Stories, News & Updates...

Posh’s Magnificent Seven!

Thu, 21 Jul 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Posh underwent a planned C section due to her uterus being torn during labor with her previous litter in the summer of 2010.
Posh was very pregnant and quite huge! Last night neither she nor I got much sleep as she was so uncomfortable. I was glad that we didn’t have to wait another day!
I was anxious to see the condition of her uterus as this would be an indicator if she could have another litter. I was armed with my Canon 60D which could switch from HD video to high resolution still photos.
As I watched the C section commence, my ears heard Dr. Shoemaker excitedly say that her uterus looked great and she could indeed have another litter!
It was down to business as usual for my wonderful vet in taking each puppy out as the technicians worked on each puppy to insure they were breathing normally.
I breathed a sigh of relief as I headed home with Posh and her Magnificent Seven only to find that one of Singe’s 4 week old puppies was sick running a very high temperature.
I quickly got Posh and her brood settled in their whelping box and focused my attention on Singe’s sick puppy. I immediately gave her antibiotics and with a call to Dr. Shoemaker I also gave this puppy 20 ml sub Q fluids.
I took the temperature each hour and slowly it started to come down. WHEW!
What a day it has been but I can now look forward to raising these 4 wonderful litters of Singe/Steeple, Shale/Bru, Trace/Klepto, and Posh/Bezel!
Be sure to drop in and watch the puppies progress on their respective webcams:
Singe and Shale puppies will share webcam 1 on this link:
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/hobnob7
Trace puppies can be seen on webcam 2 on this link:
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/hob-nob-border-collies-2
Posh puppies can be seen on webcam 3 on this link:
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/hob-nob-border-collies-3

Puppies, Pals, & Posh

Sun, 17 Jul 2011 14:07:12 -0700

Puppies abound Hob Nob farm with more on the way Thursday morning.
Pal Carol Schiefer left early this morning driving back to California leaving her precious cargo of Trace, Belle, Jasmine, Ariel, Aladdin, Mickey, and Disney behind in my care. Carol will fly back to visit the puppies and take Trace back home in about 5 weeks and again make the trip the end of September to take her new little puppy home!
I am so looking forward to their new journey!
I miss my BFF Carol and enjoyed her visit as she was such a great help!

Helping Hands...

Sat, 16 Jul 2011 11:49:18 -0700

Based on past history with Trace’s mom Harley and sisters Posh and Sequel, it was decided between myself, Carol Schiefer and my wonderful vet Dr. Shoemaker, that it would be safest for Trace to have a planned C section once her temperature dropped. By Wednesday morning of July 13, Trace’s temperature had dropped. You can click on this link to see Trace’s beautiful puppies!
The staff at South Bay Animal Hospital in Olympia, WA was well prepared for this event. Carol and I were given permission to take video and photos which will make for wonderful memories in years to come for Trace’s owner Carol Schiefer. This is Trace’s first litter of which Carol is hoping to keep a puppy as her next agility partner and best friend.
While I have witnessed many C sections from my various bitches, this was Carol’s first experience. I have asked Carol to share her experience as she witnessed the whole process of the C section and her feelings and emotions upon getting Trace back at Hob Nob farm to settle in with her new litter of pups.
Breeder For A Week
Trace, Mist, and I arrived at Hob Nob Farm last week to get Trace settled in before the big day. I was excited to finally see what Trace had been carrying around for the past 63 days, but also anxious about the surgery she was about to undergo. I had confidence in Jan’s vet, Dr. Shoemaker, and I was even allowed to witness the C Section, take pictures, and video. As Dr. Shoemaker pulled out the uterus containing the puppies, I was thrilled to see that Trace was going to have six puppies! As each puppy was handed off to a vet tech, I had a new worry...would all the puppies survive? Most worrisome was the last puppy born. Luckily this was the puppy that Lissa, the superior vet tech worked on. It took the longest time for the puppy to cry as this was the last puppy out therefore getting the most anesthesia! Finally, all the puppies were safely tucked in the puppy bag. There were smiles all around as the wonderful staff at South Bay Animal Hospital gathered around to take pictures and look at the six beautiful puppies. As we drove back to Hob Nob Farm, I breathed a sigh of relief, and knew that I could now relax and enjoy the puppies. Well, that’s not quite how it worked out.
As soon as we got the puppies home and weighed, Trace was stressed and seemed to want a taste of her puppies! Luckily for Trace and I, Gail got in the box with Trace and the puppies and got them to nurse. She used peanut butter to teach Trace that she had to lick the puppies‘ bottoms to get them to pee. Finally Trace was relaxed, and started licking her puppies. Now I could relax, right? Wrong! Trace got very stressed in the night, and tried to climb under my bed.
When was the exciting and fun part of puppy raising going to start? The morning brought more stressful news...all the puppies had lost weight, Trace’s milk wasn’t coming in, and her stomach felt very hard and bloated appearing as though she was still pregnant. Luckily, I had the experience of Jan and Gas X behind to keep me calm. It was normal for the milk to not come down as Trace had not had puppies come through the birth canal. That day we started bottle feeding the puppies to supplement what little Trace was giving them. With all the these events occurring, I extended my stay an extra day. I was hoping to leave on Sunday, and my biggest wish was for the milk to let down.
So, today the puppies are four days old, and good news! Trace’s milk has started coming in, her stomach is still gassy, but not as hard, and she is being a great mom. Having puppies is amazing and wonderful, but also stressful beyond belief! I have brand new respect for Jan, as I was a Breeder for a Week!
Being a breeder is not for the faint of heart!
Carol and Momma Trace, Belle, Jasmine, Ariel, Aladdin, Mickey, and Disney

Puppies Etcetera!

