O Solé Mio

We had a pretty, sunny day the other day and took advantage of it to show some of the new blooms around here.
These are the kids I'm growing on.

Jenga (Toreth's Game Changer) 10 weeks old. (1/15/12) Sire is Lincoln, Dam Celie. This will be Celie's last litter. She's done her part. I'm really grateful for this one, Celie.

Kohl (Toreth's Jingle Bell Rock) 14 weeks. (12/22/11) Sire TM, Dam Rogue. I can hardly wait to show off the reach this fellow has!
Born on Winter Solstice the litter theme was Christmas/Winter. I wanted a black boy from this breeding so badly I would have made a deal with the devil. So I got a Kohl in my stocking for being a bad girl.

Zuzu (Toreth's It's A Wonderful Life). 14 weeks (12/22/11). This girl is quite simply beautiful!  Her name is a reference to the little girl in the movie. I can't believe how many people I have talked to that have never seen this great film! In the story the main character, George, has a daughter named Zuzu. He comforts her and in the process ends up with some flowers in his pocket. Then he ends up having this hallucinatory experience that teaches him to be grateful. When it's over he knows he's back to reality because Zuzu's petals are in his pocket.
Like George I keep checking to see if this is real. She is truly wonderful and I am grateful.

So I haven't been blogging much lately. As wonderful as life may be it can get busy.

I was hoping for another litter next week. But that appears not to be in the cards. It's just as well since we are sure to have more sun and more chores. Do you hear that Spring? We're expecting more sun... sigh... Life in the Pacific Northwest...

Puppies and more puppies!!

So yes. I have a few dogs around here.

We had one litter born a few days before Christmas. Those guys are 8 weeks old plus a couple of days.

One of the boys (black or brindle) and a girl  brindle with an all white head) are still available. Sound health history and temperaments are wonderful.

And another litter was born a few weeks after that. They are almost 5 weeks old now. A black boy and two black girls are still available from that litter. Again sound health history and beautiful, sweet temperaments as these are my first priorities.

Please email me at imleo9@gmail.com if you are interested. It's really important they go to homes that are ready for them so we will talk a lot and get to know each other before I let them go. I encourage my puppy families to ask me lots of questions too and come to visit us on our little hill if you possibly can.

Thanks for looking.

Pictures please!!!!

 I've been hearing you. I know I haven't posted on this blog for way too long! Sorry. I will try and do better.
Above are the blue boys from Celie and Lincoln's litter. It's a game theme for their names. Scrabble is on the one yawning and Bingo is smelling puppy breath. And I just realized I never made this litter's announcement here. Will correct that ASAP!!

We have had sun for several days now and today I took some pictures of the Winter Solstice babies (TM and Rogue are the parents) out in it. Winter babies don't get outside much so this has been very welcome for all of us. The house is getting a good airing out. eh-hem...

 breakfast was Turkey and Pumpkin al Fresco

 followed by a nap in the cabana...

I hope to post more soon! Thanks for your patience!

Nativity At Toreth

Peace to all.

For the curious: What went wrong...

If you look closely you can find the puppy we lost. He or she was virtually folded in half and blocking the cervix.
This puppy wouldn't have survived anyway as it suffered some deformities. Perhaps it had already died in utero and that is why it got stuck. No way to know for sure.
Had this been a bitch in the wild or left to do her business under the porch she and all her babies would have died. I am grateful we live in a time where we have the technology and knowledgeable people who can save lives.
While I was in the moment it was difficult to know whether to wait or intervene. Looking back on it I think we acted appropriately and in a timely manner.

Rogue and babies are doing great. Only one baby lost a little weight, Yule. It's normal for them to do that the first couple of days and my reassurance comes from the fact that he is strong and vocal and keeps his belly full on his own. And this morning he regained a little of what he had lost.

The Longest Night...and Morning.

So if you haven't heard the news already Rogue had her babies last night and this morning. So technically they are Solstice babies and not Christmas but we'll see what I can come up with for names over the next couple of days.
Rogue freewhelped two. A black boy and a brindle boy. Then one puppy got stuck and sadly didn't make it. The rest tumbled out via c-section at around 10 am.


