I hope this Blog proves to be both fun and educational for anyone interested in Showing and/or Breeding Dogs. Spend some time with us and you will really understand the time and effort and emotions that goes into this hobby. Join me here for the good times and bad times, the joys and sorrows, the wins and losses. Welcome to life at Vista Dei!

Another big WOOOO HOOOOO... going out for Vista Dei Luvme Genevieve CGC,TDI  "Genni" Completed her Therapy Dog International testing and added a new title to her name last night! I am So proud of her and Shawn for meeting their goals in training.  yippee.. way to go guys!  Off to update our web page, as we like to add all of our "puppy" family's acheivements to our web page.  Also we added a new opening picture for the page, so stop by and visit! http://www.VistaDeiShelties.com

Posted by: Vistadei at 08:34 | link | comments (3)

Things are getting back to normal around here, both Diana and Dew-oh seem to be coming out of the false pregnancies fine, no infections, no stopped up milk ducts.  I put away the welping pens and put the bank of dog crates back in the room where they normally are.  Destiny has finally learned to jump up into the upper level of crates, and that is nice, as it used to be I would have to catch her and she wiggled and squirmed and knocked her food bowl and sent food scattering around as she tried to get into her crate for her meal, but now she is jumping in like a big girl! 

Posted by: Vistadei at 12:46 | link | comments (1)

Luke Lambert just stopped by to visit me at work.  He has to be the happiest puppy I have ever seen.  Absolutely beautiful too, nice coat, face looks like his mom Mysty.  He cheered me up today.

Posted by: Vistadei at 15:34 | link | comments (2)

I think it has been raining here FOREVER!!  The dogs are not getting enough outdoor play time, they are impatient with each other, with them all trying to play roudy inside.  Been days of short potty breaks being their only time outdoors, getting soaked with each one, drying them off, general smell of wet dog wiffting through the place.  They barely get dry clear though till they need to go out again.  It is just like little kids on a raining day, have to to get them things to do to keep occupied.  We have gone through all the rawhide chewies, I even broke into my Christmas stash and gave them some new toys.  Destiny has chewed the tags off all the pillows and sofa covers.  She is really intrigued with anything that sticks out like a tag, she feels she has been put on earth to trim tags.

Posted by: Vistadei at 08:05 | link | comments

 Very sad news, we just got back from the vets and BOTH Diana and Dew-oh are in false preganacy with false labor.  I have never even had this one time, let alone with two girls.  Very sad.

Posted by: Vistadei at 12:58 | link | comments (3)

Well maybe since we had no pups last night, we will do something a little different this morning!!  It has been PICTURE WEEK!! Some of the litters had birthdays and their owners sent pictures, and a couple others just sent some cute pictures, so here goes..

First we have "R"'s Baby Cricket sneeking a nap on the furniture when she KNOWS she should be napping on the floor!

Second picture is Luke from L5 litter, he is 8 month's old.  This is China and Destiny's big Brother.

Third picture of the week is Drifter from L4 Litter, This was his First Birthday on Oct 20th, nothing better than a romp in the woods and a cupcake. Isn't he a good boy to wait a split second before inhaling it?

Fourth picture is Halo.. Halo is Drifter's brother also from the L4 Litter, so he too turned one year old this week.  His owners sent about 6 pictures,  if you click on this link you can see other pictures of Halo, swiming and having a ball! http://vistadeishelties.com/L4/halo.html

 

 

Posted by: Vistadei at 11:01 | link | comments (1)

Nothing Nothing NOTHING.. gggrrrrr... Diana's temp did drop clear down to 98 degrees, she has been pacing and digging and fussing for a day and a half now, I have been up with her for 2 nights.  Using up 2 day's vacation, and stil NO PUPPIES... sigh.. she is going to wait till I am ehausted.  Who knows what Dew-oh is doing, she continues to pick at her food, dig up her bedding and just generally look miserable, but her temp never dropped the whole way and now she is 2 days over due so it is looking more like a false pregnacy for her.. sigh.. I said at the top of the page, that you could share in our "good times and bad times, the joys and sorrows, the wins and losses"  while this isn't exactly a "sorrow" it will be a disappointment if it is a false Pregnancy for Dew-oh.

