The time has finally come! I have been watching continuously for 5 days now and it has finally started! It is 8 o’clock in the morning, I am sitting on a chair, sleep-deprived and patiently waiting for the arrivals. Patiently? Ah, that’s not quite the right word at the moment, because I could describe what I’m feeling and thinking right now with at least a hundred different words. I am on pins and needles… but I don’t show it! Just calm, because calmness is the most important thing now for my dog, to be by her side and support her. With great excitement mixed with some fear, I am waiting for the miracle… the birth of new lives!
A thousand questions form inside me as I watch my dog in the moments before birth. I hope everything will be fine during the delivery? I hope everyone will be born safely and healthy? I hope there will be no complications? And that the birth won’t end in a cesarean section? And I wonder how many girls will be born? And how many boys? And what will they be like? Beautiful, strong, healthy? What will their faces be like? What about their bodies? Will they be big? Or smaller? And what kind of mother will my dear dog be? I am curious and excited!
And I soothe her, for whom everything is so natural as if she had been through this many times before, even though it is her first time, she still knows instinctively what to do. And the first puppy arrives, it is out. A new life has been born into the world. Her mama is unwrapping her, licking her, already loving her. I take her in my hand, wipe her, she cries meanwhile, but that is only good. I look at her, so innocent and fragile is this little breathing and moving living miracle here in my hand! She calms down, I kiss her, she smells wonderful, so much like a baby. Sweet little baby, welcome to this world! Her mother comes and licks her, they are already bonding. But there is no time to linger, as the next puppy is about to be born. I quickly put the little one under the infrared lamp to dry nicely and warm up. The previous miracle happens again, and again, and again... a total of 8 times. 8 sweet, soft, wonderfully beautiful puppies with baby scent have arrived in the world. The dear mother was skilled! I am so proud of her! We are both happy, and after such a difficult day, also tired. The little ones are wonderful, strong, seem healthy, and all of them are already nursing, their mother carefully watches over them. The hard period is just beginning for me and for the mother as well. The first few weeks in a puppy’s life are the most difficult.
I have experienced this wonderful event several times over the past 20 years. But this is the first starring role in the life of my beloved dog. There is nothing more beautiful on earth than a mother’s feeling. I admire the miracle created by nature and I admire the new lives, the little moving, breathing babies, who are so beautiful in my eyes. I delight in them. And I know their future is now in my hands. I feel commitment and the weight of responsibility. And I take it on… and I do it… and I am tired to the extreme… and exhausted from lack of sleep, from staying up nights, but I keep going because I love them and I am responsible for them! And the cycle begins, regularly nursing and sleeping, nursing and sleeping. They start to develop nicely, gradually. It is a joy to watch them grow. In just a few weeks before my eyes, eight palm-sized puppies have turned into eight running little bears, who no longer fit in my palms. The days… the weeks pass actively.
Five weeks later, I sit in the room, mostly on the floor, on the carpet, and I delight in them! Around me the teddy dogs walk, run, play. Their mother doesn’t take her watchful eyes off them, then she joins the play herself. The babies have grown a lot, started to walk, eat nicely and develop minute by minute. I watch how they play with each other, bite each other, test their strength, wrestle! They don’t spare me either, they pull at my pant leg, the sleeve of my sweater, bite my hand and toes with their little teeth! They jump on me, climb into my lap, lick my hand, my face. I pick them up, I can’t carry all 8 at once, how could I, now I can't even handle two at the same time. One by one everyone gets their turn, receives their share of love and big kisses multiple times! I watch them change, develop, watch how they pick up their paws, faster and farther every day. I watch the unfolding of their intellect! Siblings, yet all different personalities! They are so sweet and wonderful to me! I love them very much! Their mother is still incredibly caring and a great mom, but now the further development of the little ones depends on me. And I try to do everything I can for this with all my strength.
The time will soon come when I have to find new, loving families for my beloved puppies. An endless flood of letters, messages, and phone conversations from interested parties, from whom I have to select a new, true, loving owner for each puppy. Visits, first meetings, sympathy, bonding, for those who can come, because many are too far away to visit and get to know their chosen puppy. Therefore, they receive many pictures from me of the little one and reports continuously until the puppy arrives to them. Most of the prospective new owners are initially just acquaintances, but I hope they will soon become my friends, since through our shared puppy we will share its entire future life. But until then, every puppy needs a lot of care and training.
For me, this is what a “BREEDER” means. Commitment, responsibility, love! Competitions and awards can serve as tools to measure our breeding goals, especially when we receive confirmation from a renowned and respected breed specialist judge that what we are doing is good, but we must never lose sight of the fact that in the course of these efforts we are creating new lives – living, breathing, thinking, feeling, innocent lives that deserve the best and most we can provide. The spark shining in the eyes of the family’s favorite puppy is as important as the puppy whose future is clearly mapped out leading into the show rings. Each one deserves the same amount of love and care!
Being a good “BREEDER” means taking responsibility for every single life we have created! This statement is about finding those responsible dog owners who truly deserve these wonderful beings, and who will show the same serious commitment to them as we “BREEDERS” do.
Show ribbons fade, records are forgotten, and show careers are short-lived. Each of these seems meaningless compared to the character of these special animals whose lives we have created.
What remains is their loyalty, their unconditional love, and their devotion, which they freely give to us. We owe each of them to give the same back equally throughout their entire life.
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Created by:
Ildikó Vámosi Lázárné, breeder of Broken Hill’s Heart chow-chow kennel
If you don’t have a chow yet but want one in the future and need information about the breed, or if you already own a wonderful example and encounter problems or have questions, feel free to contact me, I am happy to help if I can!
You can find my contact details on my kennel introduction page >>.
Lots of useful information about the chow breed, my kennel, my puppies and adults, many beautiful photos of my sweet dogs arranged in special galleries, show reports and results. Broken Hill’s Heart chow-chow kennel – everything you need and want to know about us can be found on our official website, please click.
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