And here they are...

Jolly

Black Boy 1, 11 oz., born naturally.

Elf

Black Boy 2, 8.5 oz., C-section. Maybe what is referred to as a Black Brindle... hmmm.

Yule

Brindle Boy 1, 11.5 oz., born naturally. He seems to be asking, "Ever have one of those days where you wonder why you were born?"

Nog

Brindle Boy 2, 10.5 oz., C-section.

Nick

Brindle Boy 3, 12 oz., C-section (and so are all the rest that come after).

And now for the Brindle Girls...

Ummmm, can you say Double Trouble? I can hardly tell them apart!

 Angel

White-headed Girl 1, she has a spot on her belly, 10 oz.

 Spirit

White-headed Girl 2, no belly spot, 9 oz.

Holly
This one's markings are similar to her black brother, 8.5 oz.

Ginger

And tipping the scale at 12.5 oz. is this beautiful girl.

Rogue is a fantastic mother and all the babies are doing great!
Big thanks are due to many people. First to my husband and my three girls. Thomas and Chloe the oldest in particular helped keep watch over Rogue while I had to work. Because they do so much to keep my little hobby going in a healthy way they helped with names.
Also much thanks to Orchards Veterinary Clinic. The staff are so great and I am so grateful they weren't too busy for Rogue and her babies. They all stopped whatever else that could wait to get the many babies started on their first breaths and latchings.

Rogue's Advent Calendar

4 weeks to grow... I mean go.

Belly getting rounder, belly hair thinner, and milk faucets getting bigger... yep! TM x Rogue babies in there!!!
Since we did progesterone testing we are pretty certain the due date is Christmas Eve/Christmas Day... give or take a day or two. But I've got a pile of potential names based on Christmas movies and songs. And I've put up a countdown widget for the litter's expected arrival.
If you would like to be considered for one of these puppies please contact me. Babies will be black or brindle.
***Correction (11/28/11): babies may be black with tan or brindle points, brindle, red/sable. See chart here. Both Rogue and TM are brindle and carry tri.
##### Further understanding (11/29/11): TM is homozygous for brindle. (Rogue probably is too.) He carries red and tri. (As does Rogue as all brindles carry red and Rogue's sire was tri which means he had to give her a tri gene.) Brindle is dominant and only one gene is needed for it to be expressed. So if the babies have a red base they will be brindles, some will carry tri. If they express the tri (they have to receive a tri chromosome from both TM and Rogue so only 25% chance) they will be black with brindle points. If you're confused by all of this I understand. It's taken me 2 days of reading whenever I had a little spare time to make sure I have it right. I might at some point draw up a Pundett square but the bottom line is there will be mostly brindle babies and a few black/brindle-pointed babies in The Christmas Litter.

Hopes and Dreams

First time I'm flying solo in a breeding. Well, sort of solo. I have listened to lots of advice from some great mentors and friends. Not everyone agrees which dog would make a good husband for Rogue. But the vast majority advocated for this 10-year-old old boy:

I had the opportunity to go over GCH Shadowalk Trademark (TM for short) a couple of weeks ago at the Richland dog show weekend. Him and some of his kids. TM has a marvelous shoulder well laidback and the longest upper arm I've ever felt on a dog, nearly as long as his shoulder blade.
The standard asks for: "Shoulders -slope downward and outward from the withers sufficiently to accommodate desired rib-spring. Shoulder blade (scapula) long and well laid back, meeting upper arm (humerus) at close to a right angle. Humerus nearly as long as scapula. Elbows -should fit close, being neither loose nor tied. The forearms- (ulna and radius) should be curved to fit spring of ribs." The shoulder and upper arm thing is really hard to find in our breed.
TM was also entered in the show and moved great for an old man.
No dog is perfect and you don't always get what you intend for in a breeding. But I'm hopeful.

