Absolutely Nothing Comes To Mind

Indie/Lucy pups after a busy day.

Although I normally have an idea for a topic when I sit down to do my blog entry, absolutely nothing comes to mind this morning.  Perhaps my mind is in Vacation Mode, thinking of the 3-day weekend ahead, and wondering if I should take 4 hours of vacation today and get a head start on my weekend.

Decided yesterday that I needed to free up tank space for the new Knight Gobies.  They arrived a few days ago and were not the young fish I was expecting, but magnificent mature adults.  Their quarantine tank was only 5 gallons, not nearly large enough for four 3-inch fish.  They required a lot more room and were not happy in the small tank with few hiding places.

So where to put them?  I had an empty 40-gallon tank that I need to clean up for some cichlids who are outgrowing their smaller tanks, but that's the only uninhabited large tank.  Ah, move out the S. petricola.  Four 4-year old fish I had already spawned and raised youngsters from, sitting in a 20 gallon tank in the front side of the basement.  I set a price and posted them to Minnesota Fishkeeper List.  Within 5 minutes I had an inquiry from Milwaukee - "would I ship?".  Not for that price.  Way too much hassle to ship fish I was selling so affordably.  10 minutes later I had a local inquiry, called him back, and he promised to pick them up in half an hour.  Perfect!  I packed them up, he picked them up, paid what I was asking, and I had an empty tank.  In less than an hour!

I drained the tank, put the filter in a bucket of water so the "good bacteria" would not die off, scrubbed the tank, painted the back & sides so the new fish would feel more secure, washed and added gravel and some caves, scrubbed the top & light fixture, and filled the tank from one of my aged water barrels.  The water I used contains tap water, Epsom salt, marine salt mix, and baking soda, a mixture I use for many of my cichlids and livebearers (my tap water is soft).  Then I added additional marine salt mix since these fish are brackish water fishes.  I left it to run for the night, and today I will acclimate the fish, and add them to their new tank.  Because the sponge filter came from an established tank, this new tank should not suffer from "new tank syndrome".  Good job, Sue.

Mission Accomplished

At last, I finally put together a puppy brochure to send out with responses to puppy inquiries, AND I contacted all the people on my puppy list and sent them a copy.  Amazing how many inquiries I had in that folder, and most responded quickly when I inquired as to whether they were still interested in a puppy.   Some of the people already had pups, several had changed their minds, a few decided to wait, one was having second thoughts as a new baby was on the way.  Just need to line up a definite home for one more Lucy puppy, then wait to see what Pauli produces.  Lots of show inquiries, but there will probably not be enough available girls for the available show homes.

Why do so many people think they only want a female pup?  That's understandable if you are a show person looking for a foundation for a breeding program, but if you just want a dog to show, or a companion or performance dog, why limit your options?  Males are generally much showier, enjoy working, are great fun to own, often stay puppyish forever, and are wonderful companions.  Given my druthers, I'd take a boy any day, preferably a Brownie Boy.

Have a good inquiry for Letty, and I need to act on it, but keep putting that off . . .   I really don't want to place her of course, but it's the sensible alternative.  I don't plan to show or breed her, and she's a wonderful dog who deserves a special home.  My friend Sue will miss her terribly, as Sue and Letty have had a lot of fun together, going places and doing things, but she can't keep a dog in her apartment, and I can't keep an extra dog.   That is a problem living in the city, it limits my options - but it does keep me from "collecting" dogs. 

I don't believe a person should keep more dogs than they can give individual attention to.  (Oops, bad sentence structure, but it's MY blog!)  It's more than just feeding, bathing and exercising a dog.  Dogs need individual companionship and attention too, the proverbial "quality time".  They thrive on that.  Too many show people keep too many dogs.  If a dog is not being kept to show or breed, it probably needs a home of it's own, where it can be a special dog, not just one of the dogs.  BUT if I were not a city person, I'd probably keep Letty anyway, just because she's such a cool dog!

Blog Maintenance

As you've probably noticed, my blog loads very slowly.  I presume that's because of all the pictures it contains.  Although only a fraction of the posts load at one time, it seems as if all the pictures along the left side of the blog load when the blog comes up.  Can't think of anything else that would bog it down so much.  Blogspot keeps changing, and I have not kept up with it, so everything takes a long time to figure out or accomplish.  Time, that's always the issue.  Taking the time to sit down and work through something.

Last night I was supposed to finish a puppy flyer, but instead I spent an hour taking pictures off this blog.  Amazing how many pictures I've loaded over the years.  I kept stopping to look at pictures and think about the dogs, fish, and events they portrayed.  Memories! 

Remember when we used our Instamatics and little Brownie Hawkeyes and all the little point-and-shoots that came out over the years?  And how expensive it was to take pictures, to buy the film and have the roll developed?  And how often the roll of 24 might contain only 3 or 4 good shots - if we were lucky.  Pictures were fun, but we took them sparingly, and when we came back from vacation, it cost us a ton to get the pictures developed so we could see what we had.

And now we know immediately what we have.  Everyone has a digital camera or two, and probably a cell phone camera too.  My current digital camera is my 5th, yet I still remember finding a digital camera years ago and being so disappointed when the owner showed up to claim it.  They were expensive back then.  Now you can take digital pictures for a few dollars. 

