Crunch Time!

Getting down to the wire and I still have not decided upon a male to breed Porsche too.  Its so hard.  There just aren't a lot of nice working Doberman males out there.  Especially when you are looking at health, longevity, work ethic, pedigree, and conformation.  Add to that the fact that for some reason, some people don't feel the need to health test.   I wish I could combine about 3 males into the perfect stud dog.  Unfortunately,  I just can't.  No dog is perfect.  The idea is to look at what the female brings to the table and to find a complimentary male.  But thats only half the picture.  Porsche brings an excellent pedigree, size, good conformation, natural tracking ability,   a very sweet temperament with a natural protectiveness,full hard grips, TONS of drive,  very high compliance, some very good health history, and a sense of humor (she always makes you smile -no matter what she is always happy).  Oh yeah, she is also a tattle tell.  She always comes and tells me when someone else is into something they shouldn't' t be  (of course she doesn't when she is involved in the caper!) I can't believe that I am so close and still haven't decided.   I have to make a decision.... very soon.

Training, Training , and More Training

We have been training every weekend.  Cinders heeling is beautiful now!  We are hoping to take the AWDF by storm and show the world that Cinders is her daddy's daughter... but we still have a long way to go.  We have improvement across the board.  Our weak area, however, remains weak.  Cinders blinds are still poor.  We have been working with only 2 blinds so far, but we did visit an area club and run blinds Saturday and will continue to do so until we purchase some more blinds.     He stand out of motion improved a lot for the last session.  Raad Messmar and I have been working together (doing helper work for his 90lb shepherd is why I am SO sore).  Raad came up with an excellent idea to improve the stand out of motion.  Basically making forks that hit the dog at chest height.  They provide a physical barrier (they are flexible) and are working wonderfully.   Using a pinch collar on Cinders waist has dramatically improved her healing in a very short time.  I took a video yesterday that I will upload and post on her webpage and face book in a few days.  It didn't take long at all to end her foraging and I wonder why I have not seen it used more often.    Sit out of motion is speeding up.  Her down out of motion has always been good.  Working on straightening her recalls and finishes.   In protection, her control is excellent.  No more foraging on the back transport.  Outs are quick and clean and intensity is high.  I had started to worry about her grips (never been an issue before) recently as I had seen some bad grips from her, but I am relieved that it was poor helper work  as her grips are rock solid and very deep again.  Genetics will always hold true, so will a solid foundation.  Cinders foundation work with Mo was excellent and she is working true to that again.   Tracking is improving slowly as I have only been tracking her 1x per week.  Laying the practice track a little different has helped to improve her corners (her only issue ever in tracking).    I am confident the her tracking will be ready this spring.    Vader What can I say about my boy?   I am very impressed.  He hasn't had much training as I have been working his mother and sister a lot.  He has only been tracked 3 xs in his life, but shows a naturally deep nose and very good concentration.  In bitework, his grips are solid.  He is very civil, very confident, and very powerful.  Obedience is improving.  Lots of food and ball drive.  He really just needs worked more.  For him, I am taking the slow road.  I think he could be a contender.  I want him to show all those shepherd people out there what a REAL Dog is.

Maternity Leave is Over!!!

Cinders and I went and visited the PSA club in Cincinnati last night.  Cinders was glad to get out of the house and get a few bites in!  She is still nursing the pups some, but she is more than ready to be back to work!!  Its been 2+yrs since Cinders has seen a bite suit and then only once or twice, but she was more than up to tackle a decoy who didn't have a sleeve.  We both had lots of fun.  I am hoping to enter Cinders in their upcoming trial to get her PDC (Protection Dog Certificate).  We only have 2 weeks to train and Cinders still has pups at home, but I never doubt her abilities, only my ability to show her what I want from her.    The pups are doing excellent!!  One word sums them up .... MONSTERS!!!!   Of course... BRATS!!!  is also fitting.  They are VERY spoiled.  They want what they want when they want it.  Mostly what they want is to terrorize me, Cinders, and the house anytime they are awake.  New pups are emerging in the limelight.  Some pups are making a point to prove my initial assessment wrong.  It teaches me, yet again, not to pigeonhole puppies too soon.  One pup that I thought was a happy go lucky kind of pup, has spent the 3-4 days growling at me when I pick him up after I said that.  Another pup that I told someone was had less pack drive and may be better as a pet,  has spent the past week clamping like a vice on whatever part of me he gets a hold of and he does it a lot because he has started following me everywhere!!!  It just serves as a reminder that there is a reason we don't select puppies until they are 7-8 wks old.  They are changing too rapidly right now.    Ultimately, they are TONS of work and very DEMANDING, but I just love them all.  My favorite thing is to take the quilt and all the pups outside when its warm and just let them climb all over me and go explore the yard.  I want to keep them all, but I could really use some more sleep!