Posted by: Vistadei at 09:23 | link | comments

What is that old saying about a watched pot never boils?  Normal temperature on a pregnant female dog is nearly 102 F degrees, 24 hours before delivery the temp takes a sudden drop to around 98 F degrees,  this morning Dew-oh is 99.7 and Diana 99.5 so are they both dropping?  Do I go to work?  Do I call the vet and give him a "heads up" like I normally do when the temp drops? aagggghhhhhhh or are they both faking..

 

Posted by: Vistadei at 07:27 | link | comments (2)

Oh I think these girls are FAKING.. hahahah  maybe they are pretending they will have puppies just to get extra yummy food??  Diana is still eating like a piggie, and happy as a lark and no temperture drop yet.  Dew-oh has been acting much more like she is getting ready for labor, she has not eaten last night or this morning, is digging digging digging up her beding and whining and wanting held, but still no temperature drop for her either.  So, do I go to work?  Do I go to agility classes tonight?  huh.. oh, got that second crate set up for the second welping pen.  It is the same size as the first one, but the first one is about 20 years old.  Wow, NO comparison in the quality.  The first one is a nice heavy gauge wire, firm and sturdy with a nice galvanized pan that I can walk around on in the crate (I leave the tops off and just walk in to care for the pups)  This new one.. yipes! Has a plastice pan for the bottom that is about as sturdy as the plastic meat trays from Walmart grocery section!  The crate is rated for dogs up to 160 pounds (yeah, it is a really BIG one, but keep in mind there is a mom and eventually 5 or so puppies running around in there!) Anyway, rated up to 160 pound dog, yet I can take the bars in some places and flex them till they touch each other!! Can you imagine a HUGE Rottie or a smaller Newfie or something that wanted to get out..they would twist this thing and jam their heads half way out the wires with no effort at all.  I guess that is the best you get in this country today for a nearly $200 price tag.. gezzzzz...

Posted by: Vistadei at 08:54 | link | comments (1)

Posted by: Vistadei at 21:50 | link | comments (2)

My Friend's dog (refered to in the last posting) had 2 small pups that are still living, mother dog is OK.  That is a blessing.  I had set up a make-shift welping area for Dew-oh, and the normal one for Diana, but try as I might I couldn't get the makeshift one good and sturdy, so went out today and bought another large wire crate nearly the size of Diana's (4 ft by 3ft  floor and 4 foot high) with the drop pin corners.  I like these, I line them with disposable cardboard on the sides (poke holes in the card board and twisty tie it onto the wire) that keeps the welping area draft free, can easily be disposed of and replaced if it gets soiled, and I leave the top off that size crate and one corner pin off, and I can swing the end open and walk into the crate and stand up, and help adjust babies or whatever. I can add "pig rails" if needed by putting pieces of pvc pipe in the appropriate areas, and it is big enough for an active litter to spend the day.  So I spent the $189 and got another one.  hahahahhaha oh this hobby can nickel and dime you to death.  Off to set it up and get the heat lamps wired onto both pens.  I wire them very very well, so even if they get knocked about, they can not come loose or tilt to burn a wall.  Heat lamps on puppies are one of the most common reasons for kennel fires, sure don't want a house fire!  I also got a one room space heater so I can keep the bedroom alot warmer than the rest of the house, but won't like to leave that on in the day while I am at work.  Will see how it goes, hopefully the first week of birth we will have nice warm days till the pups are old enough to regulate how they snuggle to mom.

