How I choose breeding dogs

I used to own Chips half brother, Moses. Moses was my best friend and constant shadow, as well as being a very handsome apricot boy. Moses had been my birthday gift to myself and was one of those dogs you absolutely bond with and sob over when they're gone. Moses fathered 24 very nice F1 Labradoodle pups in his lifetime. Many of them got his smile, and his silly loving nature. They had a wonderful wide range of colors and all got a big wavy fluffy coat.

I got Chip because I knew I was losing Moses to kidney disease. I was aiming for another male with similar temperament and intelligence. Lucky for me, Chip is even more mellow than Moses was. He's comical, patient, loving, and cuddly; is never rough or pushy and rarely gets upset or excited about anything. While he's cafe au lait, he has the potential to create pups with a wonderful color variety just as his brother did.

I am so enamored of Chip, that I decided to make him the basis of my breeding program and search out dams that would compliment him. I plan for all of my pups to be sired by him because in my opinion he is just such a super dog. I want my buyers to be able to meet both parents and can't imagine finding a male I like better than him.

I have bought and traded several females this past year in my effort to find just the right females to compliment Chip. Some were too hyper, too rough, or had a physical trait that I just didn't care to pass on. It's been a trying time, but am now content that I have the right dams for the job, so it's been well worth it.

My first dam that I decided to keep was Hickory. She's a small muscular chocolate female that's had a rotten history. She was badly abused and neglected in a previous kennel before my getting her. When she first arrived she was thin, terrified, and convinced that all humans were barbarians. Even though she was so scared, she never once showed an ounce of aggression or hyperactivity. She has now blossomed into a lovely girl who runs up to offer kisses and get her head scratched from a select few people who she's learned to trust and love. I doubt she will ever trust strangers enough to let just anyone walk up to her and love on her, but given what she's been through I'm not sure that's unwise. She's a compromise between a field lab and English lab type. She's got a nice blocky head, a broad chest and shoulders, yet looks more athletic than stocky. In my opinion she's a very nicely put together Lab. She and Chip together should produce litters that are all chocolate with the potential to turn cafe au lait with age.

Ava is my second "keeper". Ava is a typical English type lab; very square, blocky, short and stocky with large muscle and a calm demeanor. She's chocolate, totally self-assured and has an awesome presence. People who really know Labs often comment on how beautiful and well put together she is. She loves everyone, but when she barks an alarm that a stranger has arrived she truly can make the hair stand up on the back of your neck unless you see her tail also wagging wildly. Ava had spent her first 2 yrs of life in a 5 x 10 kennel; the pet of a young man who simply lost interest in her. When she came to me, she decided she enjoys being with other dogs and being a beloved pet, so is a very happy girl. She and Chip together should produce litters that are all chocolate with the potential to turn cafe au lait with age.

Misty and Hana I bought as a pair from the same kennel. This man had bought some great females, had them OFA/CERF tested and went into breeding with the best of intentions. He tried AI with excellent bloodlines and had disappointing results. He lost a couple of dams unexpectedly, and decided to cut his losses and give up before he was in any deeper. I was simply lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time and bought his 2 best young dams.
Both Hana and Misty have fantastic well known field champion bloodlines. Their coats are like velvet black, they are solid muscular girls with smaller frames and nice conformation. They're energetic, but not franticly so, and both have excellent temperaments and personalities. They're fun to work with and should produce lovely rainbow colored litters with Chip.

I would like to have one more dam, but am in no rush to find her. If I haven't stumbled onto one by Spring I will start to look harder. For now I'm very satisfied with the dogs I have and look forward to producing quality pups with the traits that I feel are most important. My focus is on health, temperament, personality and intelligence in a more compact, mellow dog.

Funny how things seem to go

I started my kennel with 2 black Lab females, and an apricot stud. Out of them, I got a few black pups, a few apricot, some white, and many creams. The rainbow of colors was encouraging since black is the default color for both Labs and poodles so I had been afraid I'd have all or mostly black litters which are harder to sell. There are naturally more black labs and poodles than any other color, so they're also easier to come by.

In the past few months I've bought all new breeders, starting with a chocolate stud who has since turned Cafe Au Lait (a highly desirable dilute of chocolate). I then added a chocolate Lab, 2 yellow labs and another chocolate. Yes, these are the colors I was hoping for, but I would have gladly bought blacks if I had found ones that I really liked and felt would be good breeding prospects. I am still looking for at least one, possibly 2 more Lab females, and again, I would be quite satisfied with any color that was of good quality and excellent temperament. So far, I've looked at a few, and have found them to be lacking in one way or another and had to walk away without buying.

I received an offer to purchase a female tonight, and from what I'm told, she sounds worth taking a little trip to see. Ironically, she too is chocolate. Now I know chocolate is a desirable color and is considered harder to find; so I'm beginning to wonder about the fact that it seems I'm almost destined to have a kennel full of them. Six months ago I would have jumped at the chance, thinking "WOW did I luck out!" Now I'm thinking, "Hmmm, of all the other breeders I know, none have this focus on chocolate... is there some reason I should avoid it?"

Am I just afraid of succeeding in something a bit unique? Or is there some real reason I should vary my color range a bit more? Does the adage "If it sounds too good to be true it probably is" hold here? Or should I just say thank you to the universe and run with it?

