Exclamations litter - born today!

The !EXCLAMATIONS! Litter is here!

Ok! Today was the day.. early!

We have 8 puppies, and Red did very well - all delivered easily. Some came out backwards, and some without their sac's.. but all fit and healthy!

We have 6 ee-red & whites and 2 black & whites.

5 Girls and 3 boys.....

Girls - ee red x 4 and b&w x 1
Boys - ee red x 2 and b&w x 1

The lightest pup was born at 291g, and the heaviest at 351g.

Red.... it's almost time!

Red has been a little agitated today, so it was off to the vet for her, to have a little check up. Time is definately drawing near!
She is doing well, but a bit uncomfortable. Her temperature is around 37 degrees, so that looks good! In addition, Sam got a scan done, as well as an x-ray. All pups look perfect, and they will be on their way soon!

We did get an update on numbers.... but I won't reveal that until they are safely here...

Journey Update

Journey is settling in nicely. She is a little live wire! It appears that she loves to show, loves attention and LOVES food! Her food drive is through the roof! She gets on well with all the dogs, and plays nicely with the other pups.

Journey is MISS SOCIAL! She loves people, loves activity, and yaps happily along to anything happening at the time. She seeks out new people and dogs, and rushes in to say hello.

She has a little growing to do, and her coat needs quite a bit of length still. I think with some maturity, she will be a stunner!

Dynamite comes in small packages!

Here she is (ungroomed) doing some training the other night:

The whelping room

I decided to do this early... just to be sure that I am not caught off guard again with early puppies!

Here is the whelping room... almost ready!

Red on day 54

Finn is pregnant!

We got confirmation today:)

There is a minimum of 4 puppies (3 on 1 side and 1 on the other)

:)

Fish... fish... everywhere UGH

Lucky Finn... UGH!

Update

The Border Collies are doing well! With Red's litter just about on top of us, and Finn's coming along nicely, I have a little breather to think...
The whelping room will be laid out this weekend, with heater, whelping box, crate, bedding, newspaper, and all the little gadgets that we need....

Don't forget the fun little competition I have on Mackland's facebook page to win a lovely RC backpack! Guess the details of Red's litter...!

Today Finn's fresh-from-the-harbour-hake-fish arrived! She will enjoy that!

So, with the 2015 litter planning all done and dusted, I can soon carry on with Mackland's 2016 Sheltie plans! We have some exciting news, soon to be revealed on this subject! In the meantime, G, Trek & Lexi (and, I believe, Dollar) will be having their X-rays (around end September) so that they are finished with their health screening by the end of the year.

Time marches on!

Today Finn is 4 weeks since her first mating. She has had no actual morning sickness but her tummy is feeling a little different :)

Red is 7 weeks into her pregnancy tomorrow. She is looking humungus!

Both are on a puppy diet (Finn, Royal Canin and Red, Hills) and both are eating an egg a day as well, with the occasional fish treat! Both are also on Omega 3 gel tablets :)

Finn's scan

OK.. so Finn's scan was inconclusive. The vet didn't want to confirm that she is pregnant from the little we could see. But the good news is that he could feel a small mass, and there did look like there was some extra fluid present. She will have another scan next week.
She did start standing way before Sunny was 'crazy for her', so she was maybe a little over enthusiastic to get him going...... But I am confident, as we got plenty of matings later that week, that she will be pregnant! Stay tuned....

6 Week scan

We went in for a check-up yesterday, and a 6 week scan. Red is doing very well! Her babies are VERY active, and all are healthy with strong heartbeats. We could see the organs developing - amazing! Rush's swimmers are very strong!

And then here's the punch - we got the minimum number of pups.... SEVEN!

Here is a pic of the first baby that we saw:

Red - at almost 6 weeks pregnant

Red is 41 days pregnant :)

She is looking a little solid around the waist at the moment, but is still quite energetic! Although a little grumpy, she is in good spirits otherwise :)

General update

So, the borders are doing very well!

Red is just over 5 weeks into her pregnancy. We have added egg & chicken necks, Salmon oil gels, and also puppy food, to her diet. Next up will be some fish (at the time of eyes and brain development). She is looking quite solid around the middle, and her exercise has been more controlled. Red is scheduled to have an x-ray during the first week of July.

