Puppies & Ultrasounds

You're going to see several posts today as my email was acting up and I haven't been able to post for a few days...

Jeannie & True are off to the vets today to have ultrasounds to see if they're pregnant. True's litter, as you know, is one I've looked forward to for a long time. She was previously bred to a really nice dog in the US but didn't get pregnant so I thought I'd try closer to home this time and see if it was the stress of travelling that resulted in no puppies. We bred her to Dundee. Unfortunately, I don't think she's pregnant. This would be a real shame as she is a beautiful bitch out of Becca's first litter with Charlie. If she isn't pregnant this time, we will probably let her foster home spay her.

Jeannie on the other hand is just a free spirit. I had no intention of breeding her and then one day Frost managed to get himself through a little hole and was sitting beside her when Dad went out to the kennel. They both looked much too satisfied for my liking but I held out hope that she'd decided against cradle robbing and left the randy young man without having sex. Unfortunately, her slightly larger girth has me wondering.

It's moments like this that remind you that accidents happen to everyone. That would be just before you curse the fact that you do everything you can to prevent accidents and then you have one anyway.

It has made a point out of the fact that it is time to do something about the kennel fencing. I suppose I cannot complain as it has done a great job for almost fifteen years. So, we're out pricing panels of fencing and gates. When I was younger, I envied people the amount of land they had, fancy hardwood floors, views, etc. I never dreamed that I would drive by a place and envy people they're fencing.

It also has bearing on who I breed Kaylee to and forces me into an ugly spot. I have been planning to breed Kaylee to Mac. It's a linebreeding on my foundation girls - Spirit & Chanel and in particular, their dam, Sage (Am Can Ch Malhaven Sage Grouse). This has been the goal for several years and was in my mind when we first bred Bug to produce Kaylee. I have promised Kaylee's foster home that I will breed her on this season and that they can spay her after this litter. But, I have a ton of deposits for solid liver puppies. If neither Jeannie nor True is pregnant then I'm in trouble. Breeding Kaylee to Mac will only produce ticked puppies as the solid colour pattern is a dominant gene and both parents would be ticked (ie not carrying the solid gene).

So do I follow my plans and do the breeding that I have longed to do all along or do I succumb to breeding for the public and breed her to a solid liver dog so that there is a possibility that I will have solids in the litter. It's a tough question. In the past I've always followed with my own plans but I have several (like 5+) deposits that are specifically for solid liver puppies and I feel a responsibility to those people as well.