It is said that breeding is not for the faint of heart. That is so true. Being a purposeful, preservation breeder is more than just throwing two dogs together and waiting for puppies. We research and plan each litter; hours or daily research for months and often years go into each planned litter. We examine phenotype (physical qualities) to see if the strengths match up and the faults counteract each other. We examine genotype (genetic qualities) to make sure the pedigree and health factors will line up. We pour our soul into the plans and dreams. It's often so stressful to even achieve the breeding, be it be natural, Fresh Chilled Semen, or Frozen Semen- each has their added stresses and is heartbreaking if it doesn't work. On top of the physical and emotional strain of whelping the litter and all that goes along with that. I am sad to say that not one, but two of our planned litters - that I was SO VERY EXCITED about will not come to fruition. We were unable to procure the frozen semen for "Manny" to be able to breed Nike. Because Nike and Chili cycled at the same time we had initially planned to wait on Chili because we didn't want three litters at the same time and we had successfully mated Mackey and Betty. But because it didn't work with the "Manny' frozen semen- we quickly switched gears to breed Chili. Because of how quickly she progressed in her cycle and when she would need to be bred- we wouldn't be able to use our sire of choice Ricky Roy. So as a breeder I had not one, but two disappointments. Luckily we were able to obtain semen on another very nice young dog, who we hope will compliment Chili. Her progesterone was 'past prime' but we hope there were still viable eggs. We shall see when we choose to ultrasound in about 30 days.
On top of the breedings, we also found ourselves at dog shows nine of the last fourteen days. I now know why I am not a professional handler. It's A LOT and I missed my family. I mean only a little as they were both only an hour from home and I got to see them each night ... 4 days in Ft. Wayne, Indiana and 5 days in Kalamazoo, Michigan. It was a very successful set of shows for us!15" JORDAN was only entered in Ft. Wayne and came away with 2 majors and 6 points toward her championship...leaving her just needing 3 points. 15" LONDON (littermate to Jordan) was entered 4 days in Ft Wayne and 3 days in Kalamazoo and came away with 2 majors and 12 points toward her championship...leaving her needing just 1 point as she came into the clusters with 2 points. The 2 days she didn't; win the points were only lost to Jordan. 15" Peter showed 4 days inFt Wayne and 2 days in Kalamazoo and won 2 BOV's, 3 SD's, 5 NOHS BOV and a NOHS GROUP 1 AND 2 plus a strong pull in the "real" group. 13" Ainsley was shown once in Ft Wayne and 3 days in Kalamazoo with 3 BOV's, 1 SB, 3 NOHS BOV and 2 NOHS GROUP 3. 13" Lil Bit crushed some goals going into both shows needing 4 points and came out of Ft Wayne 2 days with 2 points and 1 day in Kalamazoo winning 2 points to make her a NEW CHAMPION! Making her our 2nd champion in 2022 (her sister Lux the first in September) and her dad's 3rd and moms 6th champion.
So now we wait for the time to see what ultrasound imaging shows us for puppies, try to finish Jordan and London before years end to try to finish 2 sets of sisters this year. What a fun goal that would be! We are also gearing up for one of the biggest, most prestigious dogs shows of the year in December in Orlando Florida. The NOHS Finals on Friday December 16th and the NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP dog show on Saturday December 17th. We have Peter and Ainsley entered. Then in the new year the renowned INTERNATIONAL KENNEL CLUB OF CHICAGO is back with fun NOHS awards that we will shoot for before welcoming our new hopes and dreams.
It's snowy and cold now in Southern Michigan so we wish you all warm Beagle snuggles.
