Puppies

Monday 19th May.

Where has the time gone. The puppies are now five weeks old and dominate my day, by the time the end of the day draws near I have had neither the energy or the inclination to write my blog so I do apologise.

Last week we had a glimpse of spring like weather and it was wonderful for the pups, they were able to play outside and It made my job much easier but sadly the weather has been atrocious recently and today is positively horrid. I am trying to establish the routine of going outside to wee on waking but the puppies run to the door, feel and sense the horrible cold weather and quickly turn around refusing to go out. They are Ridgebacks after all. I am told the weather is going to improve by the weekend which will be a blessing.

The pups are all very boisterous now and very demanding. They are eating huge amounts of food and consequently producing even more from the opposite end to their stomachs. The refuse sacks at the bottom of my drive, which were left for the binmen this morning resembled Ben Nevis.(a mountain in Scotland)

I have continued to worm the pups weekly and I have to say they are very good at taking their medicine which is more than I can say for my cats. Athena one of my cats has my arm in ribbons and spat almost all of her medicine around the floor when I attempted to do her earlier. She threw up in the kitchen and this is always the tell tale sign that worms are present. She is a prolific hunter and so is constantly infecting herself.

Lela is finally recovering from her wounds but It was not without drama. Motsi kept chewing her lampshade and licking her wound plus she would go running through the woods bumping into everything. I suppose I could have stopped her daily walks but then she would have become really unhappy and I could not have done that to her. My dogs live for two daily events, their walk and their dinner.

We have had visitors these last two weekends and I am happy to say the dogs have been impeccably behaved. Raiza smothers everyone in kisses and Brewster, stoic as always, mainly ignores everyone, they really could not be more different. The girls are great. Ruby exudes health and vitality, Kasidi looks a little worn out, Lela is finally recovering from her wound and little Motsi is challenging for top spot. It is quite interesting to watch, she would even like to take possesion of the pups if I allowed her to. Last week she was playing with pups , pretending to feed them and as Ruby approached she growled warning her to stay away. What was interesting was Ruby's reaction, she really seemed not to care. So we will have to wait and see what develops.

puppies

Sunday 4th May.

I love my puppies, all 21 of them. They consume my every day but I just adore them. It is an endless task of making sure they are clean, well fed , happy and have an endless supply of cuddles. What is so amazing is how easy It has been for the two litters to converge as one and even the mums are happy to nurse whoever comes to the milkbar. Kasidi is now the supermum as she just loves to attend to all 21 of the pups whereas Ruby has to be coerced into the utility room and has a face which when she is feeding can only be described as sour. I do separate the mums at night by dividing the utility room as I feel It is only fair.

People always ask me If It is easy to say no to some of the puppy inquiries that I receive and I always have the same answer which is no. I love my puppies so much that I will never let them go to a home that I am not entirely comfortable with and so It makes the job of saying no very easy.

Kodak is doing very well, I always make sure he is on a prime teat and watch over to make sure he is not pushed off by a bigger puppy. I also hand feed him raw minced beef as a top up.

I wormed all of the pups again on Friday night along with both mums. I do believe worming is the most important thing a breeder can do for the welfare of the pups. One must always assume they are riddled and work from there.

My friends bull who Ihave on loan was really sick a couple of weeks ago and It transpired he was just riddled with worms. I regularly worm all of my animals, cats, dogs, cows and pigs to support healthy living. I also frontlined my cats yesterday and will do the dogs when the pups are a little older. It costs a small fortune but It really is a necessity.

I bought a new lampshade for Lela as Motsi was licking at her wound and now the number one priority is to stop Motsi chewing this one.

We will add some new pics of the pups tonight on the website to show how they cuddle in together. One mass of delicious Rhodesian Ridgeback puppies.

Puppies

Friday 2nd May.

I introduced a combination of dry kibble and raw beef mince to Ruby's puppies on Wednesday and they went crazy for It. Its amazing how they seem so content on their mothers milk and then, wow, raw meat and there is no turning back for them. Kasidi's puppies were less enthused yesterday but they are dabbling and lapping milk from a bowl.

The giant leap came from the fact that I moved all of the puppies into the utility room yesterday and so we all had a first uninterrupted nights sleep in three weeks. Bliss. I divided the room into 2 halves so the mums had their own space but this morning I took the barrier down and remarkably the pups have merged and both Kasidi and Ruby have fed the wrong pups this morning with no concern whatsoever.

