Dog Parks And Puppies

Making new friends

Although I have always been leery of dog parks, I know there are good ones that are visited by well socialized dogs with sensible owners, and I've been trying to find one for Argus.  Because he is so eager to meet other dogs I figured he'd really enjoy it, and that turned out to be the case when we visited Rice Creek Dog Park.  Argus was delighted to meet all the dogs, although I was more than a little nervous when the three Pitbulls came over the hill toward us.  Forced myself to keep my mouth shut and let Argus sort things out which he did.  Whew!  No problems at all.  We did the half-mile loop three times, me on the path and Argus racing around with a weird variety of dogs.  Pitbulls and crosses, Husky-types, a Boxer, lots of Terrier mixes, Lab-wannabes and a couple of well-bred Labs.

Argus had a busy morning since we went over to my mother's for coffee after the dog park, and later went to Paws On Grand where we met even more dogs, and an even weirder variety.  After years of seeing an increase in purebreds, I am now seeing more mixed breeds.  If they were "accidents" that someone adopted, that's fine, but if they were intentionally bred to be mutts,that makes me crazy.  Designer Dogs are nothing more than mixed breeds, no healthier, certainly no smarter than purebreds.  Can't for the live of me understand why anyone would spend so much money to buy what used to be considered an Oops.

Virgil looks like a stuffed toy.

The pups had a busy weekend with lots of company, including kids.  The boys especially, are very cuddly.  Lucas finally woke up and went from being the quietest to being one of the liveliest.  Sloan is particularly cuddly, and Letty is the least cuddly though was quite sociable this weekend.  She's still inclined to go off and sleep by herself rather than piling on her littermates.

Weaning is going well and the pups are now eating two meals a day, one with goats milk and yogurt, and the other with ground turkey added.  Tonight they will come up into the family room for the first time, and tomorrow if the weather is good they will go out on the grass for the first time.  Such fun that will be, with lots of photo opportunities.

Lucas is sitting on a sandal, chewing the other.

Sloan is checking out a bone.

Chow Time!

First meat at 25 days

Weaning Dal pups is so simple!  Put down bowl, show bowl to puppies, clean up afterwards!  The Arboks had their first non-mom meal last night.  Warmed goat milk with some added goat milk yogurt.   They cleaned the bowl of course!  Tonight they will get the same meal with an added egg yolk, and tomorrow the meal will include some freshly ground turkey thigh meat from Whole Foods. Although the adults get a less expensive brand of frozen turkey (but always get human-grade foods), I prefer to feed the pups with top quality fresh foods whenever possible.



Yum, what a tasty foot - Lucas



Clockwise in the picture from 1:00 are Lucas, Letty, Weather, Sloan and Virgil.  Many photo ops with the puppies now.  I just need more time!

Letty & Virgil

This weekend I need to check in with the people who have expressed an interest in the pups.  Have not heard recently from the person who had first choice on pets, so am assuming she is off the list.  I don't take reservations because I want people to have the option of changing their minds, and I want the option to place my pups in the homes that sound the best to me!

Also two inquiries from foreign countries for show pups.  I have sold pups overseas in the past, but because we have pups so rarely, I'd really rather have show potential pups stay in the US (or Canada) to be shown.  The last pet pup who went overseas went to Okinawa, and that was a total disaster, one I have always regretted.  The pup finally arrived safely, but the buyer defaulted on his shipping costs, and did not stay in touch.  He talked a great story, but turned out to be an irresponsible deadbeat.  I'm responsible for my pups for their lifetimes, and there is no way I can help that dog if he ever needs it.  We've been really fortunate on homes over the years, but that was NOT a success story . . .

New Puppies In Paisleyland - PaisleyWI

Penny with day old babies

Chapter Two.  Penny's Pups were born last night, on the 61st day, same as Reebok's.  Not sure what this litter will be referred to, as Penny + Cruise does not go together quite as well as Argus + Reebok = Arboks.

This was Jess's first litter done on her own.  She helped with many litters while living at home, but this was her litter to raise from start to finish.  I suggested the sire (after we had considered dozens of dogs, we finally came up with Mr. Right - we hope), and am a co-breeder, but it's really Jess and Laurie's litter (Laurie is Penny's other owner as well as her co-breeder - she owns Penny's mom).  So glad that everything went smoothly!  Nikon was not bred until she was 5 years old, and the whelping was anything but smooth, but Penny performed like her Grandma Coral and did a great job!

Final count, 2 boys and 4 girls, 1 girl a patch.  Jess is currently thinking that the un-patched pups are all livers, but will check them out in better lighting today.  Lots of trim, and the skin spotting on the newly born pups looked nice.

Argus meets Letty

 Argus got to meet his kids last night.  All the dogs have sneaked down to take a peak, but this was his first actual visit and as expected, he was very good - but extremely jealous.  When I held pups on my lap he tried to sit there too.  Big baby!

Pups get to try their first real food tonight, which will be a mixture of goats milk and goat milk yogurt.  We do not start pups on carbohydrate-based soaked kibble, or worse yet, on cereal.  Dogs have no established need for carbs, so why would I feed them to puppies.

Pictures tomorrow!

A Puppy Morning

Weather & Lucas getting out of bed

The pups are changing so quickly now!  Every day brings something new!

