Wednesday 5th December.
Hunting deer with guns is up on Saturday and we will all be very relieved, however, so far, we have had no incidents with hunters so that is good.
Ranger has fully recovered from his porcupine encounter and all I can hope for is he learned a harsh lesson. The rest of the dog family are well and look so funny when they are out in their brightly coloured coats.
I spotted blood on the floor this morning so someone is coming into season, I suspect It could be either Motsi(her first) or Lela. Either way, the timings are good for me as If it is Lela and I do mate her It will not coincide with my trip to crufts.
We have had significant snowfall over the last few days so the dogs are getting good strong exercise and that includes me. Walking in deep snow is such a good aerobic exercise and what with lugging bales of hay around I really do not need to go to the gym.
The dogs will not be happy tonight as I have had a slate floor put down in the kitchen today and indoors will be strictly out of bounds to them.
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Ranger
Tuesday 27th November.
Poor Ranger had to go to the vets last week as he was spiked by the porcupine and unfortunately for him the quills were mainly in his mouth and tongue. He was very distressed by the incident but I took him to the vets immediately and they were removed under anaesthetic. He was put on anti biotics as his nose was very swollen. I just hope this incident taught him to stay well clear of porcupines.
In my previous entry I forgot to mention that the quills should be snipped with scizzors before removal to relieve the air thus releasing the vacuum.
Last Wednesday morning we let the dogs out for their first wee as usual and Kasidi and Lela did not come back, Mark and I were a little alarmed as It is hunting season. A little later we set off on our walk and as we approached the first field we walk through we found what had been the big attraction for the girls. There was a dead deer that had just started to be eaten by something and thereafter by my dogs. We had great difficulty moving the dogs on as here was a feast just begging to be had. Later that afternoon and over the next day all of the dogs at some point sneaked off to the dear and the next day as we walked by It was just a skeleton with a head. The bones had been stripped off the flesh and the next day after that even the head had gone. The efficiency of our local predators plus my dogs ate what must have been around 160 pounds of flesh in just over 2 days. Lela and Kasidi look at least 12 pounds heavier and have had terrible flatulence. They are now on diets and are not impressed that their food has been reduced.
I sometimes marvel at how we have adjusted to living in these wild surroundings, back home there was never anything to worry about in terms of wildlife and of course we did not have the fear of rabies as the UK is rabies free. The dogs are showing the scars of battling with the wildlife. Ruby came back from her walk with a large scratch on her nose the other day and I have no idea where it came from. I remain philosophical though, and will never stop the dogs doing what makes them happy and If something happens to them, well, they were living their life to the full.
Ranger has lost weight and is looking very good at the moment, he is very loyal to me and if I allowed him to he would follow me everywhere. It is going to take someone very special to come along before i let him go to a new home. I will try to get some photo's up of him as soon as the swelling on his nose has gone down.
Poor Ranger had to go to the vets last week as he was spiked by the porcupine and unfortunately for him the quills were mainly in his mouth and tongue. He was very distressed by the incident but I took him to the vets immediately and they were removed under anaesthetic. He was put on anti biotics as his nose was very swollen. I just hope this incident taught him to stay well clear of porcupines.
In my previous entry I forgot to mention that the quills should be snipped with scizzors before removal to relieve the air thus releasing the vacuum.
Last Wednesday morning we let the dogs out for their first wee as usual and Kasidi and Lela did not come back, Mark and I were a little alarmed as It is hunting season. A little later we set off on our walk and as we approached the first field we walk through we found what had been the big attraction for the girls. There was a dead deer that had just started to be eaten by something and thereafter by my dogs. We had great difficulty moving the dogs on as here was a feast just begging to be had. Later that afternoon and over the next day all of the dogs at some point sneaked off to the dear and the next day as we walked by It was just a skeleton with a head. The bones had been stripped off the flesh and the next day after that even the head had gone. The efficiency of our local predators plus my dogs ate what must have been around 160 pounds of flesh in just over 2 days. Lela and Kasidi look at least 12 pounds heavier and have had terrible flatulence. They are now on diets and are not impressed that their food has been reduced.
I sometimes marvel at how we have adjusted to living in these wild surroundings, back home there was never anything to worry about in terms of wildlife and of course we did not have the fear of rabies as the UK is rabies free. The dogs are showing the scars of battling with the wildlife. Ruby came back from her walk with a large scratch on her nose the other day and I have no idea where it came from. I remain philosophical though, and will never stop the dogs doing what makes them happy and If something happens to them, well, they were living their life to the full.
Ranger has lost weight and is looking very good at the moment, he is very loyal to me and if I allowed him to he would follow me everywhere. It is going to take someone very special to come along before i let him go to a new home. I will try to get some photo's up of him as soon as the swelling on his nose has gone down.
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Dog things
Saturday 17th Of November.
Last week was not the best of weeks. We appear to have a resident porcupine in the woods near to my house and on three consecutive days Raiza, Kasidi and Lela were"spiked". Ranger managed to get just one in the middle of his lip. Quite how he managed that I can only imagine but It really was very distressing for the dogs having them removed. Everyone has their own idea as to how they should be removed but they way I remove them is to bandage the dogs eyes and top part of the muzzle and remove the big ones with a pair of pliers. The small ones I leave until the next day where I find they are much easier to remove. Obviously if the quills were in the neck region I would take the dog to the vets to have them removed under anesthetic. We have been lucky in that there have not been too many unlike last year when Brewster resembled Santa Claus as he had loads on both sides of his face.
We did not go far this morning on our walk as I could hear gun shots and Lela does not like the sound of guns. We stayed around the property and in our own paddock and the dogs went crazy for the cow manure. Very distasteful, but all dogs seem to view It as a delicacy so I try not to get too upset about It. I think the end of the deer hunting is December 7th and It can't come soon enough for me.
I had to take Olivia to school early this morning and on the main road we saw a hunter cruising on his 4 wheeler with his gun over his shoulder looking for deer. I was so angry to see this, I thought hunting required skill, looking for tracks and waiting patiently in the woods, being at one with nature. Guys like him give the sport a bad name and sadly there seems to be many like him. I really find It very distressing but It is part of living in upstate New York.
Last week was not the best of weeks. We appear to have a resident porcupine in the woods near to my house and on three consecutive days Raiza, Kasidi and Lela were"spiked". Ranger managed to get just one in the middle of his lip. Quite how he managed that I can only imagine but It really was very distressing for the dogs having them removed. Everyone has their own idea as to how they should be removed but they way I remove them is to bandage the dogs eyes and top part of the muzzle and remove the big ones with a pair of pliers. The small ones I leave until the next day where I find they are much easier to remove. Obviously if the quills were in the neck region I would take the dog to the vets to have them removed under anesthetic. We have been lucky in that there have not been too many unlike last year when Brewster resembled Santa Claus as he had loads on both sides of his face.
We did not go far this morning on our walk as I could hear gun shots and Lela does not like the sound of guns. We stayed around the property and in our own paddock and the dogs went crazy for the cow manure. Very distasteful, but all dogs seem to view It as a delicacy so I try not to get too upset about It. I think the end of the deer hunting is December 7th and It can't come soon enough for me.
I had to take Olivia to school early this morning and on the main road we saw a hunter cruising on his 4 wheeler with his gun over his shoulder looking for deer. I was so angry to see this, I thought hunting required skill, looking for tracks and waiting patiently in the woods, being at one with nature. Guys like him give the sport a bad name and sadly there seems to be many like him. I really find It very distressing but It is part of living in upstate New York.
Friday, November 9, 2007
Dogs
Friday 9th November.
Oh dear where has the time gone! This is the time of year that I dread, the approach of hunting season and I just hope It will be a quiet one.Soon the dogs will be wearing their bright orange collars and in some cases their orange jackets. Last year the boys wore the jackets as they tended to be more adventurous but this year I am not so sure and will most probably buy them for the girls also.
Ranger continues to be as good as gold, he is no trouble whatsoever but when Mark comes back next week we will endeavour to find a new home for him. This will be very hard for me and the children as we have become very fond of him but we simply cannot keep him.
Keeping males with females can be quite complicated sometimes especially when one of the girls comes into season. I suspect Lela maybe coming into season quite soon as we had an incident between Brewster and Raiza the other day which was quite unpleasant. Mark and I were in the barn feeding the cows when I heard grumbling. By the time I had reached the dogs It was too late and Brewster and Raiza were involved in a spat. They have had their set too's in the past but this one was particularly loud and I thought quite serious. Jimmy, the man digging up my entire garden with his bulldozer (we have serious flooding and need new drains) watched as mark and I tried to separate them.Raiza was clearly the one in a position of dominance as he had Brewster by the throat and for the first time ever Brewster was crying out. It really was very unsettling and as we managed to seperate them I feared that Brewster would have extensive wounds. To my amazement, on examination, not one mark could be found on Brewster, not even a toothmark. Jimmy shouted to me he half expected Brewsters throat to be missing but apart from saliva, there was nothing.
Later that morning as I was thinking of the whole incident I felt very pleased with how Raiza had reacted. Brewster, although castrated, still behaves as if he is not and is always grumbling at Raiza. Raiza, on the whole ignores him but obviously on this day Raiza decided to show him who was boss. There is no doubt that Raiza could have inflicted serious wounds on Brewster and judging by the noise they were making thats what we thought he was doing, but he didn't. He had him in a hold and was demanding submission without causing injury and I can only be pleased with his restraint.
The amazing thing that I have learned after such incidents is not to seperate them as this only makes the situation worse. They were both put in the utility room and a little while later we went shopping and It was as if nothing had happened at all when we returned and this is always the case.
Someone has asked about beautiful Caesar. When It became clear to me that the American breed standard is unforgiving about the amount of white on the toes, I realised I could not keep him as I have a commitment to breed to the standard , I could have produced puppies with too much white. Soon after making that decision, I received a phone call from a lovely lady called April from Connecticut. She had just lost her old Ridgeback and was looking for a puppy, I suggested she may want to consider Caesar so she made the journey to visit us with her husband and son and after spending a couple of hours with him they decided to take him home. It was a perfect match and he adored her little boy. My last update of him was April may well show him as he has continued to develop beautifully.
Oh dear where has the time gone! This is the time of year that I dread, the approach of hunting season and I just hope It will be a quiet one.Soon the dogs will be wearing their bright orange collars and in some cases their orange jackets. Last year the boys wore the jackets as they tended to be more adventurous but this year I am not so sure and will most probably buy them for the girls also.
Ranger continues to be as good as gold, he is no trouble whatsoever but when Mark comes back next week we will endeavour to find a new home for him. This will be very hard for me and the children as we have become very fond of him but we simply cannot keep him.
Keeping males with females can be quite complicated sometimes especially when one of the girls comes into season. I suspect Lela maybe coming into season quite soon as we had an incident between Brewster and Raiza the other day which was quite unpleasant. Mark and I were in the barn feeding the cows when I heard grumbling. By the time I had reached the dogs It was too late and Brewster and Raiza were involved in a spat. They have had their set too's in the past but this one was particularly loud and I thought quite serious. Jimmy, the man digging up my entire garden with his bulldozer (we have serious flooding and need new drains) watched as mark and I tried to separate them.Raiza was clearly the one in a position of dominance as he had Brewster by the throat and for the first time ever Brewster was crying out. It really was very unsettling and as we managed to seperate them I feared that Brewster would have extensive wounds. To my amazement, on examination, not one mark could be found on Brewster, not even a toothmark. Jimmy shouted to me he half expected Brewsters throat to be missing but apart from saliva, there was nothing.
Later that morning as I was thinking of the whole incident I felt very pleased with how Raiza had reacted. Brewster, although castrated, still behaves as if he is not and is always grumbling at Raiza. Raiza, on the whole ignores him but obviously on this day Raiza decided to show him who was boss. There is no doubt that Raiza could have inflicted serious wounds on Brewster and judging by the noise they were making thats what we thought he was doing, but he didn't. He had him in a hold and was demanding submission without causing injury and I can only be pleased with his restraint.
The amazing thing that I have learned after such incidents is not to seperate them as this only makes the situation worse. They were both put in the utility room and a little while later we went shopping and It was as if nothing had happened at all when we returned and this is always the case.
Someone has asked about beautiful Caesar. When It became clear to me that the American breed standard is unforgiving about the amount of white on the toes, I realised I could not keep him as I have a commitment to breed to the standard , I could have produced puppies with too much white. Soon after making that decision, I received a phone call from a lovely lady called April from Connecticut. She had just lost her old Ridgeback and was looking for a puppy, I suggested she may want to consider Caesar so she made the journey to visit us with her husband and son and after spending a couple of hours with him they decided to take him home. It was a perfect match and he adored her little boy. My last update of him was April may well show him as he has continued to develop beautifully.
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Wildfires of California
Thursday 25th October.
I received this mail from a friend this morning and feel compelled to add It here on the blog. It is an urgent reminder, (too awful to think about) that the animals fleeing the fires need our assistance too.
Horses stand in a pen as fire threatens the Bonita neighborhood yesterday in San Diego, Calif. You can help our response to this disaster -- and others in the future -- by making an emergency gift today. (Photo by Eric Thayer/Getty Images).
Dear grace,
I want to share with you my blog entry for today on our response to the devastating fires in Southern California. Our involvement during crises affecting animals is just one of the topics I cover on my blog. You'll also find my reaction to news and progress in our movement, my perspective on the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead for animals, and reader feedback on the topics I cover.
The request arrived at the headquarters of the disaster response team at 3:18 p.m. on Monday afternoon.
Within an hour, Dr. Barry Kellogg, veterinarian and acting director of disaster services for The Humane Society of the United States, "pushed the button." Local authorities in San Diego needed our help. Our professionals answered. They shouldered their packs and began the race westward and southward -- trained people bringing trucks, portable clinics, equipment and a devotion to the task. Hundreds more trained disaster responders have been contacted, and they are standing at the ready if a second wave of personnel are needed.
Every second meant greater risk for animals in trouble.
Firestorms were advancing uncontrollably across great swaths of Southern California, displacing tens of thousands, and then hundreds of thousands of people and their pets -- plus an unknown number of farm and wild animals. Although California is no stranger to the autumn cycle of Santa Ana winds and wildfires, this maelstrom stretching from the Mexico border north beyond Los Angeles was like none in memory.
Just slightly more than 12 hours later, the first disaster responders from The HSUS had traversed the continent or come down from our Sacramento office and began assembling in San Diego. They streamed into town by ones and twos all during the day. More arrived through the night, from all corners of the country. On highways from as far away as Florida, The HSUS big rigs rumbled toward California with essential tools and equipment for animal rescue.
By daybreak this morning, virtually our entire front-line disaster team was on station, sleeves rolled up. We also began accepting donations to support our response to the wildfires and future disasters.
You'll understand my soaring pride in these staffers who give so much for the sake of animals.
Some of these disaster responders had returned just days earlier from another deployment to California -- this one to help law enforcement in the largest cockfighting raid in U.S. history. Less than a week before that, we had a crew in Buxton, Maine, helping state officials transport 250 dogs out of the horrors of a puppy mill to a future that promised better lives. At that very same moment, I was in the Gulf Coast with other staffers to launch another phase of our long-standing program to help Louisiana and Mississippi rebuild their animal care facilities in the aftermath of an earlier disaster, Hurricane Katrina.
Friends, it's been quite a couple of weeks in October.
I'll have more to say later about people who give so much. But at the moment my mood is tempered. How many thousands of animals are displaced? Or suffering? What do the vagaries of the Santa Ana winds portend in the next 12, 24 and 48 hours? Will the weather tamp down the flames, or feed their fury?
Some areas hardest hit by these fires are home to families with horses. More than a few were unable to evacuate all their animals. I'm told that sometimes the best that people could do was open the gates and let their horses run free -- to race ahead of towering flames in a sprint for their lives.
I'm glad we can be there to help. I'm so sorry that we have to. If you're able to support our disaster and crisis response work with a special donation today, I and our skilled response teams would be grateful.
Sincerely,
Wayne Pacelle
Wayne Pacelle
President & CEO
The Humane Society of the United States
Copyright © 2007 The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) | All Rights Reserved.
The Humane Society of the United States | 2100 L Street, NW | Washington, DC 20037
humanesociety@hsus.org | 202-452-1100 | humanesociety.org
37
I received this mail from a friend this morning and feel compelled to add It here on the blog. It is an urgent reminder, (too awful to think about) that the animals fleeing the fires need our assistance too.
Horses stand in a pen as fire threatens the Bonita neighborhood yesterday in San Diego, Calif. You can help our response to this disaster -- and others in the future -- by making an emergency gift today. (Photo by Eric Thayer/Getty Images).
Dear grace,
I want to share with you my blog entry for today on our response to the devastating fires in Southern California. Our involvement during crises affecting animals is just one of the topics I cover on my blog. You'll also find my reaction to news and progress in our movement, my perspective on the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead for animals, and reader feedback on the topics I cover.
The request arrived at the headquarters of the disaster response team at 3:18 p.m. on Monday afternoon.
Within an hour, Dr. Barry Kellogg, veterinarian and acting director of disaster services for The Humane Society of the United States, "pushed the button." Local authorities in San Diego needed our help. Our professionals answered. They shouldered their packs and began the race westward and southward -- trained people bringing trucks, portable clinics, equipment and a devotion to the task. Hundreds more trained disaster responders have been contacted, and they are standing at the ready if a second wave of personnel are needed.
Every second meant greater risk for animals in trouble.
Firestorms were advancing uncontrollably across great swaths of Southern California, displacing tens of thousands, and then hundreds of thousands of people and their pets -- plus an unknown number of farm and wild animals. Although California is no stranger to the autumn cycle of Santa Ana winds and wildfires, this maelstrom stretching from the Mexico border north beyond Los Angeles was like none in memory.
Just slightly more than 12 hours later, the first disaster responders from The HSUS had traversed the continent or come down from our Sacramento office and began assembling in San Diego. They streamed into town by ones and twos all during the day. More arrived through the night, from all corners of the country. On highways from as far away as Florida, The HSUS big rigs rumbled toward California with essential tools and equipment for animal rescue.
By daybreak this morning, virtually our entire front-line disaster team was on station, sleeves rolled up. We also began accepting donations to support our response to the wildfires and future disasters.
You'll understand my soaring pride in these staffers who give so much for the sake of animals.
Some of these disaster responders had returned just days earlier from another deployment to California -- this one to help law enforcement in the largest cockfighting raid in U.S. history. Less than a week before that, we had a crew in Buxton, Maine, helping state officials transport 250 dogs out of the horrors of a puppy mill to a future that promised better lives. At that very same moment, I was in the Gulf Coast with other staffers to launch another phase of our long-standing program to help Louisiana and Mississippi rebuild their animal care facilities in the aftermath of an earlier disaster, Hurricane Katrina.
Friends, it's been quite a couple of weeks in October.
I'll have more to say later about people who give so much. But at the moment my mood is tempered. How many thousands of animals are displaced? Or suffering? What do the vagaries of the Santa Ana winds portend in the next 12, 24 and 48 hours? Will the weather tamp down the flames, or feed their fury?
Some areas hardest hit by these fires are home to families with horses. More than a few were unable to evacuate all their animals. I'm told that sometimes the best that people could do was open the gates and let their horses run free -- to race ahead of towering flames in a sprint for their lives.
I'm glad we can be there to help. I'm so sorry that we have to. If you're able to support our disaster and crisis response work with a special donation today, I and our skilled response teams would be grateful.
