When We Grow Up…..

Posted on March 8, 2016 by Sand Spring Chesapeakes

We want to be just like our Dad!

Lzy Mtn 3-D Brown Bear SH “Bear”

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“Forrest”

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“Green” Male

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“Lime Green” Girl

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“Yellow” Male

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“White” Girl

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“Pink” Girl

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“Blue” Girl

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“Orange” Girl

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“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!

Dura-Whelp Because Glory Deserves It

Posted on January 28, 2016 by Sand Spring Chesapeakes

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.

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 Outdated wooden boxes are not only heavy but impossible to keep sanitary.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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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 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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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 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.

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.

Glory’s First Breeding Via TCI

Posted on November 25, 2014 by Sand Spring Chesapeakes

This breeding with Glory has been over a year in the making. Last summer I did my research on available stud dogs, picked one and was waiting for Glory to come into heat (which was suppose to be after she had her OFA test’s done). The best laid plans didn’t work last year, she came into heat before she was two which meant we couldn’t do her OFA test’s in essence we had to wait on breeding her the following year. We could of bred her in the spring after we did the testing but we train and run hunt tests all summer long a litter wouldn’t let us be able to do that so we do our limited breeding’s in the fall/winter.

So I get to meet my boyfriend today?

Where’s my boyfriend?

Are you bringing in my boyfriend?

So you know that we chose “Silas” to be the stud dog. Silas lives in Oklahoma. Normally the bitch would go to the stud dogs house and they would breed naturally any where’s from one to three times during the bitches standing heat period (a bitches heat cycle can range from 2-3 weeks in length with average time of standing heat being at 10-13 days). Since Silas lives 13 hours from us and we had too many things going on in November I planned on doing a artificial insemination for this breeding. There are a couple of methods that can be done for a AI. If the stud dog is alive (which Silas is) and his semen quality is good (he has produced several litters in the past) you would use a fresh chilled sample and have it implanted one of three ways.

Three types of Artificial Insemination

1. Vaginally – semen deposited into the vaginal tract

2. Transcervical – semen deposited into the cervix using a endoscope via the vagina

3. Surgical – surgical procedure where semen is deposited into the uterus, used most often with frozen semen and in older bitches that the doctor would like to visualize the uterus

I have done a vaginal and surgical AI with Nellie in the past which both produced a litter of puppy’s. I debated and debated which way to go with Glory. This is Glory’s first litter, she is young and healthy so there should be no reason on her end not to become pregnant doing a AI. But which AI will it be?

We’re in the conception room.

Hello lovely technician Brenda.

After some long deliberation I decided the best route for Glory would be the transcervical route. I figured we would only get one chance at a insemination and wanted the best percentage of her taking which is over 80% so we went for it. When doing AI breeding’s you need to run progesterone tests on the bitch so you can pin point when they are going to ovulate so you can do the breeding on the correct day for the best chance of conception. Glory had four progesterone tests run. Once I noticed she started her heat cycle I had one run which the results were low <.02 the reproduction doctor told me I could wait 4 days and run another one so the next one was done 7 days into her heat cycle, the results were .6, still low so the next one three days later. The next test was done 10 days into her heat and the results were 2.6 which happened to be on a Monday. Dogs ovulate when the progesterone reaches 5, the eggs need 48-72 hrs to mature before they can be impregnated with the semen. Dr said next test Wednesday. I knew we would be getting close by watching Glory and watching the discharge coming out her vagina (the color was changing from dark red to pink). I told the stud dog owner we were getting close and to be on standby. The results on Wednesday were 8.6, she ovulated so 911 the stud dog owner and have him collected and the semen overnight-ed for the AI on Thursday.

I use Veterinary Village for all my reproduction work. Dr. Greer has done my repro work on Nellie and gave me two nice litters so she will be the one doing the insemination on Glory.

Dr. Greer holding Glory as the table is being elevated to the correct height.