Everyone is keeping the rug clean now, leaving the box to pee on papers in the pen.  Lucas was the last to catch on, but he's the laziest puppy and the slowest to wake up.  Sure makes it easier to keep the box clean, but now we're doing lots of paper changes instead.

Pups are really starting to play with toys

Letty checks out a toy

now.  I add new toys every day, and they all have to be checked out.  Today I will add a cardboard box which they will enjoy, and perhaps put a piece of lumber in there too, so they will have to climb over it.  We try to expose the pups to as many different things as possible.  Meeting people, exploring, being exposed to a variety of novel objects, and later visiting numerous locations will help to insure that the pups are confident and well adjusted.  It's also great fun to watch their reactions!

It's certainly a promising litter so far.  Although Lucas, Letty and Weather have the best markings, the other two boys are acceptably marked (for showing) as well.  Everyone hears, there are no blue eyes, and the personalities seem very good so far.  Structure is starting to become evident too, and I love the way Weather is built.  Tails are up on a couple of the pups already which does not make me happy, but tails are SO hard to predict - you never know which ones will go up and when/if they will come down.  Trim is done on the blacks and still moving well on the livers.  Letty is about 99% complete and Weather just a little bit behind her.  Eye color is going to be very good, as expected.  Blacks are already very dark, livers with a lot of dark pigment already.  I don't care for light eyes on pups of either color, and especially value dark gold eyes on livers.

The basics are good, but so much else to monitor.  Will the pups be bilateral hearing (hear in both ears) or unis (hearing in one ear)?  Will they have correct scissors bites?  Will they be sound and move well?  Will the boys have two testicles?  Will they stay confident and outgoing? Will their health checks be good?  A pup with no disqualifications (according to the breed standard) may be showable, but that does not mean that it is show quality and that it should be placed in a show home.  We always hope that all the pups in a litter can go to show homes, but that is never the case.  If we get one or two such pups we will be happy, three or more we will be thrilled.   So if you are waiting for a pet here, can't tell you that yet.  But they are suuuuurrrreee all cute!

And over at my daughter Jess's house in Wisconsin, Penny is going through the motions and thinking about having puppies today.  Or maybe not 'til Friday.  She could nest for days, or pop them out shortly.  Glad Jess is the one doing the waiting and watching!

Politics And Puppies

And the nasty weather continues.  It should NOT be 83 degrees when I wake up in Minnesota, nor should the dew point ever be this high.  Ugly weather.   Last day of getting paid to work an extra hour a day.  The extra seven hours help, although it will be a long time before I get caught up from the lay off.  Two bills left to pay before my next paycheck which is due a week from Friday.  Two bills and a tank of gas is just about all I can afford without dipping into "other" money.   My checking account looks pretty bare, but as long as I don't have any unexpected expenses I should make it.   But how about all the people with kids?  What a shame that WE have to pay for the lack of compromise in our political process.   I'm very very tired of political rhetoric and a whole generation of incredibly selfish people.  I rememember when they started talking about the "me generation" some years ago.  Sadly true.

BUT, my puppies are so cute!  Here's some 3-week shots of the babies.



Letty & Virgil





Weather




Virgil




Weather




Virgil & Letty



Lucas



Fun With Dogs

Argus is watching for fish

Such a fun weekend, much of it dog-related.  Even though we're not doing dog shows this summer, it seems as if doggy things still take up much of my time - which is just fine!  While walking Argus around Como on Sunday morning, he jumped up on the stone wall that runs along the path and was walking along the top of it as he always does.  I encourage it, and he looks forward to doing it and having a treat afterwards.  As we were walking along "discussing" what a fine job he was doing, a grumpy looking middle-aged couple came walking from the opposite direction, saw Argus walking along the wall, and the guy grumbled, "Weird"  as they walked on by.  Now I ask you, was that necessary?  And what is weird about a dog and its person having fun?

What a sorry life that guy must lead if he can't recognize the simple pleasure that such an activity brings to a person and a much-loved dog?  The rest of my walk was spent watching Argus do all his silly Argus-things (note the picture above) and thinking of all the pleasure these crazy spotted dogs have added to my life.  They say that laughing is important to one's mental and physical health and I'm sure that's true, and I thank my spotted friends for all the exercise and all the laughter that goes with owning a Dalmatian.



Lucas and Letty



Pups are doing wonderfully well!  They got the front of their box cut down so they have access to their pen, and the heat lamp is off which pleases all of us.  Lots of company for puppy socialization this weekend, which was also fun.   Old friends who I had not seen for awhile, my daughter and her partner, and Dal owning Facebook friends I was meeting for the first time.  We'll have lots of company the next few weeks and the big dogs will really enjoy it too.

Cutting this short, but lots of puppy pictures tomorrow.

Too Cute For Words

Lucas & Weather

And suddenly, they are dogs!  The pups have gone from little spotted blobs who do nothing but nurse and sleep, to little Dalmatians.  When I took everyone out of the box to change papers and give them a clean rug, they immediately started exploring the pen and surrounding area, and for the first time exhibited the play behavior that is so much fun to watch.  Like slow motion wrestling, with mouthing, tiny growls and attempts to grab a littermate's muzzle or legs.  So cute.  They were out of the box for about 15 minutes, finally settling down on Reebok's rug.  When they were placed back in the box, the activity started all over again.  My ten minute "chore" took an hour!

