Welcome to our new blog for our upcoming Astra/Piston match-up! Astra is our co-owned girl from our Kyrie/Leo litter. Piston is an awesome stud from Victory Shilohs in Canada who has produced wonderful pups for us in the past. We are waiting for Astra to go back into heat, so stay tuned!
Piston says, What's up, Astra?
Well, my last update was a while ago and all of the people on our list know via email that the last heat didn't go through for Astra.
We have been waiting to see if she would go back into heat, and when. I was originally thinking that perhaps she would go back in in the fall…but we will keep you all posted! Stay tuned! Astra, we are waiting on you…
Hello all!
We had our appointment for progesterone draw on day ten of Astra's heat on Thursday (yesterday). As of yet her progesterone levels are staying low--we can't breed till they go up! So for now it's a waiting game. But I did get more cute Astra photos! Above, her sweet face, and below, Astra and her owner, my good friend Jarrad, while we wait for results.
Silly Astra trivia: Jarrad calls Astra's fluffy paws her "Dr. Suess feet". :) For show dogs, we trim the fluff to keep the foot neat, but of course if you're not showing you can keep them au naturale if you wish. Only plush Shilohs get the fluffy feet!
So, plan for the weekend is to let things stew and hopefully ramp up! We will next test on Monday, which would be Day 14, and around when Astra's momma Kyrie always had her peak...so I would not be surprised to see the breeding happening on Tuesday or Wednesday. Keep your eyes on the blog and stay tuned for further news!!
Astra is in heat!
We had our first appointment to take progesterone yesterday, on Day Three. Progesterone is still very low so we are not close to breeding yet!
Our next appointment will be Saturday morning, and then either Monday or Tuesday. We continue testing every two to three days until we see a rise and then we arrange for the breeding!
Stay tuned...
Dr. Esmond performed an exam and took Astra's progesterone levels to establish a baseline. We will do progesterone testing to determine when Astra is ready to be bred, so it helps to know what is "normal" for her. As her heat begins, the progesterone number starts low. It will slowly rise until it peaks at more than five times its base level. Female dogs can peak at anything from five days in to 20 days after the start of their heat! After the peak, the eggs are released and will take two days to become fertile.
At that two days mark, Dr. Esmond will perform what is called a TCI, or trans-cervical insemination. Because Piston is from eastern Canada, we will ship his semen and the TCI is a form of AI. We are very excited to find a vet who can perform the TCI, as it's a relatively new technology and has a very high rate of success!
We'll keep you posted as to how things are progressing over the next couple of weeks. Stay tuned, and thanks for reading!!
This is an illustrious family tree! Here are some details about the relatives:
ACER and WARBA were studs at New Zion Shilohs, the home of Breed Founder Tina Barber. Tina believed that these dogs were close to the pinnacle of what she wanted in an ISSR-registered Shiloh Shepherd. Their pups display huge size (both have produced progeny over 31" tall and 130 lbs in weight), several are breed Champions, and of course they produced many phenomenal family dogs.
LEO is our Sparta Shilohs foundation stud and we are tremendously proud of him. He was certified as a Therapy Dog with our local club and is AMAZING with kids and other animals--he is a gentle soul. Leo completed his Championship before he was even two years old. He won a National Award every year until 2014--Top Plush Male Puppy in 2008 and a National Select every year after until he retired from showing in 2013.
GRIZZ was one of Tina Barber's top dogs of all time and beloved by her daughter Lisa, our current club President and Breed Warden. Grizz was a Grand Victor (top scoring show dog of the year) but more than that he had a wonderful stable temperament and exuberant energy even into his later years. He produced some of the largest and most impressive Shilohs of his time. Many of we breeders today are in this breed because we fell in love with Grizz, myself included!
NESTA, Piston's brother, is a true working Shiloh--he is a Search and Rescue dog, helping to find lost children and adults and return them to their loved ones! Astra's grandsire Scout was also a SAR Shiloh so it's possible we may get a prospect for this in our litter.
KIT was a New Zion stud who produced many wonderful progeny--some of them even solid black, which is rare in Shilohs! His progeny that I have met possess some of the gentlest temperaments I have seen in our breed.
ASLAN is out of our previous Kyrie/Piston litter. He is an up-and-coming young stud who has started earning points toward his Championship. Better than that, though, he is a tremendous breed ambassador, attending pet expos with his mom Diana to promote the breed! Aslan's stable, friendly, laid-back temperament is EXACTLY what I hope to see in these puppies.
GINGER is Leo's look-alike littermate and her achievements have surpassed even his. :) A Champion and Grand Victrix (top-scoring female Shiloh of the year), Ginger's sweet disposition, beautiful expression and effortless flying trot have won her as many hearts as ribbons. I would love to see a baby Ginger in this litter!
With all this list of illustrious relatives I would be remiss if I left out some that are just plain GREAT family dogs. BARRETT, Astra's uncle, and SABER, Astra's brother, are wonderful family pets that still turn heads wherever they go! I would be proud to produce many more like them. :)
Our dam will be ASTRA, above, the sweetheart white plush girl from our Kyrie/Leo litter! Our sire will be PISTON, below, the wonderful Grand Victor who gave us such great pups when he was bred to Astra's momma Kyrie.
This litter will be born and raised here in our home in Denton, Texas, where Astra herself was born three years ago!
We are expecting some very large dogs out of this match as Astra is a 28" female, over breed average. She has two brothers over 30" at the shoulder and over 110 lbs. Piston himself is HUGE and his pups with Astra's momma Kyrie surpassed our expectations with all males 30" or larger and one out of two girls over 28". you can see those pups at our Kyrie/Piston litter blog here:
For temperaments we are expecting quite the range! Piston himself is a confident, outgoing boy who's more independent; Astra is a sociable marshmallow softie, who loves to be with her people and will roll over for belly rubs from complete strangers! Both dogs have a strong submissive streak and we expect submissive, people-loving pups.
We also expect a range of energy levels. Astra is a couch potato who is happy with a walk a day or a game of frisbee in the park. Piston loves an adventure but is likewise laid-back and relaxed. With these two we expect a couple of nice medium-energy pups who love to play, but I expect some potatoes too.
All these pups will be plush (long) coated Shilohs, since both parents are. Even though Astra is white, though, we aren't expecting white pups because Piston didn't produce white with Astra's mom. Instead I expect a mix of light and dark brown, golden, and grey sables with some black-and cream and black-and-tan duals likely--very much like the colors we got in Kyrie/Piston, only all-plush. It is also possible that we will get a darker bi-color pup like Sammy from Kyrie/Piston or Astra's brother Saber (below).
Astra is due for her heat this fall around October-November. We hope you will join us in anticipating a litter of healthy Shiloh pups! Stay tuned for more information and a litter photo collage of these pups ancestors!
