Nuthatch Kennel

I’m writing this in 2017 but the post itself was written in 2015.  It was on another page which I modified and so now I’m adding this here just for historical purposes.

March 2015:  Well, I put off writing this as long as I can… but we simply aren’t ready to breed Splash.  On the one hand, her health tests have come back awesome – all tests A+ – but Splash had an “incident” (don’t know what else to call it) which changed the game.

Splash possibly had a seizure or something similar in Dec 2014 and it gave us quite a scare.  One morning the vet came and drew blood for the thyroid test.  Because more blood is required for the test than can be reasonably taken from the leg in a short time, the vet took the blood from her neck – the jugular vein.  Afterwards Splash seemed fine but about 1/2 hour later I went to get her for …something, I forget… and I couldn’t find her anywhere!  I panic’d! I thought she had escaped the yard somehow but, finally, after about 15 minutes of screaming her name and searching the yard (the “yard” is 1-acre so it takes a while), I found her absolutely stock still in one corner.  She was standing but couldn’t walk and I had to sorta lift her and make her legs move to get her inside; once inside she stood still and her hips feel sideways nearly to the ground.  It was clear she had no control over her rear end.  Finally she layed down and was listless.  The vet came back, we worked with her, and still she was completely listless and didn’t move.  Finally, 5 hours later, she “woke up”, stood up, and was totally fine.

I hope you’ll understand, Splash means everything to us, and we simply can’t take the risk that bearing pups might trigger another seizure.  It’s possible that the blood draw triggered something or hit a nerve or something completely unique happened and will never happen again.   Or… not likely, but there’s a slight possibility she has something wrong with her such as epilepsy.

[…snipped some info about Marsha’s mom…]

So there you have it… we’ll wait a year… 2016… and if Splash can’t be bred in 2016 we won’t try after she hits her 4th birthday.

We are sorry that we can’t have our 2015 litter but this is just what happens in breeding – if breeding isn’t for the betterment of the breed then why do it!?!  And we’ve had some severe lessons in breeding already  and I can’t have another dog die on me.   Ripple was such a fantastic girl and mother and her death still tears me apart.

I soooo wish I didn’t have to say this, but we’ve stopped trying to breed Leos.  Splashy simply would not get pregnant!  We tried in 2016, we tried again in 2o17,  but it just didn’t work.  Splash was (is) such a perfect breeding girl too.  She was an excellent worker and smart as a whip. and has wonderful rear angulation and gait.  I just cry every time I think about what awesome pups she likely would have produced.

I guess I just wasn’t meant to breed Leos.  Don’t know… but right now we don’t have any breedable girl and other things are rapidly changing in our life so it’s possible that we won’t every have a breeding girl again.

If we are so lucky to have pups again, believe me, this site will go right back up and we’ll be braggin’ about Leo pups again.  I LOVED breeding pups, I loved staying up all night with little bundles of peeing and pooping and whimpering blobs.  I loved every part of it!

Since most readers here are looking for a puppy, once again I’ll just mention: start at the Leonberger Club of America site, and do your research.  Leos are wonderful dogs but if bred incorrectly can be large dogs with very large, potentially dangerous, problems. They are also *not* for everyone: they shed everywhere!; they need space and exercise!; they need early, consistent, constant, firm obedience until they are at least 2&1/2 to 3 years old, if not longer; the girls especially can talk up a storm and be stubborn drama queens! (“ohhhhh, my paw, it hurts mom! I bumped it!!! Attend to me NOW, mom! NOW!!!”).  Also, I’ve now seen so many young Leos with leash-aggression that I’m not sure why it’s not part of the standard Leo description!

Skimmer and Splash made their TV debut today:

http://kwgn.com/2014/03/24/all-about-leonbergers/

I suppose really it was their debut and encore and closing number because we’re likely not to be on TV again for… ever.  But it was fun and they definitely enjoyed the attention.

Splash almost didn’t make her debut.  In the TV studio reception area she was being her splashy self, screaming at everyone at the top of her lungs, “HEY, WHAT’S THIS PLACE!??  WHO’S IN CHARGE AROUND HERE AND WHY AREN’T THERE DOG TREATS ON EVERY TABLE!!  I’M SPLASH AND I WANNA TELL  YOU …” and on and on.   This, of course, is a TV STUDIO…  where people are ON THE AIR, Splash! …you’re supposed to be QUIET!   I seriously considered dumping her back in the truck but it was close to show-time; my Leo-friend Lisa Gilford offered to hold Splash and at first peep in the studio she’d haul her out of the room and that would be that.

