Puppies

It's starting to get lively round here, the girls have started to come into season :-) Yesterday it was Dime, today it is Dollar and no doubt Audrey and Spirit won't be far behind. I had hoped to repeat the mating that Dollar failed to conceive to last time, but as that particular dog has not sired any pup since our visit, I am not hopeful that we would be successful, therefore I have decided to try another boy.
Those of you who have followed my blog for a while will know how hard I have found it to find an unrelated health tested dog that will complement Dollar, in fact none of her previous mates have been health tested, and unfortunately that is the case again. The dog I hope to use is a lovely looking boy, 8 years old, sound, and with a pedigree that links to Dollars Vulcan pedigree without being too close (something I am pleased about as Vulcan are no longer breeding Std Poodles), but not health tested :-(.
He is a cream coloured dog, but is genetically a blue or silver. If he is genetically blue, Dollar will produce a mix of silver and blue pups, if he is genetically silver, all the pups will be silver. She should not produce any cream pups.

  

Dollar and Dime

Spirit will be mated to the same sire as Audrey's last litter, Matti (Big Cheyenne's Amattus)from Germany. I was really pleased with Audrey's last litter, and as Matti is sired by a black and red phantom, he is a really exciting prospect for Spirit. This mating should statistically give me 50% reds/apricots, 25% blacks and 25% phantoms, of course these are statistics and the figures really only apply over the course of several litters, so I am hoping that she will give me all the phantoms in this 1st mating :-) (though of course she may give me all blacks!)

Thank You

I have just got back from the reunion, and am chuffed at how many people made the effort to join us, 21 dogs were in attendance and unlike most reunions, there were no dramas or disputes, in fact it was just blooming lovely :-) The dogs all behaved beautifully and in fact the only hiccup was when I panicked that Dollar had bloated, which fortunately turned out to be a false alarm (but was really glad to have 2 retired vets in attendance, thank you for checking her out Simon and Mary). We were a bit of a tourist attraction, several people stopped to take pictures.

I have put a couple of pictures on here but there are more on my flickr account. I will definitely repeat the reunion next year as I know there were others who would have liked to attend, but for various reasons weren't able. Once again thank you to all those who have stayed in contact over the years, it is always a pleasure receiving little updates/pictures, but even better to see you in the flesh

Looking forward to Sunday

When I suggested this reunion, my main concern was that we would get rained off. I don't think that is going to be the issue now. I would just like to state the obvious, it is going to be very hot so please bring plenty of water for all the dogs, although there is a river and plenty of woodland at Parke, I think the main meet up areas will have to be in a field, so we will try to find a shady corner. DO NOT leave your dogs in the car. I'm not sure how good the phone signal will be, but I will  have my phone with me, should you not be able to find us, 07966 300996

I have spent the past week catching up with grooming all my lot, in readiness for Sunday, not sure why I bothered as every walk has seen the dogs splashing about in the river, so consequently they look fairly bedraggled (though they have had great fun in achieving that look).
All the kittens are doing well, the older kittens are sleeping a lot due to the heat, some times you hardly know they are there, most unusual for Devon kittens! However, they still hare round once it starts to cool a little in the evening. Sybil is doing a grand job with her despicable litter, who are all little dumplings.

A long night

Sybil went into labour yesterday evening, so after sitting up with her all night, she finally produced her 1st kitten about 10 mins after my alarm would have normally gone off. Great timing Sybil!! But I can't complain, she has had a beautiful litter of kittens in an array of colours. She produced 6 kittens, but unfortunately one was stillborn. However the rest are chunky strong babies, all have fed and all are content, especially Sybil who just loves being a mum.

Graham has relented and said I can finally keep a kitten :-) so I have 3 girls to choose from. We have named them Gru, Vector, Agnes, Edith and Margo (from the film Despicable Me).

Sybil

She has to pop soon, Sybil's kittens were due yesterday (though cats frequently go a couple of days over 63) and I don't think she has ever been so big, which is saying something as Sybil is not known for being a slim girl. I will obviously update this page as soon as there is anything to report.

Both of Tibb's babies and Bobs little girl have all got homes waiting for them.

I had my friend Rosie down to stay last week, with 3 of her dogs, and a great time was had by all. You honestly wouldn't have known we had 14 dogs in the house, they are just all such well adjusted dogs that right from the start they just settled into the routine.
We had some great walks, though the Dartmoor walk proved a little stressful as there were sheep everywhere, which meant that Dollar and Spirit had to stay on the lead for most of the walk. Fortunately, Sioux, Cash and Purdie were much more trustworthy and were able to run free along with Rosie's dogs. My other girls and boys had to have a day of leisure as I couldn't have safely walked all of them (including some road work) for 8 1/2 miles.
Our trip to the beach was great, the dogs had a whale of a time, despite the constant drizzle.

Not long to our reunion now, lets hope the weather holds. Hope to see lots of you there :-)

Kitten availability

itzapromisepoodles' photostream on Flickr.

The kittens are now well and truly up and running, as my scratched legs will verify. Why do all kittens see bare legs as a scratching post?
We had a little surprise with Eleanor, she is a he! I seem to be making a habit of getting the sex wrong in my kittens recently, perhaps I should start to put on my glasses when I check them, lol
Phillip, the black/white boy, has a super home waiting for him, Eleanor, due to his recently discovered sex change, is still available, as is Mini Me (definitely a girl).

I have had reasonable interest in the proposed reunion, with about 10 people confirming they can make it (some of whom have more than one dog), so I am hopeful of a good afternoon, just need to keep everything crossed for a dry day, and if we are very lucky, perhaps a ray or two of sunshine (well it is mid July). As previously mentioned, there is an open invite to anyone who is interested in meeting my poodles.

Reunion

After giving this a fair bit of thought, I have at last made a decision on a date and suitable venue for the 1st Itzapromise reunion. The venue is Parke, Bovey Tracey, a National Trust property that offers ample free parking, several meadows suitable for picnics and some lovely walks for the furry attendees and their owners, it is also only a couple of miles from Dartmoor, so lovely for those who would like to have a walk up there later on.

As this is a public area I decided not to wait until the school holidays start, as it gets very busy at that time of year. I will be there to meet everyone from about 11am until about 3pm (though happy to stay longer if required). There is apparently a cafe on site, though I have not used it yet, but I feel a picnic would be perhaps more sociable for those of us with dogs.

This reunion is of course an open invite to all those who have an Itzapromise poodle (or spaniel or GSD, unfortunately we can't include any cats) but I would also like to extend an invite to those who have a puppy from an Itzapromise dog, also I would be very pleased to meet anyone who may be considering getting a poodle, as this would be a great opportunity to speak to lots of people with poodles and to hear about their experiences with the breed.

I really hope that we get a good show, it would be lovely to catch up on how everyone is getting along. Although I am not booking a venue, or providing catering, I would appreciate some idea of numbers, perhaps those who hope to attend could let me know. I will definitely be bringing my camera, perhaps we could set a record for the greatest amount of related poodles in one photo!! So get practicing those sit/stays :-)

Date - Sunday 21st July 2013, from 11am to  3pm
Venue - Parke, Bovey Tracey, Devon