My current camera is the best one I've had, and even came with a wonderful zoom, something I always wanted on a digital camera.  And what do I do?  I take the vast majority of my pictures with my cell phone.  It's always with me, and takes great pictures.  I never print the pictures, although I do add a few to Facebook or my blog, but my pictures are always with me, rather than in an album, or a box or in my computer, and I like that.

About 100 pictures got deleted off the blog last night, and I'll remove a few more tonight.  Hopefully it loads faster now, and hopefully I get my puppy flyer finished tonight too!

 

Fish Today!

Although I normally include dogs in my Blog, my other passion is tropical fish - all kinds of tropical fish.  Some fishkeepers are content with a single tank of fish, while others of us crave LOTS of fish.  Some keep many tanks of cichlids, or livebearers, or just angelfish or swordtails.  Others of us are fish generalists - we like all kinds of fish.

One of my favorites are Desert Gobies.  Small strange looking fish who hop around the bottom of their tank, the handsome males showing off for the drab females or displaying for one another.  Their aggression is mostly for show, but displaying males are incredibly beautiful - in a strange way.   I've kept and bred them in the past, and decided that I needed them again.

Gobies are one of the largest fish families, with thousands of species living in fresh, brackish or salt water.  Many are very comical looking fish, like the Desert Gobies.  I've kept a number of different Goby species but my favorites are the Desert Gobies because they are so comical to watch and easy to keep & breed.

My Gobies will arrive today, USPS willing, and I'll pick them up at the Post Office rather than having them delivered to my home.  Just a bit easier on the fish, and I'll be able to get the acclimation process started this noon.  Fish ship well, and these are coming from an experienced dealer, so hopefully they arrive safely.  And hopefully there will be both males and females.  These will be very young fish, a bit too young to sex reliably.

Arriving with the 4 Desert Gobies will be 4 young Knight Gobies, a very handsome species that has rarely been bred in captivity.  This will be my challenge for next winter, trying to get the Knight Gobies to spawn.  The harder part will probably be keeping the tiny fry alive.

I'm also getting 3 Panda Garras.  Cute striped loach-like fish.  I currently have one of them, and he's such a neat little guy I decided to purchase more.  I originally owned 3 of these cute little rascals, but learned the hard way that they are jumpers, and quickly throw themselves out of an uncovered tank, only to dry up on the floor . . .

Puppies!

Patti has been sending me wonderful pictures of Lucy's puppies.  Not as good as seeing them in person, but it allows me to share their cuteness!  Am really looking forward to meeting them in person - sure hope one of these brownie boys is a keeper.  Am assuming the Pellas will keep the black-spotted girl who looks like Lucy, but Patti is committed to keeping the best pup, whichever one that might be.  Looks as if there may be several "best" puppies.  So far, so good.

This litter may be the most socialized ever!  They're already making car trips to visit Patti's elderly family members - baby Therapy Dogs in the making.  Patti understands the importance of doing as much as possible with these pups, to insure they have the best chance to grow up as outgoing, secure, adaptable adult companions.  This is one of the major difference between puppies raised by responsible breeders, as opposed to pups that are commercially raised in bleak surroundings.  As with children, early experiences (or lack of same) make an enormous difference.

 Patti says -

They remind me of kids, the things they most like to play with are empty water bottles and boxes!!! When we got home we changed up the puppy room, Sue suggested moving a crate into the room to get the puppies used to it. We will bring a wire crate in too so that they get used to that too. We got them little collars as well, won't have them on when we aren't with them but Grace was anxious to get them and they do make them look so grown up!

 As you can see from the pictures, the puppies did amazingly well, they loved meeting our family, snuggled right into the laps of everyone and they really brought smiles to the faces of our family on a grey, rainy day....GOOD PUPPIES!!!!

 They are just so good! We are spending time with them one on one as well, it seems three sleep and one wakes up so whomever that is plays with the big dogs....tonight Christopher was exploring the dining room and the bedroom we are building for our boys! He loves to be snuggled but also demonstrated a lot of curiosity and confidence away from his littermates.

 Captain Rex is gorgeous, eye and nose trim coming really nicely and moves like a dream, he is kind and sweet and loves to snuggle and play, he comes when you call his name and thinks puppy food is the best!!! and he poops on the paper....good, good puppy...then there is the saucy Miss Jordyn....gosh she's pretty and the first to start the play by biting someone's ears or toes, she loves the toys and was the first to try out the new tunnel and crate...definitely a leader in that girl! Then there is Magic...what a guy, he loves to hang out with Uncle Kobe and chase balls, he is spunky and funny and very, very sweet....and what a face!!!

Almost Four Weeks - Too Cute!

Don't normally post on Saturday, but this picture was just too cute!  Brownie Boy Magic & black-spotted girl Jordyn.  Patti sent pictures of each pup last night and I was very pleased with the spotting, and how cute the faces had become in the past week.  Can't wait to see them!  Had worried a bit that some of the pups would be too colorful, but all of them appear to have very nice even spotting, and the nose trim is moving quickly.

A Scare

Patti had a scare when she first  thought that all three of Lucy's liver boys had blue eyes!  Once I had explained to her how to tell the difference between actual blue eyes and the hazy bluish eyes that will turn into gold eyes, she realized there were actually no blue eyes.  Although we can show blues in the US, they are considered a serious fault in Canada, so Canadian breeders are much more concerned to have blue eyed pups in their litters.  Whew!

