CH Blue Run's Willing to Play Ball

Hooray! Mays has finished her championship. Our biggest
problem was finding shows with major wins available. Now
she can get rid of all that coat and go back to doing water
work. I plan to breed her in March if her paramour is back
from Crufts where he will be putting in a command
performance as the number one PWD in England. I have one
of his puppies, Juliette, who is just stunning and now I want
more....many more from that devil Romeo.

Thankful for five beautiful pups on Thanksgiving Day

Here is Yaya with her 5 beautiful Thanksgiving puppies. Four
girls, one boy. Two weighed in at a pound which is large for a
puppy.  One may be curly, the rest are wavy.

Blue Run's Juliette

 Here is our little singleton at three months of age.
See, I told you her blue eyes would turn brown!
This little girl is a real corker.

Apolo and Yaya puppies coming next week!

I'm so excited that we are going to have Apolo puppies.
Bacchus has his nose out of joint but that's just too bad.
Pictured is Apolo taking a placement in group competition.
(It's an honor to make group at all let alone place.) Yaya
and Apolo could be twins. I think we are going to have
black puppies......

Play date

I try to place most of my puppies in the greater D.C. area and
then I encourage the new owners to arrange play dates with one
another. Here are Lulu and Carson, cousins, enjoying a game of
"stick". Blue Run owners are also encouraged to dog sit for each
other when they have to go out of town. That way, their dog has
a good time and is spared sitting in a kennel getting kennel cough.

Yaya is expecting six on Thanksgiving

Great timing. I don't have to make a turkey. Yaya and Apolo
are definitely expecting and today's sonogram shows we
should expect six puppies. Likely, these pups will be black
and wavy with a minimum of white markings.

Moby's First Haircut

This is 4 month old Moby after his first haircut. His
owner will probably be able to do his subsequent
grooming after a lesson at my house on how to trim.
I get so tired of seeing the terrible hair cuts local
groomers do on my dogs. New owners soon learn
that it is both expensive and disappointing to hope
for a nice groom at their local PetSmart. I encourage
owners to learn how to groom and I'm happy to get
them started by providing the first hair cut. Doesn't
Moby look precious?

Yaya to be bred to Apolo for Thanksgiving Puppies

Six month ago Yaya (Blue Run's Joyous Yaya) was bred
to Apolo (CH Classea's to the Moon and Back) but DNA
testing revealed that all 5 puppies were sired by Yaya's
favorite paramour, CH Blue Run's Willing to Serve (Bacchus).
It can be very hard to prevent a breeding when two intact
dogs share the same home and both parties are willing.
Next week, Yaya will be bred to Apolo again and this time,
we hope Bacchus won't be part of the equation because
I really want some Apolo puppies! (Bacchus has been
banished to another state for the duration of Yaya's heat cycle.)

Puppies should be born Thanksgiving Day and be going
to their new homes at the end of January. (Why do dogs
always whelp on a holiday??) As both Yaya and
Apolo are black wavy dogs, I expect these dogs will have
very little if any white and most, if not all, will be wavy.

Juliet

Having a singleton has been a new experience for me as a breeder.
This little beauty is all on her own. Sometimes, I have trouble
telling if a dog is going to be curly or wavy. There isn't much debate
about Juliet who is very curly. Like all young PWD puppies, her eyes
are blue and will turn brown by 3 months of age.

How NOT to buy a puppy

In Canada they have a program called Market Place where I
came across this video about puppy mill purchases.
http://www.cbc.ca/marketplace/episodes/2009-episodes/
how-not-to-buy-a-puppy
 In the USA, the new puppy mill sites are on the web. Very
few pet stores are left that sell cats or dogs in the USA. But
this video applies to how many animals (available on line
for sale) are actually raised. It's quite deplorable.
Increasingly, there are on line scams where you send the
money and no dog ever comes!
Hobby breeders raise their dogs in their homes. They don't
ship dogs to people sight unseen.  Blue Run dogs are placed
locally (Washington D.C. area) almost exclusively. A face to
face interview at my home is required and all family members
need to show up. If you find a breeder who will sell you a
puppy without interviewing you, you may be dealing with a
puppy mill or a "backyard breeder" who does no health testing
or follow up.
 I always tell impulse shoppers, "Buy in haste;
repent at leisure."  Waiting for a puppy from a good local
breeder is your best assurance of getting a healthy dog. Visit
the breeder and meet their dogs. See how their dogs are housed
and what kind of temperament the animals have. It is an expensive
and long term commitment. Do at least as much research as you
would do if you were buying a new car.

