I am happy to announce that we have made it home from our New Years trip and arrived safe with Zelda in tow. Diane gave me the CD of photos she took when Zelda was in season and I am using some in this post. You can see the color of Zelda and River, the size difference between the two dog. Zelda is just under 20 inches tall at the shoulder. River is about 4 inches taller than her, a mid size boy. We should get puppies that range from 20-25 inches, with a slim possibility of larger dogs due to Merlot being the grandfather of Zelda. Merlot was a very large boy at 27 inches tall, but he is the only large dog in the first 3 generations of the pedigree. All others are small to mid size. It will be interesting to see how tall these puppies mature!
The pups will be born on or near the 20th of January. Next week I will be taking Zelda in for a head count, at that point I will email everyone who has expressed an interest with the option of placing a deposit.
Price for a pet regardless of color or sex is $1500.00. A $100.00 deposit is required for a pre-birth deposit. Once the puppies are born, half the purchase price will hold a puppy for you. I will not take deposits on all the puppies. One puppy will be kept back, trained, and placed as a teenager. I do this so that everyone interested in a puppy has at least 2 puppies to select from. There is always a right home for every single puppy, I simply do my best to insure the puppy’s core temperament traits match your home in a general manner. If a puppy is a little more quiet or shy, I will not place that dog with a home who has 4 kids, 2 cats, and a very active lifestyle. I can select the puppy I think would work best, but sometimes the puppy is the one who makes the final call. I’ve had puppy’s I had planned on keeping for myself turn around and demand someone take them home. In those cases, we change the rules.
I was able to see Zelda, Georgie, and River while I was in Northwest Arkansas. River is looking fabulous and Courtney thinks she will be able to get his Rally title done with a bit more training. He is settling in well and I think Courtney is going to keep him!! They have really bonded and if Georgie doesn’t come into season soon, he would be staying for a while anyway. (Courtney is Georgie’s mom and lives only a few miles from Zelda and her family.) River is a super sweet and gentle boy. He was being a gentleman while I was there, even with Diane’s male dog posturing and trying to get a rise out of him. So far he does not have the “I’m an intact male dog” attitude. He is very striking, inky black, and has a fabulously harsh coat. He was happy to see me, didn’t seem a bit shy, and very cuddly. I’m very pleased with how he has grown up!
Now to tell you a little about Zelda. I’ve had her now for 3 days. She is a fabulous dog. It is hard for me to believe how she is taking this entire process in stride. She jumped up into my car without any hesitation. She road shotgun down to my Sisters home (3 hour drive) where we met Flash, Jazz, and Mocha. She quickly put the puppy girls in their place, explain that no rude behavior will be tolerated! She was firm yet fair. She warned them and they got in her face anyway, so she gave Jazz a hard bite to the nose that did not break the skin, but sent Jazz running and crying! It is exactly what my two puppy girls need. Flash is entirely to tolerant with the teenagers, they need a mama dog to say “Oh NO that is NOT going to happen!”. Merlot is no longer here to teach the manners, maybe his Granddaughter can whip these two pups into shape before she goes back to her family in 2 months. Zelda is calm, obedience, trustworthy with my kids. She is sweet, gentle, a little kissy but not out of control. She is smart and very stable. She loves toys and had some issues with her dad Flash, but they seem to have worked out what toy was who’s. Flash is pretty much letting Zelda have whatever she wants. She has the attitude and body language of a born leader. She slept on Flash’s bed in our room last night. Flash never even questioned it when she walked in there and took the best spot in the room. He just shrugged and walked over and slept right where I step out of the bed. I figured this out when I got up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night and nearly squished him. I’m going to have to break out a second bed now, which we haven’t needed since Ruffy passed on last year. Zelda has been absolutely zero trouble, just walked into our home and has adjusted like she has lived here all her life. This, I have to say, is amazing. She is an impressive dog, that is for sure.