Finn is her usual self, no signs of pregnancy yet, but it is early days. She is just over 2 weeks in at the moment. She will be having a scan on Monday to confirm pregnancy. We will be looking out for morning sickness from the weekend.

On the Sheltie front, Mackland is planning great things!

There are hopefully 3 litters that will be born here in 2016, pending the completion of their testing. In addition to this, we are in the process of importing some special semen. Watch this space!

Sheltie news

Journey is arriving on South African soil this evening!

WELCOME to Mackland!

Finn x Sunny

So... it was a total of SIX matings for Finn x Sunny! It was supposed to end at 4/5 but Sunny had different ideas...!

This was the final one.. damn dogs wouldn't stand still, I had no help, and my phone slipped thru the slats in the deck just after this pic was taken................ hehe

We will go for a scan in 2 weeks time to confirm pregnancy (as it is already 1 week from the first mating)

Border Collie News

I'ts official! Red is pregnant!!
So hopefully there will be a smartie-box arriving around mid July!! We can't WAIT!

Sealing the deal...

A second tie for Sunny x Finn. we thought it wasn't going to happen as Sunny decided to be a gentleman again and Finn just wanted to bring us toys.... just as we decided to call it a day, I said to Sam that we can take Finn inside and Sunny can stay outside alone for a while and all of a sudden he changed his mind and wham-bam! hehe

I doubt that it is necessary to get any more ties, but we will see what happens later this week.

Border Collie update

...and we have liftoff!

We drove out to Storms River on Saturday to fetch Sunny for Finn. She appears to be progressing quickly this season, flagging her tail already from day 7.  Sunny was extremely happy to see her, but was a complete gentleman! After throwing herself at him for 2 days, Finn was starting to look desperate... and then he finally gave in today and did the deed. No mess, no fuss! What a super pair these two are! Finn and Sunny had a 9 minute tie this afternoon (on day 9). If all goes well, we should get a few more ties just to make sure... puppies would be due around 04 August.

Border Collie Litter(s) Update

For everyone waiting for Border Collie puppies... the time for progress is finally upon us!

In another week, we will do a scan to see if Red is pregnant. And then Finn is scheduled for a mating next week - hold thumbs that it goes as smoothly as it did last time! If all goes well, there should be 2x Mackland Border Collie litters on the ground in August!

Mackland Photoshoot - JHB 2015

Thanks to Sonelle (DesignHouse Studios) for these pictures of the Mackland dogs all together in one place at the same time..

Johannesburg, May 2015

If anyone wants to purchase their photos in hi-res, without the logo, please contact Sonelle:
sonelle03@vodamail.co.za

Welcome to Mackland!

Mackland welcomes "Journey" to South Africa. She arrives mid May 2015, from Mitchigan, USA.

Thanks to Duane & Warren from www.bestinshow.co.za for the lovely advert above!

And to those that assisted in getting here here - you know who you are - THANK YOU!

We expect great things from this dynamite little package - stay tuned.....


Then next up, a new little boy from Wylwind in Cape Town - he is also joining us in mid May, thanks, Joanie Wylie! This is Wylwind Time Traveller to Mackland aka Travis:

Hold thumbs, everyone!

Mackland Red e Sted e (Red) was bred to Mackland Need for Speed (Rush) today....

She is on day 14 and appears to be ready, but she's s feisty little bugger! Poor Rush has had his face bitten off a number of times in the last few days. So, it was off to the vet for an AI. She will be having another AI on Friday.

Hold thumbs, everybody!

Border Collies

Well, the first Mackland mating of the year is scheduled for this weekend... hold thumbs, everyone!
I will keep you posted!

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2015 Border Collie Litters

SHELTIES - 100% imported litter

I have the opportunity of bringing in a very nice young girl for my lines (from the USA). As can be expected, she is very pricey, so I am on the lookout for two people that want to purchase a puppy in advance from her x my German import - CEA Clear, A-hips, MDR1 Clear.

The litter will essentially be 100% imported.

If I can find the right "investor", the little girl can come to SA within the next month.

Hold thumbs!

BORDER COLLIE waiting list 2015

I am updating my border collie waiting list. If you are supposed to be on my list, and I did not contact you today, please let me know.

Colours possible are:

black & white (likely)
ee-red & white (likely)
blue & white
seal & white
sable & white

All parents are HD A2-A2, ED 0-0 and CEA clear.

Puppies will be suitable for Performance, Show, and Pet homes