Sorry it has been soooo long since we posted but it has been a busy, challenging 6 months. Susan is on the mend after back surgery in late August as I picked up the slack in daily tasks and moving forward. We purposely held off breeding cavaliers during this time as the strain would have pushed me over the top and tempted Susan to do things she shouldn't. To all our clients, puppies and friends thank you for a great year as we look forward to a successful and less challenging New Year as we hope the same for each of you!!
Christmas was anything but relaxed as we had 3 girls in heat and 4 boys going nuts with the girls in heat. Merlot (ruby) and Tori(tricolor) each selectively chose to mate with Ruger (blenheim) rejecting advances from our other boys Toby, Remington, and Brodie. Needless to say Ruger was the stud and the other boys feeling a bit rejected. We still have hopes for the other boys as Shelby finishes up her cycle with others to go into heat over the next few months. Two litters at about the same time will present some fun challenges.
Brodie(tricolor) was most successful as stud for another breeder's Lady (ruby) with a litter of 3 tricolor and 2 blenheim puppies that were born 11/9/24. This was a first for Brodie and us breeders to actually allow our boys to provide stud services to another cavalier breeder. We look forward to allow our boys to be studded it out as we also look to expand services to artificial insemination in cavalier breeding. Sometimes our girls just aren't as cooperative with the boys so alternative methods in breeding maybe appropriate but only using our 4 boys.
We will wait for ultrasound pregnancy confirmation the end of January for Merlot and Tori but early signs give us a gut feeling that each is pregnant as they get picky eating with morning sickness. Merlot should deliver around 2/26/25 as Tori hopefully delivers around 3/2/25. We are excited as the moms and dad all have loving dispositions that likely will cross to the puppies. The combination between moms and dad should produce all 4 color combinations for cavaliers but you never know until each litter arrives. Both girls are on the smaller size and Ruger is average for a cavalier so our Christmas surprise won't arrive until late Feb and early March!
Susan will be communicating with those on our waiting list once we have confirmation of pregnancies. She will update the list confirming individual's interest and puppy selection choices. We also look forward to added interest as this likely will be a busy year with litters.
After much deep reflection and discussion between Susan and I, we agreed to rehome two of our retired cavaliers to loving homes and owners. Was not an easy decision but we were able to find an excellent match between our retirees and loving homes. Skylar is now with a couple enjoying family, boating and companion travel. Would have never imagined Skylar with a lifejacket boating but a picture is worth a thousand words. Theodore has replaced the void left in the heart of a long-term dog lover now enjoying 1:1 companionship in a loving home. Theo will be traveling between New England and Virginia always in the company of his new owner that is retired. He is loving the attention and getting out to walk the neighborhood as he also enjoys company of other family dog visits. This all was not an easy decision and many tears were shed in the transitions but both of our babies are now enjoying the closeness of being the only pet in each home and all the attention that provides each. We keep in touch with each knowing they will come back to visit family and friends time to time.
We hope that each of you had a safe and happy holiday season looking forward to a successful New Year. We thank you for following us over time and promise to do better in 2025 keeping up the flow of information and ideas.
Sincerely,
Milt Williams
Enchanting Cavaliers
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