Another warning for the dogs

Plants can also pose a threat to dogs. Here's a list of some common plants that can be toxic. I was surprised to learn from a colleague that hosta plants can cause severe gastroenteritis. Her schnauzer ingested some and had a severe reaction.

If you notice vomiting or diarrhea and suspect that your dog has ingested something poisonous, don't hesitate to call your vet. It will be important to take a sample of what was eaten and approximately how much was consumed.

You can induce vomiting if requested by your vet. The recommended emetic is hydrogen peroxide, 3% orally at a dose of one tsp. per 10 lbs of body weight.

It's a good idea to order a book on canine first aid that includes a section on dealing with poisoning. I keep the book and an epipen on hand at all times.

Watch out for poisonous snakes

I thought that I would post my annual reminder to watch out for poisonous snakes this time of year. The weather is getting warm enough for copperheads to come out to sun. Some of you may recall that Charlie was bitten on the ankle by a copperhead in April 2006. It's his foot in the photo above. It was a painful bite and kept him in the hospital for a couple of days. Luckily, he suffered no renal problems from the venom.

While dogs do better than humans, venom from a rattlesnake can kill a young dog or puppy. We have put up fine mesh wire around all of our paddocks hoping to keep the snakes out. There are a number of venomous snakes on Wadmalaw. When I see one, I move it if I can to another location; however, all bets are off if one is in with the dogs. They have a peculiar bark that indicates to us that a snake is around. We like to see corn snakes, rat snakes, black snakes, king snakes, hog nose snakes, and all the other snakes that pose no threat to the dogs (or humans). We are careful now when we go out after dark and keep the dogs away from the edges of the woods when we walk them. Charlie also wears boots when he goes out in the evening or early morning. Be aware and take care!

Good weekend

I had a good weekend and was able to get past the sadness over Anna and just enjoy time at home and with the dogs. We did some gardening which is always fun. This year, we've added foxgloves and some other species of lilies to our gardens. We also got a lot of the small bush roses, having found that the hybrid tea roses just don't do too well in hot, humid coastal SC without a lot of care. I used to spray and spray and they would be okay but I just don't want to be a slave to the roses anymore. So we pulled out the old hybrid teas and put in the disease resistant bush roses.

On Sunday, I took Stella for a romp at the beach. She really enjoyed that and has been running over to the van every time that she is let out. Finally, she got to go. We started at Station 12 and walked down to the Sullivan's Island light and then back. She got to greet a lot of other dogs and people on the walk.

Annabelle had a good weekend too. She spent most of it in the house with us. She even managed to eat a little food on her own. Unfortunately, we know that the diagnosis of lymphocytic liver cancer is grave and terminal. We just take each day at a time with her and are grateful for having the days that we have had. Today isn't the day for anything to happen.
Berta came to visit Annabelle which was nice. She loves being stroked and hugged on. Her mother Tilly is still going strong. I never thought that I would lose Anna for many years. I know now that there is another plan other than mine.

The weather has been beautiful so I'm going to head back out to enjoy some more of it before bedtime.

Sad about Anna

Anna had her exploratory surgery yesterday. It appears that she has liver cancer and it is quite advanced. Biopsies of the liver were done and will be sent away. She came out of the surgery fine and went home with us last night. She was still very tired last night after the surgery. We plan to make her remaining time with us as good as possible. We don't know how long she has but will have her with us to love until she let's us know that it's time to say goodbye. She is such a dear one.

Spring weather

This week has been so beautiful. The dogs have been enjoying it too, although they tend to slow down in their playing when the temperature climbs. We haven't seen any hotspots so far which is good news.

Anna seems to be getting a bit perkier but still isn't eating on her own. We may have to have exploratory surgery done. I am hoping that isn't the case but it may be the only alternative at this point. We want to do everything that we can to make sure that she can recover. Right now, we just don't have a clear diagnosis of what the problem is. The endoscopy showed no obstructions but there could be other issues such as ulcerative colitis or a cancer that hasn't manifested as a blockage. We hope that you will keep Anna in your thoughts.

In order to relieve stress, I'm going to go for a long walk. No time for the beach today but hopefully I'll get to row tomorrow if the weather is decent.

Match on Saturday

We had a great time at the Coastal South Carolina Match on Saturday. Eugene Mah took a lot of photos and they are posted on his website at

http://radinfo.musc.edu/~eugenem/gallery/v/Dogs/CSCLRC/2007SpringFling/

You'll have to copy the link above into your browser because it appears not to work unless you do that.

I entered Deacon who won his class, Crinkles who got third in her class, Amelia who got second in her class and Aggie who won her class and went on to take Best Adult in Match. The weather was perfect and everyone seemed to have a great time. Since I live just down the road from where the match was held, I took one load of dogs home after they were finished with socializing and playing and then came back with another 4 puppies. They seemed to have a great time but were very tired out at the end of the day. After that I got Stella and brought her back for the human socializing part where we had salad and barbecue. It was a good meal and a relaxing way to end the day.

Today I took Stella to the beach and enjoyed walking all the way from Station 12 to the Lighthouse on Sullivan's Island. It was a beautiful afternoon for it. There were a lot of people just strolling the beach and a few dogs were out. I like Sullivan's because it isn't as crowded as Folly and Kiawah. Stella seemed to really love her outing.

Update on Anna

Several of you have expressed concern about Annabelle. She had an endoscopy done yesterday and no blockage or tumors were found. She does have a badly inflamed stomach lining indicative of severe gastroenteritis. All of her blood work was normal including her hematocrit. I am cautiously optimistic that she will be okay. She is still not her happy, tail wagging self and still doesn't want to eat anything but we are getting food into her. She is also on more antibiotics, Albon, and a stomach coater. I'm also giving her plain yogurt that has acidophyllic bacteria that may also help soothe her stomach. It appears that she has an overgrowth of bacteria in her stomach and that is why she has had diarrhea and vomiting. Hopefully, with all the medicines she will start to improve and be a happy girl once again.

Tomorrow is the B match sponsored by the CSCLRC. I hope to take the puppies for an outing. It will be nice to get them out even if it is down the road. I don't know how they will do in the ring as their attention span isn't all that great since they are babies. It will be good practice for them.

Loving on the old ones

With Annabelle feeling under the weather, I gathered the old dogs around me today. I needed to tell each of them how wonderful they are and how glad that they are with me. Tilly is still very spry, Timmi is doing well and still loving every cookie, and Anna appreciated the hugs. Tomorrow Anna goes in for an endoscopy to determine whether there is a blockage anywhere or any pathology in the digestive track. I am an optimistic person so I'm hoping for the best but am preparing as best I can for bad news.

The amount of debris that is down after the storm isn't too bad so the puppy run got raked today. With warmer weather, the snakes will be out and I don't want any of those hiding amongst the downed branches. The puppies think that the branches are great and are carrying them around in their mouths. I'm thankful for those cute babies that are Anna's grandkids.

Hopefully, I'll have news tomorrow on Anna's condition.

Anna

Annabelle still isn't interested in eating. She is wagging and drinking water but won't even eat a cookie. I'm very concerned and have scheduled an endoscopy on Thursday for her. In the meantime, I'm force feeding her with Bil-Jac. She doesn't seem to mind all the attention but having to do this is tough. She is really one of the most wonderful girls that I've ever had. Something about that grey face and those beautiful eyes watching me so intently and with such trust really tugs at my heart.

The puppies are having a wonderful time with all the sticks and downed debris from the storm. This weekend will be a busy time cleaning up after the all the wind. Everything has been raked at least twice this spring and now the final raking of the grounds will hopefully occur.

The CSCLRC has a match this Saturday. It is our B match and the puppies will be entered. It should be fun. I'm anxious to get them out and around some other dogs. Since this match is just down the road at my neighbor's place, I can carry all of them for some socializing.

I'll be posting more about Annabelle here as I learn more.

Wild weather and worries

What wild weather we started to have today. The puppies were out playing though and were really enjoying the sticks that were blown down. They were playing tug and were having a good time chasing each other. The three boys are absolutely beautiful and the two little girls are also very cute.

