Bitches And Their Daughters ...

An elderly Nikki - center
with Seffe, Krizzie and puppy Tali in 2005

Over a cuppa in a cafe the other morning a remark was made by a friend. "Bitches and their daughter eh, they never get on do they!"  Well I've not found it to be so, though in a multi bitch house hold there is often tension, but generally mothers and daughters get on, unlike sister who are a nightmare!
Nikki was my first bitch, she was a strong character who took charge of the pack quickly. Blade may have thought he ruled the roost, but as is nearly always the case the bitch always had her own way.
From Nikki's first litter we kept Seffe and the bond between mother and daughter was strong, even with Dexi coming back before he was 6 months old, Nikki's loyalties was to her daughter. But when Nikki had her second litter and we kept Lia her loyalties shifted slightly and Lia became her pride and joy. There was never tension between Nikki and Seffe, that developed between Seffe and Lia, and Lia's personality was suppressed by Seffe's intimidation. For her own safety and future development Lia went to live with friends and Seffe settled back down into family life.
Seffe had one litter by cesarean, 3 bitches and 2 dogs. She doted on her fat pups, adored them but sadly when they were about 4 weeks old she had a really bad case of mastitis and had to be separated from her growing babies. It gave Nikki the perfect opportunity to move in and for want of a better turn of phrase she stole the puppies. But Seffe was soon back with them and Nikki and Seffe shared the duties of bringing up Krizzie.
Krizzie had 2 litters, the first was of 7 dogs and 1 long coat bitch, having never really wanted a long coat (personal choice) I sold the bitch and kept the Amazing Louis. Definitely one of my better decisions, but I still needed a bitch to continue my line so 18 months later Krizzie had her second litter, 8 dogs and 1 bitch. Thankfully Tali was normal coated, though she would have stayed what ever her coat type! The bond between Krizzie and Louis had been amazing, he adored his mother and she gave him the world, but as soon as she had Tali things changed and her daughter became her world. She gave preference to her, and would make sure Tali "Won" all the games. Really Tali didn't need any back up or encouragement, she was already headstrong and determined; but her mother imprinted the behaviour on to her and it was obvious in Tali's upbringing of her own puppies that she had learned to give preference to her daughter.
From Tali's litter we kept Asha and Mikey. The three where close, but the strength of bond between Asha and Tali was unbreakable. Tali promoted Asha over Mikey in every situation, Tali adored her daughter and still does. Now in old age Tali has little patience with the younger "Blaniks," but her love for her daughter is obvious for all to see. That love is also reciprocated from Asha, she's often washing Tali's face and cuddling up with her.

Tali, Asha, Ziva, Sammi and Kaiah

Asha's litter was born by cesarean and due to unsuitable offers of homes 4 sisters stayed far too long. it was an awful time and I can't even look back and think of many pleasant experiences. The fights where horrendous, the sisters disliking each other more and more as they got older. Though there are no cross words between them, even now Asha seems to have very little bond with her daughters, they are all part of a pack, but there is no closeness. Asha's love is for Loki, since he arrived as a pup she has doted on him, the son she always wanted maybe?
Ziva was a far better mother than Asha, she loved her babies. Now she and Sammi do have spats, but there is still a bond, a strong relationship between them. Ziva was over protective of Sammi as she was growing up, if any of the other bitches told Sammi off Ziva was quick to intervene. No one tell's my daughter off ... except me!
Sammi was a lovely mother too, but I'm shocked at the way thing are between her and Kaiah now. Kaiah is quite the bully and I guess now it's too late for Sammi to try and put her in her place. If you knew both bitches and their personalities you would be shocked to see the way Kaiah treats Sammi and how Sammi reacts to it. Though they still play it's almost like Sammi is afraid of putting Kaiah in her place. Kaiah is always bubbly and happy, she's sweet, affectionate, confident and cuddly, but she's also cocky and headstrong with a strong streak determination. With successful health tests it will be interesting to see what kind of mother she will be ....