A nice weekend showing at Framingham Kennel Club Show.
Saturday Judge Cindy Lane
Case, Select Dog, BOBOH
Reed 1 st BBE and RWD
Sunday Judge James Albrecht
Case BOBOH
Reed 1st BBE RWD
Sunday, November 17, 2019
Framingham Kennel Club Show November 9-10, 2019
A nice weekend showing at Framingham Kennel Club Show.
Saturday Judge Cindy Lane
Case, Select Dog, BOBOH
Reed 1 st BBE and RWD
Sunday Judge James Albrecht
Case BOBOH
Reed 1st BBE RWD
Friday, October 11, 2019
Recent Winnings
Pondview Hawksmoor Best Case Scenario RN TKN CGC
AOM in Breed at PLRC under breeder Judge Marion Daniels
Case receives first GCH point as Select Dog at Devon Kennel Club Dog show
Ludwigs Corner, PA under Judge Nancy Gallant
CH Pondview Hawksmoor Jazz Man RN TKN CGC "Louie" handled by Zach Orcott
competing in Best of Breed at PLRC specialty
Pondview Lit Bit O Soul "Solo" 7 months
(6-9 month 3rd Place Sweepstakes under Breeder Judge Nicole McCarthy)
CH Wiscoys Rocco x Pondview Hawksmoor Web's Charlotte CGC
Friday, June 28, 2019
Thursday, May 30, 2019
Wynter x Fern puppies
Pondview Hawksmoor Wynter of Wellington CGC TKN x Pondview Hawksmoor Beyond Forever
5 boys, 1girl
Saturday, April 20, 2019
Next Litter expected late May
Pregnancy confirmed. All black litter expected May 30th.
Pondview Hawksmoor Wynter of Wellington CGC TKN "Wynter"
(CH Hawksmoor Wellington x Hawksmoor Pondview Caroline RN CGC)
(CH Hawksmoor Wellington x Hawksmoor Pondview Caroline RN CGC)
Pondview Beyond Forever "Fern"
(Int CH Carpenny Scenario x Hawksmoor Pondview Glory)
(Int CH Carpenny Scenario x Hawksmoor Pondview Glory)
To be approved you need to have a phone interview. Then a meeting to meet me and the Labs is required before final approval. Please do not expect that your name is on a wait list because you emailed to request this. You MUST be approved first.
Potomac 2019
Another year of Potomac, the Camelot of Labradors, is in the books. A busy week of juggling 3 crazed boys who had come off from a month of girls in heat at home and then were over the top with even more smells at the show. Adding my sweet 11 month old, Margaret and 9 week old Solo who was the easiest of all the rest made it challenging to sit for very long to watch all the beautiful dogs in the rings. Always great to see so many friends, from breeders, handlers and vendors that I only get to see once a year. I was proud of how Margaret showed in her huge 9-12 mo puppy regular and sweeps class. It was her first show and she handled it well. Louie and Case managed to hold it together in Brace even though the two girls behind us were in heat. It took all my strength to keep them focused and I left the ring with a 3rd place and a blistered left hand from gripping the leads. Louie looked great in his competitive Veterans classes. Wynter showed well in his Am Bred class although while waiting his turn he managed to embarrass me by yanking me down as he attempted to hump the boy behind us. Case had his moment of glory in the Parade of Titleholders, receiving his beautiful ribbon for his championship. Although he did not make a cut in Breed on Friday he showed well and I was glad to see him happy. Sometimes it is the little things that make a moment memorable .
Thank you Norman Grenier, who was showing ahead of me in Group 4 and asked if Case was the dog he finished with his final 2 points. Nice to see him wagging his tail and moving well. And yes, he was happy to be with me and I was happy to be able to show my sweet boy.
We also were able to accomplish Trick Dog Novice titles on Louie, Wynter and Margaret and Margaret also earned her CGC.
On Friday I left Potomac and headed to Carolina Beach. The sun was setting between rain clouds as I headed east on I-40 and I reflected on the week I had left behind. There is something humbling about being at Potomac. Every dog there is a winner. Many congratulations to all those who placed. I feel blessed to be a part of it all.
Thank you Norman Grenier, who was showing ahead of me in Group 4 and asked if Case was the dog he finished with his final 2 points. Nice to see him wagging his tail and moving well. And yes, he was happy to be with me and I was happy to be able to show my sweet boy.
We also were able to accomplish Trick Dog Novice titles on Louie, Wynter and Margaret and Margaret also earned her CGC.
On Friday I left Potomac and headed to Carolina Beach. The sun was setting between rain clouds as I headed east on I-40 and I reflected on the week I had left behind. There is something humbling about being at Potomac. Every dog there is a winner. Many congratulations to all those who placed. I feel blessed to be a part of it all.
