Read this in a whisper voice....
Earlier today the last of the puppies left, and just a few minutes later Angela left for her dads. I don't know which one of us hit the couch first, me or Dean. All I know is when I woke up a couple hours later Dean was snoring and the 3 dogs were splayed all over the living room enjoying the quiet and the return to their usual routine. Ssshhhhhh Dean is still sleeping and it's been THREE HOURS! (Maybe I can convince him to go out tonight!)
Showing posts with label Puppies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Puppies. Show all posts
Saturday, December 15, 2007
Sunday, December 02, 2007
Rise-n-shine!
It's morning.
Angela is gone, and last night I stayed up extra late looking forward to the fact today is the only morning in the next month that I can sleep in. Like a lot of people, I sleep best from about 5:00 a.m. Sometimes during the week I get up with Dean and visit with him while he has his morning POT of coffee (no wonder he pees every 5 minutes!) Keep in mind that "sometimes" is maybe like once a week, because "sometimes" is at 4:30 a.m. and "sometimes" I'm not able to get back to sleep! UGH, I hate that!
So today I'm sleeping in. I never hear Dean get out of bed. Ever. It's other things that wake me up, like the front door creaking when he lets the dogs out, or the beep of the coffee pot that is actually very quiet, just a noise that happens to go right up my spinal column to the back of my head where it bangs like a hammer and makes me feel anxious and stuff. Another thing that wakes me up is Angela. Ok, she's not a thing, but my darling sweet daughter who stands in the bedroom door and says, "Mom, can I lay down by you?" Yeah, don't be fooled. She doesn't really want to lay with me, she wants the warm spot that Dean left.
This morning it was none of those things that woke me up. No, instead it was SCREECHING PUPPIES!!!!! I love the puppies, but I don't love them at 6:00 on a Sunday morning when I want to sleep in.
Everyone knows the rule about waking a sleeping baby, right? Well, waking sleeping puppies is even worse! Especially when all eight of 'em are going to wake up hungry and have to pee and poop. Normally Dean can get to the basement smoking spot (that will be another post) without waking the puppies because they're out in the 3 season porch. Only yesterday we decided it was too cold out there and they needed to be moved inside. (this is why I've always avoided winter litters, and why I'll never do another winter litter again.) Now the puppies have 1/4 our our basement (which is actually pretty big) PLUS the porch to run around in AND a potty area.
So Dean tries to sneak downstairs to the fireplace/smoking spot when he hears a tiny "ruff". That's all it takes for all the puppies to leap to their feet and start throwing themselves against the side of the pen, screaming in excitement and hunger, in hopes that Daddy has brought breakfast with him.
Daddy does not have food (he hasn't yet figured out you don't show up at feeding time without food!) but he does let the puppies out of the pen into the porch so they can go potty in the big litter box we have set up for them. Only they've waited all night and not one puppy makes it to the box. Instead all 8 of them immediately squat and poop, and since I just wormed them a couple days ago, it's liquid poop. It's impossible to get it cleaned up before every puppy runs through every pile. (later today I'll teach him how to get all the puppies to the litter box in time.)
While he was cleaning up the poop everywhere, the puppies were still screaming and clamoring around his legs, jumping and trying to tell him "Please...feed us...we're starving...we can't wait 5 more minutes." And since they'd just run through poop, well...he needs a shower now.
All of this noise made it's way to my ears which had been sleeping peacefully upstairs. There is no amount of blanket rearranging, or holding pillows over your head that will drown out screeching puppies. Besides, I needed to make sure he was doing everything right, so I dragged my body out of bed, grabbed my robe, then waddled to the kitchen where I got puppy food ready. While that was soaking for a minute I came here to check email and stuff. See, I haven't gone downstairs yet because I KNOW it's silly to do so without the food to shut the puppies up!
Now it's 8:15 and all is quiet. The puppies are fed, and after they ate they all pooped in the litter box where they're supposed to. Rubee went in to play with them a little, which is very funny, and now they're tired and getting ready to nap. My pillow is now begging me to come back and cuddle with it some more. Since it's Sunday, and Angela is gone and the puppies are all taken care of, I just might do that!
