The Blog of the Frog

Not good news on the puppy front….it looks like she’s absorbed. Everyone agrees she definitely was pregnant but nothing doing now! I suppose because it’s always looked like she was only carrying one – or maybe two – puppies the margin for error was very small, if you see what I mean – a bit like a large proportion of human pregnancies start off as twins I bet a fair few dog pregnancies start off with 1 or 2 more puppies than are actually delivered.

It was pretty much confirmed yesterday afternoon when she was in her box and this terrible smell suddenly hit me. Upon investigation she’d pooed in her box but as well as being a pretty much normal consistency poo it was all mucus and horrid looking stuff as well.

I took her down to the vets this morning for a check up and the vet doesn’t think there’s anything left in there and just keep an eye on her for a bit.

To say I’m devastated is an understatement….taken me a bit to get my head around it – going from a certain pregnancy to nothing is so hard. Just seems so unfair when there are so many “pet” bitches that get caught by accident and then go on to have a healthy litter, then the well planned ones end like this!

I suppose not so long in the scale of things but I’ve been waiting a year for this mating and I was so looking forward to having a new puppy to bring out just after Crufts next year.

I’m just totally emotionally and physically drained from it all. Seems like everything I touch turns to dust. Doesn’t matter what I do, it always goes wrong! As a family I’m sure we’re cursed 😛 

This bitch is driving me absolutely mad! 😆

On Friday she was definitely pregnant, even thought we could feel a puppy. Over the last couple of days I’ve been getting a bit concerned because I’ve really struggled to feel movement and now today I’m starting to wonder if all this really is just one big phantom. There’s no doubt that everything else is there – in every way she’s pregnant, except for the puppies being obvious! They should be really moving about quite obviously by now.

On Saturday her behaviour changed quiet dramatically, she became ever so much quieter, sleeping an awful lot more and started to look pensive. Then on Sunday night she was very restless but nothing else happened and she quietened down by Monday morning. Monday night the same thing happened, but this time it was accompanied by her sitting facing the back of her box just staring fixedly down at the floor. Almost thought we might have puppies soon at about 4am!

She’s not due until Friday night so time yet but I’ll be damned if anyone knows where they are with this bitch 😆 Even S & T who have bred loads of litters and have years of experience couldn’t say one way or the other. It’s been the most horrendous rollercoaster and couldn’t have been any less straight forward if it had tried! After all the stress and ups and downs now we’ve come this far it’s going to be so hard if she’s not.

On a brighter note the champ show last Friday was absolutely brilliant! Sam won Junior Dog, Sarah won Junior Bitch, Tosca got a 2nd in Puppy Bitch, Jason was 5th in Open Dog and Solei got a 3rd in Limit Dog!! (to Morris, who was 2nd) It took me all weekend to come back down to earth (and a certain Fancy could have something to do with that :rolleyes: ). It was a large class, he showed so well and above all I’ve now qualified him for Crufts myself for the first time!

I hadn’t posted earlier because I felt my next entry should come with a Fancy update, which I couldn’t do for reasons I’ll explain in a minute! Firstly, we transport ourselves back to Friday the 15th and off we go to yet another championship show!

I can hardly believe it, but we actually didn’t get wet 😮 It threatened it once or twice but never actually managed it. Most refreshing not to get soaked for once, after the last two! Her ladyship (Sarah) was at home (in season) so it was just Sam, Solei, Jason and Tosca. Jason didn’t place (but bizarrely the DCC winner is almost his double!) Sam got another 2nd in Junior, Solei 5th in Limit (on a roll!) and Tosca 5th in Puppy. Morris won Limit again and a dog of S & T’s breeding got the Bitch CC 🙂 So overall not a bad day! Solei was in the Stakes as well, there were about 30 there and he made the cut down to the last <10 but then didn’t get in the cards. Still a great achievement though!

Now he’s showing better I’m noticing other things, and one of the main problems is yes his tail is up…but 99% of the time it falls to the wrong side 😆 No pleasing some people! Obviously I’m ecstatic he’s going so much better, but if I was standing I’d just stand him the other way round (the side his tail naturally falls) because he doesn’t have a better or worse side otherwise, and he looks so much better with his tail plume visable. However, because I’m in the chair I can’t stand him the other way without having my back to the judge, which not only looks rude and can be awkward (because I can miss instructions!) but also looks so obvious that if I was judging I think I’d wonder what I had to hide on his other side. Can’t win!

