Esperanza Kennels

So true!! 10 THINGS YOUR DOG WOULD TELL YOU... 1. My life is likely to last 10 to 15 years. Any separation from you will be painful: remember that before you get me.... 2. Give me time to understand what you want of me. 3. Place your trust in me- it is crucial to my well being. 4. Do not be angry at me for long, and do not lock me up as punishment. 5. You have your work, your entertainment,and your friends. I only have you. 6. Talk to me sometimes. Even if I don’t understands your words, I understand your voice when it is speaking to me. 7. Be aware that how ever you treat me, I will never forget. 8. Remember before you hit me that I have teeth that could easily hurt you, but I choose not to bite you because I love you. 9. Before you scold me for being uncooperative, obstinate, or lazy, ask yourself if something might be bothering me. Perhaps I might not be getting the right food, or I have been out too long, or my heart is getting too old and weak. 10. Take care of me when I get old; you too will grow old. Go with me on difficult journeys. Never say: I cannot bear to watch or Let it happen in my absence. Everything is easier for me if you are there, even my death. By: Eric Handler, co-founder of Positively Positive

Waiting for the vet at their check up today. All good and nobody cried when getting their vaccine.

An update on our puppies. All of Yukon and Whiskey's Golden Maremma offspring have wonderful loving new homes. But we had a marvelous stork delivery of purebred Golden Retrievers over night. I will post pictures in about a week when they are cuter. <3

Three little boys from this litter are still looking for their new home. They have their second set of shots now and are reduced to $350 so they can get into their new home as soon as possible. The siblings in new homes have been welcomed and I have received such good reports of of wonderful of puppies they are. Yukon and Whiskey's litter had an fantastic report at the vet last week. All are in excellent health and ready to meet their new families. Yukon is a Maremma, a guardian breed and Whiskey our Golden Retriever male. These make amazing loyal calm guardians with the intellegence and loving nature of the Golden. We have bred this cross in the past many times and have been extremely pleased with the puppies. They are perfect for farms and acreages and wonderful with kids and families as well as other pets.

Food for thought - Breeding Practices. Lately I've been talking to my vet as well as having questions about how I choose to manage my breeding program. How often should a female be bred? For how long? Does she need breaks? The answer is not as black and white as one would think. Female dogs (bitches) are as different in their cycles as human females. In duration, beginning age, time between cycles and how it affects them. The following answer from another breeder I t...hink has a fairly common sense approach to her breeding program. "Depends on lots of factors. Some say it's better to have several litters right in a row because it's easier on the body to get in shape for pregnancy and stay that way than it is to have the hormonal ups and downs of breeding every other heat or every year. Some argue that bitches should have all their litters early on in life and right in a row and then be retired young as opposed to being bred once a year for 8 or 9 years or more. And then some think a bitch needs a break of one or even 2 heat cycles in between every litter and should only be bred a couple times. I don't think it's so much a question of ethics as what one personally believes is best and healthiest for the female, but I will say that there is little, if any, research clearly proving a serious detriment to the health of a HEALTHY, well cared for bitch simply from having several litters in a row. Personally, it would depend on my objectives for that female, her age, health, physical condition, temperament, interaction w/pups, etc. I like to have them finished younger and to that end, I may breed a couple in a row. I haven't seen a decline in condition from mine at all; I think more has to do with how a dog is kept and cared for than how often she's bred. " With that said and with personally 22 years of experience, i have bred females once and never again because it was hard on them physically and mentally. I have also had others that were wanting puppies all the time and would have false pregnancies if they weren't bred, which is hard on a dog. Also some that are born mothers and will mother any puppy (or kitten). I believe that a dogs life should not be all about breeding, it should be about what makes her happy and healthy. A vet can check condition between litters and as an owner with my dogs living in with us, we see her condition and how she springs back. Added nutrition, rest and relaxation and outdoor play and mental stimulation all help to keep a dog in prime condition no matter her breeding stage. At all times in her or his life, their health and mental well being should be the only factor in whether to breed them or not. Everyone has an opinion but my vet's opinion is the one that matters to me. That, and my love for my dogs as family members, is what i use to decide whether to breed or not.

Yukon and Whiskey's litter had an fantastic report at the vet last week. All are in excellent health and ready to meet their new families. Yukon is a Maremma, a guardian breed and Whiskey our Golden Retriever male. These make amazing loyal calm guardians with the intellegence and loving nature of the Golden. We have bred this cross in the past many times and have been extremely pleased with the puppies. They are perfect for farms and acreages and wonderful with kids and families as well as other pets.