Where is my crystal ball when I need it? Funny how things seem to go!

Forgiven

Not far from New York, in a cemetery lone,
Close guarding its grave, stands a simple headstone,
And all the inscription is one word alone --
"Forgiven."

It shews not the date of the silent one's birth,
Reveals not his frailties, nor lies of his worth,
But speaks out the tale from his few feet of earth --
"Forgiven."

And when from the heavens the Lord shall descend,
This stranger shall rise, and to glory ascend,
Well known and befriended, to sing without end --
"Forgiven."


by H. A. Ironside

The final Moses litter

Today is bittersweet as I watch the births of Bella and Moses' puppies.
The first 3 pups have arrived all round and wiggly and colored just like their Dad. I'm so glad they take after him as this is the final litter from my beloved boy.

I hope they inherit his ability and desire to smile. I hope they have his bounce and spring and loving personality. I hope they fill the hearts of their new families like he did ours. I hope they live long and healthy lives.

Rising cost of EVERYTHING!

I think we are all going to have to rethink the way we live. We've been so complacent so long... we take for granted that we NEED to have the bigger house (to heat and cool and pay taxes on) and need newer cars so we can all look successful... and NEED to live in a specific area even if it's a 45 min commute to work each day.

Sad as it is, we've allowed ourselves to be put in this position and now we need to suck it up and face reality.
Downscale... make being frugal the new "cool"!
Quit wanting more and be proud you know how to enjoy life with less. Refuse to be a victim of the economy and you'll be amazed what a few changes can do.

Just look how many SUV's and big pick ups are on the road... How many of us really NEED them? How many can really afford them or afford to drive and insure them?

Look at the type of food we buy... quick, unhealthy and expensive! If we'd go back to actually cooking... drag out those dusty crock pots and let a cheaper cut of meat cook while you're at work and you can still have a decent meal.

Make it a family project to see how much lower your next electricity or gas bill can go.

We need to help ourselves if we're to survive this and in the process we need to teach our kids so they don't repeat our mistakes.

Good Bye Moses

A couple years ago I bought myself a puppy for my birthday. I drove several hours to pick him up, and fell in love instantly. He was a 4 month old apricot Standard poodle with a wickedly cute beard and sparkling brown eyes. Our first introduction was right after he'd buried his chin in a tub of water so seemed to be carrying about 10 gallons of it in his beard when he plopped his chin in my lap and drenched me.
I jumped up yelling "Holy Moses!" (Which is how he got his name.)
He just sat down, looked at me with this silly grin on his face and put a paw on my leg to say hi.

Moses was an extremely mellow pup. He loved to be near me, so always followed me around the house to make sure I didn't get away from him. If I went in the car, he HAD to come along. He was a great friend and companion for me. The only complaint I really had about him was that he was very hard to house train and seemed to always be drinking water, so when he had an accident it was a BIG one.

Over time Moses seemed to pee longer and longer. It wasn't uncommon for him to stand and go for up to 4-5 minutes at a time. It was quite obviously not normal. We got him checked out and found out he had an enormous bladder and dilute urine. In short, his kidneys weren't filtering like they should and the water pretty much went right through him. Altering his diet and keeping a close watch over him, we kept him healthier for longer than expected, but as with any degenerative problem, time caught up with him.

Moses started losing weight and lost his appetite a few weeks ago. I had to cook chicken and rice to entice him to eat, and then sometimes he just didn't want it.
In the past 2 weeks, Moses started throwing up after he ate. His weight dropped quickly and he seemed to just shrink before our eyes. Yesterday he started straining to pee, became incontinent and quit following me from room to room. He obviously no longer had the energy to keep up.

Today, because we knew that seizures and pain are the next step, we put Moses down. I couldn't put him through agony just so I could have him a few days longer. So with his head in my lap, and my husband and I both there petting and talking to him, he passed away peacefully. He's now buried in the back yard along the tree line where he used to play next to Austi, a border collie who we had before him.

In about a week I have a litter of Labradoodle pups being born. Moses was their father. I hope that there will be a pretty little girl who looks and acts like her daddy that I can keep to carry on his memory. I do have one of his daughters from last year, but she favors her Lab mom much more than Moses.

I'm sad and know I will miss him greatly, yet I don't regret having had him even for this short while. He was a great dog who when I smiled, smiled right back at me. I'm lucky to have known him and glad he's no longer suffering.

Yes, I'm vain

I SO enjoy my blog writing. I don't write here near as often as I'd like to, yet when I do I always enjoy it.

I have another blog that's much more active. It's focussed on my hobby of breeding Labradoodles, so there is always much to write about there! Recently I've been getting more comments from people coming to see that site who have absolutely no reason to have to be nice to me. They're not family, or trying to sell me anything; they're just researching something online and a search engine happened to bring them to my site. My stat counter tells me how many people come each day, which pages they view, and how long they stuck around. I'm very pleased with how active the site has been even between litters. I feel a sense of pride and accomplishment when I see that the traffic is holding steady even though I currently have nothing to sell them. What really makes my day are the wonderful comments people have been making about my site. I know it probably shouldn't matter what others think, but to me it does. I want to know that what I do makes a difference. I need to know that there is some value in what I have there and that all my work doesn't go unnoticed.

I guess that's vanity speaking, but hey I'm only human and will draw my joy and encouragement where ever it comes to me from.