Sincerely,
Wayne Pacelle
Wayne Pacelle
President & CEO
The Humane Society of the United States
Copyright © 2007 The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) | All Rights Reserved.
The Humane Society of the United States | 2100 L Street, NW | Washington, DC 20037
humanesociety@hsus.org | 202-452-1100 | humanesociety.org
37
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Ranger
Tuesday 23rd October.
There is nothing to report on Ranger other than to say he is a good boy. He has a strong guarding instinct which I am hoping will soften with time. He can be asleep, then all of a sudden be alerted to some tiny little thing ie, seeing the cat at the window,and he is up and barking which of course sets the other dogs off. He also barks at the cows when they approach the bottom part of the paddock, so I am hoping with time he will not feel the need to protect us all.
The weather has been perfect and we have enjoyed beautiful long walks in the woods but today the rain arrived so I suspect the best of the weather is behind us.
I am planning to meet up with one of the pups from Kasidi's litter at the weekend, he was called Hamlet when he was with us but is now called Adia. He is a gentle giant and I can't wait to see him as he has apparently doubled in size since I last saw him.
There is nothing to report on Ranger other than to say he is a good boy. He has a strong guarding instinct which I am hoping will soften with time. He can be asleep, then all of a sudden be alerted to some tiny little thing ie, seeing the cat at the window,and he is up and barking which of course sets the other dogs off. He also barks at the cows when they approach the bottom part of the paddock, so I am hoping with time he will not feel the need to protect us all.
The weather has been perfect and we have enjoyed beautiful long walks in the woods but today the rain arrived so I suspect the best of the weather is behind us.
I am planning to meet up with one of the pups from Kasidi's litter at the weekend, he was called Hamlet when he was with us but is now called Adia. He is a gentle giant and I can't wait to see him as he has apparently doubled in size since I last saw him.
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Ranger
Thursday 18th October.
I am very pleased with how Ranger has adapted to his new surroundings, more importantly I do believe he is very happy. I worried that he would miss his previous family but I think there is so much happening around him and he is never alone, so he does not have space in his life to pine. He now spends all of his time with the dogs and is getting much better at responding positively when he is called.
I experienced a scary moment this morning. We were all outside for our walk, (non of the dogs were on their leads). As I walked towards my chicken shed to open them up for the day I noticed a large back Labrador stood on the edge of our garden by the woods. The dogs spotted him immediately and chased him into the woods. My heart was racing as the dogs have never been faced with a strange dog on their property before and I was a little nervous as to how they would respond. I quickly regained my composure as there were no loud barking noises or any sounds of aggressive behaviour. I whistled with my fingers half believing they would ignore me but to my great surprise Kasidi returned promptly followed in relatively slow succession by the rest of the dogs. Ranger came behind Kasidi which pleased me enormously and Brewster was the last to come back, but, they all came back and no nastiness was involved. We did not see the dog on our walk, so, I don't know where he came from and I don't know where he disappeared to but I doubt we will see him again. More importantly, I was very pleased with how my dogs behaved.
We are having a deck put up at long last and the builders were very bemused by the Labrador incident. They commented on how amazed they were that yesterday I gave seven bones to seven dogs with no falling out as their experience with their own dogs suggest that this is not possible. I just gave them a look that said oh dear.
I think Ranger has lost a little weight, Its all the playing he is doing with his new playmate Motsi, they really are inseparable at the moment.
I am very pleased with how Ranger has adapted to his new surroundings, more importantly I do believe he is very happy. I worried that he would miss his previous family but I think there is so much happening around him and he is never alone, so he does not have space in his life to pine. He now spends all of his time with the dogs and is getting much better at responding positively when he is called.
I experienced a scary moment this morning. We were all outside for our walk, (non of the dogs were on their leads). As I walked towards my chicken shed to open them up for the day I noticed a large back Labrador stood on the edge of our garden by the woods. The dogs spotted him immediately and chased him into the woods. My heart was racing as the dogs have never been faced with a strange dog on their property before and I was a little nervous as to how they would respond. I quickly regained my composure as there were no loud barking noises or any sounds of aggressive behaviour. I whistled with my fingers half believing they would ignore me but to my great surprise Kasidi returned promptly followed in relatively slow succession by the rest of the dogs. Ranger came behind Kasidi which pleased me enormously and Brewster was the last to come back, but, they all came back and no nastiness was involved. We did not see the dog on our walk, so, I don't know where he came from and I don't know where he disappeared to but I doubt we will see him again. More importantly, I was very pleased with how my dogs behaved.
We are having a deck put up at long last and the builders were very bemused by the Labrador incident. They commented on how amazed they were that yesterday I gave seven bones to seven dogs with no falling out as their experience with their own dogs suggest that this is not possible. I just gave them a look that said oh dear.
I think Ranger has lost a little weight, Its all the playing he is doing with his new playmate Motsi, they really are inseparable at the moment.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Ranger
Tuesday 16th October.
I feel comfortable leaving Ranger outside with other dogs today, he has acquainted himself with the pigs and is now laid back with the chickens. He has barked at the cows a few times but they are bigger than him and he is not stupid.
A couple of times yesterday he showed signs of wanting to be my protector, he can be asleep one minute then be barking the next if someone enters the room, he let out a low groan this morning when he heard the kids getting up for school .He is fine when he realises whats what but I do not wanting him feeling he has to look out for me, so he will now sleep and hang out with the dogs all of the time. Hopefully he will realise It is not his responsibility to look out for me, he will become an insubordinate member of the pack.
I must do some reading on over protectiveness as I am no expert but I constantly strive to understand the behaviour of my dogs.
The other dogs are looking good and behaving very well, Motsi, given the opportunity, will chew anything in sight. She really has been the worst of my dogs for chewing, no matter how many toys she has, she will find something that she knows she shouldn't have and destroy It.
I feel comfortable leaving Ranger outside with other dogs today, he has acquainted himself with the pigs and is now laid back with the chickens. He has barked at the cows a few times but they are bigger than him and he is not stupid.
A couple of times yesterday he showed signs of wanting to be my protector, he can be asleep one minute then be barking the next if someone enters the room, he let out a low groan this morning when he heard the kids getting up for school .He is fine when he realises whats what but I do not wanting him feeling he has to look out for me, so he will now sleep and hang out with the dogs all of the time. Hopefully he will realise It is not his responsibility to look out for me, he will become an insubordinate member of the pack.
I must do some reading on over protectiveness as I am no expert but I constantly strive to understand the behaviour of my dogs.
The other dogs are looking good and behaving very well, Motsi, given the opportunity, will chew anything in sight. She really has been the worst of my dogs for chewing, no matter how many toys she has, she will find something that she knows she shouldn't have and destroy It.
Monday, October 15, 2007
Ranger
Monday 15th October.
I took a chance this morning and took all of the dogs together on their walk, it was a delight watching them all interact. Ranger is very unfit and cannot keep up with my dogs, he is clumsy when running through the woods and cannot negotiate obstacles very well such as a broken tree in the path. I am confident he will be whipped into shape in no time.
He slept with me again last night as he started to whine when left with the other dogs, at this stage I have no problem with this as he is having to adjust to a lot of new things all at once. Later I am taking him to my friend Julian who has a Ridgeback called Simm, more playing and running, he is going to be exhausted.
I have lived with big dogs most of my life and Ridgebacks for 21 years and I cannot emphasise enough the importance of exercise. Free running everyday, not just when It suits the owner is essential for physical and psychological welfare of any dog. Ridgebacks are hounds and they need to be allowed to follow their natural instincts which is to use their nose and sight and to run free. The size of the garden is irrelevant. I have 20 acres but my dogs do not venture far from the door. They wait for me to take them out.
I need to work with Ranger on recall, so far, he has shown little enthusiasm for coming to me when called, hopefully he will take his cue from the the other dogs.
I took a chance this morning and took all of the dogs together on their walk, it was a delight watching them all interact. Ranger is very unfit and cannot keep up with my dogs, he is clumsy when running through the woods and cannot negotiate obstacles very well such as a broken tree in the path. I am confident he will be whipped into shape in no time.
He slept with me again last night as he started to whine when left with the other dogs, at this stage I have no problem with this as he is having to adjust to a lot of new things all at once. Later I am taking him to my friend Julian who has a Ridgeback called Simm, more playing and running, he is going to be exhausted.
I have lived with big dogs most of my life and Ridgebacks for 21 years and I cannot emphasise enough the importance of exercise. Free running everyday, not just when It suits the owner is essential for physical and psychological welfare of any dog. Ridgebacks are hounds and they need to be allowed to follow their natural instincts which is to use their nose and sight and to run free. The size of the garden is irrelevant. I have 20 acres but my dogs do not venture far from the door. They wait for me to take them out.
I need to work with Ranger on recall, so far, he has shown little enthusiasm for coming to me when called, hopefully he will take his cue from the the other dogs.
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Ranger
Sunday 14th October.
Everything went very well this morning, Ranger slept with me last night and was very good, then this morning he went on his first walk , in this instance with Brewster, Motsi, Kasidi and Lela. Alex and I soon realised there was not going to be a problem so we let Brewster and Ranger off of their leads. They had a good run through the woods and then we came home and repeated the exercise with Raiza and Ruby and unbeknown to me at the time, Mr Smith my cat. Raiza was very interested in Ranger but we sensed not in an aggressive way so we let them off of their leads and they were absolutely fine. Ranger soon became aware that the cat was with us and although he dived at him a couple of times he soon learned that behaviour was unacceptable.
All of the dogs are now in the mud room and Raiza is exhausting himself by constantly playing/mounting Ranger. Castrated dogs have always held an attraction to dogs that are entire and Raiza is no exception, he seems to be in love and is very happy with his new playmate.
So my worries about Ranger coming into our home have, so far have been unfounded, but It is early days and I know from experience that situations can blow up from nowhere. What has pleased me most is Rangers gentle easy going nature.
Everything went very well this morning, Ranger slept with me last night and was very good, then this morning he went on his first walk , in this instance with Brewster, Motsi, Kasidi and Lela. Alex and I soon realised there was not going to be a problem so we let Brewster and Ranger off of their leads. They had a good run through the woods and then we came home and repeated the exercise with Raiza and Ruby and unbeknown to me at the time, Mr Smith my cat. Raiza was very interested in Ranger but we sensed not in an aggressive way so we let them off of their leads and they were absolutely fine. Ranger soon became aware that the cat was with us and although he dived at him a couple of times he soon learned that behaviour was unacceptable.
All of the dogs are now in the mud room and Raiza is exhausting himself by constantly playing/mounting Ranger. Castrated dogs have always held an attraction to dogs that are entire and Raiza is no exception, he seems to be in love and is very happy with his new playmate.
So my worries about Ranger coming into our home have, so far have been unfounded, but It is early days and I know from experience that situations can blow up from nowhere. What has pleased me most is Rangers gentle easy going nature.
Saturday, October 13, 2007
Ranger
Saturday 13th October.
Well, Ranger has arrived, and, so far, I am really pleased with the way things have gone. I have not introduced him to the boys yet as that will have to be handled very carefully but he is integrated with the girls. Kasidi was the least welcoming and was aggressive towards towards him in the first instance but has now warmed a little towards him. Ruby basically ignores him and Lela and Motsi think he is great fun. He follows me everywhere and is here by my side as I type.
I am trying to be objective here but he is veryhandsome. He has an incredible front with a prominent prosternum which I love. He is very big, maybe too big, but has balance and will look even better when he has lost a little weight and acquired hardened conditioned muscles. His angulation is very good both front and rear and he has good breadth through his quarters. He has been very gentle, impeccably behaved so far and very loving. My only worry to date is he has not been to the toilet.
So, tomorrow he will come on the walk but we will have Brewster and him on the lead and we will take things step by step. I will leave Raiza at home on this first outing as he is, I think going to be a little more difficult, but I have no doubts that we can integrate Ranger pretty quickly into the pack. He will not pose a threat to Raiza as he is castrated, having said that, he has already humped Lela so he really does take after his dad.
Whatever the outcome for Ranger, I sense already that It will be very difficult for me to part with him , I look at him and see Kasidi and Brewster and love him.
I want to keep him here with me and see how he handles different situations and then, when I think he is ready, I will think about re-homing him, but only to a home that is very well acquainted with this incredible breed.
Well, Ranger has arrived, and, so far, I am really pleased with the way things have gone. I have not introduced him to the boys yet as that will have to be handled very carefully but he is integrated with the girls. Kasidi was the least welcoming and was aggressive towards towards him in the first instance but has now warmed a little towards him. Ruby basically ignores him and Lela and Motsi think he is great fun. He follows me everywhere and is here by my side as I type.
I am trying to be objective here but he is veryhandsome. He has an incredible front with a prominent prosternum which I love. He is very big, maybe too big, but has balance and will look even better when he has lost a little weight and acquired hardened conditioned muscles. His angulation is very good both front and rear and he has good breadth through his quarters. He has been very gentle, impeccably behaved so far and very loving. My only worry to date is he has not been to the toilet.
So, tomorrow he will come on the walk but we will have Brewster and him on the lead and we will take things step by step. I will leave Raiza at home on this first outing as he is, I think going to be a little more difficult, but I have no doubts that we can integrate Ranger pretty quickly into the pack. He will not pose a threat to Raiza as he is castrated, having said that, he has already humped Lela so he really does take after his dad.
Whatever the outcome for Ranger, I sense already that It will be very difficult for me to part with him , I look at him and see Kasidi and Brewster and love him.
I want to keep him here with me and see how he handles different situations and then, when I think he is ready, I will think about re-homing him, but only to a home that is very well acquainted with this incredible breed.
Friday, October 12, 2007
Dog things
Friday 12th of October.
Life is pretty much quiet now the pups have gone and the children are all back at school and college.
In the end Raiza did not enjoy his time away from home. He did considerable damage to Karens brand new kennels even though he spent very little time alone in them. Fortunately, Karen was able to have them replaced free of charge from the company she bought them from, so that saved me from huge bill, I would have payed it had I been asked.
I am waiting for Lela to come into season, but also hoping she can hold on until next month as she will need to be X Rayed for hips and elbows as 2 years is the age requirement here in the US. It is 12 months in the UK. She will be 2 at the end of November.
I am very pleased with Lela, she has beautiful construction but has inherited the free flowing movement that is so typical of her mother Kasidi. She really is a dream to watch.
Having bred 5 litters in 5 years, I now have to face something this weekend that I have never faced before and that is taking back a puppy. His name is Ranger and he is a brother to Lela. He was placed with a family with young children who were used to living with large dogs, in this case, Dobermans. Ranger is a very much loved family pet, but has, in the last 12 months, bitten a child in his family and recently bitten a neighbours little boy. Fortunately, they were not serious incidents, but non the less, serious enough to remove him from the family situation.
Mark and I faced a similar situation many years ago with our dog Louis. He was a fabulous dog in many ways but on several occasions in his life he let us down by suddenly lashing out at people by biting them. We had him castrated, sought expert advice from an animal behaviorist, practised dominance training, but nothing could predict his aggressive tendencies. In the end our vet advised putting him to sleep. It was a very difficult decision for us but we had 3 children and our home was often frequented by lots of children and we felt very strongly that he could not be trusted. What made it difficult for us was, we could never pre-empt Louis behaviour, months would go by and he really was the novel dog and then suddenly without warning we would have a situation on our hands.
Rangers family are devastated at having to part with him. He is, by all accounts, very well behaved, good with other dogs and good with adults. He is also a big boy, weighing in at 115 pounds.
He will find life very different here with me, he will be joining a pack where he will be at the bottom of the pecking order. He will also have to get used to my free range chickens, my three cats and my pigs and cows. I hope to keep him here long enough to assess him and will then decide to either re-home him or keep him here with us.
Either way I will monitor his progress here on the blog.
Life is pretty much quiet now the pups have gone and the children are all back at school and college.
In the end Raiza did not enjoy his time away from home. He did considerable damage to Karens brand new kennels even though he spent very little time alone in them. Fortunately, Karen was able to have them replaced free of charge from the company she bought them from, so that saved me from huge bill, I would have payed it had I been asked.
I am waiting for Lela to come into season, but also hoping she can hold on until next month as she will need to be X Rayed for hips and elbows as 2 years is the age requirement here in the US. It is 12 months in the UK. She will be 2 at the end of November.
I am very pleased with Lela, she has beautiful construction but has inherited the free flowing movement that is so typical of her mother Kasidi. She really is a dream to watch.
Having bred 5 litters in 5 years, I now have to face something this weekend that I have never faced before and that is taking back a puppy. His name is Ranger and he is a brother to Lela. He was placed with a family with young children who were used to living with large dogs, in this case, Dobermans. Ranger is a very much loved family pet, but has, in the last 12 months, bitten a child in his family and recently bitten a neighbours little boy. Fortunately, they were not serious incidents, but non the less, serious enough to remove him from the family situation.
Mark and I faced a similar situation many years ago with our dog Louis. He was a fabulous dog in many ways but on several occasions in his life he let us down by suddenly lashing out at people by biting them. We had him castrated, sought expert advice from an animal behaviorist, practised dominance training, but nothing could predict his aggressive tendencies. In the end our vet advised putting him to sleep. It was a very difficult decision for us but we had 3 children and our home was often frequented by lots of children and we felt very strongly that he could not be trusted. What made it difficult for us was, we could never pre-empt Louis behaviour, months would go by and he really was the novel dog and then suddenly without warning we would have a situation on our hands.
Rangers family are devastated at having to part with him. He is, by all accounts, very well behaved, good with other dogs and good with adults. He is also a big boy, weighing in at 115 pounds.
He will find life very different here with me, he will be joining a pack where he will be at the bottom of the pecking order. He will also have to get used to my free range chickens, my three cats and my pigs and cows. I hope to keep him here long enough to assess him and will then decide to either re-home him or keep him here with us.
Either way I will monitor his progress here on the blog.
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Gorilla's
Sunday 23rd Of September.
We arrived in Las Vegas last night and will be here until Wednesday night. I have tagged along as Mark has a conference so I will be dog free for five days , I have already rang home a couple of times to make sure the dogs are ok.
Raiza is booked in to my friends new boarding kennels, he is the only resident and will be receiving lots of one to one attention. I will be in contact with Karen by e mail daily and although he cried a little after I left on Friday, I have been told that he has settled in well. I do believe It will be good for him as he is very "clingy" towards me and hopefully this experience will foster some independence.
Kasidi is still with Rachel and we will be reunited next Friday and I have to say we have all missed her greatly and will be relieved to be have her back .
My daughter Olivia has told me on the phone that Motsi caught a rabbit this morning and half ate It before It was taken away from her. My only comment was, we are hoping to cultivate our rabbit population, as at the moment our numbers are dreadfully low, for our falconry purposes. I hope to go out trapping for a passage Redtail Hawk when we return from Vegas and I don't want the dogs depleting our rabbit population, the Coyotes have already successfully done that.
Finally, we have caught on to an ad that is very successful in the UK right now and no.1 on You Tube! It is just fantastic. Some of us will remember the original version. Phil Collins has not aged gracefully.
Click here to watch. Its worth it!
We arrived in Las Vegas last night and will be here until Wednesday night. I have tagged along as Mark has a conference so I will be dog free for five days , I have already rang home a couple of times to make sure the dogs are ok.
