I don't NEED another dog!

Karen · Post by **Karen** » Fri Mar 21, 2014 8:07 am

Ever find a litter/pedigree that's REALLY hard to pass up??

I've had SO MUCH FUN trialing Chloe, we never got around to breeding her, and at 7 yrs old, it's not fair to consider it now. So the owner of Chloe's sire just announced a litter....dam is Chloe's half sister, a national placer (as is Chloe) and a dual. The sire also goes back to Chloe's sire.

LOVE Chloe's temperament, her style, her biddibility and EVERYONE loves Chloe on the ground. A chance to get another piece of that....

And I have all girls to trial, which meas there will be seasons that I could miss half of the season (or more) with hormonal girls. I NEED a boy!

Hubby says 6 dogs...7 dogs...what's the difference! Chloe is 7, Jenny is 2 1/2 yrs old and should be running her first trial next month with her trainer. Jenny SHOULD be pretty solid before the boy would need to go for training.

Someone talk me out of this!!!

RoostersMom · Post by **RoostersMom** » Fri Mar 21, 2014 9:11 am

Karen,

I can't help you with this - I figure you probably for sure need this boy. I mean, 2 1/2 years between dogs is pretty good! Nobody needs another dog, just like we don't need bird hunting, beer, more money....etc.

But 7 is a good round number.

Don't hate me.....I am not much help on reining in these doggy purchases.

Karen · Post by **Karen** » Fri Mar 21, 2014 9:24 am

Rooster's Mom, you are ABSOLUTELY no help.

I left out the part where I plan to breed Moo next year and had planned to keep a boy from that litter in the hopes I'd get a nice dog special to show. 7 dogs...8 dogs?

Ugh!

Wind Dancer Kennels · Post by **Wind Dancer Kennels** » Fri Mar 21, 2014 9:31 am

Why do you think it's unfair to breed a 7 year old bitch?
She is still in the prime of her life and trial career. Unless she has underlying medical issues she is not too old to breed.

I would find a great stud that compliments her pedigree and fills in her weakness and do a breeding and keep a puppy or two.

deseeker · Post by **deseeker** » Fri Mar 21, 2014 9:34 am

Karen---
Seven is a LUCKY number. I'm guessing you are talking about Linda Thomas's Rae litter. Line bred on DC Billy Boy. One thing about a boy---you can trial all year without heat cycles

I'm guessing you probably have your mind made up already

If I was younger, I'd probably get one---just too old to get any new dogs. Good luck trying to talk yourself out of it :roll:

Post by **kninebirddog** » Fri Mar 21, 2014 11:01 am

Karen ....It doesn't get any better..Might as well get the indoor outdoor kennel as the Brittany madness doesn't stop there

Post by **slistoe** » Fri Mar 21, 2014 11:06 am

Karen wrote:and at 7 yrs old, it's not fair to consider it now.

This is the only part of the whole thing I didn't understand.

Karen · Post by **Karen** » Fri Mar 21, 2014 11:10 am

I don't plan to breed Chloe. Because of some training issues early on, she just finished her FC, I'd love to put an AFC on her, I want her to compete at Nationals a couple more times. No time to breed, and no desire to, truth be told. I also think 7 yrs old for a first litter is a bit old. There ARE dogs out there with similar pedigrees (including a younger, full sister the next state over). That's good enough for me.

Post by **slistoe** » Fri Mar 21, 2014 11:39 am

Do you breed pedigrees or dogs? I am not sure that there are any facts to support your feelings, but it is your dog, your ambition and your feelings.

Anyway, I know what you mean about "that breeding", unfortunately for me it has never panned out on the 3 times I told my wife "We really NEED one of those pups." But I know I will succumb again some time.

My wife and I both agreed that when we hit 15 dogs that it really was enough. I only have 4 now and am starting to rebuild. Maybe 7????? For sure not 15.

mountaindogs · Post by **mountaindogs** » Fri Mar 21, 2014 12:35 pm

I would not be averse to breeding a 7 year old female once. I don't think it would be hard on her, but I would just plan on the one. Then you could spay her and let her live her years hunting and playing.

I do know the litter issue though. I live like 1.5 hours from Walnut Hill for heaven's sake! In a way it helps because they have SO many amazing puppies I couldn't possibly have enough time/money/room. Still I have passed up on some nice litters talking myself out of them and/or being told if we add any more I can "hit the road." And then I watch those dogs grow up winning and looking amazing and I just sigh sadly. I am not really helping, am I?

QuailHollow · Post by **QuailHollow** » Mon Mar 24, 2014 5:00 am

I bred my 6 year old female and she whelped a healthy litter of 6. No c-section. No issues. She has enough milk for twice as many pups. I wouldn't think 7 is too old. It might concern me that it would be her first litter... In my experience younger females make better mothers.

ANYWAY; on the puppy - I held back 2 young'uns from a litter that I wasn't supposed to keep anything from. Go figure! Go for it.

Good luck

Cobbhunts · Post by **Cobbhunts** » Mon Mar 24, 2014 7:04 am

Just curious, do you send your dogs to a trainer because you have so many dogs to get trained?

Karen · Post by **Karen** » Mon Mar 24, 2014 10:09 am

No, I send my dogs to a trainer because I can. My trainer is a 3rd generation bird dog trainer. She's seen more and done more and forgotten more than I'll ever know, and has developed more top prospects than I'll own in a lifetime...and she puts out a better dog than I possibly could.

