Anthropomorphic Valentine, circa 1950–1960

First Happy Valentine’s Day to all of our pals!  Thank you for stopping  over to read my guest blog post at Retriever Life and for leaving such nice comments.  Thank you too for liking the 2 Brown Dawgs Blog on Facebook and for following us on twitter.  (Links on my side bar.)  I still am trying to figure them out.  🙂

Sunday Storm started a little adventure.

I Am Not Sure About This Trip

She spent Sunday night with her breeder so that Monday morning she could go off to Schultz Veterinary Clinic to have her hips x-rayed to make sure she is a good candidate to be bred.  Hip dysplasia can be a problem for retrievers so breeders screen their breeding dogs to make sure that their hips are not dysplastic so as to lessen the likelihood that they will pass bad hips on to their off spring.  For more information on hip dysplasia go to the OFA website, here.  This is the same place Smokey went to have her ultrasound and Thunder went to be collected.

This clinic has digital x-rays which means that the doctor can see how the picture is going to look immediately rather than having to wait to develop the x-ray and then reposition the dog if it does not come out correctly.  Most breeders send their dog’s hips x-rays to the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals to be scored.  OFA has certain requirements to submit the films for grading and of course you want to submit the best picture possible, (clear, correct position and no shadows).

If you follow the link to the OFA website you will see that they score for more than just hips.  The clearance tests which are recommended for a particular breed vary from breed to breed.  The tests done can also vary from breeder to breeder.  A breeder may have a legitimate reason for not running a particular test so it is something that a potential puppy buyer should discuss with the breeder if health clearances are a concern.  For us a hip clearance, eye cerf  and PRA status would be the bare minimum for both parents of any Chessie puppy that we would consider buying.

OFA also acts as a data base to collect health data which is shared with them.  For example, they do not evaluate cerf (eye) testing, but you can send passing results to them and they will issue a certificate and include it on the dog’s health page.  This is Thunder’s OFA page which shows all of his health clearances and those of his parents and offspring.

So how did Storm do?  Well we won’t know for a while because her hips still have to be graded.  But looking at her x-ray, it looks really good and she should receive a passing grade.  I will let you know her grade when I find out.  Right now, her breeder’s plan is to breed her on her next heat cycle.  That could be 6 months, or more likely longer.  We will just have to wait and see.  🙂

 

28 thoughts on “Storm Has A Little Adventure”

  1. Awwwwe! That would be terrific for Storm to be a Momma! Imagine the beautiful puppies she would have! If you breed her would you keep a puppy? It’s quite the endeavor getting their hips cleared. Happy Valentine’s Day!

    1. No puppy for us…lol. We co-own Storm so her breeder will be doing the breeding and will deal with the pups. 🙂 Co-ownership is one way Chessie breeders ensure that they have great dogs to carry on their lines. We co-own Thunder and Freighter with their breeder Cindy Franklin and Storm with her breeder Gary Irish. The breeders are responsible for getting clearances, doing the breedings and all expenses involved.

  2. Whooo more puppies. How old is storm? I really need to sit and think about breeding Luna. We have gotten all the health clearances, it comes down to time and space I think… and of course finding a stud who passes my standards. Kudos to you for getting her OFA tests done, but I would expect nothing less of you. Far too few people do it anymore these days, I really wish there were more regulations as it’s one of the few ways to try and ensure clean genes.
    Looking forward to seeing her rating
    Anna
    http://www.akginspiration.com

    1. Storm will be 5 in June. Actually Storm’s breeder had her hips done and will be breeding her. We are not breeders. Too stressful.

  3. One of my dog park friends breeds clumber spaniels, so I know a little bit about co-ownership and such. She’s given me an excellent education on responsible breeding, and obviously, if you weren’t being responsible and ethical about it, you would blog about it. 🙂 People will be lucky to get a puppy from Storm.

    I actually think I saw someone walking two Chessies today, but I wasn’t close enough to be sure. Could have been curly-coated retrievers. They sure were beautiful.

  5. Hi Y’all,

    Thanks for stoppin’!. Oh, I don’t think I could let my dog out of my sight long enough to have puppies!

    How often will she be bred, do you have any idea? At least with a male you don’t have to send him away…only his sperm. 😉

    Will you get to go play with the puppies like you did with Freighter and his litter mates?

    Hawk’s Human

    1. Hopefully Storm will only be bred this once. Once she is done with mommy duty we plan to spay her.

      Not sure we will get to see these puppies. Storm’s breeder lives much farther away from us than Freighter’s breeder does.

  7. Well here comes Miss Question. So are you saying when you breed dogs they don’t get to do it the ‘natural’ way?

    1. Oh no they do. Sometimes it will be done by artificial insemination if, for example, the stud is far away from the female. It saves having to ship the bitch, (which is how it used to be done before AI became available). Normally the bitch has to go to the stud..I know sexist. 🙂 Or it may be frozen if the stud is no longer available (deceased, neutered).

      1. I wondered. I’ve heard people say after seeing dogs mate they would never put their dog through it, so I thought maybe it is acceptable now to breed artificially. 🙂

        Thank you for answering my question!

  10. Hi!
    Happy Valentines Day! Hope all goes well with the breeding!!! We’ve done both natural and AI here… I like natural better! LOL… Great post and let us know how it goes…. can’t wait to see puppies!

    Your friends,
    The Collies and Chuck 🙂

  11. Wow, it’s just incredible how far veterinary medicine has come. So it sounds like soon you’ll be on the opposite side of breeding – this time you were picking the puppy from someone else’s litter, and next time you’ll be nursing the expectant mom and enjoying all those frolicking puppies! How cool! 😀

  12. That sure is interesting info for someone like me who owns a (spayed, of course) mutt. We love our mutt, though!

    She’s so beautiful in terms of temperament that sometimes I sigh and think of cloning her.

  13. Ooooh Mommy Storm! I hope she gets and excellent grade!
    I don’t blame you for not breeding; it’s much too stressful looking for me too! Kudos to all those who do.

  14. OFA, uggh! I have had my issues with OFA in the past, I learned very quickly and the hard way, just how particular they are, I would like to call it a rookie mistake but one that will haunt me forever!!
    Good luck to Storm on her OFA and Happy Valentines Day!

    1. I know people who have had their issues with OFA. I am curious to see how they grade her. The pictures look good especially because she is almost 5 years old.

      Hope you had a nice Valentine’s Day.

  16. Good luck Storm!!! This is so much fun. I think I can forever come to your page and live my almost over puppy life vicariously through y’alls pups!!!!

  17. I hope Storm’s breeder is a good photographer. If puppies are in Storm’s future I’m sure all of us want to see puppy pics.

  18. I hope she gets hip clearance. It’s very exciting that she could be a mom! Thanks for sharing all the links. I’m familiar with all the basics, but I’ve never taken the time to read all the OFA details.

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