Partipaws

I'm sure you will be fine, and I hope all goes well with your girl....... I'm all outa stress, used it all last week with a sick newborn foal... Thank you for your well wishes I guess as soon as things start happening I will be a duck to water - but I guess it is the waiting that gets the nerves going a little at times with thinking about all the negatives and positives!! All in all I just wish for a safe delivery, a happy mum and healthy pups!! I am sorry to hear about the sick foal - I hope she/he is ok! I am curious as I love horses, what do you breed? I hope your efforts paid off in any case. Jess :D

How do I put this - congratulations?? although you already knew she was pregnant - but now finding out she is having a few babies that is exciting news - I do hope all goes well for you, your girl and the coming puppies! Can't wait to hear the news of their arrival! Now the count down begins!! all the best, Jess

Yes that's how it works, turn the lights out, TV off and get into bed then the night noises begin I had a bitch tear paper and bang on the false floor of the box for a whole week before she whelped a couple of years back. By the time the babies arrived I was a nightmare from all those sleepness nights! LOL! how funny! But so true about when the lights go out- my poms turn into possums!! I have only just recovered from being "on call" for a pug litter - that was fun!! Good practice though and now it is all starting for me in regards to sleepless nights - my friend with the pugs also a vet nurse is still getting up every 2 hours for feeds as they are just a week and a half old!!! - i will be right behind her I suppose!!!

Is it just me or do the days seem to be going by faster now that due dates are looming oh yes don't they - the closer they come the more concerned I get about being organised!!! lol - although I have to keep saying to myself that I am as organised as they come, just stop worrying yourself - hmmm?? Its my first litter on my own! So I guess you can understand now why I am a little anxious - but I try to keep this hidden from my girl so she does not pick up on the vibes!!! I use to ride and own horses and they are fantastic at reading people and nervousness - so I have learnt to hold a good poker face and control my inner feelings - lol I really start thinking about her when I am not around her, but when she is with me she seems to make all the worry go away! She is doing so well now after a not so good start - I am very proud of her! Anyway all the best to all with the coming litters - Hope Santa gives you some lovely puppies - december is looming in fast!!

My girl was doing the same thing last night and the night before - made me have some sleepless nights so far!! hmm It has been hot here but then my girl is inside in the air conditioning so I can not see how she could be hot and bothered? As soon as I begin to retire for bed she starts nesting and panting - I am in bed and can hear her panting, so up I get again.... she is not due for another week or so, at the earliest she could pop around the 4th on wards depending on litter size, but she is getting quite big now and I just figured that she is just pregnant and big and getting more uncomfortable as the days go on, cause she has these little bursts and then settles for the rest on the night and pretty much all day??!?!

date corrected. Thank you for fixing the change of date - my bad lol And thanks for the congrats The Ark!!

After a bad start, some little heartache, confusion etc etc - being that Gucci got sick and had a rather early ultrasound to try and check her bladder for swelling and to also check if there were any signs of pregnancy and a silly vet to tell me to rule out all possibility of her being pregnant! A second ultrasound was done last week because my girl was starting to show and I am pleased to announce that Gucci is pregnant and could see a possible 2 pups on the untrasound!! We are thrilled to bits! A very lovely christmas present in deed! She will be due early December around the 9th onwards being a maiden - so was a little off with my first dates - breeder confused me Congratulations to all who have had some great news with confirmation pregnancy with their girls!! Yes Santa will be busy

Maybe a bit premature for me too. My girl has just been mated this week - But I am still yet to pick her up from the breeders house. She is an orange and white parti girl and has been put to a lovely black and tan boy - So hoping for an exciting litter, and possibly one of many colours! Still yet to be confirmed, however with all going well the litter will be due first week of December - From first mating around the 4th of December to be specific - but as it is her first time she may be a little later by a few days. All the best Kelpiesrule and MellG - picture of my girl and her boyfriend!!!