5 week puppy weights

5 wk puppy weights: yellow 8.64, Red 6.88, Orange 8.91, Green 8.38, Pink 8.73, Light Blue 7.98, Black 9.44, Purple 8.39

Puppy Invasion!!!

The puppies are becoming more and more active.  I have to turn them loose in the house when I go to clean their pen.  Otherwise, they are constantly underfoot and grab my pant legs and shoelaces.  They don't have any prolems exploring the house and chewing on whatever catches their attention.  They are starting to pay attention to toys more and I am seeing some nice grips!  I need to puppy proof my side yard this weekend so that I can let the have more outdoor time.  I have some more video to upload this weekend and I want to get some more outside pictures of the babies.

Babies are growing up!

Everyone is getting so big! Every day is seems like they get more active.  This morning they were really playing hard.  They have started grabbing my pant legs when I go to clean their pen.  So now I let them loose in the house (thank goodness for hardwood floors!) while I clean up their home.  They have no problems running around and exploring the house.  These little guys are really stable.  I drop stuff near them have load noises etc and no one shows any adverse reactions.  They all have excellent recovery.  I am very pleased with everyone.  I took them outside by two's a couple days ago.  Everyone had a lot of fun!  I am hoping to get my small side yard puppy ready this weekend so that I can put the babies outside for a couple hours everyday after I get home.

Escape Artist #2

Escape artist #2.. Burgundy girl! This just proves how smart this baby girl is. She may be the smallest, but she doesn't let that stop her! Just went in and found her roaming the bedroom floor. Meanwhile Cinders is in the whelping box nursing the others. She wasn't crying or upset or anything- just exploring!

Yellow Ventures into the Great Outside the Box

I just went to see what was going on because Cinders is being very fierce about guarding the bedroom from Porsche and ... Surprise!! the YELLOW pup is the first to escape the whelping box. Not a bad achievement for a 19 day old! I just ADORE the little burgundy girl.  She has such awesome eye contact for one so young and she always seeks me out when I am near and comes over to me and looks up at me.  She seems SO intelligent.  She is such a thinker.  She is also very sweet and rarely fusses, but she tackles her monster siblings and always seems to hold onto a teat during feeding!  I just love her.   new weights: Yellow 66.3 oz, burgundy 42.6 oz, orange 69.4 oz, green 62.4 oz, hot pink 73.7 oz, light blue 64.2oz, brown (changing to black) 81.4 oz, purple 64.5. Today yellow and light blue tied for weight gain winners gaining 4.3oz each

Eyes Open and Walking

The babies are adorable right now.  I love how they stumble as they learn to walk.  All eyes are open and the last few days have seen some large weight gains.  I am trying to get a good video of them all walking around, but its for such short spurts of time that I keep missing it.  Its usually when they are all hungry and mom comes into the box.  However, she keeps them so well fed that its pretty rare to see them hungry.  Some of the pups are quite fat!  I have caught pink puppy sitting there and looking over the rails of the whelping box.  I am betting she will be the first to escape!  I can already see her thinking "I wonder whats over there"   Cinders is such a good mama.  Its amazing how she knows to rotate the pups.  She often keeps them in 2 groups.  She nurses one group, takes a short break, and then comes back and takes care of the other group.  Sometimes she lines them all up in the middle for "group bathing".   The brown boy is a mama's boy.  You often see him under her front where she can keep track of him.  He was very upset this morning.  Apparently, he didn't get enough to eat, so he started howling (I have NEVER heard a pup this small howl- but that's what it looked and sounded like).  He was definitely telling her what he thought!    The little burgundy girl is quite the trooper.  Because she is smaller than the others I always make sure she wakes up and gets to mom whenever mom is in the box.  Lately, every time I go to check on her, I find her already nursing!  Her big brothers and sisters come along and try to knock her off, but she holds on and usually they move on to a less determined sibling!  From what I saw, she was also the first to start walking.  The light blue (was the smallest boy) has also been making a push lately. I think we may see more and more from him as he gets older.   Its interesting that people often worry about the "runt", but I find that they often turn out to be very feisty.   I remember Rain had a rough start.  Rain was actually sick a lot as a very young puppy (in contrast - Burgundy has been very healthy).  She was a C-section baby that had been revived by the vets.  She was also the smallest.  By the time the pups were 5 weeks old, no body messed with Rain.  Cinders used to pick on Rain and play rough with her.  Rain would get angry and chase Cinders out of the room.  Cinders would look at her like she was a monster!  I wonder if we will see that with burgundy.    Its interesting to me to watch the pups and compare them as they grow to the last litter.  Right now pink reminds me A LOT of Tessa.  Purple reminds me of Porsche and Burgundy reminds me of Rain.   Well see if that holds true.  Last time Porsche was a sleeper, but I always looked at her and thought she would probably be the one I kept.  I always felt like she was the quiet type that was going to burst forth.  She was highly compliant even as a very young pup.  Never complained.  However, you could tell by watching her that she was the thinker and problem solver.  Later I saw that she had the ability to be calm at times but ultimately had extreme energy and drive.  I''ll be watching purple closely.  For now she is  the quiet puppy that likes to eat.   Green and yellow are my quiet boys.  They always make sure they get their meals and they can hold their own, but they don't fuss like orange.  Orange has been a complainer since he was born.  He lets you know what he is thinking.  He LOVES to eat.  For the most part Brown is pretty quiet.  He is either eating or sleeping.  He usually just plants himself on a teat and doesn't get challenged by the other pups.  He is not really fussy.  Probably because he is usually fat and content.  But he does have the ability to complain. He also seems to get around the whelping box a lot because you ALWAYS find him wherever mama is.    Its going to be fun to see how they turn out!

