August 13 pupdate

Good morning, good morning the happy dogs say. Rowdy didn’t wake me up this am but Jack did at almost 7am. Jack is the designated barker for Jill so he may well have been performing that service for Rowdy as well. Especially since none of the big dogs showed any signs of needing to go outside. Rowdy didn’t seem to have any trouble making it out to potty though and he hadn’t had to go in his crate so all was well.
Jill had to remind him how to behave a couple of times this morning but SammieDoodle actually played with him. He needs reminded that it is not quite appropriate to use teeth when you are giving kisses. He tries to sneak in a nibble or two when he is giving kisses but not nearly as much today as yesterday – thanks to the girls. He and the SammieDoodlebug have played some this morning and he has cuddled with me some too. He ate his breakfast and then had naptime.
I eventually had naptime too and he was quiet. Generally, he gives a little bark if I leave him in the ex pen and leave the room – especially if the big dogs go too. But he didn’t when I went up to nap (but the big dogs stayed down here.)
Dog Cindi (she’s not just Indy’s Cindi now she’s Mirabella and Indy’s Cindi) came this evening and we worked on baby lions. We got butts done and we did B’s muzzle with the clippers but Rowdy was a combination of scissors and clippers on his muzzle. He is a work in progress but we got a lot of hair off of his face. We’ll keep working on it so hopefully he tolerates the clippers on his muzzle a little better. He is great for having his butt done. MiraBella was much better about having her muzzle done if I kissed her the whole time. What a sacrifice for me - because you know I just don’t normally kiss puppies ;-)
CarreraBoo (fka purple Brownie) passed her AKC Star puppy exam this week and she was only 13 weeks old when she did it. Amy says they have some work to do to be ready for the CGC but she’s not old enough for that yet anyway ;-) What a good puppy! I should get to see her next weekend when they come down for some water practice before our trial.
Speaking of the trials, I hope SammieDoodlebug stays in the game. She’s doing really well in practice and we have been building some extra drive for her line by letting her carry it to the boat and retrieving it for her meals. Jack is happy to be getting to play with us again but we haven’t started letting him jump from the boat or board the boat yet.
Rowdy went to bed a little earlier tonight. He was pretty tired from his day. I hope that doesn’t mean he’s going to want to get up way early tomorrow. I’m shooting for sleeping until almost 7. For now though, I am going to get ready for bed and then I’ll do last call. Nighty, nighty, nighty to you all

July 23 Pupdate

It’s been a fun filled day here today. While I was washing my hair this morning, Jack alarm barked for me to come downstairs. (This is actually different than Jack’s bark that he just wants me to come back) so I came down to see what was going on. Pink! was running around the rubber room. Apparently, she can now come over the little ex pen so after I finished my hair, I rebuilt the puppy pen with the taller ex pen.


Then Rowdy (fka Limey) came for a visit. We let him play with Pink! and Cary for a little while before we worked on his hair. He was living up to his name at first so we let Jill and then SammieDoodle speak to him about how to behave and the puppies had a much better time playing. It is still amazing to me how the littlest puppy can tell the biggest puppy how they want to play and because they want to play, he respects that. Rowdy is much bigger than Pink and Cary at this point.

After the other puppies helped tire him out a little, we worked on grooming. He was pretty good on the table for getting his butt shaved but we didn’t try to do his muzzle, just scissored a tad around his eyes.

Then the puppies went swimming in the pond. They all just swam for the joy of swimming and would go out past the people. Then they’d play on the bank and hillside and come back for more swimming. I think a good time was had by all – at least until the bath time. Then there was minimal whining and some singing by Cary. He really enjoys being held wrapped in the towel (or not wrapped in the towel for that matter.)

Rowdy is doing well with his sits and downs and the other 2 puppies are doing very well with their retrieving of ‘live’ objects to hand. I haven’t started on ‘dead’ retrieves with them.

Jack finished up his course of steroids so if he can just maintain his range of motion for 2 weeks on continued exercise restriction, he can go back to having a life. If not, we’ll have to look into other possible causes.

For now, we’re going nighty, nighty, nighty.

11 weeks old

I can't believe the puppies are 11 weeks old tonight.  4 of them are spending their birthdays in their new homes and 2 (Pink! and Cary) are still here.  Cary is supposed to go to his new home on Saturday and Pink is supposed to be here until the 29th.  I don't know what I am going to do without them.

We had a great time at the water trial.  We took Pink and Cary and Indy's Cindi's MiraBella and Amy brought Carrera so we had a passel of puppies with us.  It made for an interesting time getting them out to potty (we carried them out) but they were very good and quiet for the most part.  They'd settle down quickly when we turned out the lights so we did that rather early (not that we weren't tired enough to do that anyway.)

The puppies were very good in the ex pen corral we made for them at the water trial and they got lots more socialization.  We had a few volunteers to help us wrangle while they swam, too.

On Sunday, they got their little muzzles shaved.  Some of them took it better than others.  Cary whined a little but held still, MiraBella was about the funniest because she would fuss until she got  a kiss but would immediately start again when the clippers touched her.  All in all, they had a good first expereince with it.