TM is DM normal, OFA good on hips and elbows, PRA clear. Wonderful temperament. When I picked him up to put him on the table he snuggled his head into my shoulder. I had never laid a hand on him before so I fell in love with his sweetness.

Rogue too is DM normal, OFA good on her hips, PRA clear. I love her happy clown spirit.
She's in the beginning of her heat cycle now. I'm progesterone testing waiting for that magic moment to call Susan, TM's mom, and have her ship the other half of the puppies.

Fingers crossed for happy, healthy pregnancy, whelp and several silly puppies to snuggle for a couple of months afterward. Click on the link below to view their pedigree.
TM x Rogue babies

Rogue's ad

I had some fun learning the software I've had for forever...
The print version will be in the next Bulletin.

CH Rogue

I checked the AKC website yesterday and it's official. Rogue is CH Toreth C-Myste Rollin' On The River. We should get her certificate any day now. Oh and the medallion and an invite to Eukanuba for getting all her points out of the Bred-By class!

Tomorrow she goes in for her OFA x-rays, hips and elbows... Who me nervous? Well, maybe a little. Her parents' hips are very nice but still we need to be sure.

After that she'll be making her way to the whelping box I think.

Photos by Mark Thorson

Look who's 2 years old!

Happy Birthday to the X-Men litter!! Bred by Toreth and C-Myste. They're all champions to the humans that love them! Thanks for being such awesome families for these deserving babes.

Judgment Day

In case you hadn't heard, a momentous event of biblical proportions was supposed to happen today.

rap·ture
n.
1. The state of being transported by a lofty emotion; ecstasy.
2. An expression of ecstatic feeling. Often used in the plural.
3. The transporting of a person from one place to another, especially to heaven.

So I guess, in a manner of speaking, ...

well, I wouldn't say biblical proportions exactly but

Rogue is now CH Toreth C-Myste Rollin' On The River (pending AKC approval). Thank you Judge Garry K. Newton!

It certainly makes her human ecstatic. But I won't be quitting my paying job right away.

someone to watch over me

"Why do you think she keeps going down there?"
"Humans have some weird obsession with laundry."
"Glad we don't have that problem!"
"When do you think she'll get around to making our dinner?"

Firsts

My daughter Lexie debuted in the ring alongside of her Papillon Sparky.
"I'm excited and scared," she told me as we climbed into the van at 5:30 this morning to head for Albany.
I didn't know if I was going to be able to watch them make their first go at it because Cardigans were almost the same time and in a different building. But I was and even got a couple of shots with my camera phone...




I am soo proud of her. Lexie is going through a shy phase and Sparky is hitting his teens with 3 Cardigan girls at home in successive phases of their heat cycle. But they both came through it alive. And Lexie was absolutely thrilled to get a red ribbon today.

The judge was awesome and supportive to Lexie. I love that!! Thank you Ms. Gloria Kerr for being so encouraging.

And Rogue and I took home a Best Bred-By, BOW and BOS under one of our favorite judges Ms. Emily Fish. Thank you, Ms. Fish. Rogue just needs one more point to finish!!!

Rogue, Karma & a little Shade

Rogue (Toreth C-Myste Rollin' On The River)
Grandma Carolyn said: "You are going to special her aren't you?"
Answer? Hell, yeah! Okay I guess I'll have to finish her first but we're just two points away.

(note to self: throw out that outfit and get a haircut!)

*****

Karma (Toreth What Goes Around Comes Around)
And around she does go! Incredible reach and drive. Fluid, floating gait. "She levitates!" exclaimed an observer at the Rose City Classic. And don't you just love a long neck on a Cardigan?!

****

Shade (Coedwig Toreth Under The Bodhi Tree)

Everything you see here, another pretty mover and a temperament to die for too!
"Under the bodhi tree" is a reference to where the Buddha is said to have achieved enlightenment.
Someone recently told me they thought she had a face that could melt butter. Well, she has definitely melted my heart.

