We came up with a name for Sylvie’s little survivor – LILIBET. It seemed fitting to honor the late Queen Elizabeth II who just passed away. She was strong, determined, soft hearted, and a huge advocate for pure breeds.
Little Lilibet is growing little a sweet little flower. She is sweet and mellow and yawns when we pick her up. Her eyes are open and we are delighted at how she is growing so far. Syl is a content and attentive mother – we couldn’t ask for more after all she went through.
Phoenix’s pups are now 4 days old so I figured it was time for official photos. It is starting to become very obvious the size difference between the boys and the girls.
Cavalier king charles spaniels are notorious for not waiting till day 63 to give birth. I predicted that Phoenix would give birth sometime over the weekend and true to form, Sunday afternoon she started to get super clingy, not letting me out of her sight and panting a little. By 5pm things started to get a little more serious as she panted and dug in her bed beside me, and vomited a little.
She started pushing and we realised that there was a baby but no sack. These are the births that make us most nervous as it’s harder on mom when there is no lubrication. I could tell the baby was a good size as with every push Phoenix would yelp. I ask ed my husband to come and help and I held Phoenix’s hips apart as he gently guided it out.
Baby 1 was an 8oz girl! A beautifully marked blenhiem girl!!
Baby 2 got suck, once again coming without a sack, but this time even harder feet first. We tried so hard to get her quickly, but 20 mins of gently pulling with every contraction, we knew there was little hope of a live baby at the end. And we were right – our 2nd perfectly marked blenhiem girl was born DOA 🙁 UGH. We did all we could and rubbed her down to no avail.
At this point, I started called ER vets – I didnt want to pull each puppy out – it’s hard on us and the mom – and I didnt want to lose any more. 3 ER clinics said they were full and not taking any more patients. One told us to call Mt Vernon – despite being an hour away, we called them and they said COME so we jumped in the car and drove.
Phoenix and the blankets and her firstborn were on my lap and my husband drove us. On the way, she started pushing and had a tiny ruby boy. We later weighed him at 4.5oz.
While waiting in the waiting room in the clinic, she started pushing again and had a 2nd ruby baby boy – again small at 4.5oz.
The vet asked if we still wanted surgery with 1 pup to go. We decided to see if she could do it herself and went into a quiet room for her to labor. The final pup, a ruby girl, was another big one but the vet assisted her out and was able to do it so she made it.
I think we arrived home at 4am. Exhausted but grateful. Phoenix is a great mom and now the work begins.
It was a day for smiles and hugs today. In the PNW, Kazuri (and Van-Mar) beagles took the gold in breed.
Maddi (pending AKC) went WB/BOW/BOB and is now CH Kazuri N Van-Mar Trouble Takes the Cake – She is Spencer X Puddin’s 7th CH for 2022. Congratulations to owner Sarah Smith-Falkner
and
Beau went WD/BOW/BOB yesterday for a 4 point major under breeder judge Heather Lindberg. Today, he went WD/BOS for his final major under judge Mr Luis Sosa. (pending AKC) he is CH Kazuri’s All I Need Is Love And Cake.
and
Willow (Kazuri’s Cover Me In Sunshine) went WB/BOW/BOB/BOBOH in 13s under judge Mr Luis Sosa and got her first points and played in both groups. Congratulations to co-owner Dolly Stearns!
Not to mention down in Vallejo California under judge Mr Phillip John….
Tex (CH Kazuri N Van-Mar Trouble In Texas) went BOB for his 2nd GCH major and CH defeat in a huge entry of specials. Thank you Chelsea for presenting him so beautifully. Tex also won select dog 2 other days, and so has all his majors and CH defeats towards his CH title.
and
Penny – Kazuri N Van-Mar Trouble In Penny Lane went BOS to him from the classes over 2 specials for her 2nd major!! She also went WB every other day – She is over half way to her CH title with limited showing. Congratulations to her owner Susan Gaffagan!
I am so so proud of these dogs, my co-breeders and their owners/co-owners. It takes a village thats for sure.
Top: Maddi & Sarah Smith-Falkner, Bottom left: Dolly & Willow Bottom right: Beau and SarahPenny Lane and Tex giving Chelsea’s daughter a kiss.
I co-bred a litter with my friend Dolly from JoyfulNoise beagles in Spokane washington. We bred my girl Violet (CH Kazuri’s Keeping Up Appearances) to Lee (BISS GCH Van-Mar The Duke Of Hazzard).
Dolly was coming to a local-to-me dog show and so dropped the pups to me for the weekend. I was only too happy for some “grammy” time and to stack them up and start looking at their progress.
Without further ado – introducing her litter – named after the hit TV show Schitts Creek.
Sometimes breeding brings us so much joy. And sometimes it brings us heartache. This post is one with some heartache – I have endeavored to be honest about the good, the bad, the ups and downs with my journey in breeding and so I want to share this also. You have been warned and I understand if you dont want to read on.
Sylvie’s baby #2 (the biggest girl) thrived from day 1. She was big and healthy and I am grateful. The first baby, I bottle and tube fed for support as she was tiny – I was afraid that she would use up her energy trying to find a nipple instead of growing so she had equal time with mom and supported with a bottle. Baby #3 was born with an overbite. While overbites are fairly common in neonates (they help the latch), this one was an extreme overbite. More than that, she also struggled to breathe, often gasping for air when there was no reason for it.
I took these photos of the 3 girls. Little did I know, they would be the first and last official photos of baby 1 and 3. We lost them both within the first week of birth. To say that we tried everything to save them is an understatement, but I also firmly believe that sometimes it is not meant to be. I am grateful to Dr Thoreson and the team at Klahaya Animal Hospital who took great care of them (and me) this week.
Sylvie got to see both girls after each passed. She grieved a bit but is going amazingly well. Did she know there was something wrong? or is this just natures way? I dont know, but I am grateful she hasn’t skipped a beat in taking care of our precious survivor.
We weren’t exactly sure what day Syl was due. She had been living with/staying with Mike and Karen as she finished up her CH title in Tennessee and the East coast, and she came into season. While in Florida, the time seemed right and both dogs were willing and so breedings were done.
On the afternoon of the 9th, after a couple of restless nights, Syl started to really start to seek out a cozy place of her own. By the evening she was starting to pant a lot, her temperature dropped to 96.8 and she vomitted a few times and we knew her time was drawing near.
Baby #1 was born with meconium in her sack – bright yellow and green – a sign of distress. It wasn’t the start to birth we were hoping for, but she quickly started breathing and Sylvie accepted her right away. A tiny 4.5oz baby girl.
Baby #2 came almost 2 hours later – a much bigger 9oz baby girl. I was not sure why we had such a difference in their size, but I am planning to give the little one clavamox and tube support till she is healthy and strong.
Sylvie settled down to nurse her babies and was very proud of them.
When my pups are born, I get up all night long every 1.5 hours to check on them. Lo and Behold, 6 hours after the 2nd baby was born, sometime between 1:30am and 3am, Syl had a 3rd baby. 7.2oz. She cleaned her and had her tucked up with the other two when I went to check on them.