As an added precaution for correct identity I have painted all of Ruby's puppies back foot with pink nail varnish and they were not impressed with the acetone smell.

Kodak is a little fighter and has almost caught up with the other pups so I can finally relax and not worry about him. They are all so adorable, they are playing, can see and hear and are displaying little doggy behavioural ways such as scratching the way dogs do and hitting the spot where the leg bobs up and down.

Mark is back from England tomorrow so an extra hand will be very much appreciated.

Puppies

Monday 28th April.

The past week has just flown by and it has not been without drama but there is a light at the end of tunnel and with each passing day the puppies become stronger and hopefully less vulnerable.

Last wednesday whilst walking the dogs I noticed that Lela had what seemed to be a large chunk missing from her back. I quickly realised It was quite deep as the muscle could be seen and that It would need suturing. So,much of Wednesday was tied up with her, she required a general anaesthetic and was given a course of antibiotics and of course the wound was sutured. The next morning I was confronted with a dog with a chewed off lampshade (Motsi) and a wound where most of the sutures had been bitten out. Fortunately she had not been able to get the deeper ones so I dressed the wound and now I have a constant battle with her re keeping her bandage on. The wound is gaping but It is clean and I am confident It will heal but It is an added stress I could do without right now.

The weekend was very fraught and once again It was Kasidi and her puppies that caused all of the anxiety. Her puppies developed runny stools on Saturday and she just refused to clean up after them so by 11 am I hd already washed and dried 3 sheepskins and I noticed that Kodak was failing. I have never wormed the puppies as early as 2 weeks, I usually start at 3 weeks but I decided to worm the pups and I commenced supplementing Kodak. He had become too weak to suckle from his mum so I hoped by boosting him I could give him the strength he needed to compete with his rather large littermates. It was quite a stressful time for me and there were times when I thought I was going to experience my first loss but he did get stronger as the day progressed. I set the alarm for 03.30 (although that was wishful thinking as I have yet to get one good nights sleep) and after his feed he was able to nurse from his mother. Yesterday he was doing well but then this morning he seemed to be off a little so I have supplemented him again today and once again he has picked up. I think what is happening is during the night the bigger dogs are pushing him around and he doesn't get to feed. He is a lovely boy, a little smaller at the moment but I will introduce him to raw meat in a couple of days and I know he will catch up with his brothers and sisters.

Ruby is the ultimate perfect mother,she serenely gets on with the job of mothering and I have no concerns over their progress. She keeps her box immaculately clean and her puppies barely make a noise. Her pups are now up on their feet and their teeth are starting to come through. They have also started to play with one with another but keep falling over as they cant quite support themselves for very long. I also wormed Ruby's pups for the first time yesterday.

Things have been a little calmer today so I have tried to catch up with phoning people who are interested in one of the pups. I think I am going to ask for a deposit this time around as I am responding to many enquiries and I need to know who the commited prospective owners are. I always have owners drop out at the last minute and I think by asking for a deposit it shows commitment from both sides.

Ruby and Kasidi

Monday 21st April.

During the weekend It became quite obvious to Mark and I that kasidi's puppies were definitely more fractious than Ruby's and the only difference we could come up with was the antibiotics that Kasidi was taking for her mastitis. So, yesterday afternoon I decided that, as she had been taking for them 8 days, I would stop them and what a difference It made. I got up once during the night at 03.30 and It was infact Ruby's puppy and had my ears not been on ultra alert I would not have heard the pup anyway.

The pressure inside the whelping box must be intense for both of the girls at times so I always encourage them to come on the walk in the morning and Kasidi came with us for the first last time Friday. It was so lovely seeing the girls running through woods with the other dogs, their responsibilities put aside for a while. Psychologically It must be so good for them to have that small break. What is funny is on the return home they are both out in front and when we reach the back door they both compete to get to their respective box first.

I checked all of the puppies for sinus again today and just generally gave them a good going over. Alex cut the nails of Ruby's pups yesterday and I will do kasidi's later this afternoon.

They are all gaining weight and are all looking very plump. The weather has been absolutely gorgeous, so much so, that I have switched the heat lamps off. A small saving on my enormous electricity bill.