2 week Pics and Weights

Here are the 2 week weights: Yellow 47.9 oz Burgundy 31.7 Orange 51.8 Green 46.2 hot pink 52.9 light blue 43.3 Brown 61.0 purple 48.3

10 Day Puppy Weights

Yellow 35.2 oz burgundy 22.5 orange 38.8 green  33.1 hot pink  39.5 light blue 34.9 brown  42.3 purple 33.8

We lost a baby

I worked a half day today and came home to find the blue collared boy had died.  I am not sure how he died.  When they are this young its difficult.  He had been gaining weight well and was healthy, so his mama may have laid on him or accidently stepped on him wrong.  I couldn't find any signs of a problem.  I wish I had been here, but I am not sure if it would have done any good.  They are so precious.

Puppies Get Tails Docked and Porsche Gets Her Eyes Tested

The puppies got their tails docked yesterday. I am very pleased with how they turned out so far. The little ones are growing so quickly! I can't wait until their eyes open!

I took Porsche to the Louisville show today and had her eyes CERF'd . The Dr. said her eyes looked great and there were no signs of problems. Porsche enjoyed shopping at the show. She was a very good girl! I really enjoy how calm she can be, especially considering how much energy and drive she has. Just walking down the hall she will spin 5 times, yet at the show she was perfectly content to just hang out while I watched some of our friends show. I think she is ready for her CD. I don't think she will have any problem performing in a show environment. I will most likely start showing her in Novice B in June at the Corydon shows.

Final Puppy Counts and Weights!

Cinders had her last puppy at around noon today.  She has 6 boys and 3 girls.  Everyone is very healthy and mom and pups are doing really well.  All the puppies were black and rust.  Here are the weights, collar colors and birth order:   1 Yellow collar Boy 17.9 oz 2 Burgundy girl 10.2 oz 3 Orange boy  14.8 4 Green boy 12.3 5 hot pink girl  13.4 6 light blue  boy 13.0 7 blue boy 12.3 8 brown boy 16.9 9 Purple girl  11.6

Cinders 8 Weeks Pregnant and Porsche Starts Tracking Again

Well, Cinders is due to whelp Tuesday March 16.  This is a picture I took last night.  She still seems rather hyper so I don't think the pups will come early.  Tomorrow we go to the vet to get X-rays and check up on the puppies and see how many there are.  Its amazing to me to see the x-rays of the unborn puppies.  you can see their little skeletons suspended inside the mama.  Cinders has settled down on her complaining some.  She still gets grouchy when the pups are moving around a lot.  Porsche and her still play a lot, but I try not to let them get too rough.  The weather has warmed up, so I have started taking Porsche to the lake to train after work.  Her obedience is beautiful.  I really think that she could be ready for her BH in a couple weeks.  We still need a little more work on her stays (but she is better than her mom was) and I need to reintroduce her to a formal schutzhund field.  I will likely start looking for a trial as soon as the new pups are in their new homes.  Tracking is one area that I have severely neglected with Porsche.  I have shown her a short track a few times, but she always has so much energy that I kept putting it of in hopes that she would calm down some.  Well she is still very energetic.  I decided today to track her more like I do her mom - tired.  I worked her in obedience first with the ball and took some of the edge off of her then introduced her to a short track.  I had to point out the first couple of footsteps, but then she started tracking in a more calm manner.  She went footstep to footstep and did not pull so much.  I think it might work!  She is SO smart.  She learns so quickly.  I always thought that Cinders learned quickly, but Ruggy (aka Porsche) is amazing!  If exercising her before tracking works, then I expect her to be tracking at a Sch1 level by fall.  Once she figures out what I want she will be amazing!  (at least I hope this works:)

