helpers were there ready to help me out. Gambler thought he had the job of opening the box as he gets to open ALL boxes. He was taken back when I told him to kindly remove his teeth from the box. So he just stood and watched me.

Preacher helping me open the box.

Preacher helping me open the box.

You want to be careful opening the box so that you can use it again to store the box in when not in use. I pulled out all the components and got started assembling.

The side rails.

The side rails.

You want to be careful when using a scissors to cut the plastic away from the side rails. They put plastic over the velcro  when they were securing the rails together. I almost cut right through the velcro not knowing what it really was.

The instructions.

The instructions.

The box came with instructions on assembling, cleaning and care of the pad that I bought with it.

The base.

The base.

After everything was unpacked and opened up I laid down the base in which Preacher had to check it out.

The side piece which is the box.

The side piece which is the box.

You center the one piece box on top of the base.

The velcro on the sides.

The velcro on the sides.

The velcro was attached to the base, you then had to peel off the sticky plastic along the whole side then press the small side up onto the side of the whelping box. The sticky velcro will then adhere to the tall side of the box and stay there for future use. This was the most time consuming part. It took me forever to peel that sticky tape off the velcro. You do this for all four sides.

The velcro on the side rails.

The velcro on the side rails.

The pig rails have velcro on them to that needs the sticky tape removed. You then put the rail into the open slot on the box and push the velcro side of the rail up against the side of the box. This will help hold the side rail in place around the box. There are 2 side rails that get attached into the holes in the box then the other 2 side rails have lips on them that butt up against the first side rails and then you screw them in place.

Attaching the side rails with 4 screws.

Attaching the side rails with 4 screws.

I had to use a screw driver to screw the screw into place, it wasn’t that difficult.

Velcro to attach the pad to the base.

Velcro to attach the pad to the base.

The box came with one disposable pad liner that goes under the pad. The pad that I bought separately came with 4 velcro pieces that attaches to the base and then the pad will attach to that velcro. The pad is made of a faux fleece with rubber on the bottom to keep it from sliding around. The pad can be put in the washer on gentle cycle and cool dry in the dryer or hung out to dry. It’s a good idea to purchase 2 pads so when one is in the washer you have one in the box.

Front view.

Front view.

Ta Da it’s done. The front of the box has a removal door that you can keep in place to keep everyone in or you can pull it out when it’s time for weaning and let mom come out. There is another weaning box that can be attached to this box when the time is right so then they can move from one box to the next. There are corner pieces that you can purchase also to help save the corners, I didn’t get these or the extra weaning box.

The side view.

The side view.

The box I bought was the XLG box which is 48 x 60 in. For right now I got a K & H heating pad for warmth which looks really small inside the box. It is a 12 x 23 in. I’m not sure if I’m going to use it or not. Breeder Base has a puppy incubation system called the Therma-Whelp which I may look into getting. I’m not digging the heating pad idea with the cord in the box even know it is lined with wire to prevent biting but the cord will have to be strung over the box and not sure how that will all work out. I used to use a heating lamp with Nellie and had no problems with it but I wanted to try and stay away from that with Glory as Glory tends to run hot and she hates heat so I wanted to do something where Glory could be cool and the puppies warm.

Gambler and his gender crisis.

Gambler and his gender crisis.

Of course Gambler had to be the first one to hop in the box with the door up. I think he is having a gender crisis and wants to be a girl so he can have a special box.

Time for Glory to check it out.

Time for Glory to check it out.

Come on mom? Is this really for me? That means I’m about to have little burr heads again and have to spend time in the box with them again. She checked the box all out and made sure it was to her liking. Last night thou she didn’t sleep in it she slept on the floor right outside the box.

It's great!

It’s great!

It took me 35 minutes to unpack and set this all up. Now that it is all put together and I know how to do it taking it down and putting it back up will be a snap.

Easy storage.

Easy storage.

Once I’m done with it I can easily put it back in it’s original box and store it in the attic that is attached to my bedroom closet.

I got my Dura-Whelp from Dogs Afield, I found they had the best price.

Cost of XLG box:       $199.99

Pad:                               47.99

Extra shipping                40.00

Total:                            $287.98

I plan on keeping you updated as I use the box and do a review later as to how I liked it.

Barks And Bytes

We are joining Linda at 2browndawgs and Jodi at Heart Like A Dog for this great blog hop.

Snow Snack

Snow Snack

Snow is nummy.

Snow is nummy.

