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The following was originally printed August 6, 2005 in
Abby's
blog
Abby had her puppy today weighing in at 1lb
8oz. At Abby’s last sonogram two weeks ago, the veterinarian could count six
pups, but felt there were more. When a dog miscarries a litter, the dog’s
body will absorb the fetuses. That was exactly the case in this pregnancy.
Abby gave birth to two puppies, a boy and a girl each weighing over one
pound. The boy had problems with liquid in his lungs and could not breathe
well. Two veterinarians worked on him while my vet tended to Abby in the
operating room. They tried everything they could to save the little guy, but
finally I had to let him go in peace.
We are now home with Abby's little girl who I haven't named yet. I have
decided I am keeping her. I wanted to keep one pup out of the litter to be a
continuation of Abby.
The vets felt badly for us having gone through all that expense for what
amounted to a litter of one puppy, but that is not how I feel. I have always
maintained that a truly good breeder will not breed for the money. We breed
our dogs out of love and desire to bring a few good Berners into the world
to be loved, enjoyed and hopefully have a few show puppies that will go on
and have a long and successful record in the show ring. Although the entire
breeding and birthing process will end up costing over four thousands
dollars, the love and companionship I will have each day cannot be measured
by how much was spent. Seeing Abby in her pen with her little angel and the
love in her eyes makes all of this worthwhile.
There may be those who are planning on breeding their female Berner. Please
do not let your judgment be clouded by thinking only about the money to be
made with a big litter. In this case as well as many others, people end up
with litters of one, or even none. A litter is more than just financial
expense. Besides the stud fees, doctor’s fees, food, pens, fencing and even
occasionally hiring outside help, there is still the cost of time. Time
spent driving to matings, time spent going to veterinary appointments, the
24/7 care that the pups need in their first weeks of life, the constant
cleaning and feeding, and the hours spent screening potential families.
Breeding one of our girls is something I truly love doing. I love the
puppies and caring for them is never a chore for me. But I also knew from
the start what to expect. My reward is bringing a new Berner into the world
and watching that dog grow into a loving family pet that is equally
comfortable lying in front of the fireplace as winning a championship in the
show ring. |
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