Posted by: Vistadei at 18:21 | link | comments

No puppies yet, infact they don't even look "close"! Ususally the mother looks downright miserable for a few days, but not these girls, they are bouncing and playing and eating and having a general ball.  If it wasn't for them both making milk, I would be down right worried they weren't even pregnant.  One of my friends has puppies due on Tuesday, and has been having some VERY bad and dangerous signs in her girl.  She was trying to get a hold of a vet yesterday and I hope everything went ok, haven't heard from her this morning.  Most likely she should have had a c-section last night, if possible for the pups to be old enough to make it. Another of my friends had her girl bred and was due this past week, but nothing, no milk, no nesting, no puppies.  She will go into the vet on Monday for an xray to be sure nothing is stuck in there dead, but these instances are a reminder that like with human pregnancy every breeding you do risks you lovely girl's life as well as set up for some heart break on the wee pups, every time it all goes right is just a miracle and another time you beat the odds.

Posted by: Vistadei at 10:15 | link | comments (1)

Ohhhh I love when people make comments to my posts.. thanks guys!!  The first due date for Diana is TOMARROW.. the first due date for Dew-oh is the 18th.  You know tho, I won't tell you all on the day the puppies are born.  I don't tell anyone outside my family much about the litter until they are 3 or 4 days old, as the mortality rate is higher in the first few days and I never want to "jinx" the litter by bragging about the puppies publicly until they are 3 or 4 days old, then I feel that they are thriving and doing well and I will "announce" them. Keep wishing us luck as both girls are first time mothers, I have the goat milk ready incase they don't take care of the pups or their milk doesn't come in good I can suppliment, also some Gator Aid, and that believe it or not is the best jump starter for weak pups.  Got the suction bulb, and the hemostats and the towels and the newspaper.  Need to get a second heating pad and second heat lamp still.  Never did get the TV cable put in the room. I will start taking their temperture tonight and do it every morning and every night.  At some point their body temp will drop 3 to 4 degrees and once that happens they will deliver within 24 hours. I am tired, going to bed early, just in case we have a long day or night tomarrow, but I think that Diana is not quite ready yet.

Posted by: Vistadei at 22:08 | link | comments (3)

Got the welping boxes set up, and the girls are spending their days in there to get used to it, so they are comfy and secure.  Moved the other dog's crates out to the living room area, have started to screen for the waiting list for pet puppies.  Somedays that is a very frustrating process. 

Posted by: Vistadei at 13:06 | link | comments (4)

Both Diana and Dew-oh seem to have a little milk production, so it looks like TWO litters for us!! Oh my.. well, have to start this evening getting their welping boxes set up.  The one I have is no problem, but I have never has to have two welping areas set at the same time.  I guess I will use the bottom of the large crate I have and put an x-pen around it.  Both girls generally sleep on the upper level of crates (we stack their sleeping crates 2 high) but now it is time they stop jumping up and down into them.  I will have to move the rest of the dogs to other rooms of the house so the girls start to get nice quiet room to start to "nest" and feel secure that other dogs aren't around to hurt their babies.  I am also going to get the cable moved into the bedroom, usually when we have a litter, I can not leave the bedroom for even a snack or bathroom break for nearly a day, unless my kids come by and help out.  IF these two litters would be born on the same day, or even back to back days, I might never leave the bedroom.. so a little TV might be nice.  Prior litters I just stock up on some novels, snacks, bottled water etc. cause once the mothers start into labor I won't just walk away from them to go do something.  Got to get lots of clean towels ready, newspaper, a second heating pad and a second heat lamp too.  Probably should turn on the furnace just to be sure it is working right just incase it is cold when they start having the pups.

 

Posted by: Vistadei at 12:23 | link | comments

"Pick of the Litter"  that is the subject of the day!  I am starting to take names of people who are interested in puppies from the upcoming litters.  For some reason, probably the media influence over the years, most everyone wants "the pick of the litter", they want to be the first one in the door to make their pick from the puppies while they are a few days old and look like hamsters!  They think that they will be the one to get the prize pup if they can just pick early and FIRST!