Letty

Pups are SO CUTE at this age, and they develop quickly now, with very noticeable changes in appearance and actions every day.  Soon they will wag their tails when they hear my voice, and will start making an attempt to keep their blanket dry.  They will be taken out of the box for awhile every day to explore, and this weekend they will have company.  Being handled by strangers is very good for pups at this age.  Next week they will start to come upstairs for a few minutes at a time, and I'll cut down the front of the box and give them full access to the pen.

Just a few more days for the heatlamp, which Reebok will appreciate!  She's been an excellent mother and is finally willing to stay upstairs or outside long enough for me to have some time with the pups.  She obviously has plenty of milk, as the pups are all chubby and plump and content. 

Too Cute!

Hey, let me in!

The two pushy ones on top are "Weather" Karkinnan and "Letty" West, both named for characters in John Sandford's mysteries featuring Lucas Davenport.  Weather & Letty are the two liver girls, and they are the pushiest pups in the litter, as well as the largest and heaviest - I think there is a direct relationship here!  Their brothers are "Lucas" Davenport who is a handsomely marked, moderately active boy, "Virgil" Flowers, a laid back, mellow, lightly spotted boy with a Teddy Bear face, and "Sloan", a more colorful, very vocal boy who is the smallest, but makes up for it in attitude.    All three boys are black-spotted.  Because the pups all heard by Sunday, they got names.

And now they are getting cute!   When I change the papers and give them a clean rug, the pups walk clumsily around the pen, exploring their space, tasting Reebok's blanket, trying to climb up my leg, sniffing everything.  Reebok is outdoors with the boys while I do this or she would be in my face or on my lap!  Pups are SO CUTE now that it's hard to leave them to get other things accomplished. 

By next week it will be impossible to get anything else done.  3-4 weeks is my favorite age, when the pups become little dogs.  We're starting to schedule puppy socializers now, friends to handle the pups.  The more people that little pups meet, the more confident, friendly and outgoing they will be as adults.  Time to set up BAER testing at 6 weeks too.  Rosie will see the pups at 5 weeks and 7 weeks and start deciding which two she will take.  1st and 3rd and 5th are mine, 2nd and 4th are hers (in exchange for letting me lease Reebok).

Short blogs this week as I am working overtime, trying to make up at least a little of the money I lost during lay offs.  Gonna be a long week!

Good News In Paisleyland

The daylilies are at their peak

The little Arboks all hear!  So nice to get that out of the way.  I was getting a little nervous when the boys were not responding.  Both liver girls heard on Friday and barked at me when I tested.   One boy gave me a single response on Saturday so I was not sure on him, but on Sunday morning two of the boys were responding.  Only the smallest boy slept through everything.  Finally yesterday evening he popped his little head up when I pinged my finger on a food pan.  This morning all pups popped right up when I tested them.  Whew!  We'll do BAER testing later to confirm hearing, and within a couple of weeks will also identifyy any unis (pups that hear in one ear rather than both ears).

Now we have to get through one more week.  Because I lost a litter to canine herpes several years ago, I'm still paranoid.  It's very rare, and there is no reliable way to prevent it.  Because it can be a respiratory infection in dogs, most adult show dogs (and probably most city-dwelling pets) have been exposed to it, but will show no symptoms. Because they will not necessarily develop an immunity, the dams may not be able to pass immunity on to their pups.  It's normally only fatal to pups under the age of 3 weeks because they can't develop the fever necessary to fight it.  Once pups are 3 weeks old they will be able to fight the virus, so we will keep all fingers tightly crossed for one more week.  If you've ever heard of Fading Puppy Syndrome, this is one of the causes.

Oops!

Argus and I hiked the Reservoir Park Trail yesterday.  The park includes a Dog Park, so I hoped that there would be some friendly Labradors for Argus to swim with.  We had the park to ourselves, but I quickly discovered why there were no dogs swimming!  The shoreline was a foot of black gunky mud.  Argus didn't mind bit, but he sure got dirty.  He splashed in a real lake further along, but still required a bath to remove the remaining muck!

Morning Walk

What now?

We've missed our morning adventure the past two days, so today Argus & I went off to Hidden Falls Park on the Mississippi.  It's only a couple of miles away, and really a very nice, under-used park.  We saw a few fishermen, some walkers, one guy sitting in a lawn chair drinking coffee and watching the river, and a group of people having a Breakfast Picnic - what a great idea!  Argus had fun splashing in the river off the boat launch, but the river is still very high and most of the beach areas are still under water.  Because the park is so large and there were so few people, Argus got to run off leash for part of the time.  His recalls are getting much better, but if he saw small furry dog he'd probably blow me off and go say Hi to the dog before coming when I called him.  We practiced some long Recalls too, with very good results.  I do plan to show him in either Rally or Novice this fall.

Watching a coal barge

It was interesting to watch a series of coal barges being pushed up river by the tugboat Becky Sue.  I suppose the coal was to feed one of the power plants up river, to generate all the electricity we're using for our air conditioners this summer! The Becky Sue kicked up a nice wake, causing waves at the shoreline, something Argus had never experienced before.  He had a great time chasing up and down the shore chasing the waves, just like Murphy did so many years ago.

