I had been wanting to go to Canada to show dogs on Victoria Island for about 10 years now and I finally checked it off my bucket list. I drove to Port Angeles and listened to World War Z audio book.  Man, that was depressing. There was no traffic on the road and I made great time.  I highly recommend this plan and will do the same next time.  I left home at 11pm, arrived at Port Angeles at 4am and slept in line for the ferry until 6:30.  It was my first time taking a ferry with my car and I was a little apprehensive but it was a piece of cake.  It was overcast on the way there but BEAUTIFUL and clear for the trip home which was great and I enjoyed the views but decided to catch some Z's in the car with the dogs because it was very hot and I wanted the doors open for them.

Once I arrived in Victoria I drove 3 hours up to Courtenay to spend the night at my friend Katja's house.  The next morning we were off to our first show.

We started out showing our own dogs but Katja and I discovered that Taka showed better for Katja and Katja's pup Sayuki showed better for me so we just switched for the remainder of the circuit.

My girls Fuyu and Taka & Katja's girl Sayuki

I had only brought Taka for socialization and didn't think she would really do anything as far as winning but her coat was in beautiful condition and I think it impressed a few of the judges considering both Fuyu and Sayuki were both out of coat and Fuyu looked especially naked with lighter colored guard hairs sticking out making her look like a plucked chicken!

There were judges that could see past the hair and Fuyu got several Winners Bitch (WB) placements and some very nice comments from judges like "this is a beautiful bitch!"  At least she isn't high in the rear anymore like she was at the last specialty but alas, it IS a dog show and beautiful hair is icing on the cake and to my surprise...................Taka was kicking Fuyu's butt!  HA!  Go figure.

Goodness gracious, will someone please remind me next time I say I'm planning a litter that I get this darned tired when I have to take care of puppies!  They are so much fun and soooooo much work.  Even though Shibas are what I would considered easy babies to take care of. 




Stages are only a day or two.  I'm weaning them now and it's really hard on them so they BITCH pretty much non stop unless they are sleeping.  If they aren't complaining they are beating each other up which means a lot of scrambling, growling and screaming as loud as possible. Next week is what Marcel has dubbed Shark Week.  Week 6 is where the fight.

Most the time I can ignore the puppies practicing their Shiba scream but every once in a while, I want to go all feral on their ass.  It's at that time that I understand why some mothers kill their young.  Yet there mama lays, so calmly and lovingly, while they pull her tail and bite her feet.

This is really our first day of serious rain and I'm dreading what's to come.  Usually the fall rain starts around the middle of September and does this piddling/misting rain until sometime in late October when it starts storming rain which continues until December sometime when the winter sun emerges with false warmth.  When it rains next we may have a white Christmas and I remember once we even had a white Thanksgiving here in Washington.

What does that have to do with my farm animals you ask?  It's a mucky icky mess outside and I'm always doing something outside getting soaked.  Towels and wet cloths are hanging all over the house.  We even take our cat Ming outside to his cat kennel to use his litter box so even the cat gets wet!  He rides on my shoulder keeping his head pressed as closely to mine as he can get it so he's under the brim of my hat.  He's a smart kitty that one is.

I'm rambling like the rain.......I think it's nap time.  Here kitty!

Shiba Open House

Last Sunday August 25th we had another Shiba Open House at Circle M Farm & Kennel, SW Washington.  Instead of having prospective owners over one at a time we have group visits.  This way we can still do our farm & kennel chores and work on whatever project we have going on weekends without having to break for guests.  With several Shiba inquiries per day we could never have time to work!

We had 8 prospective families out to meet our Shiba girls and see their current puppies we have on the ground.  Overall it went very well and was one of the easiest orientations I have given.  The tent went up and snacks and beverages were provided.  All folks had to bring was a chair.  Of all things that could happen it rained so we ended up squished into the isle way of our 2 stall barn.  Though things were a bit cosy it worked for me.  I had dogs on grooming tables for people to pet and my dog room and kennel were open for visitors to look at.

Unfortunately because of the rain we didn't get to work young dogs through the agility equipment I had put out and that would have been great fun.  Wouldn't you know it the minute everyone left the sun broke through.  I worked my youngest prospect Fuyu over the teeter totter and she did excellent but I was tired by then and went in to rest.

Bridget with her classic expression

Fuyu "Hey, where'd everybody go?"

The isle way of my barn

 

Wow, what a weekend we  had!  We went two specialty shows on Friday followed by 2 all-breed shows on Saturday and Sunday.  We got dumped (didn't win diddly) on the first show Friday but in the second show we came back with a vengeance!  Fuyu, my Bridget x Kupono puppy whom I co-own with Jr. handler Heidi won a VERY competitive 6-9 puppy class and Best Puppy, Best Female and beat the Best Dog for the further honor of Best of Winners for 5 points.  In the same show her mother Bridget won a strong class of Open Females and took Reserve best female to her daughter. CRAZY MON!  I still can't believe it all happened.  Kuro also took a reserve in one of the shows and Victor our Rottweiler did OK. We hired a professional to handle him which didn't work out too well because he just kept looking for us so I took him in the ring the next day and he was well behaved for me I am very happy with just that.  Victor is a BIG dog and can be hard to work with.  Wow.  It was all a blur of happiness and excitement.  We had many ring side supporters in love with Fuyu so that was very nice too.  On Saturday the Shibas didn't do much but on the last show on Sunday Fuyu won her class and went on to win Winner's Bitch for a 3 point major.  I'm still in shock.....

