Never Enough Time

Happy three week birthday to the Paulouies!  (Shorter than the Louie/Pauli babies).  They are thriving, and developing cute little personalities now.  This morning I was greeted with wagging tails when I went down to clean up the box.  From now on I will be spending a lot of time with them in the mornings, not because I have to, but because I want to.  They are SO CUTE at this age!

Pauli went for a walk last night, her first one since the arrival of the pups.  She's been running a bit on the doggy treadmill but last night she got pushy about needing a real walk.  We went up and down a few alleys, and she did a lot of sniffing while watching for rabbits.  She really needed to get out, I think.

Argus and I did the Dog Park yesterday evening and ran into friends Colleen & Jim and their Dal Ch. "Pinkie" UD.  Argus and Pinkie are about the same age and knew each other from dog shows, so they had a good time playing white Colleen, Jim and I played catch up.

While I sit home with the pups, my daughter Jess is in Virginia where she showed "Amery" at the Greater Washington Dal Specialty.  Made her trip worthwhile, as Amery went Winners Bitch for a four point major.  Amery lives with her co-owner/co-breeder Laurie (along with her mother Penny and grandmother Nikon).  She's a sister to Jess's Dal Meribel who needs just a single point to finish and was Best Of Winners at the National this year.

Christopher is doing well, and we have someone coming over to look at him tomorrow.  He's fit in here nicely, and is very easy to deal with, but he does need a home before Pauli's pups start coming upstairs.

Spellcheck is not working on Blogspot.  Oh well, you know what I meant.

So Far, So Good

Pups are doing well!  They're starting to get cute too, and this morning when I went down to put in clean papers they had started wrestling with one another.  It's pretty slow motion at this age, but they are practicing their "moves"!  I could spend the day watching them, but fortunately they only play for a few minutes at a time before going back to sleep.

Spotting looks terrific on everyone - yes, the furry white boy has spots too, but his thick wooly coat still covers them up.  They all seem to hear, and I have not noticed any blue eyes yet, though will look more closely this weekend.  Only one nose is not completely filled, but a couple of eyerims still need more color. 

They've all had their nails cut three times and are all plump and strong - you really notice how strong they are when you try to trim their hooky little nails.  (We trim the nails so they don't scratch Pauli or one another.)

Pauli has been an excellent mother, keeps them clean, has plenty of milk, and is still quite attentive, though is happy to be upstairs with us or out in the yard some of the time too.  I'll start walking Pauli this weekend, although she has discovered the treadmill in my basement and run on that for a bit - she loves the treadmill.

If you're looking for an adult Dalmatian, there's a nice boy available.  He's randomly bred (not from a show person) but is quite handsome.  Moderate sized, good with adults, older kids, and dogs, not good with cats.  He was bred in Southern Illinois, but lives near the Twin Cities and is available to the right situation.  I will gladly put you in touch with his owner who is forced to give him up or with my daughter who is trying to help find a home for this boy.

Pick Me Please!

Christopher is looking for a home.  Sister Jordyn is back up in Canada with the Pellas, brother Magic is in the Twin Cities, and brother Rex is in Oregon.  Christopher is still here and ready for a new home.  The people from Oregon flew in to look at Chris, but Rex did the best sell job that day!  "Pick me please", he kept telling them.  I was planning to keep Rex for awhile, but it was too good a home to pass up, and Rex really sold himself.  He will eventually become a Therapy Dog, a job Christopher will be equally good at.

Unfortunately, too many people think they only want a black-spotted female puppy, and they don't take the time to discover that Dal boys make fabulous pets (better, I personally think) and that well marked liver Dals are gorgeous!  I always find it interesting that people come for an interview thinking that a black-spotted puppy is all they would consider, and end up falling in love with a liver.   Both of Chris's brothers went to home that wanted liver boys.  Now, we just need one more of those for Chris.

Well bred (champion parents with all their health testing), beautifully spotted, very handsome (could be shown but missing some nose trim, so available as a companion), well socialized with people of all ages, comfortable with dogs of all ages and breeds, crate trained, leash trained, loves to ride in the car, doing well on his housetraining.  Very outgoing, and loves to sit on laps. Vet checked, first shots, hearing tested (BAER bilateral).

Paulis pups are doing well and it appears that they all hear, but there are not enough pups to go around.  If you're ready now, you might want to consider this handsome boy.

Also, there is a black-spotted male rescue dog available in this area.   More information on him tomorrow.

Puppied To The Max

Rex, Jordyn & Chris - Magic was already in his new home.

Whew, what a weekend!  Puppied to the max!

Patti & Grace WERE able to bring the pups down from Canada. No problem at Customs, roads were adequate despite the storms, and they had a dog-friendly hotel to spend Friday night.  All were walking on leashes by then, so Patti stopped a few times along the way to exercise the pups, and everything went smoothly.  The pups were mugged each time they stopped, and many of the people asked, "Are they for sale?"  Yeah right, these carefully raised babies were going to be sold to total strangers from the back of a car in a McDonald's parking lot.

We left early the next morning for the pups BAER testing in Rochester.   Patti had suspected one of the liver boys was a uni (a dog with hearing in one ear rather than both), because one of the boys had trouble figuring out the source of a sound - he could not key into the location of the person calling him.  He could hear them perfectly well, just could not tell which person was calling him or where they were standing.  Uni pups quickly learn to pick up on visual keys, so if the person moves, leans forward or claps their hands, the pup notices that and goes to the right person.  Observant breeders can generally identify uni puppies, but we go in for BAER testing to confirm our suspicions.  Patti was correct (I knew she would be) and Captain Rex tested as a uni.  No problem.

Jess came over later for a photo session and we got great pictures of all four pups.  We all agreed that Jordyn was the star of the litter, and Captain Rex was the best of the liver boys.  Jordyn was going home with Patti & Grace, Magic was spoken for and his new mom picked him up that afternoon, and people were flying in from Oregon to look at Christopher.  I was quite taken with Rex and planned to keep him until the right local home came along for him.

The pups were perfect on Saturday night.  Because they were exhausted from all their adventures and were already accustomed to sleeping in a crate at night, they didn't make a peep.  I set up a crate in the family room so we could get them out the door quickly, and we had no accidents either.

The folks from Oregon had lost their beloved Dal boy about six months before, and were finally ready for a new pup.  They wanted a liver boy, one who had been heavily socialized, from a line with exceptional temperaments, because they planned to do Therapy Dog work with the puppy.  Although they had come to see Christopher who is as sweet and cuddley as can be, it was Rex to sold himself.  I had not planned to let Rex go so soon, but I feel very strongly that we owe our dogs the very best homes we can find for them, and this was a super home.  Even though I had only known Rex for two days, I shed a few tears over the decision and let him go.  Rex's new family had flown in to see the pups, but rented a car to take him home, a 30 hour trip. What an adventure!

So Christopher stayed behind and is looking for a home.  Pictures tomorrow.  A beautifully marked liver boy with a happy friendly personality, heath checked, BAER bilateral, first shots, socialized to the max, crate trained, leash trained, great in the car, and well on his way to housetrained.  He fits in well here, plays nicely with the big dogs, and Pauli has volunteered to adopt him if he needs a "family".  Wouldn't he look funny sitting with her 2-week old pups?