Another new Champion!

I had some lovely news this weekend that Ava (New Champion Braebrook's Dolce Holmrun) finished her championship with a Best of Winners win at the Fraser Valley Dog Fanciers show. That makes her the fifth champion from the Dirk x London litter to finish. I am just so proud of this litter. It takes good dogs and good owners to get to this point, so a big shout out to them. Thank you! :)

While Ava was finishing her Championship I was home getting the house prepped to go on the market, and I do believe it's not a moment too soon as we have found a good potential house for us. There would be lots of room for dogs and kids so keep your fingers crossed that all works out.

The puppies are doing so well and growing like crazy. Ears have been cropped and are almost fully healed so they will start to go to their new homes now. Cooper(green collar) will be leaving us first, going to his new home on Saturday. Having the babies go is always bitter sweet for me as they are my little charges and I have gotten to know each one so well, but at the same time you can't keep them all and I am excited for them to join their new families. Remy(purple collar) will be staying with us a little longer until his family is ready to take him and Bravo(red boy) will be staying at Braebrook to grow up and see how he comes along. If the right show home came along than I might let him go but for now he is staying. :)

Another thing I should mention is that the VCBC is asking for public input before a vote is made on banning cropping and docking. All letters/e-mails/faxes need to be in by Nov 1st so please take the time to write as this would be devastating to the breed. This is all about numbers so the more people that right in the better.

I am going to try to write in this blog a little more often. Life has been extra busy with getting the house ready and puppies and I just haven't gotten on here as much as I would like. I need to figure out how to jazz it up too, add pictures and links etc.... Must take some time out to do that.

Hope that everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving, there was much to be thankful for in this house. :)

New Champion!

Just got the news this weekend from owner Michelle that Pony(Holmrun's Chulo Pony Braebrook) finished her Canadian Championship!! Very exciting! That makes her the fourth puppy from the Dirk x London litter to finish, and there are still two more who are pointed and well on their way.

Also got news from owner Melissa that Amadeus(Ch Braebrook's Hugo Boss Holmrun) passed his Canine Good Neighbor test! That is wonderful, and is a testament to his temperament.

It is very gratifying as a breeder to get this kind of news. I am so proud of this litter! :)

Life is a whirlwind!

Life here at Braebrook is humming along at an unbelievable pace! We have been so busy with renovations to get the house ready to go on the market that has been taking every spare(ya right, not a lot of spare moments around here! ;) ) moment. Add to that two small children, big dogs, puppies and everything that goes along with it and there just hasn't been much time to get on the computer. This is a rare bit of time so I thought I would write a quick blog update.

The "boys" are doing so very well, and growing like crazy. They are running around everywhere they go, growling and biting at each other and generally just loving being under foot. Coco is slowly losing interest in feeding them so much, and has given up on cleaning up after them(that is my job now). She just jumps in with them for a quick feed and then moves on. Those new teeth they are growing can be a bit much. :)

I will be posting some new photos on the website in the next couple of days so be sure to check then out. The stacked photos will be starting in another week or so.

Saying good-bye is never easy....

I just arrived back home from a memorial service for my friend Garry Holmes, husband of my very good friend and mentor Cherie Holmes, both of Holmrun Dobermans. They have had a great influence on my breeding program and provided me with three very beautiful bitches over the years. Starting with Lexi who was my introduction to the breed, but didn't turn out to the be the show/breeding dog that I had hoped. Instead she has been my good companion and obedience dog. London followed Lexi just a year later and was the most fun dog to show and has proven herself to be a great producer with three champions from her first litter and three others pointed. Finally, Safi who had come to stay with us here at Braebrook while Garry was sick but then just never left. I know that her contribution to the Braebrook breeding program will be a great one.

The service was both sad and happy, many good memories were shared with lots of laughs and of course lots of tears were shed too.

Garry was a very kind, gentle and all around nice guy. I am glad that I could call him a friend. He will be missed by many......

Big changes for Braebrook

There are lots of exciting things happening here at Braebrook, but the biggest change for us will be a move in the very near future. Chris has taken a job change which will see him working in Parksville(about an hour and a half north of where we are now). We have been busy getting the house ready to go on the market, and the drywall dust and paint has been flying. My dog room that was being remade over into exactly what I wanted will soon be someone else's rec room. A little bitter sweet but I am excited about the move none the less. Change is always exciting. :)

The "boys"(Freddy x Coco puppies) are growing at an amazing rate. Their eyes are fully open and they are up on their feet and walking around the whelping box(albeit somewhat shakily). Coco has been an outstanding mother and has endless amounts of patience for her young charges. I can hardly believe that two weeks have flown by already!

This is a short one as there is just so much to be done around here. Will post again soon!

The puppies have arrived!

Coco decided to take her time but the babies are finally here! :) A dogs gestation is 63 days, so when Coco hit day 65 I started to get a little concerned. I took her in to see the vet this morning and we decided it would be best that she had a C section as she still hadn't gone into labour. Usually the onset of labour is preceded by a fairly sharp drop in temperature. In most cases this means puppies will be arriving within 24 hours. Coco's temperature dropped the morning of the 6th and when she still hadn't gone into labour by the next morning that was a pretty good indication that she wasn't going to. This is actually quite common with a very small or very large litter.
I brought Coco in to see the vet at 10:15 and she was prepped and surgery was begun at 12:00. Everything went really well, and we welcomed our three little boys into the world. Two blacks and one red. I was able to work closely with the veterinary staff and was there to watch the puppies being taken out and worked to get them stimulated and moving/crying with vigirous rubbing and a bit of oxygen. They soon let us know that they were HUNGRY! Coco came out of anesthetic quickly and we got the puppies latching on right away. Coco started licking and cleaning them and forming a good bond. This is very important as sometimes the mothers can be a bit disoriented after having a c section.
After Coco had recovered enough to walk I was able to take her and puppies home and she has been an excellent mother so far. I have started a page on the website for the puppies, and you can see them here: http://www.braebrook.com/Freddy%20x%20Coco%20puppies.htm
I am sitting beside the whelping box right now and everyone is so content with the puppies occasionally making the most lovely little grunting and whining noises. :)
Stay tuned for more updates!

Freddy and Coco puppies

I took Coco in for an x-ray yesterday to see how many puppies she was carrying. I had a feeling it wasn't too many as she wasn't very big. Turns out I was right, only three. They all looked to be a good size though, and only four more days until I get to actually see them. :) Exciting stuff!

Coco has tons of energy and with such a small litter she is still very mobile. Her "playmate" outside is Lexi right now. Lexi is a very calm, stoic lady and won't try to entice Coco into wrestling which Coco would be only too happy to do, belly and all! The two of them just walk around and lay in the sun which is exactly what Coco needs to be doing during her last week of pregnancy.

Keep checking back for updates on puppies. Not long now! :)