I have always used the extra thick vetbed for my dogs which is a synthetic sheepskin and is excellent for puppies. It always keeps the puppy dry as liquid seeps through to the bottom plus It is very warm and cozy. It is available everywhere back home and everyone uses it but I have only been able to find one place in Florida that sells It but It is not the thick one that I like. Mark, much to his annoyance, brings my vetbed from England in an extra suitcase.

Ruby's pups eyes have opened and their ears look more normal and they all look like proper little dogs now. They have very dark masks and my favourite is Sawyer which is silly really as I should not have a favourite at this early stage.

Puppies

Thursday 17th April.

It is very similar to having a newborn baby right now in that no matter what time I go to bed I can guarantee that two hours later I will be woken up by the puppies and that pattern continues throughout the night. It is always a puppy left behind in the box at feeding time and It is always Kasidi's puppy. Ruby however has eleven puppies and I never hear a murmur out of them at all.

Today I weighed all of the puppies and they are all gaining nicely , Kasidi's puppies are particularly rotund and some of them are as big as Ruby's. Viao is 2lb. 4oz as is Sawyer but most impressive is Air who now weighs 1lb.6oz.

All of the collars were replaced as they were already becoming too tight. I have decided for ease of identification Ruby's male pups will wear white collars and the girls orange and Kasidi's males will wear blue and the girls pink.

I noticed this evening that Cairo's eyes are showing the first signs of opening which is very exciting as I always see this as the first milestone.

I apologise for the lack of photos but my daughter has the camera in Spain right now(ours has seen the better light of day) I also hope I am not repeating myself but I can always blame that on tiredness.

Kasidi's pups are already looking much lighter, Its amazing how dark they are at birth and then how quickly the colour fades. The top of the head is always a good indication of the true colour of the puppy.

Motsi is showing great interest
and has already ventured into Ruby's whelping box under very tentative supervision of course. Raiza is also showing mild interest in the puppies but Brewster is completely ignoring them.

Kasidi's Puppies

Wednesday 16th April.

Here are the details of Kasidi's puppies:

1) Adobe A dog born at 23.30 WT 1.5lb perfect ridge, first sinus check clear.No kink in tail.

2) Flash a boy born at 00.05 WT 1.3lb perfect ridge, first sinus check clear. No kink in tail.

3) Flex a boy born at 01.30 WT 1.2lb perfect ridge, first sinus check clear. No kink in tail.

4) Apple a bitch born at 02.00 WT 1.3lb perfect ridge, first sinus check clear. No kink in tail.

5) Air a bitch born ? soon after Apple WT 130z perfect ridge, first sinus check clear. No kink in tail.

6) Vaio a dog born at 02.20 WT 1.30z perfect ridge, first sinus check clear. No kink in tail.

7) Coral a bitch born at 03.15 WT 1.2 perfect ridge, first sinus check clear. No kink in tail

8) Kodak a dog born at 03.55 WT 1.10z perfect ridge, first sinus check clear. No kink in tail.

9) Zenith a dog born at 04.20 WT 1.20z perfect ridge, first sinus check clear. No kink in tail.

10) Intel a bitch born at 05.45 WT 1.10z off set crowns on ridge, first sinus check clear. No kink in tail.

11) Norton a boy born at 06.30 WT 1.2 perfect ridge, first sinus check clear. No kink in tail.

12) Sony a girl at 20.30 WT 1.10z perfect ridge, first sinus check clear. No kink in tail.

I am pleased to say all of the puppies are doing well as are their mums. They have all gained weight on a daily basis.

I took Kasidi to the vets on Monday. She was X Rayed to eliminate puppy retention, given another dose of oxytocin and commenced antibiotics. Her back mammary glands are now functioning and I am quite confident we will not have an abscess deveoping.

Kasidi's Puppies

Sunday.

Kasidi delivered her 10 pups (details to follow) Last puppy born at 06.30. Last night we were watching TV, (Mark and I were dozing as we were both exhausted) when we heard a cry from the puppies, Alex went to over to investigate and declared Kasidi was passing a placenta, he then shouted the placenta was getting bigger and out popped a puppy, 14 hours after the last puppy. A beautiful bitch with a perfect ridge. This meant Kasidi had 11 pups and Ruby 9 so I decided to offer Ruby Kasidi's first born pup Adobe. I knew this was risky but It did in fact work very well. Kasidi was fast asleep when I put Adobe in with Ruby and she immediately licked It, the puppy then made his way to her teat and had his first taste of milk as he was only getting colostrum from Kasidi. He has now adapted very well to his new family. He is very easily identifiable as Kasidi's puppy as he is the only one with white front feet.

