Low Cost Kennel Help

 Tyne snorts a lot. He always has, and he really gets going when excited. It's reverse sneezing, usually nothing, and in his case it is nothing, but when he first started this I kept remembering a Chinese crested puppy I had bred years ago that did the same thing. In her case she had an elongated pallete (spelled right?, spell checker has no clue) It's a hereditary deformaty of the soft tube and area around it in the throat, ranging from very mild to life threatening.In this other puppy it was life-threatening, and of course this was my middle daughter Jessie's puppy. We had to put the puppy down as there was no cure and she was suffering. I started to do research on this and found to my horror this particular line of Cresteds had it in the gene pool. It's a tricky thing, and in mild form seems like allergies.So off little Tyne went to the vet, and no, that's not why he sneezes a lot. my vet thinks it's just because he has such a short nose.
  Chihuahuas are a typical man-made breed. They cannot survive in the wild (ever seen a pack of wild Chihuahuas running down prey?That would be one for the blog...)We breed in skeletal and soft tissue deformaties like bulging heads and eyes, that fun soft spot, square bodies and as short a nose as can fit on the face, and then we worry about hereditary defects. The whole dog, if bred for the show ring, is a defect!Most have to have c-sections for whatever reason, most, not all, but enough that it's become normal in this breed.
  i guess this is why I'm so frustrated with Nicky, not with him, with judges perceptions of him. He has health tested excellant for eyes, hips, he has no soft spot and his thyroid tests came back great. He's fertile, virile, has no fear and shows like a Special. He's compact, beautiful and to standard, and has a long, thick white coat. I have 12 points, both majors on him, as of last November where he took back to back Best of Breeds for 2, 3 point majors.Since January he has been in 12 shows, and recieved 2 reserves. And I know why. When he was 4 months old I bought him and his sister from a breeder of Jan Lots  Burgundy line. They are out of CH. Burgundy li'l Bernard O'Vannoy, and there Dam is Burgundy L'il Nikky, a Millers Nigal Tykeson daughter. Both are wonderful, his sister Cloe just needs a 3 point major to finish, and there litter brother Teddy finished last year.Tyne, by the way, is Nickys' pup. So what's the all-fired flaming problem with the judges, about Nicky?! I'll tell you: When I bought Nicky and Cloe, Chloe thought it was great fun to chew on brothers' ear. So, he has scar tissue on that ear that causes it to go up and down for no apparent  reason. I've tried everything to stiffen the tissue before going in to show, and he lives in moleskin secured with skin bond on the ear between shows to train it. He get's calcium, and Show Stopper multi-vitamins, extra milk and cheese, you name it, I have done it, including icing it before going in. Sometimes it's up like a rock, always when his head is trained up to look at me, and there is only a slight bounce when going around the ring.I know this is why he's not finishing. I mean, come on, judges! With all the horrible deformaties in out breed, your picking on this excellent example of a long-coat Chihuahua because his ear sometimes bounces?!
  Sorry. i'll quit raving now. If anyone out there can think of a trick to get the ear up for the five minutes or so we're in the ring, please tell me. And you can't feel it or see it on the ear, it has to appear natural.
  Hannah and her Gang: Mouse still sleeps with the gang at night, but goes outside like a big boy during the day. And none of them give a flip about ears...Hannah likes to get into the toilet paper rolls when I'm not looking, and scatter bits of white paper all over the house.And her ears are straght up while doing it...