It hard to be responsible for placing pups that I have not seen yet!  Wish I lived closer so I could visit Lucy's litter and get to know them now - four weeks is such a great age.  I know all four are healthy and strong, are getting LOTS of socialization, appear to have lovely spotting, that all of them hear (thank goodness), and that none are patched or blue-eyed.  One boy has nose and eye trim that needs to fill in and another still needs some nose trim - typical of liver pups at this age. The black spotted girl Jordyn and one of the liver boys Magic look particularly nice.

The pups are scheduled for their BAER hearing test on 6/23 and after that will be ready to go to new homes. We had hoped to have the pups here sooner, but the 23rd was the only day we could get them in for testing.  The Pella family might as well enjoy them for a couple more weeks!  The original plan was to do their first shots and vet check when the pups came to stay with me, but now they will have to be done in Thunder Bay.

When the pups come to stay we will determine which is the pick puppy and it will go home with the Pellas as a potential show dog.  Dog showing is a family hobby for them.  The second pick puppy will belong to me, to keep or sell.  Of course I love liver boys, so it will be hard NOT to keep one, but it has to be just the right dog.  The others will be placed, either as show prospects or companions, most likely the latter.

Pauli's pups will already be about two weeks old by the time Lucy's pups arrive, so things will be really busy!   I was hoping to avoid the overlap in pups here, but Lucy came in season later than anticipated and Pauli was right on schedule.  It should be a busy summer here!

 

Happy Birthday Watson

Happy Birthday to my little Watty Boy.  Watson is twelve years old today - where does time go?  It seems like only yesterday that he arrived, the day before I lost his great grandfather Rob.  It was as if Rob's spirit passed directly to Watson, who has the same wonderful disposition, totally trustworthy personality, and like Rob is always the perfect gentleman.  And like Rob, Watson was never happier than when he was surrounded by kids.

"My little elf" did well in the show ring, ranking in the Top 10, winning a number of Groups including back-to-back Group Ones, and an Award of Merit at DCA.  He sired a few litters and has champion offspring, including his daughter "Carina" who has 21 titles including Champion Tracker (very hard to obtain).  His grandkids include the famous Daisy, one of the top Dals a few years ago, and her brother Corey who has even more titles than Carina.

Watson just had his yearly physical and bloodwork, and everything checked out well.  His hearing and vision are still perfect, no cataracts, no heart murmur, no arthritis.  He's slowed down a bit, but has always been a laidback sort of guy, except when squirrels, rabbits, or the neighbor's fence fighting terrier are involved.

We'll celebrate today with a visit to PetCo, and a round of cheeseburgers for all, followed by ice cream.  Happy Birthday, Watty Boy!

A Home For Letty

Letty leading the pack

Although I decided several months ago that I would not show Letty and would place her as a companion, I haven't actually done anything to speed up the process.  Part of me (the sentimental part) wants to keep Letty because we really enjoy her and because she is an excellent "fit" for my home, but the other part (the practical part) keeps reminding me that we do not need another pet.  Coral, Watson, and Josie are retired show dogs and beloved pets, and Argus is semi-retired as well.  I want/need a young dog, but it has to be a dog I can show and eventually breed, and because Lucy has pups (one belongs to me) and Pauli has a litter due in June, perhaps the right pup to keep will make an appearance this summer.

Letty is a wonderful dog.  Smart as can be, an excellent house dog and companion, fun to take places, and lovely to look at.  If she did not carry her tail so high she'd also be a good show dog, but that's not going to happen, and because these funky high tails are genetic in nature I won't breed her either.  Tails may seem like a minor issue, but bad tails are a problem in the breed and one I am very tired of looking at.  They change the whole outline of the dog and are common because we either make excuses for them (they don't move on their tails) or we just ignore them.  I knew from the age of 4 weeks that Letty's tail might be an issue, and it is.  Although her jaunty tail goes well with her cocky attitude, it's not correct.  She's definitely "showable", but not what I consider show quality.  Ah, another topic for my blog - the difference between showable and show quality.

To insure that Letty would make a good adjustment to being a companion and only dog, I asked a friend of ours to take Letty walking, and to expose her to new places and situation.  Letty has visited shopping centers, pet stores, private homes, state parks and dog parks, met a variety of people and played with many new dogs.  Sue has done a terrific job with her and Letty is thriving with the extra attention.  Sue will really miss Letty when she goes to a new home, but lives in an apartment where she can't keep a dog.

I'm currently discussing Letty with a home that might work out.  We'll see how the interview goes.  It has to be a special home for Miss Letty, who is a very special dog.  Part of me wants this home to be the right one, while another part of me hopes it's not so I don't have to make the decision quite yet, so we'll just see how this goes.

If YOU might have that Special home for my Letty, don't hesitate to contact me.

Back To Puppies

Now that the dust has settled so to speak, it's time to start thinking about puppies and puppy placements.  Lucy's pups are thriving, Patti is quite sure that they all hear, and they have an appointment (down here) for their BAER hearing testing on June 23rd. All responsible breeders BAER test their pups, if only to confirm with they already know.  Then the pups will be ready for new homes.  Time to start going through my puppy list!