Don't be silly, I'm a dog showing person remember, I don't do sensitive I think I misunderstood your post, when you said that the dog had bronzed in the sun and now looks chocolate instead of black I assumed that he had a reddish tint all over his body. Now you say that he is bronze only on his face and tail which is a huge difference to what you implied in your first post. I have black and tan dogs and I'm afraid that if one of my dogs looked chocolate instead of black he'd be pulled from the ring so when I read that I thought :D My dogs do sometimes have a few reddish hairs even though I take a great deal of care of their coats, the red hair is usually dead so I pull it out, it's usually on the elbows and the top of the head. Have you tried pulling it out with your fingers against the lay of the hair? Oh good'o! I didn't want to sound rude, and I hate writing things as you never know what tone people are writing and what others will interpret it to say no haven't tried that yet - will give it a go and see how it goes! thank you. Yes it is mainly around his face - check hairs/collar and tail, there was a minimal amount on the tips of his body which just trimmed out but I can't really trim out the ones around his checks as it is right where he turns white so will look silly and blunt looking I think ?? Speaking of black and tans here is a picture of my little black and tan girl - her first show is on the 22nd of August - next weekend - she has been good and stays inside with me...lol

sorry did I misinterpret - sorry again... I understand, I love to hear everyones opinion but sorry wanted to make clear that I do care for my dogs. I really can't understand why he is bronzing up - our yard is very shady - we are down in a valley and have a huge fig tree (sort of thing? lol) in the yard, he is outside inside but it still is affecting his coat a little, its not really all over, its mainly these two spots on his head near his cheeks - so maybe a shade cloth is the way to go! thanks ellz I realise from previously being in horses and showing that coats, manes and tail get affected by the sun, environmental or even dietary, so usually you put a rug on the horse to stop the sun affecting them - but at times you would also put a rinse through the tail if it was still sun bleached. I realise I have neglected that one aspect to coat maintenance, but I admit I was being slack as he has been out of showing for a near 10 months due to an accident with his tail and due to him not having any tail hair because a certain puppy (who is now grown up) decided to chew it off, he was not being shown until it had grown back so had left him to do as he pleased - but now I am trying to figure ways to see off the bronzing and get him back in action!!! hmmm? one disaster after another isn't it :D

huh?!?! I never mentioned I was dying a dog a different colour??? whats going on here...lol. :D Yes I was asking about touching up colour if possible....but then the other problem could be that he carries the chocolate gene, thus may display the brown - or maybe he is actually brown and white??? who knows! lol. His sisters were chocolate and chocolate and white - but he was registered as black and white parti! hmm??? Not too clear on colour genetics but with border collies because you are constantly doubling up on black and whites (I know you have your choc/whites and honey/white) would that not strengthen the intensity of the black?? Poms are a little different so maybe his colour is not as intense - his mum was black, his father cream and white and prior to that a whole lot of creams, orange and whites etc are in his pedigree!!! what do you think?

I am sorry but I am out every weekend trimming and maintaining my doggies coats - I have had a breeder help and mentor me for 3 years now so I know that leaving things last minute is no good especially with poms and their huge coats. I showed my boy 3 weeks back and managed to trim some of it out but I just thought I would ask to see if there were other options available for me from some people who have experience the same problem. It doesn't bother me in the slightest as I am always going to be let down because of his colour - parti colours are less desirable then solids, so I am just enjoying showing him thats all. I put a huge amount of effort into the upkeep of my dogs - I keep them clean (but not over wash them) I brush them very regularly to keep dirt and grime out of coat to stop damage to coat hairs and every weekend I am out there trimming etc - my partner really thinks I over do it. I understand what you mean, but unfortunately with poms coats is you are really limited to the amount you trim off as obviously their coats are a major characteristic of the breed and you really want to display the lovely coat, as bigger is better, but to give a 'round ball-like appearance. My boy is not so much brown/bronze on his body it is more around his face and tail which you hardly can trim as the face hair is short and is left as is and the tail is left fairly natural as well. The problem is down to him being exposed to sun, and I am not that keen on keeping him locked away inside as I think that is a little unfair! All my dogs are inside outside dogs they have free access to everywhere as they please - My boy is generally inside with me while I am working at home, but he has access outdoors and indoors at all times, even when I go out, as is with the other two girls - I feel a little sad if I were to keep him locked up all day as I want him to enjoy himself and he does enjoy being outside. "Unfortunately with long coated dogs you have to look after their coats all the time, leaving the dogs in the yard and then giving them a bath and a trim the day before a show just isn't enough" sorry I am not being nasty or anything - but I assure you this is not the case, I know I mentioned I am new to showing and I am not saying I know everything which is not the case either, but I have taken many years before this year to learn from my mentors and to attend shows with them and to learn the proper way of trimming and preparing for a show, I was taught to trim every week if I could to keep on top of things and this is what I have done - I simply do not leave my dogs in a yard and then the night before a show wash them and trim them! What I meant by this was that they have access inside and out - I can't police them if they want to go outside, and I would not want them being locked away either - it seems a little harsh and over the top!!! Please again I am not being nasty just wanted to clear up anything that you may have misinterpreted from me and what I had previously written. I really agree with what you say and have taken your advise, but I simply want to make clear that I understand the effort involved in showing, and I truly do work hard at all times to keep my dogs in top condition for a show!!!! I don't agree that keeping a dog locked up all day is a nice way to go about showing! I hope you have not taken this the wrong way

