Pixie and Rocky have Paired Successfully

 Pricilla Pixie Stix (AKC) and Rocketdog Rockford Rhoades (AKC) have spent the past week in our isolation kennel and have successfully linked quite a few times. The first happened on the second of December, so if the math holds we will be wheling at the beginning of February and delivering to new families eight weeks after (though we hope to keep them longer if it is agreeable). 

Pixie (2 yrs) and Rocky (5 yrs) are both wonderful tri-colored Bassets and so we expect the same as a result of their pairing. Only time will tell what we end up with. Rocketdog Bassets is an ethical and natural breeder of pet quality Basset Hounds. We allow our dogs to act naturally in breeding and we whelp our pups in our home. We also do most of our own health care, but have a great veteranarian when needed. 

These pups are Pixie's first litter, so we really have no idea what qualities will be passed down to the pups. Rocky always brings the good Basset genetics and his offspring are usually very good quality (if not show quality). Because of the un-proven nature of this litter our price for puppies will be reduced to $1300.00 (US) each and we will still offer a multiple puppy discount of $200.00 each for families wanting more love in their lives. We've always said that two Bassets is half the work and we have references to verify this simple truth. 

We have plenty of happy families from which you can check us out and, though I am not personally involved any more, our Facebook Rocketdog Group is still quite active. Feel free to contact anyone on our group to get a better idea about us and our Bassets. 

Just to the left of this is an email widget you can use to contact us and get on the Waiting List, or ask questions. The List is free and you are under no obligation. We only send List members a few notices when there is something worth telling people about and the List is cleared after every litter.

This will be our eighteenth year of bringing Basset babies to families. We insist, wherever possible on people interested in our pups to come visit prior to making any moneyed decisions. Read about how we do business by clicking here.

Rocketdog Pricilla Pixie Stix

Our latest new Rocket girl is Rocketdog Priscilla Pixie Stix (AKC). She came to us from NW Brothers, a breeder up on the Washington Peninsula. She had been returned to them because of a "cherry eye", an infection defect which is easily treated surgically. Pixie was nearly six months old when she arrived and Banks Vet fixed her eye defect right away. Since then she's been out clowish little sister, entertaining to say the least.

Pixie is now nearing two years old and ready to have her first litter. 

Though she has been reluctant about having babies, until this morning, we have been talking to her about it for a while. She's been here for two litters and didn't seem in a hurry to have her own but was a good aunty for Lucy's first pups. Bassets share mother duty once the pups are weened and Lucy let Pixie watch the babies after six weeks. She took to it well so we're pretty sure she will be a good mother.

Pixie is in her third Season and she is nearing becoming receptive to the romantic offerings of our Rocketdog Rockfore Rhoades (AKC). The stage is set for a wild two weeks and puppies sometime in late February for delivery in early May.

Pixie on the day whe arrived.

Other than the Cherry Eye Pixie is a very good example of the  breed. She is strong, mostly because there are a few acres of fenced yard to chase around in, and of the smaller form that we look for in our breeding progam. Her markings and temperment are wonderful too, so with Rocky we expect a litter of tri-colored puppies with very good Basset traits.  TIme will tell.

All of the Classic Cookies are Spoken For

 I have been a bit behind on spending time writing about this little litter. The bigger truth is that I haven't written much on any subject surrounding our farm and breeding business for a bit over a year now.  For those interested in our puppies I appologize. 

We did find good homes for the three Classic Cookie puppies Lemonhead Lucy (AKC) and Rocketdog Rockford Rhodes (AKC) gave us. The only marketing effort we used was our American Kennel Club page and Ann spent some time updating it. Three puppies is a very small litter for us so it didn't take long to find people interested in a new baby Basset. 

There was never a six week evaluation written up for this litter. Again, I appologize. But had I taken the time it would have pointed out that, in our twenty years of breeding Bassets, this was perhaps one of our best litters so far. Something of a surprize to tell the truth. Lucy is a good Basset, Rocky is a very good Basset, and we are only interested in breeding pet quality, so good qualities are sufficient. But in this litter the sum of the parts exceeded the parts themselves by a bit.

All three pups had very good personalities. There were no sad puppies or unexpected trips to the Banks Vet. All three had wonderful form and there were no serious faults. All three did have slightly flanged first left side ribs, one had a slight tooth gap. Certainly nothing to worry over for any of them. None of them had trouble moving around and each gained an appropriate amount of weight as they developed. Head shape was very good and the ears were both plentiful and set back well on the neck. We had no jaw issues or other worrisome bone concerns. All three had very good rear leg stance so their hips should develop well providing they are given plenty of excersize. Each puppy had a distinct coloring pattern and all three were symetrical in facial fur coloring.

Had I done the evaluations, as I should have, each would have scored five and a half point of the six available (the only deduction being the slightly flanged rib). There was nothing wrong with any of them. Where this litter stood out was in personaly. This was a fun litter.

Spritz, the first puppy to leave us at eight weeks, was a border-line monster. She was always scrappy, always inquisitive, and always completely lovable. She has gone to the NWBrothers Basset kennel which produced our lovely girl Pixie Stix (AKC) and will have a good life there among her own kind. 

Moose (whose kennel name was Tollhouse) is a lovely boy with beautiful markings. He might be a contender in local dog shows if given the right training and grooming. He was smart, as Bassets go, and figured out the latch on the whelping pen so that he would let everyone out as he saw fit. We have a sense of humor about these things, but had to find a secondary means of keeping the gate closed.

Pina Colada (Lemon Zest) is still with us for another few days. She is as nice a Basset as we have ever had. Loving, audacious, and fleet of foot. She loves to follow her mother around the farm hunting squirrels and carrying sticks.  She will go to a home where another Rocketdog Basset lives, so there will be snarling, fighting, and lots of laughter in her future.

For those families who took a puppy home to love. . . Thanks. 

For those interested in perhaps looking later on . . . Pixie and Rocky are the scheduled next pairing and this should happen in mid-Winter or early Spring.