No Changes Here

It often seems that a day or two after a new litter is announced, there is a follow up posting that says, "Oops, we were wrong."  After the excitement dies down, the whelping box is cleaned up and and the breeder starts to handle the pups, it becomes obvious that the count was off on how many pups of each sex, and whether or not those pups were black or liver.  Sometimes the assessment of color goes on for several weeks if the pups don't have enough nose trim for judging color, or if the liver noses are so dark as to appear black in low light situations.

After I bathed Pauli and changed the whelping box carpet, I took another look just to be sure I was right.  All pups STILL appear to be black (and the nose trim is filling in quickly) and there are still 3 boys and 3 girls.  Am sorry there are no liver boys, but that will keep me from being tempted, when it's really a girl pup I need to keep.

Puppies!

The PaLouies (Pauli/Louie Pups) are here. NOT an uneventful whelping as it included stillborns, cords cut too short, and a nighttime visit to see Dr. Jim who had to extract a very dead puppy lodged crosswise (actually transverse, he called it). Jim worked an hour to get that puppy out and save me a Cesarean. (Pauli was fabulous, and even gave him a few kisses during the process.) The pup trapped behind it was whelped naturally at home an hour later.
 
So we have 6 puppies, all blacks, 3 boys (1 patched) & 3 girls. Medium-sized pups born several days earlier than anticipated, all nursing strongly, with open marked bodies and ears, clean faces, and lots of trim on most.  We can see some of the body spotting when the pups are still wet, and we can tell color by the nose color (livers always have brown noses).

Although I love raising puppies, I do NOT enjoy whelpings as so much can go wrong and it can be emotionally exhausting.  Pauli is doing just fine, I am totally wiped out.  I'll take a quick shower and head into work for a few hours, then come home and collapse.  Ron is on Puppy Watch today, to be sure that everything continues to go well.

So now we have healthy pups.  Dewclaws will be removed on Monday and the pups will get their first check ups.  Then we just handle them daily, make sure everyone is gaining normally, and keep things neat and tidy.  Pauli will do most of the work at first.  Starting at 14 days I'll be home-testing for hearing, and by 21 days (often by 17-18 days) I will know if we have any deaf pups (please keep your fingers crossed that everyone hears).   Then we start watching for show potential pups.  Hopefully we'll have a few, but you never know as so many things have to be just right.  The only pup I know can be promised to a pet home is the ear patched boy - we can't show patches.  I'll be touching base with the people on my list this weekend and letting them know who might get a puppy, but it's all a waiting game now. 

Letty Settles In

Letty seems to be doing well in her new home, learning their routine and teaching them hers.  This is promising, but taking on a young dog is a serious decision, and I sent Letty "on approval" to make sure that everyone is happy.  One of the cats is obviously not, but he may never be happy about a new dog, whether it is Letty or any other dog.

Skip writes -
What a wonderful young Dal. All that energy and an incredibly active  mind and yet an underlying sweetness.

I have forgotten what it is like having a puppy around, actually not much different than a room full of seventh graders. One is always aware of energy going off in a direction you don't expect.

We have had a couple of long walks each day. We met a young couple down by Lake Hiawatha with a Corgi mixed with something exotic about  Letty's size. Both dogs wrestled while we talked and it was funny to
untangle leashes every couple of minutes.so they could continue. Both dogs were pretty tired after about twenty minutes. We never did get  to the romp with the Jack Russell, but I expect that may take place  tomorrow. Letty was pretty tired after this morning's walk and spent  this afternoon asleep on my lap as I was engrossed in a book.

You saw the pictures of her interaction with grand-daughter Laura, but you missed the sound of giggle from an infant as her nose was being licked. Letty was so gentle.

What we are working on the hardest right now is making the big rag- doll male cat, that is so frightened of everything deal with Letty. I think we will try putting Letty in the sleeping crate in the front bed room and make Fritz the cat be there for short times to start with and hopefully get slowly used to the idea of existing together. 

Letty has really started to bond with everyone that lives here or comes and goes in the house. Even our son (who has never really been close to any of our dogs) has come by bearing dog toy purchases and  has really interacted with her. The person she has really bonded to is Lucinda. Letty really doesn't like to have her out of her sight.  But it seems as though Letty has bonded mostly to females her whole life. Anne and I tease Lucinda that I am going to have to get my own Dalmatian! I am thoroughly enjoying the whole experience.
Sounds like exactly the kind of home I wanted for Letty, doesn't it?

Retirement Seminar

I'll spend the next two days at a retirement seminar for people who hope to retire within the next five years.  The word here is "hope" of course, but it makes the possibility seem more real.

Tomorrow, and update on Letty.

Musing

One of the many fun things about "being in dogs" is all the interesting people you meet, people who you would normally never meet.  Going to the National every year is rather like going to a reunion, a chance to get together with people you rarely see otherwise.  People you might email back and forth with, or who might be Facebook friends, but people you would never actually be able to get together with.  Many of my puppy buyers also stay in touch with me, and some of them have become good friends.  Unfortunately, Minnesota is not really a "destination" for most people, but some pass through on their way to other places and take the time to drop in for an hour or a day. 

