It's April 18!

  Which means, Lauren's puppies--which is why this blog started--are now three!  Happy Birthday Gibson and Sadie!!!  And of course, also to Fiona, Jewel, Twister, Macallan and John Paul!
  Gibson and Sadie were very excited to hear that today is their birthday.  It was my tone of voice that caused the excitement and not the date, but still we had to commemorate the day.  Gibson and Sadie got extra play time in the yard before being joined by Lauren and Dixie.  They also got extra belly rubs and nose kisses.  They should have had birthday baths but with the amount of rain we've had and coming up this week, that would be a waste of time!

Whatever the occasion, Sadie loves to run!

Gibson tries out a Pointer stance

Play with the ball or jump over the branch?  He didn't do either one!

SURPRISE!!!!!

  The last thing I said to Sadie on Thursday night was, "have your babies tomorrow if you must, but not on Saturday, I'd rather you didn't on Sunday, but Monday would be great"!  I went to bed, confident that nothing was going to happen--after all, she ate a huge dinner (finally found the right menu!), her temperature was normal and her tummy hair was firmly in place.  Both David and I thought puppies were not a possibility until Monday, at the very earliest....boy, were we wrong!  Sometime between 3:30 a.m.--when David peeked in before going to work--and my getting up at 6:00, Sadie had gone into labor, delivered four puppies and cleaned everything up!  She started barking when she heard me moving around and I hurried to her room, thinking the  remote possibility she might be starting labor but expecting she must really need to potty.  What a shock when I opened the door--two puppies in the crate, very vigorous, one puppy lifeless on the cold floor, another puppy barely moving behind the crate.  I quickly gathered up all the puppies, hoping that I could help all four.  I got the heat lamp on, towels to rub the puppies, newspapers on the whelping box floor but unfortunately, only the two pups from the crate survived.  I then sat with Sadie in the whelping box, hoping another puppy or two might appear.  We were at the vets by 9:00 for an x-ray to show that the two pups would be it.  The good news was that each was in terrific weight, one 10 oz, one 9 oz.
  The rest of the day was spent getting Sadie adjusted to her new status.  She is a terrific mama!  At least, until David got home about 7:00, when she began to get anxious and started picking the puppies up, trying to move them out of the box.  She settled back down after David went to bed, so we thought she wasn't comfortable with extra noise, however slight.  I spent Friday night on the sofa bed, checking on the new family every couple of hours.  In the morning, as the activity in the house increased, Sadie became more anxious, even frantic, which made her temperature start to spike.  I quickly got her to the vet and after a thorough exam, we decided to play it safe and Sadie was put on an antibiotic and a mild sedative.  What a difference!  We don't trust her to not accidently hurt the puppies, so she's in a crate for periods when we can't monitor her with her boys.  She's quite accepting of this, but when she's with the pups, she's the wonderful mom we had expected.  The pups are nursing well and now weigh about a pound each.  We're giving her longer and longer periods of time alone with the pups (always with one ear open to some squeaks) and she does well, as long as the house is quiet.  I made the mistake this afternoon of letting our son and daughter in law sneak a peek at the new babies, then spent the next couple of hours "apologizing" to Sadie.  I expect by Tuesday that all will be well.
  Here are some pictures from the last couple of days:

A few hours old

  Sadie and her sons

Two days old

And So It Begins....

  Sweet Sadie is not so sweet anymore!  Fat and grumpy, she's not adjusting to impending motherhood or perhaps she's just impatient with late pregnancy.  She no  longer likes any food we give her for more than one meal.  We're tempting her with various puppy foods, chicken broth, hand feeding and when all else fails, expensive dog cookies.  Tonight she did something funny--took her cookies into a crate and tried to hoard them inside the mat!  I could hear her tummy rumbling and finally Sadie relented and ate her cookies.  All the while, her full food bowl is sitting nearby. 
  Sadie now refuses to go into her special kennel yard but I think she doesn't like to be alone anymore.  She's in the nursery now, probably sleeping, and we'll indulge her every whim until  the puppies arrive.  Tomorrow I will finish cleaning her room, give her a bath and hope that Sadie won't have the puppies at least until Monday. Saturday, we're hosting an ice cream social at our house for the Northern Virginia Collie Club and I'm not planning on a whelping puppy demo to go with the rest of the events!

Puppies? Puppies! Puppies!!!!

