We hadn’t considered breeding Akira initially but in her second
year we became interested in the idea. In her third year we agreed
that we should have Akira covered and after some research considered
two males, one from Niederlehme, near Berlin and another from Stadtallendorf,
near Marburg. Our standards were very high and finally we decided
on ‘Arko vom Hochsteinchen’ from Stadtallendorf.
We discussed arrangements with Arko’s
owners and after Akira had been in heat we calculated the correct
date and made our way to Stadtallendorf on the 6th April 2001. She
was, as usual, a good passenger despite the long journey and when
we arrived leapt straight out to greet her new friend. It was love
at first sight and they sniffed each other for some time. Luckily
that’s not all they did! She was covered without difficulty.
On the drive home she seemed already to
be calmer. During her pregnancy she became a different dog, sleeping
a lot and being generally quieter. We realized that she had stopped
hunting as she no longer put her caught mice in front of us. (Shortly
after the litter arrived the mice were under attack again as she
was teaching her pups to hunt and putting the dead mice in front
of them. We managed to remove the mice before the pups became too
interested, much to Akira’s surprise.)
At 2pm on a sunny 7th June 2001 Akira gave
birth to six whelps within four hours, all of them healthy and as
lively as only Eurasians can be. We had eight wonderful weeks with
our gang of little rascals. You will find a few snapshots under
IMPRESSIONS.
At the beginning of August the new owners
appeared to collect their puppies. Luckily for Akira and, of course,
handing over the puppies took a week to conclude so it wasn’t
one big wrench. There were mixed feelings of sadness and relief,
Sadness at their leaving but a little relief that the turmoil and
workload would be reduced. We had time to relax again, catch up
on our sleep and to do other things than just look after little
dogs.
After more than a year of separation the
former pups have grown up into strong, self-confidant and beautiful
dogs and even disobey their mother occasionally.
Fortunately we found good homes for all
six pups and we have a good, social relationship with some of the
owners which we hope will continue, as much so we may observe the
dog’s future development.