Last week, I posted that our youngest girl, Cassidy, came into heat and we're planning to breed her for the second and last time during this cycle. We haven't really decided who the dad should be just yet and today, we "interviewed" one of the potential husbands -- Blue aka West Winds Excellent Blue Boy.

Blue is just 2 years old and has all his health clearances but this was the first time I actually had my hands on him. He came out of the van, ran over to me and put his head on my shoulder and kissed my right ear. Obviously, his owner had told him he had to suck up to Cassidy's dad . He's a beautiful boy and he's an exceptionally sweet and social Rottie. He made major points with me today. So here are two photos I took of him today.

Stacked.



And Head Only.



After our visit with Blue, we stopped to visit a Rottie girl who is being surrendered into Rescue. She's about 4 years old and was found during the Hurricanes of a few years ago.

Her name is Kayla and she is one of the sweetest dogs I've ever met. I promised her that I'd find her a wonderful "forever" home. If we didn't have too many dogs, I'd have brought her home with me. We have always preached that if you are going to breed, then please help with the Rescue of worthy Rotties. Kayla is a wonderful example of an older girl who deserves to be with a wonderful family.

Here's Kayla.



If anyone on this list knows of anyone looking for a great companion Rottweiler, please get in touch with me.

Jim

Hey Jim,

Thanks for posting these. I think it is great that folks are working to try to find good homes for these guys.

James

potential hubby #1 is quite handsome...he looks like a big clown! good luck with your breeding, i can't wait to see puppy pictures!!

liz

Very nice looking boy! I hope that rescue finds the perfect home very soon

Hi Jim,
Best of luck with your breeding. Nice "stop" on his muzzle....

We are on a puppy watch week, this week, so, I have more time to sit in front of the computer!
As for Kayla...
Could you post which rescue she is in, so that I can pass that along to my friends in Florida/Georgia area?
I would have emailed you privately,but that information might be helpful to someone else...!

Marta,
we'll be listing her in our Gulfstream Guardian Angels Rottweiler Rescue pages -- www.ggarr.org -- but if anyone is interested, they can contact me. She is with a foster just 5 minutes from where I live.

This is one of the nicest, sweetest girls I've ever met. I'd take her myself if I wasn't way over my limit.

Jim

Well, as it turns out, we actually decided to breed Cassidy to this boy (Blue) after meeting the other boy in Louisville. He was very nice but also very similar to Cassidy in overall style and we'd like to beef her up a bit in the breeding.

We did two AIs last week and will check for puppies on April 16 with an expected delivery date of on or about May 21. June and July will be very busy in the Garvie household .

I'll have more pics of the expectant couple once Cassidy comes out of heat. More later.

Jim

Big congrats, Jim. Fingers are crossed for you. I'm assuming you did TCI's? Having just gotten past puppy beath myself -- hard to believe Canon will be 4 months old on the 30th -- I'm sure you're going to enjoy it. The work involved is mind boggling, but the puppy kisses are endless -- as you well know. Keep us up-to-date!!

Actually, since the AIs were fresh-collected -- and the boy has very high motility and abundance of sperm -- we did conventional AI just as we did last breeding where she produced 9 puppies.

For timing we used both Progesterone Testing and the RSH Approach -- Rowdy Starts Howling. Both put her in standing on the same day which again corresponded with all previous heat cycles at 14 days. As a reward, Rowdy was collected but he's beyond the point of having viable sperm unfortunately. Sigh. He slept all the way home.

We palpate at 28 days and Xray the week before they're due to get a count. She delivered in natural whelp last time and we plan to do that this time as well. She's a pretty big and strong girl and did a good job with her last litter. She accepts the puppies immediately and is a good nurser that produces milk like a Holstein . She isn't as good as her grandma Annie at keeping them clean but our Rescue girl, Marion Louise, helps out in that area.

Must admit I really love puppies! Can't wait.

Jim

Ohhh...GOOD luck with all of it!
I tell ya, discriminate breeding ain't for the faint at heart! But the rewards are great!
I will pass along the info on miss Kayla, and hope she finds her forever home quick! Her sweetness shines through!