This afternoon as I was sat in Kasidi's box I noticed I had two puppies with the same named collar. This confused me somewhat but I guessed tiredness had caused the error, as I went through the puppies all were accounted for but I still had 2 called Apple. I counted the puppies and the total came to 11 but we had passed a puppy to Ruby the night before so I was now very confused. I consulted my paperwork from Kasidi's deliveries and can only surmise that after Apple had been born another bitch arrived that I was totally unaware of. When later I saw a puppy without a collar I thought I had forgotten to put Apples collar on.
So Kasidi had 12 puppies, seven dogs and five bitches. The last puppy is called Air and she weighs just 13 ounces, the smallest puppy we have ever had. At the moment I am vigilant as to her welfare, I have already supplemented her with a high calorie food for fading puppies and just hope that she does well. I have never lost A puppy and certainly do not want to do so now.

Both Ruby and Kasidi have their whelping boxes side by side and from time to time they peer into each others boxes to see whats happening. They have never had a fallout and I am confident they will be fine over the coming months.

I will give details of Kasidi's pups tomorrow. I had very little sleep again, last night choosing to doze on the sofa. In the early days what seems to happen is a puppy becomes stranded at one end of the box and cries when he knows siblings are feeding. So I am constantly picking up puppies and placing them with their mother. This is only during the very early days and I also needed to maintain temperature in the living room via the stove.


UPDATE. 19.30

Kasidi's milk came in today and this evening I have noticed a problem. The back 2 teats particularly the lower one is hardening and feeling warm and the puppies will not feed from them. In view of the fact that 11 puppies now have only 9 teats I have handed over Flex to Ruby. He is feeding quite happily and Ruby appears happy to have him.

I have started Kasidi on Clavamox 500mg which fortunately I always have on standby and she will go to the vets in the morning. Her temp is slightly elevated but I suspect It is going to go up more before It comes down. This is all very unfortunate and I feel fraught with worry, the puppies are so vulnerable at this early stage of their life.

It is going to be another long night.

Kasidi and her puppies.

Saturday 12th April.

Kasidi has delivered 6 boys and three girls overnight and she has been remarkable. Very quick and no problems. Superb ridges in all puppies, one bitch slightly off set.

More to follow when I have had some sleep.

Still might be one more puppy.

Puppies

Friday 11th April.

It was a routine delivery and because Ruby is so good at disguising the early stages of labour time just flew by. The first puppy was:

1) Cairo a bitch born at 0300. WT 1lb.30z correct ridge. No kink in tail. First sinus check clear.

2) Nairobi a bitch born at 04.11. WT 1lb.50z. Correct ridge. No kink in tail. First sinus check clear.

3) Marseille a bitch born at o4.21. WT 1lb.30z. Correct ridge. No kink in tail. First check for sinus clear.

4) Sawyer a boy born at 05.00. WT 1lb.70z. Correct ridge. No kink in tail. First check for sinus clear.

5) Rio a boy born at 05.40. WT 1.5lb. correct ridge. No kink in tail. First check for sinus clear.

6) Berlin a boy born at 06.06. WT 1.1lb. Extra crown on ridge. No kink in tail. First check for sinus clear.

7) Rome a boy born at 06.30. WT 1lb.30z. Correct ridge. No kink in tail. First check for sinus clear.

8) Beijing a boy born at 08.45. WT 1.3lb0z. Correct ridge. No kink in tail. First check for sinus clear.

9) Tokyo a born at 10.55. WT 1.40z. Correct ridge. No kink in tail. First check for sinus clear.

Mother and pups are doing very well indeed.

Kasidi is in labour as I type and I have no real measure of how far she has progressed .

Kasidi wears her heart on her sleeve and lets me know the first moment she has a contraction. I could be up all night tonight with her and still not see her first puppy until tomorrow night.I am keeping my fingers crossed we will be finshed by the morning.

Mark arrives tomorrow, supposedly in time to help with the whelping and as usual he has got off lightly.

Puppies

Thursday 10th April.

Wednesday was the day I was going to start taking Ruby's temperature, more for a benchmark so I could detect a change. When the reading came out at 97.3 I knew we were on our way. On the walk yesterday she was rooting around in the leaves but she always does this a couple of days before she has her puppies and I just took it as normal behaviour for her. The drop in temperature took me by surprise but I knew I had plenty of time, in my mind I thought they would come sometime today.