Because the puppies do not live with me (they are in Thunder Bay), I won't actually know if any are show prospects until I see and evaluate them.  The Pellas will presumably keep the pick puppy, but I think they are hoping Jordyn, the only girl is the pick - while trying to stay objective.  Patti actually thinks Magic, one of the boys is probably the pick pup, so we'll see how this all plays out!  I'd like them to keep the best puppy, but as long as the pup they keep is show potential, they will be OK.  Dog shows are a family affair for them, with daughter Grace doing the handling at Canadian shows.

Second pick belongs to me, but unless it's a top show prospect I will probably sell my puppy.  Maybe.  I LOVE Brownie Boys and am ready for a puppy.  I have Pauli's pups to look forward to, but may not even get any brownies in that litter (we don't know if sire Louie is liver factored).

So as of now we probably have three liver boys available.  Our livers are normally dark chocolate brown, sometimes with a coppery hue.  Just gorgeous!  Some puppy buyers think they only want a black-spotted pup - until they see one of our liver pups, or meet the liver adults.  Coral, Josie, Argus & Letty are all livers, Watson is the only black-spotted Dal living here.

There was a time when livers were sort of "second class citizens", but not anymore!  Again this year at the National, Best of Breed, Best of Winners, & Best of Opposite Sex were ALL brownies, as they were the year Argus won Best of Breed.  "Meribel" pictured on the right was the Best Of Winners.

It's time for me to see who is ready for a puppy in June, and who wants to wait until August for a Pauli puppy.

Back To Normal

Guess that actually depends on your definition of "normal", but it's a bit more normal than it was when we had Pauli and Amery bunking in, and a lot more peaceful than it will be in a couple of weeks when we share the house with puppies! 

Pauli went home on Friday, when I met Wendy & Kathleen for lunch so we could discuss our plans for her (and of course DCA week and Pauli's wonderful win).  It was a good thing that DCA was not held a few days later, since Pauli actually started looking pregnant by the next day!  Pups due in 4 weeks, so Pauli will be back here about a week before her expected due date.  In the meantime, Wendy & Kathleen will feed and exercise her properly - and I'm sure we'll see lots of them after the babies arrive!

Amery flew back to Virginia on Sunday.  She came home with me after DCA, got her health certificate for shipping on Friday, and flew off on United airlines yesterday.  Our friend Kandee was on the same flight, so she collected Amery and Laurie will pick her up this morning.  Only one minor glitch, when Amery was not available with the luggage as we were told she would be, and Kandee had to find United Cargo at the Dulles airport.  I really don't care for shipping dogs and am always so glad when it is over.

On Saturday I added some new pets!  Ah, just what I needed, but these are actually pretty easy to care for.  Argus went along with me to pick up veggies at Mississippi Market, and I took him for an off leash run in the open area behind the market.  I've been there before, but never realized there was a pond on the far side, and it brought back so many childhood memories of dabbling in ponds.  Argus was most annoyed that I wouldn't let him swim in the pond, but I was delighted to find that it was full of tadpoles.  Watching tadpoles turn into frogs or toads is such fun, so I went back later in the day armed with nets and a large jug, and caught myself some new pets.  Fun!

Always hard to plan "events" for my mother, but my sister hit it out of the park yesterday when she suggested a picnic on my deck.  Kris picked mom up and took her home (because I had to work around getting Amery to the airport) and supplied the most fabulous locally-made brats.  They even passed the "eat it cold" test.  I can't ever recall having such nice weather for Mother's Day, absolutely perfect.

After getting Amery checked in at the airport, I took Argus to Hidden Falls Park for a run.  Oops.  About 9 million people there, and they were practically shoulder to shoulder along the rocky beach.  Argus had to stay on leash, but got to wade around in the boat launch area.  Later we found a bit of rocky secluded beach where he could be off leash for a few minutes.  Guess we'll stick to early morning visits to Hidden Falls, but glad to see so many families enjoying the day.  

I was very proud of Argus as we walked through the picnic area.  As we passed a large family group, Argus was tackled by a boy of about 3 - he literally tried to jump on Argus's back and grab him around the neck.  Argus yelped but did nothing more than that - a situation where a dog could have turned and snapped.  The kid's family all laughed and did not take me seriously when I explained that this is the kind of situation where kids get bit and dogs get blamed for reacting like dogs.  Good dog Argus!  Two weeks ago a jogger ran into him when coming up behind us.  Again Argus startled but reacted properly.  A dog's life is not always easy!

Want You To Love Me Like My Dog Does

This little video was shown at the DCA Awards Banquet.  Enjoy!

"Want You To Love Me Like My Dog Does"

A Pretty Amazing National

Meribel and her "loot".

Whew!  My head is still spinning and my feet aren't quite back on the ground yet.  All the preparation & planning certainly paid off!  My weekend will be spent playing catchup on laundry, housecleaning, dog walking, email, cleaning out the car, putting things away, dropping off Pauli, shipping Amery home, working in the yard, doing Mothers Day with my mom, and MAYBE catching up on sleep!

We've got a full house in Paisleyland, with Pauli & Amery with us temporarily, but fortunately the dogs all get along just fine.  Only glitch is that Amery & Meribel rode home from DCA together, and because Meribel came in season the first day of the trip, Argus is convinced that the interesting smell means that Amery is "the one".  Stupid boy.  He needs to run his legs off at the Dog Park this weekend!  All the dogs need out time after a week of traveling and motel rooms.

