I apparently don't have what it takes to keep a blog maintained, and since my last post, we have had two litters of puppies, and added some titles to our dogs. Too much to go into detail, but with a little luck, it won't be 3 years before the next entry. We are in Covid-19 lockdown, like everybody else, so no dog shows are happening. The dogs are happy to have us at home, and they seem content with that.
We are starting to get excited about the prospect of puppies around here. Sammi was bred to Chief early in January and puppies are expected in early March. 8 or 9 (maybe more) vesicles were seen on ultrasound at the end of January, and Sammi's enlarging abdomen confirms the diagnosis.
We have not solicited puppy buyers yet. Izzy's difficulties with her pregnancies and her loss of puppies have made us cautious about making promises we can't keep. Serious inquiries will be considered, though we won't be taking applications until after the puppies are born. So--Izzy was bred to Ian in January, and carried 3 puppies to term. Sadly, 2 pups were stillborn, and little Limerick, who had so much promise, developed neurological symptoms and died of hydrocephalus at 12 weeks of age.
After consultation with the experts, we decided to try again at her next cycle, which was at the end of July. Right now she is pregnant, due at the end of September. 7 vesicles were seen on ultrasound. We are optimistic, though our terrible bad luck with the last litter makes us a little cautious. Hopefully we will have good news to post in a few weeks. Tonight Zukey gave birth to two bouncing babies--one black boy (a patch) and one black girl. Right now they are going by "Baskin" and "Robbins". Their birth is a kind of miracle after Zukey's pyometra and the treatments, and we are delighted to have the new additions. Sire is GCH CH / Int’l CH Bret D Gabriel’s Lost Art, CD, BN, RE, CGC, TDI, who can be seen at lostartdals.com. I will try to update the website with pictures later.
Izzy has established herself in the household as the resident trouble maker. Her comrade in badness is Olive, a 9 month old Border Collie, who visits several days a week. They egg each other on to dig holes in the yard, destroy toys, and generally try to do as much damage as possible when unsupervised for the few moments it takes for me to get anything done around here. It is a rainy day today, so I'm sure they are getting as muddy as possible while I update this website. No time to elaborate, gotta go supervise. The story of my life right now.
Today we have a new addition to the household! No name yet, but she is a beautiful girl from a great breeding out of Debbie Zink's Bret D kennels. You can see photos of her sire and dam at:
http://www.lostartdals.com/Site/Puppy_Plans_2011/Puppy_Plans_2011.html I feel very fortunate to have this pup--she seems very confident and smart. Time will tell! So, we had bred Zukey, and were hoping for puppies, but that was not to be. Instead, she developed a pyometra, which is an often devastating condition that can require surgery (a spay) to treat. We were lucky to find it early and were able to treat the condition medically and keep her ability to reproduce intact. We will try to breed her again in a year, and in the meantime we will work on collecting obedience and agility titles.
Zukey finished her Championship on 10/1/11 at the Monroe Kennel Club show. She was the only bitch, but earned Best of Winner's, beating the Winner's dog to earn the last point she needed to finish. We are very happy to be able to concentrate on her obedience and agility training, without the distraction of competition in the breed ring.
Today Zukey and I went down to Marion, Ohio for our last show before she takes time off for her pregnancy and puppies. We earned another point for a total of 14 out of the 15 needed for the Champion title.
The CH title will have to wait until after all the puppy fun, but it is certainly within reach. One thing at a time! Zukey has had a busy year so far--we went to the Dalmatian Club of America's National Specialty show in late April/early May, where we earned our first Open Obedience leg with a first place ribbon, our first Open Jumper's Agility leg, and earned second place in a competitive Open black breed class. We also participated in Rally.
Last month we went to Pittsburgh to try to get Zukey's second major win, and managed to win it on Sunday, thanks to Katie Shepard's expert handling. Zukey now has 13 of the needed 15 points to earn her championship, including both required major wins! Last week Zukey was bred to Gabe (GCH CH / Int’l CH Bret D Gabriel’s Lost Art RN, CGC, TDI).--You can read all about his accomplishments at lostartdals.com including his Best in Specialty win at the DCA National! We are VERY excited about this litter of puppies. Due to Zukey's anticipated pregnancy, she is only entered in one more breed show, and her obedience and agility training are scaled back for the time being. So it should continue to be an exciting year with puppies for the first time in over 20 years. I will try to keep the website updated! |
Kelly Flannigan, D.V.M.
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