Okay, so for you who have read this before I really mean it this time: I'm going to blog the step by step of this litter!
You can't imagine how excited we are for the litter coming from our Islay by Wasabi. Not only our first completely solid litter, but one that should have rare chocolate fawns in it!!! The extra added excitement is this: though most of our dogs are co-homed - a personal sacrifice we make to ensure that our dogs have the very best, including perfect, permanent pet homes, Islay is own of our very own family pets. Yep you got it: All ours!! So as wonderful as it is to share experiences with our other 'parents' its will be exhilarating to have this one all to ourselves.
A wee background on our Islay: Islay was born 'Polar Chocolate Ven Der Monarchia' and was given to us (and we are forever thankful) by Marci at Northen Bullies who imported both her and her sister(Linda, a gorgeous fawn pied girl). Marci knew what we knew: Islay would be a perfect match for our Fawn choco boy Wasabi who joined us last year. And so arrangements were made to add our first choco girl to the AMIaBULL program. And what a girl!! She was a knock out, of course, we knew that from the photos, but her personality was absolutely perfect for us here at our home. She was laid back and friendly, loving everyone, every dog, every child she met. Outgoing, personable, charismatic and very go with the flow she fast became a favourite and we knew she was never going anywhere but here with us.
My daughter, 4 at the time, was especially smitten. Islay slept on her bed, sat by her chair, you name it they did it together. I have great photos of the night her father sternly told her that if Islay was going to sleep on her bed she was to sleep at the end of the bed on her own bed, NOT under the covers like a stuffed toy! My daughter very obediently nodded and Islay (god love her) moved to her bed on the end like the good girl she is. Now, I'm not saying there was a plan involved with what happened next, if fact, knowing them both as well as I do I would guess it was only a sleepy, getting more comfortable thing.... but not ten minutes later when I went to check on our girls I found one with her gorgeous little head on the pillow and the other sleeping contentedly: head on the other's stomach. Yep you guessed it: puppy on the pillow, little girl using puppy as a pillow. When I showed my husband the photo I'd quickly snapped on my phone he just shook his head and smiled. It was then it became poignantly clear that we now had two little girls to reckon with in the house.
Islay has only two ..... well I guess 'negative traits'. The first is that she insists on letting my children treat her like a stuffed animal. The fact that my daughter can hug her around the neck lifting her off the ground and Islay has the expression: 'more please!' on her face will someday mean bad things for a new dog in the neighbourhood, I know it. The second is that she is a 'Houdini' - meaning that she can get out of almost any confinement you can think of if she wants to. She can climb fences, push barricades, jump baby gates and break plastic crates. She also mentors other dogs. Puppies have been taught to navigate out of pens, doors, and gates.... one mother was actually taught not only to open the handle of the puppy pen, but to close the door behind her so the puppies couldn't follow!! We are talking serious genius here. My neighbour one time called me over when I was out with the dogs to let me know that they had been eating breakfast that morning looking out over the lawn and enjoying the show: Islay and Kali had been opening the enclosure at the back of our deck, going out to run around the yard and letting themselves back in whenever they to heard me coming me check on them!! Thankfully my husband does extensive renovating for a living: a wooden fence was completed and a professional run installed shortly thereafter. Saar's won that war. We lost a good number of battles getting there, though I tell you!
Flash over to Wasabi: dear wonderful, lovable, energetic Wasabi. Wasabi was a boy I saw online from a breeder in South Dakota. I knew his daddy quite well - a very famous dark chocolate boy with a head that could sink a tanker: Annette Wood's "Wotan"! Kelly Johnson at Beggin' for Bullies was great to work with and we got him up here after a few weeks of drooling at his incredible photos. From the get go he was just a super joyful little man. More energy than I'm used to in frenchies, healthy as a hog, and a way of winning
everyone over. One of my girlfriends recently commented when meeting Wasabi and Islay together that she like them both but if hard pressed she preferred Wasabi!! Now - don't get me wrong, Wasabi is..... well phenomenal... but every person who has ever met Islay in this world has wanted to keep her for their own. So when she's known Islay for months and meets Wasabi and says that you have to respect it!
As an AMIaBULL stud, or rather when he was younger a 'to-be' stud,co-homes are an automatic must. I tried for years to keep a male here because I've always been a sucker for boys, but it's just too hard on them. When girls are in heat in the house it's a hormone game that's just not fun to watch. Now add the factor of any litter not to be sired by that boy has ANOTHER intact male come into the house and THEY get all the fun!!! Nope. Not a good scenario. It's hard enough to deal with one stud that smells the intoxicating scent of a woman: they stop eating, start puking, peeing, pooping, whining "I want my momma" like the dogs on AFV. No - multiplying that by two isn't good for anyone. So like my other boys, Wasabi has his perfect permanent pet home where he's loved... and spoiled.... and shown off, and I take over for vacation times (when I can), visits, and yes the 'scent of the women' moments. Wasabi's co-home is perfect for him - full of love and laid back but strict with expectations, and complete understanding of his fervent love of the world. I couldn't ask for more. I know they love them every bit as much as I do.
So last week was Honeymoon week for the two of them and it was quite a sight to see. Two very amiable AMIaBULL's flirting and playing up a storm. They truly enjoy each other's company and it was so nice to watch them play. Breeding on the other hand is never an easy feat for frenchies and there always seems to be some strange new glitch involved.
Now, Wasabi, god love him, is many things: loving, beautiful, energetic, and an incredibly healthy little stud-muffin..... but in the end: not the brightest bulb in the pack. In terms of breeding and knowing his job he's a bit of an idiot savant. He learned very quickly that in AMIaBULL terms...well..... I'm the girlfriend. That is to say Frenchies are very often impregnated via artificial insemination. Which means the stud is 'collected' from and that sample is used to inseminate the female. We have a saying here at AMIaBULL: "What happens in the bathroom, stays in the bathroom". And with the exception of our mentoring program (yes, Cara at Blue's City, I'm talking about you being very professionally scarred by witnessing the process) we don't really share the details of that process. Needless to say I will not go into the play by play of HOW Wasabi came to the clear understanding that it was me he should run to when a certain level of excitement is achieved. :\
What I
will share is that Islay was not impressed. In fact the poor girl became so frustrated with him running over to me every time she expected (and frankly I also expected) him to try to mount her that she would sweep him every time he tried to run away and mount HIM from behind. It really was as if she's just had it and figured she knew how it was supposed to be done. Poor girl.
Well, all the vaudeville routine aside: the deed was done(...yes... by me. lol). And now we are at one week in the very exciting process of Islay's first pregnancy.
Do I feel she's pregnant? Yes. Absolutely. And her best friend Scarlett (who is visiting for the week) can attest to Islay's very motherly instinct of bathing her every time she's within reach... a new and interesting mannerism born with her hormones. (Scarlett is a Shelby keeper to be bred later this summer, and is another of my favourites.) She and Islay love each other dearly, but Scarlett would choose people over dogs any day. Oh, she snuggles and plays with Islay and enjoys every minute, but the look that she has on her face when Islay preens her is like a girl stuck on a bad date!
I will keep my eyes peeled and my typing fingers ready - more on the unraveling of this exciting AMIaBULL time soon!
