Border Collie Breeding.

 In the second part of her personal account on the realities of breeding, Carol Price describes the arrival of her Border Collie’s pups.

Having given the subject a great deal of thought, I decided to go ahead and breed from my beloved, four-year-old pedigree Border Collie bitch, llona.

 In last month's issue I described how I felt she had much to offer the next generation in terms of looks, brains, temperament, soundness and obedience. Plus, she herself is descended from a line of llustrious show, obedience and working champions. Additionally, she had been screened clearfor known breed-specific disorders such as Collie eye anomaly and hip dysplasia.

 In Smokey (Grandver Joshua at Wynmallen, to give him his full KC-registered name), I found the best possible male match for llona as his attributes and pedigree complemented hers superbly. The mating went well, llona was scanned just over a month later, and I was told that she was on course to have five pups.

And now they have all arrived! Five strapping Border Collie boys; four black and white pups, and one tricolor. I'd have trouble believing it myself if it wasn't for the continual chaos, noise and re-landscaped garden, not to mention the mind-boggling amount of puppy poo!

Border collie breeding.

The birth.

 Llona did not have the easiest of times giving birth, due to their rather large size, the fact that this was her first litter, and also because her restless pre-birth phase – during which bitches experience many mini-contractions as the foetuses prepare themselves for delivery - went on for so long.

 In Ilona's case, this phase of continual panting, whining, pacing around and making 'nests', must have gone on for around two days and nights, during which she had scarcely any rest or sleep - and neither, did her owner! She kept flopping on top of me for comfort, with a pained expression on her face, and each time she did so you could feel those five little pups kicking madly about inside her tummy.

 The upshot of all this frantic activity was that, by the time the pups were actually ready to arrive, llona was totally exhausted and struggling to muster sufficient 'push' to get them out. I took her to my local vet, who gave her an injection of the hormone oxytocin to boost her contractions - though you can only do this once the birth process has begun in earnest (when the bitch's cervix has sufficiently dilated).

The injection took about ten minutes to work; if it hadn't, the next option would have been a Caesarean operation, which I was dreading. Fortunately, however, the moment we got home again, llona's boosted contractions began and the first puppy was born not long after - at around 3pm in the afternoon. Three more arrived in the next couple of hours.

 It is hard to adequately explain in words the utter joy and awe you experience when your beloved dog has produced such perfect and miraculous new life before your very eyes. But we were not out of the woods at this stage, because by 8pm llona, already utterly shattered, still had one pup - who turned out to be the tricolor - to deliver.

The pup's nose was actually tantalizingly in sight, but my poor girl really hadn't the strength left to push him out. I knew if I delayed much longer, I could have a puppy dying through suffocation. So I rushed llona back to my wonderful vets, where they promptly extricated him with forceps, gave him oxygen, plus some mouth to nose resuscitation and a mini-steroid jab to open up his airways and boost his breathing. And I'm glad to say he hasn't looked back since!

New motherhood.

I guess Border Collie pups are pretty tough, and designed to hit the ground running, but even my vet was amazed at the size of Ilona's boys, given that she is fairly petite herself. Within a couple of weeks they had tripled their original birth weights of approximately 340g (120z), and by three weeks they were weighing in at around 1.5kg each. They were all around the same size, with no weaklings or runts. They were glossy, strong, beautifully marked puppies and I was exceptionally proud of their mum.

After a fleeting early phase of exhaustion and mild panic - recognized by all new mums - llona took wonderfully to motherhood, nursing her boys devotedly without being excessively over-protective or neurotic when other people handled them.

As the weeks went by, she also seemed only too glad to let me help her out with cleaning them, feeding them and keeping them occupied with all manner of games, from chasing plastic bottles and trashing cardboard kitchen roll tubes to hanging off the garden hose.

 Like most boys, my five pups' favorite occupations (apart from eating) are destroying things, making horrendous messes and beating each other up! The latter, however, is always done good-heartedly. Amazingly, there are no natural bullies among them, and all five are always happy to share any food or toys without aggro.

Not long after the litter was born I decided to register all the boys with The Kennel Club. It may seem a pretty straightforward process, but I got strangely superstitious about doing it too early just in case one or more of the pups didn't make it. I guess I am clearly the more neurotic 'mother'!

When they were about five weeks old, I also took the pups to a specialist to have their eyes tested for Collie eye anomaly, under the joint British Veterinary Association/Kennel Club/International Sheep Dog Society scheme. Thankfully they all tested clear, but it was a long journey of an hour each way to the veterinary clinic.

 The pups howled and screamed all the way there and back, as they loathed the strange new sensation of a moving motor vehicle. My own ears on getting home, after two hours of their constant shrieking, rang like tuning forks. It was like the aural aftermath of a heavy metal concert from hell.

Names and new homes.
Most visitors who meet Ilona's pups fall instantly in love with them, because they all so adore human contact and interaction and they are just such FUN! I have decided against giving them 'proper' names, as their new owners will undoubtedly change these, and I'll only get even more attached to the pups than I am already.

For identification purposes - and if only to ensure I don't weigh or worm the same pup twice - I've labeled them merely Bruiser, Bunter, Mummy's Boy, Diamond and Triboy. Bruiser got his name from being the first whacking great pup out. Bunter got his simply from being so reedy. Mummy's Boy speaks for itself, as does Triboy for my beautiful sable, black and white tricolor pup. Diamond got his name from the black diamond shape on the back of his white neck ruff.

It has been brilliant to watch their lives unfolding from the moment they were born; every day packed with new physical progress, new discoveries and wonder at the world around them. The longer I keep Ilona's precious boys, however, the more protective I feel about them and the harder I know it is going to be to finally let them go.

From the moment I decided to breed from llona, I vowed I would keep one of her puppies, because even if he brings me just half the joy his mother has, I will feel truly blessed.

As I write, I am still having difficulty deciding which one of the five will stay, but I reckon any day now it will suddenly become obvious. He will just give me a special look and I will know.

 Two other pups have got smashing homes lined up for them in Berkshire and West Sussex. The last two pups' future is still being decided. I have had many offers, but they will not be going anywhere until I feel in my heart I have got them owners who will cherish them as much as I do.

They are not to me, you see, just any puppies. They are my uniquely special Ilona's boys. I owe it to her, as well as them, to ensure that any life they leave us for will be full of only happiness, security, caring and love.

_{source Your Dog Mag.}