Annabelle has had to spend a couple days at Bohicket Veterinary Hospital because she was not wanting to eat. After having some initial tests it was determined that she had elevated liver enzymes. Her urine was also very dark. She came home after receiving fluids and antibiotics but still didn't want to eat. So she went back into the hospital on Wednesday and got back out on Friday. Her liver functions were better and she received more fluids and liquid antibiotics. Because she still isn't eating, we've had to put food in a syringe and feed her that way. We also have to stuff some torpedos in order to get food in her. Dr. Shong has not been able to find anything wrong after doing barium x-rays of the digestive system and the liver. I'm hoping that she will start to eat on her own; however, she is happy and wagging her tail. She doesn't appear depressed at all. I'm hoping that all will be well.

Weather ups and downs

With the weather not being able to make up its mind between hot and cold, I'm wondering when spring will finally be sprung. Our flowers are in bloom and the vegetables are taking off. I can do without the gnats so a good breeze on a cool morning is fine with me. It was nice to be able to get under the covers and have a fire in the bedroom fireplace when the cold weather came through earlier this week.

I posted the photo above showing Castlewood's Kiss and Tell in a spring setting. Gabby looks very happy though against the backdrop of wild flowers in the photo above. She is enjoying life with her new owner in Hilton Head, SC.

Gabby came to us from my good friends Robin Moody and Gina Cheatham. Her sire Ch. Kai-Den's Black Tie Affair was a wonderful boy and his sire Ch. Guidelines Mastercard was an import from Sweden who had successes in this country and produced many champion get. Gabby is a beautiful girl but never liked the show ring. She is reserved and is not the "wag your tail until it drops" type of Labrador. She has taken to her new owner and home splendidly. I'm sure that she will enjoy the days at the beach on Hilton Head.

An interesting article by an old breeder

I came across this article and thought that it would be a good follow up to the "How to Make a Chocolate Dog" post. It is long but is an interesting perspective from Mary Roslin-Williams who is considered one of the greatest Labrador breeders of all time. Her knowledge of the breed was legendary.

Does colour affect type and temperament in the Labrador?

By Mary Roslin-Williams
Mansergh Labradors – England

(This article appeared in the March/April 1977 issue of “the Labrador Retriever Magazine”)

Mary Roslin-Williams lives in the Moorland section of Yorkshire. She is a reknowned lecturer on British Literature as well as one of the most respected people in dogs in Great Britain. A sportswoman whose family has long been involved in all facets of dog life, Mrs. Williams is a licensed judge in Great Britain of Hounds, Sporting Dogs and Terriers.

I have chosen the above title for my article because this is a question I am always being asked by the novices. They are curious to know why I, myself, only have black Labradors in my kennel. While a breeder, such as Mrs. Wormald, only has yellows. Again, both the late Mr. Severn of Tibshelf Labradors and Mrs. Paulding of the Cookridges had (and in the case of Mrs. Paulding, still have) a great fancy for Chocolates, or as I call them, Livers.

As everyone knows, there is now supposedly only one Labrador, the breed embracing any whole colour, of which black, yellow and liver are the most usual. Indeed, a litter may contain all three of these colours, although as yet, there are not so many livers bred in Great Britain. Partly because, as ever, they are a bit slow to catch on; and partly because of the difficulty of breeding them with a good rich dark colour and good eye colour.

So I suppose the answer should be that there is no difference in type or temperament between the three colours. Please note I say “should be” not “the answer is”, because I have found in my own experience of Labradors and other breeds that certain things are linked with colour: type, behaviour and temperament being three of these things. Also texture and type of coat.

I am a black breeder, simply because I found that the yellows did not suit me personally, nor I them. When in the early days of my advent into Labradors, we kept a biggish kennel of working gundogs of various breeds, sometimes taking dogs in from other owners for training to the gun. My husband and I soon discovered that the colours in a breed such as the Cockers had a strong effect on the training of these lively and lovely little dogs. We bred and trained Liver and Whites and found them to be staunch, steady, and reliable, making super brood bitches and very easy to train and handle. They also had very good coats for the job. Lemon and white or lemon-roans were flightier, more difficult to train, needing to be put back to school every season for a day or two, did not face cover so well and had short, silky coats lacking in protective feathering and weather-proofing.

Blacks were grand, as were livers, being brilliant yet staunch and full of go and drive, and remained trained once you had got them right. Blue-roans were equally good, if not better and had better coats than the blacks, harder and less fluffy. But, oh dear, those liver-roans, flighty, silly, stupid (which is not the same thing), hard to train, hard to break off fur, wild as their yellow eyes and with linty fluffy coats with topknots and for some reason apt to get shot, being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

But one colour suited both my husband and myself down to the ground and that was heavy black and white, with marking like a Dutch Rabbit. Those were the ones for us and we had more success in the Trials with this colour than any other and were more fond and proud of them too. They seemed to have everything we wanted class, courage and coat. We used to pick them from the litter and whatever else we kept and trained, these were the good ones.

When it came to Labradors, my husband wouldn’t touch them so I trained all my own Manserge Labradors. I also took on any Labradors that came into the kennel for training.

Funnily enough, although I was training blacks for myself, I had more yellows in to train for others than I had blacks and here beginneth chapter and verse because my immediate reaction was “Why?” On looking back, I remember that nearly all of these I took in came to us because their owners had tried to train them themselves and had failed. I found that I did not understand them myself and found them to be difficult, also extremely annoying in such things as that when I took them down to the water to teach them to swim, I almost invariably found myself swimming – having been pushed in. So perhaps they had indeed been spoiled by their owners’ abortive attempts to train them. But then I had one from the beginning, virgin soil on which to mold the dog I wanted him to be. Copper was a vast Labrador, from memory: 25 ½ inches and with legs like Oak Trees. He was without doubt the stupidest dog I have ever tried to train and it was he that drove me demented! Firstly, I found that if you put his dinner down in the same place every night and then one night covered it with an empty dog dish, he could not find it. Then he was the most awful job to teach to retrieve, because he would pick up his own check cord and bring that back to me, usually anchoring himself on the way by standing heavily on the loose end so that he couldn’t move until you went and took his foot off the end.

Then at last I taught him to retrieve and told my husband that the battle was won. “I’ll believe it when I see it”, said my sarcastic husband. So I fetched Copper, told my husband to stand well to one side and hurled the dummy up the grassy bank. “Hie Lost”, I cried and with a great gallumphing bound the elephantine Copper set off. He lolloped a few steps in the direction of the dummy which he had seen thrown, but on about the fifth stride he turned at right angles, bounded up to my husband and seizing him by the slack of his breeches propelled him in my direction. My husband had to come because he did not want to get his nice breeches all torn. The awful thing was that had the dog had a sense of humour we would have loved the joke and laughed with him. But he did that in all seriousness, thinking it was what he had to do.

Again the time I was persuading a rather frightened little puppy to follow us across a stream. I had gone down on my haunches to encourage it across to my hand, when two heavy policeman’s paws fell on my shoulders and in I went, face down yet once again. No joke intended, just the best of good-fellowship.

The third time he dunked me, I gave up.

But actually poor old Copper made a much loved dog for his owner and family, although they realised he was not of the brightest, with a bit of Jethro “Beverly Hill-Billy” about him. He actually made a very useful gundog, going shooting until about his 12 season and serving his master well. So he wasn’t such a bad old dog really, and I was secretly rather fond of the old boy.

But he did a lot to put me off the yellows for myself and subsequent attempts to train yellows made me decide that either they were wrong for me or I for them. So I stuck to blacks after that, and have ever since.

But funnily enough, I found there were three good strains of Yellows that I really liked, and admired, and that seemed to me to have all the very best points of the blacks for work and for play too. These were all three old established kennels. They were the “Knaiths”, the “Braeroys” and the “Zelstone”, and these three kennels I absolutely exempt from my strictures. Now, why should this be? I’ve pondered the point so long that I think I know the answer. They have somehow avoided the deleterious outcross that came in during the Second World War. Therefore, they avoided the surly sulky uncooperative blood that came in from the undoubted foxhound cross. From this cross has come down many evils we got from such a shocking mixture, and also, I must admit, a lot of things that made the Labradors the great show dog it has become. But alas, the recipe was altered, to my mind terribly for the worst, and only now are we starting to get back to medium-sized nice, friendly yellows. Kind, sweet and typical, deep in body with Labrador expression coat and tail, and shorter legs.

