Our terribly aggresive Anatolian male!

This is Kus Sarkisi Gunther

DOB: 03/15/2010
Gunther placed Best Opposite last Nov. His first show! His dam got BOB with a 3pt. Major! Our son, Christian showing her as always.

Dam: Kus Sarkisi Suna Dilara / Sire: Island Farm's Prime Suspect (Dillon)

Gunther lives with our Saanen Bucks

Gunther visiting with the neighboring 4 month old girls in their field. On the left: Artemis, Atalanta, Calypso & Aphrodite. Gunther is available for stud.

8 Week Old Photo Evaluation

Kus Sarkisi Hyperion - Dutch marked Fawn w/black mask. Hyperion now lives with his family in North Carolina in a Show/Working/Companion home

These are the little ones I get to see on a daily basis

Dionysus (Danny Boy) on the left is a handsome dutch marked boy from Cricket and Rummy. Behind him is Chronos, out of Dilara and Rummy. Chronos is dark like his sire. Dilara had a good sized litter, nine puppies, on Jan 3rd, while Cricket had only three puppies on Jan 2nd, sooooo.....I took two of Dilara's pups, a male and a female and gave them to Cricket to raise. Worked like a charm. Cricket had plenty of milk for two more pups.

 Dionysus has a heck of a front stance. He is now apartment living with Joanie in El Paso, TX

 This is Dilara's girl Nyx being raised with Cricket. Beautiful sweet girl

This would be one of the big girls from Cricket. Her two daughters were LARGE at birth and continued to grow. Artemis is a lovely fawn w/black mask and quite a full coat.

Here are two of Dilara's pups, still in the whelping box. On the left is Helios, a fawn w/black mask male who is now living in San Diego, CA and Aphrodite, a stunning fawn w/black mask Dutch female.

Here is Atalanta at 4 weeks of age. She is sweet and charming and eager to please. Atalanta is out of Dilara and Rummy

This would be Adonis, or Freckle Foot. He is now living in Oklahoma with Patti and her family. He has an awesome gentle temperament (like his sire), and was very fascinated by the newborn goat kids.

On the left is Dionysus shown at 2 weeks old













On the right is Chronos also at 2 weeks

Kus Sarkisi Kenyon at 6 months...What a beauty

Cricket and her puppies...DOB 1.02.2013

Taken just two days before delivery

I had tried to breed Cricket a couple years ago and she did not take, so you can imagine my surprise when she started showing signs of pregnancy around the same time Dilara did. I had not intended to breed her but guess the Big Guy had other plans.

She had been OFA'd after she turned two and it was Good. So when she showed signs of pregnancy I was surprised! She did have a slow progression on labor so decided to take her to my Vet and c-section her. Three healthy puppies!

At the Vet waiting...

She did great and didn't struggle at all. I would have struggled.

Our girl Cricket blessed us with three pups, 2 girls/1 boy (Dutch). 1 girl is reallllly big (center). This is her first litter.

Placenta and diarrhea after the birth

When diarrhea affects a canine that recently gave birth to puppies, owners may be worried about the effects on the overall health of the mother and her litter.

Considerations

o   Giving birth to and nursing a litter of puppies puts a normal strain on the dog's body. That’s why you should be feeding the expectant bitch as much as she wants to eat of an excellent quality puppy food. We feed Diamond and have since 1999. It may take a few days for body systems to recover after delivery of her litter.

Significance

o   Mild diarrhea in a dog that just gave birth can be normal due to stress or because mother dog ate the puppies' placentas. You’ll also notice that in some new mothers their appetite tends to be pretty bad shortly after the birth. To encourage more calorie consumption we add people food such as fresh eggs, cottage cheese and yoghurt, fish or other meats. The soft stools or diarrhea should subside after a few days.

Motives

o   The placenta is a sac that is typically expelled after each puppy. The bitch may instinctively eat the placentas to hide evidence of birth from predators, and there are theories that placentas provide a form of nourishment at a time when the she may not want to leave her litter alone to search for food.

Time Frame

o   Diarrhea lasting more than a few days or accompanied by other symptoms should be checked by a veterinarian. We will add some activated charcoal to her meal to help with regulating her system.

Prevention/Solution

o   Some breeders try to prevent diarrhea by removing the placentas as they are expelled or allow their bitch to just eat one. Should diarrhea still develop, one to two teaspoonfuls of pure canned pumpkin can help firm up the stools. You may also notice that when outside after having a litter of pup that she’ll look for and eat grass. This is normal and help with the gut.

