Rivermeadow Labradors: Latest News: 2013
15th December 2013
Fig has finally been chosen - or should I say - Fig chose me :)
6th December 2013But I had enquiries for puppies and I asked her owner lots of questions about the bitch. I’m not going to have a puppy. But everything I heard sounded “just right” for my next puppy’s Mother. But I wasn’t going to have a puppy yet. ........... Guess what? .....
.......... .......... ..........I’m having a puppy! Fig is joining us at the end of December! Watch this space!
5th December 2013
Both Oak and Ash have been DNA tested genetically clear (N/N)
for Exercise Induced Collapse (EIC) - this means they can be mated to any bitch
and will never produce progeny affected for this condition
6th October 2013
Well, what a year Oak has had in
Agility! In 12 months he has progressed through 4 grades - he won from Grade 1
into Grade 2 last Autumn, then won into Grade 3 in the Spring, and then in just
three months over the Summer he gained THREE TIMES more than the required number
of points to move into Grade 4!
Added to this he has qualified for his GOLD
Kennel Club Agility Warrant! What an achievement that is for a Labrador
competing in a collie orientated sport, and with a handler who can’t run, too!
Most importantly, Oak LOVES Agility, and the team work between us gives me a
real thrill every time we run a course. An Agility dog has to be very biddable,
and very keen, and Oak is certainly both! He is my pride and joy!
On the
puppy front both boys have sired some delicious litters this year, with Ash’s
handsome looks and “I love everyone” attitude gaining him a number of admirers.
The picking up season starts for us at the end of October, so the boys will soon
be busy retrieving twice a week. They will be delighted!
3rd June 2013
Ash becomes a new father and also a
grand-dad on the same day! Pass the chap a cigar!!
1st June 2013 - Mega Newsflash!!!
Oak wins into Grade 3
Agility!!! Beating the closest dog by 9 seconds –
a real achievement for my super star Oak!! (Normally just fractions of seconds
separate places, so to have a 9 second advantage is amazing!) What an achievement for my superstar!!
29th May 2013
Oak is 5 today! He has given me five years of pure pleasure and hopefully we will continue to have fabulous fun filled times together for many more years to come. I am thrilled that bitch owners who had litters sired by Oak are coming back for repeat matings, proving what lovely offspring he is siring.
Ash too is now a granddad! So his marvellous temperament will continue through the line, bringing pleasure to many more owners.
Having missed all the summer gundog training last year when I was recovering from my leg op, Oak was a little rusty when we met all our training friends at club classes this spring. There is a world of difference between picking up pheasants on a busy woodland shoot, where the dog has to work it all out for himself, using his nose 100%, and handling onto dummies in a field. However Oak is still amazingly “steady”, and it hasn’t taken him long at all to remember the skills he was taught as a youngster. If I did less Agility training and more dummy work I am sure that he would be back to his old form even quicker!
Agility is SO addictive! It’s such fun, running with your dog, building up the teamwork that will see a fast, clear round over 20 or so obstacles, finishing with an excited, happy dog, tail wagging so fast it’s a blur, a true partnership. Oak is doing really well this season, winning lots of places (rosettes with numbers on!). Ash is adoring the anysize classes I am running him in, and this weekend came 7th in a class of over 50 dogs! So pleased with him, it was super to see him so enjoying himself. Needless to say, I couldn’t begin to keep up with him!
17th March 2013
Mid Downs Agility Club run annual awards for their 80 or so members, based on
competition results over the previous 12 months. I am proud as punch that Oak
won both Best Grade 1 Dog, and Best Large Dog categories, and finished in second
place as Runner Up to Best Overall Dog in the club! It was especially lovely as
Fife won the Grade 1 trophy a few years ago. Now both father and son will have
their names on it! As Oak has now won into Grade 2, all my future dogs will
start at Grade 2 – onwards and upwards!
1st February 2013
I am delighted that another two of Oak’s puppies are to be trained as Assistance
Dogs. One pup from Hampshire is going to Ability Dogs on the Isle of Wight
http://www.abilitydogs4yp.org.uk/ and one from Surrey is off to Canine Partners
http://www.caninepartners.org.uk/
When I injured my leg in the summer
Oak was the perfect helper – fetching and carrying all sorts of items around the
house for me. I can imagine how a trained dog must truly open up a person’s
life, giving them help and confidence. I’m thrilled that dogs with my breeding
will be amongst these worthy canine helpers.
7th January 2013
We are
now three quarters of the way through a busy shooting season, with Ash and Oak
picking up two or three times every week. They are super fit, with muscles any
Olympic athlete would be proud of! It has been interesting to watch a two year
old son of Oak gaining experience in his roll as “peg dog” for one of the
members of the shoot. He has developed into a cracking game finder, and has all
the enthusiasm and natural ability of his father and grandfather, Fife.
Considering that he lives in London, to come and work so well on a muddy, rural,
woodland shoot with over 200 birds shot each day just shows the versatility of
the pups we are breeding, and it is no wonder that his family, rightly, adore
him!
Talking of puppies, both Oak and Ash have some lovely litters
available and expected, so if you are looking for a puppy in the near future, do
drop me an email or give me a ring to discuss the type of home you are offering,
and what type of puppy you are hoping to join you. I am sure that I will be able
to put you in touch with just the right litter for you.
If you are
thinking of breeding from your bitch, these days it is becoming more and more
important to have the vital health tests done before mating. Not only from the
responsibility side of ensuring that we are improving our breed, and reducing
hereditary health problems which can be avoided, but also from the “homing
puppies” point of view. Thankfully more and more puppy buyers are aware of the
health tests which the parents of their puppy should have done, and thank
goodness they know to walk away from untested parents and find a litter who’s
parents have been tested, and where they can see both dam and sire. I tell all
bitch owners using my dogs that any potential puppy owner is most welcome to
come and meet the sire of their puppy-to-be, after all they are going to spend
many years with this pup, so it is important that they find the right one for
them. I continue to hear happy reports from people who have puppies sired by my
dogs, which is marvellous, and after all is the reason that I breed from them in
the first place.