Angela is gone, and last night I stayed up extra late looking forward to the fact today is the only morning in the next month that I can sleep in. Like a lot of people, I sleep best from about 5:00 a.m. Sometimes during the week I get up with Dean and visit with him while he has his morning POT of coffee (no wonder he pees every 5 minutes!) Keep in mind that "sometimes" is maybe like once a week, because "sometimes" is at 4:30 a.m. and "sometimes" I'm not able to get back to sleep! UGH, I hate that!
So today I'm sleeping in. I never hear Dean get out of bed. Ever. It's other things that wake me up, like the front door creaking when he lets the dogs out, or the beep of the coffee pot that is actually very quiet, just a noise that happens to go right up my spinal column to the back of my head where it bangs like a hammer and makes me feel anxious and stuff. Another thing that wakes me up is Angela. Ok, she's not a thing, but my darling sweet daughter who stands in the bedroom door and says, "Mom, can I lay down by you?" Yeah, don't be fooled. She doesn't really want to lay with me, she wants the warm spot that Dean left.
This morning it was none of those things that woke me up. No, instead it was SCREECHING PUPPIES!!!!! I love the puppies, but I don't love them at 6:00 on a Sunday morning when I want to sleep in.
Everyone knows the rule about waking a sleeping baby, right? Well, waking sleeping puppies is even worse! Especially when all eight of 'em are going to wake up hungry and have to pee and poop. Normally Dean can get to the basement smoking spot (that will be another post) without waking the puppies because they're out in the 3 season porch. Only yesterday we decided it was too cold out there and they needed to be moved inside. (this is why I've always avoided winter litters, and why I'll never do another winter litter again.) Now the puppies have 1/4 our our basement (which is actually pretty big) PLUS the porch to run around in AND a potty area.
So Dean tries to sneak downstairs to the fireplace/smoking spot when he hears a tiny "ruff". That's all it takes for all the puppies to leap to their feet and start throwing themselves against the side of the pen, screaming in excitement and hunger, in hopes that Daddy has brought breakfast with him.
Daddy does not have food (he hasn't yet figured out you don't show up at feeding time without food!) but he does let the puppies out of the pen into the porch so they can go potty in the big litter box we have set up for them. Only they've waited all night and not one puppy makes it to the box. Instead all 8 of them immediately squat and poop, and since I just wormed them a couple days ago, it's liquid poop. It's impossible to get it cleaned up before every puppy runs through every pile. (later today I'll teach him how to get all the puppies to the litter box in time.)
While he was cleaning up the poop everywhere, the puppies were still screaming and clamoring around his legs, jumping and trying to tell him "Please...feed us...we're starving...we can't wait 5 more minutes." And since they'd just run through poop, well...he needs a shower now.
All of this noise made it's way to my ears which had been sleeping peacefully upstairs. There is no amount of blanket rearranging, or holding pillows over your head that will drown out screeching puppies. Besides, I needed to make sure he was doing everything right, so I dragged my body out of bed, grabbed my robe, then waddled to the kitchen where I got puppy food ready. While that was soaking for a minute I came here to check email and stuff. See, I haven't gone downstairs yet because I KNOW it's silly to do so without the food to shut the puppies up!
Now it's 8:15 and all is quiet. The puppies are fed, and after they ate they all pooped in the litter box where they're supposed to. Rubee went in to play with them a little, which is very funny, and now they're tired and getting ready to nap. My pillow is now begging me to come back and cuddle with it some more. Since it's Sunday, and Angela is gone and the puppies are all taken care of, I just might do that!
Friday, November 23, 2007
New Family Members
When you're looking for to add a 4 legged family member, particularly of the canine variety, most people think they can walk into a litter of puppies and pick the one that stands out to them. If this is you, toss this idea right out of your head.