  People do not realize, that is not the way a litter choice is made, at least not amoung those of us breeding in hopes of some show prospects.  The last guy left in the litter is the one that will be the closest to perfection and the one who will be the Show Dog, not the pup that is the first  pick from the litter! hahahhaha 

 See this is the way it works:  A litter is born with the hopes of some show prospects, right away, first cut is are there any colors/markings that are not acceptable for the show ring?  If the answer is yes, then those pups will be available to the pet homes on the waiting list.  We watch the litter grow awhile, are there any puppies that appear to be wee tiny and growing slowly, are there any puppies who are way huge, and gaining rapidly?  If the answer is yes, then those puppies will be available to a pet home.  Now the pups are up and playing and we watch some more, of the pups that  might still possible for show, what are the personalities like?  If they are quiet , laid back pups they will be added to the list available to a pet home. Now there might only be one or two pups left, at this point the litter is probably over 8 weeks old, and the one that we have decided were pets, have started to leave for their new homes and loving families. 

Out of those pups that we made available to pet homes, we hope to have helped place the pet pups in families that are the most suitable for the individual puppy, rather than to let people come in and pick a puppy based on the coat markings.  Are the people wanting this puppy going to travel alot and need a smaller dog for hotels and car issues?  Then the smallest puppy is probably for them.  Are there alot of children or bigger dogs in the family?  Then the big sturdy guy is probably best suited for that family.  Are they interested in agility or other sports, then the fast learning "wild child" of the litter is for them!  Are they first time pet owners who also work, then the laid back low demand pup is best for them.  While we never insist that a certain family takes a certain type of dog, we really like to help them with their selection to make the best possible match between the puppy's personality and size and the family make up and activity level.

Then we get back to the one or two puppies that are still here after the others have gone home and we start looking at the fine details. Are their heads shaped just the way we want them? Are their teeth coming in the way we want? How do the move, is their front and rear movement balanced?  How are the angles on the rear and front shoulders?  Does the pup have attitude? We start to Chart their growth, and teach them to stand on a table and gait for the show ring, we house break them, and begin to teach them some good manners.  If everything is looking good at this point, we have to decide.. is this pup, as a possible show prospect ALSO a puppy that might further our own breeding program here at Vista Dei? If we keep this pup, how will we fit it into our future plans?  Sometimes we decide that a pup like China is best suited to go to another breeder where they own males that are more suitable for breeding to her than anything we have available to us.  Sometimes we have already kept sisters or brothers from a prior re-peat breeding, etc and do not need to keep another puppy with the exact same genetic make up and pedigree.

  At that point we start to look for a good "show /breeding home" for that puppy.  That notion is romantic, but is actually MUCH more difficult than finding a good pet home for a pup!  Once advertised, many breeders will contact us for that pup, but we have to start looking at their reputation, their ethics, their past records.  Do they buy alot of dogs, show them once or twice then give up and dump them and buy a new puppy.. no, that is not what we want!  Do they keep the dogs in their house and train them, or are they kept in a kennel where they see a human for 15 mins twice a day? No that is not what we want!  Are they breeding their females over and over, with 4 or 5 litters on the ground at any time? No that is not what we want!  Do they live 3,000 miles away, so far that if there is a problem, it will be hard to deal with because of the distance? No, we don't want that either!  Hopefully, we will find a good show home for this puppy, but if we can not find one we like, and we do not see any real benifit from keeping this puppy in our program then THIS PUPPY IS THE CLOSEST TO PERFECTION, THE LAST ONE TO BE SOLD, AND IS THE PICK OF THE LITTER! And sometimes is advertised and sold to a pet home at 6 or 7 months of age, but yet, the general public seems to think this pups was the "left over, unwanted one" and they want to pick theirs from a new litter, just born! hahahahha Go figure..

Posted by: Vistadei at 09:14 | link | comments (1)