We watched and heard a storm roll in and got back to the car before the first raindrops hit, but the people having the Breakfast Picnic along the shore probably got wet and windblown.  Then off to White Castle for a breakfast sandwich to share.

The tug Becky Sue

Lots of projects on my To Do List, including taking my mother to church.  So where will we walk tomorrow?  If it really does cool off, I've been wanting to try the Rice Creek Trail.  The mornings got too hot for asphalt paths during my "vacation" but we might get a chance to try that tomorrow.  So many adventures just waiting for us!

One of the nice things about having a medium or large sized dog is the increased comfort level when walking in new areas.  I admit to being a little nervy when walking alone, but with Argus I feel safe in most places.  There's one particular park I don't go to anymore though, even with a dog.  Too many car break ins, groups of obnoxious teens, militant bicyclists, and uncontrolled dogs.  A shame, because it's a lovely river park with good trails.   Good thing there are so many other areas just waiting to be explored!

The Personality Of A Dalmatian

Putter with his ears turned inside out

I handled the puppies last night, wondering how they would turn out for both "looks" and "character".  Because we show our dogs "looks" are one of the things we breed for, but "character" is even more important, because most of our dogs end up in homes with families.  Even most show dogs in this breed are family pets as well, and without good character (temperament, attitude, responsiveness, trustworthiness) the most beautiful Dal in the world is of no value to anyone.

Later that evening I received an email from Angie, who owns a dog from Josie's first litter.  Putter is a tall, heavily marked Josie son who lives with a large family of school age kids.  The family visited Josie's litter several times, played with all the pups, and mom chose Putter.   They had lost an older Dalmatian and wanted another, as they enjoyed living with a Dal and a Viszla.  I asked Angie about Putter's personality, and received exactly the kind of information I love to hear.  This is the personality of a Dalmatian, beautifully described by Angie. 

Putter is all energy outside (very controllable,) still gets the "zoomies", sprints around, likes to play tag and fetch the tennis ball until it's too slimey to pick up, but once we're back inside, he's a couch potato.  He chases chipmunks, and has caught a few, eats half and leaves the rest for me to come across. Not many squirrels around for him to chase, but rabbits dart through the yard now and then for a good chase. He's curious about deer, but hasn't gone after them as they run as soon as he makes any motion towards them. His recall is flawless, so I don't worry about him chasing anything as he comes back as soon as I call. He'll "leave it" every time, too.

Not destructive at all (except for stuffed toys,) doesn't beg or drool, doesn't bother the kids when they are at the table eating, but will come running if he hears anything hit the floor. He's quite the velcro dog with me, always wants to know where I am, but not whiny if I'm gone. No separation issues, no problem being kenneled, even if we're home. I often kennel him when friends come over, and then let him out when it has calmed down a bit, and he's been fine meeting people. Putter is a little pushy with strange dogs. He doesn't like to back down when a new dogs gets bossy with him, does better meeting them in neutral territory rather than in our yard. And he has a few doggy friends in the neighborhood he can play with.

Many people ask if he's a pure bred, as either they've never seen a liver Dal, or don't believe it since he's not hyper. I tell them a good dog is a tired dog. I've even been asked if he's a German short-haired pointer.... I guess I can see that, sort of...

Can't believe Putter's 5... had to check in his file for his papers. Ginger is slowing down, starting to lose muscle tone, getting gray all the way over her head, she's ~11 and had a rough start.  It makes me think about what the next dog will be... do I get a Dal or another Vizsla like Ginger???? Male? Female? Both breeds have been so similar in the dogs we've had... The boys are much more affectionate and attentive, girls a bit more aloof, but more watchful... Guess I'll just have to wait and see what's available. And, Putter is not much of a shedder. In the spring, he'll have about a week where I know I need to rub him down for a few days, and maybe a day or two in fall, but over all, he's very neat and clean, never a doggy-smell with him either.

Thanks for your help. Putter is a joy.

Just what I like to hear.  Putter is a combination of good genes, early puppy socialization, and a perfect dog-smart home.  He's been raised to be a dog, never treated as a child, went through obedience classes, and gets plenty of exercise, companionship and love.  The kind of home we wish for all our puppies . . .

It's interesting that he inherited the low-shed gene from Josie, who also sheds very little.  THAT'S a trait I would like to set in Paisley Dalmatians, but it's not likely to happen in my lifetime.  Excuse me, gotta go sweep the kitchen before I go to work!

Back To Work - Today

The Arboks are 11 days old.

Wouldn't you know it?  A beautiful morning, 67 degrees and less humid, and today I go back to work.  I'd prefer walking around Como with Argus, then having breakfast at White Castle, BUT my bank account is looking pretty skimpy right now, in dire need of replenishment, and there's a mortgage payment due soon.

The Arboks are doing well and growing like mad.  Reebok certainly could have fed more than five!  She comes upstairs more often now, but at the first demanding squeal from her brood, she races back down to check on them.   It's amazing how rapidly the spots are coming through right now, they change almost hourly.  The patterns on the black-spotted boys are pretty clear now, but I'm still waiting on the liver girls who have very thick coats.  I can tell they have nice patterns, just can't see anything very clearly.

