Well, Juneau, our Cassidy daughter who is pregnant, came to live with us last evening and she'll be staying with us until the puppies have been whelped and are at least 6 weeks old -- probably until they actually leave us at 8 weeks of age. She's gotten a little pudgy and has put on 10 lbs. since she was bred -- about normal. Today, I took a few pictures of her to share with the owner of the stud dog so I thought I'd share them with you.

Here a picture of Juneau when she was showing on the Florida Circuit last January. I apologize for the fact that she's posting but at least you can see what her normal bottom line looks like.



And here's a side view of Juneau today.



And a closer view.



I look down at the wide body.



And, finally a shot of her looking confused .



Think she looks like her big brother, Sundance?



We take Juneau in for Xrays on November 2 to see how many puppies to expect. Julie Poole has predicted 9; I'm thinking more like 5. Keep tuned.

Jim

I am betting on eight big pups. Hope all goes extremely well. Nice looking girl and she is in very good hands.

Congratulations Jim. My bet is seven.

So how does this work? Is this your dog, or are you just the caregiver and midwife because you have the experience? Do you get your pick of the litter? Are these untoward questions in the breeding world?

They do look similar to me, both beautiful dogs.

Preston,
we bred Juneau -- she's out of our Cassidy and Ch Ivoss Touch The Sun -- and we co-own her. One of the conditions of co-ownership what that we could breed her to continue the line and her owners are very good friends who own an Annie son (Annie was our first Rottie) and co-owned Rowdy with us. They don't have the experience or the inclination to do the actual breeding/whelping themselves so they asked if we would be willing to do it. Since Juneau was born right here in the same room and the same whelping box we will use for her litter, it seemed both appropriate and should be comfortable for Juneau.

Our agreement is that the owners get their pick puppy (either male or female) to work in Agility. That's really their first love. We'd like a girl to show in Conformation and to put some working titles on. And to ultimately breed down the line. The owner of the stud dog would also like a girl from her stud dog and that would pay for the stud service. Beyond that, we have 8 potential buyer homes and whatever the number of puppies left after the 3 that we all want. We split the revenue from those sales with Juneau's owners. We do the marketing and the determination of appropriate owners.

I have no problem explaining our situation but no two breeding situations are identical. We happen to have very good friends who we trust completely and they trust us the same. That seldom happens in dogs . Because of the way we bring up our puppies, Juneau is as comfortable in our home as she is in her own. Her mom (Cassidy) is very supportive (thank goodness) and her brother, Sundance, adores her. Auntie Marion Louise will help any way she can and Uncle Harry Potter is her best friend. It's an incredibly sweet family of Rotties.

I'm delighted that you are willing to ask those questions. Lots of people think there is some kind of "silent code" that breeders follow but that's not true with us. I'm completely willing to share the details of our relationships and the products of our efforts -- the puppies!! I am so ready for puppies. You have no idea how much joy they bring into our home.

Jim

JIm,

Thanks for the explanation. That sounds like a good partnership, and a win-win-win all the way around. Yes, I was hesitant to even ask about it because many breeders are very competitive and secretive about their programs. Thank you for the education and your candor.

Diana,
having Juneau here is, on one hand, very nice for people like us who despite all appearances are somewhat "control freaks". This way we get to manage the births.

On the other hand, it also disrupts the balance we've had in the household since Rowdy and Crash left us. Juneau is sweet and lovely but she can be a b***h and, invariably, will do something to get the boys (Harry Potter and Sundance) upset with each other. And now that she's pregnant, she's even worse. Bless those hormones!

However, when I add up the pluses and minuses, I'd rather be doing this than anybody else. Our breeding success rate is pretty high. And we do more to make good Rotties in those first 8 weeks than anybody else on earth. OK, maybe that's a bit of conjecture but we do give good puppy.

Life is always too busy. Too all-consuming. But we have made a concerted effort to make ourselves available for this breeding. Linda's finishing off the first monthly issue of The Rottweiler Magazine and I'm finishing up my last two baby shoots. The first 2 weeks are completely involving for us. We assist in all feedings and they take place every two hours night and day. Once eyes are open and ears are hearing -- about 10 days -- things ease up a bit but we still accompany mom when she's in the whelping box.

Sorry you're missing your Dusty. I've sent a few of my dogs away with our handler and missed them terribly. I understand.

Jim