The blacks did not suffer from this cross so much. Although we could not avoid it altogether, except in the Trial lines, and they had put in a Greyhound cross, followed by a Sheepdog cross, so they too had completely lost type and temperament only in a very different direction.

The gulf between these two major divides remains to this day and is immediately obvious to the eye!

So here we had one link with coat and colour, many yellows were tainted by Foxhound blood, the blacks not so badly affected, so they had totally different characteristics. This was reflected in my own kennel, which willy-nilly eventually got some of the tainted blood in, although for years I managed to avoid it, knowing the source.

So you will understand that I tried hard to keep these bloodlines out, although I had Braeroy and Zelstone blood in my blacks. I have always been proud of those yellow lines, crediting certain things like nose and tender mouths in my dogs, largely to these yellow strains.

However, the tide has turned and largely due to Australian Ch. Sandylands Tan and his son, Ch. Sandylands Tandy, the yellows are becoming very pleasing Labradors again. With much kinder, nicer tempers, and will at last look you in the face once again instead of turning away with an uncooperative expression as many yellows have been doing for so many years now.

Now what about the blacks who eventually got the suspected blood in? Well, certain kennels kept right, so we had them to fall back on, and right well they did us. But, although I did not see this with my own eyes, I am pretty sure that somewhere in Scotland, two Flatcoats were used to restore the temperament, good mouths and kindness, which were all in danger of slipping. I was told by the owner of the Flatcoat Stud dog (and a splendid fellow he was, both for looks and work) that a Labrador had visited him and that “My old Ch. Is doing jolly well for you Labrador people and you ought to be jolly grateful to him”. When I genuinely looked astonished and said that I didn’t know what she was talking about, she replied, “Well, if you don’t know, I’m not going to be the one to tell you”. After a time I didn’t need telling because my eye told me the fact about the show dogs. Again, we are only just starting to breed out the Flatcoat traits we got in. I rather agree with the owner of the Ch. Flattie, it was a very good cross, if a cross had to be made and did us little or no harm except for longish coats, feathered tails and horrid black eyes. The second Flatcoat was introduced by a Scottish Gamekeeper. I do not know what dog was used, though I know where it was used and on what bitch. Again, it had a lasting effect on coats and tails. In both cases, livers started cropping up in the strains, rather unexpectedly. But again, no harm was done except for long coats, feathering and too dark eyes. In the Field Trial and working strains there was a sudden change of swimming style. These dogs swimming with their heads and shoulders high out of the water as they went out towards their birds, but settling down when returning, although not swimming as low in the water nor as quietly as a true Labrador does. However, this crossbreeding has now just about been assimilated and was on the whole fairly harmless.

But now we come to the Livers, which is not a true Labrador Colour. There have been attempts to breed Livers ever since the Chilonfolliats in the just pre-First World War days. Again sporadic attempts were made through the period between the world wars. But some of these were mistakes, the colour cropping up completely unexpectedly, this being because Pointers were often kenneled with Labradors, especially in the Keeper’s Grouse Kennels and mistakes occurred, often unbeknownst. So Livers cropped up and were fancied by someone, bought, bred from, and attempts were made to fix the colour. But having Pointer in and usually Liver and White Pointers at that, (although there is one famous case where a black Pointer was used deliberately), these Liver “Labradors” were extremely ugly. I remember them well, big, rawboned, ugly, plain-faced, single-coated dogs, with huge ears, yellow eyes, pink eye-rims and nostrils. Spread feet and long, thin calloused legs, the coat worn away on elbows, hocks, and buttocks. Worse still on their Pointer briskets which were sharp, not rounded, and with no coat to protect these vulnerable parts. No wonder they never caught on! But much later came the Flatcoat crosses and immediately we got pleasant, kind-faced, nice-looking Livers. They were a bit long coated sometimes. But the breeders soon turned them into real Labradors and now we get lovely Liver Labradors of super type in this colour. With a rich dark chocolate colour, good coloured eyes, brown noses and eye-rims, along with charming temperaments. They are even starting to swim well, unlike Pointer Labradors, who I have seen having to be rescued in Pointer style, dashing the water up into their own faces until they drowned in an upright position unless rescued.

There is none of that in the present Liver strains and they are becoming really true Labradors, in most cases being even more typey than the average yellow. One great thing the Livers have, in my experience, are the most wonderful undercoats, truly mousy and very often either lead, pewter or slate in colour. I must say when judging the Livers, they give me a much truer feel of a real Labrador water-dog than do many of the yellows I judge, who seem to come in all shapes and sizes, and all types of coat and tail.

So for myself, the Labradors will always be, in the words of Lady Howe, “A Black Dog”. But I do not blame the deviations of type and traits of the yellows and to a much smaller extent the Livers of today on their colour. I blame it on the crosses that were made that happened to be done in these colours. When you cross-breed, for generations afterwards, you get the results of that cross-breeding, thus the colours in which these crosses were made become linked with the traits inherited from the alien ancestors.

So in all honesty I myself must answer the Novices, “Yes, there is a difference between the colours because of these in-crosses”. They are not the same, the colour is linked to their ancestry and therefore linked to the behavior of the dog, according to how it is bred. These crosses are also getting so far back in the pedigrees (somewhere about 10 to 12 generations) behind our present day dogs that we now at last have the chance to keep in the good and eliminate the bad, and get back to true Labradors in type, temperament, coat and all the other things that were adversely affected; and to retain the beautiful conformation brought in by the hounds without their bad points and also keep the assets given back to us by the Flatcoats while breeding out the feathering, narrow skulls and black eyes.

For the first time this year, 1976, we have seen this actually happening and soon if the judges allow it, we shall have litters in which the three colours may appear without getting in the bad traits that came in with them. Indeed I am glad to say that we already have true Labradors of all three colours competing on equal terms in the show ring, all carrying the right expressions, good coats and tails, with the happy cooperative temperament we all strive to breed in our Labradors, whether black, yellow or liver.

How to make a chocolate dog

I had a request to write about the chocolate color in Labradors. It seems appropriate since today is Easter.

Genetically, chocolate is the rarest of the Labrador coat colors. This is because there are only 2 ways the genes combine to produce Chocolate dogs. Chocolate is a recessive coat color. It is signified by the b gene. To produce a chocolate you must have two b genes and at least one E gene.

One of the basics in breeding is that a puppy will get 1/2 its genes from one parent and 1/2 from the other parent. Chocolate coat color is a simple autosomal recessive trait in Labradors. It is recessive to black which means that even though one can't see the chocolate color, it is still there in the genetic make-up of the dog. Black is a dominant trait in Labradors and will express itself over the chocolate gene.

So let's take the following example:
A black Lab with no chocolate gene is a BB, while a black Lab that carries the chocolate gene as a recessive trait is Bb, and a pure chocolate Lab is a bb. Now to complicate things a bit, there is a third color, yellow. Yellow is produced by the presence of a recessive gene that can blot out the expression of black or chocolate. So EE indicates that no yellow gene is present while Ee is a yellow carrier that can appear either black or chocolate and ee is a yellow lab.

There are 81 different combinations that can produce coat color in Labradors. There are a couple of sites that provide color combination probabilities. One is the Wing n' Wave site at http://www.labbies.com/genetics.htm
And the other is at http://users.tpg.com.au/choclab/cci/genechoc.htm

Happy Easter to all.

Breeding as art and science

It's often been said that breeding is mostly art with some science thrown in. It's a pretty true statement. When breeding there are so many things to consider, such as soundness, temperament, intelligence, anatomy, and a host of other things. If you are breeding, on what do you base your decisions? Should we only breed dogs that have been through a total body scan to look for problems? Should we only breed dogs after extensive DNA testing for *ANY* hint of problems in the line? Or should we wait until each dog has reached old age, to be sure no genetic problems develop over time. As a potential progenitor, would you still consider having children if you knew that a great-grandfather had diabetes? Or put another way, if your parents hadn't given birth to you, where would you be? I think that you can see where I'm going with this. If we try for perfection, then we'd no longer have any dogs to breed, because there *are* no dogs who have no problems in the lines and if we wait for the problems to develop, they'd be too old to breed. I heard a well-known breeder state that "dogs aren't refrigerators" . They are animals who carry an entire complex genetic code. No one yet has been able to figure how which genes form a perfect hip, heart, or elbow.