Raiza is booked in to my friends new boarding kennels, he is the only resident and will be receiving lots of one to one attention. I will be in contact with Karen by e mail daily and although he cried a little after I left on Friday, I have been told that he has settled in well. I do believe It will be good for him as he is very "clingy" towards me and hopefully this experience will foster some independence.
Kasidi is still with Rachel and we will be reunited next Friday and I have to say we have all missed her greatly and will be relieved to be have her back .
My daughter Olivia has told me on the phone that Motsi caught a rabbit this morning and half ate It before It was taken away from her. My only comment was, we are hoping to cultivate our rabbit population, as at the moment our numbers are dreadfully low, for our falconry purposes. I hope to go out trapping for a passage Redtail Hawk when we return from Vegas and I don't want the dogs depleting our rabbit population, the Coyotes have already successfully done that.
Finally, we have caught on to an ad that is very successful in the UK right now and no.1 on You Tube! It is just fantastic. Some of us will remember the original version. Phil Collins has not aged gracefully.
Click here to watch. Its worth it!
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Coccydia
Sunday 16th September.
I am not a "techy" person and blogs are a new phenomenon to me but my assumption is, they are designed to educate, inform and amuse.
Last week I learned all about Coccidia and hopefully I can pass on a little of what I learned here.
Last Tuesday I received a phone call from Jim who had bought the puppy Neville from me the week before. He told me that Neville had been experiencing diarrhoea so he had taken him to the vets. A test on a stool specimen had revealed that he had coccidia, I had vaguely heard of this as birds of prey can harbour It but I needed to google It before I fully understood what coccidia was. My first response was to let all of my puppy people know that this had happened and to take their puppy to the vet to be tested. I then got in touch with my vet to ask for his advice about testing my dogs.
I will add a link to this page about coccidia but basically it is a protozoa that can live in the gut of dogs without ever showing symptoms, the mother can pass It on to her pups and then at times of stress such as weaning and leaving the nest the puppy will develop symptoms such as mucous in the stool, diarrhoea and blood in the stool. The advice from my vet was to bring a stool specimen from Ruby and the last remaining puppy, Posh for testing.
The next morning It was fairly straight forward obtaining a specimen from Posh and her stool looked completely normal, Ruby, however was a little challenging. Ruby is very discreet when she goes to toilet, she likes to run into the woods for privacy (she would never contemplate the garden). I had an old jam jar for my spec bottle. Every time Ruby made a dash for the woods I would call her back and bless her she came back every time and I could tell she was getting exasperated with me. Eventually we reached the meadow and ruby decided she would provide me with a sample. Once again her specimen looked completely normal. As soon as I got back from the walk I rushed off to Oneonta with my specimens. I had to wait about half an hour for the result and as I did so I contemplated the idea of treating all of my dogs, at least Jim had told had told the treatment cost about $8.
When I was called to the treatment room I was told that Both Ruby and Posh were negative which left me very confused as I really had not expected this. I then asked the vet if the fact that I had free range chickens and a couple of pigs that sometimes associated with the dogs could in anyway have been responsible and he replied most probably not. He advised that the rest of the puppies from the litter be sent stool specs for testing to the lab. I have read in the link that dead mice can harbour coccidia and I do have 3 cats that hunt during the summer and leave dead mice lying around so maybe that is a possible explanation. We all know dogs and we also know they will attempt to eat absolutely anything.
I cannot express how stressful I found the whole experience. I pride myself on my high standards of cleanliness and I worried that I would be seen as some sloppy breeder with dubious practices. I still do not properly understand how this all happened but three puppies showed symptoms of coccidia. Neville, Gerrard and Keane, the rest of the litter have had no symptoms and what makes it confusing is that Ruby was negative. I will re- submit a further specimen to be tested in the near future.
For more information on coccidia go here.
All of the dogs are looking really good right now and Ruby is quickly regaining her shape after her puppies.
I have changed their diet to Evo which I believe is what Nadia and Steve feed their dogs . (They have a sister to Lela and Beckham from this last litter.) Evo is a revolutionary new type of dog food that closely emulates a dogs natural diet ie all meat, no carbs and a little roughage. It is more expensive than Nutro and other premium brands but less food is required so I will be interested to see how they all manage on It. Since the food scare I am now easily persuaded to seek better alternative ways of feeding my dogs.
I am not a "techy" person and blogs are a new phenomenon to me but my assumption is, they are designed to educate, inform and amuse.
Last week I learned all about Coccidia and hopefully I can pass on a little of what I learned here.
Last Tuesday I received a phone call from Jim who had bought the puppy Neville from me the week before. He told me that Neville had been experiencing diarrhoea so he had taken him to the vets. A test on a stool specimen had revealed that he had coccidia, I had vaguely heard of this as birds of prey can harbour It but I needed to google It before I fully understood what coccidia was. My first response was to let all of my puppy people know that this had happened and to take their puppy to the vet to be tested. I then got in touch with my vet to ask for his advice about testing my dogs.
I will add a link to this page about coccidia but basically it is a protozoa that can live in the gut of dogs without ever showing symptoms, the mother can pass It on to her pups and then at times of stress such as weaning and leaving the nest the puppy will develop symptoms such as mucous in the stool, diarrhoea and blood in the stool. The advice from my vet was to bring a stool specimen from Ruby and the last remaining puppy, Posh for testing.
The next morning It was fairly straight forward obtaining a specimen from Posh and her stool looked completely normal, Ruby, however was a little challenging. Ruby is very discreet when she goes to toilet, she likes to run into the woods for privacy (she would never contemplate the garden). I had an old jam jar for my spec bottle. Every time Ruby made a dash for the woods I would call her back and bless her she came back every time and I could tell she was getting exasperated with me. Eventually we reached the meadow and ruby decided she would provide me with a sample. Once again her specimen looked completely normal. As soon as I got back from the walk I rushed off to Oneonta with my specimens. I had to wait about half an hour for the result and as I did so I contemplated the idea of treating all of my dogs, at least Jim had told had told the treatment cost about $8.
When I was called to the treatment room I was told that Both Ruby and Posh were negative which left me very confused as I really had not expected this. I then asked the vet if the fact that I had free range chickens and a couple of pigs that sometimes associated with the dogs could in anyway have been responsible and he replied most probably not. He advised that the rest of the puppies from the litter be sent stool specs for testing to the lab. I have read in the link that dead mice can harbour coccidia and I do have 3 cats that hunt during the summer and leave dead mice lying around so maybe that is a possible explanation. We all know dogs and we also know they will attempt to eat absolutely anything.
I cannot express how stressful I found the whole experience. I pride myself on my high standards of cleanliness and I worried that I would be seen as some sloppy breeder with dubious practices. I still do not properly understand how this all happened but three puppies showed symptoms of coccidia. Neville, Gerrard and Keane, the rest of the litter have had no symptoms and what makes it confusing is that Ruby was negative. I will re- submit a further specimen to be tested in the near future.
For more information on coccidia go here.
All of the dogs are looking really good right now and Ruby is quickly regaining her shape after her puppies.
I have changed their diet to Evo which I believe is what Nadia and Steve feed their dogs . (They have a sister to Lela and Beckham from this last litter.) Evo is a revolutionary new type of dog food that closely emulates a dogs natural diet ie all meat, no carbs and a little roughage. It is more expensive than Nutro and other premium brands but less food is required so I will be interested to see how they all manage on It. Since the food scare I am now easily persuaded to seek better alternative ways of feeding my dogs.
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Ruby's Puppies
Tuesday 11th of September.
Oh Dear!!!!!!!!!!! Where has the time gone. The pups all did well at the vets and they are all away except for Posh who was a last minute cancellation.
I dont know what it is about people who are attracted to Rhodesian Ridgebacks but we are an incredible bunch of people. My puppies have gone to amazing homes, Rooney is just roughly 75 miles away and is going to be shown which is very exciting.
Neville has gone to a lovely family in CT, Gerrard has gone to PA, Ronaldo is in the Finger Lakes, Venus is in NH,Pandora has gone to Manhattan and Posh will be visited by a family from CT later in the week.
This litter was very wormy this time round and I can only put this down to the puppies being outside for much of the time. Ruby was wormed prior to her mating with Raiza but sometimes It is so hard to keep on top. I wormed Posh for the 5th time yesterday with my favourite preparation, Drontal and this morning I spent nearly $300 on Drontal for the big dogs.
I pick Mark up from Albany Airport tomorrow evening and even though I know he is absolutely swamped with work I am hoping he will update my website as I have taken some beautiful pictures of the dogs and of course my little Motsi is yet to get her own page.
Motsi is not a huge girl, she stands around 25 inches at the shoulder right now but she is very substantial and is a clone of her mother Kasidi, in temperament. Rock solid, mischievous, stubborn, very loving, characteristics we associate with this breed.
Sue Craigie's training manual has been very warmly received by all of my puppy owners, my hope is that the manual will be kept for as long is needed and then returned to me for future puppy owners, but I have no problem if they are kept for reference.
I picked up my copy of Stig Carlsons The Rhodesian Ridgeback Today yesterday and it reminded me of just how good this book is. I highly recommend this book to everyone who either owns or is considering owning a Rhodesian Ridgeback and what was obvious to me was all of the beautiful dogs featured have bone and substance unlike some of the greyhoundy dogs that can be found here in the US.
We had a real crisis here a couple of weeks ago. My neighbour decided to do some target shooting at 7.30 in the morning over labour day weekend. I quickly retrieved Lela as she does not like loud gunfire and has tendency to run into the woods. Just as I put her into the mudroom, a car came up my drive to take my son to work and the rest of the dogs were running out to meet and greet. I went out to organise the other dogs and when I got back Lela was gone. At first I was not concerned as she knows the woods well and they do, after all, start on my garden. By evening I was so distressed as she was not home and I had by this time put out alerts for her. What made it most disressing for me was that Lela out of all of my dogs is very baby like and needy and thought of her out in the woods with Coyotes was unthinkable to me.
I went to bed crying and then around 02.30 I heard a dog barking and quickly realised the dog was outside, I quickly jumped out of bed, ran to the door and called out her name. When I saw the light coming on underneath the garage I knew It was Lela and It was. She came to bed with me and the next morning I fed her appetite, she was very hungry and very thirsty. I was so relieved that she managed to find her way home. We have miles and miles of woods and I do not know where she went but she had the good sense to find her way home, thank goodness.
So we are back to normal almost which is a relief as the summer was very hectic.
Oh Dear!!!!!!!!!!! Where has the time gone. The pups all did well at the vets and they are all away except for Posh who was a last minute cancellation.
I dont know what it is about people who are attracted to Rhodesian Ridgebacks but we are an incredible bunch of people. My puppies have gone to amazing homes, Rooney is just roughly 75 miles away and is going to be shown which is very exciting.
Neville has gone to a lovely family in CT, Gerrard has gone to PA, Ronaldo is in the Finger Lakes, Venus is in NH,Pandora has gone to Manhattan and Posh will be visited by a family from CT later in the week.
This litter was very wormy this time round and I can only put this down to the puppies being outside for much of the time. Ruby was wormed prior to her mating with Raiza but sometimes It is so hard to keep on top. I wormed Posh for the 5th time yesterday with my favourite preparation, Drontal and this morning I spent nearly $300 on Drontal for the big dogs.
I pick Mark up from Albany Airport tomorrow evening and even though I know he is absolutely swamped with work I am hoping he will update my website as I have taken some beautiful pictures of the dogs and of course my little Motsi is yet to get her own page.
Motsi is not a huge girl, she stands around 25 inches at the shoulder right now but she is very substantial and is a clone of her mother Kasidi, in temperament. Rock solid, mischievous, stubborn, very loving, characteristics we associate with this breed.
Sue Craigie's training manual has been very warmly received by all of my puppy owners, my hope is that the manual will be kept for as long is needed and then returned to me for future puppy owners, but I have no problem if they are kept for reference.
I picked up my copy of Stig Carlsons The Rhodesian Ridgeback Today yesterday and it reminded me of just how good this book is. I highly recommend this book to everyone who either owns or is considering owning a Rhodesian Ridgeback and what was obvious to me was all of the beautiful dogs featured have bone and substance unlike some of the greyhoundy dogs that can be found here in the US.
We had a real crisis here a couple of weeks ago. My neighbour decided to do some target shooting at 7.30 in the morning over labour day weekend. I quickly retrieved Lela as she does not like loud gunfire and has tendency to run into the woods. Just as I put her into the mudroom, a car came up my drive to take my son to work and the rest of the dogs were running out to meet and greet. I went out to organise the other dogs and when I got back Lela was gone. At first I was not concerned as she knows the woods well and they do, after all, start on my garden. By evening I was so distressed as she was not home and I had by this time put out alerts for her. What made it most disressing for me was that Lela out of all of my dogs is very baby like and needy and thought of her out in the woods with Coyotes was unthinkable to me.
I went to bed crying and then around 02.30 I heard a dog barking and quickly realised the dog was outside, I quickly jumped out of bed, ran to the door and called out her name. When I saw the light coming on underneath the garage I knew It was Lela and It was. She came to bed with me and the next morning I fed her appetite, she was very hungry and very thirsty. I was so relieved that she managed to find her way home. We have miles and miles of woods and I do not know where she went but she had the good sense to find her way home, thank goodness.
So we are back to normal almost which is a relief as the summer was very hectic.
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Ruby's Puppies
Sunday 26th August.
When we moved to the US I decided not to register Ruby with the AKC as there was no reason to do so, when I decided to take another litter from her I obviously had to in order for her puppies to be registrable. I did this about 3 weeks ago thinking I was well within the timeframe of the puppies leaving to go to their new homes as usually It is very efficient. When her document arrived It said that foreign dogs now have to be on the DNA database for litters to be registrable so I applied for the DNA pack and took swabs from Ruby, Raiza because he will be my stud dog and Lela. I fully support the database as It is a sure way of identifying a dogs identity. Sadly there are breeders who are not always truthful about the dog on the pedigree and this is a way of knowing for sure the parentage of the dog. I just hope this does not delay my puppy litter registration.
The puppies continue to do well and are becoming quite independent when they are outside which is most of the time. They will go to the vets next Tuesday and Thursday for their medical.
I behaved like an over anxious mother on Friday, I though Posh had a chest infection. When I went to the puppies first thing as I always do to clean up (not for the faint hearted) and give them their breakfast I noticed that she was coughing and her I thought her chest sounded rattly so at 8 am I made an emergency appt and took her to the vets. I felt a little silly because by the time she arrived she was absolutely fine, temp normal, chest clear and no coughing and we decided that perhaps she choked a little on her breakfast. Still, I would rather be safe than sorry.
I can't believe that some of the puppies will be leaving in about weeks time, It has gone so quickly.
Kasidi has come into season so she will be going to my friend Rachel who has kindly agreed to take her. This will avoid fall out from the boys. I don't know if Lela if will come into season soon, she usualy does, so I will have to decide whether to breed from her or wait until next year.
When we moved to the US I decided not to register Ruby with the AKC as there was no reason to do so, when I decided to take another litter from her I obviously had to in order for her puppies to be registrable. I did this about 3 weeks ago thinking I was well within the timeframe of the puppies leaving to go to their new homes as usually It is very efficient. When her document arrived It said that foreign dogs now have to be on the DNA database for litters to be registrable so I applied for the DNA pack and took swabs from Ruby, Raiza because he will be my stud dog and Lela. I fully support the database as It is a sure way of identifying a dogs identity. Sadly there are breeders who are not always truthful about the dog on the pedigree and this is a way of knowing for sure the parentage of the dog. I just hope this does not delay my puppy litter registration.
The puppies continue to do well and are becoming quite independent when they are outside which is most of the time. They will go to the vets next Tuesday and Thursday for their medical.
I behaved like an over anxious mother on Friday, I though Posh had a chest infection. When I went to the puppies first thing as I always do to clean up (not for the faint hearted) and give them their breakfast I noticed that she was coughing and her I thought her chest sounded rattly so at 8 am I made an emergency appt and took her to the vets. I felt a little silly because by the time she arrived she was absolutely fine, temp normal, chest clear and no coughing and we decided that perhaps she choked a little on her breakfast. Still, I would rather be safe than sorry.
I can't believe that some of the puppies will be leaving in about weeks time, It has gone so quickly.
Kasidi has come into season so she will be going to my friend Rachel who has kindly agreed to take her. This will avoid fall out from the boys. I don't know if Lela if will come into season soon, she usualy does, so I will have to decide whether to breed from her or wait until next year.
Friday, August 17, 2007
Other things
Friday 17th Of August.
Two things happened yesterday which are worth mentioning, firstly Mark accidentally let the pigs out of the paddock, which is no big deal other than they dig up the turf with their rooting and make a terrible mess of the garden and secondly we were woken up in the night by the howling of Coyotes.
We decided to allow Wilbur and Angela our pet pigs to run with chickens and dogs yesterday as they do love the freedom to do as they please. They are used to this in the winter when the ground is frozen as they do less damage to the grass. Last night they settled with the chickens in their shed and again we were happy to let them do this thinking we could could put them back in the paddock this morning.
During the night we were suddenly awakened by the howl of coyotes and believe me they sounded as if they were underneath our bedroom window and I was petrified. To the native upstater maybe the sound of coyotes is pretty much the norm, but in the 2 years that we have been here we have never heard them and we have always put this down to our dogs marking their territory also a reason for our chickens free ranging with no problems. Last night, as I lay in bed listening to the most primitive of dog sounds, I was relieved that Angela and Wilbur were safely locked up with the chickens. They usually have the barn and around 8 acres of pasture within an electric fenced in area but last night I felt nobody was safe from those Coyotes. What was also interesting is , not one of the dogs barked, Mark insists this was because the Coyotes were on our neighbours property and only sounded as If they were beneath us, all I know is i was very frightened.
This morning, as we got ready for our walk with the dogs,the pigs made it quite clear that they wanted to join us. They have accompanied us in the past but they were only babies, now they are fully mature. Wilbur, who, in his maturity looks very much like a wild boar, but so very gentle and loving and Angela who looks more rotund by the day were really quite excited. So we set off for the woods with 5 Ridgebacks and 2 pigs and what a lovely sight it was. Motsi was left behind as I did not want her over doing it on the exercise front as she tends to go mad when she is out with the big dogs.
Mark has updated the site with pics from today and yesterday and as ever the pups are adorable. They are all with their mum as I type on a duvet downstairs, the older ones choosing to be in the utility room.
Two things happened yesterday which are worth mentioning, firstly Mark accidentally let the pigs out of the paddock, which is no big deal other than they dig up the turf with their rooting and make a terrible mess of the garden and secondly we were woken up in the night by the howling of Coyotes.
We decided to allow Wilbur and Angela our pet pigs to run with chickens and dogs yesterday as they do love the freedom to do as they please. They are used to this in the winter when the ground is frozen as they do less damage to the grass. Last night they settled with the chickens in their shed and again we were happy to let them do this thinking we could could put them back in the paddock this morning.
During the night we were suddenly awakened by the howl of coyotes and believe me they sounded as if they were underneath our bedroom window and I was petrified. To the native upstater maybe the sound of coyotes is pretty much the norm, but in the 2 years that we have been here we have never heard them and we have always put this down to our dogs marking their territory also a reason for our chickens free ranging with no problems. Last night, as I lay in bed listening to the most primitive of dog sounds, I was relieved that Angela and Wilbur were safely locked up with the chickens. They usually have the barn and around 8 acres of pasture within an electric fenced in area but last night I felt nobody was safe from those Coyotes. What was also interesting is , not one of the dogs barked, Mark insists this was because the Coyotes were on our neighbours property and only sounded as If they were beneath us, all I know is i was very frightened.