The first puppy, a girl called Nairobi arrived at 3am this morning. Puppy number 7 a boy was born @ 6.30. We have 3 girls and four boys, one boy has an extra crown and the rest of the pups have beautiful ridges. I want Ruby to deliver the remaining 2 pretty quickly as It is now 8am and this is the largest gap. She is pushing now.

Ruby and Kasidi

Monday 7th April

As most people who read this blog will know Ruby was not supposed to have a litter of puppies and she will be spayed later on in the year but the way she carries her puppies is quite incredible. She really is not very big at all when compared to Kasidi but the X Ray taken this afternoon confirmed she is carrying 9 puppies.

On the other hand, Kasidi, who is enormous, has nine maybe 10 puppies but looks like she is carrying 15.

Both of the dogs were impeccably behaved, I was very proud of them. They are wonderful examples of their breed. There was a young boxer in the waiting room with "issues" and they just ignored him. They are now lying on the deck sunbathing.

My only concern is they have both lost their appetite and they both appear fed up but I can relate to that as I think the last week of any pregnancy is tiring for anyone or any thing.

I am now worrying about ridges, dermoid, and anxious that all of the puppies will have a safe delivery into the world. I know I have been very lucky in that so far I have never had a puppy with a sinus and the ridges in all of my litters have been very good. I read somewhere the more litters you have, the more you worry because you are more aware of all of the things that can go wrong. This so true in my case.

The next step for me is to start recording their body temperature as a drop is the first indication of the onset of labour.

Dogs and Things.

Wednesday 2nd April.

My thoughts are with the desperate people of Zimbabwe right now as they move into the fourth day of waiting for the outcome of their election. The BBC are reporting that Morgan Tsvangirai's party are neck and neck with Robert Mugabe's and that It may go to a second round.

Some of my happiest memories are from my time spent in Zimbabwe. It was 1983 and even then, Robert Mugabes 5th Brigade were systematically slaughtering the opposition. (the Ndbele people) I lived in Matabele land in a small town called Hwange close to Victoria Falls. I was lucky to find a job in the pharmacy of a small hospital which was run by British nuns. My boss was a lovely Irishman who was most probably an alcoholic, I was suppose to be second in command and we had 2 local men called Solomon and Isaac who were the technicians. I remember one day dispensing a prescription for a baby called Bornfree, such was the optimism of the people at the time. I wonder if Bornfree is alive to day to see the wholesale destruction of her country. I heard on the news the other day that the average life expectancy of a Zimbabwean is 35.

We called our first Ridgeback Joshua after Joshua Nkomo who was the leader of Matabeleland at the time I was there. This was also the first time I encountered the Rhodesian Ridgeback.

I would like to keep a male from Kasidi and Raiza and my thoughts are that I should dedicate my dogs name to Morgan Tsvangirai, just cant figure out an abbreviated version. Maybe we could call him Tsvang pronounced Chang.

We woke up to horrible snow this morning and although Ruby and Kasidi would have preferred to stay at home they came on the walk and really enjoyed themselves. I do feel It is important to keep them fit so they are prepared for the huge task they will face in a couple of weeks. Uterine inertia can be a problem in bitches that have a large litters and fitness plays an important part in preventing this.

Ruby is becoming increasingly fussy with her food. She knows that when she is feeding her puppies I give her lots of chicken and tuna and this time around she is holding out for the same even though the puppies are yet to be born. I feed my dogs Evo which is a highly palatable dog food with no grain but she is even turning her nose up at that. Sprinkle something from our food table and she will wolf It down. I am happy to play her little games If It keeps her happy as she is carrying very precious cargo.

Kasidi is looking enormous but I will not know until next week how many puppies she is carrying.

Dogs and things

Thursday 27th March.