My Saturday morning routine.. Get up, let all the dogs out, refill the outdoor water bowls, hollar at the dogs to be quiet, it is only 6:30 and the neighbors MIGHT like to sleep in, realize my hollaring is probably worse than their barking, so I take my own advice and shut up! I go back inside while they play chase and do their "business" and watch each other do THEIR business (it is of great interest to some of them!)  Take the bedding out of their crates, throw into washer.  Get bucket and fill with hot water and bleach, use hand broom to sweep out each crate, then wash each one out with the beach water.  Take out all the food and water cups, soak in hot soapy water, add some dish detergent to the bucket of bleach water, take it outside.  Pick poops from the run area, hose it down, take the bleach water and bucket and scrub brush and clean the concrete floor in the run, then rinse it.  Attach the garden spray container to the hose, wash the area down with the Odo-ban including the grass around the run, take up the water dishes.  Go back inside, put the bedding in the dryer, wash the food and water cups out, put second set of bedding into the now dry crates, put the clean food bowls out, put the clean water bowls into the run, go out with the dogs into the large yard, start picking poop.  Dogs keep bringing me toys to throw, so the poop picking takes a little longer as every few steps I have to take the toy and throw it and they all go off on a chase!  Picking poop in the big yard is like my morning easter egg hunt.. ohhh there is a piece hiding.. ohhh there is another one..  after I find those, I wash out the water bowls that I keep out on the small deck, hose the patio off, check the yard for mushrooms (poison blah) or anything that might have blown into the yard such as plastic and get that all cleaned up if I find it. Bring Decker and Ricky inside and give their coats a quick brush, check eyes and ears and teeth and feet for just general overall good health, have to do this every day so I would notice if a burr or seed or something got into an eye or ear, like to check the teeth and gums incase they chewed on something and hurt themselves, better to find it early than to wait till there is a problem, same with the feet, if there would be a cut pad or sore spot or something, I like to look every day just to be sure there is no problem. Do a butt check to be sure no one had the "runs" or any "left overs" stuck to the hair.  After I do that, I leash them and get their treats and chewies and take them out to the now clean and dry run.  Come back in, let the others in the house and repeat the brush and overall health check for all of them one at a time. Of course they are all trying knock each other over to be the center of attention, and Dusty just keeps bringing toys for me to throw. After everyone has been checked,  I play with them for a while and then get their treats and a light breakfast in their individual crates, fixing a nice breakfast for Diana and Dew-oh, they are just starting to get additives of Plain Yogurt mixed with egg stirred into their their morning breakfast along with a vitamen to help those puppies grow.  I take Darby (or who ever is training) and set a timer and work for about 15 mins on what ever it is we are training.  At the moment it is an agility exercise where Darby jumps up on a table and immediately lays down and stays in place as I edge away in another direction and then call him off to another article.  That is hard for him to stay still if he thinks I am going on without him to have more fun! After his training he goes back inside and gets a LITTLE treat, as he just had quite a few nibbles while working! Then I go back outside to the large yard, and spray it all down with a bleach/Odoban mixture.. wew.. almost late for work at this point!! where oh where did the last 4 hours GO??? hahhahaha Actually this is what I do EVERY morning except for the washing of the bowls, bedding, the scrubbing of the kennel, and spraying down the yard that is only done once a week, otherwise this is my morning, every morning.. so.. have you decided if you want to breed and show dogs for a fun hobby?? It is a lot of work!! Wait till we have PUPPIES!!! ohhhh my will there be alot MORE work!!

 

Posted by: Vistadei at 11:41 | link | comments (1)

Sigh.. pouring down rain today, unhappy , board, wet puppies.  eewwww..  they are soaked from just a few minutes outside, so they didn't get enough play time.  Destiny is carrying around my shoe, that probably won't have a good outcome unless I get it back from her.  Some others are bouncing off the couches and playing tag.  Mysty is checking everyones crates to see if they dropped a crumb of last nights dinner. Darby is digging on the covers I have on the furniture trying to dry off.  Ricky is leaning on my leg, and he is WET... ewwwww...

PS.. oppps  I typed too long and didn't snatch that shoe in time.. now my shoe strings are chewed through! Good thing I have another pair of shoes so I am not late for work!

