Crooked Creek Cairn Terrier Update for November

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. We had a great visit with family in Missouri. Even with the turmoil and stresses we're faced with on a daily basis, there is so much to be thankful for. Christmas is in the air and I'm still in shock that we're heading into December. I don't know where the time goes but it definately goes faster as each month goes by.

We received a preliminary report on Libby's puppies that died. It was a bacterial infection, but we are puzzled since antibiotics did not treat them. Further testing is being completed to see what strain of bacteria it was to see if it was a resistent strain, and we're waiting for recommendations on treatment and prevention for the future. I'm glad it wasn't viral and all of the dogs and puppies are doing fine here, so hopefully we won't have it occur again. We can only learn and move forward. With all the sanitizing I do, I'm still in shock that anything could have infected them. How do dirty puppy mills EVER raise puppies in the first place!? I even switched last year to a professional strength vet/kennel sanitizer instead of my good old Lysol that I used to use. I use bleach on the outside runs so the mama can't step in something and bring it back into the whelping box to her puppies. I just don't know what else I can do and it's frustrating to think you do a good job and still have something as simple as a bacterial infection occur. I know life isn't perfect, but I want it to be!!! LOL

I have planned upcoming litters for the year. The preliminary plans are posted on the Our Cairns page of the website. Sires and/or dates are subject to change if someone cycles at a different time than planned. We're holding upcoming litter choices for those that did not get a puppy recently, but we'll resume deposits after everyone has their puppy. In the meantime we'll accept a waiting list for next available puppies, and upon assuring that the puppies are available, we'll accept deposits.

I have several dogs that need new photos as they are maturing. Lanie & Bailie are just gorgeous and Miyah is still a puppy but so far she's making it into the breeding program. She's a beautiful gray brindle color and has everything headed in the right direction. Daisie is still as cute as a button! I'm really excited about the quality of the next generation for Crooked Creek Cairn Terriers.

Bridget whelped

Bridget whelped this morning. She had a male that was just huge. He is the size of a 3 week old already! I waited around a couple hours and when she continued to push with no results, I checked her. She had a puppy that was trying to come down and she wasn't able to make progress. I took her in and we did a c-section. Another healthy female but much to my surprise, that was it. Just 2 HUGE puppies took up enough room for 6! Bridget is in pain, but is doing pretty well. The puppies are latching and are strong. After losing Libby's puppies, I really hoped for extra puppies. We'll make plans to save the next upcoming litters for those already waiting. At this point we're at nature's mercy. So we're hoping and waiting for strong healthy puppies and some nice litter sizes.

Brindle Cairn Terrier Color

The brindle gene causes a striping pattern in the coat. Cairn Terriers are often mislabeled in color, because with a long coat it's difficult to tell if a dog is a wheaten with black hairs in their coat, or a light brindle. A light brindle has black striping that goes all the way through the undercoat and has a lot of light colored hair in their coat. A dark brindle has the same striping in the coat but may have much more dark than light. A true brindle can not lose the brindle gene, even though Cairns do change color over time and from season to season. You can have a very dark puppy that appears to be a brindle because of the dark color. But if it does not have the tiger striping, it is not a brindle. I only know about the brindle gene because I owned a horse with the brindle gene and was so intrigued. In horses, the brindle gene is so rare there are not enough brindle horses in existence to trace the genetic marker!!! Shai was quite a rare Quarter Horse!!!!! Attached is a photo of his left side, where the tiger striping is very obvious. This is how the striping appears in the Cairn Terrier at birth and as the coat grows longer, the striping looks more mixed throughout the coat and they can be from a dark color to a light color. Also attached is a photo of Hailie from the side, showing her striping of silver, wheaten, and streaks of red. The black goes all the way through the undercoat and she is genetically a brindle even though she is very light in total color.

