piper

I love that shot of Marlo, she is such a pretty girl and definitely does not look happy that there are no eggs there for her.

How is everyone else going? I spent 1 day of the weekend rearranging the room we will use for Jazz to whelp. I didn't think I would manage to leave room for the box and the queensized bed that is in there but I did (with a few cm to spare) which is good as it means I can sleep in there if need be (and I expect even if she is coping I wil want to anyway for the first few nights). Tomorrow we pick up the whelping box from a friend and I am also looking into puppy pens and vet bed. I checked out Bunnings yesterday to see if they had any of the compost cages to use as puppy pens, but nope I am checking out another Bunnings today but have also enquired about 1 on ebay to find out the postage. I don't think we will use a puppy pen a lot but I want it as a just in case. Next on the list of jobs is preparing the outside puppy run. Our carport area will be used for that (it is fenced off from the rest of the yard and has a lockable roller door the other end and is about 10m long by 3m wide and a mixe of concrete, pavers, grass and dirt) , it is not where I had planned on having it but given they will be a winter litter I decided that it would be better to use as it will be 50% under cover. I am just trying to work out what to use across it as a wind/rain break. The open side of the carport is the way the rain normally blows in so I want something to keep an area dry and draught free. Then it is just a matter of tidying up the plants that are growing wild in there. As for Jazz - she is getting really whiny and clingy. To pat her there is absolutely no mistaking she is pregnant - she is normally so toned and athletic and now there is a very tight belly that is getting larger by the day (she has already changed how she sits) but photos still do not really show anything.

Sammie - Asti looks like such a fun dog to live with :D Loving all the easter shots. Wish I had thought of it!! Week 15 - plain and boring. Is she or isn't she? I have been taking shots each week to try and see if there are any changes, it is hard with a coated dog. Ultrasound the day after this confirmed she is, with 8 or 9 puppies hiding in there!! This, well I was outside trying for some nice portrait shots and then gave in and started mucking about with the dogs. I have the weaving poles up at the moment and sent Piper to them. On the spur of the moment, I raced to get in front of her turned and snapped this: I was so impressed when I looked back that I decided to try and get 1 of Jazz the same. Of course, I forgot I had been on a really small aperture for a portrait, so how this was in focus I do not know. First shot of Jazz was a total blur, this was our second attempt and as she is now 5 weeks pregnant I wasn't going to keep trying to get a better 1!!

They only have to pass the test levels on 1 stock type, so if they get IC on sheep that is it, they can go in for HT or PT after that on any stock type. But you are still welcome to have a try on ducks :D Instinct test is to start at 1pm, without knowing how many people are there it is impossible to know how long things will take.

Not on here no, so here they are Come and Try day at Dogs SA PArk, Kilburn. Sunday May 1 from 9am. There will be a chance to find out if you and your dog are interested in this thing called herding or for beginners that have had a litle exposure to have a short training session. Cost is $5 per dog. Then for those who do not yet have their Instinct Certificate and had dogs that were interested, there will be an Instinct Test in the afternoon, $15 per entry. Entries taken on the day up until 12pm. Test to commence 1pm. We will definitely have sheep, and I am fairly sure there will be ducks as well. Further to that there will be a training day at a property near Gawler (those that did the Double K Clinic, it is at the same location) on May 28. We will be having run throughs of B course as well as training for all levels. June will see the first B course trial in SA (and I am SPEWING, Jazz will have pups and miss out. We have waited years for B course and Piper is now too old and Jazz will have pups, typical!!) The cost of the training day needs to be confirmed with committee but I would expect about $10 per dog and a couple of goes each. ETA: To confirm a spot for either day, please email me at [email protected]

Yep, that was me. Ok now i have put a face to a name Your little girl is most definitely keen and they all usually have a preferred direction. Will we see you out next Sunday? I hope so as I think we can get her going nicely, she was already trying to fetch me to me in the few minutes of her instinct test.

Awww sorry to hear Trisven will keep fingers crossed for next time for you.

Any news Trisven? Up until this week I have had some lovely enquirires and have a few great homes lined up, today is obviously puppy research day though as I have had 4 phone calls so far today - 1 not bad, a couple were questionable but OMG that last phone call was awful. I struggled to remain polite while suggesting they ring someone else, lol

Good luck for tomorrow Trisven. What time is the appointment? We will all be waiting to hear the news. I hope you react better that I did - some hysterical laughter and saying I only wanted 5, lol.

I had a boy badly attacked many years ago, the hair grew back over the shaved areas but not over the area of scar tissue. Fortunately he was a rough coated boy so the scar was not visible.

I think photos just dont show it well. I was the same as you - would be sure, take some photos, look at them and then doubt myself. I can see the swelling you are talking about and also in the standing photo there are visible nipples towards the front legs.

Eek!!! 8 or 9 sounded bad enough last night, lol. When is she due?