A Singular Singleton

This beautiful baby is the only one that resulted from mating Jadee (Blue Run's Ignite the Night) to CH Hi Sea's Dr. Romeo
MacDuff. Because Romeo is showing in England, Jadee was inseminated with frozen semen. I don't think that I'll go that route again as one puppy ties one down just as much as a dozen would and the costs have been exorbitant. Still, she looks pretty fabulous and I have great hopes for her.

Partners in Crime

Mari and Zeke are both Blue Run dogs. Mari is teaching 7 month old
Zeke the ropes. Many owners come back to me for their second
"potato chip" when their first Porty is two or three years old. Every
family that has done this has been delighted with the decision as two
Porties are twice as much fun as one.

Jadee is pregnant

Well, that's the good news. But sadly, the sonogram shows only
two puppies. It looks like most folks hoping for a Blue Run
puppy will have to wait until next year. The two puppies expected
are going to show/breeding homes.
Cheryl
Addendum: A single puppy was delivered on 8/19/2016. It is a
beautiful curly female who is marked like Romeo, the sire.

The Mother's Day Litter

This is why we breed

"Hi Cheryl,

I hope this note finds you well.

Had to share our recent Dodger pictures. 

We got him when Chris was in 4^th grade.  Last weekend 

Chris graduated from high school and is headed off to 

----- State.  As I took photos and reflected on the

years that have flown by, it occurred to me that there

is something about a boy and his dog;  really no words 

for it, but an incredible friendship and bond. 

As always, thanks again for our sweet boy!

Enjoy your summer.

Dawn and family"

Jadee bred to #1 PWD in England

I am very pleased that Romeo's owner agreed to a breeding of
her CH Hi Sea's Dr. Romeo MacDuff to my curly black girl Jadee
(Blue Run's Ignite the Night). I met Romeo over two years ago in
Portugal where he competed in the first International PWD
Congress (and won).
Romeo sired a litter with the PWD who won Best of Breed
at Crufts. She produced a litter of 13 puppies just today. Romeo is
currently the No. 1 PWD in England. He is pictured below Jadee's
picture. It is typical to show dogs in Europe with a long coat of
hair, sometimes reaching to the ground!
Our puppies are expected August 18th. I'd be very happy to have
13 Romeo/Jadee puppies, that's for sure. Fingers crossed.

Zeke

St. Patrick's Litter Launched

The St. Pat's pups have just left for their new homes.  From
left to right they are Zeke, Pirate, Camden, Leo, and Lefty.
They could not be any cuter if they tried! It's quite a nice change
from those pink nosed piglets we started with two months ago.

Puppy Owners

Camden, from Amelia's litter, is going to a home with three
children in just a few weeks. In preparation, the children made
a slide show of all the dangers a puppy might get into including
small toys, string, poisonous plants, etc. The last slide was
this charming set of drawings.
This is why we breed.

Mays Gets a Five Point Major Win

This is Blue Run's Willing to Play Ball on the occasion
of her winning a five point major toward her
championship. Four more points and she will be finished.

Amelia's St. Patrick's Day puppies

This robust group of 4 boys and one girl were born on St. Patrick's
Day. Amelia is the mom and she is taking excellent care of her
little brood. All but two white boys are spoken for. All of the white
puppies are curly and they will be stunning.

Lulu

Why does everyone seem to want to name their dog Lulu? This
is Lulu G. in her new home. Oh my goodness she is cute. New
owners are sending me pictures of their puppies and it is such
a delight. She is wearing the "required" harness. Blue Run
puppies are only walked with a lead on their collar after they
have learned how to walk politely and not to pull. I worry they
might injure those little necks.

