Spring Babies

Springtime means new life and babies.  On Sunday, Duty Dogs welcomed a new litter of puppies.

Icy, the dam

We've been eager for this breeding between Chilbrook Dreamlover (Bailey) and Chilbrook Black Ice (Icy).  Dog breeding is a wonderful study of genetics.  In order to get chocolate and yellow pups, both parents have to carry the gene for each color (remember the Punnett Square from high school biology?).

Bailey, the sire

Our other Mama dog, Jackie, does not carry the gene for yellow, so all of her litters have only produced black and chocolate. 








 BUT, Icy carries the gene for all three colors, so we finally have some Bailey Juniors!

Puppies started arriving on Sunday afternoon, catching us by surprise.  We weren't expecting them until the end of the week.  Although it was Icy's first whelping, thankfully it wasn't ours.  We knew how to jump into whelping mode and quickly got the new Mama situated in the whelping room.  Her first pup, a black male made his appearance shortly after 3:00 and the last, a yellow male finished up the pack five hours later.  No complications to report from this whelping.  WHEW!

The final tally was seven little bundles of sweetness-- three blacks (2 male/1female), three yellows (2 male/1 female), and one chocolate female.

As we expected from this sweet tempered dog, Icy took right to being a Mama.  She's so devoted to her pups, it's hard to get her to come out of the whelping box to take a "break" and get a stretch.  Mother and babies are doing fine.


Puppies will be available at the end of May.  Contact us if you're in need of a pup to train for service work.  But you better hurry-- they're going fast!

We've had a Photographer!

We have had a photographer that would like to start pet photography business.  She asked if she could come up and take pictures of our pups.  We, of course, couldn't pass up such a great opportunity,  so here are just a few of the shots she took. 

We will be adding more in the future.  Hope you enjoy them!!!

Dog Books

There are many reading sources on the market concerning dogs, dog training, dog breeding, dog health, and many other things pertaining to dogs.  We have found some great books that we wholeheartedly endorse. Two of our favorites are both written by a lady who been in the dog training arena for over 40 years~ Debby Kay knows what she's talking about when it comes to scent training!  The Super Sniffer Drill Book is a great book if you want to do any kind of scent work with your dog.  The other, The Super Sniffer Hand Book is geared more towards training medical service dogs.  Both of these books are very reliable and we use them every day in our training.

If you are entering the dog breeding circles there is another book by Debby Kay called The Labrador Breeders Handbook that is a great addition to your bookshelf.   Dog Breeders Professional Secrets is another great book for your breeding program, it is very informational and interesting.

However, not many people are going to need these books for their bookshelf.  Most dog owners are just wanting a well-trained dog that minds its manners and can do a few cool tricks.  So far our favorites are written by the Monks of New Skete. They have written some great books about creating the best home for you and your dog.  They teach many things about training and raising puppies and dogs.  Smellorama! Nose Games for Dogs is also a very fun book to entertain you and your dog.

Enjoy your puppies this spring season!!!!

Jackie

what now?

Say hello to Jackie!  She is our petite, sweet, 14 month old, dark chocolate lab that we acquired from Chilbrook Labradors in West Virginia.  We chose to add her to our breeding program because of her great lineage. Jackie has 13 generations of service dogs in her history!  Her father Ranger, is an amazing dog. Being a champion in nearly every way possible, he is a spectacular dog!


Jackie is being trained as a DAD (Diabetic Alert Dog) service dog.  This training is great for intelligent Jackie, as it gives her a job to do. It also gives her a future as a possible DAD, because we can place her as a DAD when we are finished using her in our breeding program.   This training benefits everyone.  She has also learned helpful tasks such as getting a juice out of the fridge and bringing the blood glucose meter to her handler.

at the dentist

We are very proud of our hardworking agile girl and are looking forward to seeing her puppies in the future!

Bailey and Jackie

   

training

working

Bailey

Baby Bailey

Introducing Bailey!  This lover boy is our eighteen month old yellow lab that we acquired through Chilbrook Kennels in West Virgina. He is an up-and-coming stud dog for our breeding operation.

Our handsome guy

Bailey also functions as a DAD (Diabetes Alert Dog) for our ten-year old Type 1 Diabetic. These two boys go great together! Bailey sleeps with his boy, sits patiently while he is playing football, gets his meter for him, gets a juice for his boy, and best of all, Bailey alerts him when his blood sugar is dropping below a safe level.

One time Bailey alerted his boy with a paw on the knee.  After checking his blood glucose level and finding it to be 140 (the goal being between 80 and 120), he disappointedly told Bailey that he was not low and that it must have been a false alert. About half an hour later, he checked his blood again and was very low, in the 40s! Bailey could smell that his boy was going low and alerted half an hour before the low even occurred! Dogs have an amazing sense of smell.

Waiting

It's hard to imagine life without our mellow fellow Bailey.  We sometimes just sit and stare at this handsome gent, marveling how one dog can be so

I love you

good-looking and easy-going. 

Keeping an eye on you

The boys