Heartworm Vaccination - Be Informed

Before you decide to go with the "new" 6-month heartworm vaccination, please read this posting . . .

Six Month Heartworm Vaccination

Being A Responsible Breeder

No question that Lucy's pups will be ultimately socialized with kids.  What an adventure for all.  Patti has been documenting the experience with dozens of pictures, and I'm sure the kids will have such fun looking back on this experience.

This was not a case of "raising a litter for the kids".  No one should ever intentionally do that unless they are prepared to keep all the pups forever.  There is no shortage of homeless dogs, and no reason to bring another litter into the world "for the kids".   This is a great example of doing a litter for all the right reasons.

Both parents are top quality representatives of their breed, from excellent backgrounds, with good pedigrees, wonderful temperaments and all appropriate health testing.   An enormous amount of money and work have gone into this litter, to assure that the pups are healthy, well socialized and will eventually become exceptional companions.  Several may become show dogs, but that is secondary.  Each pup, whether destined for a career as a show dog or just a family companion, is receiving the maximum amount of socialization and the best of care.

One of the pups will stay with the family, and the others will be carefully placed in the appropriate homes.  Pets will go on spay/neuter contracts, any show pups will eventually get all the appropriate health testing.  All of the pups will have the very best chance of becoming beautiful, healthy, valued companions because of all the thought and work that went into this litter.

That's what being a Responsible Breeder is all about.

What Could Be Cuter?

What could be cuter than a basket of puppies?  These are the Lucy pups who will be coming down for BAER (hearing) testing in just a bit over 3 weeks.  Can't wait to see them, but I know how hard it will be for Lucy's family to see their beautiful pups go to new homes. 

When the pups are here we will also take pictures and evaluate the litter to decide which pups may have show potential.  If the lone girl pup Jordyn is as nice in person as she is in pictures, it's likely that she will go back to Thunder Bay to live with her mother and become the family's next show dog.

Magic, Captain Rex & Christopher will eventually go to selected homes.  Captain Rex appears to have some show potential, so may stay with me, but we'll see how he looks when we evaluate him.  Beautiful Magic is tentatively promised, and we want to see how Christopher's trim looks in three weeks.  He still has too much pink on his nose to be a show dog, but the color is spreading quickly, so it's a wait and see with him.

If you are looking for a very handsome pet liver male, we may have one available for you.

It's going to be a busy weekend!  Two different batches of company, Letty "interviewing" for her new home, and Pauli coming to stay in preparation for her puppies that are due in two weeks.

I'm trying to get caught up on "fish chores" as I KNOW I won't have a lot of time for my fish once the pups are here.   Cleaned out and set up a large tank so I can move two groups of aggressive cichlids out of their small tanks and into a large tank - hopefully there will be enough space so they don't kill each other off!  This tank is a "40 gallon breeder" - hope it lives up to it's name.  Fish pictures tomorrow.

Fishy Weekend

The weekend started with a sizeable To Do List and I got a lot done, but the list was still pretty long by the end of the weekend.  Obviously, we need longer weekends! 

The weekend started well with a Friday evening trip to Tavern on Grand for Walleye and Martinis.  It’s never quite as crowded now as it used to be, but it’s still my favorite place for Walleye in one form or another.  Although I’ve heard their Steaks and Burgers are just fine, if I want to eat those I’ll go to a place known for Steaks or Burgers.  Tavern on Grand is known for its Walleye, and I was not disappointed.

Saturday was house cleaning and aquarium cleaning day, and a chance to try out the new Dirt Devil hard surface vacuum.  It did a very good job, and is lightweight and easy to use, as well as easy to empty.  Good purchase!  The new dehumidifier is working well in the fish room, and I still love the recently purchased washer, so it’s good to have a successful run on appliance purchases. 

Because the newly purchased Knight Gobies needed a larger tank, I posted my breeding group of Synodontis petricola to Minnesota Fishkeepers List and had an immediate hit.  The fish were sold and picked up within an hour!  I drained the 20 gallon tank, scrubbed it out, painted the back and sides (to give the Gobies a more secure feeling), washed gravel, added the décor, and refilled the tank that evening.  Because there was a cycled filter to put back in, I was able to add the Gobies the next day, and they are doing very well.  There appears to be two pairs of these handsome fish, so I am HOPING they will breed – not something this species commonly does in captivity however.

The plan for Sunday was Mall of America and a visit to the Underwater World.  I hadn’t been there since Laurie and I had such a good time last summer during my enforced lay off from work.  We did the Urban Thing, catching the bus and connecting The Hiawatha Line (light rail).  First time we’ve done that and it worked perfectly – fast, easy and affordable.   Lesson to self, do NOT visit MOA on a Holiday Weekend!  Lines were long and it was packed with kids, but we enjoyed the aquariums (especially the sea horses), although some of the displays were looking a little shopworn.  The Jellyfish especially, did not look as healthy as they could have, and the new Amazon display was a disappointment – not much to look at there.

Lunch at The Rainforest Café was terrific.  We were seated next to a large tank full of interesting fish, the same tank that Laurie and I sat next to last summer.  The Unicorn Fish are still there, and one obliged me by changing color/pattern whenever he thought I was paying attention to him.  Food was good too, the best Fish Tacos I’ve ever eaten – nope, I did not feel guilty eating Fish Tacos in front of their cousins!

A lot of yard work got done over the weekend, but every time I thought I was finished with my planting I ended up buying another batch of plants!  Now I am down to one pot and a small 2 x 2 flower bed to fill - then I have to be finished, because there will be no more space to fill. 

A picnic with my mother, new shades for the porch, and a Dog Park visit for Argus.  Weekends are definitely too short.

Tomorrow - puppies!