We said a tearful "goodbye" to our Beloved "Sergei" yesterday. 
We remember the first day we saw him bound out of his crate at the airport.  He was the cutest big puppy we ever saw!  Big paws!!!  From that day forward he was the love of our lives!  He did everything with us!  He was constantly a part of our lives for 15 beautiful years.  We will miss you "Sergei" our dearest friend and companion.
 

AKC Judge - Joyce Vanek 
1st Evaluation - 6 weeks

Joyce Vanek did the first litter evaluation last night.
It was very interesting.  All of the puppies were very cooperative and didn't squirm too much at all.  They allowed Joyce to examine teeth and stack them to check confirmation...Teeth are coming nicely.... testicles are coming down (for the boys, this is important)... eyes are still changing color... We have an idea which ones have that "Show Attitude"  then we let them all go play and they were awesome!  We rolled balls and gave them socks or pull toys to play with and they all were very curious and ran after the balls and carried the toys around in their mouths.  No one was timid!  They were all ready for the next toy or play exercise!!  This is just exactly what we look for at this stage!

We still aren't sure exactly which boy or girl will go to which family yet.  There blooming of personalities as the days go on and we will be watching closely and taking notes.  At least we know names as we decide which is which.  I hope that makes sense.

There is no keeping the puppies confined anymore!  They are busy!!  Two of them are climbing from the Grooming/Whelping room up the step into the Laundry room!  I'll bet the rest of the bunch will be making the climb by tomorrow!  Darrell and I are going to take individual pictures this weekend. 

We are very pleased at what a wonderful Mom Cha Cha is!  She is keeping the puppies clean as a whistle and feeds them so well that they are like little butter balls!  Each one is being wonderful about our daily stimuation exercises and taking it in stride.   

Cha Cha and her puppies went to the Vet for their first visit and to have their dewclaws removed.  Dr Davis and his assistant, Ginger were wonderful with the puppies even though they had, me, the "hands-on" breeder.. constantly putting my 2 cents worth in and wanting to have my own way, to deal with. 

Litter of 10 BRT Puppies

Yesterday afternoon Cha Cha surprised us with 10 puppies 3 days early!  We were expecting 6 per the xray and WOW what a surprise when she just kept having more and more!!  She had the first puppy at 3:30pm and the last puppy at 7 pm.

It is a very consistant litter.  One puppy was 13 1/2 oz, the next 3 were 14 1/2 oz.  Then we had a boy that was 16 oz.  The rest were all 15 oz.  All in all a very consistant litter.  

Mom and babies are all fine and eating and gaining weight.  Watch for pictures on the "Puppy News page"

Happy New Year  by "Sergei" Rylatt

Mom & Dad stayed up until it was New Years in every time zone!  I was sleeping on the couch and opened an eye every time the fireworks went off and every body screamed... Don't they know that an old dog like me needs his sleep??!!
Several really good dreams were interrupted!
I did think of some New Years Resolutions though.

1.)  Get a little more sleep.

2.)  Get a few more treats between meals. 
(Mom is trying some great recipes for dog cookies and I hope to be the chief's sampler)

3.)  Learn how to close the door behind me when I get into my crate ... those younger dogs just don't know when to stop pestering me to play with them!  Everything was just fine before Mom decided to add them to the pack... geeezzz.

4.)  Spend more days basking in the sun.

5.)  Make it to my 14th Birthday!!

August 2007
Wonderful articles from the Bulletin...
worth reading!

• Therapy Dogs: Canine Bonds That Make a Difference

Melissa, the designer of the beautiful Dog, Cat and Horse jewelry that you will find at www.maizu.com, has a wonderful blog on her site. (Melissa is also the awesome co-owner of our girl "Sybil")

Be sure to visit!

Melissa's Dog Blog