Happy Independence Day!
Hope everyone is having an enjoyable and safe Holiday!
The only constant here is the rain which continues. Nearly non stop! I think we're going on nearly a month now. Three weeks definitely! Everyday and nearly all day with occasional cloud breaks. As a result the pups and I have spent quite a bit of time on the porch, them romping and me just watching it come down. They'll venture out once in a while but not too far out. And I'll ask them to follow me into the rain at times if not raining hard. They offer next to no resistance. They just follow. Copper however isn't fond of the mud puddle that routinely forms between the porch and yard. Runoff held captive by the railroad ties separating the two areas. It's funny to watch her. She has an exceptionally strong desire to follow me but I can see the wheels turning when faced with the puddle. She actually gets pretty upset. Barks and jumps around but always bites the bullet and crosses the water feature. Pink on the other hand doesn't bat an eye at the rain. Overall, their follow me is getting pretty good. Rain or shine. They're Dobermans and that desire to stick by your side begins early. It does seem to be most evident in Copper. Seems she's chosen me. And there's a good chance I've chosen her too. Have been watching her and a few others for a few weeks now. Four actually. The loyalty I see in Copper though is hard to ignore. But as a breeder I have to constantly remind myself to look at the big picture. The whole. And let me tell ya, it's been a struggle. Probably the hardest time I've had choosing a pup to date. Coming down to the wire though as we've already had four families visit. First time I've asked people to make a first as well as a second choice pending my decision. And in one case a third because selections overlapped.
Yellow seemed to gravitate to Rod and his family right from the beginning of their visit and continued to hang a bit closer to them than the others. That selection has been made and they're thinking Shelby will be her name. Not yet set in stone though.
Lori and her hubby actually arrived out of order, ahead of Rod and family due to distance of drive, the holiday and timing. Turned out timing wasn't great though as they fought rain the entire way compliments of tropical storm Danny. White knuckling it as they said.... While here Yellow caught their eye too. But because they were out of order they had to choose an alternate incase she was chosen. During Lori's visit I actually held back the two pups I was considering leaving them with 6 to choose from. But once home and having a chance to think things through, based on photos they called to request to be allowed to claim whichever of the two pups I decided against. Seemed reasonable to me but because of it, I had to bring the entire litter out while Rod was here and offer him the same deal. From there things have grown even more complicated. It's come to the point that I have to make a decision.
Sherry and her Hubby, along with Sherry's sister Bev and her hubby arrived for their meet and greet yesterday. Sherry and Jim with only two boys to chose from made their selection pretty easily I think. Another case of the pup basically choosing it's people. Black won their hearts and they'll call him Seger.
Bev and Bobby's situation was a little different. As I explained the growing predicament, they too were allowed to visit with all the pups.... and again some overlaps occurred and they were left to choose not only an alternate but also a third. Never before have I experienced this. When I've kept pups in the past there were never so many to chose from and I was able to stall selections for a couple weeks. Six weeks is really early to try and select actually. Especially for a breeder. They change so much over the course of a week and much more over the course of two.
I will say there are no bad pups in this group. Or in any group really. Each has their positive points and each some slight fault or another. It's quite rare to get the whole perfect package in one pup. Don't care if you're an an American Show breeder or a non show breeder that takes breeding seriously. I fall into the category of the latter. Going forward I naturally want to put the best forward so I want to get as close to the total package as I can get!
But tomorrow we've got another visitor and it seems it's becoming unfair to continue asking people to make alternate choices.
And I'm still stuck. In fact instead of narrowing things down, I've added a third to consider. I'm about to the point of drawing straws honestly. Not quite sure at this point what I'm going to do but I'll have to make a decision by 11:30 tomorrow. Before our 5th family arrives. The struggle is real!
Outside of my dilemma and the weather, we've had a good week. Lunch and a romp on their own in the little dog run one day. Running in the yard when we got the chance. An hour or two in the yard with mom on one of our nicer days. Lunch and at times evening meals on the porch have been fairly routine.
We did have a not so nice episode this week. I think we had a bug run through the litter. Each outside of maybe one or two has had an off day One day one... the next day another. They went off their food and struggled with some pretty nasty diarrhea and for a few vomiting. Worried me though as those are signs of Parvo. But outside of Ritz going in for her C-section there's been no exposure to clinics or other dogs. And the incubation period for Parvo is much shorter than it's been since Ritz spent her day at the clinic. So just a stomach bug I guess? All were fine and eager to eat the day after their "off day". Thankfully! They drop weight so quickly at this age! One day, or even one meal is obvious. And now that I think about it, each only skipped one meal... possibly two for a couple of them, not an entire day of meals. Odd.....
I managed to complete the weekly photo shoot today... started it it Thursday and finished the last two today. Now just have to get them uploaded and posted.
I did some head shots during one of our porch days and will include them too. But for now.... A week in review.
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