The week started off a bit slow in Sweeps and Futurity as Meribel was too excited to show perfectly, and Amery was so distracted by everything.  Wish they had gone to DCA with a bit more show ring experience, but they were brave and friendly (too friendly?), and Amery did manage to place in the super tough 9-12 month class.  Brother Ellsworth placed in Sweepstakes.

Argus had won the Stud Dog Class the previous three years, and this year's entry was large (12) and very competitive.  I did a lot of thinking about which two Argus kids to take in there with him, and finally decided that "Oliver" would look just right with Pauli & Argus.  Stud Dog Class entries consist of the dog and two of his best offspring, two that look similar to one another and to their sire.  There were quite a few Argus kids entered, but Oliver is a black spotted boy who looks the part.  Oliver is one of my very favorite Argus kids, an incredibly handsome boy who looks & acts so very much like his dad.  Oliver broke his leg as a puppy, but with a lot of time, money & rehab work, has come back beautifully and needs just a single point to finish his championship.  It paid off, as Argus won the class for the 4th consecutive year!  What a thrill!

Jess and Meribel had a serious "discussion" about her ring manners (way too silly) and really got it together before the regular class judging.  She won the 9-12 Class, defeating the gorgeous girl who had won both Sweeps and Futurity, and went on to Winners Bitch, showing perfectly.  Meribel and Jess looked sensational in the ring, with excellent stacks, wonderful free baiting, and lovely gaiting.  Meribel's 2nd 5-point Specialty major, and the National is SUCH a special win.

Pauli was bred 4 weeks before DCA, so we were not sure how well she would show.  Although she did not yet look pregnant, when I palpated her there was no doubt that she was pregnant.  Pauli had gone in Stud Dog with Argus, and perhaps that was the reason she was a little "flat" for the Top Twenty that evening.  She showed fine, but not with her usual enthusiasm.   A good night's rest made all the difference though, and she showed very well in Specials the next day. 

Jess showed Pauli in Specials, I showed Argus, and our friend Jen took Meribel back in to compete for Best Of Winners and did a fabulous job with her.  I had been hoping for a 4th Award of Merit for Argus (he was Best Of Breed at DCA several years ago, and Award of Merit the next 3 years, and he made it through the first two cuts, but not the final one.  He showed well enough to go all the way, but with 86 beautiful champion dogs to compete against, the odds are tough ones!  However, the final cut included Pauli, as well as her litter brother Krash.  Krash is owner-handled and is the first show dog for his owner Jordan.  When dust had finally settled, there was Krash as Best Of Breed, Pauli as Best Of Opposite Sex and Meribel as Best of Winners!  Wow!  Needless to say I was delighted to have Argie kids go BoB, BoS & and grandkid go BoW.    Cheeseburgers for all!  What a thrill!

All three dogs are livers, of course.  A good year for livers, just as it was the year Argus won the National, with the BoS & BoW also being liver.  Go Brownies!

And We're Off!

In about 10 minutes that is.  Master Packer Jess is putting the final touches on the car.  Will there be room for everything?  See you next week, unless I find a computer somewhere so I can add an update.

Dalmatian Club Of America here we come!

And The Countdown Begins

By this time tomorrow we will be just a few hours from departure.  IF I get everything done that needs to be done before I can leave!  And IF I can get everything in the car!

• Two women
• Four dogs
• Four wire crates (one collapsed with the two youngsters riding together)
• Two large suitcases
• Two packed garment bags
• Two soft crates - folded down.
• A large cooler full of frozen food for three of the dogs
• A bag of Pro Plan kibble for Pauli
• 4 water jugs
• The Toy Bag - motel room toys
• A large sun tarp and magnets (to keep the car cooler when parked)
• People food
• Dog supply bag
• Dog tack bag
• Jackets and raincoats
• Sheets (to put over the motel room beds) and towels (dog towels)
• An assortment of smaller items

OK, what am I forgetting???

Too Much To Do

How will I get everything finished in time to leave in two days?  It's going to be a madhouse around here!  If I were not working for the next two days it might be manageable, but things are way too busy to take any additional time.  Hope I can avoid getting impatient and snarly!

Car to pack, clothes to pack, dog supplies to pack, dog food to prepare, freeze and pack, fish care lists to prepare, dogs to bathe, nails to cut, and Argus & Pauli still need their long walks in the evening. What to wear for Top Twenty event - still undecided - go shopping?  When?  Clothes to drop off and pick up at cleaners, snacks to buy and pack, laundry to do.  How many pairs of shoes will I take?  You can never have too many shoes!  Shall I iron anything before I pack?  Hardly worth it.  Do I have time for dinner with my mother tonight, or maybe lunch tomorrow?  And a haircut appointment to keep - some scraggly ends from the new perm.

I've done water changes on all of the aquariums  (somewhere between 35 and 40 with fish in them).  Now to decide which fish can go unfed for a week, and which ones need to be fed daily, or just a couple of times while I am gone.  Flake?  Algae wafers?  Need to label all the tanks for Ron and make it easy and understandable. And warn him again that it is better to not feed than to overfeed.  Hah!

To Do Lists for Ron, but will he do them?  Probably not the way I would, but everything will probably survive my absence - things do tend to work out.  Will Ron and Mom stay healthy?  And Coral?   Will Sue continue to walk Letty every day so Ron can just deal with the old dogs?  Old guy, old dogs.  Works good.