While this can work, more often than not you end up with a dog who is not what you were envisioning as your perfect companion. I have one family in mind who's dog, although he's very nice, and he's friendly, is NOT the cuddly "ever present buddy" that they long for. Instead he prefers to keep to himself, getting pet when he feels he needs it, then going back to doing his own thing. For some people he would be the perfect dog, but for this family he leaves them hungry for more attention from him. Now, it could be he's like this because he's old and wants to be left alone, but I think he's always been this way to some extent. They occasionally babysit a dog or 2 of mine, and have been known to say, "So THIS is what a dog is supposed to be like?"
So how do you pick a dog for your family? First of all, you find a breeder who KNOWS dogs. Don't be fooled though. Just because someone has a lot of dogs does NOT mean they have any clue about understanding dog dispositions and what THEY need in a family!
Take our current litter for examply. For the past 6 weeks we have watched this litter of puppies. We were there for the very first breath (in fact, assisted with each of them.) We've watched every step of their development. I've also come to know our puppy families, some better than others, and what they desire in their new family member. This goes beyond "how many kids do you have and will the dog be home alone." type of questions from many breeders.
And so we watch. And we listen to our hearts with each puppy.
But just for fun, earlier this week I had a canine behaviorist come in. An outside party who has never met any of my puppies, doing assessments in a room the puppies have never seen before. Man, this is fascinating to watch. What was really interesting is watching how each puppy acted AWAY FROM THE PACK and with someone brand new, who had toys they'd never seen before, on a slippery floor and a rug their feet have never touched. (just like human babies, dogs need to experience new textures, sights and sounds.) While this is going on, I'm taking notes about how the puppies react to the various tests.
My next task is to take that information and mesh it with what I already know about each puppy, and all information I have from each family, and match them to the best of my ability. Now you may think this is all a bit overboard, but there's a reason for all of it, the most important one being happiness. I want my puppy families to be happy with the puppy they bring home, and I want my puppies to be happy in the home they go to. So far, we've done pretty well. Two and three years later I have families call me who say, "Our dog is EXACTLY as you described him on your website at 6 weeks old!" But the most rewarding part of all is the pictures we get back as the puppies get older. Smiling kids, smiling parents, smiling dogs.
A couple months ago, one of our dogs, Addie, came back to us at 2 years old. Her family decided she just wasn't getting enough attention from them. I worried about where I was going to send her. She'd just lost the family and kids she was attached to. Now what? I posted her on my website, then remembered that one of my other puppy families had contacted me and gave the impression they were shopping for another dog. (though they didn't come right out and say it.) They have a one year old male named "Sparky" who is a fully sibling to Addie, but a full year younger. I emailed the mom, asking if they would by chance be interested in Addie. She discussed it with her husband, and that weekend Addie went for a trial visit. That was three months ago and I haven't seen her since! They absolutely fell in love with her, and Sparky, who'd become kind of lonely, now had a playmate who he adores. Addie, who'd gotten overweight due to inactivity is now in beautiful shape. A couple weeks ago the family called me and said, "We can't imagine life without these two dogs! Two doodles are definitely better than one, and we couldn't love our two doodles more!"
That is why I love doing what I do!
While this can work, more often than not you end up with a dog who is not what you were envisioning as your perfect companion. I have one family in mind who's dog, although he's very nice, and he's friendly, is NOT the cuddly "ever present buddy" that they long for. Instead he prefers to keep to himself, getting pet when he feels he needs it, then going back to doing his own thing. For some people he would be the perfect dog, but for this family he leaves them hungry for more attention from him. Now, it could be he's like this because he's old and wants to be left alone, but I think he's always been this way to some extent. They occasionally babysit a dog or 2 of mine, and have been known to say, "So THIS is what a dog is supposed to be like?"
So how do you pick a dog for your family? First of all, you find a breeder who KNOWS dogs. Don't be fooled though. Just because someone has a lot of dogs does NOT mean they have any clue about understanding dog dispositions and what THEY need in a family!
Take our current litter for examply. For the past 6 weeks we have watched this litter of puppies. We were there for the very first breath (in fact, assisted with each of them.) We've watched every step of their development. I've also come to know our puppy families, some better than others, and what they desire in their new family member. This goes beyond "how many kids do you have and will the dog be home alone." type of questions from many breeders.
