The correct date was 17 oct (17.10.00 in european notations on the certificate )
This makes the winner: Old Dan ................ Oct 22
August
Thank you August, it's appreciated. I have decided on how I will dispose of the medal and will PM you to let you in on the plan. I would also like to explain my thinking on how my choice of dates came to be. As both you and I know, almost all 'hounds' will come into heat twice a year. Springtime and again in the fall, usually in Aug/Sept. So I decided on the end of Aug as being the time of conception. They carry their young for eight weeks and that makes delivery (welping) somewhere around the 22 of Oct. This allows enought time to prepare the pups for delivery to their new homes sometime before Christmas and it gives you the chance of finding good homes for the entire bunch. Anyway, that was my thinking and it seemed to work out this time.
My friends from the Brabostad have been professional breeders of English Cocker Spaniels for 40 years
When one bitch gets in heat most get in heat but they only let get 4 or 5 get a male to be able to handel the volume ( They have to handfeed if more n six puppies )
Six month later they all get in heat again but the certificate only allows one nest per year
so they take the others they did not take in spring .
You only get them when they are 6 weeks old . So they try for september after the vacations and if they miss it is octobre . Normally there are like 20 whelps or none at all
sleeping on one big heap per mother .
We choose the red one the day it was born and decided four weeks later to buy a second one .
The second one was cancelled by the Xth buyer who changed its mind but its name was allready recorded .
I said to my wife the first one that wakes up and comes to lick my face is bought
It was the black tricolor one and her fixed name was aptly Little Kisser
We are too old to take on two freshly borns and the breader stopped last year since they are 70 years old . So we probably will buy two older ones from this guy we know for 40 years since he still got like 40 dogs