Time to get ready for work.  No going in late and using up vacation time.  I've got plenty, but using 6 days for DCA, and with puppies coming in June I need to start being careful. 

Wonder if I will have a chance to post to my blog while I'm gone?  I could do it on my phone, but that's way too time consuming.  Those tiny little imaginary keys are such a pain!

Time for more coffee!

Paul's Back!

Pauli arrived with Jess yesterday noon, and was swapped for Amery.  Musical Dogs continues!  Amery was here so that she and I could bond, since I will be showing her at the National.  Amery is back with Jess & Don this week so that Jess can put the final touches on her show training, and so Don can enjoy her for awhile before she goes back to Laurie in Virginia after the National.  Pauli is going along to the National too, and will hopefully be having a litter here this summer, but she normally lives with Wendy.

I raised Pauli, and Jess finished her championship, but then she moved to Wendy's house to continue her show career.  Pauli is a multiple Group winner, an all breed Best In Show Winner, and placed in the Top 10 Dals for a couple of years.  She's 4 years old now and it's time for her to have her first litter.  After a year of considering dozens (hundreds?) of dogs, we finally decided on Louie - who had actually been one of our first choices!  Puppies due in June.

Pauli is high energy, very outgoing and super friendly.  She gets along with all dogs, all people, and is very fond of children.  Louie is a mild mannered, sweet tempered, gentle dog, very much the gentleman.  It will be interesting to see who the pups take after in personality. Probably a mixture of personalities and activity levels, as is typical of Dalmatian litters.  It's my job as a breeder to identify the various personalities, and evaluate each pup's potential, and to place them in the appropriate homes.  Some as show prospects, perhaps some to performance homes, and some to live simply as beloved companions - although most show and performance dogs are also companions when they are not performing!

Pauli playing submissive for Letty, who really just wants to play.  Pauli flung herself on her back for each of the other dogs, wiggled and squirmed and kissed their faces, placating and submissive behavior appropriate for dogs who are coming into "territory" occupied by other dogs, and very wolf-like behavior.  Everyone here said, "Whatever" and accepted her immediately, even though Pauli has been gone for several years.  I was so proud of all the dogs and love the fact that they have such terrific "social skills" when dealing with other dogs.

Blogger is having formatting problems again this morning.  Aggravating.

Mission Accomplished

A very nice weekend with daughter Jess, Argus and Argie's granddaughters Merible & Amery.  Weather was crappy but could have been worse, and it only rained Friday night, just cool and gray otherwise.  Show facility was a fairgrounds building, and OK other than being dark and rather cold (an unheated building on concrete).  Motel was outstanding - a Super 8 that actually wanted dog show folks, which is always nice.  Great room with lots of grass for dog walking, and a better than average breakfast that included eggs and sausage.

Amery & I won both days and I think we both learned a lot.  It was her first show weekend, and my first weekend working with her other than one night at dog class - which is always MUCH different than a real show.  Jess selected that weekend for the girls because both judges are extremely nice to dogs (and exhibitors) and we wanted this to be a positive first experience for Amery.  Both judges were terrific with the pups, gave us time to get them stacked, thorough but gentle exams and plenty of gaiting experience.  Meribel was a bit scatty on Saturday but showed exceptionally well on Sunday, much like she did when winning her 5-point Specialty major in March.   Amery stacked well on Saturday, and gaited "well enough", but on Sunday gaited much better.  She was a little scatty on the stacking but her circuits were a bit overloaded as there was a big crowd of dogs at the ring entrance.  Not at all afraid though, just kind of overwhelmed.  Both girls wagged at the judges both days, used their ears, and Meribel got in a kiss or two on Sunday.  Good dogs!  On to DCA.

Lucy and pups seem to be doing well.  The picture is a bit out of focus, but you can see how much the pups have grown!  Patti says they have doubled their weight in the first week.  Two liver boys, one black boy, one black girl.  Trim is coming in fast.  Next hurdle will be hearing.  Pups start to hear at around two weeks of age, but well bred pups are BAER tested (Brainstem evoked auditory response) at 6 - 8 weeks of age.  Patti will probably know their hearing status by 4 or 5 weeks of age (maybe earlier) but the pups will come down here for testing and evaluation. 

So much to get done this week before we can leave for DCA!  At least the car is washed and vacuumed.  Crates get scrubbed tonight, and then I'll start packing.  We don't leave under Friday, but I'll be planning and packing all week - and I will STILL forget important items!

Stop Poisoning Us!

Some angry letters or phone calls scheduled for today!

 

When I took Amery for her walk last night, we went over to St. Catherine's College as a special treat.  They have a large grassy campus with trees and a pond, which is a nice change of pace for the dogs.  My part of the city has no parks for walking, so many people walk on the various college campuses - we have 3 large ones within a mile or two.   Although we can walk along the river, I don't care to do that in the evening.  Yes, I had Amery on leash and carried clean up bags. 

 

I ALWAYS watch for lawn spray signs when walking dogs in the city and have noticed a lot of yard signs recently, so I know "they" are busy poisoning the environment. No signs in the normal places at St. Kate's, but a very very faint chemical smell. Was it my imagination?   I checked again, but no signs by either of the gates, where they are normally posted.  Kids play in the center area of the campus, so that's the logical place to post them.