This morning, as we got ready for our walk with the dogs,the pigs made it quite clear that they wanted to join us. They have accompanied us in the past but they were only babies, now they are fully mature. Wilbur, who, in his maturity looks very much like a wild boar, but so very gentle and loving and Angela who looks more rotund by the day were really quite excited. So we set off for the woods with 5 Ridgebacks and 2 pigs and what a lovely sight it was. Motsi was left behind as I did not want her over doing it on the exercise front as she tends to go mad when she is out with the big dogs.
Mark has updated the site with pics from today and yesterday and as ever the pups are adorable. They are all with their mum as I type on a duvet downstairs, the older ones choosing to be in the utility room.
Monday, August 13, 2007
Ruby
Monday 13th Of August.
Ruby has recovered remarkably well, there is no lumpiness at all and she continues to give the puppies a day and night time feed. She loves It when we go in and play with her puppies, infact she gets really excited.
The puppies remind us of those little wind up dogs, they are big bellies on little legs at the moment. One of my fears has been that when they are in the garden, one of the chickens will come up and peck them. well, I can lay that fear to rest as this afternoon Ronaldo chased one of them and seemed to be very much in control. He is the most adventurous out of all of the puppies at this time but they are all so incredibly sweet.
My friend Rachel adores kasidi and since my visit to England a couple of months ago when Rachel looked after her, she has, from time to time, taken Kasidi away for a couple of days for a 'little holiday" Kasidi is always very happy to go and enjoys the one to one attention but she is also very happy to come back home. She also goes to work with Rachel to her picture framing shop in Delhi and Kasidi is always a big hit with the customers who quite simply, love her. I am pleased that Kasidi is able to show herself to be a wonderful example of the breed to the many customers who frequent Rachels shop.
Tomorrow will be another day of worming, nail clipping and hopefully photos for the website.
Ruby has recovered remarkably well, there is no lumpiness at all and she continues to give the puppies a day and night time feed. She loves It when we go in and play with her puppies, infact she gets really excited.
The puppies remind us of those little wind up dogs, they are big bellies on little legs at the moment. One of my fears has been that when they are in the garden, one of the chickens will come up and peck them. well, I can lay that fear to rest as this afternoon Ronaldo chased one of them and seemed to be very much in control. He is the most adventurous out of all of the puppies at this time but they are all so incredibly sweet.
My friend Rachel adores kasidi and since my visit to England a couple of months ago when Rachel looked after her, she has, from time to time, taken Kasidi away for a couple of days for a 'little holiday" Kasidi is always very happy to go and enjoys the one to one attention but she is also very happy to come back home. She also goes to work with Rachel to her picture framing shop in Delhi and Kasidi is always a big hit with the customers who quite simply, love her. I am pleased that Kasidi is able to show herself to be a wonderful example of the breed to the many customers who frequent Rachels shop.
Tomorrow will be another day of worming, nail clipping and hopefully photos for the website.
Friday, August 10, 2007
Ruby
Friday 10th Of August.
I managed to get ruby in to the vets for 10.30 this morning which was a relief and yes she has mastitis. The doctor prescribed Clavamox 5oomg twice daily for 2 weeks and I am to put warm towels on the affected area 3 times day to encourage the removal of pus. She did not have a temperature and overall is not sick so hopefully we have caught this just in time. She is now back with her pups who are relieving the pressure from her swollen milk glands. I am gradually weaning them off of Ruby who up till now has done a superb job with her pups.
The puppies will not be able to go outside today as we are forecast rain all day, which is a shame as they are much better off outside. All of the dogs were wet through after there walk this morning so It is rather "pongy" in my mud room and utility room.
I am confident that Ruby will be ok, I was a little panicked last night, but the fact her temperature is normal ,is, I think, a good sign.
I managed to get ruby in to the vets for 10.30 this morning which was a relief and yes she has mastitis. The doctor prescribed Clavamox 5oomg twice daily for 2 weeks and I am to put warm towels on the affected area 3 times day to encourage the removal of pus. She did not have a temperature and overall is not sick so hopefully we have caught this just in time. She is now back with her pups who are relieving the pressure from her swollen milk glands. I am gradually weaning them off of Ruby who up till now has done a superb job with her pups.
The puppies will not be able to go outside today as we are forecast rain all day, which is a shame as they are much better off outside. All of the dogs were wet through after there walk this morning so It is rather "pongy" in my mud room and utility room.
I am confident that Ruby will be ok, I was a little panicked last night, but the fact her temperature is normal ,is, I think, a good sign.
Thursday, August 9, 2007
Ruby
Thursday 8th Of August.
Tonight I noticed that one of Ruby's teats looked swollen, on closer inspection I can say with certainty she has an infective mastitis. Already an opening is developing and I was able to squeeze out pus. Fortunately I have clavamox in the cupboard so I gave her 500mg and I will get her into the vets as an emergency in the morning. I don't know if this would be the antibiotic of choice but It is a broad spectrum anti biotic and I felt she had to be started on something.
This time last year I spent time reassuring my friend and Kasidi's breeder Liz, who was very distressed when her bitch developed an infective masititis and it definitely got worse before it got better. The temptation to let Ruby sleep with other dogs tonight was very strong but she has to keep feeding, I remember Liz being told this by her vet in England.
Ruby has given me no indication that she was developing a problem and I just hope for her sake we can get it sorted quickly. Maybe if she was a little more complaining and me a little more attentive, we could have prevented this.
Tonight I noticed that one of Ruby's teats looked swollen, on closer inspection I can say with certainty she has an infective mastitis. Already an opening is developing and I was able to squeeze out pus. Fortunately I have clavamox in the cupboard so I gave her 500mg and I will get her into the vets as an emergency in the morning. I don't know if this would be the antibiotic of choice but It is a broad spectrum anti biotic and I felt she had to be started on something.
This time last year I spent time reassuring my friend and Kasidi's breeder Liz, who was very distressed when her bitch developed an infective masititis and it definitely got worse before it got better. The temptation to let Ruby sleep with other dogs tonight was very strong but she has to keep feeding, I remember Liz being told this by her vet in England.
Ruby has given me no indication that she was developing a problem and I just hope for her sake we can get it sorted quickly. Maybe if she was a little more complaining and me a little more attentive, we could have prevented this.
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
Ruby's Puppies
Wednesday 8 th Of August.
Yesterday and today I put the puppies outside in a fenced area mainly to escape the fly's as they are driving us all crazy. At least outside the constant breeze seems to keep them away from the puppies.
I cut the pups nails again yesterday as they had very quickly become little razors, I like to think It will get them used to having their nails cut but sadly in my case and as far as my dogs are concerned this one little grooming measure has become a nightmare and I know I am the one to blame. Kasidi will howl out at the sight of a pair of nail clippers before they get anywhere near her toes. So please prospective puppy owners get into a routine of getting your dogs nails cut preferably on a weekly basis, even if they do not need it, just touch the nails with clippers and then reward with a treat.
We have those screens up at the doors to keep out the bugs, last year Raiza damaged one of them as he was always whining to come in but the other day he went one better, he just took a run and barged right through, so now we have a screen with huge tear in it that lets all of the bugs in. Raiza has never been very subtle.
The puppies could be independent of Ruby now if Ruby wished as they are very adept at eating and drinking. It is lovely to see them outside in the fresh air with the big dogs guarding them, something very novel for me as I am used to winter puppies and cleaning up is so much easier.
Yesterday and today I put the puppies outside in a fenced area mainly to escape the fly's as they are driving us all crazy. At least outside the constant breeze seems to keep them away from the puppies.
I cut the pups nails again yesterday as they had very quickly become little razors, I like to think It will get them used to having their nails cut but sadly in my case and as far as my dogs are concerned this one little grooming measure has become a nightmare and I know I am the one to blame. Kasidi will howl out at the sight of a pair of nail clippers before they get anywhere near her toes. So please prospective puppy owners get into a routine of getting your dogs nails cut preferably on a weekly basis, even if they do not need it, just touch the nails with clippers and then reward with a treat.
We have those screens up at the doors to keep out the bugs, last year Raiza damaged one of them as he was always whining to come in but the other day he went one better, he just took a run and barged right through, so now we have a screen with huge tear in it that lets all of the bugs in. Raiza has never been very subtle.
The puppies could be independent of Ruby now if Ruby wished as they are very adept at eating and drinking. It is lovely to see them outside in the fresh air with the big dogs guarding them, something very novel for me as I am used to winter puppies and cleaning up is so much easier.
Monday, August 6, 2007
Ruby's Puppies
Monday 6th of August.
When the puppies were born, Ronaldo appeared to have a perfect ridge, we then decided he had a crown missing, making 2 pet puppies in the litter. Today Olivia was changing their collars and noticed that he does infact have 2 crowns, albeit small ones so we have 8 pups with perfect ridges.
Within a day of introducing solids they were receiving 3 meals a day, a combination of raw beef mince and puppy kibble and they consume It with relish. They are also lapping easily, both water and milk ,so Ruby can now ease off on the feeding ,which suits her, as her interest is waning ,as I knew It would.
The puppies are up on their feet now and playing with one another while they are awake, they are also showing all of the characteristics of little dogs ie, scratching themselves like dogs do.
The weather has cooled off which is a blessing as It was too hot last week.
I have not weighed the puppies but they are all plonking on the weight and some of the boys are looking really big, but experience has taught me that they will all even out in size over the next couple of weeks as genetics determines their ultimate size not who is most adept at getting to the milk.
When the puppies were born, Ronaldo appeared to have a perfect ridge, we then decided he had a crown missing, making 2 pet puppies in the litter. Today Olivia was changing their collars and noticed that he does infact have 2 crowns, albeit small ones so we have 8 pups with perfect ridges.
Within a day of introducing solids they were receiving 3 meals a day, a combination of raw beef mince and puppy kibble and they consume It with relish. They are also lapping easily, both water and milk ,so Ruby can now ease off on the feeding ,which suits her, as her interest is waning ,as I knew It would.
The puppies are up on their feet now and playing with one another while they are awake, they are also showing all of the characteristics of little dogs ie, scratching themselves like dogs do.
The weather has cooled off which is a blessing as It was too hot last week.
I have not weighed the puppies but they are all plonking on the weight and some of the boys are looking really big, but experience has taught me that they will all even out in size over the next couple of weeks as genetics determines their ultimate size not who is most adept at getting to the milk.
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
Ruby's Puppies
Wednesday 1st August.
A huge apology for the pause but we have been experiencing major problems with our internet connection which is woeful at the best of times.
The puppies have entered that new phase where they are much more aware and respond to verbal and visual stimulation. They are so funny, they attempt to play with one another but fall over as they do not have the strength in their little bodies to support themselves for long.
My main concern is keeping them cool as we are having very hot ( for us anyway ) weather and tomorrow is going to be around 90 also.
When he was 15 days old we caught sight of Beckham leaning into Ruby's food bowl eating the remains of her dinner, so today I went out and bought puppy kibble, ground beef and milk replacer and tomorrow will be the day when they are introduced to raw meat.
I have been keeping their nails trimmed as they very quickly become extremely sharp and I will worm them for the first time tomorrow.
Motsi would spend all of her time in the whelping box if I allowed It. It is amazing to see this overwhelming desire to nurture even though she is a puppy herself. Ruby has been very good and If I know ruby like I think I do she will be very happy to hand over the responsibility of her puppies to someone else once they show signs of independence. Kasidi on the other hand is a little more wary of the young puppies but is wonderful as they become a little older.
Raiza shows very little interest in the puppies, whereas there was a time , when he was a youngster, when he too was very enthusiastic to muck in and help.
It is strange how things turn out, we had 6 boys in this litter and most of my enquiry's have been for boys. Just as well really.
A huge apology for the pause but we have been experiencing major problems with our internet connection which is woeful at the best of times.
The puppies have entered that new phase where they are much more aware and respond to verbal and visual stimulation. They are so funny, they attempt to play with one another but fall over as they do not have the strength in their little bodies to support themselves for long.
My main concern is keeping them cool as we are having very hot ( for us anyway ) weather and tomorrow is going to be around 90 also.
When he was 15 days old we caught sight of Beckham leaning into Ruby's food bowl eating the remains of her dinner, so today I went out and bought puppy kibble, ground beef and milk replacer and tomorrow will be the day when they are introduced to raw meat.
I have been keeping their nails trimmed as they very quickly become extremely sharp and I will worm them for the first time tomorrow.
Motsi would spend all of her time in the whelping box if I allowed It. It is amazing to see this overwhelming desire to nurture even though she is a puppy herself. Ruby has been very good and If I know ruby like I think I do she will be very happy to hand over the responsibility of her puppies to someone else once they show signs of independence. Kasidi on the other hand is a little more wary of the young puppies but is wonderful as they become a little older.
Raiza shows very little interest in the puppies, whereas there was a time , when he was a youngster, when he too was very enthusiastic to muck in and help.
It is strange how things turn out, we had 6 boys in this litter and most of my enquiry's have been for boys. Just as well really.
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Ruby's Puppies
Tuesday 24th Of July.
I was a little concerned with the puppies yesterday, they had been whiny during the night and were still unsettled yesterday. I think the hot weather was not helping and I suspected that some of them had upset stomachs but this was hard to confirm as Ruby keeps the puppies so clean. So I stayed close yesterday watching for any signs of deterioration but I am pleased to say they became more settled as the day went on.
This morning the pups are a picture of contentment and their eyes are open.
Ruby has an excellent appetite and I am now able to feed her dog food as she is so ravenous. She comes out of the box once her pups are fed and asleep which is really good for her psychological well being as is her daily walk.
Mark arrives back from England tonight so I will be able to badger him with updated photos for the website.
I was a little concerned with the puppies yesterday, they had been whiny during the night and were still unsettled yesterday. I think the hot weather was not helping and I suspected that some of them had upset stomachs but this was hard to confirm as Ruby keeps the puppies so clean. So I stayed close yesterday watching for any signs of deterioration but I am pleased to say they became more settled as the day went on.
This morning the pups are a picture of contentment and their eyes are open.
Ruby has an excellent appetite and I am now able to feed her dog food as she is so ravenous. She comes out of the box once her pups are fed and asleep which is really good for her psychological well being as is her daily walk.
Mark arrives back from England tonight so I will be able to badger him with updated photos for the website.
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Ruby's Puppies
Saturday 21st July.
Ruby became quite excited this morning when I got up from drinking my tea, she knew I was getting ready to go out with the dogs and she made it quite clear that she was ready to come too. I didn't think she would come on the entire walk but she did and she had a wonderful time.
I weighed some of the puppies half heartedly today but to be honest, they are so big and plump I do not need the scales to tell me what is obvious, and that is, these puppies are thriving. A couple of the boys are over 2 pounds and the girls are approaching 2 pounds.
Ruby is the best of mothers and my fears of maybe that at 6 she was a little too old have been well and truly laid to rest. She looks very vibrant and healthy and she keeps her pups in impeccable condition. I am pleased to say that her appetite has improved as the pups are clearly are taking a lot from her.
Venus is already showing signs that her eyes will be opening soon, so the other puppies will follow and this, for us , is always an exciting part of their development.
I checked everyone for dermoid sinus again today. Tomorrow the pups will have their nails clipped for the first time as I noticed today they are getting quite sharp.
Ruby became quite excited this morning when I got up from drinking my tea, she knew I was getting ready to go out with the dogs and she made it quite clear that she was ready to come too. I didn't think she would come on the entire walk but she did and she had a wonderful time.
I weighed some of the puppies half heartedly today but to be honest, they are so big and plump I do not need the scales to tell me what is obvious, and that is, these puppies are thriving. A couple of the boys are over 2 pounds and the girls are approaching 2 pounds.
Ruby is the best of mothers and my fears of maybe that at 6 she was a little too old have been well and truly laid to rest. She looks very vibrant and healthy and she keeps her pups in impeccable condition. I am pleased to say that her appetite has improved as the pups are clearly are taking a lot from her.
Venus is already showing signs that her eyes will be opening soon, so the other puppies will follow and this, for us , is always an exciting part of their development.
I checked everyone for dermoid sinus again today. Tomorrow the pups will have their nails clipped for the first time as I noticed today they are getting quite sharp.
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Ruby's Puppies
Wednesday !8th July.
The puppies are plumping up now and are doing really well as is their mum Ruby. The average weight gain was 5oz. Beckham is the largest puppy at 1.14lb followed by Rooney at 1.13lb. Venus is the smallest at 1.6lb but she has gained 40z in the last 2 days.
The weather has cooled off a little which is much kinder for Ruby.
Ruby remains very fussy about her food which seems to be the norm when my girls have pups and so, she is being fed raw minced beef, chicken, pasta,rice tuna, mackerel and cheese and whatever veg we have left over. Every night Ruby awakens me around 3 am to go out for the toilet. Its amazing, but I hear her feet on the floor the moment she steps out of the whelping box. My problem, is I then find It hard to get back to sleep but never mind.
Ozzy is still profoundly interested in the puppies and ventures into the box whenever he can but I am trying to limit this for the time being although Ruby is very tolerant.
Yes, this is the easy phase of having puppies as mum does all the work, I just spend too much time watching them.
The puppies are plumping up now and are doing really well as is their mum Ruby. The average weight gain was 5oz. Beckham is the largest puppy at 1.14lb followed by Rooney at 1.13lb. Venus is the smallest at 1.6lb but she has gained 40z in the last 2 days.
The weather has cooled off a little which is much kinder for Ruby.
Ruby remains very fussy about her food which seems to be the norm when my girls have pups and so, she is being fed raw minced beef, chicken, pasta,rice tuna, mackerel and cheese and whatever veg we have left over. Every night Ruby awakens me around 3 am to go out for the toilet. Its amazing, but I hear her feet on the floor the moment she steps out of the whelping box. My problem, is I then find It hard to get back to sleep but never mind.
Ozzy is still profoundly interested in the puppies and ventures into the box whenever he can but I am trying to limit this for the time being although Ruby is very tolerant.
Yes, this is the easy phase of having puppies as mum does all the work, I just spend too much time watching them.
Monday, July 16, 2007
Ruby's Puppies
Monday 16th Of July.
Saturday and into Sunday was quite difficult for Ruby. The effects of oxytocin amongst other things is to contract the uterus down and I know from my own "after pains" after childbirth, It can be very painful. My experience with Kasidi and Ruby is It makes them pant and so gives the impression that another puppy is about to be born. This is a little disconcerting and certainly uncomfortable for the dog but I am pleased to say that these effects have now passed and Ruby seems to be doing very well. I am monitoring her temperature daily for signs of infection.
All puppies were checked for dermoid sinus.
We weighed the puppies this morning and all had gained weight, some more than others.
Beckham had gained 2oz making him 1lb 8oz.
Venus had gained 1oz making her 1lb.2oz.
Posh had gained 2oz making hr 1lb. 4oz.
Rooney had gained 4oz making him 1lb.8oz.
Gerrard had gained 1oz making him 1lb.5oz.
Neville had gained 1oz making him1lb.3oz.
Pandora had gained 4oz making her 1lb.3oz.
Ronaldo had gained 1oz making him 1lb.4oz.
Keane had gained 2oz making him1lb.5oz.