Mom you have some on your face, let me get that!

Mom you have some on your face, let me get that! – Glory that is just my sugar it’s not snow!

There is something about snow that Nellie loves. When ever we are out side she is gobbling up the snow. At first when she did it a few years back I thought maybe she had a kidney problem or another disease that she needed water so she was eating snow to make up for it. I took her in and had bloodwork done and she was normal. No diseases to be had she just loves eating snow that much.

She makes a cute snow face doesn’t she? Do your dogs gobble up the snow too?

Nothing But Norman #125

Happy Saturday All!
Nothing But Norman

The WI duck hunting season is coming to a close. I only got out once to hunt ducks this fall, I did other hunting with the gang. We have public hunting grounds near our house that we will go to. The marsh isn’t very clean and back in 2008 when I went with Norman the water was down so it made it extra muddy. Norman looked like a black lab when we were done hunting. I couldn’t edit my photos, rotate or copy write them as for some reason I saved them in a read only feature.

062887-R1-08-17 062887-R1-11-14 062887-R1-12-13 062887-R1-20-5 062887-R1-22-3 (3)

He was a very happy boy this day, me not so much as I had to bathe him when I got home.

Have a great weekend.

Puppies In Tub

DSC_0779

PicMonkey Collage PicMonkey Collage1 PicMonkey Collage2 PicMonkey Collage3 PicMonkey Collage4 PicMonkey Collage5 PicMonkey Collage6 PicMonkey Collage (2)

We had a fun photo shoot this past weekend. The puppies turned 5 weeks old on Saturday. Only three more weeks until they go to their new homes. It’s a good thing I’m keeping one as they are just too darn cute. I’ve narrowed down my decision, I will be keeping either Orange or Pink. Who will the lucky lady be?

Nothing But Norman #102

Happy Saturday All!

Project16 - Copy - Copy - Copy

Last weekend on Fathers Day you might of seen my facebook pictures if your my friend on facebook, if your not my friend you can do so my searching for JoAnn Stancer (I think there is only one of me so easy to find). Since it was Fathers Day and Norman was a father to Nellie and Gambler I thought it would be nice to finally spread some of his ashes in my flower garden next to “his” blanket flower. I haven’t spread any of Norman’s ashes at my house since he has been gone. It’s nice to have him in my garden now. When I look at the flower I see Norman.

Gambler and Nellie, Norman’s kids. Norman is in the little cup.

Dad is that you?

Hi dad! It’s nice to see you again.

Dad is with us again.

Norman in is resting spot in my garden.

My friend Teri gave me a nice garden stake to put in my garden where I would put Norman’s ashes so I would never forget where he was. I put out the stake for the first time after I spread Norman’s ashes. What a lovely addition to my garden.

We are joining Ruckus The Eskie and Earl’s World for Sepia Saturday.

sepia_saturday_blog_hop_badge_200

Powered by Linky Tools

Click here to enter your link and view this Linky Tools list…

MK Deserves Some Puter Time~Happy Flag Day

Happy Flag Day!

MK’s Puter Time!

Today is also World Pet Memorial Day.

A TIME TO REMEMBER —————— They come into our lives for such a short time a time we wouldn’t trade not even for a dime Then before you know it the years have flown by and then all of the sudden we’re saying good-bye

It wasn’t that long ago we said our good-byes we held on to you tight as you closed your eyes Your spirit has flown home on the wings of a dove into God’s loving arm’s; in heaven above

Over the days we’ve shed many tears but the memories we have will live on for years We feel your presence and we know that your near you’re keeping us safe and calming our fear

We think about memories from years past when you were young and strong and ran so fast we remember all the great times that we all had how you always made us happy never made us mad

They were the best and happiest years we had we’ll always look back on them and never be sad We look forward to the time we’ll be together again and we thank the Lord for such a great friend

Now you run and play up in Heaven above cradled in God’s arms covered with his love Playing by the Bridge waiting for the day we come down thru the meadow to the bridge to stay

The love that you showed us we’ll never forget because to us you’re one very special pet You’re like a star in the dark of night always watching over us with the Lord’s light

So now we take time to remember our best friend who will always be with us even to the end We’ll always remember you the way you were one big lovable huggable pile of fur

John Quealy

nolasugar_bwbadge_pm

We are joining Dachshund Nola & Sugar The Golden Retriever for the Black and White Sunday Blog Hop.

Powered by Linky Tools

Click here to enter your link and view this Linky Tools list…