Its really warm out today, the daffs are open and you can almost hear the grass starting to grow again. Scout and Lilly look ready for anything. All being well, this time next year or the year after, Lilly will be mated and we will be expecting our own spring puppies. But first its the round of health checks for her and we'll be spending this year looking for a healthy, happy and handsome mate for her.
Lilly has such a great temperament and she is the sort of dog that if she was your first you would think you were a great dog handler but actually she is simply a great dog. Sue Jones chose her for me from Annie's litter based on knowing me and having watched her from a tiny pup and she got the match just right. I will only mate her if I have a list of people I would be happy homing one of her pups with and if I find a dog that "is good enough". I feel rather like the potential mother in law from hell - no dog will be good enough for her unless they really come to scratch. But she is such a great dog that if we get it right I have no doubt she will have some great puppies who will bring as much joy to their owners as she has to me.
But before that comes the health checks, starting with hip scores, which to be honest i am a bit nervous about. I don't like the idea of her having a general anaesthetic unnecessarily. I have heard that you can have it done under a sedative in some places so perhaps i will investigate that. The bottom line there is no point looking for a mate for her unless her hip scores are good, so watch this space. Her dad, Fox, has a really low score and Annie too so all being well they should be good.
I think the jury's out on GA versus sedation for hip scoring. Many maintain that a more accurate score will be obtained when the dog is fully anaesthetised as the hips can be rotated more easily.
ReplyDeleteIt would seem that the most important consideration is getting it done by a vet who x-rays hips regularly. This can make a big difference to the score.
GA makes me nervous as well, but we have a vet we trust. I'd want to know about hips enough to go through it...
ReplyDeleteI feel for you, Scout. The anesthesia and test are in that horrible place of tile & steel. They even have a levitating stand which they call a hydraulic exam table. It's all designed to get us to be scared out of our bejesus so that by the time we get home we BEHAVE big time. It's such a relief to be away from the tile & steel.
ReplyDeleteHave you heard all the hubbub about glaucoma in certain border collie lines? It seems that the great Neo has passed along a very bad gene. This is all news at the border collie health message board. We here in the States are devastated for the dogs, breeders and owners.