Botetot English Shepherds

12/08/2024

We recently drove some whelping supplies to friends in Ohio who were expecting their first litter in a goodly number of years. Since Tink (right) & Dot (left) accompanied us, we didn't want to stay long & risk upsetting their very-pregnant female English Shepherd. So pleased to learn that Larkin ended up whelping 11 healthy puppies! Congrats, Tom & Sue!

27/07/2024

Lady is now living with one of our 2018 pups, Lucky, on an organic farm in the mountains of Pennsylvania. Although we miss her terribly, the sadness is tempered by the knowledge she is loved & well cared for.

11/07/2024

Happy 6-months old to our Chism-Dot puppies! Here's golden boy Holden. His mom says he's "doing well and growing every day. He has helped Harris bring the cows in numerous times. He loves his family and is learning lots of tricks. He is very spoiled, but that is his family's fault."

28/06/2024

Puppy Hoax decides to make the best of it will he holds a down-stay for 20 minutes.

23/06/2024

When it's hotter than the hinges of Hades, Lady's advice is to get out there & make a splash. Thank goodness the Blue Ridge has several nice spring-fed streams nestled in its woods that I can put to use during this heatwave.

17/06/2024

Pupdates are always welcome, cuz no matter how old they are, in my mind, they're still our pups. Here's a pupdate about Trilby, from our 2018 Jake x Babe litter, who is a service dog for her blind owner.

"I have the most amazing dog.
"If I drop something, Trilby shows me where it is. Even if she’s in another room and doesn’t see it fall, I can call her and ask “Find it for Mommy?” and she does. Bottle caps, dropped pills, food…whatever. I don’t have to tell her what to look for. She appears to be psychic, but she actually just notices anything out of place and we’ve learned to work that to my advantage.
"Last night about bedtime I noticed some hamburgers that I’d overlooked when I took the trash out. I’d cooked them after Blaine left on Thursday, but I never got around to eating them. I grabbed them and headed back out to the bin, but I tripped down the last step, and in catching myself I sort of frisbeed them toward the fence. The compostable plate had lost all integrity after two days in the fridge and self destructed on impact. Hamburger patties ran for cover.
"It was dark. I was exhausted. I can barely see under ideal circumstances and a flashlight is no help. Blaine is off on vacation and I have no back-up close by.
"I crawled around feeling for burgers on the ground and found all but one. I had to find it so our old Rat Terrier wouldn’t and also I didn’t want it to attract Chewbacon the raccoon. I went and got Trilby.
"We walked over to the area where I thought it was. When I gave her the find- it cue she stared at me for a second and then headed back toward the porch. She stopped at the little wooden platform where Blaine keeps his grill. She sat and alerted. Sure enough, the errant burger was right there. She nudged it to make sure I saw it. I praised her and fed her a chunk of it as a reward.
"While I was genuinely amazed that she found what I was looking for so quickly, I was blown away by the fact that she didn’t devour the tasty thing when she had the chance. She has the most beautiful manners!"

17/05/2024

Marking a milestone for the puppies, as they turn 4 months old. As our vet says, now they go from looking like puppies to looking - and acting - like little dogs.

06/05/2024

Triple tail wags to Jack & Marie, as they graduate puppy kindergarten with a STAR Puppy award. (Of course, Jack says, it should read Superstar Puppy &, as any good dog ma, I agree.)

11/04/2024

Love those pupdates! Here's 12-week-old Holden being a cattle guard (from a safe distance, of course).

11/04/2024

Hoax went to an obedience home, where he is learning how to be a well-mannered dog. But every English Shepherd needs a job & sometimes a guy just has to dig up as many earthworms as he possibly can. Even if it means a bath afterwards.

29/03/2024

Bill & I strongly believe in giving back to the community. One way of doing this is by being citizen scientists & participating in various dog research studies. Back in 2022, we were told Jake was needed as a control/normal for a study at the University of Cambridge in the UK. Jake's DNA raw data file included all 200,000 SNPs for researchers to comb through as they did their genome analyses. The result is Cambridge was able to successfully identify the gene that causes PRA blindness in English Shepherds! So, we now have a breed-specific DNA test for Progressive Retinal Atrophy (PRA) & breeders can avoid producing blind puppies!!! Bill & I am very proud of Jake's contribution in making this new DNA test come to fruition.

27/03/2024

Sweet Bee poses with her Novice Gamblers title ribbon, which she earned at the NADAC agility trial last weekend. She also got two Qs towards her Open Chances title. What a good girl!

24/03/2024

Happy National Puppy Day, Holden! Every puppy should get to sploot on the tile floor with his toys. So nice to see he's growing into the collar Harris got him - shows what a couple of weeks will do to a guy!