Saturday and into Sunday was quite difficult for Ruby. The effects of oxytocin amongst other things is to contract the uterus down and I know from my own "after pains" after childbirth, It can be very painful. My experience with Kasidi and Ruby is It makes them pant and so gives the impression that another puppy is about to be born. This is a little disconcerting and certainly uncomfortable for the dog but I am pleased to say that these effects have now passed and Ruby seems to be doing very well. I am monitoring her temperature daily for signs of infection.
All puppies were checked for dermoid sinus.
We weighed the puppies this morning and all had gained weight, some more than others.
Beckham had gained 2oz making him 1lb 8oz.
Venus had gained 1oz making her 1lb.2oz.
Posh had gained 2oz making hr 1lb. 4oz.
Rooney had gained 4oz making him 1lb.8oz.
Gerrard had gained 1oz making him 1lb.5oz.
Neville had gained 1oz making him1lb.3oz.
Pandora had gained 4oz making her 1lb.3oz.
Ronaldo had gained 1oz making him 1lb.4oz.
Keane had gained 2oz making him1lb.5oz.
Saturday, July 14, 2007
Ruby's Puppies
Saturday 14th, July.
Ruby is very stoic, she quietly gets on with her labour and is no trouble at all. It is hard to detect just how far she is with her labour because of this.
These puppies are early. As Ruby only had one mating I can be sure of this and so, for the first time, we have some light puppies. Pandora is long but at 15 ounces needs to fatten up and the other two girls weigh just over one pound. As my son Alex pointed out, their weight on monday will be more of what we are used to in terms of newborn puppies.
Ruby is so quick at eating placentas that although I have recorded them as not delivered I am pretty sure she ate most of them and in view of the fact that she has not been eating well over the last few days I am very happy about this.
The puppies came very quickly at first, six being delivered within 3 hours and then things really slowed down. Puppy number 7 arrived over 3 hours after number 6 and was breach At around 09.10 I examined Ruby and could not feel more than one puppy but her abdomen was hard and palpation was very difficult. Kasidi always had a soft abdomen. I had seen 8 puppies on the X Ray but 9 was always a possibility, so It was at this point Igave her 1ml of oxytocin as I felt her uterus was clearly giving up. She delivered the 8th puppy about 20 minutes later. After much angst I decided to give another half ml of oxytocin to deliver the retained placentas and that is when she delivered puppy number 9 which I have to say was a complete surprise.
I am not happy at being left to make these decisions but I do find the service of veterinary care at weekends and out of hours to be pretty shocking. When I lived in the Scottish Borders we were more rural than here in the Catskills but a vet was always available locally if needed.
All puppies have no kinks in their tails and have minimal white.
At 12:10 first puppy was born, a dog named Beckham. perfect ridge, and placenta delivered. His weight was 1.6oz and first check for dermoid sinus was clear.
At 12:42 am the second puppy was born, a bitch named Venus. She has an extra crown and a placenta delivered. her weight was 1.1oz and the first check for dermoid sinus was clear.
At 12:44am the third puppy was born, another bitched named Posh. She has a perfect ridge and no placenta delivered. Her weight was 1.2oz and the first check for dermoid sinus was clear.
At 2:04am the fourth puppy was born, a dog named Rooney. He has a perfect ridge and no placenta delivered. His weight was 1.4oz and the first check for dermoid sinus was clear.
At 2:25 am the fifth puppy, a dog named Gerrard was born. He has a perfect ridge and no placenta delivered. His weight was 1.4oz and the first check for dermoid sinus was clear.
At 3:00 am the sixth puppy was born, a dog named Neville. He has a perfect ridge and no placenta delivered. His weight was 1.2oz and the first check for dermoid sinus was clear.
At 6:40am the seventh puppy was born, a bitch named Pandora. She has a perfect ridge and no placenta delivered. Her weight was 15oz and the first check for dermoid sinus was clear.
At 9:30am the eighth puppy was delivered and dog named Ronaldo. He has a crown missing and no placenta delivered. His weight was 1.3oz and the first check for dermoid sinus was clear.
At 10:am the ninth puppy was born a dog named Keane. He has a perfect ridge and a placenta was delivered. His weight was 1.3oz and the first check for dermoid sinus was clear.
Mum and pups are doing well.
Ruby is very stoic, she quietly gets on with her labour and is no trouble at all. It is hard to detect just how far she is with her labour because of this.
These puppies are early. As Ruby only had one mating I can be sure of this and so, for the first time, we have some light puppies. Pandora is long but at 15 ounces needs to fatten up and the other two girls weigh just over one pound. As my son Alex pointed out, their weight on monday will be more of what we are used to in terms of newborn puppies.
Ruby is so quick at eating placentas that although I have recorded them as not delivered I am pretty sure she ate most of them and in view of the fact that she has not been eating well over the last few days I am very happy about this.
The puppies came very quickly at first, six being delivered within 3 hours and then things really slowed down. Puppy number 7 arrived over 3 hours after number 6 and was breach At around 09.10 I examined Ruby and could not feel more than one puppy but her abdomen was hard and palpation was very difficult. Kasidi always had a soft abdomen. I had seen 8 puppies on the X Ray but 9 was always a possibility, so It was at this point Igave her 1ml of oxytocin as I felt her uterus was clearly giving up. She delivered the 8th puppy about 20 minutes later. After much angst I decided to give another half ml of oxytocin to deliver the retained placentas and that is when she delivered puppy number 9 which I have to say was a complete surprise.
I am not happy at being left to make these decisions but I do find the service of veterinary care at weekends and out of hours to be pretty shocking. When I lived in the Scottish Borders we were more rural than here in the Catskills but a vet was always available locally if needed.
All puppies have no kinks in their tails and have minimal white.
At 12:10 first puppy was born, a dog named Beckham. perfect ridge, and placenta delivered. His weight was 1.6oz and first check for dermoid sinus was clear.
At 12:42 am the second puppy was born, a bitch named Venus. She has an extra crown and a placenta delivered. her weight was 1.1oz and the first check for dermoid sinus was clear.
At 12:44am the third puppy was born, another bitched named Posh. She has a perfect ridge and no placenta delivered. Her weight was 1.2oz and the first check for dermoid sinus was clear.
At 2:04am the fourth puppy was born, a dog named Rooney. He has a perfect ridge and no placenta delivered. His weight was 1.4oz and the first check for dermoid sinus was clear.
At 2:25 am the fifth puppy, a dog named Gerrard was born. He has a perfect ridge and no placenta delivered. His weight was 1.4oz and the first check for dermoid sinus was clear.
At 3:00 am the sixth puppy was born, a dog named Neville. He has a perfect ridge and no placenta delivered. His weight was 1.2oz and the first check for dermoid sinus was clear.
At 6:40am the seventh puppy was born, a bitch named Pandora. She has a perfect ridge and no placenta delivered. Her weight was 15oz and the first check for dermoid sinus was clear.
At 9:30am the eighth puppy was delivered and dog named Ronaldo. He has a crown missing and no placenta delivered. His weight was 1.3oz and the first check for dermoid sinus was clear.
At 10:am the ninth puppy was born a dog named Keane. He has a perfect ridge and a placenta was delivered. His weight was 1.3oz and the first check for dermoid sinus was clear.
Mum and pups are doing well.
Friday, July 13, 2007
Ruby
At 02.20 this morning I was awakened by a big sloppy kiss from Ruby, thinking nothing of it I tried to get back to sleep but Ruby's heavy breathing prevented me from doing so, so I quietly said "Ruby out" and she quietly left.
This morning I entered the leaving room to find a huge puddle of water and Ruby panting. Labour had started and I was left feeling very guilty,my beautiful Ruby had given me a sign and because I was not expecting puppies until the beginning of next week I had failed to take notice. As It happens, I am glad I slept through the early stages as we are now approaching 5pm and still no puppies, so we are in for a long night.
I had Ruby X Rayed on Tuesday and we saw 8 maybe 9 puppies so we are all very excited, Olivia my daughter is relieved that nothing has happened as she was at a Shakespeare workshop today and she is after all my right hand man where whelping is concerned. I have made a big pan of soup and feel totally prepared for the big event.
I have always been able to predict the "type" of puppy I have whelped so far as Dempsey and Brewster have produced similar puppies with excellent ridges. I am now venturing into the unknown as this will be Raiza's first litter, but they should be substantial puppies with good bone and substance and very "typey"
Ruby is so different to Kasidi in that she quietly gets on with her labour and she always has a strong urge to nest outside, so we have to be very vigilant when she goes outside to the toilet.
Will update through out the night.
This morning I entered the leaving room to find a huge puddle of water and Ruby panting. Labour had started and I was left feeling very guilty,my beautiful Ruby had given me a sign and because I was not expecting puppies until the beginning of next week I had failed to take notice. As It happens, I am glad I slept through the early stages as we are now approaching 5pm and still no puppies, so we are in for a long night.
I had Ruby X Rayed on Tuesday and we saw 8 maybe 9 puppies so we are all very excited, Olivia my daughter is relieved that nothing has happened as she was at a Shakespeare workshop today and she is after all my right hand man where whelping is concerned. I have made a big pan of soup and feel totally prepared for the big event.
I have always been able to predict the "type" of puppy I have whelped so far as Dempsey and Brewster have produced similar puppies with excellent ridges. I am now venturing into the unknown as this will be Raiza's first litter, but they should be substantial puppies with good bone and substance and very "typey"
Ruby is so different to Kasidi in that she quietly gets on with her labour and she always has a strong urge to nest outside, so we have to be very vigilant when she goes outside to the toilet.
Will update through out the night.
Friday, June 29, 2007
Dog things
Friday 29th June.
I was very proud of Ozzy at puppy classes the other evening, we always start the class with 15 minutes of socialisation where the pups are off of the lead and free to run around. There is one particular pup, a curly coated retriever who humps everything in sight but particularly singles out Ozzy. Ozzy tolerates it, but on Monday he had clearly had enough, he stepped out from his position and was able to pin the retriever down and hold him there all without any sign of aggression. It was quite fascinating to watch and as the class leader said, left to their own devices they will sort things out themselves. The retriever, when allowed to go by Ozzy, skulked off to his owner. He only lasted 5 minutes though and was soon running round humping everything in sight again.
Ozzy, taking after his dad, has also mastered the art of stealing eggs from the chicken shed so we are all watchful and I think it explains why he is looking a little heavy right now. I am hoping Mark will find some time to start their own pages on the website but as usual he is really busy at the moment.
Ruby is enjoying the cooler weather right now, she still enjoys her walks but is not so keen to go running through the woods, preferring to stay by me.
Motsi is teething and chewing everything she can get her teeth into which is usually my furniture but she remains adorable and great fun to be with. She takes after her mum in that she can be very naughty, Ozzy, on the other hand is very laid back and very well behaved at this moment in time.
We had Adea's ( Hamlet) family over for a BBQ last weekend and a good time was had by all. The pups and Kasidi were very happy to see him as was Brewster. He has become very playful with the puppies since his castration, bless him.
I will go to Bainbridge dog show on Saturday to see the Ridgebacks, had I been organised I would have entered one of the dogs,but I will take the pups and maybe Kasidi to get them out and about.
I was very proud of Ozzy at puppy classes the other evening, we always start the class with 15 minutes of socialisation where the pups are off of the lead and free to run around. There is one particular pup, a curly coated retriever who humps everything in sight but particularly singles out Ozzy. Ozzy tolerates it, but on Monday he had clearly had enough, he stepped out from his position and was able to pin the retriever down and hold him there all without any sign of aggression. It was quite fascinating to watch and as the class leader said, left to their own devices they will sort things out themselves. The retriever, when allowed to go by Ozzy, skulked off to his owner. He only lasted 5 minutes though and was soon running round humping everything in sight again.
Ozzy, taking after his dad, has also mastered the art of stealing eggs from the chicken shed so we are all watchful and I think it explains why he is looking a little heavy right now. I am hoping Mark will find some time to start their own pages on the website but as usual he is really busy at the moment.
Ruby is enjoying the cooler weather right now, she still enjoys her walks but is not so keen to go running through the woods, preferring to stay by me.
Motsi is teething and chewing everything she can get her teeth into which is usually my furniture but she remains adorable and great fun to be with. She takes after her mum in that she can be very naughty, Ozzy, on the other hand is very laid back and very well behaved at this moment in time.
We had Adea's ( Hamlet) family over for a BBQ last weekend and a good time was had by all. The pups and Kasidi were very happy to see him as was Brewster. He has become very playful with the puppies since his castration, bless him.
I will go to Bainbridge dog show on Saturday to see the Ridgebacks, had I been organised I would have entered one of the dogs,but I will take the pups and maybe Kasidi to get them out and about.
Friday, June 22, 2007
Dog things
Friday 22nd June.
I arrived back on Monday night and the first thing I noticed was the change in shape in Ruby and judging by her voracious appetite for anything raw, I think it can be safely assumed she is pregnant. During her last pregnancy three and a half years ago, she caught and ate a rabbit (fur as well) two days before her puppies were born. Raw meat is definitely her craving.
It was wonderful coming home to the dogs especially the two puppies who I have decided to keep. Caesar will be called Ozymandias (Ozzy for short)
During the first weekend of my stay in England I went along to the Rhodesian Ridgeback Club Of Great Britains open show . It was so good meeting up with friends but even more so, seeing the dogs. There must have been over 100 Ridgebacks and what struck me was the bone and substance of all of the dogs. Ridgebacks in the US tend to be finer somehow than their European counterparts and I think, for the showring, the British dogs are kept a little heavier, they were though, magnificent.
It would seem that some vets back home are now recommending early castration too, but non of the breeders I spoke to support this, so It is interesting that this clash is developing.
I now have 10 copies of the superb Imbali way of training the Ridgeback puppy so If anyone is interested in obtaining a copy I will be more than happy to send one through the post. All I ask is that you send It back to me when you have finished with it.
Kasidi stayed with my friend Rachel while I was away, mainly because Rachel loves her so much and relished the idea of having her for a couple of weeks. She accompanied Rachel to her picture framing shop in Delhi everyday and I believe she is now the toast of the town. I think Rachel secretly hoped that she would get to keep her but we could never consider such a thing. It was good for the puppies, I think, to have some independence from their mum, but boy, were they all pleased to be reunited. I had to put the puppies in their crate as the play became very bostrious. Even Brewster surpassed himself, who since his castration, now plays with the pups all of the time.
I am very excited for Ruby as she has always been a superb mother and she has always tended Kasidi's puppies and as for Raiza, well, we are pleased he had It in him as we were begining to worry. The pups will be due around the 16th of July, and for me, It will be the first summer litter which will make everything so much easier.
I arrived back on Monday night and the first thing I noticed was the change in shape in Ruby and judging by her voracious appetite for anything raw, I think it can be safely assumed she is pregnant. During her last pregnancy three and a half years ago, she caught and ate a rabbit (fur as well) two days before her puppies were born. Raw meat is definitely her craving.
It was wonderful coming home to the dogs especially the two puppies who I have decided to keep. Caesar will be called Ozymandias (Ozzy for short)
During the first weekend of my stay in England I went along to the Rhodesian Ridgeback Club Of Great Britains open show . It was so good meeting up with friends but even more so, seeing the dogs. There must have been over 100 Ridgebacks and what struck me was the bone and substance of all of the dogs. Ridgebacks in the US tend to be finer somehow than their European counterparts and I think, for the showring, the British dogs are kept a little heavier, they were though, magnificent.
It would seem that some vets back home are now recommending early castration too, but non of the breeders I spoke to support this, so It is interesting that this clash is developing.
I now have 10 copies of the superb Imbali way of training the Ridgeback puppy so If anyone is interested in obtaining a copy I will be more than happy to send one through the post. All I ask is that you send It back to me when you have finished with it.
Kasidi stayed with my friend Rachel while I was away, mainly because Rachel loves her so much and relished the idea of having her for a couple of weeks. She accompanied Rachel to her picture framing shop in Delhi everyday and I believe she is now the toast of the town. I think Rachel secretly hoped that she would get to keep her but we could never consider such a thing. It was good for the puppies, I think, to have some independence from their mum, but boy, were they all pleased to be reunited. I had to put the puppies in their crate as the play became very bostrious. Even Brewster surpassed himself, who since his castration, now plays with the pups all of the time.
I am very excited for Ruby as she has always been a superb mother and she has always tended Kasidi's puppies and as for Raiza, well, we are pleased he had It in him as we were begining to worry. The pups will be due around the 16th of July, and for me, It will be the first summer litter which will make everything so much easier.
Sunday, June 3, 2007
Dog things
Sunday 3rd June.
One of the most difficult aspects of having a litter of puppies is finding loving homes that you know will provide forever care for your puppies. I have, so far, been incredibly lucky and following my gut instincthave found wonderful homes for my puppies.
Paris and Caesar were due to leave on Saturday but I was having growing concerns for Caesar as I felt his new would be owner was showing very little commitment. I spoke to Mark early that morning about my fears and then I received a phone call at 08.30 from the would be owner to say he would not be coming. The relief I felt was over whelming.
Paris on the other hand was able to socialise with her new family for a couple of hours and showed such tenderness towards Carter and Jack the two little boys from her new family that I felt very proud of her. She will be living not too far away, so we will be able to see her from time to time.
I have been in touch with Sue Cragie ( Imbali Rhodesian Ridgebacks) about her excellent training manual "Raising the Rhodesian Ridgeback Puppy" and I am purchasing 10 copies which she will send to my parents home and I will bring them back with me.
I thought, rather than create my own page on my website, I would create a library system where copies are available for anyone purchasing a puppy from me. I can thoroughly recommend a visit to Sues site, she can be found by googling Imbali Rhodesian Ridgebacks.
I leave for England in the morning, a trip I am not really looking forward to as my dad has recently been diagnosed with cancer of the bowel and he is scheduled for surgery on Tuesday. I was supposed to be going out In August to celebrate his 80th birthday, a trip I still hope to make.
Mark arrives Tuesday to rule the roost and he is booked in for puppy classes that start Wednesday so he will have his hands full.
I hope to add entries to my blog and will report back from the GB Rhodesian Ridgeback Club show nextweekend.
One of the most difficult aspects of having a litter of puppies is finding loving homes that you know will provide forever care for your puppies. I have, so far, been incredibly lucky and following my gut instincthave found wonderful homes for my puppies.
Paris and Caesar were due to leave on Saturday but I was having growing concerns for Caesar as I felt his new would be owner was showing very little commitment. I spoke to Mark early that morning about my fears and then I received a phone call at 08.30 from the would be owner to say he would not be coming. The relief I felt was over whelming.
Paris on the other hand was able to socialise with her new family for a couple of hours and showed such tenderness towards Carter and Jack the two little boys from her new family that I felt very proud of her. She will be living not too far away, so we will be able to see her from time to time.
I have been in touch with Sue Cragie ( Imbali Rhodesian Ridgebacks) about her excellent training manual "Raising the Rhodesian Ridgeback Puppy" and I am purchasing 10 copies which she will send to my parents home and I will bring them back with me.
I thought, rather than create my own page on my website, I would create a library system where copies are available for anyone purchasing a puppy from me. I can thoroughly recommend a visit to Sues site, she can be found by googling Imbali Rhodesian Ridgebacks.
I leave for England in the morning, a trip I am not really looking forward to as my dad has recently been diagnosed with cancer of the bowel and he is scheduled for surgery on Tuesday. I was supposed to be going out In August to celebrate his 80th birthday, a trip I still hope to make.
