8th December 2009
After ringing Optigen yet again, I got the results last night quite late. They said the tests were completed last Friday but they hadn't gotten around to sending them out yet (do they want me to develop an ulcer or something?!). So anyway, we like to conform to statistics, we got 50:50 for everything. 2 boys clear, 2 boys carrier, 2 girls clear, 2 girls carrier. Carrier boys are Anton and Vincent. Clear boys are Ricky and Brendan. Carrier girls are Flavia and Laila, clear girls are Ola and Erin.
7th December 2009
I am chewing my nails as I am still waiting for the CEA results back from Optigen. It has been 3 weeks now since I had the bloods taken and sent off, they have been with Optigen for over 2 weeks. I had hoped they would be back on Friday, but they are making me wait....
In the meantime, the pups have been out and about enjoying themselves in a rare brief spell of sunshine...
Storm (was Vincent) is going to Jersey to be a much loved obedience prospect.
Leila is in County Durham training to be an obedience dog and a hearing dog, but most of all - a much loved companion.
Brendan is flying off to the States in January.
Erin is staying on at Cories for a while.
Ricky is going to stay here with me to see how he gets on....
Lex (was Anton) is going to do agility nearby
Fae (was Flavia) has taken over a farm nearby.
Ola has got the most wonderful home with my butcher! She will certainly grow up well fed and happy! She is also going to do obedience and some sheep herding when she is old enough...
here she is doing 'action puppy'
1st December 2009
All the pups went for their eye and BAER tests today and behaved themselves impeccably - more importantly they all PASSED! Just waiting for the CEA results any day now....
30th November 2009
Pups are 6 weeks old and very noisy and adventurous now!
We managed to get outside for 10 minutes when it wasn't raining and I took some pictures...
Erin
Erin is a little livewire! She is into everything and she was determined she was going to have the brush I was sweeping up in the kennel with!
Vincent
Still the baby of the litter, he likes to stay close to me!
Ola
Looks a bit skulky here but she has plenty of confidence and charm! Very lively...
Leila
Best friends with Brendan, they spend a lot of time cuddled up together - she has a very sweet personality and manages to look the most cute of all the pups with her spotty nose and legs.
Brendan
He is really coming out of himself, very lively especially around mealtimes and loves exploring! He is very responsive to my voice and like his dad goes a bit silly when he is tickled...
Flavia
Flavia is full of energy, confidence, very sparky and lots of fun...
Anton
A very faithful pup, he loves attention and it was very difficult to get far enough away from him to take this photograph!
Ricky
The most confident, adventurous, friendly and handsome of the pups.
Help! I'm being hunted by a tribe of puppies! poor little Vincent is having trouble negotiating his way over a molehill (far right)!
20th November 2009
Last Monday I took the pups to a vet to have their blood taken to send to Optigen so we can find out if they are CEA normal or carriers. The whole process was very trying - filling in 8 Optigen forms online (anyone who has had to do even one Optigen form will empathise!), then getting the pups to the vet and feeling really mean about having blood taken from them. They were all very stoic except Ola who obviously is very sensitive and she unfortunately wriggled and ended up with a haematomato (vet nurse's joke, not mine) - which has now gone. The vet and her team were great - I decided not to go to my normal vet as they had been horrified when I went there to get Brendan's rear dew claws snipped off. I found a sensible vet with working dogs who breeds dogs too and was very supportive of my aims to do the right thing by my prospective owners. Then I had to wrap the bloods to Optigen's exacting standards and get them shipped at the right price - I could have gone for the £42 courier delivery but I plumped for the considerably less expensive Airsure service which they said should get them there in 4 days. I spent 4 days anxiously wondering if I should have spent the extra £35 on postage, however at 4pm on Friday I have just received my e-mail receipts for all the blood samples. I think I need to go and lie down.
The pups are doing great though! My 3 little superstars Flav, Ola and Ricky rush out to greet me in the kennel now, closely followed by Anton, Vincent and Leila. Brendan and Erin have inherited their father's laid back approach to life and only come out when food is on offer! Brendan did deign to roll over on his back this morning to allow me to tickle his tummy though!
18th November2009
First Blood Part 1.