Dog daddy John holding her front, Brenda the tech holding the rear.

What is TCI?

TCI is Transcervical Insemination. How this is done is explained by the American Kennel Club website:

The transcervical insemination (TCI) is performed with the bitch in a standing position. No sedation nor anesthesia is required. A fiber optic cystourethoscope is used vaginally to visualize the opening to the cervix. A flexible catheter is maneuvered through the cervix into the uterus. It is important that the breeder realize that the veterinarian is not visualizing the inside of the uterus and this technique does not allow for evaluation of the uterus.

The TCI procedure is visualized on a television monitor and does allow for examination of the vaginal tract, however. The semen is gently pushed through the catheter from a syringe. The veterinarian can visualize that the semen flows easily into the uterus and does not flow back into the vaginal tract.

The transcervical insemination does not replace the surgical insemination as it does not allow for uterine evaluation, but is a significant improvement over the vaginal method of artificial insemination. The TCI is recommended for any type semen, especially frozen and fresh-cooled and can significantly increase conception when poor quality semen and lowered sperm numbers are used. The TCI technique should be used in bitches less than 5 years of age where there is not a reason to suspect uterine changes or uterine disease.

Getting everything prepared.

Let’s get this show on the road.

We were in and out in 30 minutes. Glory was a little uncomfortable when the first catheter was placed and kept in there while getting ready for the endoscope to be inserted. Once the endoscope was inserted then she calmed down and stood there for the procedure. Here are two video’s of the procedure. The first one is over a minute long and the second one is over 5 minutes long.

December 18 will be Glory’s ultrasound to see if she is pregnant. I could hardly wait for her to come into heat now I can hardly wait to find out the results. Thanks to Dr. Greer and her two technicians Brenda and Marissa who helped out with this breeding. Paws crossed!

Nothing But Norman #41

Posted on April 26, 2014 by Sand Spring Chesapeakes

Happy Saturday Everyone! Be sure to scroll down to the end of the blog to see where Norman is being featured this week.

Today we are going to the annual American Chesapeake Club “WI Chessie day’s”. The first time we attended one of these events was when Norman was 6 months old. The host was Sandy Dollar who owned Norman’s Grandpa. I currently train with Sandy each Wednesday. Patti Maye has been the host for the past several years. We go when their isn’t a hunt test going on so this is the year to attend again, a time to meet up with other chessie owners and talk about what we love “our chessies”.

Of course I will have my camera and take tons of pictures so stay tuned to find out how our day went.

Norman’s puppy (Gamblers Sisters) has a new hunting title

Earlier this month “Annie” earned her HRC Started title (SHR) owned, trained and handled by Ken Shaw. She is now She is now SHR Shaw’s Go Gett’em Annie. Way to go Annie and Ken, congrats you have made me proud doing what we have bred these dogs to do. You can also check out Annie’s modeling career with a photo of her on www.pureloveforpets.com. She is the chessie with the cat by a present. You can enter a contest to win great stuff from Paw it forward with Purina.

MY HEART BELONGS TO A CHESAPEAKE BAY RETRIEVER

A rough and ready sporting dog,
With loyal, loving ways-
My Chesapeake Bay Retriever
Puts sunshine in my days.

A dog that’s sure to follow its nose,
Until the chase is done.
When that pup looked up at me,
I knew my heart was won.

Roaming happily by my side,
Or resting at my feet-
My Chesapeake Bay Retriever
Makes my life complete.

Thanks to Ruckus The Eskie for this Sepia Saturday blog hop.

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We are also joining The Pet Parade blog hop! The Pet Parade blog hop starts on Friday each week and runs for a week. On Friday The host Rascal & Rocco have a featured favorite and I am so happy to say Norman was picked as their featured favorite. Hop on over to Rascal & rocco’s blog and see which picture they chose to feature Norman. Thank you so much pals, I love the picture you chose and the words you spoke.