Good luck Skyehaven. Trisven - I have my fingers crossed for you for this Saturday. I just took some more photos and I *think* that maybe it is visible now, but it could be how she was standing? I also managed a bit of a belly shot - it is only obvious due to the bit they clipped for the ultrasound

Thanks It seems there is no gentle introduction to breeding!! Driving to the vets I was thinking I'm not sure why we are bothering as she has filled out heaps in the last few days, her nipples just keep getting bigger and she is just different. It has just seemed obvious since Saturday and I would have been surprised if it had been a no. I didn't expect it to be quite so positive though, lol. I took photos yesterday and they still don't really show any change - the joys of a coated breed. If you know her though you can see it, it just doesnt show up in photos. Now to get everything organised and hope that the stricture breaks down. We discussed it tonight and I won't hesitate to do a c-section if it is still there at all when checked prior to the due date.

I think I feel sick now!!! 8 or 9!!! (the stories of under counting terrify me when he could clearly count 8!!) Due Date May 21.

Leaving now...

This time tomorrow we will know for sure Several experienced breeders put hands on her yesterday and all said yes, 2 are saying 9 - I told them then they come and help look agter them. I am still telling her 5 is a nice number!!

I don't either - if I made it sound that way, I shouldn't have. LOL. I meant you have a handful of small treats and give those then somewhere in there give a tablet then back to treats, not put a tablet in a treat. It was Nina Bondarenko about 6 or 7 years ago (hmm could be longer even!) that talked about it as they needed to teach assistance dogs to take tablets easily from people who may have physical disabilities that make opening mouthes and shoving tablets in difficult. I think it is a great skill to teach and does not take a lot of time at all. The beagle that was my OHs before we were together was an awful tablet taker and I reformed her within a few weeks. Many years ago we used to give our sheltie daily heartworm and never had a problem with her either - she learnt very quickly there is 1 way to get your dinner - swallow the tablet. Mind you she was a piglet in sheltie clothing

I use 36" crates for my girls and when I had boys they fit in there fine too.

It was the first trial of the year in SA today - A course ducks, tomorrow is sheep. Piper and Jazz were both entered for 1 run each (was a double trial but I was the other judge) and well you could tell they hadn't been on ducks since last August/September. Piper was in advance and did a so-so cast and fetch, perfect through the y, perfect through the Z, a really lovely approach to the hold exam pen and after there it all fell apart. 1 duck that didnt want to cooperate and 1 duck that actually charged out of the pen and grabbed her by the throat!! We got 4 of them down to start the cross drive but Piper was stressing about the 1 that had laid down (was way too heavy and not fit enough) so didn't listen to the stop and kindly took the 4 back to 1 and it just got messier from there so ew NQd at the cross drive. Ah well. Jazz, well what do I say about Little Ms Perfect - oh she isn't anymore!! LOL. We find out in a few days if Jazz is pregnant and gee I hope she is because if today's attempt was not hormone related ! She did a better outrun, lift and fetch than Piper, screwed around a bit getting them to the Y and then lost the plot. She is always so nice and wide and today we got a warning for a feather plucking attempt!! After the Y she decided to go and either lay in the shade or try and dive in. Then she would do a slow, half hearted attempt to cover and go and lay back down. I would invite her to work, she would dive in. Argh!! She was exhausted after her run and collapsed in her trolley for a big sleep - also unlike her while herding is on. So by the time she has pups, weans the litter and we get some training in - there goes this years trial season. Ah well. And if the ultrasound shows no pregnancy - well then I have NO idea what was up today, lol. Jakemon - to enter an instinct certificate you need to first be a member of the controlling body (DogsNSW for you) and have the dog registered with them. Then you need to look in the calendar of events and find an upcoming test and the schedule for it (if Janba sees this she can probably tell you when there is 1) and send an entry in on an official entry form then rock up on the day. If it is like here, there is no herding specific entry form so you just write herding instinct across where the special class section is or something like that. Dogs need to be 6 months old, be able to demonstrate a controlled pause and recall (done on a long line) and show sustained interest in the stock (that is they are interested more than they are not while in there). You have 10 minutes to do it in but most dogs do not need anywhere near this long.

My advice would be do some shots of breeds in the ring before your guys go in and experiment with a couple of things and see what results you get. hopefully someone with more idea of the equipment you are using will come in and give you some more useful help :D

This what you see with a coated bitch (sorry they are crappy pics as I had to do them on my own): Those 2 were from about a week after mating, I didn't expect to see anything - they were just a "starting point" And then these from early this week: And a belly shot is an even bigger waste of time. 1 of my friends looked at the pics and said can't tell but her coat is in good condition, lol.

Awwww, look at that belly!! Belly pics of Jazz are a waste of time - I can get a picture of hair and hair

I'm behind again. Week 13/52- Play?? Week 14/52 - bath time!!

Day 24ish off the top of my head and depending on what date you take it from. We did 2 matings on a Sunday and a Tuesday so I split the difference and count from Monday usually and prog testing support Monday as most likely being ovulation day. I am taking weekly photos but haven' taken them off the camera yet. I quick flick though them on the camera though and I think I can see slight differences. Of course being rough coated it is not as easy to see.