Black Boy 2

This morning the pups were trying to walk.  Well up on their legs now, but they still flop over after a few steps.  They stalk around shouting, "Mom, mom, mom", expect to encounter her after a few steps, and get very vocal if they don't.  I noticed a few eye corners cracked this morning too, so pretty soon we can start checking eye color and see if the rims are actually complete.  It's getting fun now, watching the changes from day to day.

 I've been cutting their nails so none of the pups have scratches on their heads, but they do get pushy trying to claim the best nipples.  Keeping the nails trimmed makes things more comfortable for both mom and sibs.  Those little pointy nails have nasty hooks if they are not trimmed and they can make long nasty scratches on their siblings' heads and their mother's breasts.

Each pup gets handled every day, held in a variety of positions, restrained on its back, and held up to my face while I breathe on it and speak softly to it.  Soon they will be looking back at me and hearing my words.  Can't wait!

Back To Work - Soon

Watching ducks at Lake Como

State Government Shut Down comes to an end.  Some time today I will get an email from MNDOT telling me when to report back to work.  Tomorrow?  Have to admit I would not mind waiting until next week, but things will be tight here when the lack of a pay check catches up with me.  Good thing I had no plans for the summer - we knew for several months in advance that the shut down was likely.  I've never had a 3-week vacation, and have sure enjoyed my time off, although I didn't even start several of the projects I had on my list!  That's OK though as I spent some of my time practicing the art of "relaxing", something I've never been very good at.

The snapper who lives in Lake Como

Argus and I took our walk around Lake Como, perhaps the last one on a week day/work day.  We'll both miss it!  It was already 85 when we left at 7:00AM, but today there was a breeze, which made such a difference.  We found a second spot for Argus to swim, so he enjoyed two dips, and we sat on the floating dock at the Como Pavilion, enjoying the breeze, watching the ducks, and being watched by the huge snapping turtle who lives in the lake.  The shortage of ducklings on that part of the lake may be due to his presence.  We met him on the shore last week where I took this picture, and he's a big sucker!

Thanks for the suggestions for naming themes.  Authors, weather and fish are all good ones.  Am thinking I will name the pups after characters in John Sandford mysteries.  The boys can be "Lucas" (Davenport), "Virgil" (Flowers) and "Jake" (Winters).  Not sure on the girls yet, but perhaps "Letty" (Lucas's adopted daughter) and maybe "Sandy" who is a Researcher who works for Lucas, but that's still up in the air.  Lucas's wife's name is "Wether" which sounds more like a sheep than a puppy, so that's out. 

Too early for names yet anyway.  I need to know that the pups hear before they get names, and I'll start checking this weekend.  Should wait until this weekend, but it's hard to wait.  Pups can hear as early at 11-12 days, but most will not hear until 13-14 days - IF they are going to hear at all.  Once I know their status, I'll give them names.  Please keep your fingers (and paws) crossed. 

The Arbok Are Getting Spots!

Black Boy 1

A few quick shots of the Arboks, who are 9 days old today.   They are doing very well, and are plump, vigorous, active pups.  And vocal!  If they can't find their mother they yell loudly, and shout at any litter mate who gets in their way, or has their preferred nursing spot.


Black boy 3

Trim continues to move rapidly, and the only area of concern is the right nostril on one of the liver girls, but the trim will move for a long time, until at least 6 weeks of age, and sometimes for the life of the dog!  It normally moves more rapidly and for a longer period of time on blacks than it does on livers.  Blacks are also more likely to be born with complete trim and to end up with complete trim.  Liver trim that is not done by 8 weeks of age often will never fill, but as we often joke, a really good liver Dal might finish its championship before it finishes its nose trim.


Liver Girl 1

Black Boy 1 appears to have open markings and just a few face spots.  Black Boy 2 is more colorful, but is evenly spotted with really cute face markings. Didn't get a picture that showed his spotting this morning. Black Boy 3 has a more spotted face and darker ears like Reebok, more color on his chest and legs, but (so far) does not appear to be too heavily marked over all.  I do not care for heavy markings in the show ring, and am hoping this one is still possibly show potential.



Liver Girl 2

The two liver girls both look OK for spotting so far, neither two light or too dark.  Liver spotting is a little slower to show through than the spotting on black pups.

For now the pups will just be Black 1, 2, 3 and Liver 1 & 2.  I can tell them apart, but don't want to give them names until I know they can hear.  Haven't picked a theme yet, maybe flowers or wine, or trees, or something of that nature.  The problem with flowers is that there are so few names suitable for boys! 

Two more mysteries downloaded from audible.com.  I'm making my way through all the books by local author John Sandford this summer.  Over half the Lucas Davenport "Prey" series read, and working on the fourth Virgil Flowers mystery with a new one due out this fall.  The little iPod Nano is working like a charm now and I've been listening to books while doing housework and fish chores.  Sure makes the time go by more quickly!

No End In Sight

Argus knows how to keep cool

No Special Session today, as the Republicans are not sure they can get the votes to pass the budget bill.  They got their stated goal of no new taxes, but so-called Christian Conservatives have to give up the divisive social agenda that was inserted in with the "real legislation".  Their true colors are starting to show now - looks to me as if Dayton called this one correctly. Guess I will have a couple more days of "vacation".

