Nothing Went To Plan

I was convinced that when I parked near Pant Du Vineyard and walked cross-country, I would end up on Lon Ddwr in Llanllyfni. Today, rather than crossing the main road from by the vineyard, I decided to park on the quiet Lon Ddwr (Water Street) where I had always thought the path came out. It was a lovely track, and yeah, just as I had seen it after the Farm on the original track, but I found myself in a totally different location and actually at somebody's house. I turned back and told myself that I would have to try again from the vineyard and actually see exactly where I came out on another day! 

This was not enough of a walk for the girls, and I decided on another walk, but the car park that I use was locked .. Ok so up towards Cilgwyn was the next idea. I parked, taking the girls again. I was enjoying the walk and decided I'd go as far as Sandra's old house before going back ... but I had to make a hasty retreat due to cows being in the open countryside. Sadly girls with Sammi and Zeus still waiting in the van, that would have to do.

Off we went to another parking space and another untried footpath; (Above) honestly, it wasn't worth the effort. We turned back, crossed the road and went onto the more familiar territory of the Carmel side of Cilgwyn Mountain! Zeus decided to play hippo and put his whole front end down in the mud, right down to his chin ... you can imagine what Steve had to say when I got home "What have YOU done to my dog?" 

Actually there are quite a few places to explore there, little nooks and crannies off the main footpath. Hmm one for the future. I've said that these flexi leads have opened a lot of new places for me, but so have my muck boot wellies. What ever did I do without them? Anyway after three years of hard labour and a bit of shoe-glue my black ones have finally given up the ghost. I hate wet feet. Luckily I had a pair waiting in the wings so no delays I can still go anywhere I like!

Donkeys, Alpacas And Help Needed

Beti got to see her buddies today. The greeting is always so sweets. Some sniffing, snuffling, snorting and snogging. They are as lovely with her as she is with them, I wish I'd thought to video the greeting; I'll have to think ahead next time. Let's just hope there is a next time, as the owner's house is on the market. None of my other dogs bother with them really, but I will miss them terribly if they go. 

Darwin, Dave and Duncan

It's funny how the boys stand and stare when we pass. I love seeing them too, and I always talk to them. They are still in their coats - soon be warmer guys. 

Thanks to Siska we got in a right knot! Well, we were well and truly stuck anyway. I pulled and pushed and seesawed it, but that lead was not coming out. In my wisdom I phoned Steve for some ideas, he suggested I leave it there, come home and he'd come there to get it with me. Well, there were numerous reasons why that was simply not practical, but I've only had the new leads a couple of weeks so I didn't want to leave it there either. The lightbulb moment was to ring Ian. I'd see him when I was out with Ross and Beti so I knew he was about. I really appreciated it that he came down to help but shrieked when he said, "Shall I bring a knife?" The video of him having to pull the wall down to get the lead free is on Facebook .. hell I could never have done it! Thanks Ian.

Thankfully I always carry spare leads, the sensible type, it proved again today how flexi-leads are only an asset in certain places. 

Easter Sunday Walks

Bluebells in Tremadog Nursery

Some very early bluebells this year, I'll be going back in a couple of weeks when hopefully there will be more. I walked the top path, my eyes letting me down in places and making me feel uncomfortable and unsafe. The path is about a foot or two wide with a rock one side and a sheer drop on the other side. Of course I'll go back! 

Rain And Upgrades

Not the best of Good Fridays, with drizzle, a cool breeze and thick mist. I opted to give everyone a run in the fields, and they had a great time. 

My new phone has been ordered; it's been 4 years since I upgraded, and to be honest, give or take a slow shutter speed, there's not a lot wrong with it. Anyway, I've stayed with the "A" Samsung phones and simply updated to A56 - Steve is going to have the A53 as his A3 or whatever it is is now well past it's sell by date! LOL To be fair that still does the basics, but I'm sure he'll find the A53 an improvement on his current phone. My new phone is being partly paid for by my family for my upcoming birthday.  