Conclusion

o   Have the mother and puppies seen by a veterinarian within 24 hours after whelping for a general wellness exam.

Delivery and what to expect

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In a normal delivery, a pup emerges headfirst. When a pup comes out feet first, it is a breech delivery. We had several presented in that position. (Breech deliveries are not at all uncommon.) Each pup is born encased in a transparent sac or membrane. This sac or membrane will be the first thing you see as the pup is expelled. It will be bulgy and transparent and you will see the pup inside. The sac will be attached by a cord to the placenta, which should come out after the pup. Be sure you have the litter born on something you don’t care about being stained. It won’t wash out. The placenta or afterbirth is the means by which the fetus is nourished within the uterus.

If the sac breaks on the way out, quickly bring the pup to the bitch's attention, if she hasn't already gone to work on it. Ordinarily, the bitch will break the sac with her teeth and gnaw off the navel cord to within one inch of the pup's navel. There are several breeders who feel they need to do this part but we just watch and only interfere if help is necessary. If the bitch doesn't break the sac or chew off the navel cord, you will have to take care of these. Pick up the sac with the pup inside (use a clean cloth) and break the sac near the pup's head. Do it by gently stretching the membrane or hooking a finger into it and carefully pulling it apart.

Next, put the pup down where the bitch can lick and clean it. This also stimulates continued birthing. It is imperative that the pup be cleaned. When the sac is broken, the pup should gasp for air. Breathing may be impeded because of mucous in the pup's nose, throat or lungs. This mucous must be removed. If the bitch will not clean the pup or it doesn't gasp for air, you will have to take over.

Quickly wipe any excess mucous from the pup's mouth. Open the pup's mouth, take a medicine dropper and suck out any mucous. Rub the pup vigorously with a clean, dry cloth, both with and against the lie of the hair. The rubbing will help to stimulate circulation.

If, after these administrations, the pup still doesn't gasp for air, you'll have to use more drastic measures. Wrap the pup in a clean cloth, hold it cupped in your two hands, with the head toward your fingers, and swing the pup downward in an arc in front of you. Stop the swing suddenly, but hold on to the pup. The centrifugal force plus the sudden stop usually clears out the mucous.

Another emergency measure to get the pup breathing is to use a rubber tube and syringe to withdraw the mucous. Insert the tube well into the pup's mouth and squeeze the syringe to aspirate the mucous. Keep working on the pup and don't let it get chilled. We fill up a rubber glove with hot tap water and tie it off. It’s a warm hand with warm fingers to wrap around the pup. Remember not too hot.

Artificial respiration is not always practical. But you can insert the rubber tube in the pup's mouth (take off the syringe) and try forcing your own breath down. When you try this, proceed as follows: breathe air into the tube, stop, then press gently on the pup's ribs in the region of the lungs. Be careful, you can easily break the pup's rib case. Keep working to make the pup breathe; don't give up too quickly.

Announcing the Birth of Puppies! 1.03.2013

We are pleased to announce the birth of our latest litter sired by our boy 

The Cedars' Rumpelstiltskin KS (Rummy), OFA-Good, 

bred to our AKC Major show winner/livestock guardian girl, 

Kus Sarkisi Suna Dilara, OFA-Good. 

This is Dilara's second litter and are they just stunning! 

Take a looksee...

This would be their sire, Rummy....I was hoping his dark shade of fawn would be passed onto his offspring. This is Dilara's first breeding to him.

This would be Dilara, very pregnant, enjoying a back scratch two weeks before delivery

Dilara resting in our bedroom the night before delivery. Just roll me over and call me done!

Kus Sarkisi Cana Melek & Kus Sarkisi Maximum Litter

Born June 30, 2012 5 girls and 1 boy

Kenyon is sweet and going to be tall

Kizira is going to be a good sized girl, bigger boned than the rest

Kerryna, a lovely Dutch marked girl, pictured at 7 wks

Kateri, fawn w/blk mask girl, pictured at 7 wks

Kenyon, fawn w/blk mask girl, pictured at 7 wks

Sisters: Kerryna on left, Kasen middle, Kizira on right at 9 weeks

Kateri just lounging in the yard

"DEVELOPING HIGH ACHIEVERS"

Originally published as

"Early Neurological Stimulation"

by Dr. Carmen Battaglia

Surprising as it may seem, it isn't capacity that explains the differences that exist between individuals because most seem to have far more capacity than they will ever use. The differences that exist between individuals seem to be related to something else. The ones who achieve and out perform others seem to have within themselves the ability to use hidden resources. In other words, it's what they are able to do with what they have that makes the difference.

