Rider, on the left, and Amber, right, spent a week together "cannoodling". We hope to have a nice big litter as a result of their joyful efforts. Puppies should look like the parents. No browns. Just wavy black or black and white pups with an occasional curly puppy. Amber's previous litters were above average in size (nine pups) so
I hope to have 9 happy families at the end of the summer when the puppies go to their new homes. They do look compatible, don't they?

Amber and Rider are expecting....we hope!

CH Ebb Tide's Two if by Sea, RN, RA,CGC (Rider) and CH Blue Run's She's a Caution, CGC (Amber) are expecting a beautiful litter on July 9th, 2012. This is a line breeding on their grandfather, BISS CH Watermark Toby's Black Jack. Rider is pictured above. This breeding was only possible with the kind assistance of stud owner Lesley West who supervised their enthusiastic attempts to get together and get the job done. We are pretty confident they were successful and they had a great time. As Lesley said, "Rider is in love."

Blue Run's Red Sky Delight is our new Champion

SHAMU!!

Here is the handsome 2 year old Shamu, starting his show career, and winning his class each of 4 days showing. Shamu has passed all of his health clearances and is a proven stud, having sired a litter last fall. He is 22.25 inches tall and 60 pounds. Yes,
he's a whale of a dog!

The Joyous Litter born November, 2011

Here is a picture of my helper Aracelly with big Phoenix puppy
and the Thanksgiving puppies at 4 weeks of age.
Cheryl

Thanksgiving Litter Update

The 9 Thanksgiving puppies are 5 weeks old now
and are receiving regular visits from their prospective
families. A puppy from a litter born to one of my girls
in Phoenix was placed in the Washington D.C. area at
Christmas. A bruiser weighing in at 12.5 pounds at 7 weeks,
he is 18 days older than the Thanksgiving litter. I'm
looking for one last owner for the current litter and then
won't have puppies again until the spring at the earliest.
Cheryl

The Thanksgiving Litter has arrived.

Joy delivered 9 beautiful black wavy puppies on November 18th. She
produced 8 in just two hours and then a surprise 9th puppy came a
few hours later. This was a wonderful whelp with uniform puppy size
and none that were hard to get going except the last puppy that needed
a little oxygen to pink up. We have 5 girls and 4 boys. Some look like
mom and some like their dad with a bit of white on chest and paws. Joy
is turning out to be a conscientious and attentive mom with abundant
milk to go around for this large litter.
Cheryl

Joy is due to whelp this week.

Big as a little black barrel, Joy is due to have her puppies
on Thursday. As always, this is an exciting and anxious time
for any breeder. I recently attended Myrna Savant-Harris's
seminar on puppy intensive care. Hopefully, being well prepared
for every emergency will preclude there being any problems.
My girls have always been great whelpers and excellent moms.
Tomorrow I set up the whelping pen.
Cheryl

Joy is finally ready

Over 2 months later than expected, Joy has deigned to come into heat.
A breeding will be done next week with puppies expected
mid November. If we are fortunate and she gets pregnant, puppies will
go to their new homes in mid January.

It's always fun and exciting to be anticipating a new litter.
Cheryl

Joy/Shamu breeding: puppies due in November, 2011

Blue Run's Noel Joy (Joy) was bred to Blue Run's Black Jack (Shamu) in September. Puppies are due around November 19th. This is a tight line breeding on BISS CH Watermark Toby's Black Jack, who has the most impressive credentials
of any stud in the PWD community. The puppies will probably be mostly black with a bit of white. Shamu has tuxedo markings with a nice white bib.
Both Shamu and Joy share excellent health markers. Joy carries a protective H allele at the FH2532 marker which is associated with a decrease in the incidence of Addison's disease, a fairly common illness in the Portuguese Water Dog (2.7%). This information was provided through participation in the Georgie Project, the most extensive research project conducted on any breed of dog.
(Currently, 49 of my dogs participate in the Georgie Project which has been granted funding by the National Institutes of Health.) Families interested in a puppy from this litter should contact me by using the "contact Cheryl" link on the right of this post or by e-mail at drcwinchell@pol.net.

Zodiac Litter (Amber/Jack)

Here are the Zodiac puppies, pictured at 7 weeks of age. They are now 7 months old and doing well in their new homes. Their daddy just turned 13 years of age this month (BISS Watermark Toby's Black Jack). Mother is CH Blue Run's She's a Caution CGC. There are 5 girls and 4 boys in this litter and only one curly (Taurus).

Blue Run's Red Sky Delight

Pictured above is Lilly's sister Violet who now has 10 points toward her championship and needs those elusive major wins to finish. she is a beautiful girl, 19 inches at the withers just like
the "ideal" in the standard. Often, she is the smallest girl in the ring. Violet is owned by Kelley and Tom Dimke and resides in North Carolina.

Lilly begins her show career

Blue Run's Red Robin, aka Lilly, began showing in January with handler
Sue Whaley. Sue and Lilly are pictured above with Lilly's first win. Lilly
is 19 inches at the withers and 40 pounds. Compared to most of the girls
in the ring competing against her, she looks like a midget. But look at
her beautiful proportions! And the standard states that the "ideal" bitch
is 19 inches at the withers and 35 to 50 pounds. I'm hopeful that the
judges won't fault Lilly for being the correct size. When I visited Portugal
some years ago, I was struck by how petite the Portuguese people were.
You could pour them through a straw they were so slim! I really doubt
that the Portuguese fishermen would appreciate hauling in the oversized
dogs we see so frequently taking the win from little girls like Lilly who is
just about perfect.

The Zodiac Litter

I am delighted to have found show homes for two of the Zodiac litter puppies but still am looking for the right home for Libby. Meanwhile, Peanut, Aries, and Taurus have all revisited me for short stays while their owners vacation.
My husband and I were able to return to our home last week, having been nomadic for 4.5 months while our destroyed home was rebuilt. We are surrounded by over 250 boxes of "contents" and are trying to get our house back in order.
In the new year I hope to see several Blue Run dogs showing in the conformation ring. Blue Run's Red Robin (Lilly) just turned 2 years old and will be strutting her stuff in the January shows. A perfect 19 inches, we held her out of the ring to mature as many judges will not "put up" a 19 inch girl as being too small. The PWD standard states 19 inches at the withers is "ideal" and I hope the judges will reread the standard and give this girl the points she deserves. Meanwhile, Blue Run's Red Sky Delight (Violet) is showing in the south east states and I hope to have a beautiful young boy, Blue Run's Black Jack (Shamu) entered in the Florida circuit shows in January.
When health testing is completed, CH Blue Run's Noel Deck the Halls (Danny), will
be available at stud to appropriate girls.

I have no breeding plans until late summer or fall of 2011. I do want to find the right
placement for Libby who is now 3.5 months old.
Cheryl