Giggles today on a Facebook post. Sheila's e.mail has been hacked, and lots of us have received the oddest of e.mails, common sense dictates they are not from her but people had also posted warnings on Facebook. What made me giggle was one of the new know-it-alls in the breed who said "who is this Sheila Rankin anyway?" Wow Really? You give the impression that you know everything about the breed and you don't know the name of a lady who has witten books about the breed, basically given her life to the breed and the breed council? Sheila maybe in her 90 ies now but she still attends Crufts and The Sieger. I should be shocked, but I'm not, so many buy or bluff their way to the top and just don't do the research and the work! 

If you are interested, then search for "Sheracyn German Shepherds," you will find Sheila's specific footprint in the UK breed history. 

Chatting On My Walk

Whilst walking today I came across a lady from Groeslon with a GSD and a crossbreed. Over the years I've regularly seen her in the distance, but we've never ended up close enough to chat before. We knew a lot of the same people in the breed, and not necessarily just in this area. She seemed to know more about me than I did about her, some mutual acquaintances as well as friends! She liked Siska, she said she was beautiful, but she was very impressed with Orin, saying his unexaggerated shape and size were exactly what she considered correct in the breed. She asked if I was still breeding? I chose to just tell her about the Orin X Mattie mating and as she had recently lost her older female she was interested. She said she had a habit of dithering over decisions and missing out, so the fact that this mating had only just happened gave her a long time to think about it. As I told her, it's far too early to know if Mattie is pregnant, but, well, here's hoping!

I have to say I was very impressed with all 4 dogs who stood there quietly whilst we chatted, and I observed she was also using Flexi leads. We both agreed times have changed too much to take risks!

My nutjobs entertained me as usual on their walk. I have to say, though they are naughty, they are fun! 

Everyone Walked

I had great satisfaction from getting everyone out on a walk today. The girls had the longest walk, but everyone else had plenty of time out. For the first time in over a year, Steve was able to do part of a walk with me. He then sat looking at the view and studying the old rusty steam train, some new sights is good for mind and body! I wonder where else is suitable for him to have a short walk? 

Siska Went To Visit Malan

As I wrote earlier in the month, Siska skidded and fell quite hard as the mat in the hall slipped as she ran out. It happened more than once before I binned the mat. Whilst I know her hips are Ok her continued limp on her hind left made me worry that maybe she had hurt herself so she'd had loxicom ... but on Saturday I noticed she was limping on her front right. Steve and I tried to have a look, but Siska is very sensitive about her feet at the best of times, so she was having none of it! As I went to take her out yesterday, she was dramatically lame on the front right, so we went to the field instead, but when we got back she was holding her back right up. OMG what was going on? Now I knew I was probably overthinking, but once the seed was planted, I was worried about Lyme disease and decided I would take her to the vets today. (Lyme disease in dogs often causes vague, intermittent symptoms that appear 2–5 months after a tick bite, including shifting-leg lameness, fever, swollen joints/lymph nodes, lethargy, and reduced appetite. While many infected dogs show no signs, severe cases can lead to serious kidney damage.) 

So there is a little pain in her left hock joint, but nothing dramatic – but she was extremely sensitive about her right feet being examined. Malan found that there were sores between her toes and Siska really did give a performance about her right front being examined. Luckily, I'd checked my blog before attending the appointment and made notes, so I knew that last Wednesday I'd found myself in a carpet of short nettles. I honestly hadn't noticed them until I saw the way Siska was walking; Orin was less sensitive to them, but they obviously bothered her. The obvious conclusion from that was that the sores are from Siska biting and licking at her feet since the incident. So it's back on loxicom and some antibiotics to clear the soreness, and we'll have to stay away from that walk for a while, shame as we like it - but needs must. 

My blue-eyed boy was with us!

The Noise, The Walk

Despite good reports, the anti-bark collar doesn't work for Beti, she's simply louder than it. I was almost in tears when I got to the parking spot today, I have to find a solution; this will spoil things for us as well as them. Saying that, the walk was pleasant, and the girls were well-behaved, ignoring a seriously pissed-off terrier and respectful around sheep, so we had fun!

Someone let the side down today ... I know what you are thinking, but no, it wasn't Zeus! For some reason Sammi took a dislike to a collie. All the dogs were on the lead, thankfully, as Sammi was seething and I struggled to hold her back! I know she can be gobby - but this was extreme, and after apologising on her behalf to the owner of the collie, Sammi and I had words! She said "Don't like him, prefer Tony Hadley!" (Sorry a George joke!) 