Last Saturday we had company on their way from NJ to California, doing a month long vacation.  (Ah, to be retired and able to do that!)  John & Loretta own a silly 6-year old Dal girl, a daughter of our silly 9-year old Josie.  We tried to take pictures of the two together, but Cheyenne was more interested in rolling on the grass than sitting nicely for a picture!  Loretta always sends Josie something at Christmas, and this time brought along a Wubba Kong which Argus and Josie are really enjoying.

This is the week to get some work done on the house, before Pauli's puppies arrive.  The ceiling fan in the family room is making ugly noises - I guess they don't last forever, and that one has been running since we added the addition about 25 years ago.  (Although we refer to that as the "new" part of the house, it's merely younger than the 100 year old part of the house!)  We found a company called "My Husband Is Amazing" and they do great work on project like this that will also include fixing the light switch.  The employees are musicians, who do handyman work on the side, and have given us excellent service. 

Our gutters also need cleaning, and because this is a TALL 2-story house, it is not a home handyman job.  We need some patching done too, although the gutters are actually in pretty good shape otherwise.  My father paid to have gutter, soffit, and fascia installed on this house the summer David & I purchased it, almost 40 years ago.  40 years in July, the month before Jess was born.  Guess the gutters have given us good service too, and we'll use the same company we've been satisfied with in the past.

Pauli has settled in well, but I don't think she will have a huge litter.  Although she's hanging very low and everyone is guessing lots of pups, she's not very wide, not a lot wider than usual.  I don't normally do it, but she'll go in for an x-ray this weekend.  Just in case she runs into difficulties, I want to be sure we can get her into that clinic, rather than having to go to an emergency clinic.  I use two different vet clinics, one for the day to day stuff, and one for reproductive work and more complex issues.  Pauli has never been to the latter clinic and I want to be sure she has a record there.  Because my first Dal died during a botched Caesarean, I always get nervy before a litter is due.  Although I love raising pups, I do not like whelping pups.

Question for the day - why do stud dogs always seem to become "better" after they are dead?  I'm always amazed how many people will use frozen semen from dogs they probably would not have bred to when they were alive, and why they never take the time to ask the right questions first.    A dog that was used at stud in the past has a "record" (of more than just his show wins) and there is information available about both the good and bad things they produced.  Oh well.   

A Rough Day In Paisleyland

Saturday was rough day in Paisleyland, as Letty interviewed for her new home.  Letty picked me as a tiny baby, and I kept her knowing that her tail might be a problem - but I HOPED it would be OK by the time she was old enough to show. Our experience has been that tails that come up as early as 4 weeks do NOT get better, while tails that come up at about 6 weeks often do. This was confirmed yet again, as Letty's ended up way too high for the show ring. That's not to say that exhibitors don't show dogs with tails like hers or get them "fixed", it's just that I don't. Otherwise she was a perfect fit for my household, smart as well as beautiful, and fun to be around. It was tempting to just keep her, but I always knew that if the PERFECT HOME came along I would let her go.  Letty deserves to be a special dog in a Special family, and I try not to keep "extra dogs" as there is a limit to how many dogs a person can truly do a good job with.  Because I have two elderly dogs who may need more care in the future, as well as puppies to deal with, this seemed the right thing to do and the right time to do it.

My Facebook friends were incredibly supportive, as most have "known" Letty through pictures and stories since she was a puppy.  My daughter's posting said it all though, "Just remember what we've always said, every dog deserves to be special and if it means going to their own home, then that's what it is. Lots of special dogs have been placed through the years - Murphy, Trivia and Marla come to mind."

That's true of course, I have placed many adult dogs and older puppies over the years.  Jocko, Toby, Carrie, Daisy, Hemery, Murphy, Bambi, Art, Trivia, Tasia, Marla, Wendal, Gemmie, and Jake, just to name a few and it hurt (in varying degrees) to see them go, and they ALL had wonderful lives in their new homes where they were cherished members of their  new families. By keeping my numbers down, and finding perfect homes for the dogs who are not part of my immediate plans/needs I have made many families happy, and my grief at their departure later turns to satisfaction that things worked out so well.

The interview went well and Letty stayed behind.  It DID seem like the perfect place for her. A loving dog-smart family with the time and determination to do a great job with Letty.  She has things to learn there of course, like living with cats and without other dogs, and being comfortable with an infant granddaughter.  I shed a lot of tears, but I know it was the right decision.  Don't blow this Letty!

Stay tuned . . .

Heartworm Vaccination - Be Informed

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

Six Month Heartworm Vaccination

Being A Responsible Breeder

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

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

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

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

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

What Could Be Cuter?

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

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

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

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

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

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

Fishy Weekend

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Tomorrow - puppies!

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???