 

I kept watching for signs, just in case, but none near the pond either.  That's a popular place for families who come to watch and feed the ducks, or admire the egrets and blue heron.  Walked through the woods and out the other side and THERE was a single sign, in a place where no one would have seen it unless they were watching for it and had already hiked across the campus.   The whole center area, where kids play, and people walk their dogs was unposted. Another dog walker and I saw it at the same time and were both extremely angry. 

 

We raced over to the driveway and got out of there quickly, and Amery got a complete bath when we got home. UGH!

I HATE the wholesale use of chemicals on lawns and I thought it was the law that these companies had to post when they spray!

All Is Well

Lucy and pups are doing well in Thunder Bay.  Looks as if the litter consists of one black girl, one black boy, and two liver boys.  Since Lucy is a liver factored black, and Indie is a liver, and because liver is a simple recessive, those results are what you would expect (though it doesn't always work out quite so evenly).  Now, if we could change one of the liver boys to a girl everything would be perfectly balanced! Because Lucy's family wants to keep a male to show, this works out well as there are more for them to pick from.  It will be interesting to see if the whole family can agree on just one puppy!

Amery and I went to handling class on Tuesday, to get ready for the shows this weekend and the National the following.  She was a very good girl and worked quite well for me.  It's easy to tell that Laurie did a good job of raising her, and Amery's easy going personality makes her very nice to work with.  Wish this one lived at MY house, but after the National she will go back home with Laurie until we are ready to show her again.

Certainly sounds as if Pauli is pregnant, so everyone who was waiting for a puppy (and was disappointed that Lucy did not have more pups) will have a second chance.  Normally energetic Pauli has already slowed down, and Jess says she is perfectly content to spend most of her time sleeping on a corner of the sofa.  Pauli will be with me next week, while Amery goes back to Jess for a few days before we leave for the National.  Musical dogs again!   After the National Pauli will go back home to Wendy for awhile, but will be back here a few weeks later as her pups will be born at my house.

Oops!

As is often the case, a recheck of the pups showed that one of the boys was actually a girl.  Hooray!  3 boys and 1 girl, color still pending.   Pups and Lucy are doing well.  I sent Patti an article on "early neurological stimulation" which is actually just some handling suggestions that helps to insure the pups reach their maximum potential.  Early handling can make a lot of difference.

So much to get done before we leave for the National in 10 days.  How can it be that close?  This coming weekend includes a dog show trip for the girls, with Argus riding along to supervise.  We want Amery to do a dog show trip and get into the showring a couple of times before the National.  We also need to be sure the girls can concentrate when they are in the ring together!  This should be interesting.  Amery and I will go to handling class tonight, for a bit of pre-show practice.  She's stacking for me, but we need some practice on exams and gaiting on a mat.

Good News, Bad News

Lucy had her puppies on Sunday, a couple of days earlier than expected, but everything was ready for the whelping.  She did a good job and Patti was there to keep an eye on things.  We never let our girls whelp unattended.  Lucy gave them a scare at the end when things stopped happening, and she was actually at the Vets being prepped for a Cesarean when the last puppy was born naturally.  Having had several pups born in the car on the way to the Vets, I know exactly what that's like.  Lucy herself was the last puppy in the litter she was from and a Cesarean was necessary to save her life - she was actually born dead, but the Vet's knowledge of acupuncture points stimulated respiration when nothing else would work.

Everyone who was hoping for a female pup will have to wait a bit longer as Lucy's four pups are all boys.  Sorry.  Her family wants to keep a boy so that works out fine for them, and with four to pick from there should be nice one for them.  No patches, and hopefully these boys will all hear. There are several people on my list who have been waiting for a black spotted show prospect female for a couple of years, so this is a disappointment for them.  There was one female pup, the second puppy born, who did not survive.  Very sad. 

We always tell new folks that you have to be tough to be a serious breeder.  This is not a hobby for the faint of heart, as there is way too much that can go wrong.  It was a pretty stressful day for Lucy's family, but Lucy is fine and the four boys are strong and healthy, so now the fun begins!

Guess it's a good thing we bred Pauli, if I want to keep a girl to show next year!  Hopefully she is pregnant, produces a larger litter, and has some girls!

Letty started her new exercise plan, daily walks with a friend of ours who is dogless (lives in an apartment with cats) and really enjoys walking and socializing dogs.  Letty is so bonded to me that I decided she needs to get really attached to someone else before I place her.  It will make the adjustment to a new home and a new person much easier for her.  She greeted Sue with enthusiasm and a wagging tail, so has come a long ways from the reserved puppy that she once was.  Unfortunately that wagging tail is still carried way too high for my taste, and a show career is not in her future.  Such a shame, as she is just gorgeous otherwise.  Exactly what I wanted.  Oh well, she'll be a beautiful pet for someone when the right home comes along, and I'll keep waiting for that perfect puppy who will become the next permanent resident.

Showing Amery

"Amery" is spending the week with us, and has fit in nicely.  She's one of the Cruise/Penny pups from the litter Jess, Laurie & I co-bred last summer.  It was the first litter my daughter Jess has raised on her own (although she helped with my pups for almost 40 years!), and it was a very successful one.

Two of the pups have been shown so far, Meribel (Jess's pup) who has a 5 point Specialty major, and Ellsworth (lives in Texas) who has 8 points and a major.  Amery has not yet been shown, but is getting ready for the National.  A third sister Gemma will also be shown later.

