Always looking ahead
“The great thing in the world is not so much where we stand, as in what direction we are moving.” Oliver Wendell Holmes
And things are moving forward in many ways right now at Dew Claw. Of course training the dogs is the main focus; and as the miles add up and the team comes together things are looking good. But there is much more to kennel management then training, and it keeps us busy.
Recently we were very lucky to have Dr Tamara Rose – T. Rose Veterinary Service out to the kennel for our annual fall wellness visit. Along with making sure we are current on rabies this is a chance for us to have dogs examined and ask questions. Was very relieved to learn that the lumps on our retired leader Jake are common in older dogs, and not threatening. The only reason to remove them would be cosmetic. Since they are not painful or dangerous, and Jake is not all vain and full of himself, we are leaving the lumps. We got a prescription for Loben to make her old bones more comfortable this winter. And along with getting spayed, Guppy got a tumor on one of her teats removed, making her much more comfortable.
Spayed females resting post-op
In addition to all this Dr T. Rose helped us meet a important goal of our selective breeding program. *Sometimes Good Breeding is Not Breeding*
With a focus on females we had 6 spayed. Four of these females were leaders, including race leaders Orchid and Sparrow. Never again will we have to consider weather or not to take a great leader just because she is or may be going into heat and could cause problems.
We now have only 4 in tact breeding females! SWEET! A very manageable amount of specifically, carefully chosen Dew Claw females. Less then the number of pens we built to house females in heat. And the best part… everyone’s life just got easier, mine & Dan’s did, less stress for the males, less likely-hood of races being made miserable by females in heat, no mistake breedings, life got easier all around.
So a Huge Thanks to Dr T. Rose for helping our kennel meet this goal.
Didn’t take Topaz long to get used to the cone. On the first night she was even drinking out of her water dish with it on.
The girls are recovering inside where we can make sure they are warm and dry and we can keep an eye on them. Topaz and Janet could not be convinced licking their stitches was a bad idea. Sparrow got off easy with just a belly band to keep her from licking her incision. I tried with Topaz but she was ripping the band off with her teeth before I could turn away. Sorry Topaz. And Janet was just as bad. Sometimes you just have to break out the cone. So a few homemade cones were employed to help. At first they were NOT Impressed and some time was spent in attempting to remove them. But when that proved futile Janet and Topaz quickly resided themselves to their fate and went about making themselves comfortable on their respective dog beds for the evening.
Other then some licking there have been no problems. Now we are making sure they are warm and the stitches look good, and I have given out a few moose bones to help pass the time while the rest up inside. Not much more we can do other then give them some time to heal.
Sparrow wants a belly rub
Orchid and the Cone Heads
Yuki and I sitting pretty for the camera
Knowing that some of the girls were going to be in recovery post-op I focused on running the girls side of the yard for the days leading up to Dr. Rose’s visit. Now the spayed females are recovering nicely in the heated garage; while the rest of the girls side takes a few days off.
Which meant the boys side was up for some runs while the girls recovered. And that is exactly what we did!
- “The will to win means nothing without the will to prepare.”
-Juma Ikangaa, 1989 NYC Marathon winner
It is all going well, but there is still so much to be done. We are working hard, but we are not alone – I want to Thank all the amazing companies and people who are a part of this team, I could never do this without you!