Right now we have only 1 dog actively trialing (Chloe). NoJenny will make her trial debut next month with her trainer, if all goes according to plan. Forrest has been struggling with a persistent soft tissue injury that we're hoping will heal fully in time. So that's all I got. This boy would be hitting his prime at about the same time Chloe would retire (3 yrs from now).

Still mulling it over.

mudhunter · Post by **mudhunter** » Mon Mar 24, 2014 11:06 am

You could really mix things up and go get a nice long tailed dog! I am sure your trainer could find you a nice one!!

Karen · Post by **Karen** » Mon Mar 24, 2014 11:24 am

mudhunter, we actually considered getting a nice setter from Jeanette (she has a really nice litter this winter and hubby likes them)...went so far as to look up ES FC requirements (no major from an ES trial required to finish), but I really do like Brittanys.

mountaindogs · Post by **mountaindogs** » Mon Mar 24, 2014 11:25 am

I say go for it. We have two kids and I was once talking with a lady who had 5 and 1 on the way. I asked "how on earth do you manage?" She said "after the second it gets much easier. You hardly notice the difference when adding one more. and then one more again."

SO I figured dogs are the same situation, right? I can say though at about 8 (not all mine) I am starting to feel that I have A LOT of dogs! They are getting quite time consuming.

Cobbhunts · Post by **Cobbhunts** » Mon Mar 24, 2014 12:22 pm

Thanks Karen....I am new to all of this and really concerned that I won't do my dog justice. I'm not entering the FT world, but really want to good in the NAVHDA tests.

Karen · Post by **Karen** » Tue Mar 25, 2014 9:42 am

Looks like I'm getting another dog.

RoostersMom · Post by **RoostersMom** » Tue Mar 25, 2014 11:24 am

Atta girl - I knew I could count on you to join the insanity (husband says insanity is anything over 4 dogs though - so you were already there).

Karen · Post by **Karen** » Tue May 27, 2014 9:19 am

He's home! His breeder was kind enough to drive from Il to PA with our new pup, and another that was going to NJ.

Talk about BOLD! This little guy is ready to take on the world! He's ticked off all the big dogs, took his lumps, got up and did it again. He's been in and out of the "dog pool" a dozen times, tried to take bones away from Tessa, bit Forrest in the butt (THAT was a bad idea), and tried to breed Moo.

He's going to be SO MUCH fun!

And here he is bugging Auntie Chloe!

Post by **jcbuttry8** » Tue May 27, 2014 10:24 am

Good for you Karen. my number 4 is in WV right now til I get past this back surgery. Number 3 is likely getting bred in Oct. Then Doco called yesterday to let me know number 5 is on the ground, and yes I be going with a boy too. Tired of missing trials cuz of cranky girls. It's gonna be a fun fall season that's for sure.

He's a nice looking pup. Love a boy with guts.

Joe

AZ Brittany Guy · Post by **AZ Brittany Guy** » Tue May 27, 2014 11:12 am

Congratulations! Great looking boy...have fun!

High Voltage · Post by **High Voltage** » Tue May 27, 2014 11:29 am

Good looking boy!Sounds like he is going to be a lot of fun.

RoostersMom · Post by **RoostersMom** » Fri May 30, 2014 11:46 am

Karen,

You can't go wrong when you choose one with a dot on his head. That is my hubby's tried and true method of helping me pick a bird dog. "Does it have one dot on it's head?" I look for things like attitude, movement, boldness, etc. He looks at the dots on the head - go figure. He's not the best dog person in the world, but he tries. Your pup would fit his theory that the best ones have a dot on their head!

Your pup looks great - looks like he'll be a firecracker.

Elsa

mlittle · Post by **mlittle** » Fri May 30, 2014 6:15 pm

How could you possibly just take 1 out of this litter? 7 is such an ugly number. 8 is a good even number. Get 2. Have 8 and make your trainer a very happy lady.

BTW...who do you use to do your training?

Karen · Post by **Karen** » Sat May 31, 2014 4:41 am

Never fear, we'll have 8 before long. Just finished health clearances on Moo (GCH Woodland's Water Fairy) and have plans to breed her the next time she comes into season. I may have to keep one of those puppies too

And Jeanette Tracy is my happy trainer. She's done an AWESOME job with my girls and has gone WAY above and beyond with Chloe.

drich2244 · Post by **drich2244** » Mon Jul 07, 2014 7:15 pm

great looking pups !

RayGubernat · Post by **RayGubernat** » Wed Jul 09, 2014 6:51 pm

Karen -

Just saw the pics of your new boy. He is a NICE looking little squirt. Have a ball with him. I hope is as bold as you think he is.

I'll be dropping my youngster off at Ladywood next week. Gotta get her tuned up for the fall. The Smith classics are only about six weeks away.

I can't wait. Hope to see you all soon.

RayG

Karen · Post by **Karen** » Thu Jul 10, 2014 7:56 am

Thanks Ray, I'm heading down to Ladywood this weekend to work NoJenny for the first time! Can't wait to see her! Hoping to get down there lots this summer to get her ready to make the move to AKC in September with me. I'll bring Talyn down with me for a proper bird intro once he stops puking 10 minutes into every car ride

Gotta love pups!

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