Posted by: Vistadei at 08:06 | link | comments

I COULDN'T WAIT ANYMORE!  I have been spending the last few weeks totally re-vamping our puppy page on the web site!  I am so excited by it, everything is in place, but I still have to scan and photo shop pictures for the puppies Kylie and Gabby, add more pictures to many of the pup's pages, but it is 90% done, so come and take a peek at the NEW LOOK!  I have put so much time into this page, I hope you enjoy it!!  this link will take you right to the new page by-passing the opening page of our website if you want to save time! http://www.vistadeishelties.com/available.html

and yes R you can start proof reading NOW!! As far as I know everything is in place now on our new "Dot Com" site, tho Darby's page hasn't been moved yet.  You will notice I changed the back ground colors as I did the new pages, so after you leave our main page, if you see a lilac color back-ground it has been moved and changed and updated, if you see the sage colored back ground it is still in transition. soooo drum roll please.. our new improved site:

http://www.VistaDeiShelties.com

 

Posted by: Vistadei at 08:35 | link | comments (4)

Ahhhhh tonight's agility class went MUCH better!  I DID get a new bra, so am no longer a danger to myself or others.  Darby did great! he took the jumps very nicely, great runs through the chute, full size A frame, and nicely on the table.  Need some work with the tire now that we moved it up to full height, BUT Karen the instructer says we can enter perfered class, so that he could jump 12" instead of 16" and I think that might be just what we need to do.  I feel we made a good deal of progress this week.

Posted by: Vistadei at 21:34 | link | comments

Ok, time has come to reveal who the girls were bred to.. here is the links to the web sites of the two males!

Diana was bred to Leo and you can see him here:  http://www.geocities.com/mriazi.geo/Leo.html

Dew-oh was bred to Marino and you can see him here: http://www.geocities.com/keystoneshelties/marino.html

Let me know what you think of these guys.. I am excited!!!

Posted by: Vistadei at 16:35 | link | comments (5)

Tonight is our Kennel club meeting and I am in charge of the social, Wendy and Joye are helping me.  I think we planned a nice fall menue, but now that I look over it, looks like everyone will go home with GAS.. oh well they can blame it on the dogs, that is one advantage of sleeping with dogs.. "No honey, that wasn't ME.. must have been THE DOG"!!!!  Anyway, we are having Smoked Sausage Sandwiches in Sour Krout, Chips, Bake beans, Carmel Apple Salad and a cake.  Wish they gave a bigger budget, would like to get some potatoe salad or something.. but we only have $50 to work with for 43 people who usually  attend. Oh well... I think we did good for our budget.

Ok.. I think I THINK we might have BOTH girls pregnant!!  Both have suddenly started to widen rapidly.  Now I have to figure out how to best add a second welping box.  I would like them both in the same room together as it will be easier to keep an eye on everyone and keep the heat up in just one room instead of two.  But also have to be sure they aren't disturbing each other or making each other nervouse.  I will think on it further.  At least both welping pens will FIT in the same room with enought area to keep them from seeing each other, so I think I will set it up that way to start, then if that seems to bother them, adjust and put one in another room.

Posted by: Vistadei at 08:34 | link | comments

Today starts the home streatch for the girl's pregnancies.  I STILL can't tell for sure if they are, or not! With first time mothers their muscles are so tight they hold the puppies up high for so long, that until the babies are really near full size and wiggly, it is nearly impossible to tell for sure.  Diana in particular seems to be more hungry than normal, and as of today I have double both of their feeds and started to add a chewable vitamen. They both scarfed down the extra this morning, no picking at all.  I think that Diana is pregnant, soooo... I will now tell you why her breeding was so special... The male she was bred to is [drum roll please] FOURTEEN YEARS OLD!!!  Now you might wonder why we have done a breeding to a fourteen year old dog, but think about it, he doesn't appear to be a day over 6 or 7, and he is definately still fertile (was vet checked, and also sired a litter last year at 13) so his genetic make up is going to be very strong for health and longevity.  Besides that, his pedigree is just chocked full of the dogs that are the true foundations of our breed as we know it today, and bringing the genes from those dogs that were born in the 1960's up into a litter born in 2005 is just going to be a real interesting treat!  So keep your fingers crossed that all goes well for Diana from this point forward, as we are VERY excited about  the possibility of this litter!

 

Posted by: Vistadei at 11:31 | link | comments