Tuesday, March 19, 2019
Tick Borne Disease and Semen Quality
First, let me begin by saying that I am no stranger to Lyme disease and also other tick borne diseases as my dogs and my family have been personally affected in many ways over the years. From PA to NH and other places traveled along the East Coast, I feel that we have lived in and traveled in very high risk areas for these diseases. At one point about 5 years ago, my entire pack tested positive for Lymes and not only did I have to treat everyone with 6-8 wk course of Doxy but we at the time, made the decision be more proactive in treating our yard, since we knew that this is where they all had been infected. We used tick tubes on the perimeter, and began having the yard sprayed with an all natural spray(so they tell me) on perimeter and around foundation of the house in any mulched areas since ticks tend to nest in these areas. It is not just the deer that carry the ticks, as most know, it is mice and birds too. I felt we were doing well and still feel that this plan has been successful but only in my yard.
I am also very averse to treating my dogs with any topical poisons or internal ones that kill ticks. I have only ever used Frontline and when I did, it was sparingly when I had an infestation of fleas that my boys brought back from our house in NC. I was able to get it under control with natural remedies and only used the Frontline on a few of the dogs.
I feel this is good background information leading up to my experiences with my two boys having low sperm counts. Three years ago, in June 2016, I had both my boys collected at a mobile ICSB at a show. It was not first collections for the boys as I had previously collected and frozen semen and also had collected before and evaluated and both were very good collections. The collection that day for Louie was awful. Not worth freezing. Case's collection was excellent at first look. However later when I got the report back for number of units frozen, it was noted that many of the sperm were clustered and circling. At that time, I was very worried about what was happening with Louie, in particular, and brought him to Slade in Framingham to my repro vets for further evaluation. They had no explanation as to the low count (which had gotten even worse). I questioned whether or not Lymes could affect semen and they told me that they just are not sure if it could. He was not testing with a new infection at the time even though 2 yr previous to that everyone in the pack had been treated. I had them run a full tick panel and a C6, also a test for mycoplasma. The C6 showed a low titer for Lymes showing inactive exposure. Test for Mycoplasma was negative. Full tick panel showed he had been exposed to Rocky Mt Fever tick disease. I then tested Case and he also showed exposure. They never exhibited any symptoms for this tick borne disease. I know they did not contract this in my yard or in NH and I do not believe they came in contact with this in the New England area, however, we had traveled to MD, and to Chesapeake Bay area for shows that previous Fall and they had to have been exposed then. My regular vet discounted any connection to Rocky Mt exposure and the low sperm count and also felt that it was not even necessary to treat them for Rocky Mt since it was not showing an active exposure but just that they had been exposed and probably their immune systems were strong enough to not be affected. I disagreed and felt they should be treated anyway. My repro vets felt it was worth it to treat also. I put them both on 8 weeks of Doxy.
Semen improved but not by much. There were sperm but not enough to be a breeding unit. That was after 8 weeks of Doxy. I was also giving double dose of Glyco Flex with the green lipped mussel since that has been known to help improve semen quality and was giving Oxy-Stud to both boys daily.
I have heard that some breeders had put their stud dogs on Baytril when they were having a non diagnosed low sperm count. So Slade agreed that it was worth a try. I had my pharmacy compound Enroflaxin for them both. Case's counts were never bad but he had a very high count of distill and proximal droplets. After the first round of Enroflaxin, Louie's semen was an acceptable breeding unit but still not back to normal. I asked them to refill the prescription to do one more round. Then continued to collect and evaluate. He had several months of improvement and then decline and finally, after 18 months, we were back to 98% motility and 700-800 million.
So do I feel that tick borne disease can affect sperm adversely? In my opinion, absolutely. And I think it is happening more often than we, as breeders, even realize. I think that the Baytril was more effective in treating than the Doxy for my boys.
I also think that we should all be more proactive in getting our boys evaluated regularly and also should be doing FULL tick panels since 4DX snap tests will only test for Lyme, Erlichia, and Anaplasmosis. I also would say to those who do not live in the Northeast or the East Coast, that ticks are now all over. And dogs are traveling from West to East more frequently to shows and to do hunt training.
I understand that many use the Lyme vaccine but EVEN if it is effective, and does not cause a problem for your dog, it does not protect your dog against other tick borne disease. I also know that many have had good success with no visible side effects using internal tick products such as Bravecto and Simparica and Nexgard. My opinion with any of these is if I wouldn't take it , why would I give it to my dog. About a decade ago, there was FDA approved Human Lyme vaccine...taken off the market very soon afterward. Do you wonder why? I spoke to one of the research scientists from Rohr who worked on that vaccine and at the time, we lived in PA and I was so freaked out about Lymes. My son had developed Bells Palsy from Lyme. My husband had been extremely sick from Lyme.
My sister to this day, has long term debilitating affects from chronic Lyme. The scientist told me he would never give the vaccine to his family. Why would we give this to our dogs?
I don't know the best answer to battling these awful parasites but it is not toxins. I know my risks and that of my dogs. I have to be very proactive and vigilant. Early treatment and testing often is key.
Doing full tick panels if necessary.