Yes yes - that sounds great!!! thank you ellz - I know border collie breeders/exhibitors have the same problem so I was worried with what I use on his coat - he has very similar markings as a border collie and almost looks like a miniature one - lol I will go check it out - worth a try - if not I suppose I just have to make sure my little man stays out of the sun jess

no I realise it is a breech, I am not out for dying a white dog black so that I can show it...lol....but pretty much all pom breeder use tea bags or condy's crystals to touch up the under coat colour on the ears and feet as it is lighter then the dogs outer coat and it really takes away from the look - I was just inquiring into other forms of touching up colour or ridding coats of sun bleeching as I am not "changing the dogs natural colour" I simply have allowed the sun to bronze it up, so was wondering what method I would go about darkening or bringing back the natural colour. And for tan coloured areas to apply to blend it with the natural colour. I have heard many people wash dogs with a rinse in it to strengthen or tone down colour ?? Thank you anyways. Jess

Hi All, I have not been showing for long - just started this year. I currently show three pomeranians all of which are different colours - one is black and white parti, the other is a orange and white parti and lastley my little puppy girl is black and tan. Firstly my boy who is black and white as seen in my avatar, I have been naughty and left him outside during the day when I am not home and he has bronzed up in the sun, so he looks like a dark chocolate and white - which is nice but I suppose I was looking into trying a black rinse on him to tone down the browning. I have shown horses when I was young and often I would use a rinse on the manes and tails as the same would happen for black coloured manes and tails - not sure whether to try horsey products though??? And for my other two I was looking for some tan coloured dyes so that I could apply to the ear and feet where they are trimmed back short which ends up being a very light colour and quite noticeable in comparison to the rest of the body- Most breeders use condy's crystals (not sure how it is spelt) or tea bags, but my experience is it does not last long especially if the grounds are damp or their is a lot of humidity in the air. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated regarding rinses, dyes or your own "secret ingredients" Thank you in advance jess

Thats great news.... I wish you and your family the very best.... keep possitive and it shall all work out for you.

Hi Rob, I agree with most in that you must try to get your family involved, if they agree on keeping the dog that is. The reason I say this is when you look at dog behavior a dog lives in a pack in the wild, a pet dog will look at your family as being the pack and it is very important that you state your dogs position at the bottom of the pack! this sounds terrible I know, however by doing this should continue to correct behavioral issues that you will encounter throughout its life. Which is why it is most important that your family becomes involved right away!! If your wife and kids refuse to work with you in training your dog, and continue to be scared, this dog will walk all over them. It may respect you, but it wont to them. I have seen situations where a pet dog knew one of the kids in the family was nervous around him and he picked on this kid, poo on his bed, bit him and bullied him, it only took a couple of days for someone to show the boy how to stand up for himself and how to show the dog that the ranks had changed to include him at the bottom, this of course correct most of all the behavioral problems directed at the kid. My partner got a boxer puppy years ago when we were not living together. The dog was never taught who was boss, and pretty much did what he pleased, including cocking his leg inside, chewing on people, jumping up on people, chewing up furniture, toys, hoses, plants, didn't listen to any commands though he knew what to do, he was a real S#!T (excuse my french) So I really had my work cut out for me when we moved in together! All he needed was to be shown who was boss and that he was last in our pack, doesn't mean we loved him any less, he has quietened down a hell of lot now, less destructive and has turned out to be quite nice dog, but even after 6 months I have had to show him a lot of rights and wrongs, as he was never shown this. Puppy stage is very important in creating a well adjusted well socialised dog and most important of all an important part of the family. So yes getting some professional advise and training will be great for you, but drag the family a long, they need to build up some confidence! Good luck Rob. Regards, Jess.