Two Litters Of Mini Dachshunds

We were fortunate to have two perfect, beautiful litters of black and tan Miniature Dachshunds. There are fives males and four females. Three of the females were reserved before birth. Winter is coming on fast and will be the test of my training program for the puppies as it will mean spending time out in the cold to make sure these puppies are trained correctly and never get the idea that going potty in the house is acceptable. I am not a cold weather person so if I can concur this part of house training I know everything will go well

Picture 108.avi

Oops Breeding

Well sometimes it happens though it never should...We had an oops breeding. We did not realize in time that our little Bonnie was in heat. I suspected so i had begun keeping her separate from the males. Not being sure I had not thought to tell our house guest. He , trying to be helpful got up early and let the Frenchies out to go potty. I got up to find Gibbs and Bonnie Tied. Since the deed was done we decided to go ahead and allow them to tie a few more times to insure we have a decent sized litter. Bonnie is having a very healthy pregnancy and is also filling out and looking really pretty. We expect her litter mid August.

Slug and Snail Bait...Don't Do It

IMPORTANT****SLUG AND SNAIL BAIT IS A DOG KILLER

We recently went through a horrible experience I would hate to see anyoneelse endure. Last year we moved here to the country and I have dabbled in gardening for years and now finally have the opportunity to do it on a much grander scale. Well I wanted to do it right to get a good harvest. I had spotted a few slugs and signs of insect feeding on my cabbage leaves
I decided it was time to use some products to handle the problems. I purchased Correy's Slug and Snail Bait and a can of Sevin. I got up early and went out to fertilize with miracle grow and then later in the day dust with Sevin and cast the slug/snail pellets. My smallest Miniature Dachshund crawled through the fence of the dog yard into the garden. I yelled at her to get back in the dog yard and she did. But then when i went to go back into the house she followed me in (obviously once more escaped from the dog yard. I thought nothing about the slug and snail bait as I had no idea dogs would be attracted to it. About 15 minutes later i heard what sounded like dog food being scattered and snarling and growling. I jumped up and went to investigate to find my little dachshund having seizures.To make a very long story short... We ended up taking her to emergency vet care with a 50/50 chance of survival. we arrived at 9:00pm and stayed all night with her on an IV and sedated. She did not stabilize until about 4:00am. We couldn't bring her home until 5:00 pm. Even at that point she was still sedated to the point that she didn't recognize us. It took an hour being home before she recognized mike and gave him a couple little licks. She really did not relize she was home until much later in the middle of the night. Please do not use this very dangerous product around your pets. instead try one or a combination of the following methods:

Fill a small bowl with stale beer. Put it in the areas where the slugs are active. Stale beer attracts the slugs and they drown. You may also
use grape juice or a tea made from yeast, honey and water.

Oat bran will kill slugs when they eat it... sprinkle some around.

Certain herbs (Rosemary, lemon balm,wormwood, mints, tansy, oak leaves,
needles from conifers and seaweed will repel slugs. However using a
mulch of these plants will only turn the slugs away, in search of other
food sources.

Why we are companion dog breeders

I have discovered that there are two distinct types of Ethical breeders. The Companion Dog Breeder, which spends many hours socializing their dogs/puppies to develop the right set of boundries and social skills to be the perfect family member. Their initial investment is high as they need perfect dogs to breed to achieve the right standard for the breed and be secure that their breeding dogs are genetically sound and healthy. They do this by studying genetics and having their dogs checked for genetic abnormalities, vaccinating on schedule, de worming, feed good quality food for all of their dogs and additional supplemental food for pregnant/lactating Dams. They also need to feed specially formulated food for puppies when the time comes. Where their big investment comes in is personal time with their dogs. These puppies are raised in their homes as family members in training. As a companion dog breeder you are with your dogs 24/7 with quick jaunts to the store as your only escape. You do not kennel raise companion dogs. Because your investment is not as high as Show Breeders financially you are able to charge less for your Pure bred registered puppies that are perfect for their purpose living in someones home loving and being loved.

