Promise You'll Call

Promise you'll call .  .

Yesterday morning after our visit to the dog park, I took my brother to the airport and he flew off to Costa Rica.  We had such a good time while here was here, staying at mom's, connecting with old friends, getting together with family members.  It was a perfect time for him to be here, with decent weather and we all had a chance to visit with him, individually and as a family.   Al comes back once a year, something I know my mother looks forward to all year long.  There has always been a special bond between my mother and Al, and each year they both wonder if it will be the last time they will be able to get together. 

My plan is to visit Costa Rica in March.  Al says that's the month with the best weather, and everything flowering.  Now that I am no longer campaigning Argus, and will have vacation time if not money, I must get down there for a visit.  Gram has visited him several times in CR, and my sister Kris went down with her once, but I've never gone.  My sister-in-law Alison is perfectly happy to stay there rather than visiting the US, so I've not seen her since they moved.  Just hope that both Ron and Gram can both stay healthy - that's the only thing that will keep me from going this time.

Puppy Eddie is looking good

The Arboks had a busy weekend, with lots of company.  They are changing so fast now, no longer chubby little todder-Dals.  The adults really enjoyed all the company too, assuming that everyone had come to see them.

On Sunday I packed up the Arboks and they rode along to Albert Lea to meet up with Rosie and Mark who came up from Iowa.  Rosie just broke her ankle (same leg, same kind of break I had last year) but won't let that slow her down and she really wanted to see the pups.  Unfortunately, little dare devil Letty could not wait to be lifted out, took a dive from the car to the asphalt, and came up on three legs.  She was very brave about everything, didn't cry, and enjoying being cuddled by everyone.  By the time we got home she was getting around much better and showing no pain response, so we decided against a trip to the emergency room and will take her to our regular clinic this morning.  Poor Letty, so pretty, such a character, and now this.  Never a dull moment in Paisleyland.

Lisen and Jerry also drove up from Iowa so that I could see Puppy Eddie and decide whether or not we were going to show him.   Eddie looked really good, especially for his age, and because he remembered some of his training by Grace Pella, when he was visiting in Canada, we got some decent pictures.  We'll probably pick him up on our way to the Kansas shows in October and start his serious show training.

No time for editing, gotta go play with pups!

Weaning Progresses

The Arboks are enjoying the outdoors!  Letty

The Arboks are having a great time in the yard.  They'll get more outdoor time on Saturday as we will do our puppy socialization outside too, weather permitting. 

Yesterday the Arboks got to try their first solid food and did a great job on chicken necks.  Letty and Sloan did not get theirs finished, but the others ate the whole thing.  Not that chicken necks are very large, but they DO require a lot of chewing with tiny teeth.  Next they will try wings - they won't be able to chew up the wing bones yet, but will get most the skin and meat and have a great time doing it.   It's so much fun watching instincts kick in, as the pups use the same tearing motions that wolves use when consuming their prey.  There's always at least one pup in a litter that hums while eating, this time it's vocal Letty, which is no surprise.

It's so much neater weaning pups on a raw diet.  Much less odor and far less clean up because there is so little waste.  The pups digest almost all of their raw meal, rather than passing all the undigested grain like they do when eating kibble.  They'll get a few kibble meals later, since a few may go to homes that will not feed raw, but mostly they'll eat a diet similar to what the adults eat.

Grass!

Virgil enjoyed his first trip outside

Pups enjoyed their first trip outdoors yesterday.  They were all very brave about exploring, but didn't go too far away.  That won't last long though, so tonight I will set up some portable fencing to restrict their activities and to keep them out of the flower beds - or maybe not as I am tired of gardening by this time of the summer! 

Am chatting with a gentleman who has owned a number of part Paisley dogs in the past and is looking for a new puppy.  The timing may not be right for him as he wanted a pup later in the fall.  I suppose it's time to start thinking about puppy placements.  Already!  I had a number of reservations for pets, but most were for females or for livers, and I need a good pet home for a darling black-spotted boy.

Sloan continues to be the cuddliest pups

As is so often the case, the person at the top of my list for a pet male couldn't wait, found a puppy elsewhere, and never bothered to let me know.  I hope she bought responsibly, but I am afraid she may not have.  This was a first time dog owner who will need a lot of help, and I hope she bought from a person who will be able to provide it.  People never seem to understand that puppies are not something you buy on a whim, and that you get exactly what you pay for. 

I'm forever amazed at all the people who only want a female pup.  Having owned many Dals of both sexes over the years I have found males to be wonderful companions, and most of my favorite Dals have been boys.  Marla and Josie are very special, but in general I find the boys to be more devoted, more giving, more playful, and far more tuned in to me. 

If the pups were more completely weaned I would send Reebok home with Rosie this weekend, as she is very tired of pups and very bored here.  She feeds the pups grudgingly, but would rather be upstairs with the rest of us.  Rosie says her dam was the same way.  Some bitches would tend and nurse their pups for 3 months, while others think 1 month is more than enough!  Tonight I'll start walking Reebok again as she really needs something to do.  

Exploring With The Arboks

Weather learning to be a Bad Dog

Big day for the Arboks, as they got to come upstairs last night.  It's interesting to watch the various reactions to totally new situations, and this group was amazingly brave and adventurous.  All pups immediately started wagging and exploring, though Letty did a bit of stress whining - but was actually the most adventurous and kept slipping through the dog gate and in to the dining room.

Ron has not had much to do with the pups until now, but he really enjoys them once they come upstairs, and is a good puppy socializer.

That's Weather, Lucas and Sloan in back

After work today the pups will go outside for the first time.   I'll have to set up the temporary fencing to keep them out of the flower beds and away from the gates they can slip under.  Perhaps I'll just set up the large pen at first, but it's a lot more fun to watch the pups explore the yard.

Virgil killing the Dino

Jess came over to visit the pups yesterday and agreed that they were extremely pretty pups, really good cosmetics.  Weather has always been her favorite pup, but she particularly liked Lucas who is such a handsome guy.  

I'm torn as to my favorite.  Letty for spotting, Weather for structure, or Lucas for being so attractive.  Virgil is a little lightly spotted for my taste, but such a pretty pup, and Sloan is very cute and the most cuddly.  Wish Letty had his personality, but she's a bit more independent.  Four of the pups have Velcro personalities like Argus and Reebok, but Letty is a bit different and more inclined to do her own thing.

The Arboks are eating two meals a day now, one with milk & yogurt, one with ground turkey added.  Need to pick up something different for them tonight.  Tomorrow they can have a few chicken necks to practice using their teeth on something other than each other and their poor mother.  Reebok still feeds them, but spends little time with them otherwise.  Time for Dad Argus and Uncle Watson to take over the babysitting duties.

On Sunday I will pack the pups into a dog crate and meet Rosie in Albert Lea so she can see the pups.  She owns two of them and wants to have a look at the litter now and get an idea.  I suspect her favorite will be Weather, but we'll see.  She had actually wanted a liver boy from the litter.   Reebok co-operated by being liver-factored much to our surprise, but she got the color and sex mixed up on the puppies.

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!