Wed, 13 Jul 2011 17:37:33 -0700

Trace had 6 gorgeous puppies sired by Klepto on July 13, 2011
Click here to visit their puppy page
Click on this link to watch the puppies on live stream!
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/hob-nob-border-collies-3

The 2nd puppy batch has arrived!

Fri, 8 Jul 2011 17:14:47 -0700

Shale’s temperature dropped early Thursday morning and she refused to eat her breakfast. I remained on puppy watch throughout the day with some periodic restlessness from Shale. She did some attempts at a bit of nesting early in the afternoon then decided she was hungry enough to eat dinner.
Since she no longer showed any activity suggesting labor, I went to bed with Shale sleeping beside me. I fell asleep around midnight then was woken up at 2 am by the sounds of Shale licking herself. I got up to go to the bathroom and noticed that the front of my pj’s was wet. Shale’s water had broke on my bed as she lay beside me. She never once moved or nested!
I then moved Shale to the spare bedroom where the whelping box was set up and within 15 minutes her first puppy arrived!
These are the two recorded videos of the puppies being born
http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/15864695
http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/15866524
click here to visit the puppies webpage
click on this link to watch the puppies live on the puppy cam!
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/hob-nob-border-collies-2

It’s Shale’s turn!

Thu, 7 Jul 2011 07:10:57 -0700

Shale’s temperature dropped to 98.4 this morning and she refused to eat her breakfast so I am officially on puppy watch!
Shale’s puppy webcam will get turned on once she is in active labor.
here is the link to Shale’s puppy cam
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/hob-nob-border-collies-2

Second Chances

Tue, 28 Jun 2011 16:38:55 -0700

Today, Zoe flew to her new home in CO as she will live with her auntie Sybil and cousin Jekyll whose loving parents are Mark Bowerman and Reggie Rogers.
I had already decided to keep Zoe not long after she arrived back at Hob Nob farm since she fit in with my group so easily. Zoe is just pure delight in every way so it was an easy decision to make in letting her stay here. Plus I felt that she would make a wonderful addition to my breeding program since she has so much to offer.
I also felt some pangs of regret in that Zoe would not have the opportunity to shine as an awesome agility partner since I no longer compete having two bionic knees.
But then last week I got a surprise email from Reggie asking about Zoe...wow, wouldn’t this just be THE perfect forever home for Zoe!!!!
After a few email and phone conversations with Reggie, it was agreed that Zoe would go live with them and that sometime next year, they would send her back for me to get one litter from her.
A lot was/is riding on Posh with her upcoming litter in that I had already planned to keep a female from this wonderful repeat breeding. I just love everything about this cross between Zoe’s mom Posh and her daddy Bezel!
While I had many offers from people wanting to buy Zoe at the $3,000 price I willingly paid to get her back, nothing gives me more pleasure then to give her to Reggie knowing she will live the life I so want for her of being an adored companion, agility star and best friend in a forever home! This is worth so much more then any dollar amount could buy!
Reggie called once they had Zoe and told me how she was very happy and delighted to meet her new mom! She readily played ball with Reggie in the parking lot of the cargo facility and happily greeted Mark as well.
Zoe’s story can be read here
Don’t you just love happy endings like this... Or rather Happy Beginnings!!!! I sure do!
Her name says it all...Hob Nob Second Chance Zoe!

Steeplets at 1 week old

Mon, 27 Jun 2011 19:25:41 -0700

Singe x Steeple puppies turn 1 week old today. All have doubled their birth weight.
Puppies started the Early Neurological Stimulation program at 3 days old.
I supplemented the two smaller puppies once per day for 4 days with a puppy formula recipe which includes evaporated goats milk, plain yogurt, egg yolk, water and karo syrup. Easily took to the bottle and sucked enthusiastically!

You can see more pictures of the puppies by visiting their photo album page
Puppies can be seen live on their webcam by clicking on this link
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/hobnob7

Puppy Palooza about to start!

Mon, 20 Jun 2011 08:24:50 -0700

Singe’s temperature dropped this morning to 97.8 which means puppies will probably come in the night...of course it can’t be during decent daylight hours:>)
The birth will be live on ustream
here is the link http://www.ustream.tv/channel/hobnob7

The Breeder’s Cup...

Thu, 26 May 2011 20:20:16 -0700

...can often runneth over when things don’t always go as we wish they would!
Today, I had a wonderful phone conversation with Intrigue’s breeder Karen Thompson from TBC kennels. I had emailed her immediately letting her know what had happened to Intrigue. I was not yet up to talking with anyone but the day after Intrigue died, she did talk with Gail and during their phone conversation one of the things she wanted to convey was to let me know that she had repeated the breeding of Red to Nell of which she offered me a puppy!
As responsible breeders, we both want to know when things happen to the pups we breed both the good and the not so good as is the case with Intrigue. Not only did I want to do an autopsy for my own unanswered questions as to why, I also wanted to be able to give Karen some answers as well.
I can honestly say that I do not feel that the demise of Intrigue was genetic in anyway although I will never know the cause.
During our conversation, I got to know a little bit about Karen (whom I have never met). We only had a few brief email exchanges when I had inquired about getting a puppy from the breeding of Red and Nell. I wasn’t even sure if Karen had any idea as to who I was as I didn’t offer much information about myself:>)
I learned that we shared many of the same values about breeding our wonderful border collies. That we treated each puppy owner with 100% honesty and respect.
I did not expect, nor do I feel, that Karen is obligated in anyway to compensate my loss of Intrigue with a replacement puppy. However, I think it is a grand gesture on her part to do so and I am much appreciative of her offer!
I look forward to Red and Nell puppies due around mid July with the hopes that there will be yet another special little guy in honor of Intrigue!