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.