Blue and White for Rogue

Rogue (Toreth C-Myste Rollin' On The River) went Best of Winners today at the Rose City Classic.
4 points today brings Rogue up to 12. Her second major.

Thank you Ms. Joyce Vanek!

The Photo

What a day! She had 3 pts. prior to this so with this 5 pt. major she's more than halfway home.
I look at the photo and I still see a puppy who needs to mature. Her mother received her first major at the Richland show two years ago. She was four years old but really I needed to learn to be a better handler more than anything Kayla was lacking.

Thank you Carolyn and Mandy for Kayla and letting her have Huxley for a husband.

Thank you Rev. Dr. Patrick Ormos for this incredible experience. There were a lot of wonderful dogs present and you can only pick a few of them to be winners. I'm truly grateful you picked my girl to stand among them.

Now time to get back to work....

Rockin' and Rollin'!!!!!

I saw that Carolyn posted a teaser on Friday. So here's the story:

Friday was the CWCCA Northwest Regional Specialty in Richland and just so happened to be titled "Rockin' on the River 2010". Well respected breeder-judge Rev. Patrick Ormos of Phi-Vestavia Kennels, gave Rogue (Toreth C-Myste Rollin' On The River) Best of Winners and thus also Best Bred-By-Exhibitor. This was a huge entry and a 5-point major.

The full story includes a measure of suspense. I almost couldn't enter her, almost didn't go at the last minute. But without a doubt I am so glad we did. I remember her momma, Kayla (CH C-Myste Kahlua'N Cream) got her first 5-point major at the Richland show 2 years ago too.

Rogue has really come into her own. And I learned how to handle her better. Basically to just let her do her thing and stop worrying! LOL. Her thing is to fly around the ring and represent beautiful breed type.

I will be posting the win photo as soon as it comes. I also hope to get ahold of Patrick Ormos's commentary on each of the winning dogs and will share exactly what he had to say about my River Girl.

Thanks to everyone who supported me along the way and over the weekend:
Carolyn and Mandy. Emily Fish. Paul Chen. Denise Waiting. Kim Shira for helping with our picture taking. And there were many others who cheered for us. But most of all thank you to my oldest daughter Chloë for taking a day off from school (she's a very serious student!) and helping with showing 4 dogs.

And below is Rogue's suitcase full of booty.

Rogue is not! all ears

Who knew way back then they'd cause a bit of trouble for some folks...

To make it more problematic they had the audacity to go and get spots...


So it's happened twice that I know of that people have expressed curiousity about these ears of Rogue's. She is not a mismark and she is definitely not a black brindle with blue merle points.

From a trusted breeder-judge: Rogue "has many good qualities - pretty head, good bone, full coat, good tail set and carriage, good side movement. ... You are much more fortunate than most breeders...." And he's not the only one. Another said, "Whatever you do don't get rid of Rogue from your breeding program." I hadn't even considered it!

The Illustrated Standard says: "Blue merle appears as gray with piebald patterned black patches, or a marbled effect of black and gray. And merling (marbling) other than blue merle is a disqualification. White markings may appear almost anywhere (on the ears, on the body, or on the sides as a splash) and are perfectly acceptable, but white must not predominate (greater than 50% of the dog). White should never surround the eyes. Freckles of darker color (ticking) may appear in the Cardigan's white markings and are perfectly acceptable."

I am not upset about it because I know how wonderful she is. And I won't dye her ears to make winning easier. They're just too beautiful. I just hope the judges who enter the ring with the Cardigans realize these are the ones with tails and they come in more designer colors (in Pems Rogue's coloring would be all wrong). I also want for them to be bold enough to recognize her many virtues in spite those audacious, and absolutely marvelous, ears.

So no, we're not all ears... but we are listening. ;-)

Gig Harbor

Kismet and Karma's first real dog show.

Kismet went RWD, Karma placed 2nd in her class and Rogue went RWB under Paul Chen. Thanks Paul!!

Bobbin went BOB, Flower went WB/BOW, Liam got BOS, Crescent (I think that's his call name) got WD. Congratulations!!!