And..if you have a stud dog that is low sperm count or going sterile, perhaps it is not too late to bring him back. Don't give up. Treat with the Baytril and treat long enough. Give the Oxy Stud and the Green Lipped Muscle found in GlycoFlex. Boost their immune system any way you can. Maybe you will be lucky, like I was, and have it come back. Don't give up too quickly.
I am also very averse to treating my dogs with any topical poisons or internal ones that kill ticks. I have only ever used Frontline and when I did, it was sparingly when I had an infestation of fleas that my boys brought back from our house in NC. I was able to get it under control with natural remedies and only used the Frontline on a few of the dogs.
I feel this is good background information leading up to my experiences with my two boys having low sperm counts. Three years ago, in June 2016, I had both my boys collected at a mobile ICSB at a show. It was not first collections for the boys as I had previously collected and frozen semen and also had collected before and evaluated and both were very good collections. The collection that day for Louie was awful. Not worth freezing. Case's collection was excellent at first look. However later when I got the report back for number of units frozen, it was noted that many of the sperm were clustered and circling. At that time, I was very worried about what was happening with Louie, in particular, and brought him to Slade in Framingham to my repro vets for further evaluation. They had no explanation as to the low count (which had gotten even worse). I questioned whether or not Lymes could affect semen and they told me that they just are not sure if it could. He was not testing with a new infection at the time even though 2 yr previous to that everyone in the pack had been treated. I had them run a full tick panel and a C6, also a test for mycoplasma. The C6 showed a low titer for Lymes showing inactive exposure. Test for Mycoplasma was negative. Full tick panel showed he had been exposed to Rocky Mt Fever tick disease. I then tested Case and he also showed exposure. They never exhibited any symptoms for this tick borne disease. I know they did not contract this in my yard or in NH and I do not believe they came in contact with this in the New England area, however, we had traveled to MD, and to Chesapeake Bay area for shows that previous Fall and they had to have been exposed then. My regular vet discounted any connection to Rocky Mt exposure and the low sperm count and also felt that it was not even necessary to treat them for Rocky Mt since it was not showing an active exposure but just that they had been exposed and probably their immune systems were strong enough to not be affected. I disagreed and felt they should be treated anyway. My repro vets felt it was worth it to treat also. I put them both on 8 weeks of Doxy.
Semen improved but not by much. There were sperm but not enough to be a breeding unit. That was after 8 weeks of Doxy. I was also giving double dose of Glyco Flex with the green lipped mussel since that has been known to help improve semen quality and was giving Oxy-Stud to both boys daily.
I have heard that some breeders had put their stud dogs on Baytril when they were having a non diagnosed low sperm count. So Slade agreed that it was worth a try. I had my pharmacy compound Enroflaxin for them both. Case's counts were never bad but he had a very high count of distill and proximal droplets. After the first round of Enroflaxin, Louie's semen was an acceptable breeding unit but still not back to normal. I asked them to refill the prescription to do one more round. Then continued to collect and evaluate. He had several months of improvement and then decline and finally, after 18 months, we were back to 98% motility and 700-800 million.
So do I feel that tick borne disease can affect sperm adversely? In my opinion, absolutely. And I think it is happening more often than we, as breeders, even realize. I think that the Baytril was more effective in treating than the Doxy for my boys.
I also think that we should all be more proactive in getting our boys evaluated regularly and also should be doing FULL tick panels since 4DX snap tests will only test for Lyme, Erlichia, and Anaplasmosis. I also would say to those who do not live in the Northeast or the East Coast, that ticks are now all over. And dogs are traveling from West to East more frequently to shows and to do hunt training.
I understand that many use the Lyme vaccine but EVEN if it is effective, and does not cause a problem for your dog, it does not protect your dog against other tick borne disease. I also know that many have had good success with no visible side effects using internal tick products such as Bravecto and Simparica and Nexgard. My opinion with any of these is if I wouldn't take it , why would I give it to my dog. About a decade ago, there was FDA approved Human Lyme vaccine...taken off the market very soon afterward. Do you wonder why? I spoke to one of the research scientists from Rohr who worked on that vaccine and at the time, we lived in PA and I was so freaked out about Lymes. My son had developed Bells Palsy from Lyme. My husband had been extremely sick from Lyme.
My sister to this day, has long term debilitating affects from chronic Lyme. The scientist told me he would never give the vaccine to his family. Why would we give this to our dogs?
I don't know the best answer to battling these awful parasites but it is not toxins. I know my risks and that of my dogs. I have to be very proactive and vigilant. Early treatment and testing often is key.
Doing full tick panels if necessary.
And..if you have a stud dog that is low sperm count or going sterile, perhaps it is not too late to bring him back. Don't give up. Treat with the Baytril and treat long enough. Give the Oxy Stud and the Green Lipped Muscle found in GlycoFlex. Boost their immune system any way you can. Maybe you will be lucky, like I was, and have it come back. Don't give up too quickly.
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