And so we watch. And we listen to our hearts with each puppy.
But just for fun, earlier this week I had a canine behaviorist come in. An outside party who has never met any of my puppies, doing assessments in a room the puppies have never seen before. Man, this is fascinating to watch. What was really interesting is watching how each puppy acted AWAY FROM THE PACK and with someone brand new, who had toys they'd never seen before, on a slippery floor and a rug their feet have never touched. (just like human babies, dogs need to experience new textures, sights and sounds.) While this is going on, I'm taking notes about how the puppies react to the various tests.
My next task is to take that information and mesh it with what I already know about each puppy, and all information I have from each family, and match them to the best of my ability. Now you may think this is all a bit overboard, but there's a reason for all of it, the most important one being happiness. I want my puppy families to be happy with the puppy they bring home, and I want my puppies to be happy in the home they go to. So far, we've done pretty well. Two and three years later I have families call me who say, "Our dog is EXACTLY as you described him on your website at 6 weeks old!" But the most rewarding part of all is the pictures we get back as the puppies get older. Smiling kids, smiling parents, smiling dogs.
A couple months ago, one of our dogs, Addie, came back to us at 2 years old. Her family decided she just wasn't getting enough attention from them. I worried about where I was going to send her. She'd just lost the family and kids she was attached to. Now what? I posted her on my website, then remembered that one of my other puppy families had contacted me and gave the impression they were shopping for another dog. (though they didn't come right out and say it.) They have a one year old male named "Sparky" who is a fully sibling to Addie, but a full year younger. I emailed the mom, asking if they would by chance be interested in Addie. She discussed it with her husband, and that weekend Addie went for a trial visit. That was three months ago and I haven't seen her since! They absolutely fell in love with her, and Sparky, who'd become kind of lonely, now had a playmate who he adores. Addie, who'd gotten overweight due to inactivity is now in beautiful shape. A couple weeks ago the family called me and said, "We can't imagine life without these two dogs! Two doodles are definitely better than one, and we couldn't love our two doodles more!"
That is why I love doing what I do!
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Oops!
Sometimes, life just runs away with you! It's been very busy here the last few days. Lets see...Thursday evening my dog was in labor, so I thought. Friday morning still no puppies and a BIG problem. Noon, and emergency c-section for the dog. The outcome was 8 healthy puppies (7 girls, 1 boy!!!) and two dead ones. Mom is recuperating well and today is up and moving a bit more. Sometimes c-section dog moms have problems with their milk coming in, and we had some VERY HUNGRY PUPPIES!!! I was bottling each of them to keep their blood sugar up, but not too much so they'd still try to nurse. Saturday morning when I got up her milk was in!! Evidenced by the fact if I even THOUGHT about touching one nipple she was squirting like a cow!!!! (sorry for the details.)
I have a lot of fun with my dog website. I have a daily puppy journal (a dog blog. LOL) a pregnancy tracker page (which is thankfully now completed) and then each puppy has his/her individual pages that gets updated each weeks to their new family can watch them grow. My puppy families love the website (I can tell by the hit counter! LOL) and I love watching their excitment, especially as the puppies get closer to going home!
Here's a video of the new babies.
I have a lot of fun with my dog website. I have a daily puppy journal (a dog blog. LOL) a pregnancy tracker page (which is thankfully now completed) and then each puppy has his/her individual pages that gets updated each weeks to their new family can watch them grow. My puppy families love the website (I can tell by the hit counter! LOL) and I love watching their excitment, especially as the puppies get closer to going home!
Here's a video of the new babies.
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Things that make you go "Wooooow!"
How's this for a couple very interesting pictures? When our breeding females hit day 60 in their pregnancy we do an xray so we have a skull count. This helps us know when she's done, or when we should be seeking help because we know there are more but she's ACTING done.
So all you moms out there, how would you like to be carrying this around?
So all you moms out there, how would you like to be carrying this around?