For those interested in meeting Zelda, the best times to do it will be this coming weekend (7th-8th) or next weekend (14th-15th). After that we will be whelping puppies and she will not like strangers near the babies for a few weeks. The next time to visit will be anytime after the puppies are 3 weeks of age. We have a very open door policy. As long as you give me a few hours notice, so that I am home, you are welcome to visit us. We are not a kennel, we live in a suburban home and have only a few dogs. I do ask that you take off your shoes and wash your hands before holding the babies. Pretty simple.
This is a very exciting time!! I hope to share it with many of you.
OFA HEALTH TESTING RESULTS FOR ZELDA
OFA HEALTH TESTING RESULTS FOR RIVER
PEDIGREE of the ZELDA x RIVER LITTER
The Average Standard Poodle coefficient of inbreeding is around 15%. This litter is 2.66% Lower % means lower inbreeding.
Inbreeding information on this litter from Poodle Pedigree:
Genetic information for Test Breeding Zeldav x River
The COI (Coefficient of Inbreeding) is calculated up to a maximum of 12 generations. However, if a generation is found where fewer than 75% of the dogs in that generation are known, the calculation stops just short of that generation. So if all dogs are known in the 5th generation but only half of them are known in the 6th generation, a 5-generation COI will be calculated. For dogs with more than 10 generations of pedigree information available, a 10-generation COI is also calculated for comparison and statistical purposes.
10-generation COI 2.66%
12-generation COI 4.44%
Top 5 ancestors contributing to COI, in order of influence:
AM CH Haus Brau Executive Of Acadia TP 0.68%
INT CH Flash Of Lightning Macintosh 0.44%
VET & INTl CH Friendships Mkm Ladywind Too 0.40%
AM/CAN/MEX/FCI INT CH Pamala’s Manderley Spellbound TP 0.22%
AM CH Eaton Affirmed TP 0.19%
PREVIOUS LITTER ANNOUNCEMENT BLOG POST
To those of you who have emailed me in the last week, I will contact you this week. If I do not, please resent your email. Sometimes I lose track while traveling.
~Becky
What an exciting time! I loved hearing all about Zelda. I’ve been wondering how she is doing. I have to admit, I laughed out loud when I read the part about her and Mocha and Jazz. That’s great that she’s putting them in their place for you. I’m so glad she’s doing well. It was great to see you this week. I can’t wait for more Zelda and puppy updates!
Yeah she is ruling this place and seems to be enjoying it. Funny story… I was taking a bath and she walks up and sticks her head over the edge, trying to get a drink like all dogs do, and I just about freaked out because I saw a small Merlot instead of Zelda from the corner of my eye. It is creepy how much she looks like him in the face with all her hair. I need to shave her face and see if it still holds true. Anyway, I really expected her to be depressed or stressed with moving in here. She doesn’t seem to be showing stress at all or she is really good at hiding her emotions. We have all made sure to give her extra time and attention and I am trying to not teach her bad manners like sleeping on the couch while we watch TV, crawling up in our laps, etc. It is hard not to spoil her, she is the best behaved one here right now, that is for sure!
Thanks, Becky for posting the pictures of River and Zelda. They sure make a cute couple! We are so looking forward to your updates and pictures in the weeks to come. I only wish we lived closer to Texas so we could meet pregnant Zelda and see the pups grow in person. Zelda’s temperment sounds like she’ll make a wonderful mom and raise some well mannered pups.
I laughed at your Zelda coming in the bathroom while you were bathing. I had to make sure the door was closed tight with my white standard. He LOVED to take baths. All I had to say was bath and he’d dash for the bathroom, jump right in the tub and wait for me to get there to turn the water on. I was always afraid he’d jump in with me or with my little girls – so the door was firmly closed.
Rachel
I’m so glad she is doing so well Cristian was sad when he got home from school, he forgot to say goodbye. I laughed out loud about Zelda sleeping in Flash’s bed. Chaski would steal Zelda’s bed. I had to kick him out so that Zelda could rest her pregnant body on something soft. Looking forward to the head count.
Dea Becky,
What a wonderful picture of River and Zelda. Just seeing that would make one “fall in Love” and reading about them makes the feeling grow even greater. I am so anxious to learn more . May next week please hurry and come.
Pamela Griffis