  Sadie had her x-ray this morning and  four puppies were definitely in view!  There is probably a fifth and I'm hoping she rounds it up to an even six.  Sadie as gained ten pound since last August, which makes me wonder if the count could be even higher, that the pups were so well lined up in the x-ray that they were not discernible.
  We have one to two weeks before the mystery is solved.  Sadie is not giving us clues if she will deliver on her first due date or last so we will be prepared for the babies starting June 21--and keep a careful watch on Sadie at all times.  She's become a picky eater, doesn't care much for the puppy food we started her on.  I added chicken broth to tempt her appetite but that only worked for a couple of days.  I tried a different brand of food this morning, adding the broth for good measure, and she seemed more interested.
  Sadie's fur is coming off her belly and her coat is rather loose in general.  I'll do some trimming as delivery time nears, but in the meantime, I'm sure she'll enjoy a daily brushing!

First Points!

What a great week-end we had last week!  We entered Gibson and Jewel in the Mattaponi Kennel Club shows in Manassas.  Gibson did much better in the ring than his last show in the fall.  Saturday's judge, Houston Clark, was very encouraging, telling me Gibson is "a decent enough dog" but he likes to see the temperament and movement of a herding dog.  When I told him that Gibson was 100% better than his last show, that his preference then was to collapse in a puddle, especially if the judge was male, Mr Clark said I must be on the right track and to keep working with Gibson.  When I took Jewel in the ring, Mr Clark said, "that's more like it"! Jewel was Winners and Best of Winners for her first point! 

Sunday's judge was not as fun to show under.  Gibson was more relaxed and confident than on Saturday, but was still startled by a sudden movement by the judge shortly after we entered the ring.  Gibson gave a quick growl, which of course did not please the judge, but was fine after that.  I was thankful he didn't disqualify us, but felt he then had us stack our dogs in Winners in a way that he knew Gibson wouldn't be comfortable.  Except for the final stack, Gibson moved so well and showed so much better than the day before that it was almost like the old Gibson was back!  Jewel was Winners, Best of Winners and Best of Variety for her second point!  She lost her composure during pictures--it was her first time, after all--and the judge grew impatient with us.  He didn't act like he enjoyed his assignment at all!  I knew he wouldn't give her any consideration in the Group judging, plus my handling skills are not up to that kind of pressure, so we packed up and headed home.

Besides earning points, the best part of showing is catching up with friends and making new friends.  We had a fun group back at our house Saturday night for a very informal supper.  David cooked chicken on the grill and everyone brought something to go with it.  We toasted those who had won that day, especially Michelle's malamute who won his championship on Saturday!  Her lucky dogs got a special treat for their accomplishments--a steak!  We had our own special treats--sinful desserts from Pastries by Randolph.

As if points, good friends and good food were not enough, Ellen took one look at Sadie and said "of course she's pregnant, look at her"!  We had started to think Sadie was expecting as she had expanded a bit and her behavior had changed that week.  She had been getting into all the show things, something she had never touched before.  She's chewed the tops to almost every spray bottle I have and ate the remnants of a jar of first aide cream that I didn't even know was in her room.  Fortunately, she threw that right back up and it's obviously not affected the puppies as she's growing on a daily basis.  She found the heat the last couple of days to be unbearable.  Poor Sadie, how will she be able to endure another month?  We're going to take her to Casanel this afternoon for some pampering and showers of attention, that should perk her up!

Exciting News!