Last Saturday we went to a fun doggy event & companion show. Our ringcraft club was doing a parade of breeds and so I took Solei & Storm to represent the Phalene & Papillon. Solei also did the companion show, Storm being ineligible because he has his Junior Warrant. The fantastic irony is in Solei’s AV Non Sporting class he showed better than he EVER has – ever. Seriously, he has never gone so well in the last year. And he didn’t place 😆 How many times has he been out of the cards recently? I just found that so ironic that he put on the performance of his life and was chucked. To be fair the class was large and the judge did keep looking at him but even so…amused me in an ironic way. He did get a 6th in Most Appealing Eyes later in the day 😉 Despite deciding the way to win that was to sit with his back to the judge and look up at me – I had a perfect view of his eyes being appealing!

And then there was Fancy. I know I’ve been a bit quiet on that front! Within a few days of the mating I was convinced she was pregnant…up until about 7 weeks. T came and looked at her and thought she was too, even thought she could feel a head. I didn’t mention it during this time because I didn’t want to jinx it! I was waiting for really firm proof.

Then a few days ago I started to have doubts….I wouldn’t have sworn that she is but I wouldn’t have said she’s not either. We mated Flora two weeks before Fancy and I’ve spent a lot of time around her the last week so I though that may be skewing my view a bit – they change such a lot in the last week or so, and even though I’m not conciously comparing them I think I probably am subconciously.

Fancy wasn’t showing at all so unless she’s carrying them high I don’t think it’s a big litter – wouldn’t be surprised if it’s only 1 or 2 – which wouldn’t help because if there are that few she may not show anyway!

If you’d asked me yesterday I would have said I’d still be inclined to say she is.  I’m losing all sense of everything now (ie can’t remember what she was like pre-mating!) but I think her behaviour is slightly different, her tummy is firmer and she’s slightly up underneath. Plus, Monday evening I was watching her and I caught her suddenly sitting down and lifting her leg like bitches do to lick their vulva, but she was just looking at it as if something was happening and she wasn’t sure what.

Then this morning I looked at her and I suddenly really think she is again (not that I ever actually thought she conclusively wasn’t). I think she looks bigger than yesterday. Which isn’t out of the question – she’s not close to enormous but they can potentially go from nothing to explosion overnight!

She’ll be 8 weeks pregnant on Friday, which means her due date is in 9 days. As she just had the one mating and it was right at the end of her window I think it should be pretty accurate so unless this whole thing has been a phantom something or other I think we could have puppies anytime after the weekend!

Fingers crossed Fancy isn’t just messing me about, she is pregnant and there’s a champion sitting in there!

We were at Bournemouth yesterday….it absolutely poured with rain all day with the most tremendous winds which drove the rain into you and made it feel like hail. It was freezing cold and incredibly squelchy!

And this is the beginning of August? Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear!

Paignton was similiar. When we were there last Tuesday it poured almost all day, but it was a bit more showery than constant. Luckily for us our ring was in the only permanent building so we were sheltered from all elements! We had six dogs – Sam, Storm, Solei, Jason, Tosca, Sarah – and M & P were there with Morris.

Sam won Junior Dog, Storm and Morris were both chucked in Limit Dog, where Solei got a fourth! Jason 3rd in Open Dog, Tosca 4th in Puppy Bitch and Sarah 2nd in Junior Bitch. I also showed my friends girl again and got a 3rd in Junior Bitch with her.

I don’t think I like the new venue as much as Crealy, but more than the venue is the time…it’s so badly placed now. Right after National Gundog and Just a few days before Bournemouth, which already also has WKC just a week after that. Oh well, we’ll see I suppose.

S left for her holday on Wednesday so T, mum and I all went up together in our car to Bournemouth. We took the same dogs as had been to Paignton, minus Storm. And yes, you should be impressed that we can fit all the show gear (grooming stuff, chairs, crates, food..etc) five dogs, three people and a large wheelchair in a Citroen Berlingo 😉

As usual first up was Sam, who went really well…he looked very nice indeed and got a 2nd. Solei got another fourth in Limit :D, which Morris won. Jason won Open Dog, Tosca got a 3rd in Puppy Bitch and Sarah won Junior Bitch 😀 Morris then went on to round off the day nicely by going and winning the Dog CC!! It was the most fantastic day.

