Neverland-Retrievers

I had the opportunity to see and visit with April and Al during the FCRSA Supported Entry on November 25. April was 7 months old at the time. She is developing nicely, with a great coat, good bone, excellent head and front. She already appears to be taller than Tink. I think she remembered me, but appears to be bonded with Al. April was entered in Sweeps and Regular Class, but only took a forth place in regular puppy class out of five girls entered.

Here are some pictures I took that day.

   

…P

We are still waiting for Tinks next heat cycle. I don’t know the effect that pregnancy will have on time between heats. I have not found any literature on this subject. Up to now she has been averaging about 38 weeks with a standard deviation of 5.5 weeks. This means the next cycle could start as late as November 19th, see graph below. In the mean time, we are working on field handling exercises and blind retrieves. Tink is in very good shape. Her muscle tone is excellent and her weight is ~54 lbs. Thyroid levels are at the desired target values. A blood test after Labor Day showed her TT4 was 37 pmols/L, with the normal range being 15-67 and the desired value being 35 pmols/L. We’ll continue training and maybe run in the CRFCRC WCX test on 11/27/06.

 

…P

After a hot summer, we are back to planning for our next litter and field training. Tink is at her normal weight of 54-55 lbs. She put on about 5-6 lbs during her first pregnancy, but she has work it off by now. We’ve been training, the last month, on double mark retrieves, blinds and lining drills. We ran the PVGRC WC test on Saturday and she finally earned the Working Certificate (WC) title, see the upcoming entry in the Field Log for pictures and more details. She is becoming moodier and restless these days which usually happens just before Proestrus. She is due around October 12th +/- 2 weeks.
 
Everything is in place with the new Vet, Dr. Valeria Rickard, in Leesburg. I transferred the remaining breeding units from Richmond to her facility last month. Dr. Rickard is a reproductive vet specializing in Endoscopic Transcervical Insemination (eTCI), See IVIS Paper. She will be performing the eTCI technique and the traditional surgical AI on Tink for the next breeding. We are performing these techniques to maximize the chances of conception and litter size. During Tink’s initial physical exam, Dr. Rickard took a culture to check for Mycoplasma bacteria and sent the swab to Cornell. They found that she had a vaginal infection of E. Coli and Strep. The Vet put her on a course of antibiotics to get rid of this infection and we’re now back checking for Mycoplasma again. We should get the results in the next few days. It appears that Mycoplasma Bacteria may be related to infertility, early embryonic death, resorption, abortion, stillbirth, or the birth of weak, nonviable pups. Better safe than sorry later I suppose. With all this said, however, Tink appears fine, she is eating well, exercising and demanding as ever.

…P

The following is an excerpt from Kass Goulding e-mail to Al on April’s progress at training camp:

“… Her teeth are coming in right now, and she LOVES!!! to play in the hose.  Water is no issue for her at all (just like her grandmother) and she boldly enters any water.  My neighbor inadvertently built me a stick pond about 2 years ago, and she slithers over the logs and debris as if they weren’t even there. Land marks have all been with bumpers….until she is forced, I’ll wait on using birds….”

She also sent these recent picture of April at about 4 months old.

  

…P

April has been at Pacesetter Training Kennel, Athens, GA. Here are a few images of her at three months old.

  

Until we see you again!

…P

Here are some pictures of April, weighing in at 15.6 lbs (7.1 kg), just before leaving us for her new home with Al.

 

   

 

Here is a picture of April stalking a grasshopper in the yard,

and eating her favorite treat with mom.

 

Here is April at 8 weeks and 14.75 lbs (6.7 kg).

 

 

The weather is still cool in the morning so I let both dogs spend time playing in the yard. Here are a few images just before April’s 8 week B-day.