Mom Penny won the Futurity when she went to the National as a puppy, and I personally think that Amery is even better, but such a win requires everything to fall into place and the puppy to show really well.  Penny was quite experienced when she went to the National, and had already been to several specialty show weekends.  Amery goes to her first dog show next week, and it's just a small one.  We're doing it just for practice, so she knows what to expect, and so we know what to expect from her.  Jess will be showing Meribel in the Puppy Class at DCA, and Amery will be entered in Bred By Exhibitor class.  They will both be in the same Sweeps and Futurity classes though, so I'll show Amery there.  I haven't shown a dog in the classes since Argus was a pup.  Hope I don't screw her up!

Are Dalmatians Good With Kids?

Oliver meeting kids

We get this question a lot, and it's an important one.  The answer is generally yes, but it depends on three things.  The dog's basic disposition, how it is socialized as a puppy, and how it is raised by it's new owners.

There is a lot of variation in temperaments in this breed.  Like dark eyes, nice spotting, and correct gait, good temperament is something that should be bred for.  Although you can modify a defective temperament, you can't really change it.  By the same token, a dog with a basically good disposition still needs to be properly socialized and trained.  A responsible breeder matches the pups to the homes to be sure that a puppy going as a family companion has the appropriate disposition.

Responsible breeders take the time to introduce their puppies to small children from an early age.  We like to play "pass the puppy", with kids sitting in a circle on the floor and the pups being passed from one child to the next, with a hug for each puppy.  This can be done from an early age and is a great place to start. Children look, sound, and smell different than adults.  They move faster and have higher pitched voices.   A dog (of any breed) who is not exposed to kids from a young age is often intimidated by them and may act defensively.  The more children the puppies are exposed to, the better, and this should continue until all pups are placed.

When the pups go to their new homes this exposure must continue.  Even if the puppy buyer does not have children, they are part of every dog's world.  Nieces & nephews, grandkids, the kids next door.  All dogs should be comfortable with children.  New owners who plan to have a family must be especially careful to expose their dogs to children - friendly well behaved children.  It's also important to raise a puppy to be a dog, not a furry child.  Dogs treated as kids are much more likely to be jealous of a new baby.

It's important that all puppy-kid situations are carefully supervised.  Kids can be rough and puppies can be hurt or scared.  A small puppy who has a bad experience with children may always be uncomfortable around them.

Dals got a bad rap during the Disney Days of the 80s and 90s.  Dals were too popular, many were bred from substandard stock in puppy mills where they received NO socialization of any kind, and people bought the dogs "for the kids".  The under-socialized pups often went to homes where they received no socialization, no training, and very little exercise, and there was no supervision of any kind.  A recipe for disaster.

We Are NOT All The Same!

There was an article in our paper last night about a woman referred to as a "dog breeder" who has been charged with animal cruelty for an assortment of horrific incidents.  Although she is referred to as a breeder, she is not "one of us" but rather "one of them".  You could refer to all of us as "breeders", but we are NOT all the same.

The woman who was arrested is a commercial breeder and her dogs are a "product".  She raises many popular breeds and she breeds them simply for money.  She is not a dog lover, and her breeding animals are not pets, companions, or show dogs.  They are unfortunate animals, often very poor examples of their breed, who live in sub-standard conditions as they produce litter after litter, until their usefulness ends.  Then they are destroyed.  Her puppies are raised as inexpensively as possible, and given the least amount of care and attention she can get by with.  We've all seen the pictures of puppymill dogs living in horrible conditions, or read of the dogs who are rescued from "those places".

Rather than being referred to as "breeders", these people should simply be called "animal producers".  Their puppies are a cash crop, no more than that.  There are many versions of animal producers, some of them taking better care of their stock, while others are even worse.  The common denominator is that these animals are simply a product, raised for market, to be sold to uneducated buyers who don't take the time to educate themselves about the differences.

Responsible breeders "us" are not all created equal, but the common denominator is that we love our dogs and raise our chosen breed because we are trying to produce ever better dogs.  Better looking, healthier, more trainable, possibly smarter, with better dispositions.  Quality dogs bred to a standard with the ultimate goal being the best possible representatives of their breed.  If we are fortunate, some will be show dogs, or at least "show potential",  others will perhaps go to performance homes to pursue careers in agility, obedience competition, herding, tracking, coursing or any of the many things we can do with dogs.  The majority of these puppies will go to homes as companions, but these pups will be raised with the same care as their littermates.

Pups from responsible breeders come from top quality parents - healthy, good tempered, good looking representatives of their breed.  Most (but not all) will be champions, but champion show dogs don't automatically produce show dog offspring.  Each breeding is done with the idea of producing pups that have even more potential than their quality parents, but most pups will just be good looking representatives of their breed.

Responsible breeders take advantage of the available health testing - it reduces the chance of producing pups with health issues.  It gives us more tools to produce ever better dogs.   As in all animals, many things can be inherited, including health and temperament issues.  We can't guarantee that our pups will not inherit any health issues, but we can test for many of them now and reduce their incidence.  An NO, mixed breed dogs are NOT healthier.  Many health issues in dogs occur in all breeds, and mixed breed dogs (or Designer Dogs) can inherit them from both parents even if they are different breeds - and you'd better believe that the producers are these animals are NOT testing - they are animal producers, not breeders.

Out of time and I did not even get a chance to address socialization and temperament, perhaps the most important of all.  Maybe tomorrow.