It goes without saying that the number one priority for any breeder is to protect the interests of the breed. We do this in the first instance, by educating ourselves in all things relating to our particular breed, ie attending and participating in dog shows, attending breed seminars, membership of Regional clubs, keeping up to date with the latest research etc. When our puppies arrive we should carefully select prospective new owners and offer help and support as required. I like to think I do all of these things but one thing I will not do is tie new owners up in long winded contracts that protect the interest of the breeder rather than the dog. Most new owners want a pet, whether the dog is a correctly marked example of the breed or a pet quality puppy. Pet quality puppies should always be sold as such with a restriction to neuter at a sensible age.(not as a puppy) Sometimes someone comes along who stresses an interest in breeding at a future date. I always make clear that before breeding is undertaken, a sound knowledge of the breed is required and of course the dog in question should have the necessary health tests carried out.
I also encourage the new owner to be aware of health issues relating to our breed and to be able to detect dermoid sinus.

I was given enormous help and support by prominent breeders in Scotland during my first two litters and never once was I made to feel that my intentions were anything other than honorable.

I received a mail the other day which made me feel very angry and sad all at the same time. It was from a woman who bought a very nice bitch from me from my first litter here in the US. She stated she would be interested in breeding at a future date. She had bred dogs before but not Rhodesian Ridgebacks. I was very supportive of this and promised to help her any way I could , I also thought her dog would add some very positive attributes to the breed. She attended the local shows and was attracted to a dog who was owned by a lady who had a contract with the breeder. She fulfilled her part of the contract or so she thought, in that she campaigned him with the assistance of a handler to his championship title. She is not a joint owner which is the preferred method if the breeder wants to keep control of a particular dog.

It would seem the breeder is making things very difficult for these two people to go ahead with a mating even though they have both been responsible but what has made me furious is one of the requests the breeder is demanding is a five year generation history of my dogs and their relatives. He wants to know about ridgeless puppies, puppies with dermoid sinus, ridge history etc. To say this over the top is an under statement but It also calls into question my integrity as a breeder.

Which brings me to the subject of health screening. Of course I think It is a good thing but there are limits. In the Uk the kennel club asks Ridgeback breeders, as do the regional clubs, to screen for hip dysplasia. Some breeders are now screening elbows, but It is not required. The Ridgeback breed in the UK is not known for having thyroid problems, cardiac problems or eye problems. I visited the UK kennel club yesterday to see what the latest recommendations were. A recent survey of Ridgebacks showed a 2% incidence of hypothyroidism with similar levels for cardiac problems. The Kennel Club have 2 lists relating to health screening requirements, the first are breeds that must have breed related testing and the second is a list of breeds that are susceptible to certain conditions where it advisable but not compulsory to undertake testing. The Rhodesian Ridgeback is not on either of these lists.

My dogs are all from British /European lines and I comply with my kennel club guidelines. When I first moved to the US I had Kasidi and Raiza tested for thyroid function at my local vets, they were of course within normal limits. I know they are within normal limits and I do not have a burning desire to make It official through the OFA as I am yet to be convinced It is really essential. My next task is to discover whether American Ridgebacks have real health issues with their thyroid function, eyes and hearts or are they just tested for testings sake.

Yesterday I read on the Rhodesian Ridgeback Club Of Great Britains website that there could be, as soon as this year, a test for dermoid sinus,now that is a test that is needed for our breed and I would be more than happy to test my dogs for that.

Lela, because she was born in the USA has commenced her testing and as previously stated on this blog, she has normal elbows and good hips. I will speak to my vet about the other tests but I suspect to (conform) I will get them done.

The girls are doing well. Ruby's appetite is hit and miss. They will go to the vets next week for X Ray and examination.

I have a young pig who is 4 months old that will be bacon come the autumn and 2 lambs are soon to be born that will also join the Kaskazini clan.

Dogs and things

Saturday 23rd of March.

Dermoid Sinus is a condition that is prevalent in our breed and although I have never had a puppy with this condition I strive to take preventative measures against It. Current recommendations are to administer high doses of folic acid to pregnant bitches.
Dermoid sinus can be likened to spina bifada in humans. The recommended dose is 5 mg and I have been administering folic acid prior to mating Kasidi as It was a planned mating and to Ruby from the first day of mating. Anything that can eliminate this condition from our breed is good enough for me.

All of my animals have fallen out with me this week as everyone has been wormed, the cats in particular are very upset with me. Kasidi arrived at day 40 today so she has commenced her daily worming regime. I camouflage the bitter tasting medicine with cream and It seems to do the trick. Both she and Ruby know the routine now of receiving their medication, the folic acid is presented to them either wrapped in a piece of ham or enveloped in philly cheese and they absolutely love it.

Both girls are growing by the day, Ruby outwards and Kasidi downwards. Its incredible how differently they carry their puppies.