As S was away I was allowed to show Sarah for the first time in almost four months! She went so well….a tad over exuberant on the move because she was excited that I was showing her again 🙂 That dog makes me SO good. I was actually really tempted to ask if I could buy her a few months ago but I decided the time wasn’t right. When I walk into a ring with Sarah I feel like I’ve got the best dog in the world, almost that we’ve won the class before we start…it’s hard to explain but she really does make me feel so good and I love showing her. I suppose apart from the fact she is (conformationally) a very nice dog, we’ve got a special relationship because of what I went through with her to get her going as well as she does now. Six months of bloody hard work! 😆

Last week was non-stop (bathed Monday, showed Tuesday, went back to spectate Wednesday, drew breath Thursday, bathed again Friday and showed again Saturday!) so this week I feel at a complete loose end! Today has been *such* a long day….the time has dragged so much. I’ll probably go and see T once or twice but I’ve got nothing actually planned until we bath on Friday for the next show on Saturday!

I haven’t forgotten, just not had a lot to say!

Being British of course my first comment has to be about the weather! Bloody hell what’s happened to it 😆 I can’t believe how hot it’s been recently. My fan has been going non-stop for the last few days and the dogs are feeling it, Solei in particular. Poor boy has been quite off, last night in particular.

I hope it’s a bit cooler next Tuesday – even though it’ll hopefully be under cover if it’s this hot Solei really dislikes the heat and doesn’t show his best. His tail’s a nightmare at the best of times but you can forget it when it’s this hot!

We haven’t had any big shows, though have managed to fit in a few companion. Usually in the cards but nothing really of note…though last Sunday was fun!

T was meant to be coming with us but had to pull out at the last minute because she was needed urgently elsewhere, but she asked if I’d like to take her beloved Tansy along. So I did!

I entered them both in three classes – they actually had more pedigree classes than the standard sporting and non-sporting so Solei went in AV Non Sporting and Tansy in AV Toy. Then for novelties I put Solei in Best Condition and Best Mover and Tansy in Prettiest Bitch and Dog the Judge Would Like to Take Home.

AV Toy ended up being a small class with only pets apart from Tansy so whichever dog I’d put in there would’ve won it! But Tansy had that honour 🙂 Solei got a 2nd in AV Non Sporting, behind a Malamute which always seems to win at these shows!

I don’t know who the novelty class judge was but they were clearly a hound man, especially greyhound/whippet/lurcher types, and on the whole the placements reflected that. Solei got a 5th in Best Mover and a 4th in Best Condition, Tansy won Prettiest Bitch and 4th in Dog the Judge Would Like to Take Home….which was a result given what his preference was!

I think she got the 4th because of what she did in Prettiest Bitch….it was so funny. It was an enormous class and the judge was going down the line making a noise at all the dogs to get their attention. When he got about 4 dogs away from Tansy she heard this noise and turned to look….going up on her back legs in the process! She then stayed balanced on two legs until after he’d got to her and said hello. He couldn’t really do anything else but give it to her!

It was one of the nicest companion shows I’ve ever been to, in a gorgeous venue. Will definitely be going back next year, as long as it doesn’t clash with anything.

Other than that not a lot! Fairly quiet week, we’re going to try and have a photshoot on Thursday if the weather cooperates and then next week’s a bit mad…bathing next Monday for Paignton on Tuesday, and as it’s our local champ show I’m also going down on Wednesday just to watch. Really looking forward to it 🙂

Who’d have dogs 😉

Windsor was quite nice, though we had a lousy show day on the whole! I was disappointed that Solei got a very hard look in his class but then didn’t place. The judge was going along the line and you could see she was walking straight past most of the dogs and then looking hard at her top few. Solei was fourth from the end and I wasn’t paying much attention to all the dogs in front of him because i was concentrating on standing him, but certainly she took a long hard look at Solei, walked straight past the next two dogs and then took a good look at the last dog. She then pulled the last dog out but not Solei, and she’d looked equally hard at both so I really thought he might at least make the cut there. I did, however, get a 3rd in Junior with my friends bitch – thereby qualifying her for Crufts for them 😀 The first time they’ve ever had a dog qualify so to be able to do it for them was a fantastic feeling and really made my day. Afterwards we all went back to the caravan and had a late birthday party back there 🙂