Ella Update

Ella is doing wonderful in her new home! He says she's a wonderful dog and I was pleasantly surprised that what we thought was a grade 1 luxated patella, his vet could hardly get it to move and said they would only call it a 0.5 grade (which the grades start at 1). So that's great to hear for Ella and it confirms that Dr Gail is very cautious. I'd rather be over cautious than not cautious enough. His vet said Ella was the prettiest Cairn she'd ever seen. That makes me happy to hear compliments like that! Ella lives in the city and is doing litter box house training. They wanted to pass along the recommendation of Purina Dog Litter which erases odors completely, doesn't stick to the fur, is less messy than clumping cat litter, and is working just great. They're very happy with her and I'm so happy for Ella that she has such a great forever home!

Hailie

We picked up Hailie over the weekend and attended an all breed dog show in Springfield, MO. We met at the dog show to get Hailie, and her full sister is being shown in the AKC circuit down there so I got to meet her. They look identicle and are such a unique color. She's a very light wheaten brindle, but appears more like a silver wheaten with a black mask. She has bits of red in her coat but is primarily wheaten. She's got a really nice confirmation and is so sweet. She's a bit scared coming into our busy household. But I think she'll adjust and do just great. Her pedigree is incredible and I'm really excited to add her to our family and our breeding program. Her first litter will be June 2008 and I haven't decided on a sire yet. I will groom and get more photos for the website soon. Most of the dogs need new and better photos as soon as I can find the time!!!!

Loss of Puppies

We've had a very traumatizing experience over the weekend. Libby's 2 5 week old puppies suddenly got sick and died within 12hrs, despite my extensive treatment with medications, fluids, and supportive care. We started the litter on antibiotics on Friday and the remaining puppies acted perfectly fine. Sunday night I found another puppy dead suddenly, and again Monday morning, a puppy who acted fine a few hours before was dead. I took the last puppy to the vet for an emergency IV and antibiotics. They decided to change the type of antibiotic and by yesterday afternoon his condition became grave. He has hung on through the night which is a miracle, so I'm hoping the antibiotics are helping. But it will be a miracle if he survives. We have sent tissue samples to the university for culture and my veterinarians believe it is some type of bacterial infection that has effected the puppy's livers. Since none of my adults or other older puppies are sick, it must have something to do with their immature immunity. It's heartbreaking to have something like this happen, but even worse to tell families just after a happy update and photos, that the puppies have died. I know I'm not in control of nature, but there is just nothing more upsetting than to have something happen and not know the cause. I'm very medically minded and need to know a diagnosis, treatment plan, and how to prevent it and so far no one can tell me anything. It's hard to understand when I'm such a thorough sanitizer, and jokingly call myself a "Germ-phobic", how something could possibly infect my puppies. I sanitize outside with bleach, inside with kennel with vet strength sanitizing solution, and even Dr Gail has commented several times on how clean my place is. The puppies were young enough that although they had been in the puppy house floor and the kids had played with them, they had not been in the yard yet or anywhere that they could have picked up something. It's driving me crazy trying to figure out the how/when/where/why.

Update 11-7-07

Libby's puppies are petite little adorable puppies. They're only 14-16oz, but are healthy and doing well. They clumsily chatter and attack each other. Although they are 5 weeks old now, they are much like 4 week old puppies in that they aren't responsive to noises enough to get good photos or see personality. In another week, they'll be more physically active with a more stable gate and will be showing more activity. Attached is a photo of one of the brindle females.

We have a new girl coming this weekend. We will welcome Crooked Creek's Fancy Hailie into our Cairn Terrier family! She's a 1yr old wheaten female and is a niece to Bridget and Thea. Her first litter will be next summer.

Bridget is due next week. We're looking forward to her litter. It's always like Christmas as we anticipate the number, sex, and color of the puppies!

Gourmet All Natural Treats

Cairn Terrier customers often ask me, what kinds of treats are good. Of course, anything without preservatives, and that contain natural, and healthy ingredients are best. I have added a line of gourmet natural dog treats to Designer Dog Avenue.com. The company offers a full line of wheat, corn, and soy free treats, pie's, and cookies. I have added a few treats and pie's, including soft baked birthday pie's topped with real fruits, nuts, and veggie's. If it's popular, I will add other flavors and treats upon demand.