Indy and Cindi got his Working Water Dog title; that's 2 titles this July for him.  SammieDoodlebug decided that I was trying to trick her after the boat ride and wouldn't come off the platform so she did not get her Apprentice Title.  We're working on it; I really hope to get her enthusiasm back.

Pink! and Cary have been working on sits and downs and walking along with me (and sitting on both sides of a door) and retrieving.  They are doing well but they can't retrieve if I have treats.  They can only do that for the joy of doing it again.

One of my favorite things to do with them these days is to sit on the edge of the wheelchair ramp deck and then lie down.  The puppies cuddle and climb all over me and generally remember to be gentle.  It's awfully sweet.

It's almost time to get them ready for nighty, nighty, nighty...

July 12 Pupdate

July 12 Pupdate

I’m a little behind on my blogging (too many Fudgesicles?) but I’ll try to do better. With a new computer (Wed) and a water trial, I’m not sure how successful I will be but keep checking.

Bagby (fka Royal) and Carrera (fka Purple) left with their new people on Sunday. By all accounts they made it home safely and are settling in well. I will post Carrera’s report since I can’t figure out how to allow guest bloggers.

Rowdy is settling in to his new home and playing more with his new older brother and swimming n the pool. He is supposed to come visit next Monday for some playing and grooming. He was the only one not here to get his behind re-lionized on Sunday. His mom is going to send us a guest blog soon, too.

Since MiraBella (fka Green) went back home with Cindi Sunday night, I am down to 2 puppies here. Needless to say, I’ve had to have a lot of Fudgesicles.

Cary and Pink! are dong fine without the others and are enjoying each others company for the most part. They have the occasional little puppy spat but since there aren’t other puppies to play with, they definitely make up quickly. I have also noticed that they are learning more and more about right and wrong ways to use teeth.

Cary has been asking for more tummy rubs in the last couple of days – maybe because he is less likely to get stepped on by another puppy in the process. He sits by the ex pen until he is sure you are coming and then he flops over to have his tummy rubbed. Very cute!

Pink! is very cute and still seems quite fearless. She hasn’t come over the top of the crate like Carrera did but she’s right in on any action. She can move the little crate by pulling on the rug I have under it. I am pretty certain it weighs more than she does but that’s no deterrent.

So far, the defenses in the dog yard have held. I hesitate to say that because the puppies always break out after I do...

Nighty, nighty, nighty to all.

July 10 Pupdate

July 10 Pupdate
Computer trouble last night kept me from getting the pupdate out and I’ve been busy today. It did rain yesterday which was very nice and it cooled down a little and we had lower humidity today, I think. We had nice weather for water practice and then puppy playtime afterward.

I gave the puppies baths this morning and they all stood in the shower like big dogs. They are awfully good puppies. They were also very good for getting their little butts re-lionized. Haven’t tackled any muzzles yet, we don’t want to push our luck too far ;-) Besides Indy’s Cindi and Indy had to go finish his Rally Advanced title. BellaBoo stayed here while they did that. Cindi reported that Bella slept until 8:30 this am! What a good girl she was. The puppies here got up much earlier than that but I didn’t take them back out to potty at 1’ish. Maybe it’d be worth it to switch over to that.

Jill didn’t feed the puppies at all today. Yesterday we had a replay of how to eat raw chicken for the puppies. She didn’t care that I had given them their own – shi insisted on sharing hers and then monitoring them. They were a lot better at it this time. They even managed to eat part of the bone until I took it away.

The new reinforcements in the dog yard worked until this evening when Indy went over the fence. Carrera and someone else (a black one but I didn’t retrieve them so I don’t know which one) made a break for it after we had been outside for a while so we brought all of the puppies back in.

I am trying to finish getting everything together for Carrrera and Bagby to leave for their new homes tomorrow. I will really miss those little guys and will only have 2 here to console me. Pink will be here until the end of the month and plans have changed for Cary. I won’t know when he’s leaving until I know who his new owners will be. For now, I need to go cuddle these babies for a last nighty, nighty, nighty time.

Cindi's Guest Blog

I had so much fun giving the puppies their first Lion trim. They were such good little puppies, they didn’t seem to mind one bit having their butts shaved. (I didn’t shave underneath, too tiny for that.) I was so proud of them, there was no fussing and they all held still with just a little help from Cristi. I was amazed at how much hair came off of each puppy. Wonder what Cristi could make with all that hair. Limey was putting on the Ritz, he came out with a show stack right off the bat. You will have to look at all the photos. The camera has a slight delay, but I tried to get as many shots as I could, the puppies were fairly cooperative. I know a lot of people (including me back in the day) don’t like the Lion trim but, once you see those little butts in that trim, you might just change your mind. I did. These puppies are just adorable, I don’t know how many times I have said they are so cute but they are. I hope you all appreciate all the photos. I am even lying down in the puppy pen to get some of the shots. They do something cute and then the camera can’t react as quick as they can and off they go to something else… The photos that are the easiest to take is when they are asleep. I think some are spoiled when I pick one up another barks at me to get picked up. Anyway work has been tough the last few weeks but all is well when I am in the puppy pen.