Mary Roslyn Williams pointed out in her wonderful book, "Advanced Labrador Breeding" that "Top" breeders are a rare breed. They've weathered the storms, have had failures and successes just like the "middle" breeders. Beginning breeders need to pay attention to her words because the very things that have happened to the top and middle breeders will happen to you. It's just a question of when these things will crop up.

It's easy for people just getting started with breeding to forget that this breed was established with heart, soul, and the instincts of dedicated people, who had no benefit of x-rays, eye clearances, or heart tests. They built the breed by using common
sense. They tried combinations and when they didn't work, then they tried something else. Although we have benefit of these clearances today, you still have to step up and try combinations of lines based on heart, soul, instincts, and common sense.

Experienced breeders know that breeding is always an exercise in weighing the good with the bad. New breeders often panic and will eliminate anything they have that is related to a dog who has produced the latest and greatest problem in the breed. They will keep only dogs who have "no history" of problems in the line (which, of course is a line that doesn't exist). Either the person is not aware of the problems within or is thinking that the dogs that they keep could not possibly be carriers for a problem that occurred many years ago. Experienced breeders know there are no perfect gene pools. They are more aware of what lives in Pandora's Box, and they make decisions based on many things that include testing, experience, instinct, and a lot of prayer. One very well known breeder once told me to "keep breeding until you get a problem", otherwise it's pure guess work as to what will crop up in a litter (this excludes the occurrence of gPRA in Labradors for which there is a genetic test).

When asked by the beginning breeder how to make decisions, I tell them to ask themselves the hard questions about what their true goals are and what they are hoping to achieve, answer themselves in an honest manner, and don't take the road of trying to breed "away" from problems, because that road almost always leads to a dead-end or to some other problem cropping up. In the end, our decisions on how to properly breed are personal, and we don't need to qualify our decisions with anyone. Time will tell if we made the right or wrong decisions.

Completed all the hoops

I mailed off my final documentation to AKC to indicate that I have fulfilled the necessary five provisional judging assignments and been observed on three occasions by the AKC field rep. My name and credentials will then go before the AKC Board at their May meeting. If all documentation is approved, then I will receive notice of regular judging status soon thereafter. This has been a long process but one that I am so glad to have completed.

I truly enjoy judging and find that there is a lot of satisfaction in seeing some excellent examples of the breed. What makes it difficult is when the dogs being judged are just mediocre. Then it becomes harder to find the Labrador to give the points to. Having been on both sides of dog showing (as owner/breeder/handler and judge), I can more fully appreciate the difficulties for those judges whose primary breed isn't Labradors. There are obviously different types being shown at all breed shows. I think that it is so much easier at a specialty to find wonderful examples of the breed consistently in every class. Consistency in type among the class winners is what I strive for.

Sometimes that's easier said than done at all breed shows where there are a lot of different types. However, even though you like the type, if movement isn't good, then that creates a dilemma. A Labrador should be able to move in a true manner and with ease. I don't like to see a lot of sidewinding and crabbing when the dog moves. It is fantastic when you see a great example of the breed move with reach and drive. That makes me smile!

Genotype and phenotype

With Labrador retrievers being so popular, I get a lot of calls from people inquiring about puppies. These individuals are wanting a puppy to love and be their companion. Some have done research and know about genetic problems that occur in the breed. There are many problems that occur in all dog breeds, not just in Labradors. Those problems that most frequently occur in Labradors are orthopedic issues such as hip, elbow, shoulder and hock dysplasia and eye problems such as progressive retinal atrophy, retinal dysplasia and cataracts. There are other problems that occur with less frequency but which are of great concern in the breed such as epilepsy, heart conditions, and hypothyroidism. The website for the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals
and the Canine Eye Registration Foundation provide a lot of information on congenital and inherited defects in Labradors.

It's important to distinguish between clearances that are provided with Labradors and the actual genetic make-up of the dog. The OFA provides certificates for hips and elbows that indicate the phenotype (genetic expression) but cannot determine the genotype or genetic make-up of the dog. It is thought that hip and elbow dysplasia are polygenic traits with many genes contributing to the problem. Thus, no one factor is responsible for the development of these structural defects. There is also evidence that certain risk factors play a role in the degree of expression of the defect. Nutrition, size, growth rate, and some environmental factors may influence manifestation of the defect. At the current time, the only means to genetically select against HD and ED is to use radiographs that demonstrate the actual appearance (phenotype) of the hips and elbows at a given age.

There are disorders like RD and gPRA that result from recessive genes. Thus, it is possible that a dog may carry the recessive gene without expressing it. In such a case, the recessive gene is present but "masked" by the dominant gene for normal eye structure and function. When genes are recessive, a dog is a carrier of the disorder. To be affected by the disorder, the dog must receive a recessive gene from both parents. Parents were either “carrier” or affected. A carrier has one disease gene and one normal gene, and is termed “heterozygous” for the disease. A normal dog has no disease gene and is termed “homozygous normal” – both copies of the gene are the same. And a dog with two disease genes is termed “homozygous affected” – both copies of the gene are abnormal.

Recessive genes are difficult to completely eradicate from the gene pool because the carrier may be bred many times before it is realized that the dog does indeed carry the disorder as shown by affected offspring. In order for the disorder to affect offspring, the mate must also be a carrier.

Fortunately, with gPRA there is now a genetic test which determines whether a Labrador is a carrier for that particular eye disorder. It’s been proven that Labradors being tested for prcd-PRA have the same disease caused by the same mutated gene. So even though we know the mode of inheritance, it is now possible with PRA to test dogs before breeding. Identification of dogs that do not carry disease genes is the key. These "clear" dogs can be bred to any mate - even to a prcd-affected dog which may be a desirable breeding prospect for other reasons.

For these reasons it is recommended that dogs suspected of being carriers through expression of the disorder in offspring no longer be allowed to breed. Dominant genes are more easily eradicated from the gene pool because individuals carrying the gene will always express it. However, one complication lies in the fact that some dominant disorders are not observed until later in life, and an individual may be bred prior to discovery of the disorder. Once a hereditary eye disorder has been diagnosed, eliminating the affected individual from the breeding program and alerting owners of offspring to the potential risk may help in preventing future generations of developing hereditary eye disorders.

TVD is a congenital abnormality and is not acquired. Prevention is limited to controlling for genetic predisposition to the disorder. It is suspected that TVD may be an inherited abnormality but the mode of inheritance is unknown. OFA offers a clearance for heart abnormalities but these only indicate that the dog being tested does not present with the symptoms of the disease. Once again, the phenotype is what is known but the genotype and mode of inheritance are not known for these heart ailments.

Although parents may have every clearance that is offered, there are no guarantees that a puppy will not develop congenital defects. A breeder can only attempt to stack the odds in his favor by choosing superior individuals to breed and being familiar with the bloodlines of each; but when it comes down to facts, only Mother Nature can determine the true outcome.

Doing the 6-12 on the Spirit of SC

Today was a pleasant day filled with activity. After meeting with Gabby's new mom in the morning, I went over to Mt. Pleasant to Patriot's Point to meet a friend and listen to Plain Jane and watch the ships go by. I wish that I were on one of them heading for the open sea.

I didn't exactly go to sea but did the 6-12 watch on the Spirit of SC. It was a beautiful night with a nearly full moon. I had my camera, sleeping bag, and a thermos of hot chocolate but no gnat repellant. The gnats were out in full force just before dusk.

There were a couple of tugs tied up near the Spirit so I wandered over to photograph some of the lines and shackles. As I doing this, one of the AB's on the tug came out to say hello. He was a young guy who had been working for Stevens Towing for several years. Anyway, I asked him a bunch of questions about being on the tugboat and he gave me a tour of the ship. It was fun and I photographed the engine room (the heart of a tug) and other interesting things. I think the AB was lonely because he came over to talk to me and the other lady on watch for a long time.

