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Herckleperckle
Member
11-20-2003
| Sunday, June 05, 2005 - 2:47 pm
Yank, that's the pose that made me laugh, too! Looks like the poor thing is missing an ear and is about to go down--like in a horse race!
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Kstme
Member
08-14-2000
| Monday, June 06, 2005 - 6:53 am
Awesome pics, Yankee!! Volumptious...hmmm, yes, I'll go with that! Thekid is due home on Wednesday! Her little guy, Gus, weighs in at 7 1/2 pounds...he 'should' weigh about a pound for every week he's been alive. He's going to be a hefty tuna! She called the exporter to find out about bringing him here and almost choked up her own hairball! The cost of shipping has tripled since we brought Mags home! Gus had better be one fertile turtle!! Thekid went to a Gun Dog show in Sherborne on Saturday and met Ollie and Mags' grandfather and uncle! She said they both had Ollie's personality. Big goofballs with tons of heart! The shows over there are very different from ours, so it was a great day for her and she's glad she was able to experience it.
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Seamonkey
Member
09-07-2000
| Monday, June 06, 2005 - 10:33 am
What a great learning experience she's having, Kstme..
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Kstme
Member
08-14-2000
| Monday, June 06, 2005 - 10:57 am
It's been incredible, Sea. Unfortunately, this morning, the little girl passed away. She wasn't developing as fast as the two boys and it was discovered that she had an enlarged heart. Another Sussex who didn't make it. It's, sometimes, so amazing to think there are any of these dogs still around. As I said before, 3 b!tches bred, two surviving puppies. My heart just aches for this breed.
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Seamonkey
Member
09-07-2000
| Wednesday, June 08, 2005 - 4:48 am
I guess I'd be thinking outcross for his "customers" in the future .. And still, heartbreak is a big part of being a breeder, so seeing the heartbreak up front is good education.
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Kstme
Member
08-14-2000
| Wednesday, June 08, 2005 - 6:22 am
Yes, Sea and we have a number of breeders here who are very interested in him and what Thekid, fingers crossed, will be producing. With such a small number of breeders and many of them realizing their in-line breeding programs aren't working satisfactorily, it will be an incentive for them to try Gus. Some will change and some won't, as you well know. He will be one of four breeding stud's from England, in the US, right now. Gus' brother is heading to Australia where the numbers for the Sussex are even lower. There are less than 25 in the whole country! Thekid's hands-on experience, this time, has been worth more than any book could have provided. She said that even with the pup passing, she learned so much. She was able to see how a vet's office, in the English countryside, worked in an emergency. On the upside, she is due home this afternoon! 
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Seamonkey
Member
09-07-2000
| Wednesday, June 08, 2005 - 8:30 am
YAY!! I'm sure she'll be greeted like a returning heroine (well, when you take your hands off that little ball of fur So sad you will be so busy this weekend, but that is the way of life (I'll send greeting vibes to the little one of the local sort from wherever I go in Vegas Sun-Wed. I was so fortunate that we had mentors in labs.. first breeder, even though the actual dog we bought from them couldn't be bred (undescended testicle being the official reason, but he was just not show quality) but they shared so much valuable info and actually let us assist at several breedings, first observing then being able to help dry off pups and keep the records (they would set up a matrix and as each pup was born, there would be an entry for time, sex, color, marking (there were various methods over the years.. no mark, shoulders, back, tail within sex using a cut in the hair or nail polish.. other breeders put little collars with colored beads.. if a pup had a little white star, that could be the mark..labs can have really large litters), breech or headfirst, a check for the placenta for that pup, first nursing to make sure each got some colostrum, iniitial weight, first poop/pee since they must be stimulated for that, etc.. and then the chart was used to keep track of nail clipping, medications, shots, worming, continued weighings, etc. (of course this was pre-computer but hand written worked quite nicely) Later we happened to be hanging out with them one day and one of their customers called, so we went along. Their lab was in labor and had wedged herself between the toilet and the wall in a small bathroom.. and the owners were freaked which was freaking the mom. So.. we got to help out with that litter AND show the people that it wasn't just the experienced breeders who could work with the pups (we still hadn't had our own first litter at that point, but when we did.. we did ok). And we had other mentors and took what worked for us from each one. I had one girl from England and a boy from Sweden (he had the looks and the pedigree.. but was a washout .. low sperm count which ended up being good since he passed his first hip check and was certified at a year by OFA (his co-owner had him and used a popular vet who didn't use anesthetic).. when I took him in for a two year screening, with anesthetic, my vet said when they were positioning him he actually commented that THIS one was going to be fine .. he had such muscle mass, etc.. well he was shocked by what he saw and so were we and that was that for Bjorn.. and had several litters from English imports (although that wasn't much outcross for most of my stuff) and a fun on from Norway .. when I got into unexpected trouble was the one time I doubled up on two of the most common US lines and suddenly we has some small cataracts and boy, was there a furor when we went public with that! At least those were detectible before the dogs should be bred; the type of PRA that labs get can show up at age 4 and up which is devastating. OK.. turning off the breeder tapes.. Can't wait to see some pictures of your little guy!! He's going to have built in fans here from the day he hits US soil.