Show Breeders Have an Extremely high initial investment because they must have not only healthy, genetically sound breeders to start out with (like the companion dog breeder) but they also have to purchase dogs with impressive pedigrees. Having these pedigrees shows that they come from a long line of champions (however this in no way means their offspring are guaranteed champion material or that their chances are any better.) Each dog must prove himself to be a champion.Most breed their dogs and raise the puppies in kennels.When they breed two dogs with fantastic pedigrees they have a fair chance of getting a show prospect but there are no guarantees. The Show breeder is breeding to get those show prospects for their show purposes and seldom sell what they would truly call show quality. However they have only a few that actually become champions. So what do they do with the puppies that they don't keep for themselves? They sell them as quality show prospects and companion puppies. They are not quite either most of the time but still are good dogs. However since they have that great pedigree you are going to pay a pretty high price. They will usually not have had the same level of socialization as those of a companion dog breeder since that is not their goal. Many will still be wonderful pets. The dogs that show potential to be champions do get abundant attention as they must be socialized for show.

Both types of ethical breeders have to deal with many of the same problems breeding these dogs. They usually need to be artificially inseminated as well as have c-section delivery of their puppies.

Really this is why I chose to be a companion dog breeder. Bottom line I love dogs and enjoy having them in the house and would not like to have them in a kennel. I am not a competitive person and would not enjoy showing my dogs. I do not like the drama involved in show politics. In my opinion some dogs do not enjoy the show ring and it is stressful for them as well as it would be for me. I want to raise my dogs only to be loved and give love.

Introducing Bonnie

We have added a new Member to our family. I would like to introduce "Frenchie Kisses Blue Bonnet" AKA "Bonnie". Bonnie is a black/brindle and white Piebald. she is 6 months old and so sweet. She is on the small side at 16 lbs. now and most likely will not be more than 20 lbs. as an adult. She will not be ready to breed until next winter (most likely.)
we are really looking forward to seeing what her and our gorgeous "Huggabull Special Agent Gibbs" AKA "Gibbs" will produce.

Why don't we show our dogs?

People tell me that my male Frenchie is gorgeous and ask "Why don't you show him?" there are a few reasons that we don't show our dogs and none of those reasons have to do with the quality or lack of quality in our dogs. The main reason I choose not to show is that Showing in itself does not necessarily better the breed. Some would argue that point as your dog is judged for the standards and being the ultimate specimen of the breed. My problem with this concept is that in order to achieve some of the very characteristics that make the ultimate specimen of the breed you may be violating ethical codes to do it. Inbreeding or line breeding (a milder form of inbreeding ) can produce a beautiful specimen with all the qualities to make that one dog almost perfect. However it can also breed in some undesirable traits down the line or even in the siblings of that particular dog. ( the brother they keep in the basement.) Many people would condone this type of breeding just for the glory of having a gorgeous dog. If in doubt check this out! http://www.puppygramnet.com/canine_dog_history.html (Thank you Mary Beers)

Another reason I do not show is that in order to show I would need to travel. We live way out in the hills 30 miles from the nearest city. I would have to leave my other dogs and puppies at home. I will not trust a pet sitter with my dogs and puppies.

As far as I am concerned adding stress to a dogs life just so I can say I have a Grand Champion, is selfish.

In addition I would rather spend the money it takes to show dogs on the dogs themselves rather than playing "My dog is better than your dog" at the expense of my other dogs

Miniature Dachshunds

This Is Ziva one of our Miniature Dachshund Dams. She and her Sister Katelyn will be Bred for the first time in the Summer to Fall of 2010. They have both Dapple and Pied coloring in their bloodlines so it will be like a box of Cracker jacks anticipating what we will get. Ziva is long coated and very petite, while Katie is smooth coated with a more stream lined conformation. Grimm our Sire is shaped much the same as Katelyn. We asre really looking forward to next year when all of our Dams will be old enough to breed, Dachshunds and Frenchies alike.