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Paws for Puppy Tales - April 2021
Updated: May 1, 2021
4-26 Well, bummer. :( As I sat here at home waiting for Kathy to tell me that she was (or wasn't) going to make an x-ray appointment for Rosa, it turns out that Rosa whelped her babies today, for the most part by herself! I asked Kathy on FB messenger earlier today what was up with Rosa, still with just a reply of "she's just hanging out"; no mention of x-ray or not, no "we need to get her to you", etc. Thought this was odd but thought wondered maybe if she just decided to keep her at home. Shortly after 3pm, Kathy called me saying that she was off school early and came home to find that Rosa had 4 puppies (so far) all by herself. As we were on the phone/Facetime, she delivered a 5th puppy, and about an hour later she messaged me to let me know that Rosa had a 6th puppy, just as the original early x-ray showed. I am disappointed not to be a part of raising this first litter of Winston's, but am happy and relieved that Rosa (being a first time mom) did really well and four of them are 3+ ounces and the other two are in the 2 ounce range. Since they are there they will most likely stay at Kathy's, and hopefully thrive without a constant watchful eye over them throughout the day while she is at work. I hope it goes well and she doesn't lose any of them. Six is a lot for a new mom to feed and also for the pups to find teats to latch on to. Kathy also mentioned that she does have an xray set up for Ella, but now wonders if she is even pregnant. She thought she looked big when we got back from Grand Island, but today says she doesn't look any bigger and wonders if she is just a big girl and not PG. X-ray is set for May 3rd or 5th. I wonder if she will want me to take her to whelp and care for her pups if she is pregnant. I hope so.......
4/23 A possible 5 days (soonest) before Rosa is due to have pups and she is still with Kathy and no x-ray is scheduled. She mentioned that Saturday (tomorrow) was the soonest but that she could not do that day as she would be driving to KC to deliver a puppy to new owner.....did not mention making the next available day for an appointment. So what then, no x-ray???? I hope that is not the case as I would feel more comfortable knowing what to expect and puppy sizes in regard to free whelping.
Seward dog show coming up in 2 weeks. I finally made reservation for a hotel in Lincoln for the weekend for Jim and I and the dogs. Puppies (assuming they are here) will come along and stay with Kathy in her camper. Dolly too will come along for the ride since she can't stay home alone. The same will be done for the Lincoln show towards the end of May with an additional litter of pups assuming Ella and babies will be here as well.
AKC points are up and current through April 8, covering all wins from the Claremore, OK show. Winston ended up getting an extra point/extra major win/extra CH defeated due to what I believe is because one of Tonia's dogs that was NOT shown was not marked as absent (A) on the posted results, No complaints from me there!! I'm pretty sure he is going to have another set of extra wins to his record from the first Grand Island show as well, unfortunately for Kathy. In looking at the results posted on the superintendents website it is showing Winston as BOB and Gem BOS on Saturday instead of the other way around. That will unfortunately take points, a major win, and CH defeated away from Gem and given to Winston. Kathy will NOT be happy about this (nor would I be), but once the results are posted there really is nothing that can be done to change it. I've read several posts on Facebook from other BTCA members about making sure to check the judges books/recordings of the wins before leaving the shows because after that it is too late to do anything about it. Guess we will have to figure out exactly how to do that and make sure to do it from now on. I feel bad for Kathy losing those points and especially the major & CH defeated, and have not told her about it. Waiting to see it posted on AKC just in case it gets corrected between what Foy Trent shows as results and what AKC gets. But I'm pretty sure that the wins get to AKC from the show superintendents. As it stands now, Winston has 10 GCH points with 2 majors and 2 CH defeated. If Grand Island gets recorded as I think it will he will have 14 points with the 3 majors and 3 CH defeated that he needs; leaving just 9 more points for his GCH title. Right now Skye has 11 of the 15 points she needs for her CH, and needs just 3 points for her POA award. I'm hopeful that she will get that (as well as her CH) with the Seward & Lincoln shows, though she will have more competition with the Rykers' girls attending these shows as well. We will see!
4/19 Home from the dog show in Grand Island this past weekend. Didn't expect much in added points with it being just our 4 BT's entered, but realized after the fact that the BOB winner was earning a 3 point major. Was not to be for Winston this time around as Gem ruled the weekend winning BOB both days as well as a Group 1 and a Group 2 win in NOHS Toy group each day. Needless to say I was a bit bummed not to get the chance at least one of those days to get to show in the NOHS and Variety group ring, but that's the way it goes sometimes. Marshall & Skye did share the weekend wins as BOW each day, each winning a whopping 1 point for their win; Marshall on Saturday and Skye on Sunday. On to the next show in 3 weeks in Seward, NE. A bit more competition with Tammy and her 3 BT's coming.