Sushi anyone?

Meet new puppy Ebi.  Marcel had been wanting to name a puppy after my favorite piece of sushi for a few puppies now.  We have themes for litters like those born the day of an earth quake or a holiday or other event or something similar to the parent's names.  If there is nothing I want to associate with I will usually use a favorite song or music genre. We tend to name our pups based on their personalities, like Zoom who never stopped.  Why Marcel wanted to name this one after a shrimp on a little ball of sticky rice I will never know.  But I have to let him have his way some time so Ebi it is!

Today Ebi had a lesson on the grooming table about how good doggies can sit on the table and relax.  This gets them up and out of my way while I do my barn chores. I let Stitchy (the Pom) and Bridget (Shiba) sit on a table across from Ebi to show how proper dogs behave.  They are both angels and would sit up there all day.  The table exercise teaches patience AND teaches baby pups how pulling against a leash doesn't get them where they want to go. So after her little lesson Ebi had a nice bath.  She was really good in the bath tub and particularly liked being dried off with a towel.

I figured with the litters I have still being in the rat stage I should spend more quality time with Ebi.  New born's pass through stages, rat, hamster, guinnea pig, puppy.  This is my age description and the noises they make during the different stages.  Soon Ebi will be a teenager and like her human equivalent she won't want much to do with mom so I need to teach her manners NOW!

We purchased Ebi from another breeder and she will be shown and eventually take the place of LG in my breeding program.  I am breeding another line into my pedigrees.  This opens up to the possibility of using different sires on my females.  Now I can introduced some strong qualities that my own females are lacking in.  I like everything about Ebi but her tight cinnamon bun tail but hey,  no dog is perfect.  Most people do not realize that the preferred tail on the Japanese dogs is a sickle tail and NOT the tight curl.  A loose curl resting to one side is fine too.

Enough lessons today, I have been teaching things all day.

It's not all fun and games

Being a good breeder means you take excellent care of your dogs and you can make critical decisions when necessary.  Sometimes the decisions are made for you.

One of our puppies born Monday had to be euthanized by Friday.  Total bummer for the Thanksgiving  weekend.  It had a clef palate.  The vet said she was amazed I kept him alive so long and euthanasia was the only solution to the poor baby's problem.  I was draggin' my butt around by then too.  Getting up every two hours to tube feed a puppy is hard on a gal with Fibromyalgia.  People with FM need good hard sleep more than the average healthy person.  So he is gone now and I can sleep but the emotional toll is great too.

Almost everyone wants to raise puppies at some time in their lives.  It sounds like fun (no one ever thinks about all the poop), playing with puppies all day long.   Well, it's darned HARD sometimes.  Hard when one dies before his time.  Hard when you've grown attached to a dog for the last two years while you trained and showed her and a health test doesn't turn out well so you have to spay her and place her as a pet because you can only have so many dogs and you won't have room for your next show and breeding prospect if you keep YET another just as your pet.

People tell me stuff like "oh I couldn't give any of them up, I'd have to keep the whole litter" and "I couldn't raise a service dog puppy because I couldn't give him back" things of that nature.  Personally I think they are being selfish not to let a dog have his own family or not see the greater picture of raising a puppy to be of service AND the special companion to someone less fortunate then themselves.  Animal breeders are not heartless for the most part.  Sometimes we just have to make hard choices that are in the best interest of our animals.

PUPPIES PUPPIES PUPPIES

I am getting so excited about the puppies due at Kawako Shibas!  LG (Little Girl), Lexi AND Bridget were bred and now it's just a matter of waiting.

Of course I am busy getting ready for the deliveries and I hate to say my house will be crowded with ex-pens and whelping beds to separate the mamas.

I think I have only had 3 litters at a time on one other occasion but it was several years ago and I seem to remember saying I would never do that again but like drinking tequila I have to remind myself ever few years that it wasn't a good idea.

I have had two litters at a time many times and in fact, find it most helpful, especially if we are talking Pomeranian litters.  LG usually ends up taking over for the Pom mama because they just can't deal with it.

Granted I have had several females that don't like either the birthing process and/or the thought of cleaning up meaning eating the waste off of a puppy's tummy or bum!   It is well known that spoiled house dogs don't usually make good brood bitches.  Ouch, that's harsh.  But it's true.  When I think back of all the females that have had birthing problems and weren't good mothers all those dogs were my favorite girls at the time.  So I believe that saying.

People say that the dog projects the owners own personality and tendencies and in this instance that is absolutely correct.  I have never been able to bring myself to commit to motherhood.  The whole process seems unpleasant and I can totally understand why some mothers eat their young.  I'm talking canine and other animal species not human of course. I'm a rockin' Aunt but I don't think I would make a good mother.  I mean look at poor Lexi, looking so fat and uncomfortable...........

But I fell off subject didn't I?  Anyway.........can't wait to have the bouncing baby puppies!

This time I am doing something completely different when it comes to space and exercise.  Since we built all weather facilities for our horses I am now able to use the entire barn isle way and stalls for indoor puppy play area.  This will greatly lessen my time spent out in the elements which means neither I nor the puppies will be soaked in Washington's non stop winter rain.  Well, we'll give it a try and see how it all works out.  Hopefully it won't snow this winter.

Wish me luck and never stop praying for us, it seems to be working.

Cheri