Page 91 - K9 News - Issue 15 - March2021
P. 91
and those selected would be our future showing was attempting to deliver but the puppy was not
and breeding stock for the next 7 to 8 years. presenting, it was a baptism of fire but we eased
When puppies are weaned and we have vetted the puppy a short way out and grabbed it with a
owners they are welcome by appointment each towel and on her next push we managed to pull
week to come over with their family and spend it out. It was a two pound puppy, it looked like
an afternoon with the puppies, sitting in with the a seal pup and it was the only puppy she had,
bitch and in the whelping box with the puppies it also was a dog puppy, that was 1982 our first
right up until the puppies are ready to leave. homebred puppy. April had just the one puppy.
When the puppies are 4 to 5 months old they all Our breeding program had not started well!
are invited to come back to us once a fortnight Of course we kept him and called him ‘Solo’,
on a Sunday for basic training, this continues Ryanstock Ashkanazy JW, we could not know
until around 11 months when they can decide if then that he would be influential in our new line.
they wish to specialise in any type of discipline, We now had the ‘Ryanstock Team’ for that is
whereupon we will point them to specialists in how we were known when we began showing
Obedience, Working Trials, Agility or Fieldwork. our four dogs at shows. Although Elaine and
This might not work for everyone that breeds but I may have shown individual dogs we always
it has meant for us people coming back over the made sure that all the dogs would handle for
years for their second and third Ryanstock even either of us, just in case we might get more than
if it means waiting. It also has meant lifelong one in the challenge. We continued developing
friendships with people we enjoy meeting and our teams over the years as we competed at
they enjoy coming to visit. shows around the country.
We obviously needed to wait until our Monroes During the 1970’s decade we had the best times
bitch, Monroe Ash Lady at Ryanstock, born in the field. This is not the place to detail training
in April, so was called April, was old enough regimes, that is for another publication. Suffice
to breed. Life as we have found sometimes to say that when commencing training it is
throws a spanner in the works when it comes necessary to include teaching your dog to jump,
to plans and so it was for our plans. We were because there will be obstacles you face when
both devastated when before April was mature out working. It is also important to remember
enough to breed Ryan was diagnosed with a that the breed is supposed to retrieve game from
cancer on his prostate and in those days surgery land and water. For my part, I would say that
was not an option, sadly we lost Ryan when he having a farm to treat as my own was invaluable,
was nine years old. For six months Elaine kept
things going, I wanted none of the attention
that the other dogs offered and I regret to say
that I shunned them when they tried to console
me. It was eventually the daily requirements of
the other dogs that pulled me out of my black
hole. We decided in order to pursue our dream
of breeding our own line that we would choose
another dog for April and seek the advice of
Joan before proceeding. After all was agreed
and April was mated we nurtured her until she
was reaching her due date, she passed that date
and our vet expressed no concerns. We were
both working and Elaine was taking her turn to
watch for signs, she contacted me at work, I
told my boss I was leaving for home to help my Ryanstock Lovematch (The Stig)
expectant bitch. He thought I was crackers. April retrieving duck from water
91
K9 NEWS DIGITAL / MARCH 2021
