I did this years ago and its great.

You bake once a week and since I worked in an office I shared my cakes with my co-workers and passed on the batter to them as well.

Here is the recipe for the original Amish Friendship Breed/batter

http://www.momswhothink.com/bread-recipes/amish-friendship-bread.html

You can also make other recipees with your starter batter to add variety:

Add applesauce or canned pumpkin pie mix, nuts, fruits .

Be creative.

Patty

www.snowcolabradors.com

It is important to determine if this is the case or the pup just has a urinary tract infection causing leaking.

Ultra sound or further tests can diagnose EU.

In most cases the pup will leak urine from birth.  That was the case with one of our pups many years (30 plus) ago.

Surgery is necessary but type of surgery/cause of EU and when to do surgery will depend on age of pup and your vet will inform you of this.

Here is more info.

http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_ectopic_ureters.html

http://veterinarynews.dvm360.com/dvm/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=718118

http://www.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/vmth/small_animal/internal_medicine/newsletters/canine_incontinence.cfm

Patty

www.snowcolabradors.com

It is always bitter sweet.  I cry when each one leaves and hug them and kiss them and pray they will adjust quickly without their litter mates, sleep through the night, house train easily and be happy.

I do carefully screen every family way in advance and I follow my gut if something does not seem right.  It is my decision as to who will and who will not get one of my pups.

I wean momma at least 1 week prior to pups leaving so they are no longer as dependent on or attached to her.

I send each pup home with a few toys that all pups have played with and they have also been rubbed on momma and grandma for scent.

New families bring a few towels to rub on litter mates and older dogs as well.

I follow up same day to see how pup is adjusting and for a good week after to see how they are doing thru the night and with house training etc.

I am on call for my pups and their families for the life of the pup and I truly appreciate my buyers keeping me updated with details and pics of their pups.

Patty

www.snowcolabradors.com

This can be fun for the whole family.

I usually choose a call name first and work off that for a catchy name.  Sometimes its the other way around.

Here are a few examples:

Clyde (as in Bonny and Clyde) Snowco’s Take The Money And Run

Snowco’s When Thunder Rolls (Stormy)

It is not necessary to have the call name and AKC name cooincide.

Sometimes you can combine the sire and dam names to come up with one for your pup.

I have one pup person who wanted to use the names of her 2 last Labs; Cody and Duffy;  CoDuffy’s Legacy Of Snowco.

The AKC allows 36 characters which includes hyphens, spaces, etc.  You can go as high as 50 but there is an additional charge.  They also have a limit as to how many times a name can be used.

Patty

www.snowcolabradors.com

When you first bring a new pup home it is very important to continue to feed the same food the breeder (or shelter, etc.) has been feeding the pup for at least 2 weeks.  Rule of thumb is to go thru 1 bag and as you get near the end of the bag start your switch over gradually.

Pups are under stress when coming to a new home and changing the food can add more stress which will most likely result in loose stools or severe diarrhea.

As mentioned above; when switching do it gradually to avoid loose stools.  Slowly substitute the new food for the old.  ie; if you are feeding 1 cup per meal substitute 1/8 to 1/4 cup of the new food for the old.

Wait a few  days and observe stools.  If they are firm than continue your slow switch over.

Keep in mind that loose stools can also be caused by parasites, coccidia, giardia, etc. so if your pup does not firm up take a stool sample to the vet to be sure there are no medical issues.

You should always take a stool sample with you to your pups first visit with your vet.

Some people believe in rotating foods.  I don’t feel it is necessary and certainly would not do this with a young pup.

Patty

www.snowcolabradors.com

This is my mom’s recipe and its great.

Choose your color of peppers and cut and clean length wise.

Chop meat mixed with chopped onion, garlic, cooked white rice (about 1 lb of meat to 3/4 cup rice.

Add salt and pepper

Add an egg and mix well.

Stuff peppers and pour a bottle of  V-8 juice over all and top with grated mozzarella and/or parm cheese.

bake at 325 degrees till peppers are fork tender.

Serve with mashed potatoes and salad

Be sure to use enough  V-8 to have gravy to spoon over peppers and potatoes when serving.

Patty

www.snowcolabradors.com

I had a call the other night from someone looking for a pup and this was the reason he wanted one.  So he  could eventually breed her to his male dog.  And he had no experience at all.

Needless  to say,……  I would not consider selling him a pup.

My first question is “why” do you want to breed?

The answer is usually because he or she is a great dog.

My next question is what does he or she have to offer to the breed?

The answer is he or she is a great dog.

Folks, this is not a reason to bread your dog.

First off your dog must be of the proper standard for the breed and it should be evaluated by reputable breeders and/or in the conformation show ring.