Testing And Timing

Yesterday it was a week since Mattie was here to visit Orin, and it's been a week of doubts and insecurities. Before I continue, let me explain that this will be a post about mating, ova and sperm, so if you feel uncomfortable with that sort of thing, then please bypass this post, no doubt there will be another photo post along soon.

As I've mentioned before, Mattie was not progesterone tested; Nicola chose to do cytology. "Vaginal cytology is a highly effective, cost-efficient, and non-invasive tool used to determine the optimal mating window in a bitch by assessing the cellular changes in the vagina caused by rising estrogen levels. It identifies when the bitch moves from proestrus (early heat) to estrus (the fertile period), generally by identifying a high percentage of "cornified" (flattened) epithelial cells." From what I understand, whilst cytology gives an idea that the bitches' season has progressed, it does not pin-point ovulation like progesterone testing does ... in these days of modern technology, rightly or wrongly, I'm really used to going with the "numbers!"

The matings last weekend were Ok, Orin was very keen, and we had two ties, but certainly on the first mating Mattie was tight, this causing some discomfort to Orin as they came apart. This could be because she wasn't quite ready, or simply because she was a "maiden" bitch.  As none of us were free at the same time on Monday, we agreed to do a second mating on the Sunday evening. It was really down to Orin if this mating would go ahead, he was, I'm sure, a little sore but we had an equally successful mating and no issues as they came apart. I offered another mating on the Tuesday, but again with working commitments, a mutual time could not be arranged. Anyway, with the longevity of canine sperm, I kind of hoped the rest of her estrus would be covered. 

On Wednesday night Nicola was at club with one of her Labradors. She was concerned by the attention that her own yellow Lab stud dog was still showing Mattie. I asked what days Mattie was on when she was mated .. Nicola thought 11 and 12. I felt uncomfortable with that and suggested she ring Suzanna (Who did the cytology) for advice, without the "numbers" I was lost. Anyway, when I got home, I double-checked my dates, considering "first blood" as day one Mattie was mated on day's 14 and 15 - well that immediately felt better to me. I messaged Nicola, she too had checked her dates and realised her mistake. By Saturday, day 21, things were quiet, so yeah, a 21-day season, unlike some of mine who take the piss. 

Have we caught Mattie at the right time? Well we can only hope, in recent years, following progesterone testing, we have always mated our bitches shortly after ovulation. Taking into account that it takes about 48 hrs for the ova to become mature, so the sperm would get there as the ova were ready to be fertilised. I only started testing with Tali, before that, like many others, I counted days and observed my males, as well as the female in question. Did the females get pregnant? Well yeah, mostly they did. I mated them somewhere between day 10 and 12 and then 48 hrs later with great success. Knowing what I know now, I think I probably mated them all early, but better too early than too late. (Once the ova have aged and died - well it's just too late!) Canine sperm is very long-lived once inside the reproductive tract. I was always under the impression that the strongest sperm could live up to 5 days, so looking back, in the past with my own females anyway, the sperm was probably lying waiting for the ova to mature, and as I said my females got pregnant, with the smallest litter being 5. Chatting about this with Jane today, as we do (LOL) she said she was under the impression that canine sperm lived longer than human sperm, we googled and giggled. Yes, canine sperm lives an average of 5 to 7 days and human sperm lives an average of 3 - 5 days, but often less. What really shocked me was that The American KC had reported that fresh semen from natual matings could live 10 -11 days. This long viability enables fertilisation to occur days after mating, making it impossible to know the due date of litters. How many times did we hear, "Pups came early - pups came late!" Well no they didn't; it's 63 days + or - a day from ovulation and not mating, this means that progestorone testing also gives a much more accurate due date for the litter. (Incidentally, frozen-defrosted semen only survives 12 - 24 hrs in the reproductive tract, which gives much less chance of pregnancy without accurate testing.)

All we can do now is wait, but I do feel it hasn't done me any harm to remember how we used to breed ... and to realise that the longevity of canine sperm was probably why we were successful.