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Monday 22 June 2015

Pictures of Nadia

 
 
 
 
Mary Ann
Proud to Provide K9 Partners for Life
k9trainer@dogwhisperer.ca
www.myguardianangelshepherds.com



I'm So Incredibly Sorry

I was hoping that even though Indy had not gained much weight, she was hiding 2-3 puppies in there somewhere.  I'm so incredibly sorry to say there were no puppies. 
 
I wish I didn't care about providing all you wonderful people with partners but I do.  I truly do.  Some people say I care about you too much.  This is not a business to me.  My passion is to help dogs locate lifetime families and lifetime families to locate forever partners.  I have fallen very short over the past few heat cycles.  And I am so upset by this.  I have met almost all of you and you are such good, good people.  So patient.  So caring.  I'm sorry.
 
I did not know until recently that the reason Cruz did not have puppies was because she had a uterine infection.  They very often don't show signs of problems until it is too late to help them.  They can very often die of pyometria if left too long.  The good news is I was attentive enough to figure it out before she became extremely ill.  After 4 vet visits and 3 sets of antibiotics we seem to have things under control.  Just a few days ago she was given a clean bill of health. 
 
Indy has been a wonderful dog and she has produced 3 litters of beautiful puppies that have grown up strong and healthy.  She has decided that that is the number she is going to stay with.  She will not be bred again.
 
Isis has started showing her age in the last year or so, so she has been retired.  She also gave me 3 beautiful litters. 
 
Fia is just about old enough to breed but hasn't been up until now, so she was out of the question.  Many breeders would have bred her anyways to try and make money as soon as possible.  I won't do that.  The dog's health comes first and foremost. 
 
Achilles was originally my puppy that was sold and bought back to be a stud due to the fact his father, Diesel, had an untimely early death when he broke his back going over a 7 foot fence.  Achilles turned out to have testicular problems (not genetic) and he cannot sire anything. We have had a myriad of bad luck following almost 20 years of problem free breeding.  I believe it is just bad luck because I've been doing everything in my power to get a litter on the ground.  There is nothing humanely possible that I haven't done.  But that doesn't help all of you and for that I sit here and cry at my keyboard.
 
On a more positive note, I have some transactions in process now to purchase additional dogs that will add some new blood to my lines.  I have been looking for over 2 years for just the right male and just the right female and it seems I may have found them.  In Belgium.  They are stunning dogs, especially the male.  The female is 20 months old so is still filling out.  The male (Rommel) has more titles than you can shake a stick at!  IPO 1, IPO 2, IPO 3, SchH 1, SchH 2, SchH 3 Breed surveyed in Germany and clear hips and elbows and tested for DM.   Here are some pictures.
 

















As you can imagine, these dogs are of the highest quality and pedigrees I can find.  Their particular pedigrees are perfect to enhance my lines.  Approximately every 5 years I add new blood to vary the lines.  I have always kept two distinct lines going and I breed one to the other so there are no close relatives. The deals are not set in concrete quite yet but things are looking good.  A new pair of unrelated dogs will give my breeding program the boost I need.  Fia will be old enough to clear her hips and elbows and breed on her next cycle so hopefully things will look up soon.  The worst thing is that the girls go into heat only every 6 months.  If something goes awry, the best you can hope for is a 6 month delay and more often than not it's longer.  At least that's what I'm finding out now.  I worked with my head in the clouds having never had these problems before.
 
My heart is very heavy and my keyboard is wet.  I wish I didn't care so much, but I do.  I am not giving up.  I am doing everything I can to re-establish my breeding program.  I don't expect anyone to be this patient.  I'm sorry.
 
 
Mary Ann
Proud to Provide K9 Partners for Life
k9trainer@dogwhisperer.ca
www.myguardianangelshepherds.com



Thursday 18 June 2015

Cruz at the vet

Don't you wish all dogs were this well behaved at the vets!

Grooming Time

Your dogs should always enjoy their grooming sessions. If they don't, your doing it wrong.

Take Achilles today. I was only able to complete 50% of what I wanted to accomplish. He started turning and putting his mouth on either my arm or the brush. Ever so gently he was telling me it didn't feel good anymore. So I gave him a good scratch all over his body to "erase" any places on his body that might feel overly sensitized and he was done for the day.

Your dog will always let you know. You just have to learn how to listen!

Tuesday 16 June 2015

Thunderstorms

It's that time of year again. Thunderstorms can be a daily event around here. Luckily (actually by design) I don't have dogs that are afraid of storms. However I know there are a lot of dogs out there who are!

Friday 12 June 2015

Groom Your Dog!

Not only does grooming feel good to your dog but it helps you locate things like this before they become a problem!