It started with Sally. In my eyes she is still perfect. She has a high prey-drive with bird finding ability and beautiful intensity. She is relaxed in the house and likes everyone she meets. She became Ch. Caniscaeli Sally Goodin, JH in one weekend in Duluth. The only problems she has stem from lack of complete training.
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| Sally Pointing Pheasant |
It continued with Declan, Shireoak Iced Legacy. He is a sweet, sweet dog with such an intense prey-drive that we worried about the cats' safety for a while. He is great in the house, too, and curious about everything around him. If breeder Kim had had the opportunity, she would have finished him in Canada easily.
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| Shireoak Iced Legacy |
We had a bit of a false start on Thursday, 31 May, when I thought Sally's temperature had dropped. I really just didn't know how to use the digital thermometer. Oops.
Sally's temperature really did drop on Saturday. It went from 100.0F on Friday night to 97F on Saturday morning. Thinking it would be another 8 to 12 hours before she actually started delivering puppies, Scott mowed the yard then left for a bike ride. It wasn't five minutes later that Sally came to the door asking, I thought, to come outside. She ran right off the porch and squatted, I thought, to poop. Then I looked at her more carefully. Poor baby! The first boy was almost born in the yard!
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| Ch. Caniscaeli Sally Goodin, JH |
I helped Sally back to the basement and her whelping box. I left her there long enough to let Dora and Declan out in the back yard, then to grab the camera. Remember that Scott mowed the yard? Guess what he didn't do... There were no dogs out there. Shoot. I have Sally whelping in the basement and two dogs loose in Superior National Forest. What do I do? I got lucky--Dora and Declan were cavorting in the front yard and came right to me when I called them. They were even content to be put back in the yard with the gate closed.
Boy one made a good start in life by starting to nurse almost as soon as he was born. I think that means he will be a good bird dog. See how he points in his photo:
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| Pointing or Hanging? |
The second puppy was a girl. She took a lot longer to nurse than any of her brothers. In fact, so did her one sister, though both of them were nursing within five minutes. This indicates girls are less needy and more patient than boys. Girl two is going to be a more thoughtful dog than her siblings. As with all of them, she is very wriggly when she is being weighed. She held quite still once she discovered books, though.
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| Precocious Little Girl |
Sally was a very considerate girl and the puppies cooperative. Boy one was born at 2:30 and boy six, the last puppy, was born at 7:15. On Sunday, their weights ranged from 12 1/8 ounces to 15 3/4 ounces; today they all weigh from 1 pound 9 1/4 ounces to 1 pound 13 ounces. They are almost too large for the scale:
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| Big Boy Three |
Enjoy life. Check back often for updates.
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| Row of Puppies |
Susan