I think they are all carnivores except Leila.
14th November 2009
All 8 pups are doing well and their personalities are really starting to show now they are on solid food and their mum is gradually abandoning them! They quickly realise which side their bread is buttered!
Erin
Erin just wants to sleep after her rather large breakfast.
Vincent
Vincent has had enough of this press attention
Ola
the perfect little posing madam
Laila
Looks a little coy
Anton
Oh thank you for putting this nice snuggly blue pillow here so I can rest my head zzzzz
Flavia
Is competing for little miss perfect poser status with Ola
Brendan
oh alright then Hi
Ricky
Yes those girls Ola and Flavia might be little miss perfect posers but did they do this cute pose? Thought not. I'm your dog....look at my big paws, those sheep will be safe with me....
7th November 2009
Photographed just after they ate so they had been wiped off with a towel after smearing food all over themselves...
Erin
Erin is beautiful and a bit mysterious, however she loves her food and is always at the front of the dinner queue!
Vincent
Little Vincent is the smallest of the litter and he is very much the baby. He should realise soon that he won't get any favours as his littermates get older, and I expect him to learn to look after himself pretty quickly.
Ola
The first one to wag her tail at me, she is very fond of having her tummy tickled and will be the first to climb out of the box.
Laila
She's a dark one....
Anton
Smart in looks, he may be deliberately hiding his great intellect in pursuit of an easy life, or he is just very laid back.
Flavia
Little sweety. Flavia is a lovely engaging waggy little pup, who has, like Ola, learned the art of being upside down. One of my favourites...
Brendan
Great big lump. Gets very animated when there is food on offer, otherwise he just sleeps. I don't blame him, it must take up a great deal of energy to haul that gigantic body around.
Ricky
Ricky keeps looking at me. If I were remotely sentimental about these things I might interpret that as being he has chosen me as his future owner. But I am exremely no-nonsense about picking puppies and I realise he is probably just hungry, greedy and a bit clever. (But he is my favourite).
19th October 2009
The pups after a few good meals and almost constant cleaning from Fly.
Litter pic
Erin
Vincent
Ola
Laila
Anton
Flavia
A colleague said the marking one her back looks like a bird with its wings spread! Spooky...
Brendan
Ricky
A size comparison between Brendan and Vincent...
17th October 2009
The puppies are born! I wonder if anyone can guess what I was watching on TV..?!
(Apologies to X factor addicts and overseas folk who won't have a clue what I'm on about)
First out at 7.20pm - Erin. Blue Merle bitch 12oz. Beautifully marked.
Second born at 8pm - Vincent. Black tri dog - only 9.5oz!
Third out 5 minutes later - Ola. Blue merle bitch - 10 oz. Quite patchy markings (hankies) but these should join up when she gets older. Aptly named. I need to take a more flattering photo of her - she really is very pretty!
Quite a wait for the next one - at 9.15pm - Laila - Black tri bitch 12oz. Very dark - probably going to end up mottled.
Almost another hour to wait for Anton at 10.10. Very smart full white collar weighed 10oz.
Then we had a very long wait for the next black tri bitch - Flavia. Very flashily marked weighing 11oz. She also needs a more flattering photo than this one.
At last at just after midnight Brendan arrived. A handsome blue merle dog weighing a monster 17oz! Whoever was hiding in the scan - it certainly wasn't Brendan!
It seems Brendan was holding up proceedings as very shortly after his arrival, last but not least Ricky arrived. He is very handsome (more Hollyoaks than Eastenders) and has a little white flash on his back. He weighed 14oz at birth.
Mother and all pups doing well. Fly has done a great job - especially for a first time mum. They are all clean, dry, have bright pink noses and full tums. Very active and vocal.
More photos will follow soon....
Fly's health test results are back! She is normal/clear for TNS and CL, however as I half-expected she is a carrier for CEA. This means I will be DNA testing all the puppies so we know where we are with them all. Oh and her hips are 7:7 which is a good score.
Fly is getting big, I have moved her inside so she can get accustomed to the environment. She settled down straight away and is clean in her cage which is brilliant. Especially considering she has lived in kennels all her life!
The embryos.....
Apparently there are 7 of them.