Every two hours we would make our rounds to pump the bilges and time the pumping. We would check the hatches and holds for moisture. We would also check all the lines to make sure that they were secure. It's not rocket science but it gives you a chance to be on the deck of South Carolina's latest tall ship.

Eventually, the captain of the tug showed up and he came over to sit on the dock and talk to the two of us on the Spirit. We all shared some stories. Cheryl, the other lady on watch with me, brought some scones and I brought brownies so there was plenty of stuff to feed the tug guys.
It made the hours go by quickly. Before I knew it, it was nearing midnight and time to inform the next watch crew that showed up.

Hot spots

With spring already here, many Labrador will be shedding their winter coats. Shedding is also the time when hot spots can occur. If you use a slicker brush to get out the dead hair, then the chances of developing a hot spot are minimized. I have combs, slicker brushes, a shedding rake and pin brushes to use on the dogs. Labradors shed twice a year, although sometimes it seems that they are shedding all the time! It's best to brush Labradors daily and avoid giving baths that can dry out the coat and the skin.

Most hot spots occur when the dead hair starts to itch. Hot spots can also occur as a result of flea allergic dermatitis. A flea will bite, the dog will scratch, and an irritation will occur. Bacteria can then cause a slight infection and bumps will occur on the skin. It can be a vicious cycle with the dog continuing to scratch until a wound is created.

We treat hot spots with Chlorhexiderm scrub and Neopredf powder. If bad enough, you will have to give an antibiotic such cephalexin. I would definitely check with the vet should a hot spot develop.

Labrador hair should be showing up soon on a carpet near you!

Puppy Kindergarten

One of the things that I suggest to all the puppy owners is that they take their puppy to a kindergarten class. These classes are usually run by local obedience or breed clubs within driving distance of most people. They are really fun because it's an opportunity for puppies over 12 weeks of age to meet other people, other puppies and get some basic obedience instruction. Over the years, I took several puppies to kindergarten class.

A favorite game at the classes I attended was "pass the puppy" in which the puppy went around the circle with owners sitting on the floor and was actually passed from person to person. This is great socialization for puppies and they seem to enjoy it. The obedience part of the classes basically deals with learning to walk on a leash, learning to sit and learning to heel. The classes are a great introduction to further obedience classes and can be wonderful for those dogs and owners who are interested in conformation showing.

Aggression is something that should always be of concern with a puppy. Going to classes helps with interactions with other dogs but be sure that the other dogs are friendly. Since these are puppies, most are very happy and enjoy the interactions. Labradors are such happy dogs anyway that they enjoy any excuse to be goofy. Proof of vaccination is required for classes so be sure to ask about that and make sure that the instructors require such proof. No matter what the pursuit, the main thing is to have fun with your dog. Hopefully, kindergarten is just the start with the many activities that you and your Labrador can do together.

Judging on the Tarheel Circuit

I flew up to Raleigh yesterday so that I could judge this morning for the Fayetteville Kennel Club. There was a nice entry of around 60 Labradors. It's hard because the people that exhibited are people that I've shown with and known for years. I wish that I could say that the overall quality today was excellent but it was fairly average with a few very nice dogs and many that weren't real standouts. Coats were either lacking or too soft. I really liked the puppy that I put up for WD. He was a very nice puppy. The bitches were better in profile than the dogs but several had poor movement with a lot of "sidewinding". I realize that it's impossible to make everyone happy so you just do the best job that you can do based on what you observe in the ring with movement and structure. If the Labrador doesn't have good movement then how can it be expected to do work in the field?

I was glad to get back home this evening and have a few hours to just take it easy. After walking around on concrete and tossing and turning in a strange bed, it will be nice to just rest.

Becca

Today is the anniversary of the loss of dear sweet Becca. It was one of the darkest days for me because Becca died after having a C-section. Her six puppies were saved but she died in my arms on the way into our driveway. I'll never know the cause but most probably it was a pulmonary embolism since it happened so quickly. The shock and horror of that moment remain with me. It's one of those moments when time stops and you wonder how you will ever get through the next hour much less the days ahead.

Thanks to several Labrador breeders, the puppies had surrogate mothers for 3 weeks until they were finally able to eat mush on their own. If anyone ever thinks about breeding their girl, let them think about Becca and what can happen. They don't call dog breeding the heartbreak hobby for nothing. I miss you Becca.

Dog Politics

I can't help but post this since I'm sure that something similar will be coming to your town or county in the near future. It' about whether the candidate you vote for is dog friendly. Luckily, I live on Wadmalaw where there isn't a dog limit (yet).

One of our neighbors has 7 calves in his backyard who live in cowhouses that look like a big doghouse. The Duluxe model is shown for your viewing pleasure. I like seeing the calves lying about in the yard and playing. Wadmalaw is an animal friendly place thankfully.

Now I can understand that having 12 Labradors in a residential neighborhood is probably not a good idea, especially since dogs do bark. Unfortunately, it's a dilemma that everyone will be facing. If we weren't living on acreage in the county, it would be highly unlikely that we would ever have continued to show our dogs or been as successful as we have been with them.

It's leaf time again

Today I feel rested and amazingly energetic considering the busy weekend that I had. After standing watch on the Spirit of SC until midnight and getting home at 1 AM Sunday morning, I got up around 7 AM, lit the fire because it was chilly, and got a cup of coffee. I walked the dogs and let the others out and came back in for a second cup of coffee. Instead, I made the mistake of crawling back into bed to read the paper. I was evidently more tired than I thought because I didn't wake up until nearly noon! Yikes, I haven't done that since I was a teenager! Who sleeps until noon????

Feeling guilty, I went outside and worked in the yard for the rest of the afternoon. The oak leaves are raining down so there were piles and piles to pick up and burn. I just love the smell of burning leaves though so it made for a very cheerful afternoon.

Tomorrow is Daisy Lanier's birthday. She is a Surry girl who is 8 years old. Her human parents Shannon and Troy love her and sent a photo of Daisy. Happy Birthday Daisy and many more! It seems like only yesterday when Shannon and Troy came to pick up their puppy and said that they would name her after our old girl Fernwood Miss Daisy. I wish that I could slow down the years.

On the progging trail

When I visited Smith Island, there was a lot of talk about progging in the marsh. Progging is the local vernacular for finding something of value in the marsh, more or less beachcombing but in the marsh. At Station 12 on Sullivan's Island, there is a trail through the marsh that I call the progging trail. Today, I took Stella on the trail. She loves to go and always runs ahead and then stops to look back at me. It was quite a windy day today and not very warm. By the time we got to the end of the trail, the sun felt good. We hustled on the way back as it was off the beach for all dogs at noon. Stella enjoyed the outing. We didn't find any treasure in the marsh today but there will likely be some again in the near future. I have found a Hobie cat on Sullivan's Island and will likely try to find out if anyone claims it. If a boat is left abandoned in SC for a while, then a lost and abandoned boat form can be filled out.

I then took Stella and Aggy to the Isle of Palms doggy park. It is always fun to go there. There were other Labradors there as well as goldens and a silky terrier who could retrieve. Aggy loves to play so she was running all around the doggy park and retrieving the little frisbee that the silky was going out to get.

Tonight I also stood watch on the Spirit of SC from 6 to midnight. It was cold and windy and the ship has no heat. The standing orders were to pump the bilges every 2 hours and record the time that it took to do so, check all the lines and check for water in the holds. It was fun as my other watch partner was a lady who has a great sense of humor. The Spirit is tied up near Stevens Towing and she said that last week the tugboat crew was having a party. So we joked about telling them to bring us some scones and good coffee but guessed that they were having Wild Turkey in a box (rather than wine in a box). She told me stories about camping for 2 weeks where there was no shower just a bag of water hung up on a pole. We had a great time laughing about all kinds of things so it made the hours go quickly. She and I are on watch again in two weeks so I'm bringing a big thermos of coffee and she's bringing the scones. We can't trust the tugboat crew to cater our watch!

Last night's row

It was a bit windy last night for our rowing session. I was coxswain which was fun. I did however not look at the tide tables before heading out so we went downriver on high slack which meant that we were coming back on an ebbing tide which was hard going. It's a bit dicey getting out of City Marina but we managed to row our way out without hitting any other boats or endangering life and limb! That's always a big plus!