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Kstme
Member
08-14-2000
| Wednesday, June 08, 2005 - 8:51 am
Sea, Gus won't be able to travel until he's 12 weeks old. Trust me, these next five weeks are going to be long! lol I can't stress how important it is to keep information on pups! We even kept records and continue to do so on all three here. Cami will be a year the 15th and she's still hasn't had her first season. Not unusual for them to wait until around 17/18 months. Dang, these doggies are slow!! I would have loved to have seen your labs! Sounds like you went for the bone and structure I prefer to see in them. One a last note on the breeding thing, isn't it amazing how, no matter 'what' your breeding, the Secret Society persists? Instead of sharing, learning, understanding and being able to make competent decisions as a breeder, you're forced to keep your head in the sand and your fingers crossed. It is beyond frustrating! You all have a fabulous time here next week!! I will definitely make it to the next gathering! 
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Seamonkey
Member
09-07-2000
| Wednesday, June 08, 2005 - 9:58 pm
Oh wow.. I didn't remember he was so young. Better that he grows up a bit, for sure, but it will be quite a wait! I was fortunate to have some great breeders around who WERE quite honest, but of course that wasn't the case everywhere and the British breeders often just "didn't believe" in xraying or eye checking.. The Swedish dog we had came from an amazing background but the breeder was one of the "unbelievers" and the whole litter of four (all gorgeous dark chocolate labs) ended up being dysplastic. Now, I will say that Bjorn was as sound as s dollar physically.. laxity like crazy on his radiograph but muscle mass that held it all together.. he was the pup who could jump straight up and sit on the top of the puppy pen walls and tahgut the other pups to escape. Heck, he was the one who could leap into a crib and steal a toy without waking a baby, or who loved to play gargoyle from the top of a refrigerator.. What a character. So, he went to a pet home and continued his mischief..
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Kstme
Member
08-14-2000
| Thursday, June 09, 2005 - 7:07 am
Oh, Sea, he must have been a handful!! What a character! A friend of mine has a chocolate that we lovingly refer to as Psycho Dog! He's a total fruitloop! He attacks light. Any ray of light he sees. She has to wash every other day and repaint the walls almost monthly! He has 'home separation anxiety'! When she goes on a business trip, she has to have a sitter for him. She tried to take him to a doggy care place once and they called her to ask if they could put him on tranquilizers because he had scratched so hard to get out, he'd bloodied his paws! He's such a love, but totally nuts! We've, also, been very lucky with the breeders we've worked with. Especially, Cami's breeder! Of course, due to the friendship that's developed over the years with Ollie and Mags breeder, we know what's going on with the pups in England. She is very upfront about it! But, when Cami's breeder bought her first b!tch, she was NOT informed of any health problems and found out about the cleft palate the hard way. We are aware and we're going to 'try' to work on alleviating it as time goes on.
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Whoami
Member
08-03-2001
| Thursday, June 09, 2005 - 2:14 pm
Just saw this article on a warning issued for pet treats made/distributed in Canada.... "The Canadian Food Inspection Agency and Aron Pet Food are warning consumers not to purchase or use certain pet treats because the products may be contaminated with the bacteria responsible for salmonellosis in humans." LINK here with list of which treats are affected... I assume its a valid article, though I wonder why it is dated July 7, 2005.
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Seamonkey
Member
09-07-2000
| Thursday, June 09, 2005 - 2:20 pm
Actually it is June 7.. 07/06 in Canada being the same as 06/07 here.. Good warning, Who!!
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Whoami
Member
08-03-2001
| Thursday, June 09, 2005 - 2:23 pm
Oh! I knew some countries reversed the month/date, didn't know Canada did! 
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Urgrace
Member
08-19-2000
| Sunday, June 12, 2005 - 9:14 am
This is Lena my grandpet. She's a MinPin.
This is Opi my grandpet. His name is Hawaiian for little shrimp.
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Seamonkey
Member
09-07-2000
| Sunday, June 12, 2005 - 10:50 am
Cuties!!
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Urgrace
Member
08-19-2000
| Sunday, June 12, 2005 - 12:35 pm

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Ophiliasgrandma
Member
09-04-2001
| Sunday, June 12, 2005 - 12:51 pm
I just love 'ankle biters'! Too cute!
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Twinkie
Member
09-24-2002
| Sunday, June 12, 2005 - 3:14 pm
They are adorable, Gracie!!
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Jasper
Member
09-14-2000
| Sunday, June 12, 2005 - 6:11 pm
My little graduate!

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Urgrace
Member
08-19-2000
| Sunday, June 12, 2005 - 6:32 pm
Thanks OG and Twinks. Adorable Jasper! What kind of school? obedience, white cane, security (?)
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Juju2bigdog
Member
10-27-2000
| Sunday, June 12, 2005 - 6:45 pm
Just adorable canine offspring, Grace.
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Jasper
Member
09-14-2000
| Sunday, June 12, 2005 - 7:00 pm
Puppy class Urgrace, and that is the cutest minpin I have ever seen, she looks like a teeny little great dane, what is the other chihuha (sp?), Looking at all these little guys you can see why everyone buys the little carrying cases etc, you just want to stick them in your pocket!
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Urgrace
Member
08-19-2000
| Monday, June 13, 2005 - 8:29 am
Thanks Juju and Jasper. Lena has a darling face and she's wearing a homemade sweater, 'cause her daddy left her with grammy for a few days in January without one. Opi (pronounced Opee) is mini terrier with some chihuahua mix. He's so tiny I don't think he weighs one pound. I'd lose him in my purse!
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Kstme
Member
08-14-2000
| Monday, June 13, 2005 - 9:25 am
Gracie, the pups are so adorable!!! OMG, that's TINY!! wow!! Jasper! Congrats to Oscar! What a star!
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Urgrace
Member
08-19-2000
| Monday, June 13, 2005 - 9:51 am
Hi Kstme!
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