If you have never bred a dog – especially a female – I will start with these questions:

Do you know what it takes to get to the point of breeding:

Health clearances (for Labs or most medium to large breed dogs) Hips, Elbows, Eyes (Optigen), Heart, EIC,  etc.   Do you have any idea what all this costs?

Full blood work prior, then progesterone draws to know when the bitch is ready to be bred?  More money.

Timing for breeding?

Proper feeding of the bitch during gestation?  More money.

X-rays to determine pregnancy and the number of pups to expect?  More money.

Knowing when she is in labor – taking temp, knowing the signs of labor?

When she is ready to whelp – will you know what to do?

Will you know how to help her when a pup is stuck?

Will you know when you may have to rush her in for an emergency c-section?

Will you know what to do to try and revive a still born pup?

What to do when the pup is alive but lethargic?

What if mom is not right….. does not want to nurse her pups, or clean them; mother instinct does not kick in?

Are you prepared to bottle or tube feed the pups to save their lives?

Are you prepared to have a large litter and possibly loose pups?

If a pup is stuck in the birth canal that means others may be coming behind that pup (their cords already detached) and suffocating before they can be born…. will you know what to do to get that stuck pup out to save that one and the others that may be right behind?

This all happens more often than you think.

Breeding is not for the weak of heart and no seasoned breeder has all the answers.

However, if you just “want to breed your dog”, please think twice, ten times about this.

Spay or neuter your pet and love them for all their life.

Please…….

If you are serious about wanting to get involved in breeding than find a mentor in your breed.  Go to dog shows to learn about your breed and see what is the proper standard of your breed.  This is the best place to learn and meet breeders who “may” be willing to mentor you and sell you a pup on open AKC registration that you can show and possibly eventually breed.

Patty

www.snowcolabradors.com

Cleft palates are said to be hereditary or environmental.

It is advised not to give fish oil to a pregnant bitch because it can cause cleft palates in pups.

I don’t give any supplements during pregnancy or nursing other than vit. C (Not Ester c)

I purchased a pup years ago and than found out that her sire produced 13 pups in 3 different litters all in 3 different geographical locations.

To me that is hereditary, not an environmental issue.

Thankfully this bitch never produced a cleft pup nor has her daughter.

There are reasons to try and save cleft pups.  It depends on the severity of the cleft and the time the breeder has to put into that pup.

There is some great info out there.  I think they are worth saving.  But it does involve hand feeding – bottle or tube – as a cleft pup is not capable of suckling from their mother.  They loose their milk thru the cleft and into and out the nasal cavity and can also aspirate into the lungs killing them.

You need to see the signs immediately to save the pup.

Please see these links for more info:

http://hennwood.tripod.com/id88.htm

Here is another link with good info (I do not condone the fact that they offer a “Banfield” coupon – I do not recommend Banfield to anyone – fly by night vets as far as I am concerned.)

But the site has good info for cleft palate pups.

http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/cleft.htm

I hope anyone that produces a cleft palate pup takes the time to save that baby.

There are times the cleft is so severe it is more humane to put the pup down.

Please have your vet or a seasoned breeder that has dealt with this make that decision for you.

Patty

www.snowcolabradors.com

2 large whole wheat tortillas

1 boneless chicken breast

chopped onion

chopped green pepper

chopped garlic

Taco seasoning

Can if cream of chicken condensed soup

1 small tomato

1/2 ripe avocado

1/2 – 1 cup sour cream

Mix some seasoning with flour and coat chicken pieces

Saute in olive oil and remove from pan

Toss chopped veggies in remaining flour and saute till tender

Add a bit of white wine to deglaze the pan

Add chicken back to pan

Put in about 1/3 of can of soup and add water to thin out

Stir well.

Place tortilla in cast iron pan and top with chicken, etc.

Sprinkle with more taco seasoning

Cover with another tortilla and press down.

Coat top of tortilla with a bit of olive oil to help it crisp

Bake in the oven at 350 degrees until tortilla is crisp

Remove from oven and top with chopped tomato and avocado mixed with sour cream

Patty

www.snowcolabradors.com

This is a great recipe I made up.

Start with your own basic meat loaf.  If you usually only use one egg, add another

Ingred:

1 box frozen creamed spinach

1 package dry ranch dressing mix

Parmesan cheese

Swiss cheese

Mix your meat loaf and lay it out on tinfoil.  Flatten it out quite thin

Sprinkle with ranch dressing mix

Spread cold defrosted creamed spinach

Sprinkle with parm cheese

Top with thin slices of swiss cheese

Roll up using the tinfoil as a guide.

Pinch in ends and length of loaf seam to seal well

Brush with egg white, especially the seams

Bake at 325 degrees for 35-45 min.  Bake low and slow to prevent leakage.

Patty

www.snowcolabradors.com