My daughter Olivia, who usually is my right hand man during whelping will be in Spain this time around so I am currently looking for someone to help me with the puppies. Mark, I suspect will be in the Uk so I might have to tempt Alex, my son, with some financial incentive. Four out of the five litters i have had have arrived during the night. It would be a miracle if the puppies could arrive during the day but somehow I think they will come during the night.

Dogs and things

Monday 17th March.

I returned from my trip and although we can never be sure, It does look as if both girls are in whelp. They are both looking rather rotund and their teats are very enlarged, they are also very hungry all of the time. While I was at Crufts I was able to buy some panacur 10% which is a worming medicine that is safe to use for bitches in whelp. (For some reason It is not available in the US ) so I will begin a daily worming regime from day 40 which for Ruby is Wednesday and Kasidi Saturday. We always assume our dogs are infected with worms and I feel much more comfortable being able to start worming asap. This will greatly reduce the likelyhood of the puppies being infected.

Crufts was very exciting, spread over a 20 acre site in 4 halls and with visitor numbers in excess of 50 thousand over the 4 days, stamina was definitely needed. The Ridgeback entry was diverse in that we had a number of dogs from all over Europe and a couple from the USA. The judging was inconsistent but the best dog went to the American Kimani dog and best bitch went to Veltkammer Lady done a Bunk who also took BOB and went through to the final cut in the group. She happens to hold the British record for the amount of CC's awarded.

I have received the OFA results for Lela and they are elbows normal and hips good so that is a relief. All of that free running from an early age and the fact she was in season when she was X rayed have had no bearing on the result.

All of the dogs are sunbathing on the deck at the moment, a little taste of warmer weather to come , although It is sunny today It is still very cold.

My plan with Ruby and kasidi is to wait a couple of weeks and then have them X Rayed to see how many puppies can be seen. According to my dates, Ruby will be due on the 12th April and Kasidi the 15th. In the past Ruby has been early and Kasidi late so I am keeping my fingers crossed this will not be the case this time round.

Dogs and things

Monday 25th February.

I am pleased to say everything has now settled down and the dogs are all back together as a pack. No incidents between Brewser and Raiza which is a relief, just grumbles here and there.

I have received a couple of mails today alerting me to the fact that It is the 4th birthday of my second litter between Ruby and Dempsey. One was from the owner of Phoenix, a beautiful boy that I very nearly kept. He is so handsome and has so many of the features I happen to love in Ridgebacks. His most recent photos are on facebook sitting on top of Arthurs seat in Edinburgh. I will try and retrieve them for the website.

I am looking for changes in the girls behaviour that may indicate they are pregnant, Ruby seem to be hungry all of the time but I dare not, at this stage, read too much into that. Kasidi is no different, showing too much interest in the pile of chicken manure left, from me taking advantage of a warm day last week and cleaning them out.

I went to New Jersey last week and met up with two of my puppies, Adia formerly known as Hamlet( Kasidi/ Brewster and Ozzie formerly known as Beckham ( Ruby/Raiza. It is lovely to meet up and monitor their progress.

I am hoping Ken and Lisa will let me use Adia in my breeding programme in the future as he is a beautiful boy, the image of Brewster, but with less dark mask on his face. Lisa has recently sent me lovely pictures of him but I will have to wait for Mark to get home on Friday before they can go up on my website.

This time next week I will be heading to New York for my trip to England and to Crufts. There is a record entry of 230 plus dogs entered this year so It should be fabulous.

Dogs and things

Thursday 14th February.

This past week has been a huge learning exercise for me, as I surrendered the control I thought I had over to my dogs. I am sure some breeders would be alarmed by this statement but I am just being honest. I planned to take a litter from Kasidi and Lela using Raiza but they decided otherwise.

I thought Ruby was passed her peak, was not as vigilant as usual and before I knew It she was with Raiza in a tie position. This is not the end of the world as Ruby is an extremely fit and healthy dog.

Lela, through forces now made clear to me, (see previous entry), was never going to let Raiza near her and Kasidi decided one mating was enough and after that refused any advances Raiza attempted..On previous occasions she has been very happy to indulge in several matings. I cannot confidently predict if either bitch is pregnant so we will just have to wait and see.

Understanding how the dogs operate and trying to interpret their behaviour is an ongoing event but I now understand if I am to have success with breeding Lela and Motsi in the future, Ruby and Kasidi will have to be neutered and that is fine.