Mark arrives Tuesday to rule the roost and he is booked in for puppy classes that start Wednesday so he will have his hands full.
I hope to add entries to my blog and will report back from the GB Rhodesian Ridgeback Club show nextweekend.
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Dog things
Thursday 31st may.
Yesterday I was outside watering the cows when I heard a cufuffle (new word) in my chicken shed. My one eyed chicken, Lucy, ran, squarking ( maybe another new word, I'm not sure coz I have had 2 glasses of wine) and I wondered what was up setting her. Hot on her heels was Brewster and he obviously had something in his mouth. I called him and issued the command "drop It" he promptly obeyed and dropped a beautiful blue egg onto the ground. (Lucy lays blue eggs) What is so funny is I often feed the dogs raw eggs into their dinner and Brewster thought he would just help himself. How could I be cross, he was showing independent thought, something this breed is famous for.
Yesterday I was outside watering the cows when I heard a cufuffle (new word) in my chicken shed. My one eyed chicken, Lucy, ran, squarking ( maybe another new word, I'm not sure coz I have had 2 glasses of wine) and I wondered what was up setting her. Hot on her heels was Brewster and he obviously had something in his mouth. I called him and issued the command "drop It" he promptly obeyed and dropped a beautiful blue egg onto the ground. (Lucy lays blue eggs) What is so funny is I often feed the dogs raw eggs into their dinner and Brewster thought he would just help himself. How could I be cross, he was showing independent thought, something this breed is famous for.
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Dog things
Wednesday 30th May.
The castration issue is really bugging me at the moment as 16 weeks seems terribly early to have any dog castrated, they are, after all, still babies.
I have been in touch with my friend and Kasidi's breeder in England and she too was appalled when she heard 16 weeks is the age vets are recommending for castration/neutering. She told me her vet would not suggest such an early age. I was always told by vets in the Uk that it is best for the bitches to have a season first and with Ridgebacks this can be as old as 15 months. As for the dogs....... Why do we castrate them?
Marking, mounting, wandering, aggressive tendencies towards other male dogs are reasons to have a dog castrated and these are pretty good reasons especially if the dog is living with a young family in an urban environment. I have no arguement with any of these reasons and of course if a bitch nearby comes into season then it can be an extremely difficult situation. Where I struggle is the age. My experience of 21 years with this breed and German Shepherds growing up is many of these tendencies do not appear until 9-12 months and in some cases they never appear. Raiza springs to mind, yes, he cocks his leg and marks his spot but this has never been a problem. My neighbours who live close by have a wonderful Ridgeback called Sim who is 2 and a half, a lovely gentle boy and he is intact. He lives a double life in that half of his time is spent in Manhattan and the other half up here in the Catskills. He has never presented his owners with any problems.
I have to go to England on Monday and I will be attending the Rhodesian Ridgeback Club of Great Britains open show so It will be interesting to discover thoughts from other breeders.
The castration issue is really bugging me at the moment as 16 weeks seems terribly early to have any dog castrated, they are, after all, still babies.
I have been in touch with my friend and Kasidi's breeder in England and she too was appalled when she heard 16 weeks is the age vets are recommending for castration/neutering. She told me her vet would not suggest such an early age. I was always told by vets in the Uk that it is best for the bitches to have a season first and with Ridgebacks this can be as old as 15 months. As for the dogs....... Why do we castrate them?
Marking, mounting, wandering, aggressive tendencies towards other male dogs are reasons to have a dog castrated and these are pretty good reasons especially if the dog is living with a young family in an urban environment. I have no arguement with any of these reasons and of course if a bitch nearby comes into season then it can be an extremely difficult situation. Where I struggle is the age. My experience of 21 years with this breed and German Shepherds growing up is many of these tendencies do not appear until 9-12 months and in some cases they never appear. Raiza springs to mind, yes, he cocks his leg and marks his spot but this has never been a problem. My neighbours who live close by have a wonderful Ridgeback called Sim who is 2 and a half, a lovely gentle boy and he is intact. He lives a double life in that half of his time is spent in Manhattan and the other half up here in the Catskills. He has never presented his owners with any problems.
I have to go to England on Monday and I will be attending the Rhodesian Ridgeback Club of Great Britains open show so It will be interesting to discover thoughts from other breeders.
Monday, May 28, 2007
Dog things
Monday 28th May.
It is well documented that Ridgebacks have the ability to jump high fences from a standstill position. I have never had a jumper until now.
A couple of weeks ago Mark and I created a compound for the dogs. It used the side of our barn and two sides of the electric fence from our paddock. We installed, for the front end and gate, one of those wire kennels that can be found at Tractor supply and are seen just about everywhere.
It must be about 7 feet high. Anyway we don't use it very often but when we do Lela always manages to get out. I assumed she was sacrificing being nipped by the fence in order to get out, that was until Saturday. I could not believe my eyes when I saw Lela from a standing position, look up, jump and scale the fence with very little effort. She sort of balanced herself on the top of the fence and then flipped her self over. The ease with she managed to get out was incredible. Fortunately Lela does not wander and we only created it to have somewhere to put the dogs occasionally so I am not too upset.
Sam, Alex and myself went to Unadilla yesterday for a BBQ with the family of Hamlet now known as Adia and Puck now known as Kinta. We took Motsi, Caesar and Paris and had a truly wonderful time. It was so rewarding for me seeing all of the puppies get together and play. They were well and truly shattered when we got home and are still tired this morning.
Very disturbing for me was hearing about the experience Kinta's family had with the vet when they took him for his rabies vaccination. They were told that they had a month to "get him sorted" and they were told to hold his jaw shut and stare at him for a couple of minutes to exert dominance. This exercise was to be repeated several times a day. To say I was angry with this advice is an under statement and I would love to know what needs to be sorted in a month. They were also advised to have him castrated at 4 months. I could start a new blog on both of these issues but I have decided to create a page on my website that offers help and advice on training the Rhodesian Ridgeback. Yes, It is very important to establish alpha status with a new puppy but Rhodesian Ridgebacks are very sensitive dogs and certainly do not respond to harsh over the top treatment. They also have incredible memories.
Regarding castration at 4 months. I simply do not understand why 4 months is the recommended age. I pointed out to Charlie., Kinta's owner that male dogs rely on Testosterone to develop muscle and the powerful build that essentially makes them male. Castrate them at such an early age and this development is denied.
One of the bitches from Kasidi's first litter was spayed at 4 months and now has problems with incontinence. I am sure that 4 months is not the recommended age for spay/neutering in the UK but I will check this out and report back.
It is well documented that Ridgebacks have the ability to jump high fences from a standstill position. I have never had a jumper until now.
A couple of weeks ago Mark and I created a compound for the dogs. It used the side of our barn and two sides of the electric fence from our paddock. We installed, for the front end and gate, one of those wire kennels that can be found at Tractor supply and are seen just about everywhere.
It must be about 7 feet high. Anyway we don't use it very often but when we do Lela always manages to get out. I assumed she was sacrificing being nipped by the fence in order to get out, that was until Saturday. I could not believe my eyes when I saw Lela from a standing position, look up, jump and scale the fence with very little effort. She sort of balanced herself on the top of the fence and then flipped her self over. The ease with she managed to get out was incredible. Fortunately Lela does not wander and we only created it to have somewhere to put the dogs occasionally so I am not too upset.
Sam, Alex and myself went to Unadilla yesterday for a BBQ with the family of Hamlet now known as Adia and Puck now known as Kinta. We took Motsi, Caesar and Paris and had a truly wonderful time. It was so rewarding for me seeing all of the puppies get together and play. They were well and truly shattered when we got home and are still tired this morning.
Very disturbing for me was hearing about the experience Kinta's family had with the vet when they took him for his rabies vaccination. They were told that they had a month to "get him sorted" and they were told to hold his jaw shut and stare at him for a couple of minutes to exert dominance. This exercise was to be repeated several times a day. To say I was angry with this advice is an under statement and I would love to know what needs to be sorted in a month. They were also advised to have him castrated at 4 months. I could start a new blog on both of these issues but I have decided to create a page on my website that offers help and advice on training the Rhodesian Ridgeback. Yes, It is very important to establish alpha status with a new puppy but Rhodesian Ridgebacks are very sensitive dogs and certainly do not respond to harsh over the top treatment. They also have incredible memories.
Regarding castration at 4 months. I simply do not understand why 4 months is the recommended age. I pointed out to Charlie., Kinta's owner that male dogs rely on Testosterone to develop muscle and the powerful build that essentially makes them male. Castrate them at such an early age and this development is denied.
One of the bitches from Kasidi's first litter was spayed at 4 months and now has problems with incontinence. I am sure that 4 months is not the recommended age for spay/neutering in the UK but I will check this out and report back.
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Dog things
Thursday 24th May.
We all have our favourite puppies, mine was Caesar, the boys Ariel and Olivia's was always Hermione but these are emotional bonds and cannot be used when selecting a puppy to complement ones breeding programme. I had decided to keep Caesar knowing full well that he could not be used on any of my bitches and then a man named Frank who I have been communicating with over the last month asked if he could have him. Fortunately for me, he does not live too far away and he and his family holiday here in the Catskills, so I might get to see him from time to time but I was shocked at the sense of loss I felt when I made the decision to let him go. I will keep him until next Saturday andI know It will be a very sad day for me.
Yesterday I took Caesar and Motsi to town to expose them to the traffic etc and get them used to walking along the pavements and I was very proud of them. There is no doubt that the Rhodesian Ridgeback always attracts attention on the street and puppies even more so. They are so strikingly beautiful and proud. I remember many years ago when my dad had the brother to Joshua, my first Ridgeback. He would take Jed to town, mum would go shopping and dad would find a seat, sit back and just enjoy all of the attention his beautiful dog attracted. We have made so many friends over the years by being out and about with our dogs.
The weather has been very hot but the dogs seem to be enjoying the sun. I have started walking them earlier in the morning as It is a little cooler and they have much more energy first thing.
I keep looking for signs with Ruby but I know from experience that with her, It is very hard to tell. When she was pregnant with her second litter, I took her to my vet in Scotland for an ultra sound scan. My vet who was reaching retirement took one look at her and announced that she could not possibly be in whelp. The scan revealed around 9 puppies yet she she showed no signs what so ever. She went on to produce 9 puppies about 3 weeks later.
We all have our favourite puppies, mine was Caesar, the boys Ariel and Olivia's was always Hermione but these are emotional bonds and cannot be used when selecting a puppy to complement ones breeding programme. I had decided to keep Caesar knowing full well that he could not be used on any of my bitches and then a man named Frank who I have been communicating with over the last month asked if he could have him. Fortunately for me, he does not live too far away and he and his family holiday here in the Catskills, so I might get to see him from time to time but I was shocked at the sense of loss I felt when I made the decision to let him go. I will keep him until next Saturday andI know It will be a very sad day for me.
Yesterday I took Caesar and Motsi to town to expose them to the traffic etc and get them used to walking along the pavements and I was very proud of them. There is no doubt that the Rhodesian Ridgeback always attracts attention on the street and puppies even more so. They are so strikingly beautiful and proud. I remember many years ago when my dad had the brother to Joshua, my first Ridgeback. He would take Jed to town, mum would go shopping and dad would find a seat, sit back and just enjoy all of the attention his beautiful dog attracted. We have made so many friends over the years by being out and about with our dogs.
The weather has been very hot but the dogs seem to be enjoying the sun. I have started walking them earlier in the morning as It is a little cooler and they have much more energy first thing.
I keep looking for signs with Ruby but I know from experience that with her, It is very hard to tell. When she was pregnant with her second litter, I took her to my vet in Scotland for an ultra sound scan. My vet who was reaching retirement took one look at her and announced that she could not possibly be in whelp. The scan revealed around 9 puppies yet she she showed no signs what so ever. She went on to produce 9 puppies about 3 weeks later.
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Dog things
Sunday 20th May.
I remember my vet in Scotland once saying to me that not all dogs have the natural instinct to mate. This was never the case with Brewster but It certainly was with Raiza.
Ruby came into season and once again Raiza, clearly exasperated, had no idea what to do and I have to confess neither did I. So last Sunday before I was due to take Mark to the airport we did our best to help Raiza along. We were not very successful but I like to think we gave Raiza a clue as to what was expected of him.
The following day my eldest son was horrified when I asked him if he would help me with the dogs. We positioned Ruby over a large container to support her tummy and then helped Raiza along and in the end we managed a mating with 15 minute tie. Sam was acutely embarrassed when the school bus went by but I was just relieved that Raiza had eventually been able to do his job.
I am not holding out much hope for success as I am not sure if Ruby was past her peak but I am relieved that Raiza was able to do what he did as he so important to my plans for the future.
I will have Ruby scanned at the appropriate time to see if she is in whelp.
Brewster is recovering well from his operations and was certainly easier to manage while his mother was in season. He has always been a faithful companion but now I have broken all of my self imposed rules and he sleeps with me at night. I was very surprised that Mark did not mind this new arrangement but we both accept that Brewster has always been very special as he was our first bred dog and he has produced 2 beautiful litters with Kasidi.
Hamlet leaves tomorrow with his new family as they have now returned from Italy but It will not be a sad farewell as he will not be too far and we will be keeping in touch. He is a lovely gentle boy and I know he is going to have a wonderful life.
Our puppy is still un-named but her pedigree name will be loveness Motsi after my Zimbabwean friend from my nurse training days. What her pet name will be is still up for discussion as my children seem to dislike everything I suggest but I think Motsi is the obvious choice. I seem to remember them responding this way when I named Raiza but I stuck to my guns so maybe that is what I should be doing now.
We still have Caesar and after setting him up today I have almost convinced myself to keep him as he is so beautiful. I keep blowing hot and cold as I know It will be hard work and I will definitely have to alter the way I walk the dogs in that I cant walk through the woods every day with 7 Ridgebacks .
Kasidi is on a reducing diet as once again I seem to have misjudged her dietary requirements and her moulting makes her look quite bedraggled . When she is moulting she takes on the appearance of a blotchy leopard and looks quite untidy but I know it will soon pass.
We received pictures of Hermione now known as Inca today and they are quite stunning. She is such a beautiful puppy and has already had loads of exposure to the big wide world.
I remember my vet in Scotland once saying to me that not all dogs have the natural instinct to mate. This was never the case with Brewster but It certainly was with Raiza.
Ruby came into season and once again Raiza, clearly exasperated, had no idea what to do and I have to confess neither did I. So last Sunday before I was due to take Mark to the airport we did our best to help Raiza along. We were not very successful but I like to think we gave Raiza a clue as to what was expected of him.
The following day my eldest son was horrified when I asked him if he would help me with the dogs. We positioned Ruby over a large container to support her tummy and then helped Raiza along and in the end we managed a mating with 15 minute tie. Sam was acutely embarrassed when the school bus went by but I was just relieved that Raiza had eventually been able to do his job.
I am not holding out much hope for success as I am not sure if Ruby was past her peak but I am relieved that Raiza was able to do what he did as he so important to my plans for the future.
I will have Ruby scanned at the appropriate time to see if she is in whelp.
Brewster is recovering well from his operations and was certainly easier to manage while his mother was in season. He has always been a faithful companion but now I have broken all of my self imposed rules and he sleeps with me at night. I was very surprised that Mark did not mind this new arrangement but we both accept that Brewster has always been very special as he was our first bred dog and he has produced 2 beautiful litters with Kasidi.
Hamlet leaves tomorrow with his new family as they have now returned from Italy but It will not be a sad farewell as he will not be too far and we will be keeping in touch. He is a lovely gentle boy and I know he is going to have a wonderful life.
Our puppy is still un-named but her pedigree name will be loveness Motsi after my Zimbabwean friend from my nurse training days. What her pet name will be is still up for discussion as my children seem to dislike everything I suggest but I think Motsi is the obvious choice. I seem to remember them responding this way when I named Raiza but I stuck to my guns so maybe that is what I should be doing now.
We still have Caesar and after setting him up today I have almost convinced myself to keep him as he is so beautiful. I keep blowing hot and cold as I know It will be hard work and I will definitely have to alter the way I walk the dogs in that I cant walk through the woods every day with 7 Ridgebacks .
Kasidi is on a reducing diet as once again I seem to have misjudged her dietary requirements and her moulting makes her look quite bedraggled . When she is moulting she takes on the appearance of a blotchy leopard and looks quite untidy but I know it will soon pass.
We received pictures of Hermione now known as Inca today and they are quite stunning. She is such a beautiful puppy and has already had loads of exposure to the big wide world.
Thursday, May 3, 2007
kasidi's puppies
Thursday 3rd May.
I made a huge decision concerning Brewster last week. He was due to go to the vets to have his anal sacs removed on Tuesday and after much consideration I decided to have him castrated at the same time. From a management point of view It made sense as I have his mother and two of his daughters and I did not want any accidents happening. If we had kennels It would be manageable, but our dogs live with us and it would have been too stressful for all concerned. He has produced two beautiful litters with Kasidi and so now, the baton has been handed to Raiza.
We still have Caesar and Paris and I am holding on to Hamlet until the end of May so It is all go all of the time. Having said that we are really enjoying the pups right now as the weather is glorious and Kasidi is now spending quality time with them. She has become this big puppy herself and is constantly running around with toys in her mouth enticing the pups to chase her.
Ruby should peak next week, so It will be interesting to see how Raiza responds. He still sits on my knee in the evening. In his head he is still a baby but occupying a large body.
Ariel traveled to LA business class on Tuesday and was very well behaved until the food was served and then apparently every one knew there was a puppy on board. Kent, her new owner had to fib about her weight as she was a couple of pounds over the limit. Her new name is very posh. She is now known as Lucinda.
We have not named Phebe yet but we all like Hermione, I wanted to call her Niamah, pronounced Neev, but non of the children would contemplate this so I had to relent.
My friend in the UK and Kasidi's breeder has named her new puppy Khaos, which we all love. I might have to muster up the courage to ask Liz if we can use it also as It is a superb name for a Ridgeback.
I made a huge decision concerning Brewster last week. He was due to go to the vets to have his anal sacs removed on Tuesday and after much consideration I decided to have him castrated at the same time. From a management point of view It made sense as I have his mother and two of his daughters and I did not want any accidents happening. If we had kennels It would be manageable, but our dogs live with us and it would have been too stressful for all concerned. He has produced two beautiful litters with Kasidi and so now, the baton has been handed to Raiza.
We still have Caesar and Paris and I am holding on to Hamlet until the end of May so It is all go all of the time. Having said that we are really enjoying the pups right now as the weather is glorious and Kasidi is now spending quality time with them. She has become this big puppy herself and is constantly running around with toys in her mouth enticing the pups to chase her.
Ruby should peak next week, so It will be interesting to see how Raiza responds. He still sits on my knee in the evening. In his head he is still a baby but occupying a large body.
Ariel traveled to LA business class on Tuesday and was very well behaved until the food was served and then apparently every one knew there was a puppy on board. Kent, her new owner had to fib about her weight as she was a couple of pounds over the limit. Her new name is very posh. She is now known as Lucinda.
We have not named Phebe yet but we all like Hermione, I wanted to call her Niamah, pronounced Neev, but non of the children would contemplate this so I had to relent.
My friend in the UK and Kasidi's breeder has named her new puppy Khaos, which we all love. I might have to muster up the courage to ask Liz if we can use it also as It is a superb name for a Ridgeback.