Amelia is two days prior to whelp

    This is Blue Run's Willing to Work. She is a dead
ringer for my first female Porty, Yardley, who, along with
Dante, decided to start a breeding program 13 years ago.
  The next available puppies will be a litter sired by
Amelia's brother, Bacchus, (CH Blue Run's Willing to
Serve), and Crissy, (CH Shasta's Cerveja Cristal Preta My
BFF at Metanoia), due March 29th. These puppies will
be whelped and raised in Royal Oak, Maryland.
(email: metanoiawd@gmail.com if you don't want to
miss out) Both Bacchus and Crissy are Irish marked
(like Amelia), black and white dogs. The babies will
have a lot of chrome and the Blue Run easy going
temperament.

The Time Litter Nears Departure

These are Libra's puppies with Griffin. Many of
them are able to escape the pen, always a sign it is time
to leave.

Are those Blue Run dogs at the White House?

I'm often asked if Bo and Sunny are from my kennel since folks
know I try to place locally. No, neither is a Blue Run dog but both
have been great ambassadors for the Portuguese Water Dog breed.
Now people know better than to ask "Is that a Doodle?" which is
like waiving a red flag in the face of a pure bred dog breeder. (No,
doodles are not and never will be AKC recognized "breeds". They
are mixed breed dogs being sold to gullible buyers. It's a case of not
getting what you pay for. Just sayin'.)

Blue Run Therapy Dogs

Some dogs are just meant to do therapy. Pictured is 3 year old
Mari with a 96 year old family member in hospice. Mari is
doing what is called "the melt" in which she applies her body
against the patient and lies there quietly. This is bringing comfort
to both the patient and family who bring Mari to her regularly.

The Resolutions at Eight Weeks

These pretty puppies will be going to their new homes soon.
They are shown with their "box names" but soon will have
much more sophisticated monikers.

Puppies are Anxious to go to their new homes!

With puppies 6 to 7 weeks old, all craving attention, it is
hard to cuddle everyone each day. New owners come and
help to socialize the puppies when they aren't watching
them on puppy cam. Soon, the puppies will be able to escape
this pen and then all Hell breaks loose. Clicker training has
begun and they all sit quietly for a treat....all 16 of them!

Amelia to Deliver March 18th

This is pretty Amelia, Blue Run's Willing to Work, who was
bred to CH Scrimshaw's Griffin in January. She is Korra's
sister so I expect we will have a litter of puppies that have all
the colors we got with the Resolution litter...blacks and
browns with Irish, Tuxedo, and pibald coat patterns.

Rocky

This little guy is two weeks old and is having a
rocky time. He has been  slowly gaining weight
because I tube feed him every 2 hours 8 to 9 times
a day. I named him Rocky because I hope he will
be the "come back kid"  and turn into a robust
puppy. It is puppies like these that the breeder
struggles to save but often they don't make it. 
Could he be any cuter?

Tuckered out after delivery of 9 pups

Libra delivered 9 pretty black and white puppies, 6 girls, 3 boys,
on January 10th, 2016. Although Griffin also sired this litter, there
are no browns and no "pi's". One little guy looks like Korra who
is tending her 9 in an adjacent bedroom.  Two litters at the same
time? Color me crazy. I didn't think Korra was pregnant due to
mishandling of her blood work used to time the breeding. So, I
have an embarrassment of riches with these two beautiful litters.

Do Porties have an "off" switch?

Thankfully, the answer is"Yes!" But, the off switch generally
doesn't kick in until about age 2.  This is Isa lounging and
recalling the lovely puppies she produced last year.

The Resolutions

Here is a picture of the 9 puppies in the Resolution Litter born
on 1/1/2016. The 3 female pi-balds are easy to tell apart with
their very distinctive markings. The 3 brown puppies at the top
right, two boys and one girl, are almost identical and probably
curly The two black pups are almost identical, too, except one is
wavy and the other curly. The pretty Irish marked brown boy will
go home with Korra. He has show boy written all over him.

Korra Has Delivered

All nine puppies made it and there were some real surprises in
this colorful litter of 6 girls and 3 boys. First, I think all but one are
curly (which is recessive). Five of the nine are brown (which is
recessive) and the stud owner says that the browns that Griffin
produces stay a nice rich brown without fading (Yay!). Three are
pi-bald, one is Irish marked, and the remainder are solid colored
with small amounts of white. All seem robust. Mom accomplished
this miracle in just 4 hours.
These puppies make up the "resolution litter" since they are born
today, New Year's Day, 2016.