Our beach was underwater

The heatwave continues, but Argus knew how to stay cool. Our swimming area, a small spit of sand and brush, was underwater yesterday, due to the recent heavy rains.  Argus didn't mind at all, had a great time exploring the area, and even retrieved a couple of sticks.  We'll be heading out in a few minutes, taking advantage of the morning "cool". Wonder how many joggers we will see today?  Just amazes me that they can run in this weather.

This is what Argus thinks of the weather!

Weather forecast to be 97 degrees for the next three days, with a heat index of 118!  The dew point of 81 yesterday evening may have set a record, and the only place more humid than us was the Amazon.  I don't believe in Global Warming, but I do believe strongly in Climate Change, and that has sure been confirmed by all the weird weather we've all experienced this year.

Yesterday was spent doing "fish chores" and working on my website.  If I am off a few more days I may actually get the long-neglected website updated!  Didn't think that would ever happen.  Water changes done in all but the largest tanks, the 55, 40, 30, 29 and one of the 20s.  I had to refill the three water barrels and add the assorted chemicals, but at least this time of the year the water can be used at room temperature.  In the winter, when the basement is chilly, I have to keep heaters going in the barrels.

Because I want to keep the puppies warm, they have a heat lamp over their box, but because I don't want to boil the fish, I keep the backdoor open so the air conditioner in the dining room can contribute cool air to the basement! 

The Days All Run Together

How do retired people remember the date and the day of the week?  I find that the days tend to run together right now.  Perhaps the morning paper, or the morning news checks on the Internet provide the necessary clues?  Or do people check off days on the calendar, or tear off a page in the 365 day calendar every morning?  It's definitely a weird sensation not to have my life based on which days are spent at the office!

But my freedom will probably be ending soon, assuming the Special Session is called and results in a budget that is reluctantly agreed upon by both parties.  No one is happy with it, but something has to give.  Three weeks will be enough time to be out, and I will always remember it as my "practice retirement".

Six days old

The litter Arboks are doing well and growing like mad.  Spots are starting to show up on the most colorful boy, and the nose trim is moving quickly.  Trim on the blacks is complete, and one of the liver girls is almost complete, while the second liver girl has about 2/3 of her nose trim in.  Hard to tell on eye rims until the eyes actually open, but the rims have color on the inside corners (the slowest part to finish), and a significant amount elsewhere. 

Black spotted boy (l) liver spotted girl (r)

The most colorful boy has heavily spotted ears and the most face spotting, but his body does not appear to be overly dark at this stage.  He has the shortest coat so his spotting is showing through before the others.  The other black-spotted boys have nice (shadowy) patterns, and one has especially cute face markings.  Harder to tell about the girls as liver markings are a bit slower to show through, and both have very thick coats.  Neither has the old-fashioned "livery" markings with speckled faces and smaller spots though.  Argus's liver kids normally have large, bold, distinct spotting and open-marked faces.  Fingers crossed!

Weather is Oh So Hot here right now, and far more humid than we are used to.  Or at least used to be used to.  Our weather patterns have changed so much it's hard to know what is normal.  Anyone who does not believe in "climate change" has their head in the sand.

Cooling off in Lake Como

Four inches of rain on Friday left Lake Como the highest I have seen it this time of the year.  The long sandy point out to the sun dial, where I normally take Argus swimming, is well under water.  Argus had a great time sloshing around in water-cover grassy and brushy areas.  It was incredibly humid and I was dripping with sweat, but the normal compliment of joggers were there.  How can something that looks that miserable make people feel good?  Just hard to believe!

New sofa and floor plan

The new sofa was delivered on Friday, and we had several pieces of old furniture hauled away on Saturday, including the old console radio that has been in the family room since the addition was built.  The young guys who picked up the junk actually laughed when they saw it - I suppose some of my friends have done the same, but the radio worked just fine. Ron was not very happy to give up his battered love seat, but admits that the new sofa is quite comfortable and looks a lot better.

Coral is having some trouble adjusting as that room had been exactly the same for many years.  She stands and stares at the sofa which occupies the spot where her dog bed used to be, and refuses to sleep in the dog bed in its new location.  I put Argus's small bed (that normally sits by my computer) in the family room and she has claimed that as her own.  Hope she and Ron both get used to the new look!

Back To Work Soon

State Government Shut Down.
The Governor blinked first, backed down, made yet another offer, and the Republicans apparently accepted it.  No one won, and the citizens of Minnesota are the biggest losers.  I hope when all those legislators come up for re-election, the voters remember that they toed the party line, did not increase taxes for those best able to pay, and that those with the least will have even less.   No word on when we will be going back, but my unpaid vacation will be ending soon.  Going back will be difficult, except for the part about getting paid!

So much happened over the past two weeks, so much fun, so many adventures, so many projects completed.  Eliminating the work-related stress allowed me to really relax - can't remember when I last did that.  Just as well we will be returning soon as I could easily get used to being retired - but still have projects to complete!

The Arboks at 5 days

The little Arboks are doing well, growing like crazy, all chubby and polished by their very attentive mum.  Reebok is starting to get bored though, and follows me around the basement when I do fish chores.  She's not quite so eager to come back indoors after a visit to the dog yard, and has suggested that she would like to come upstairs to the family room.  This weekend I will crate up the others and let her come up for a visit, leaving the basement door open in case a pup squeaks and she has to dash down and check it out.