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
kasisi's puppies
Wednesday 25th April
We have had no internet connection for three days and I cannot express in words how frustrating I found this. For some one who did not know where the on button was a couple of years ago this is mighty progress.
Anyway, the remaining puppies are now developing their individual personalities and are delightful. Ariel leaves on Saturday and will go to LA on Tuesday.
Hamlet has been chosen by a wonderful family from New Jersey who have a second home in this area and will live very close to Macbeth. This is fabulous news for me as I will be close to two of the puppies.
After a lot of consideration I have decided to keep Phebe and surprisingly Mark did not threaten me with divorce, so now we are trying to find a name that suits her extrovert personality. This means that beautiful Caesar is yet to find a home and to be honest I am in no rush to see him go. The luxury of not having to work leaves me with plenty of time to look after the pups and It is interesting for me to see how he develops.
Ruby is very frisky at the moment so this could be a sign that she is coming into season. I am praying that Raiza will be up to the job but only time will tell. If it doesn't work out then that will be the end of Ruby's breeding life as next year she will be too old.
We have had no internet connection for three days and I cannot express in words how frustrating I found this. For some one who did not know where the on button was a couple of years ago this is mighty progress.
Anyway, the remaining puppies are now developing their individual personalities and are delightful. Ariel leaves on Saturday and will go to LA on Tuesday.
Hamlet has been chosen by a wonderful family from New Jersey who have a second home in this area and will live very close to Macbeth. This is fabulous news for me as I will be close to two of the puppies.
After a lot of consideration I have decided to keep Phebe and surprisingly Mark did not threaten me with divorce, so now we are trying to find a name that suits her extrovert personality. This means that beautiful Caesar is yet to find a home and to be honest I am in no rush to see him go. The luxury of not having to work leaves me with plenty of time to look after the pups and It is interesting for me to see how he develops.
Ruby is very frisky at the moment so this could be a sign that she is coming into season. I am praying that Raiza will be up to the job but only time will tell. If it doesn't work out then that will be the end of Ruby's breeding life as next year she will be too old.
Friday, April 20, 2007
kasisi's puppies
Friday 20th April.
Yesterday Olivia and I set off for Albany airport with Romeo, destination, Memphis. It is about an hour and a half to the airport and most puppies will be sick at some point during the journey, so It is always a worry to me how much I should feed them or if I am to feed them at all. I decided to give Romeo milk and nothing else. As it happened he was the perfect traveler and slept the entire journey on top of a pillow and was not sick once. We offered him food once we reached the airport but he declined. It is always a worrying time when a puppy is being shipped ,but experience with my last litter taught me that the puppies manage well and do not seem too traumatised by the experience. Feedback from Romeo's new family suggests he took it all in his stride and settled in remarkably quickly. I do have some lovely photographs which hopefuly will appear on the website later on today. Kind permission from Terri will be sought first. Romeo is now known as Max.
As for the remaining puppies, they are now enjoying the long overdue sunshine and spent nearly 6 hours outside yesterday. Mark doesn't know this, but I am watching Caesar and Phebe very closely. Ariel leaves with her new family next weekend and will spend her time between New York and Los Angeles, yet again, a glamourous lifestyle.
The big dogs are enjoying the warmer weather too, I really love this time of year as the dogs are so easy to take care of, as long as they have been for a long walk in the morning they will happily bask in the sun all day.
Yesterday Olivia and I set off for Albany airport with Romeo, destination, Memphis. It is about an hour and a half to the airport and most puppies will be sick at some point during the journey, so It is always a worry to me how much I should feed them or if I am to feed them at all. I decided to give Romeo milk and nothing else. As it happened he was the perfect traveler and slept the entire journey on top of a pillow and was not sick once. We offered him food once we reached the airport but he declined. It is always a worrying time when a puppy is being shipped ,but experience with my last litter taught me that the puppies manage well and do not seem too traumatised by the experience. Feedback from Romeo's new family suggests he took it all in his stride and settled in remarkably quickly. I do have some lovely photographs which hopefuly will appear on the website later on today. Kind permission from Terri will be sought first. Romeo is now known as Max.
As for the remaining puppies, they are now enjoying the long overdue sunshine and spent nearly 6 hours outside yesterday. Mark doesn't know this, but I am watching Caesar and Phebe very closely. Ariel leaves with her new family next weekend and will spend her time between New York and Los Angeles, yet again, a glamourous lifestyle.
The big dogs are enjoying the warmer weather too, I really love this time of year as the dogs are so easy to take care of, as long as they have been for a long walk in the morning they will happily bask in the sun all day.
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
kasisi's puppies
Tuesday 17th April
Our puppies started to leave us this weekend, the good news is that Kinta, formerly known as Macbeth, lives just half an hour away from us so we will be able to visit him regularly. He now lives on a 72 acre Koi Carp farm.
Hermione and Puck moved to Long Island and Brooklyn ,although Hermione will be spending the summer on a salmon farm in Alaska (lucky Hermione)
Today we drove to Lenox MA with Portia to meet up with Joanna and Ron, she will be joining her sister Kallie from Kasidi and Brewsters first litter.
On Thursday, Romeo will be heading off to Memphis where he will join his new family and no they will not be calling him Elvis, he will be called Max.
Already the puppies have become so easy now the numbers have gone down. Today they were able to play in deep snow as the temperature was pretty mild at around 40f, they now completely ignore me when I call them in a sign of their growing independance.
Our puppies started to leave us this weekend, the good news is that Kinta, formerly known as Macbeth, lives just half an hour away from us so we will be able to visit him regularly. He now lives on a 72 acre Koi Carp farm.
Hermione and Puck moved to Long Island and Brooklyn ,although Hermione will be spending the summer on a salmon farm in Alaska (lucky Hermione)
Today we drove to Lenox MA with Portia to meet up with Joanna and Ron, she will be joining her sister Kallie from Kasidi and Brewsters first litter.
On Thursday, Romeo will be heading off to Memphis where he will join his new family and no they will not be calling him Elvis, he will be called Max.
Already the puppies have become so easy now the numbers have gone down. Today they were able to play in deep snow as the temperature was pretty mild at around 40f, they now completely ignore me when I call them in a sign of their growing independance.
Saturday, April 14, 2007
Kasidi's puppies
Saturday 14th April
We performed the personality tests on the puppies this afternoon and I am not sure if we can truly interpret the results. They were carried out in our bedroom where they have never been and by Mark, my husband who they briefly met last night. The outcome was dominated by gender in that the girls were much more outgoing and sociable whereas the boys just lay on the floor and did not respond much at all. Parts of the test included putting up an umbrella suddenly, clashing saucepans, retrieving, putting the puppy on its belly etc and basically the boys just lay there with an expression on their face that said, whats all this about. I think the tests said more about this breed in that they are laid back and prone to laziness.
Years ago whilst at crufts the judge had about 38 Ridgebacks in one class to go over, so she divided the group into sub groups. The ridgebacks that had to wait soon got bored and collapsed on to the floor for a sleep. In contrast, the ring next door had Elk hounds and the noise that was coming from them was over whelming. They were very excitable and barking constantly not something a Ridgeback is noted for.
This thread for the blog will have to end soon as my puppies journey will end here and start over anew as they head off to their new homes. A sad time for us but a joyous one for their new owners.
We performed the personality tests on the puppies this afternoon and I am not sure if we can truly interpret the results. They were carried out in our bedroom where they have never been and by Mark, my husband who they briefly met last night. The outcome was dominated by gender in that the girls were much more outgoing and sociable whereas the boys just lay on the floor and did not respond much at all. Parts of the test included putting up an umbrella suddenly, clashing saucepans, retrieving, putting the puppy on its belly etc and basically the boys just lay there with an expression on their face that said, whats all this about. I think the tests said more about this breed in that they are laid back and prone to laziness.
Years ago whilst at crufts the judge had about 38 Ridgebacks in one class to go over, so she divided the group into sub groups. The ridgebacks that had to wait soon got bored and collapsed on to the floor for a sleep. In contrast, the ring next door had Elk hounds and the noise that was coming from them was over whelming. They were very excitable and barking constantly not something a Ridgeback is noted for.
This thread for the blog will have to end soon as my puppies journey will end here and start over anew as they head off to their new homes. A sad time for us but a joyous one for their new owners.
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Kasidi's puppies
Thursday 12th April
In the end all ten puppies went to the vets today as my vet is going on holiday and they all got a clean bill of health. They had their first innoculation, were wormed and of course their medical. The weights were as follows:
Romeo 16.6lbs
Puck 18.2lbs
Portia 16.8lbs
Phebe 16.6lbs
Paris 17lbs
Macbeth 17lbs
Hermione 15.2lbs
Hamlet 15.6lbs
Caesar 17.6lbs
Ariel 18.2lbs
I took the puppies in two batches of five and was very impressed with how they managed the journey as my vet is 35mins drive from home.
I think I will just leave them to be quiet this evening as It has been quite a day for them.
Kasidi was anxious when she saw her babies being put into the car and was happy to have them returned to her.
In the end all ten puppies went to the vets today as my vet is going on holiday and they all got a clean bill of health. They had their first innoculation, were wormed and of course their medical. The weights were as follows:
Romeo 16.6lbs
Puck 18.2lbs
Portia 16.8lbs
Phebe 16.6lbs
Paris 17lbs
Macbeth 17lbs
Hermione 15.2lbs
Hamlet 15.6lbs
Caesar 17.6lbs
Ariel 18.2lbs
I took the puppies in two batches of five and was very impressed with how they managed the journey as my vet is 35mins drive from home.
I think I will just leave them to be quiet this evening as It has been quite a day for them.
Kasidi was anxious when she saw her babies being put into the car and was happy to have them returned to her.
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Kasidi's puppies
Wednesday 11th April
People always ask me "how can you part with the puppies" and I always reply, "there comes a time when It becomes impossible to give each individual puppy the attention they crave and deserve". That time is now. I simply cannot give them the one on one they need and because I know I have wonderful families for the puppies to go to It makes It a lot easier.
I have been busy with my animals today making sure they are stocked with food and water etc as we are to expect up tp 9 inches of snow tonight and tomorrow. Very depressing as I know this time last year It was hot but at least I pick up Mark on Friday (thats if his flight is not delayed)
Five pups go to the vets tomorrow for checks and jabs. I held out in the end as we do not vaccinate until 8 weeks back home and I figured there must be a reason for this. I tend to believe the vets advice is not always the best advice when It comes to vaccination. There are some very interesting studies out there that suggests we over vaccinate our pets which suits the drug industries and that auto immune problems can be attributed to over vaccinating. In this months AKC magazine I read about a trial thats about to start re the rabies vaccine. The aim is to hopefully show that the rabies vaccine can provide cover for up to 7 years. I have always believed blood should be taken to show serum antibody levels before re-vaccination. Anyway, more info about this trial can be found at www.rabieschallengefund.org
People always ask me "how can you part with the puppies" and I always reply, "there comes a time when It becomes impossible to give each individual puppy the attention they crave and deserve". That time is now. I simply cannot give them the one on one they need and because I know I have wonderful families for the puppies to go to It makes It a lot easier.
I have been busy with my animals today making sure they are stocked with food and water etc as we are to expect up tp 9 inches of snow tonight and tomorrow. Very depressing as I know this time last year It was hot but at least I pick up Mark on Friday (thats if his flight is not delayed)
Five pups go to the vets tomorrow for checks and jabs. I held out in the end as we do not vaccinate until 8 weeks back home and I figured there must be a reason for this. I tend to believe the vets advice is not always the best advice when It comes to vaccination. There are some very interesting studies out there that suggests we over vaccinate our pets which suits the drug industries and that auto immune problems can be attributed to over vaccinating. In this months AKC magazine I read about a trial thats about to start re the rabies vaccine. The aim is to hopefully show that the rabies vaccine can provide cover for up to 7 years. I have always believed blood should be taken to show serum antibody levels before re-vaccination. Anyway, more info about this trial can be found at www.rabieschallengefund.org
Saturday, April 7, 2007
Kasidi's puppies
Saturday April 7th
When my daughter Olivia was devising the system for the collars she worked It so a dog and a bitch wore the same colour colour, so It is always as follows;
Blue collar = Portia and Hamlet.
Red collar = Ariel and Puck.
Orange collar = Caesar and Phebe.
Green collar = Romeo and Hermione
Pink collar= Paris and Macbeth.
This afternoon we brought the puppies into the living room as we are going out tonight and I happened to mention to Olivia that I had noticed the puppies tend to hang out in pairs and It seems that the collars seem to determine who they hang out with. She was amazed by this statement as she too had noticed that Caesar can always be found with Phebe, Portia is often to be seen with Hamlet etc etc. We will make a point of closely watching them when they are out and about as It seems bizzare that this is the case. Even now I am looking down on them and Paris and Macbeth are running around together with one of my slippers in their mouth.
Even though It is quite cold at the moment the pups went out for a while this morning and some of them were digging up the few bulbs that have escaped the scratching from my chickens. It is incredible how they have so quickly become naughty little dogs. They are also discovering the word NO as they now have a habit of sinking their needle like teeth into my legs.
When my daughter Olivia was devising the system for the collars she worked It so a dog and a bitch wore the same colour colour, so It is always as follows;
Blue collar = Portia and Hamlet.
Red collar = Ariel and Puck.
Orange collar = Caesar and Phebe.
Green collar = Romeo and Hermione
Pink collar= Paris and Macbeth.
This afternoon we brought the puppies into the living room as we are going out tonight and I happened to mention to Olivia that I had noticed the puppies tend to hang out in pairs and It seems that the collars seem to determine who they hang out with. She was amazed by this statement as she too had noticed that Caesar can always be found with Phebe, Portia is often to be seen with Hamlet etc etc. We will make a point of closely watching them when they are out and about as It seems bizzare that this is the case. Even now I am looking down on them and Paris and Macbeth are running around together with one of my slippers in their mouth.
Even though It is quite cold at the moment the pups went out for a while this morning and some of them were digging up the few bulbs that have escaped the scratching from my chickens. It is incredible how they have so quickly become naughty little dogs. They are also discovering the word NO as they now have a habit of sinking their needle like teeth into my legs.
Friday, April 6, 2007
Kasidi's puppies
Friday 6th April
I am pleased to say that Caesar is totally recovered and judging from the photographs we took today he seems to be benefiting from not having a bulging tummy. I am going to reduce the puppies intake to 3 meals a day.
Olivia and I took individual pictures of all of the pups today and it wasn't easy. Some just did not want to stand, some were arching their back so they looked hunched and some were doing the classic rocking horse pose, but hopefully they will be on the web by tomorrow. Warts and all !
We had just got into the routine of the puppies going outside after every meal and so begining a toileting regime when winter came back and now they sniff the cold and refuse to go out. They are very demanding and very hard work but rewarding none the less.
I checked the boys to make sure they had 2 descended testicles and that their bites were correct plus another check of ridges. All of the girls have correct bites too.
I can hear the puppies as I type, they must have just woken up, so another round of feed and clean is due.
The highlight of the day is still when they all come into the living room during the evening, they go crazy and will now run around and play for nearly 2 hours before they collapse in a heap and fall asleep.
I am pleased to say that Caesar is totally recovered and judging from the photographs we took today he seems to be benefiting from not having a bulging tummy. I am going to reduce the puppies intake to 3 meals a day.
Olivia and I took individual pictures of all of the pups today and it wasn't easy. Some just did not want to stand, some were arching their back so they looked hunched and some were doing the classic rocking horse pose, but hopefully they will be on the web by tomorrow. Warts and all !
We had just got into the routine of the puppies going outside after every meal and so begining a toileting regime when winter came back and now they sniff the cold and refuse to go out. They are very demanding and very hard work but rewarding none the less.
I checked the boys to make sure they had 2 descended testicles and that their bites were correct plus another check of ridges. All of the girls have correct bites too.
I can hear the puppies as I type, they must have just woken up, so another round of feed and clean is due.
The highlight of the day is still when they all come into the living room during the evening, they go crazy and will now run around and play for nearly 2 hours before they collapse in a heap and fall asleep.
Wednesday, April 4, 2007
Kasidi's puppies
Wednesday 4th April
Caesar was a cause for concern yesterday.
Some of the puppies had diarroeah on Monday but appeared well in themselves so I changed their diet to rice, live yoghurt and cooked chicken for 24 hours and this seemed to halt it in its track. I have to admit to being very worried as I have been letting the puppies out in our garden and although they are mixing with my vaccinated dogs I have no idea what wild animals prowl around at night that could be carrying nasty viruses such as parvo.Also, the puppies had been licking old snow and I saw some of them drinking from a muddy puddle. Not very desirable but I also believe their systems have to be intrduced to such things to toughen them up. It is a close judgement call .
All seemed well yesterday, then yesterday evening I noticed that Caesar seemed quite lethargic and not his usual bouncy self. When I picked him up he seemed very hot and his temperature revealed a reading of 103.1. Although my entire nursing carreer was spent using centigrade I new this was hot.
The vets clinic was obviously closed and I suddenly became very worried so I went over in my head what I needed to do. I had amoxacillin tablets in my drawer which were 250mg stength so I quartered a tablet, crushed It and added a little water, so It could be sucked up into a syringe.
.I had surfed the net trying to find the correct dosage for puppies but had been unable to find anything. I figured that 60 something mgs would be ok so I gave the antibiotic to Caesar then rang the vets clinic to get the on call doctor.
I was put through to a very helpful on call vet who asked me if I happened to have some amoxyl in the house. I told her what I had done and she ok'd the dosage which I had given him which was a relief. She also recommended 1ml of pepto bismol which apart from having anti-diarroeal properties, also has a temperature reducing action. I then made up a solution of electrolyte solution which consisted of 1 teasoon of salt to 8 teaspoons of sugar in 1 litre of water and administered this to him via syringe.
I toyed with idea of keeping him with me that night but decided he would most probably prefer to be with his brothers and sisters.
I was quite anxious going into the puppies this morning but my first observation was plenty of pooh and no diarroeah. I gave them their food and milk and noticed that Caesar was enthusiastically joining in the feeding frenzy. I picked him up and his body temperature felt normal and he seemed more like his normal self.
Caesar reminded me of children when they are sick. They can deteriorate very quickly and bounce back even faster.
I will keep him on the antibiotics and the pepto for the time being but will ring my vet today to see what he recommends.
The weather is so foul I cannot find the words to describe it. My older dogs showed no enthusiasm for a long walk this morning, so I gave in and they had a quick run in the adjacent field.
I have to go to refuse centre this afternoon which is 20 miles away as I have run out of newspaper. Not the best of days to be going but needs must.
Caesar was a cause for concern yesterday.
Some of the puppies had diarroeah on Monday but appeared well in themselves so I changed their diet to rice, live yoghurt and cooked chicken for 24 hours and this seemed to halt it in its track. I have to admit to being very worried as I have been letting the puppies out in our garden and although they are mixing with my vaccinated dogs I have no idea what wild animals prowl around at night that could be carrying nasty viruses such as parvo.Also, the puppies had been licking old snow and I saw some of them drinking from a muddy puddle. Not very desirable but I also believe their systems have to be intrduced to such things to toughen them up. It is a close judgement call .
All seemed well yesterday, then yesterday evening I noticed that Caesar seemed quite lethargic and not his usual bouncy self. When I picked him up he seemed very hot and his temperature revealed a reading of 103.1. Although my entire nursing carreer was spent using centigrade I new this was hot.