Motsi has spent the last couple of days in the constant company of her dad Brewster and It's been lovely watching them interact with one another. He is very attentive to her, cleaning her ears out regularly and generally being very loving. They have been sleeping with my son Alex while Raiza's ardour is heightened. Hopefully everything will settle down soon and we can all get back to normal. I just wish there was a pregnancy test for dogs on the market that would turn blue in an instant if pregnancy hormones were detected. Surely its possible, until such time we will have to play the waiting game.

Dogs and things

Monday 11th February.

It has been a chaotic weekend which has not been helped by most of my family being knocked out by a nasty bug.

I realised yesterday that nothing was going to happen with Lela as she was was positively ferocious towards Raiza's advances. Last night I searched the web seeking likely reasons as to why she behaved the way she did and found this very interesting article.

http://www.wolfhouse.dk/articles/sociobiologyofreproduction.php

AI is perhaps a solution, but one for the future as I think she peaked this weekend. Lela is very submissive and this obviously factored into her refusal to mate with Raiza, especially as she has Ruby and Kasidi, both dominant females in the pack and in season too.

The good news is Kasidi and Raiza had a tie this morning. It came from nowhere as Raiza has been per-occupied with Lela all weekend and he did It with no assistance from me, so the penny has finally dropped.

Dogs and things

Friday 8th February.

Well, Its pretty crazy here at the momemt and not quite going to plan, Lela was the first to go into season but It was Ruby that peaked first, so Raiza is whinning constantly. I'm not sure if we have missed the boat with Lela or Its just that, like her mum, she ovulates late. Judging by Raiza's behaviour with Ruby, It seems unlikely we have missed her time, so fingers crossed.

I realised, as I was trying to walk the dogs this morning that I cannot leave them all with Mark for me to go to Westminster. They were such a handful , Ruby will run off at the drop of a hat given the chance, she really is a little hussy when she is in season, then of course we have to keep the boys seperate, plus we have to keep Motsi out of the way of Raiza too. Yes, Westminster will have to be missed this year which is a shame.

We have all gone down with this horrible bug that is doing the rounds right now. I also have a poorly chicken kept by the fire who I am feeding regularly with a pipette. She doesn't seem to be making much progress but neither is she deteriorating, so again fingers crossed that she will get well. I checked to see if she was egg bound which she wasn't so I really have no idea what is wrong with her.

I am ready for spring now but I suspect it is some way off yet.

All things doggy related.

Wednesday 30th January.2008.

Oh dear where has the time gone. Things became so routine and mundane, there really was nothing to add on this blog which was started in the first instance to monitor my puppies progress.

Over the last couple of months I have been inundated with puppy enquiries, so much so that I have lost count. Most people always say the same and that is, my dogs look like how Ridgebacks used to look in the US.

One of my puppy enquiries led me to believe that I might have an ideal home for Ranger. It was a man called Louie who ticked all of the boxes as far as I was concerned. While responding to his e mail I mentioned Ranger, a couple of days later he visited us and would have taken him there and then but he was about to go on a cruise with his partner. He picked Ranger up a couple of weeks ago and I have since had feedback that he has settled in very well. He shares Louie with a Labrador and goes to work with Louie when they are not visiting their upstate New York home. I am hoping to visit them in the spring.

I have all four girls in season at the moment so we are going to be in for some fun and games starting next week. I intend to breed Lela and Kasidi, so if all goes well we will have 2 litters within a week of one another. Springtime will make life much easier and we are all looking forward to the prospect of pups once more. My plan is to seperate the dogs into 2 groups, Brewster with Ruby and Motsi(he is now castrated bless him) and Raiza with Lela and Kasidi. Just hope Raiza will be up to the job.

I am pleased the girls did not interfere with my plans to go to Crufts in March as this is my yearly pilgrimage, there is no dog show on earth like It. I am also hoping to go to the Westminster Show in New york in 2 weeks time.

I will update any progress with Lela and Kasidi as it comes.

The dogs are all fighting fit and enjoying their snowy walks, Motsi has had a huge growth spurt in recent weeks which I am secretly very pleased about.She stands 26 inches at the shoulders now, which is of course the top end of the breed standard, but which makes her the smallest of my girls as they are all a little "over". She is maturing nicely, slower than I am used to though.