22/03/2024

I just love it when we get pupdates! Recently Lightning's new owners let us know how their girlie shep was adjusting to her new home. It's always great to hear things are going well & they are happy with her. And it's doubly great to receive lots & lots of photos, some of which I'll share here.

15/03/2024

Lady naps hugging her ice cube-filled water bowl to cool off after yesterday's hike on Stewart's K**b in 78-degree weather. (I kept it short in consideration of those little legs.) I gotta admit the girl is a real trouper; she's always determined to be one of the big dogs. Lady is staying here with Bill & I while her owners build their new house in PA.

13/03/2024

Bill & I bid goodbye to Holden. The boy looks like a handful, doesn't he? I bet he easily tips the scales at 15 pounds.

26/02/2024

Today was shank bone day for the dogs, including the pups. I didn't realize these puppy-sized cuts of bone would be such a hit with the youngins. Here Momma Dot gnaws her bone, while the pups frolic around her.

25/02/2024

For these last couple of weeks, we've been expanding the puppies' world. They've been exploring the yard & inside the house. They're taking daily car rides & going for walks around the Blue Ridge. They also had their first vet visit. We're pleased to see what great little troupers they've been to all their new experiences.

13/02/2024

Once they turned four weeks & the weather took a turn towards spring, the puppies have been getting more & more playtime outside on the screened-in back porch. Holdem pauses to decide what to get into next. I can't get over how much he resembles his sire, Chism.

13/02/2024

Three-week-old Roly expresses his distain after taking a drink from the big dogs' water bowl. Obviously, he was expecting to taste goat's milk!

05/02/2024

My apologies for the lack of communication, but things here suddenly got w-a-y busy. Dot stopped producing milk the middle of last week & we had to take over the feeding responsibilities. Fortunately, we had just expanded the area that the pups can access, & it was pressed into service as the pups' feeding station. Although it took some work to convince them to eat solids, now the pups are growing by leaps & bounds!

26/01/2024

A veterinarian from Virginia Tech was here this morning, as part of the lactation study that we enrolled the litter in. Twice a week, she collects blood & milk samples. Ever seen a dog being milked? Well, now you know! We were surprised to learn Dot's milk is being analyzed by the Smithsonian, of all places.

19/01/2024

Yesterday marked a milestone - the puppies are one week old. It's a blessing to see them thrive. Every morning, I weigh them as part of a Virginia Tech lactation study we're participating in. On average, each pup gains 1-1/2 to 2 ounces every day. Testimony to Dot's attentive mothering!

12/01/2024

The blessed event happened a couple days earlier than anticipated, when Dotty whelped her Fabulous Five in the pre-dawn hours of yesterday morning. We welcomed 3 males (two dark sables & one B&W), along with 2 B&W females. Thankfully, all the pups are healthy & thriving, and Dot is being a good mama.

28/12/2023

Dotty's baby bump is starting to show. I know it looks like a shadow in my less-than-stellar photo, but that's a passel of puppies in full growth mode. Getting so-ooo excited!

15/12/2023

The stork doesn't arrive until next month, but it seems Santa arrived a bit early. Yesterday evening we received a big, ole, Texas-sized box of toys, puppy collars, & lots of long-distance love & hugs from a dear friend in Dallas. What a wonderful surprise!

09/12/2023

We may have driven to Virginia Tech yesterday morning, but we rode back home on a cloud. Dr Balogh (that's her on the left) found five viable puppy fetuses on Dot's ultrasound, along with no abnormalities. On the way home we stopped so I could walk Dot on Tinker Creek. She partook of the waters, saying "I'll drink to that!"

18/11/2023

17/11/2023

Introducing the sire of our upcoming litter: UCH Chism Boreland. Also known as Quigley Jr., this handsome shaded-sable 10-y-o is a UKC Champion as well as a working stockdog. He has offspring who are competing in performance events on the national level. His British owners describe Chism thus: "Intelligent and athletic (fast runner and strong swimmer) with natural herding ability, he is fearless and self-assured with all types of livestock, calm with other dogs, and all around lover of the family. He settles well at night but remains ready to spring into action. An ideal farm dog and family pet." Bill & I are looking forward to Chism & Dot producing beautiful puppies with excellent temperaments, drive, & biddability.

15/11/2023

I used to work in the Senate, so I know what it's like to see sausage being made. Perhaps that's why nerd me decided to take a picture of yesterday's AI procedure on Dotty. Surprisingly, Dot was okay with it, as long as the techs kept plying her with cookie treats. Pregnancy check is scheduled for December 9. Woohoo!