The vets clinic was obviously closed and I suddenly became very worried so I went over in my head what I needed to do. I had amoxacillin tablets in my drawer which were 250mg stength so I quartered a tablet, crushed It and added a little water, so It could be sucked up into a syringe.
.I had surfed the net trying to find the correct dosage for puppies but had been unable to find anything. I figured that 60 something mgs would be ok so I gave the antibiotic to Caesar then rang the vets clinic to get the on call doctor.
I was put through to a very helpful on call vet who asked me if I happened to have some amoxyl in the house. I told her what I had done and she ok'd the dosage which I had given him which was a relief. She also recommended 1ml of pepto bismol which apart from having anti-diarroeal properties, also has a temperature reducing action. I then made up a solution of electrolyte solution which consisted of 1 teasoon of salt to 8 teaspoons of sugar in 1 litre of water and administered this to him via syringe.
I toyed with idea of keeping him with me that night but decided he would most probably prefer to be with his brothers and sisters.
I was quite anxious going into the puppies this morning but my first observation was plenty of pooh and no diarroeah. I gave them their food and milk and noticed that Caesar was enthusiastically joining in the feeding frenzy. I picked him up and his body temperature felt normal and he seemed more like his normal self.
Caesar reminded me of children when they are sick. They can deteriorate very quickly and bounce back even faster.
I will keep him on the antibiotics and the pepto for the time being but will ring my vet today to see what he recommends.
The weather is so foul I cannot find the words to describe it. My older dogs showed no enthusiasm for a long walk this morning, so I gave in and they had a quick run in the adjacent field.
I have to go to refuse centre this afternoon which is 20 miles away as I have run out of newspaper. Not the best of days to be going but needs must.
Monday, April 2, 2007
Kasidi's puppies
Monday 2nd April
We had a blast of warm sunshine earlier and so I took advantage and let the puppies frolic outside and It was just perfect. What is lovely, is, Kasidi can enjoy her puppies without them making demands on her as they have finnaly come to realise the milk bar is closed.
Kasidi is really a big puppy herself sometimes and she has taken to playing with the puppies toys to the extent where she takes them away and keeps them for herslf. It is rewarding to see her with her pups, she had such a tough time with her first litter and for a while I intended not to breed from her again but this time everything has gone textbook perfect.
The one I have to watch is Angela the pot belly. I am very disappointed to say that on several occasions she has been very naughty and snapped at them, whereas Wilbur is a peach. He was fabulous with Lela last year as she was growing up, our original concerns soon evaporated as we watched them play together almost daily and they still have a good relationship now.
I will take advantage of the bursts of sunshine as our forcast is going to deteriorate and we are to expect snow showers by Thursday and temperatures in the mid 30s during the day. I cannot express in words politely how I feel about this as my body is crying out for serious heat. I'm sure we had decent weather this time last year.
As I put the rubbish out for collection this morning, six huge garden sacks were filled with soiled paper from the puppies. I am just relieved It is picked up with no questions asked as I would not like to face the prospect of burning it all.
I have registered the litter today and it took a total of 5 minutes online to complete. Why has it taken me so long to do it. It really was very simple.
My next task is to find official names for the puppies as I do like to use my afix with every puppy. I usually trawl African name websites and find meanings I feel are appropriate to each individual puppy.
Any suggestions are welcome though!
We had a blast of warm sunshine earlier and so I took advantage and let the puppies frolic outside and It was just perfect. What is lovely, is, Kasidi can enjoy her puppies without them making demands on her as they have finnaly come to realise the milk bar is closed.
Kasidi is really a big puppy herself sometimes and she has taken to playing with the puppies toys to the extent where she takes them away and keeps them for herslf. It is rewarding to see her with her pups, she had such a tough time with her first litter and for a while I intended not to breed from her again but this time everything has gone textbook perfect.
The one I have to watch is Angela the pot belly. I am very disappointed to say that on several occasions she has been very naughty and snapped at them, whereas Wilbur is a peach. He was fabulous with Lela last year as she was growing up, our original concerns soon evaporated as we watched them play together almost daily and they still have a good relationship now.
I will take advantage of the bursts of sunshine as our forcast is going to deteriorate and we are to expect snow showers by Thursday and temperatures in the mid 30s during the day. I cannot express in words politely how I feel about this as my body is crying out for serious heat. I'm sure we had decent weather this time last year.
As I put the rubbish out for collection this morning, six huge garden sacks were filled with soiled paper from the puppies. I am just relieved It is picked up with no questions asked as I would not like to face the prospect of burning it all.
I have registered the litter today and it took a total of 5 minutes online to complete. Why has it taken me so long to do it. It really was very simple.
My next task is to find official names for the puppies as I do like to use my afix with every puppy. I usually trawl African name websites and find meanings I feel are appropriate to each individual puppy.
Any suggestions are welcome though!
Sunday, April 1, 2007
Kasidi's puppies
Sunday 1st April
It was always going to be an impossible task to surpass Thursday's entry in terms of drama and then Saturday came and well, easy peezy springs to mind.
It started well with a delightful young couple called Nick and Jenna coming up from Brooklyn to see the puppies. It was a lovely sunny day and as planned, we went for a walk thru the woods with the dogs who I might add were impecably behaved and then we spent time with the puppies. Nick and Jenna left around 1 ish and I set about the feeding and clearing round. At about 2 pm I felt so tired that I decided to lie down on the bed (something I never do) and I did manage to get a little sleep. Iwoke up around 1.45, put the kettle on and looking out of the window I noticed a mist gathering in the valley below. A couple of minutes later the dogs alerted me to a car that had driven up the driveway. A young women with 3 young children beckoned me towards the car, she looked quite disressed and I immediaetly thought that something terrible had happened to her. She aked me If I knew that the field next to my house was on fire and was rapidly approaching my house. I looked at her as if she was speaking in a foriegn language, then It dawned on me that I had seen smoke and not mist. I put the dogs away before they were able to realise what was happening, meanwhile this total stranger had leaped out of her car and started to untangle the hosepipe which was attached to the house and started hosing down near the treeline to hopefully stop the fire from becoming within 10 feet of the house. I ran into the house to dial 911 and asked my daughter and her friend Claire to help outside. It was a pretty scary site, the field adjacent and below our house were very much burned out and towards the bottom of my drive behind a newly constucted fence was a huge dump of rubbish that was ablaze.
My next thought was my dear friend and neighbour Evelyn, an 87 year old lady who is very much house bound and was in direct line of the fire and owner of the fields that were ablaze.I jumped into the car and drove down to her house passing 2 fire engines on my way. I dicovered that she was ok and in fact had relatives visiting that day. It was odd, but because of the wind direction no smoke could be seen from her house. On my return up the hill the firemen tried to prevent me from going back to my house. I sort of flipped my lid and pointed out to them it was my house that had the fire racing up the tree line and I had to get back to my daughter and my animals.
When I dialled 911 the operator had asked that I evacuate the house and I certainly would have done if I thought any of us were in imminent danger but with 10 pups, 5 dogs, and 3 cats I really did not want to do this and as It happened It was not necessary.
In the end we had fire engines from 2 seperate departments and It took about 2 hours for the fires to be put out. It was very exciting and I have tremendous admiration for all of the volunteer firefighters who responded to the call even though I shouted at them when I saw that 2 engines were way down the road hosing water into the field where as the fire spreading through my treeline up to my house was left unchecked and waiting for engines from another department.
Once it was obvious the fire was under control I began to wonder how it could have possibly started. There was still a little snow left in places and we certainly were not experiencing hot weather and I don't think for one minute it was intentional.
We have recently had a problem with 4 wheelers trespassing on Evelyns land and I think they must have thrown a cigarette butt on to the ground and It started from there. Either way, I dread to think what would have happened if we had not intervened when we did and once again the puppies were oblivious to it all.
I promise my next entry will be about the puppies who are as adorable as ever.
Next, I have to start checking the boys for 2 testicles and checking bites on all of them.
I haven't even had time to go out and buy a well deserved bottle of wine so I have taken to drinking the sherry Olivia bought me for christmas which is very nice. I wouldn't want to her to think I am drinking it as a last resort.
It was always going to be an impossible task to surpass Thursday's entry in terms of drama and then Saturday came and well, easy peezy springs to mind.
It started well with a delightful young couple called Nick and Jenna coming up from Brooklyn to see the puppies. It was a lovely sunny day and as planned, we went for a walk thru the woods with the dogs who I might add were impecably behaved and then we spent time with the puppies. Nick and Jenna left around 1 ish and I set about the feeding and clearing round. At about 2 pm I felt so tired that I decided to lie down on the bed (something I never do) and I did manage to get a little sleep. Iwoke up around 1.45, put the kettle on and looking out of the window I noticed a mist gathering in the valley below. A couple of minutes later the dogs alerted me to a car that had driven up the driveway. A young women with 3 young children beckoned me towards the car, she looked quite disressed and I immediaetly thought that something terrible had happened to her. She aked me If I knew that the field next to my house was on fire and was rapidly approaching my house. I looked at her as if she was speaking in a foriegn language, then It dawned on me that I had seen smoke and not mist. I put the dogs away before they were able to realise what was happening, meanwhile this total stranger had leaped out of her car and started to untangle the hosepipe which was attached to the house and started hosing down near the treeline to hopefully stop the fire from becoming within 10 feet of the house. I ran into the house to dial 911 and asked my daughter and her friend Claire to help outside. It was a pretty scary site, the field adjacent and below our house were very much burned out and towards the bottom of my drive behind a newly constucted fence was a huge dump of rubbish that was ablaze.
My next thought was my dear friend and neighbour Evelyn, an 87 year old lady who is very much house bound and was in direct line of the fire and owner of the fields that were ablaze.I jumped into the car and drove down to her house passing 2 fire engines on my way. I dicovered that she was ok and in fact had relatives visiting that day. It was odd, but because of the wind direction no smoke could be seen from her house. On my return up the hill the firemen tried to prevent me from going back to my house. I sort of flipped my lid and pointed out to them it was my house that had the fire racing up the tree line and I had to get back to my daughter and my animals.
When I dialled 911 the operator had asked that I evacuate the house and I certainly would have done if I thought any of us were in imminent danger but with 10 pups, 5 dogs, and 3 cats I really did not want to do this and as It happened It was not necessary.
In the end we had fire engines from 2 seperate departments and It took about 2 hours for the fires to be put out. It was very exciting and I have tremendous admiration for all of the volunteer firefighters who responded to the call even though I shouted at them when I saw that 2 engines were way down the road hosing water into the field where as the fire spreading through my treeline up to my house was left unchecked and waiting for engines from another department.
Once it was obvious the fire was under control I began to wonder how it could have possibly started. There was still a little snow left in places and we certainly were not experiencing hot weather and I don't think for one minute it was intentional.
We have recently had a problem with 4 wheelers trespassing on Evelyns land and I think they must have thrown a cigarette butt on to the ground and It started from there. Either way, I dread to think what would have happened if we had not intervened when we did and once again the puppies were oblivious to it all.
I promise my next entry will be about the puppies who are as adorable as ever.
Next, I have to start checking the boys for 2 testicles and checking bites on all of them.
I haven't even had time to go out and buy a well deserved bottle of wine so I have taken to drinking the sherry Olivia bought me for christmas which is very nice. I wouldn't want to her to think I am drinking it as a last resort.
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Kasidi's puppies
Thursday 29th March
I am going to digress from the puppies today as I want to record the series of events that I am sure, in time, will make me smile, but not today.
It started with me trying to persuade my pot bellied pig Angela to move into the paddock as her rooting was making the garden even more untidy. She has hung out with chickens all winter and is free to go wherever she chooses, so It was always going to be a tall order. Behind the electric fence is around 10 acres of pasture with access to the barn and this is where my 3 cows and Wilbur a small black pig who we rescued last year live. Wilbur is a huge character who we love dearly and he and Angela tolerate each other pretty well when they are together. As I was tempting Angela thru the gate a UPS van came up the driveway which arracted the attention of the dogs so I left what I was doing to call the dogs. Then I heard the phone ring , so I answered that and then a couple of hours later as I am on the phone to my friend Linda, something in the corner of my eye forces me to turn round and I see Lela chasing my 3 cows around the house.They were literally doing a circuit going round and round and round tearing my bewildered garden up as they went. I immediately ran into the garage and put some corn into bucket and set about the job of trying to catch the cows. Well, they were having so much fun It was obvious the corn was not going to tempt them. They ran up the side of the field and disappeared into the woods and before I could blink they were back out again and sprinting back towards the chicken shed. To say they moved like grease lightening is an undersatement,boy could they move and Of course my fear was that they would eventually find their way to the road. They seemed to be relishing being free, enjoying noseying around the places they can only see from their pasture. One even popped her head into the mudroom .
I was eventually able to coax the black one (Josie) thru the gates and about 20 minutes later had the other 2 safely back in the paddock.
Meanwhile, Wilbur looks very busy behind my car which I had cleaned out a couple of hours earlier. I had lifted some sacks of dogfood out and left them by them car. He had managed to rip the bag open and was happily tucking into the contents which were, by now ,scattered all over the driveway. So I cleaned that up and then went into the house for a well desreved cup of tea.
I am also a falconer and in the new year I was lucky enough to receive a captured young Redtail who I called Syracuse. Just before the bad weather set in Syracuse, who was slow in his training to begin with was flying and hunting independantly. The recent bad weather had prevented me from going out with him. This week I have been in the progress of training him once more, reducing his weight and preparing him for free flight .
During training sessions I attach him to a line called a creance and as he was doing so well I was intending this session to be the last one on the line.
I was flying him from the fence when all of a sudden he decided to fly to the trees and that is when disaster struck. I had the line longer than It needed to be and he got caught in the trees , he then decided to fly higher up the tree and the line got even more tangled and I knew That I was going to have to climb the tree to release him, but this was easier said than done. My tree climbing days were Long gone and when I got halfway up to him on very thin branches I realised I was putting myself in real danger. I decided to go and fetch the ladders from the barn and a pair of scizzors from the house to cut the line, all the time worrying that I had put my bird in real peril. I tried the ladders but they only reached a third to where I needed to be. Meanwhile, Wilbur decided to investigate what was happeing and true to form he started to get frisky and started humping my leg. He was very persistant and I could not get him to clear off. He also started to writhe and rub his body against the ladders while I was going up them. Not very calming, I can assure you.
In desperation I ran to the house and rang my son Alex who was in town with his friends. Fortunately I was able to get hold of him and he arrived about 15 minutes later.
Syracuse was flapping his wings and getting even more distressed and I was just beside myself but I knew I had to stay calm. Alex climbed the tree much more ably than me and in time, was able to cut the line and secure him by his jesses.
I went up the ladder as far as It would let me go and managed to get Syracuse from Alex. He was stressed but quickly calmed down and in no time I had him sitting on the glove. . I think he realised the danger was over. They say Redtails are unforgiving and It is the falconer who will suffer by his own mistakes. I hope this not the case with Syracuse and me, but only time will tell. He will be released in the spring once the hunting season is over and I just hope he will overlook my mistake today as I am looking forward to working and hunting with him over the next month or so. He took his food readily from the glove and seemed content when I returned him to his weathering.
I eventually managed to get Wilbur behind the fence and will try with Angela again tomorrow.
A casualty of the cows getting out was one of my chickens, who I found dead in the grass.
Fortunately, the puppies were safely in the utility room and I think they slept thru the whole drama and a drama is what this afternoon was.
I am going to digress from the puppies today as I want to record the series of events that I am sure, in time, will make me smile, but not today.
It started with me trying to persuade my pot bellied pig Angela to move into the paddock as her rooting was making the garden even more untidy. She has hung out with chickens all winter and is free to go wherever she chooses, so It was always going to be a tall order. Behind the electric fence is around 10 acres of pasture with access to the barn and this is where my 3 cows and Wilbur a small black pig who we rescued last year live. Wilbur is a huge character who we love dearly and he and Angela tolerate each other pretty well when they are together. As I was tempting Angela thru the gate a UPS van came up the driveway which arracted the attention of the dogs so I left what I was doing to call the dogs. Then I heard the phone ring , so I answered that and then a couple of hours later as I am on the phone to my friend Linda, something in the corner of my eye forces me to turn round and I see Lela chasing my 3 cows around the house.They were literally doing a circuit going round and round and round tearing my bewildered garden up as they went. I immediately ran into the garage and put some corn into bucket and set about the job of trying to catch the cows. Well, they were having so much fun It was obvious the corn was not going to tempt them. They ran up the side of the field and disappeared into the woods and before I could blink they were back out again and sprinting back towards the chicken shed. To say they moved like grease lightening is an undersatement,boy could they move and Of course my fear was that they would eventually find their way to the road. They seemed to be relishing being free, enjoying noseying around the places they can only see from their pasture. One even popped her head into the mudroom .
I was eventually able to coax the black one (Josie) thru the gates and about 20 minutes later had the other 2 safely back in the paddock.
Meanwhile, Wilbur looks very busy behind my car which I had cleaned out a couple of hours earlier. I had lifted some sacks of dogfood out and left them by them car. He had managed to rip the bag open and was happily tucking into the contents which were, by now ,scattered all over the driveway. So I cleaned that up and then went into the house for a well desreved cup of tea.
I am also a falconer and in the new year I was lucky enough to receive a captured young Redtail who I called Syracuse. Just before the bad weather set in Syracuse, who was slow in his training to begin with was flying and hunting independantly. The recent bad weather had prevented me from going out with him. This week I have been in the progress of training him once more, reducing his weight and preparing him for free flight .
During training sessions I attach him to a line called a creance and as he was doing so well I was intending this session to be the last one on the line.
I was flying him from the fence when all of a sudden he decided to fly to the trees and that is when disaster struck. I had the line longer than It needed to be and he got caught in the trees , he then decided to fly higher up the tree and the line got even more tangled and I knew That I was going to have to climb the tree to release him, but this was easier said than done. My tree climbing days were Long gone and when I got halfway up to him on very thin branches I realised I was putting myself in real danger. I decided to go and fetch the ladders from the barn and a pair of scizzors from the house to cut the line, all the time worrying that I had put my bird in real peril. I tried the ladders but they only reached a third to where I needed to be. Meanwhile, Wilbur decided to investigate what was happeing and true to form he started to get frisky and started humping my leg. He was very persistant and I could not get him to clear off. He also started to writhe and rub his body against the ladders while I was going up them. Not very calming, I can assure you.
In desperation I ran to the house and rang my son Alex who was in town with his friends. Fortunately I was able to get hold of him and he arrived about 15 minutes later.
Syracuse was flapping his wings and getting even more distressed and I was just beside myself but I knew I had to stay calm. Alex climbed the tree much more ably than me and in time, was able to cut the line and secure him by his jesses.
I went up the ladder as far as It would let me go and managed to get Syracuse from Alex. He was stressed but quickly calmed down and in no time I had him sitting on the glove. . I think he realised the danger was over. They say Redtails are unforgiving and It is the falconer who will suffer by his own mistakes. I hope this not the case with Syracuse and me, but only time will tell. He will be released in the spring once the hunting season is over and I just hope he will overlook my mistake today as I am looking forward to working and hunting with him over the next month or so. He took his food readily from the glove and seemed content when I returned him to his weathering.
I eventually managed to get Wilbur behind the fence and will try with Angela again tomorrow.
A casualty of the cows getting out was one of my chickens, who I found dead in the grass.
Fortunately, the puppies were safely in the utility room and I think they slept thru the whole drama and a drama is what this afternoon was.
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