Tuesday, October 09, 2007
My other hat: Dogma
A few people have emailed me asking about the dogs, so I thought I'd give you a little glimpse into the other part of my life; that of "Dogmom". Right now I'm on puppy watch, and have a pregnancy tracker page set up on my dog website. My expectant puppy families are obsessively checking the website (I know you are, I can see your IP addresses! LOL) in anticipation of the big event. If you're interested in what a "pregnancy tracker" page is all about, here's a link to the page from my last litter and then a link to the current page Have fun reading!
Sunday, September 16, 2007
DOGS!!
Raising dogs is both fun and a lot of work, all at the same time. Our dogs seem to have a busier social calendar than we do. Right now they're rehearsing for their rolls in "Seussical the Musical." Dudley and Zurri are sharing the roll of the Grinch's dog Max. We'll be performing TWELVE performances of this play, which of course is running over the Thanksgiving holiday. My extended family is NOT going to be happy with me. Unless, of course, they want to go watch!
Today was open house at All Breed Obedience where the dogs and I do all our training, and where I also work to train other people's dogs. I mostly do puppy Kindergarten classes, and help teach the level one obedience class. In preparation for a busy weekend Dudley and Zurri got all gussied up. (meaning a bath, nail trim and some shaving here and there) and I got this beautiful picture of Zurri. Isn't she stunning?
And here's an older picture of Dudley. He's just turned 2 years old happens to still be in his summer coat. Here's what he looks like in the winter time with full coat.
Of course we can't forget Rubee. (Dudley's mom) Afterall, there are ultrasound pictures on here, so it wouldn't be fair to leave out her beautiful face. Here she is, waiting for Angela to come home from school. If you'd like to see more of our dogs, visit our website.
Oh, and with our last litter I got some of the most amazing pictures! Here are a couple of them, and our website has LOTS more pictures like this!
Today was open house at All Breed Obedience where the dogs and I do all our training, and where I also work to train other people's dogs. I mostly do puppy Kindergarten classes, and help teach the level one obedience class. In preparation for a busy weekend Dudley and Zurri got all gussied up. (meaning a bath, nail trim and some shaving here and there) and I got this beautiful picture of Zurri. Isn't she stunning?
And here's an older picture of Dudley. He's just turned 2 years old happens to still be in his summer coat. Here's what he looks like in the winter time with full coat.
Of course we can't forget Rubee. (Dudley's mom) Afterall, there are ultrasound pictures on here, so it wouldn't be fair to leave out her beautiful face. Here she is, waiting for Angela to come home from school. If you'd like to see more of our dogs, visit our website.
Oh, and with our last litter I got some of the most amazing pictures! Here are a couple of them, and our website has LOTS more pictures like this!
Monday, September 10, 2007
Look at our surprise!
Here's our ultrasound picture. How many do you see in there? Count the arrows....one....two....three....How cool is that?
Ok, jokes on you. These are ultrasound pics from our dog Rubee who is bred and due October 15th. In dogs, an ultrasound 1) confirms the pregnancy and 2) gives you a minimum count. Today we counted 5, but she was very gassy which usually hides puppies. We will do an xray on day 60 for a final skull count.
Ok, jokes on you. These are ultrasound pics from our dog Rubee who is bred and due October 15th. In dogs, an ultrasound 1) confirms the pregnancy and 2) gives you a minimum count. Today we counted 5, but she was very gassy which usually hides puppies. We will do an xray on day 60 for a final skull count.
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Angela videos
Here are some cute Angela videos. She's such an amazing kid. You'd never know by watching her all that she's gone through, or will go through.
April 25, 2007
Angela shows the puppies
Special Olmypics 2006
Special Olympics 2006
Angela in Jr. Dog handling class, summer 2006
Angela Jr Handler class
Angela's Special Olympics Team
Spring 2006
The RAVE
April 25, 2007
Angela shows the puppies
Special Olmypics 2006
Special Olympics 2006
Angela in Jr. Dog handling class, summer 2006
Angela Jr Handler class
Angela's Special Olympics Team
Spring 2006
The RAVE
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