Off we went.

Splash was… well… awesome, wonderful Splash, my girl who takes a little time to consider the situation… but then finds that things are OK and maybe yelling at everyone isn’t the best way to win friends.  She calmed down and looked beautiful, giving out kisses to everyone who, in turn, said “wow, she’s such a calm dog!”.  Why, you sneaky little girl, Splash…

Skimmer was wonderful throughout and gave kisses to tall and small … literally… the newscaster pair consisted of a 6’3″ man and an ~ 5’0″ woman.  He loved ’em equally and made quite a hit.

Now, about the show…

I had no idea what it would be, not being a TV watcher myself, but I was surprised just how quick it went.  I’m not sure why everything has to be a soundbyte nowadays but that’s what it was… “here are some Leos, they’re great… back to you, Lois Lane!”   I was hoping they would at least mention some “responsible ownership” items, but although Kevin Fitzgerald came close, it ended up just being a “because they’re large they need a lot of … well, Marsha’s good with them… they’re a wonderful breed”.  Uh… yah…  OK.

So let me tell you here since they didn’t:

• LEOS NEED OBEDIENCE.
• LEOS NEED GUIDANCE.
• LEOS NEED EXERCISE, LOVE, FAMILY, and BRAIN ACTIVITIES.
• Leos are not a dog you can expect to grow up and become good citizens all on their own.   Some do, some seriously do not.  It’s those “do not” that can cause a boatload of damage.

That’s it.  Show’s over, my tiny rant is over.  It was a fun day for all involved and we are all sacked out.

Ripple’s was the best mother ever, to the pups, to me…

I usually try to stay light-hearted in my WaterDog Blog posts but I can’t do that this time…

Ripple died on Jan 18, 2013.  Her death was sudden but fortunately pain-free as far as we could tell:  she was sleeping on her back, let out a long 10-12 second “yowl”, and by the time we reached her to give comfort (we thought she was having a bad dream) she was dead.

As I’ve said many times before, Ripple was my “perfect dog” – she loved me completely and (I hope that) she felt complete love in return.  I think she did.

I want to tell a little story that exemplifies Ripple’s love of her family and, in this instance, me in particular:

On Nov 14th, 2012 Ripple birthed a litter of 5 pups and, over the next 8 weeks, cared for those pups with patience and devotion so extreme that it can only be classified as “motherly”.  She even gave a little warning growl when someone she didn’t know got near the pups – something I’d never seen Ripple do before and was, quite frankly, a little startled to see.  It wasn’t a fear or dislike of people; it was an expression of her devotion to those pups and, from the first time it happened, we had to be cautious when new people arrived at the house.

On Dec 23rd, just one day after I’d started my holiday vacation (figures!) I got violently ill.  Some sort of stomach flu or food poisoning may have been the cause; regardless, I was vomiting and delirious.  Occasionally I would “wake up” for a few minutes and, every time I did, I noticed that Ripple was laying against my back.  This went on for about 3 days until I finally felt better.  Afterwards, I was told that Ripple would check on her (sometimes crying) pups, look them over and decide they could wait, and then hop on the bed to be with me.  Think about that:  Ripple chose me over her pups – she took care of the pups when they absolutely needed it but understood that I was in worse circumstances and chose to take care of me first.

I’m crushed.  I’m absolutely despondent over this – my dog chose me and – somehow –  I missed whatever signs she gave me to indicate her impending doom.  I didn’t take care of her completely and she died.  I know down deep… I’ve been told over and over… there is nothing I could have done, and she didn’t show any symptoms.  Yet, still,  I somehow didn’t show the respect and care she deserved to keep her with us.

I hope I never have to write a post like this again.  Next time, if there is a next time, we’ll have doggy checkups and bloodwork done routinely throughout whelping and weaning and afterwards.    We have Splash now – Ripple’s daughter – and I so want to keep this beautiful line going.  I’m head over heels in love with Splash and terrified to breed her ; yet, if she turns out good enough I know that we’ll want to continue this line.

Goodbye perfect Ripple – you made a Splash and then left.   I’m honored that you were part of our family.