We had a new rower with us last night and he eventually caught onto the stroke rhythm. I suppose that some people have a hard time following the stoke while looking at their oar. By the end of the row, he was in sync with the rest of us.

I'm looking forward to getting my single in the water soon. The warm weather that we've been having is making me want to be on the water more and more. I'm sure that there will probably be a few more days of chilly weather but in Charleston, March is generally the end of bad weather. By May, it is hot!

The puppies are enjoying playing in their puppy yard. There are several obstacles set up for them to jump and play on. They enjoy rolling each other and generally being goofy. It's time to get these babies on a leash though. Otherwise, I'll have bucking broncos on the end of the leash if I delay.

It's tick and flea time

It's getting to be tick and flea time with the seed ticks all over the woods. I pulled four off my pant leg this weekend. Fleas have been an issue for a while. There are years when we get a hard enough freeze that the nasty little things are killed. Then, when you live in the country with a lot of squirrels and other critters, it's hard to entirely get rid of fleas. We use Frontline Topspot which seems to work well for adult fleas. However, it's also advisable to use Progam for the larvae. Brushing and combing helps to determine whether the fleas are present and is good for the skin. It's hard though to get a flea comb through Labrador hair.

Ground treatment is also good to do and we do that twice a year in the paddocks. We till up the ground and then put down lime. There are no really good yard flea control agents that are approved by EPA. We used to use Dursban but can no longer use that. Sevin dust can't be used because it can cause neural tube anomalies in fetal puppies. One always has to check on what side effects could occur when using any pesticide.

In the house, it's best to vacuum frequently and empty the vacuum bag. We also use pyrethrin shampoos that are not toxic to animals. I hate fleas but realize that in the Charleston area where the temperatures seldom freeze, fleas, like cockroaches, are a part of the ecosystem.

Busy Sunday

I got up way before dawn and drove to Hilton Head to make a 9 AM ring call. Today I just showed Amelia who was happy in the ring, although she was the only puppy bitch being shown. A fellow breeder, Helen Gipe, rode down with me which made it nice as we could catch up on things and talk about life and dogs. We both decided that it would be nice to have fewer dogs and more leisure time. Not a bad idea since the dogs do tie you down and vacations are a luxury!

After getting home, I took a nap and then loaded up Stella and Pink to take them to the dog park and to the beach. Pink didn't like all the other strange dogs at first but eventually warmed up and started to play. Stella had a blast and both girls got new kerchiefs made by a lady who comes to the dog park. Stella's had shamrocks and Pink got a "surfer girl" kerchief.

We got to Station 12 just as the sun was about to set. It was beautiful and we took a long walk. Stella chased the birds and played with some other dogs. There are always people who love Labradors at the beach and the dogs get lots of hugs and pats on the head. After watching the sun go down and the lights of the city come on, we reluctantly headed back to the van. It was a long day but an enjoyable one.

Dog show in Hilton Head

I went to the dog show in Hilton Head this morning. We showed around 12:30 PM. I took Amelia (Surry's Terminal Frost) and Vera (Surry's Earthbound Misfit). Amelia won her class and Vera took second in hers. Vera was a little apprehensive because of all the noises but eventually she was happy and enjoyed being petted by spectators. Amelia was her usual happy self. It turned out to be a beautiful day with no rain. It was actually hot in the sun but there was a good breeze blowing which helped to keep things bearable.

I'm driving back and forth to the show so tomorrow I'll have to be up and out the door by 6:30 for a 9 AM ring call. Ugh--I would love to sleep in one day of the weekend until 7 PM. Guess I'll have to wait until next weekend for that!

Importance of a good OFA technique

I've been lucky to have a wonderful vet who knows the correct positioning of hips and elbows for OFA certification. He is a perfectionist when it comes to getting the dog positioned correctly and having a good clear x-ray taken. Dr. Shong often takes 4 or 5 shots to make sure that he has the best one for submission to OFA. It is possible for dogs to be normal with regard to elbows and to have good hips but because the vet either didn't get the positioning right or the x-ray wasn't the best, the dog didn't pass. Not every vet knows how to get the positioning right so it's important to find one who does. Several breeders have driven many hours to come to Dr. Shong. He takes pains with each dog and wants to make certain that positioning isn't one of the reasons that a dog won't pass certification. I've seen crooked spines, unequal foramens, and other indicators that the dog wasn't positioned correctly on x-rays taken by other vets. For such an important decision, it's worth getting the dog to someone who takes a good x-ray and knows how to position the dog.

Stella finds a big piece of line

Today, I took Stella to the beach for a long walk. During the walk, I came across a hawser from a tugboat, possibly the Elizabeth Ann who has been hauling mud scows out to the dumpsite off shore. Anyway, I decided that I wanted to bring this huge line back to my van and take it home. It was loaded with sand and wet which made it very heavy. Plus, I had to drag it for about a half mile on the beach and back to the van. It was pretty tiring work. Several people stopped to ask what I was doing and I said that it was a new exercise routine to burn off more calories while beach walking. They seemed very interested in the line and one art student wanted to take it home to photograph it. Are you kidding, I thought, after dragging this thing for nearly a half mile, do you think that I'm going to give it up now???? So Stella and I struggled...well, mainly I struggled while Stella just tagged along and wagged her tail. We finally got the hawser back to my van. I also found a hard hat with the Oswalt label on it and surmised that it was lost during the launching of the Spirit of SC since Oswalt did the moving of the ship from the shipyard to Union Pier. It was quite a time at the beach to find all these treasures. Now I'm trying to decide what to do with the hawser.

Launching Day

What an exciting day this was! The crew of the New Charleston Mosquito Fleet met at the Maritime Center around 10:30 and cast off lines at around 11:15. We rowed out into the Harbor and were greeted by a festive sight. There were boats everywhere, large and small. Everyone was there to celebrate the launching of the Spirit of South Carolina. There were large yachts, shrimp trawlers, small power boats, sail boats of all sizes, and two 34 ft. row boats. We were allowed inside the police boat perimeter for the launch. The ship was christened by a middle school student from Chapin who won the essay contest about the Spirit of SC. After all the dignitaries spoke, the tugs from Stevens Towing gently lifted the Spirit over the water and lowered her slowly down. Horns blew, small cannons were fired and we tossed our long oars and pointed them skyward in a salute to this new tall ship. God Speed Spirit!

Getting ready to launch

Today's email is not about Labradors but about a great event that's going to happen tomorrow. The Spirit of South Carolina will be launched tomorrow from Union Pier after seven years of hard work by a score of volunteers and fund raisers. The Spirit is an educational vessel that will take students on cruises where they learn science and math skills as well as team work and how to get along with each other. There will be sails for at risk children and the grades will encompass middle school through college. I can't say enough about the beauty of this ship. It is a 4 million dollar vessel that has been lovingly built by master boat builders and just ordinary people. The hours of dedication and love that the volunteers have put in is just incredible. It is truly a wonderful thing that has been done and a lot of self-sacrifices have been made. I hope that if you have a chance you will either watch the launch in person or on TV. There is a web site to go to so that you can read about the Spirit.

I'll be with the crew of the pilot gig so will have one of the best seats in the house. The pilot gigs have been asked to be on hand during the launch. I'll be snapping lots of photos for sure.

A rainy Thursday

Last night the puppies were having a great time wading in the puddles left by the heavy downpour of rain. It was very inclement weather but the dogs had to go out and the kennels had to be cleaned. It didn't seem to phase the Labradors who were bouncing around getting muddy. The puppies would run in and out of the DogLoo set up in the puppy paddock while their kennels were being cleaned. They were all piled in at once during a thunder clap.

Today the weather so far hasn't been bad but more rain and thunderstorms are forecast for this evening. I've signed up for watch duty on the Spirit of South Carolina and hope that all the rumbling and bad winds move on out before I have my watch. The launch of the Spirit of SC is on Sunday. The pilot gig crew will be rowing over to the SC Maritime Center and will have one of the best view of the launching. It's supposed to be cooler but clear that day.

I'm trying to decide how best to leash train all the babies. I think that I'll spend about 15 minutes with each puppy per day for walking on the leash. Then I can gradually increase the time a bit and get each accustomed to standing and staying. It's a challenge to have more than 2 puppies to work with!