Then the next Friday (4th) was South Wales. Fancy had been at the peak of her season (ie very ready for mating!) since the Monday so Solei has been absolute hell to live with…trying to get to her, whinging, whining, refusing to eat, mounting arms and generally making a nuisance of himself! Because of that I thought this will either be an absolute disaster (mind on other things) or he’ll be amazing (so hyped up he will be really showy). When I took him round the ring before the judging started all he wanted to do was sniff the ground, so I took him round a couple of times and got him more or less out of it. Had a heck of a job getting his attention to stand him (joys of a free standing breed). So then in his class he moved beautifully, I had a bit of trouble standing him again but it was more or less ok….and then he went on the table. Oh…my….god.

I put him on the table, stack him and he’s standing perfectly. I notice he’s got his penis right out but he did that a couple of weeks ago as well, before Fancy was in. Judge comes over and starts going over him….at which point he decides to start trying to mount her arm. So she’s trying to go over him, he’s all over her and eventually I pin him down whilst she goes over him! Which she does manage, eventually. Then whilst I’m holding him down I notice there are drops of water on the table. I think to myself I don’t remember them being there before…then I notice they’re actually dripping from Solei’s penis. He’s actually leaking semen all over the bloody table! Luckily I don’t think the judge noticed and I think he may have got away with the mounting (her thinking he was just trying to be very friendly) as well but oh my god, what an experience!

Luckily for him (dead dog…:lol: ) as far as the dogs are concerned I’m not easily embarrassed and can usually see the funny side of more or less anything! Some people get so panicked and embarrassed if their dog even poos in the ring, never mind a performance like that!

The other bit of excitement was that part way through the judging I was sitting by the side of the ring with S & T watching the judging when S suddenly, compeltely out of the blue, asks if I could cope with a litter at my place. I said yes, she said she was wondering about Solei & Fancy now! Oh I’ve not mentioned that before have I?

A couple of months after I got Solei I decided that I really wanted a puppy by him, but the British lines didn’t really excite me and the ears are very vunerable in this country as well, because they’re not very strong. Any British bred Phalene will have a pedigree with quite a few Papillons in it, and it’s not uncommon to end up with one or both ears incorrectly set (one sticking out, for example) or possibly even a Papillon. So I was wondering about importing a bitch from Europe on a lease to have a litter from her, maybe even show her, and then send her back. Which is actually what Fancy is the result of. When I put this to T we decided it would be quite hard to find a nice (and decent size – a lot of them are large on the continent) bitch and T suggested Fancy as she was already in the country and there was nothing to lose if it didn’t work out.

So T was perfectly happy about that, but S kept changing her mind. One minute she’d be all for it, then she wouldn’t, repeat repeat! We were planning to hopefully breed her on her second season. So this is her first season and usually I really wouldn’t even consider it…but she’s seventeen months which is plenty old enough for a first litter in a toy breed, she’s mature enough in herself and crucially S was happy to do it! September is also the perfect time for puppies which is a bonus.

The catch was when S suggested it Fancy was already on day 18, and as I mentioned had already been ready since Monday, if not Sunday, so I was a bit concerned we might have missed her window. Obviously we had no time to waste so we got home from the show on Friday, had something to eat and then tried them that night. We put them together and they totally ignored each other. Oh well, we’ve missed the window me thinks. Then it was as if someone flicked the switch on! A couple of attempts later and we got a 10 minute tie 😀 Solei’s experienced but Fancy’s a maiden so we were expecting a bit more trouble but she was so good and so easy. And oh boy did she enjoy it 😆

Saturday we tried again and neither of them wanted to know, at all, so fingers crossed we got there just in time and that she’s taken! She’s definitely finished now –  after we put them together and there was no interest I removed my seperation measures and they’ve been together as normal with no interest what so ever – so that’s that!

It’s too early to tell yet but I think she’s pregnant…could just be wishful thinking though. If she is pregnant let’s hope for a nice litter….it’s a total outcross (Solei is British bred, Fancy is Swedish/Dutch/French) and not the perfect match so it could all go disasteriously wrong! If she is she’s due on 5th September.