Went through pictures last night and posted a number of flower pictures to Facebook.  Was particularly pleased with the Water Lily and Orchid pictures, but I am annoyed that I can't display the pictures the way I want them here. I can generally make corrections to the html coding, but am at a loss for why one picture won't align right. Oh well.


Water Lilies




Orchid





Hibiscus


Patio door finished, but WHY did I think it was a good idea to stain it myself to save $200.00?  It turned out fine, but was a lot of work.  My pay per hour of work was very low!  Nice to have a screen again, but Josie has already tried to stick her nose through it, and I had to put up a piece of tape at eye height to keep Ron from walking through it.  I have a feeling that this screen will not survive very long here.

Next project, finishing the bathroom.  Wonder if I can get all the wallpaper up this weekend, plus cut and paint a new door frame?  Probably not, but I know that with puppies to tend, and all the resulting company it is now or never.   Pups are so darned cute that if you plan to visit them for a minute, it quickly becomes an hour.

Not much more to be done in the yard this summer, other than keeping the weeds out - and the mulch helps that a lot.  While digging behind the new fence, putting in a walkway outside the gate, I discovered old flagstones beneath 2 inches of sod.  No wonder the grass always dried up so quickly in that spot!  I felt like an archaeologist digging up ruins.  The stones are now covered with mulch which works better, and the ornamental grass I purchased at the Arboretum has been planted.

My birthday sofa arrives today, and the elderly radio/phonograph that took up so much wall space is on the deck covered with plastic, waiting for Ron to take it apart.  Good bye old friend.  Now to figure out how to arrange things.  Might also be a good time to change the pictures, some of which have been in the same location for 25 years!  Where does time go?

What Now?

Wrestling with \Dino

Argus has been standing watching me, sending me thought waves.  "So what fun things are we doing today?" he wonders.   He's had quite a week and assumes the adventures will continue.  He finally decides that if he does something cute, like wrestle with the Josie's dinosaur, that I might respond.  Or at least get their breakfasts ready.

We had such a good time with Laurie & Nikon, and Argus particularly enjoyed the walks around Lake Como and playing in the water with his cousin/ex-wife Nikon.  It was such a busy week and we actually did all the things we had planned, including taking the dogs swimming, going out to the Arboretum, taking the train to Mall of America where we did the aquarium (twice!) and paid a visit to Como Park to do the Conservatory and ride the wonderful carousel.

One of the gorgeous carousel horses

The carousel was fabulous and I took pictures of many of the horses which will go in a Facebook album - watch for the link.  Anyone who loves carousels, horses, or has wonderful memories of either would love the carousel.  Laurie and I rode it twice, and were definitely not the only adults sitting on the horses with big smiles on our faces.  We both had fond childhood memories of riding the carousel at the Minnesota State Fair.

After 75 years on the fairgrounds, the privately owned carousel was scheduled to be put up for auction, as antique hand-carved carousel horses are extremely valuable.  A group of volunteers was formed to purchase the carousel, and it was eventually restored to its former glory.  After a short time in downtown St. Paul it was moved to Como Park to a wonderful pavilion created especially for the carousel.  The City Of St. Paul owns the pavilion, but the carousel is owned, maintained and managed by a private non-profit group called Our Fair Carousel, Inc. and is run by volunteers - something I'd like to be involved in when I retire.



The Arboks

The pups are doing well, and Reebok is proving to be an excellent mother.  She's very attentive, but goes out willingly (we had to lift her out of the box at first) and really enjoys having company.  The babies are very plump and polished looking.   Yesterday they were packed up and went in to have their dewclaws removed.  They were pretty vocal about traveling, and Reebok was distressed about their absence and shredded the papers in her box, but everything went smoothly, the pups checked out perfectly, and once Reebok had cleaned them thoroughly and rid them of any "foreign" smells, she relaxed.

I had suspected that the two girls were actually livers rather than blacks, but it was hard to be sure in the glow of the pink heat lamp bulb.  When I could see the pups in normal daylight it was obvious that they were indeed liver.  So Reebok is liver-factored, much to everyone's surprise. Rosie is very pleased!  It's about time to start thinking of names for the pups, although I may wait until after I'm sure of their hearing status.  I find it harder to deal with deafs if the pups have names and identities, so for now they are known collectively as the Arboks, short for Argus-Reebok puppies.  So the Arboks live in their Reebox and are doing well!

Vacation Continue . . .

State Government Shut Down - Will We Ever Get Back To Work?

Nikon and Argus having a good time

In the meantime, I'm having an excellent vacation, doing all the fun thing I normally don't get around to doing.  Helps to have a house guest who enjoys the same kinds of adventures. 

Yesterday we went for a walk around Lake Como and practically had the place to ourselves.  The "point" was deserted, so we took off the leads and let the dogs swim and splash.  Nikon retrieved a few sticks, and Argus ran and splashed, sniffed and tasted, and checked everything out.  Everything!  Mr. Curiosity doesn't miss a thing.

We drove through my old neighborhood just north of the park, checked out my parent's ex-house, and drove past the Transportation Building where I am supposed to be working.  So deserted. So sad.  Am sure the restaurants in the area and the Sears store across the street are really hurting for business.  This shut down hurts so many people.   Delicious breakfast sandwiches at White Castle, then home to hose off the dogs.  The lake smelled fresh and looked clean other than some green algae, but it's always wise to rinse off dogs after swimming in city lakes.