Adult versus Puppy Food

Food is one of the issues that seems to be like religion and politics--everyone has a differing viewpoint and strong opinions. We feed our dogs and puppies Pro Plan Lamb and Rice Adult food. The seniors get Pro Plan Senior. The reason why the puppies get the adult food is that we want slow, steady growth and secondly, we have had extraordinary good luck with using the adult food. We have never fed a large breed formula. I talked with a local orthopedist about nutrition in Labradors and he indicated that feeding an adult formula was the best thing to do. He did not think that there was any advantage in feeding a large breed formula. Unfortunately, many vets are ill-informed and think that Labradors have similar nutritional needs as pointers or poodles. They don't! The English type Labradors tend to have more bone and overall substance than many other breeds. They don't need a lot of protein and fat--in fact, a 24-25 % protein and 12% fat is just fine for these dogs. In fact, I've occasionally had to feed a lite formula when a puppy begins to exhibit signs of pano or a growth spurt in which the bones grow unevenly. A breeder friend once described this syndrome as "piano leg" and recommended that the protein content be reduced immediately. I put the puppy on lite formular Pro Plan and the problem corrected within a week.

Another favorite thing for vets to do is to recommend a food that they carry, such as Science Diet. Science Diet is not a food that I would recommend for Labradors. I believe that we as breeders have a good idea about what works for our dogs and what doesn't. Each breeder will have a different opinion but I think that it is best to heed the advice of the breeder from whom you get a puppy, rather than disregarding and going with a vet's advice.

Books on Labradors

I'm asked quite a bit about books that I recommend for Labrador owners. Here is a list of my favorites.

• Reaching for the Stars: Advanced Dog Breeding Concepts (Pure Bred Series) by Mary Roslin Williams. This was originally called Advanced Labrador Breeding but that book is sadly out of print. This is essentially a reprint with a bit of additional information. It is an excellent book for those interested in breeding and how to become a better breeder.
  
• The Ultimate Labrador Retriever, Second Edition by Heather Wiles-Fone. This is a good book written by an English breeder and judge. It provides basics about the breed but is especially interesting because it provides photos to indicate differences in type and structure.
  
• The Art of Raising a Puppy by The Monks of New Skete. This is an excellent book for training a puppy during the first 3 months. The monks stress the need for early human socialization. The book also stresses humane training methods, and the importance of positive reinforcement.

• How to Raise a Puppy You Can Live With by Clarice Rutherford. This is another great book on puppy rearing. I especially like the idea that it isn't necessary to have formal tests to evaluate puppies. Just watching them play and observing their behavior is just fine!

• Book of the Labrador Retriever by Anna Nicholas. This is an older book but has a lot of information in it. I like the photos of the Labradors of yesteryear.
• The Versatile Labrador Retriever by Nancy Martin. This is my favorite on the breed. It is well-written and provides a lot of information on English and American lines. I like to see photos of the dogs behind our lines. This book provides a very good summation of the history of the breed as well.
  

Finding a good vet

One of the black boys went to a new home today. The puppy will be living in Asheville and will have a wonderful home. I’m glad that all the babies are doing well and enjoying their time outside. It’s also nice that the days are getting longer and that there will be more time to play with them in the late afternoon. I have to start working on leash training for Crinkles.

I’ve heard from quite a few of the puppy owners. One of the most problematic things for getting a new puppy is finding just the right vet. I provide an article on how to find a good vet in the puppy packet that goes home with every puppy. Finding a good vet is sometimes easier said than done. I am so glad that we have Drs. Shong and Rockwell as our vets. Tweedle’s owner in Florida has been having a hard time finding just the right vet for Tweedle. Not all vets are created equal and some definitely have more knowledge than others. For example, we suggest that the vaccines to use are Progard Intervet. These are expensive vaccines and are thought to be very good. However, there are vets who continue to use other vaccines that have been reported to not be as effective. The mark up on drugs and vaccines from vets is enormous, probably over 120 %. We do give our own vaccines, except for rabies which legally has to be done through a vet. I think that each person needs to make sure that a vet is available and provides the best care possible. It is a good idea to interview the vet and see what their philosophy is. For breeders, it is important to be able to get in touch with the vet should there be an emergency during whelping. It certainly makes life so much easier to not go to an emergency clinic.

Ear and mouth licking

I received a picture from an owner that shows Mia's ear that has been licked and chewed on by Gracie. Ear licking is not uncommon and I've watched our girls lick each other's ears. Sometimes it can be a sign of affection but it can also indicate that there is a yeast infection. I always check the ears when I see licking occurring. We use Chlorhexiderm to put on a pad and then wipe the ear out carefully. It's important not to go too deep into the ear. Otomax is another good thing to put in the ear.

One of the other cute things to observe is how the younger ones will lick around the mouth of the older dogs. This is a sign of submission by the puppy and is often observed with a young puppy and it's mother. All of our girls and boys are amazingly tolerant of puppies and youngsters. It appears that Mia also puts up with the ear licking and chewing by Gracie. Aren't Labradors the most understanding and kind dogs?

The puppies spent the day out

The puppies have attained too much biomass for their puppy room so they spent the day outside in one of the kennels. Several, including little yellow girl, were put in with Crinkles. Others were put in an adjacent kennel. They were having a wonderful time and Crinkles was finally able to have some playmates nearly her own size. She was being bossed about by yellow girl who is very fearless. Even though it was rainy, the day wasn't cold and their thick wooly puppy coats will keep them warm. I'm sure that they all piled up together in the dogloo for a nap. Tonight they will have some play time outside of the kennel but if the rain increases, they'll probably be put up so as not to get too wet.

The spring peepers are out on Wadmalaw and the jonquils are blooming at Surry. Everthing seems to be pointing towards signs of spring nearing. It hardly seems as if we had much of a winter this year, although I surely did experience a blast of it on my recent trip to Rhode Island. Hopefully, there won't be a hard surprising freeze in March. I like the soothing sounds of the spring peepers and go to bed each night listening to their night sounds from the wetland near the bedroom window.

Getting photos of the puppies

I received this photo of a boy with his dog. The puppy is from the Barrett x Clara litter and she seems to be very content! We like getting news and photos of the puppies and heartwarming ones like this really make me smile.

The boys from the litter had a wonderful time playing outside, although the weather was a bit cold for them to stay out long. Although these are Labradors, I don't like to leave babies out except during the day. Crinkles is now able to spend the night in the kennel but it will be a while before the newest puppies are able to do that. It's nice though that the days are getting longer.

Stella had a big morning at the beach running and sniffing. She seems to really enjoy playing with other dogs that she meets there. She also went to Pet Smart where she got a new red collar to go with her Sullivan's Island dog tag collar. We should all be so lucky as to come back as a Sullivan's Island dog.

Coming home

It was wonderful to get home and see the dogs. The puppies have grown and are now 14-16 lbs! All of them were out in the yard today playing. I think that the little girl from Sally is very cute. She is totally full of herself. The black boys were bouncing around and playing with leaves. Crinkles is also full of herself. She is having a lot of fun playing with her toys. I am pretty exhausted after being away but am glad that there is a long weekend with Monday being a holiday. I hope to get some much needed rest and perhaps take the dogs to the doggy park one day.
Tilly and Anna were very glad to see me as well. Charlie really had his hands full while I was gone but handled everything in an amazing way. Thankfully, I won't have any more meetings in the northeast for a while and I never plan to fly through Detroit in February unless I absolutely am sabotaged by a travel agent. It was truly looking like Siberia!

Icy covering

Today, Newport is covered with ice. The meeting group was supposed to go to Prudens Island today but because of high winds and very cold temperatures, the ferry wasn't running. So we are going to do more meeting today and wind things up this afternoon. Unfortunately, that means that tomorrow there will be no meeting and my flight doesn't leave until 4 PM with my arrival back in Charleston at 11:20 PM.

Charlie says that the dogs are fine. I really miss them and am looking forward to seeing the puppies who I know have grown since I've been gone. Also, I haven't even seen the new yellow puppy from Reba's litter. Charlie said that she is very cute. I need to play with all the babies and perhaps take some of the dogs to the Isle of Palms dog park over the weekend.