  I have been too caught up in dogs and gardens to post!  I have many pictures to post of Gibson and Jewel, from a couple fun things we've done this spring, but this is an update about Sadie and Dixie.
  Sadie came into season in early April and after much thought, we bred her to Wyndlair Avalanche, who is at stud at Southland Collies in Tennessee.  I made the 11 hour trip to take Sadie to Southland--I had never done a trip like that by myself before!  While it was a lot of driving, Sadie was a good passenger, the countryside was pretty and it was a rather easy drive (plus I had a good book on cd to listen to!).  The destination was well worth the trip!  The mistress of Southland, Mike Cheatham, is a wonderful person, very welcoming and I knew Sadie would be well cared for while away from home.  Mike gave me a tour of her beautiful kennels and I was able to spend a bit of time with her stunning collies.  I left Southland with a severe case of kennel envy and wondering how quickly I could return to incorporate her other studs into our breeding program.  So many thoughts whirling about in my head--it was hard to settle down to sleep in the motel that night!
  David made the return trip last week-end to bring Sadie home.  He arrived shortly before that terrible storm did and he only stayed long enough to exchange pleasantries before crating Sadie for the start of home.  They got caught in the heavy rain for about 3 hours, then drove for a couple more before finding a nice motel for the night.  Sadie had her first ride in an elevator!  David said she was a quiet and model room-mate but he was so exhausted from the drive through the storm that he probably didn't hear her!
  Now, we're just waiting for signs that puppies are on the way.  While I occupy myself with puppy names and thoughts of kennel improvements after seeing Southland--with David ignoring my proposals--we are basking in Dixie's latest accomplishment.  She was Winners Bitch and Best of Winners at the Baltimore Kennel Club for her first major!!!  The day before, she was Reserve Winners at the Old Dominion Kennel Club show.  I was really hoping that would be her first major, as her mom, Phoebe, had her first major at that show in 2005.  Dixie will be going to Ohio in late May for a week-end of major shows--could she come home a champion?  Let's hope early summer brings us a champion and puppies!!!!
 

Spring Clean Up

  Is spring finally here?  I sure hope so!  It looks like it in our kennel, many chores to be done after winter's final blast of snows and winds.  Lots of branches to pick up and gutters to be cleaned before we get too many spring showers.  I moved the gravel in the runs the best I could last week, after all the snow finally melted but we have lots of muddy patches and the dogs look like they have been wallowing in it.  March starts the round of annual vet visits for all the dogs and Ben and Sophie were the first to get their appointments.  They got their baths and a good grooming--including a much overdue foot trim!  Both are in perfect weight and were model patients.  Of course, they know Terry will spoil them with treats while we are paying the bill!  She's their favorite staffer at the reception desk!
  Ben and Jewel have started blowing coat, which means I need to get my arms ready for lots of brushing as warm weather will have everyone shedding their winter coats.  Dixie has completed her first heat, Lauren is almost finished being in season and we are anxiously awaiting Sadie to come into season for her first breeding.  Everybody has had lots of play time with the nicer weather and longer days.
  We're making our spring and early summer show plans for Dixie, Jewel and Gibson.  If Sadie is not busy in the whelping box, she'll join in the fun, too!
  Pretty days, happy dogs, potential puppies, dogs shows--this is my favorite time of the year!

The Collies and the Blizzard

  A lot of people are wondering how our dogs cope during severe weather, like our current "Snowmaggedon", the blizzard from the week-end.  Ben and Sophie, as the seniors going on 11 years old, are house dogs as soon as the temperature starts dropping in autumn.  If we had puppies, they would also be inside.  As for the others, our kennel is well built with drop doors to keep the dogs inside during heavy wind, snow or rain.  Friday night, we dropped the doors and with their heavy show coats, the dogs generated enough body heat to keep their water buckets ice free!  When I opened the doors on Saturday morning, the dogs made short work of making paths in their runs and packing the snow down.  That night, I wasn't comfortable with closing the doors, after hearing too many reports of collapsed roofs, including on a barn.  The kennel is surrounded by trees and even our sturdy building would not be a match for a couple of those massive oaks.  I was concerned that if a tree came down, the dogs could be trapped inside.  The only effect has been that we've had to break ice in the water buckets morning and night which delights Sadie.  She's an ice cruncher!  She dunks her muzzle into the bucket, fishes around for the biggest piece she can find then happily crunches away while the water drips off her whiskers.
  The dogs love to play in the snow and they were more than ready to go out on Saturday.  I wasn't in the mood to stand outside while the snow pelted my face, so they had to wait until Sunday for a chance to play.  Lauren couldn't wait!  She barked incessantly at me as soon as I went outside with their breakfast.  Once she ate, she started jumping against the gate, pleading to go out.   I had a couple chores to do inside before they could play and as I was moving around the house, I could see Lauren steadily staring at the window, willing me to come back out.  But when I let them out, Lauren found the snow to be too deep for her liking and she kept to the couple paths we had made in front of the kennel.  Gibson, Dixie and I made two huge circles around the play yard, then everyone came running through.  Actually, for Claire and Phoebe it was more of a short stroll.  They can become quite the princesses in snow, acting as if they are too delicate to romp with the others.  Claire did forget for a minute that she couldn't be in deep snow and started to run with the gang, then made my heart skip a few beats as she turned towards me with her front leg held high, her paw dangling.  I was afraid she had somehow broken her leg, wondering how we'd get her to the vet's, only to find she had ice balls between her toes and she wanted me to take care of it!
  This morning's play session found us making more paths through the snow in the play yard. Gibson, Dixie and Sadie forged ahead and found a spot along the fence that is so packed down that they did not break through the snow. They could have easily hopped over the fence and I could see the wheels turning in Dixie's head as she was starting to figure that out. Somehow, she communicated that to Sadie and the two of them stood at the fence, almost like they were double daring each other to go over first. I decided play time was over and got everyone but those two back towards the kennel before the pack mentality started to kick in and everyone thought about hopping the fence. Fortunately, I can bribe them with the promise of a cookie and got most everyone in, but this morning Sadie and Dixie weren't buying it! They picked up on the panic in my voice and refused to come back. They started teasing me, taking a couple steps away from the fence and down the path, then bouncing back on the snow and towards the fence. Finally, the lure of cookies brought them in. All I could envision was them getting over the fence, finding packed snow on the other side, jumping on to the drive and running out to the road. We don't have too much traffice yet, but the road is basically one lane and treacherous.
  Tonight's forecast is snow through the night and heavy winds, causing drifts up to 6 feet.  I'm planning on doubling and tripling the dogs into the runs on the east side of the kennel to concentrate their body heat.  I'm not looking forward to tomorrow morning and the prospect of battling wind gusts of possibly 40 mph and blowing snow to feed the dogs.

