LizT

4 weeks old now. We nearly lost him, he got sick at three weeks, he started to lose weight but several vet visits and lots of TLC got his weight back up and he is doing well again.

Just want to ad that while desexing is a good way to avoid Pyometra, and if you rehome your bitches it certainly prevents them being used to breed. I myself have never owned a desexed bitch in my life. Most have never been breed (only the Cavaliers I have owned in the past 7 years have been bred from) and none have ever had Pyometra. This has been my personal choice since adulthood and simply due to circumstances when a child. My parents only ever desexed male dogs if we had a female as we didn't want to breed. We didn't desex male dogs if there was no bitch around. This is not to say that I wouldn't desex, but I choose to do so ONLY if medically necessary. Many breeders I know have had bitches that they still were intending to breed and who were quite young come down with Pyometra, so it isn't just about being older. Yes, it's a risk. No, it hasn't happened to me yet. I thought one girl of mine had it last year. She was ill, wouldn't eat and had a smelly discharge. Ultrasound showed no fluid in the uterus, she was given a course of antibiotic and recovered in a few days. Did she have early onset pyometra? One vet believed so, the other thought not. Either way, being alert to her being off colour and getting her to the vets early was paramount in her recovery IMO.

A week old and coming along ( thank goodness! )

Lovely! Congratulations on the special delivery. :)

Thanks all. Yeah, who'd be a dog breeder right? The last surviving boy is doing well and slowly gaining on his day 6. It's his due date tomorrow. I am quietly hoping that we get through the next few weeks and he gets past all his little milestones.

Saffy presented with a black discharge last Tuesday. There was nothing for it but to perform and emergency c-section. Two puppies had died in utero and there were three remaining. All very small and a week prem at Day 56. We lost the tiny boy (85 grams) on day 2. His colour was never quite right and while making a small gain on supplemented food he never had strength enough to nurse off mum. The surviving two were of good colour and feeding well at that stage. Last night the little girl was not as vigorous as she had been and had been dropping back in weight (born 94 gms) despite making small gains and picking up weight. She was ok at 12.15am but found listless at 1.30 am. This is the hard part of being a dog breeder. The last remaining puppy, a boy born 120gms dropped back to 115 gms and is back up to 125gms and feeding well exclusively on mum now. We quietly dare to hope.

Congratulations to all those with new babies safely landed.

Congratulations! What a busy New Years Eve for you! :)

I have a litter of Blenheim Cavalier babies due on Australia Day! January 26th. :)

My babies are now five weeks old and loads of fun!

Fingers and paws crossed. :)

Had a temperature of 36.7 degrees yesterday afternoon, and a very restless night of nesting. At the pointy end now. :) ***HAD TWO TRI BOYS, 1 BLENHEIM BOY AND A TRI GIRL THIS AFTERNOON. MOTHER AND BABES ALL DOING WELL***

The E-collar I used to break my GSD of barking habit had a "No longer than 12 hours" recommendation..so was fine for overnight while I was at work (night shift) and the family slept but my neighbour didn't!

It's a big craze in the US for Poodles. You can buy the Polish yourself and do it...one toe at a time.

Better to be safe than sorry, it could be as simple as an upset tummy. If she was vaccinated she would be due for a booster soon, although if she is unwell the vet will not vaccinate her until she is better.

We are on five acres, but we are adjacent an area with more high density housing. In the evenings you hear all the dogs go nuts. It is quite remenicent of the "Twilight Bark" from *Disneys 101 Dalmations Our German Shepherd barks if someone walks past our place, but mostly he barks 5 minutes after all the lights in the house go out

My Cavaliers were on it for a year.

My Cavaliers did not do well on Black Hawk. Their coats all became dull, and a couple got ill (blood in stools) while on it, including a couple of puppies. I switched back to Royal Canin and they are doing well with glossy coats again. As with everything it is trial and error. But a number of Cavalier breeders I spoke to also commented that they shared this same experience as I did.

Just a PERSONAL observation with all breeds that are "shaved/clipped" short. I think being a neuter factors strongly in a coated breed and has a lot to contribute to the coat not growing back as nicely as it could. I believe it takes far longer for the hair cycle of fall out and regrowth to occur and in the meantime the clipped hair that is continuing to grow doesn't look too crash hot. So the owners tend to re-clip, and therefore the full cycle of molt and new hair regrowth never occurs. Clipping can create a cycle of poor coat.

Hi all. Haven't been on the Forum for a.g..e..s Popped in as excited to share the news that my Tri Coloured Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Clover is expecting a litter around December 7th. :D Clover had a singleton male last April, but a ultrasound has revealed four puppies this time. She was such a great ma to the tiny 100 gram singleton boy, I am so happy that this time she will have a little bundle of babies to cuddle and love.

I put a wire pen around the whelping box (cut to fix exactly) and it has the swing door in the front. I cover this with layers of old doona covers and sheeting and bulldog clip so it doesn't slip. This creates a lovely warm cave for my girl and her babes and is draught free and keeps the warmth in. There is also a small heated pad (the heat increases when pressure is applied type) which the puppy seems to love as he can be found on it and his mother has an area free of heat that she prefers to lie on) that is under the vet bed. The last three litters have been either singletons or three pups so the singletons have also had gel pads when first born heated in the microwave and after a week they get two small soft toys that have been "gutted" and refilled with RAW rice that can be microwaved (25 seconds) and placed near the lone puppy for sibling warmth. The room also has a heater on which is on higher (especially at night) when the puppy is newborn and the heat is gradually turned down over the insuing weeks.

The wee little man had a rough first few days, his weight dropped back to 84 gams, he picked up with supplementing feeding and at day 12 has reached a whopping 132 grams! He is very tiny but has a lot of guts and determination and is now primarily feeding off his mother.

Hey Shapeshifter, I think location has a lot to do with price. Some country people in out of the way areas tend to keep their prices modest in comparison to city prices. Just my observation. Perhaps they are trying to encourage people to drive out to them without adding petrol costs. :) We bought a lovely Whippet bitch on main Register for my mother in law 10 years ago for $350, I would expect to pay at least $800+ today for a Pet.

Sometimes despite the best screening done by breeders some buyers and breeds turn out to be less than compatable, although it is a worry when people "give up" on a dog only to go out and get another puppy immediately. It is a slightly different situation when they get an older dog, sometimes they don't work out and this is why they then go back to "Rescue" or the breeders. But a puppy is a clean slate and a lifetime responsibility. In my opinion ONLY when circumstances are that you have no alternative do you consider rehomeing, and then those circumstances usually don't permit the aquisation of a new puppy either. I too would be annoyed about this situation at it stands here. Your friends suggestion is an interesting one but I (personally) would then worry about being a "know it all" or making assumptions about the new owners experience, it gets hard doesn't it.