Stella is doing well and is going to the beach every day with her human companion. She has decided that it's important to pick up all the mail and any items of clothing that she finds and take all of that to her crate. I'm not sure whether this means that she has decided to clean up or whether she is feeling secure by putting things from her human in her crate. It is funny to hear about this though. Certainly, she seems to be enjoying having constant attention.

The February storm

I'm looking out at a snow covered Newport this morning. It is absolutely beautiful. The snow started around 1 AM and was really coming down this morning. I walked along the inner harbor and looked out at Narragansett Bay. The snow is going to change over to rain and sleet later with a freeze tonight and possibly more snow.

Charlie said that the dogs are all okay and the puppies are having fun. Sally Sasser sent a Reba x Lewis (Ch. Ghoststone Louie Downtown) to me who is the same age as the Clara x Barrett babies. So there is this lone yellow girl amongst all the black boys. Charlie said that she is giving the boys what for and gets right in there to get her food and chow down. She evidently doesn't take any stuff off the boys.

I'm missing being home and playing with the puppies, although the Charleston weather with a lot of rain doesn't seem to be as appealing as the snow on the ground. I'm just hoping to be able to make it back home on Friday.

It's Valentine's Day so I'm hoping that the doggies are getting their special peanut butter doggy treats. I got a couple of Valentine greetings this morning which was nice. Just remember, no chocolate for the dogs!

Long meeting days

I'm listening to the weather and hearing that a major storm is headed to New England. It is supposed to dump about 4 inches of snow in RI. I'm in Newport so I'm not sure whether it will head here or not. I flew from Charleston through Detroit and there was a snow storm there. It was magical to watch the snow falling. The deicing of the plane was interesting as well. I think that it is crazy though to have meetings scheduled in the northeast in February. Also, whoever the travel agent was who sent me through Detroit probably needs to spend about 12 hours in an airport that is socked in by snow. I once had to spend 23 hours in Brussels because the airport was shut down by snow. There were guards with guns trying to keep some of the screaming travelers in line. I sat around with a bunch of other Americans on the floor and we generally talked and played cards. It became pretty old after a while.

Charlie is doing okay with all the dogs but I'm sure that he wishes that I were home. Hopefully, I'll be able to get out of here on Friday even though I have to go back through Detroit.

Puppy packets

Today was puppy pickup day, and I was on my way to Rhode Island for a meeting. I put together the puppy packets that contain articles on housebreaking, crate training, etc. as well as the shot record, pedigree, clearances, registration and a lot more information. Charlie was there to meet the puppy owners and go through the information packets. I think that this is the first time that I haven't been there to go through the information and hand over the puppies. All three of the girls are gone. The black boys are still at Surry. They will have wonderful homes eventually and in the meantime will have fun playing in their puppy pen.

It's always a good idea to always put together an informative puppy packet. I've found that articles on crate training and housebreaking are essential. I also have something that I put together that lists instructions for care of your puppy. It describes what to feed, when to feed, how much to feed, and other essentials that are needed for the puppy. The shot record is also very important. At 8 weeks, the puppy will have had the 6 and 8 weeks shots. We use Progard Intervet which is a good vaccine. It's important to provide as much information as possible to the new owners.

Missing Piedmont specialty

I hate that I'm missing the LRC of the Piedmont specialty this weekend. It is one of my favorite specialty shows. Unfortunately, I have a meeting out of town and just can't be in two places at once. The venue is wonderful and the club members are great. I've been a member of the LRC of the Piedmont for years but because of living on the coast, I seldom get to attend meetings. I was pleased to have taken BOB with Stella at the Piedmont specialty several years ago (has it been that long?). I'm hoping that everyone has a great weekend and enjoys the wonderful hospitality of the club.

Why does everyone want yellow labs?

It's a mystery to me why so many people are looking for yellow labrador puppies. Is it the Marley syndrome or the cute puppies used in commercials on TV? Is it because the faces are easier to see? For some reason, there is this much sought after yellow female which makes up about 80% of the calls that we receive. Obtaining a good Labrador should be based on its breeding, health clearances of the parents, and temperament, rather than color. To breed for color is a mistake that a lot of people make as the blacks have always been superior in overall type and conformation to the yellows. However, I'm speaking from the point of view of a show breeder and not John Q public.

There is also the idea that females make better companions than males. If I had just one dog, I would choose it to be a male because of their sweetness and desire to please. Bitches can truly be, well...bitches. They are a bit more independent and much more oriented towards food. Males are goofy and lovable while the girls are a bit more serious.

The girl babies from the Barrett x Clara litter are going to their homes this weekend. Because most calls are for females, we will have the six black boys with us until several are placed. I would like to run on a couple of these boys as they are very nice. However, it will be a challenge to work with six of them. Good thing that I like the boys!

Getting ready for cold weather

Labradors love the cold and are well equipped to deal with it. They have a thick double coat with oily guard hairs. They basically shed water. Nonetheless, I like to make sure that they have plenty of straw in their houses during the winter. It's funny to see what they do when the straw is added. They run into their dogloo, turn around a few times, play with the straw and then flop down in it. I've kept loading up the houses with straw as it gets tamped down. Last night, they seemed very happy to go into their houses immediately after feeding and hunker down for a cold night. Crinkle, the baby, comes in at night as do Anna and Tilly and Timmi. Anna and Tilly stay inside all day as well. Timmi enjoys going out and being with the others during the day. I think that having fresh air, squirrels to look at, and the companionship of other dogs really makes mine happy.

Sunday on the Spirit

Today I slept in until 7 AM which is a luxury. Then, there were kennels to clean and puppies to feed, etc. In the afternoon, I went down to the Spirit of SC to do more with splicing and whipping of lines. I learned a back splice which is very neat and decorative. There weren't as many people in the class today and we were down below decks which made it a little less cold, although I felt chilled after 2 hours of working with the splices.

The puppies were outside to play for over an hour and a half today. It was a fun time for them. When I got home, I played with Crinkles for a while. She is now spending the day outside. She seems to enjoy barking at the other dogs. It's obvious that she is fearless.

Stella is doing well and is going for long walks everyday. She is enjoying going to the dog park on the Isle of Palms. She's made lots of new friends and has Cayenne and Cooper, the greyhounds, for romping with. I really do miss her but know that I'll get to see her and have her back at Surry intermittently. That makes me feel better to know that she can always come back home at anytime.

It's hard to believe that the Clara puppies leave this weekend for their new homes. I still have several boys that I am hoping to place but almost everyone is looking for yellow females. A good Labrador comes in all three colors!

cold day

Today was one of those damp cold days that makes you want to stay in your pj's all day. Instead, I was up at o'dark thirty to take care of the dogs and then headed over to work with the rowing crew on the pilot gig. Our group has two of the 34 ft. wooden pilot boats but one of them was in need of work. There were worm holes and patching to be done. First though, the entire boat had to be sanded. We suited up in protective gear, face masks, gloves, etc. to avoid inhaling copper paint. After getting the boat bottom sanded, we worked on the oars to get them sanded and new collars put on. It was a very productive several hours but I was ready for a bowl of hot soup when lunch time came around.

The puppies are very full of themselves but it was too cold today to let them outside for playing. The ground was still wet so their visitors are coming tomorrow. I think that the next few days, especially Tuesday, are supposed to be chilly.

Stella got her stitches out on Friday and is doing great. She is visiting with a good friend for the rest of this month and will live partly there and here at Surry. She will no doubt be spoiled rotten since she will get to go for walks on the beach and sleep in the bed. I miss her but know that she will be treated like a queen while she is visiting.

The puppies are making a mess

Usually when puppies get to be around 7 weeks of age, they start really wreaking havoc in the puppy room. This morning, the mats were pulled all around and the water dishes were overturned. Toys were everywhere! It is fortunate that there is a puppy room because it would be pure hell to have the 9 babies running around a house. I've heard that people do rear their puppies inside but can't imagine what the house must look like if they do.

Fortunately, I had a bit of quietude by attending the Hamburg Symphony last night. The Brahms which was the last selection played, just about put me to sleep. Guest violinist Robert McDuffie was really great and gave a wonderful performance.