In many animal-breeding programs the entire process of selection and management is founded on the belief that performance is inherited. Attempts to analyze the genetics of performance in a systematic way have involved some distinguished names such as Charles Darwin and Francis Galton. But it has only been in recent decades that good estimates of heritability of performance have been based on adequate data. Cunningham (1991) in his study of horses found that only by using Timeform data, and measuring groups of half brothers and half sisters could good estimates of performance be determined. His data shows that performance for speed is about 35% heritable. In other words only about 35% of all the variation that is observed in track performance is controlled by heritable factors, the remaining 65% are attributable to other influences, such as training, management and nutrition. Cunningham's work while limited to horses provides a good basis for understanding how much breeders can attribute to the genetics and the pedigrees.

Researchers have studied this phenomena and have looked for new ways to stimulate individuals in order to improve their natural abilities. Some of the methods discovered have produced life long lasting effects. Today, many of the differences between individuals can now be explained by the use of early stimulation methods.

Introduction

Man for centuries has tried various methods to improve performance. Some of the methods have stood the test of time, others have not. Those who first conducted research on this topic believed that the period of early age was a most important time for stimulation because of its rapid growth and development. Today, we know that early life is a time when the physical immaturity of an organism is susceptible and responsive to a restricted but important class of stimuli. Because of its importance many studies have focused their efforts on the first few months of life.

Newborn pups are uniquely different than adults in several respects. When born their eyes are closed and their digestive system has a limited capacity requiring periodic stimulation by their dam who routinely licks them in order to promote digestion. At this age they are only able to smell, suck, and crawl. Body temperature is maintained by snuggling close to their mother or by crawling into piles with other littermates. During these first few weeks of immobility researchers noted that these immature and under-developed canines are sensitive to a restricted class of stimuli which includes thermal, and tactile stimulation, motion and locomotion.

Other mammals such as mice and rats are also born with limitations and they also have been found to demonstrate a similar sensitivity to the effects of early stimulation. Studies show that removing them from their nest for three minutes each day during the first five to ten days of life causes body temperatures to fall below normal. This mild form of stress is sufficient to stimulate hormonal, adrenal and pituitary systems. When tested later as adults, these same animals were better able to withstand stress than littermates who were not exposed to the same early stress exercises. As adults, they responded to stress in "a graded" fashion, while their non-stressed littermates responded in an "all or nothing way."

Data involving laboratory mice and rats also shows that stress in small amounts can produce adults who respond maximally. On the other hand, the results gathered from non-stressed littermate show that they become easily exhausted and would near death if exposed to intense prolonged stress. When tied down so they were unable to move for twenty-four hours, rats developed severe stomach ulcers, but litter mates exposed to early stress handling were found to be more resistant to stress tests and did not show evidence of ulcers. A secondary affect was also noticed.

Sexual maturity was attained sooner in the littermates given early stress exercises. When tested for differences in health and disease, the stressed animals were found to be more resistant to certain forms of cancer and infectious diseases and could withstand terminal starvation and exposure to cold for longer periods than their non-stressed littermates. Other studies involving early stimulation exercises have been successfully performed on both cats and dogs. In these studies, the Electrical Encephalogram (EEG) was found to be ideal for measuring the electrical activity in the brain because of its extreme sensitivity to changes in excitement, emotional stress, muscle tension, changes in oxygen and breathing. EEG measures show that pups and kittens when given early stimulation exercises mature at faster rates and perform better in certain problem solving tests than non-stimulated mates. In the higher level animals the effect of early stimulation exercises have also been studied. The use of surrogate mothers and familiar objects were tested by both of the Kelloggs' and Dr. Yearkes using young chimpanzees. Their pioneer research shows that the more primates were deprived of stimulation and interaction during early development, the less able they were to cope, adjust and later adapt to situations as adults.

While experiments have not yet produced specific information about the optimal amounts of stress needed to make young animals psychologically or physiologically superior, researches agree that stress has value. What also is known is that a certain amount of stress for one may be too intense for another, and that too much stress can retard development. The results show that early stimulation exercises can have positive results but must be used with caution. In other words, too much stress can cause pathological adversities rather than physical or psychological superiority.