Oh boy! I'd say Rosa is more than a little pudgy!!!! Kathy took her in for an xray last week which proved (as assumed) to early for a clear xray, BUT from what was seen her vet was guessing at least 5 puppies, maybe 6!! With the possibility of that many and this being her first litter, I suggested to Kathy that she keep her another week and get another xray done so that I can be more certain to the number of puppies to expect and their size for free whelping. When we returned from the dog show and Kathy had a look at her other girl Ella, she mentioned that she also thinks she may have a belly full of puppies as well, showing quite rounded and due 3 weeks after Rosa. Wow; sure hope there will be no issues with the births or birth weights of these puppies. Two good sized litters so close together is quite enough for me. Don't need any other issues to worry about as well. Fingers crossed and prayers for easy, safe free whelps of healthy good sized puppies.
4/12 Back to being puppy-less again for the time being. Suzy and her kids came and took Phoebe home today. They were so happy to finally meet her and almost equally excited about meeting Winston, Dolly, and Skye. Of course I gave Phoebe her first bath this morning and oh. .. . .she was SO soft and fluffy and looked great. Even her ears were still standing strong so I think they are up for good. As much as I love raising puppies there always comes the time at about 10-12 weeks when that feeling of "it's time for them to move on" comes along. Not only for the work and attention they need at that age, but that's about the time I feel they need to get to meet their new families and start learning what will be their normal routine. It will be much quieter or at least calmer here for a little while now until hopefully Winston/Rosa puppies are in the works. Kathy did not get the ultrasound done as planned due to taking Tina in to see the vet instead, but she thinks Rosa is getting a little pudgy in the stomach, so we'll see.
Dolly is on about day 16 of her first heat cycle and Winston is still interested, so we will need to take care in not letting the two of them unattended together. Some days (like today) he has been more interested than others, but I kind of feel like none have been crazy/driving us crazy as I remember some from past times. Maybe it's been about normal and/or if not it could be due to us staying on top of not letting him do anything, or the fact that a rambunctious 12 week old puppy was getting in the way and being quite a distraction. In any case, another few days and we will be done with Dolly's first cycle. I assume Skye will follow suit in the next month or so
Kathy and I have another dog show weekend this coming weekend in Grand Island. It will be just our 4 Biewers competing against each other, so not a lot of points to be added for any of our dogs, but every little point counts. Gem and Winston are looking to add points towards their GCH, Skye needing 4 more for her CH, and Marshall is looking for his first points.
4/6 . . . . AND we have an AKC Champion!! A really, really great 5 days of shows in Claremore, OK. beginning 3/31 thru 4/4. Skye started us off with a WB/BOS win the first day, continuing to do well with 1other day as WB And 2 RW. I'm pretty certain she is just 4 points shy of her championship title and she is just barely 8 months old!! On day two it was Winston's turn taking WD/BOW earning a 4 point major which finished his championship title! Moving him up as a "Special" for the rest of the week, he was Select dog twice, and on the very last day of the shows, he/we finally did what I had hoped. . . . . . . he took Best of Breed beating GCH "Donny" being shown by a professional handler!!!!!!! This was a HUGE win, just as exciting or more so than earning his championship, since Donny is one of the top winning Biewer Terriers in the United States. All week long it was my hope and dream to beat Donny at least once, and Kathy & I are thrilled that we did it. That win alone was a 5 point major; along with the points for the "Select dog" wins he is well on his way to becoming a GCH. Wow, just wow! Living my dream for sure.
Jim picked me up from Kathy's on Monday after the shows, bringing along Tina and 3 of her puppies back to Kathy. Only Phoebe stayed with us to be picked up next week by Suzy LeGrant & family. It was pretty obvious when I got home that Phoebe was missing her siblings but some extra free time with the "big" dogs and extra TLC and she was much happier before to long. This morning (Tuesday) I took her to the vet for her 1st shot and puppy wellness check up, coming home with a clean bill of health.
Dolly is on day 11 of her first heat cycle. Winston in interested but not going to crazy just yet. Keeping a close eye on the two of them though as we do NOT want any accidental breeding with Dolly being this young. She and Skye are still getting along, though I've noticed a bit of different behavior between them. I'm not certain if it is due to Dolly being in heat or maybe Skye is just a bit under the weather from being off her normal schedule because of the show and travel last week. Nothing that can't be controlled, so I think we'll be okay as far as that goes. It seems they know that I am the alpha bitch around here. LOL