Cultivating Beauty – The Labrador Way – @ HGT :@)
Written by Pam on May 12, 2016
Well we are at the home-stretch – and we are so excited about this impending litter. Below you will see the pregnancy x-ray that was taken just hours ago of HGT’s Koko Kawaii Hito’s belly. Koko was bred to GCH CH Zinfndel’s Markers Mark – Koko is packed with puppies! Can you count how many will be joining us in a week’s time? Koko is an amazing creature! We took her out of a relaxing early retirement just to bring us a beautiful and delightful surprise! In the past Koko has thrown us many beautiful dark chocolates, but in this litter based on the coat color genetics of this pairing, I think there will be predominately black lab pups…only time will tell :@) :@) :@)
If you have already completed a HGT questionnaire and if I sent you a response to that questionnaire, then you are already on our lab list for a puppy. We still cannot guarantee puppies as we do not know the gender, coat color or the exact number of pups that will be joining us – many things still need to happen. We need to whelp, vet check, DNA check, remove dew-claws and then we start the puppy process and start calling everyone in the order that you were placed on our list.
We are also planning our next anticipated breedings. Koko’s daughters, Ty and Eps, will be the next two labradors that we are considering in our breeding program. (Go to Labradors/Adults heading of our website to read about our girls, their genetic clearances, pedigree etc.) We will soon be working out the details with the co-owner/breeder of a beautiful chocolate sire that is standing at stud in the Netherlands. We have waited awhile for him to journey home to MA but it seems like he is extending his stay abroad. This will be another process for us in order to breed to this magnificent creature – we are considering a Trans Cervical Insemination – as the semen will need to travel many MANY miles to reach HGT’s Ty-Ty from the Netherlands. We have two chocolate sires in mind for Eps. Both are clear in all the tests that the breeder has put them through but Eps still needs to clear her OFAs and if she does as well as her Mom and sister, she too will be bred.
October is the month things will be very hectic here and if our girls conceive, pups will be joining us in December. You will need to let us know if you want to be placed on these lists. Fingers Crossed for a healthy, beautiful litter! We will blog often once the pups join us so please follow our blogs.
I wanted to include one of my favorite poems that I find very fitting here … everyone and everything has a purpose!
A Bag of Tools by R L Sharpe
Isn’t it strange that princes and kings,
And clowns that caper in sawdust rings,
And common people like you and me
Are builders for eternity?
Each is given a bag of tools,
A shapeless mass, A book of rules;
And each must make —
A stumbling block or a stepping stone.
Enjoy, Pam