Rain Trains for Building Search

I chatted with Gail last night on Facebook.  Ms Rain is doing really well in her training.  She had a lot of fun last weekend. She  got to search 2 different large buildings and work 4 different problems.at Muscatatuck Urban Training Center.  She loves to work and is doing great. She is a very fast learner.    Gail says that she loves to watch Rain work.  She will go out and search then look back at Gail so Gail can tell her she is a good girl. She loves to show off, especially in front of other people. She had quite a following this weekend and she would prance around until she had all the attention then take off and work.    It was amazing talking to Gail.  I see so much of Cinders in Rain.  Gail says that Rain is bone headed about some things, tough as nails most of the time yet the most loving girl I could want. I love to watch her work. That little dober brain kicks into gear and you wonder just how smart they are. What I also love is how she gets so excited to work. She is such high drive and she will get so wound up then after we are done she sleeps like a log. (She snores some but it's cute) .  Yes, I do love the little girl (even if she isn't so little any more). Her snore is this little "flutter" and when she snores Tory stares at her with this "What on Earth is that" look on his face.   Her description reminds me so much of Cinders.  I love to see Cinders passing on these wonderful traits to her pups.  Rain was one of the pups that I really thought favored her mother (Porsche is Daddy Arras' girl).  Gail is talking about getting Rain's LETS certification  http://www.letsk9professionals.org/cadaver.html  in April and her IDHS certifications next summer.  She needs to work on stay with her for the obedience part. She does most of it prettygood but stay is hard  (again she takes after mommy Cinders).   I attached a picture of Rain starting her building search.  I can't wait to hear more about Rain and Gail.  I hope to go watch them train again sometime.

Porsche Keeps Training and Cinders Starts Complaining

Porsche has been doing awesome on her training lately.  We have started training the hold and guard and she is doing really well.  Her grips are calm and full.  Meanwhile, Cinders thinks she is starving and complains more and more each day.  She is getting big and most likely I will start taking some pregnancy photos in the next week or so.  She constantly tries to break into the food bins.  She is grumpy and never seems satisfied.

Ultra Sound Confirmed 7-8 pups

I went to the Repro vet today and had an ultrasound done. Dr. Ross counted at least 7 puppies! She put one of the pups up on the screen and I got to see the heartbeat, the little nubs where the legs were forming and even where the spinal cord was starting to develop!

Puppies are coming!!!!

I couldn't stand waiting any longer, so I took Cinders in to my mom's vet (we were visiting her in AR this last weekend) and got an ultrasound.  The vet saw at least 5 puppies!  It was still really early and this particular vet did not take the time to count pups.  With it being so early she was just looking to see if Cinders was pregnant.  I am keeping my appointment for Thursday at the repro vet.  They usually place the dog in a cradle and do a more intense ultrasound and count the pups in each uterine horn, so we should get a better number then.  I have had a lot of interest on this litter and I believe that it is going to be a very nice working litter. 

 

Citto was such a gentleman and a really sweet dog when we visited him.  He seems very intellegent with an excellent work ethic and I love the pedigree on this litter.  I do expect the puppies to have darker markings.  Citto has been know to throw sooty markings on his pups.  His pups are also known for their excellent pack drive and awesome working ability.  Puppies from Cinders last litter are very dedicated workers who love to train and have very high drive, so this should be a great pairing.

 

Puppies are due March 16.  You can see more info on the litterbox http://www.masayadobermans.com/webpages/Litterbox.html

Cinders Has Been Bred to Citto!!

I just got back from New York last night.  Cinders was bred to Citto v.d Wudritz IPO 3 this last week.  I am expecting this to be an awesome working litter!  Citto was such a gentleman and such a nice dog.  I was very happy that I got to go and see him.  I can't wait to have puppies again!   Also, I need to give a special shout out to Arras, the father of my first working litter.  Arras turned a very healthy and happy 10 yrs old a few days ago!  Both Arras and his mother have recently received their Longevity Certification from DPCA.   Happy Birthday Arras!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!