A Snow Day!

Unfortunately, I don't have pictures to go with this post, although later in the week I'll have some video. We got our first snowfall of the season yesterday. The dogs have not had a play day for a week and the snow made them as antsy as little kids! I let them all out for a full day of running, chasing and play--such happy collies! It's Dixie's first snow and she wasn't as enthusiastic as Lauren, Gibson and Sadie--but who could be? Even if I had had the camera with me, those three would have been nothing but blurs as they raced through the snow. By late afternoon, everyone was filthy, tired and ready for dinner. They are definitely cold weather dogs!

Once in a Blue Moon

I don't handle often, because, let's face it, when an expert like Ellen Russell is on our team that's really the way to go. But, when shows are local and Ellen isn't available, I like to indulge in my dream of being a breeder/owner/handler--I just need to learn to be an expert groomer like Ellen! I handled Sadie to second place in her class at Saturday's Mattaponi Kennel Club show. The judge really made my day by telling me I did a "very nice job handling"!

Sadie Wins!

I just got a message from Ellen--Sadie was Winners Bitch for one point at the Wilmington Kennel Club show in Delaware! She'll be coming home on Sunday for a little bit of break.

A Good Omen?

Ellen gave me a quick call this afternoon. As she was crossing the bridge into Massachusetts, the radio station she was listening to started playing "Keep on Rockin' "! Could this be a good sign for our Sadie (Hillcroft Keep on Rockin') on Wednesday??

Goin' to the National!

Sadie has been washed, dried, brushed and fluffed! Now she's on her way to DE and tomorrow leaves for the Collie Club of America National Specialty show in Massachusetts. I'm not able to go so while she's competing on Wednesday morning, I'll be home, pacing the floor and biting my nails until I get word how she did!

Sadie's Latest Show

End Results

No more points for Gibson and Sadie, although Gibson took a major reserve on Saturday and was Reserve Winners Dog again today. Here are some recent pictures of the two:

Points and More Points!

Gibson and Sadie are in York, PA, for a series of shows and so far, so good! Sadie won her first point on Thursday, going Winners Bitch and Best of Winners! Friday was Gibson's turn, he won two points! The judge said he has so much coat that she would call him a smough. I can't wait to see what happens over the week-end--we're going to York on Sunday to watch Sadie compete.

Christmas Joy

New toys, treats and a long week-end of playing in the yards makes for a perfect Christmas!

Sadie the Show Girl!

Sadie has been with Ellen the last few weeks, learning how to be a show dog and competing in seven shows. She's often been first in her puppy class, was Reserve Winners Bitch on Nov 14 at the Northeastern Maryland Kennel Club show (yeah!!) and always had fun! She's home now, back with best bud, Mosby and having fun with her siblings.