Ron dropped us off at the train station and we took light rail out to Mall of America.  It's a great train, fast, efficient, affordable and fun.  We visited Sea Life, a huge underground aquarium with enormous marine, Amazon, and North American fresh water tanks.  It's set up as a tunnel, so the fish are on both sides of you and swim over the top of the tunnel to get from one side to the other.  Sharks and rays are particularly impressive when viewed from below.  The seahorse and jellyfish displays were also entertaining.

When we arrived there was a sign saying that laid off state employees should check in at the ticket office.  We did and discovered that I could get in free, and Laurie's ticket was half price!  Wow, what a nice surprise!  It was really appreciated, and just the beginning of a wonderful visit.  Because we had saved so much money and had such a great time, we signed up for the behind-the-scenes tour, which was relatively inexpensive and lots of fun. 

A small group of us with a tour guide visited the laboratory where the water is tested and any animal injury or illness can be treated, and the ultra-clean kitchen where all food is prepared - the kitchen is inspected just like any other commercial kitchen.  Then on to the holding area where sick or injured animals cab be isolated and treated, new animals can be quarantined, and animals too young/small for display tanks can be kept.   We looked down on the giant display tanks from above, and learned about the behind-the-scenes maintenance.  What a good life those animals lead and it was interesting to learn that many of the display animals had names - all the large turtles, the octopus,  and many of the sharks.  The endangered giant sea turtles were all injured animals who could not have survived in the wild, but were thriving in captivity  What an adventure!

Then off to the Rainforest Cafe for noveltry drinks and excellent nachos.  Our table was next to a tank full of wonderful marine fish including a Clown Triggerfish, two large Puffers, and some Unicorn Tangs, one of which kept displaying for Laurie - I could swear he had a crush on her!

Pups are doing well, trim is coming in fast, and Reebok is settling into motherhood.  I even convinced her to go outside this morning without a leash - had to lift her out of he box and drag her outside the first day!  

Puppies!

State Government Shut Down Day ? - When Will This End?

Peekaboo - a pup peeks out from under mom's leg

In the meantime, we have pups to tend!  It was a very good thing I got the Reebox finished on Saturday, since I was anticipating pups on Monday.  Reebok had other ideas and the pups were born early Sunday morning.  We had done only one progesterone test to be sure Reebok was "about ready" for breeding, but it takes a series of tests to be able to pinpoint the days - necessary only if you are doing chilled or frozen semen breedings.  We did just one and "guesstimated" the arrival date - and were off by a day.

We all guessed wrong on number of puppies, thinking Reebok would have at least ten. I was the closest at eight. Although she hung low, Reebok was never "coffee-table wide" like Josie or Peaches or Perdie (hey, I didn't pick the name!) when they had litters of twelve.  The whelping went very smoothly, as if Reebok had read the whelping book, with pups coming every twenty minutes or so.  The last pup arrived at 6:00 AM, but I was sure she still had at least one pup left, just based on her bulk.  However there were no contractions and Reebok was very relaxed, so we waited it out - hoping that perhaps we would get that one last pup born hours later.  Many breeders fall asleep thinking the litter is complete, and wake up to one additional pup, clean, dry and nursing.  Didn't happen.

The down side of the litter was two stillborn pups, #s five & six.  Absolutely normal in every way, just as long but thinner than their littermates.  7-8 oz pups as opposed to 11-14 oz pups.  Perhaps they had poor placental sites, or the placentas detached prematurely.  There are dozens of possibilities.  I'll call the Vet School this morning and see if I can take the pups in for necropsy.  Because this is Reebok's first litter, it is particularly important to do this, and something that every breeder should consider.  Probably nothing will show up, stillborn pups are not at all unusual, but it's best to check things out.  The two pups were wrapped in paper towels, placed in a plastic bag, and stored in the refrigerator.  No, Oh Yucks, please.  Sometimes you have to have a strong stomach to do things right.

The five survivors are three boys and two girls, all black-spotted (I'm disappointed but that's what we expected), and no patches.  I keep checking them, hoping I was wrong on color, but I guess not.  We were hoping for more pups, but five is a nice litter and from a breeder's point of view it only takes one special puppy to make a successful litter.

For the first two weeks I will tend these pups but not get attached to any of them.  Because deafness exists in the breed, until I know everyone hears I won't get attached to any of them.  Argus was from an all hearing litter and has done very good hearing numbers except for one litter.  Reebok is from a litter that contained a deaf pups, so it could happen.  We'll do lots of finger crossing here for a few weeks!

In the meantime, we'll get dewclaws removed.  Dewclaws are the small thumb-like toes on the front legs.  Most breeders have them removed during the first few days, although it is not required.  Penny & Charlie have their dewclaws and it certainly did not hurt their show careers.  They were such tiny pups I did not want to add any stress, so left theirs on.  These five are all robust vigorous pups, so will pay a visit to the vet for check ups and dew claw removal.  I have done them myself, but absolutely hate doing it, so we will pay for veterinary service.

Now, time to get ready for a walk around Lake Como and breakfast at White Castle.  That was planned for yesterday, but the arrival of the pups changed our plans!