Hosted by: Rascal and Rocco, Jan’s Funny Farm, Basil the Bionic Cat, Barking From The Bayou and Love Is Being Owned By A Husky.

Here is what Love Is Being Owned By A Husky (Jenna along with Melissa from Barking From The Bayou are the new co-hosts) says about the hop: So please feel free to link up and party with us!
Parade you fav pet photo’s , stories , ANYTHING you want! The only rule is . . . .
There are no rules!
And that’s the way we like it! Who needs rules at a party anyhow?
BUT it is always a good idea to link back to your hosts, and maybe even give them a follow!

Also, this hop consists mostly of kitties , there are a couple doggies that are involved, but the majority are kitties, so one of the reasons Melissa and are now co hosting is to let you all know that this hop is DOG FURIENDLY as well!

Black And White Sunday~National Puppy Day

Posted on March 23, 2014 by Sand Spring Chesapeakes

Friday the 21st was National Puppy Day!

Normally it is held on March 23rd. I thought I would share a black and white photo of Gambler and Glory as puppies.

Glory

Gambler

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

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Follow Up Friday

Posted on May 2, 2013 by Sand Spring Chesapeakes

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Happy 5th Birthday to Nellie’s First Litter

Posted on December 25, 2012 by Sand Spring Chesapeakes

The year of 2007 I did all kinds of research on who would be Nellie’s first boyfriend. After all that research I had decided to use a stud dog from out west. Washington to be exact. His name is HRCH CH INTL CH* Nordom’s Apache Rebel MH WDQ.

“Rebel” is a dark brown handsome fellow with many great accomplishments. Besides passing 22 Master Hunter tests in a row, he has qualified for Master Nationals the last 4 years with becoming a Master National finalist in 2006. He has also passed 9 UKC Finished tests in a row. He is a reliable dog in competition and a consistent finisher. While being fast, stylish and an excellent marker he will also run great lines on his blinds. He has proven himself in the field as well as in the Conformation ring by receiving his American and International show titles with a group placement when his owner was showing him to his IABCA International Show title. When Rebel isn’t training or competing he is also out hunting upland birds and waterfowl.

This was a vaginal AI done at Veterinary Village in Lomira, WI. Now the wait was on. Nellie’s due date was the week of Christmas that year. This was my first breeding hence my first litter, so it was all new to me. Even know I am a Veterinary Technician and have the knowledge, I didn’t have the experience. Nellie did super during her whole pregnancy, she was able to go hunting with us, play with Norman and go where ever we went.

Just after midnight the day of Christmas Nellie went into labor and delivered 7 beautiful little puppies. She had 2 boys and 5 girls. All were the same color and around the same size.

Nellie’s puppies birth day.

Jessie, Pearl, LuLu, Savannah, Huck, Kessler, Nelly

One puppy went to Washington, one went to Ohio, one went to Idaho, two went to Minnesota, one went to Colorado and one stayed in Wisconsin. The puppy that went to Minnesota we get to hunt with each year in Canada, our relationship has turned into a really nice friendship. Pearl has turned out to be a really nice hunter and fun to be around. We still get to see Savannah in Wisconsin, she is fun loving and loves to play with her tennis ball. Jessie in Ohio has her Therapy Dog International dog title and does therapy work with Hospice patients.

Happy 5th Birthday to Jessie, Pearl, LuLu, Savannah, Huck, Kessler and Nelly. May you have many more Birthdays to come.

Happy 3rd Birthday to Nellie’s 09 Litter

Posted on December 9, 2012 by Sand Spring Chesapeakes

3 years ago today Nellie had her second litter of little burr heads. In the end of September beginning of October 09 Nellie went with John and I to Canada to hunt snow geese. She went into heat right before we were going and we figured out that she would be in prime time heat just as we were heading home from our hunt. She had a great time in Canada and was right on schedule in her heat to be in standing heat when we got home. The day we got home she went to her boyfriends house and spent the next week there.