Celebration!

Today the puppies, Zen and I celebrate the birthday of someone who couldnt be with us today due to geographical distances :o)

The puppies had a blast and were not worried by tipping paper plates or serpentines - they love partying! Last night they started shredding newspaper in the pen, and even would carry small pieces in their mouths...

Sleepy Puppies

(Posted by Johanna )
These pictures were taken on Friday evening. The puppies spend more time playing - but sleep well and soundly after short spurts of play. They use more body language while interacting and are much more steady on their legs.

Lisa came over and we set up some agility courses outside - and did some training with Chi and Grizz. Then it was photo time... Dot fell asleep on Tickles Teddy.

And we couldnt resist moving her for better pictures :o)

The next photo was not set up!

But for artistic purposes we added the 4th puppy in the next picture ( Dot was still sleeping on the couch )

Pickle and Carmella make their Great Escape

Picture 1: Hey Sis!

Picture 2: Let me whisper in your ear :o)



And off they go....

FS St EX

(Posted by Johanna ) Yesterday, I competed with Hex at the Paws n Music Association's Starter/Novice show in East Horley, Guildford.

As this is Hex's first Heelwork to Music competition she was entered into the starters class. I chose to compete in Freestyle - where the rules allow for more creativity and interpretation.

I chose John Denver's Leaving on a Jet Plane - a great piece of music for freestyle with plenty of room for interpretation. ( So guess what - all puppies are now John Denver fans! )...

Lisa travelled up to the venue with me ( and kept me from fainting before my class started ). Hex was in part 2 of the Freestyle Starters. She did really well and WON THE CLASS!!!! Altogether she had the best points in both Part 1 & Part 2 Freestyle Starters and now has to compete in novice. She can also add the title: FS St Ex to the end of her name.

Field Trip to The Kitchen

After a good nights sleep the puppies were preparing for their morning group trip to the kitchen!!! Some were more adventurous then others, and Carmella let out the cutest WooWoo caught on camera...

Some of the puppies waited and checked out the scenery before moving aound too much - others just threw themselves overboard...

Caught red-pawed :o) The stone floor is a very different surface to what the puppies usually walk on so it was very exciting for them.

Life is great. A hard mornings exploring needs rewarding with a nap. Stay tuned for Part 2 where Carmella and Pickle make a dash for the hall...

The Latest Pupdate

Lisa and Toni came to visit last night. All the puppies had raw mince meat again - and all with great enthusiasm.

We also got our first group photo last night:

The puppies are becoming more active by the minute.

Zen is a fantastic mother and is not really appreciative of the Paparazzi flashes so she gets in the way of the camera when she can:

Good Morning, Puppies!

(Posted by Johanna)

All the puppies are definately hearing now.

My " Good Morning Puppies " and "Puppy, Puppy, Puppy " got a reaction from everyone.

Pickle amused me this morning by barking and growling in reply - I have the cutest video clip of him so if anyone can let me know how to edit it I will post it - but at the moment it is 35 MB!

Blackleg is going up and down the ramp on a regular basis, and investigating the rail, with both feet up on the edge.

The puppies are attempting serious play now, and pawing and mouthing each other. But they only last for short spurts, the fall asleep in a pile shortly after. Life is good!!!!

Zen is very relaxed about me being here - and she keeps her puppies immaculately clean.

Sitting in Heathrow Airport Lounge

Am I the only one who thinks about WHO will get my dogs if my plane crashes? These are the things I think about when I am sitting in the airport lounge waiting for our flight to Dubai. I am already missing the puppies and know they will be so different by the time I return in 9 days.

I am lucky to have a great friend, Johanna, who is puppy sitting for me. She has detailed instructions on what to do with the pups every moment of those 9 days! But I think she already knew and just humored me while I went on and on and on...... AND we have video link-up so that we can see the pups live at almost anytime. Johanna has also promised to update my blog with photos and news of the pups for everyone( and me!) to see.

It is amazing how the pups have changed just from yesterday until today. The front panel is down on the whelping box so that they can see and hear more. They roll down the ramp and can wobble around outside the box in the pen. One of the girls, Dot, actually climbed back UP the ramp into the box. She is so clever already! They are starting to play fight and mouth each other, albeit in slow motion.

Today I started hand-feeding them some chopped mince. Just little bits, to help them associate being handled with something fun like eating! Shelties certainly like to eat (hmm, must be why I like shelties as I have that problem too!) Most of the pups took to the meat right away, although one or two took longer to realize it was edible. Once they got the hang of eating the meat, they were frantic to get more! Very very adorable!

OK, well if something happens to us.... Johanna gets Zen, Lisa can have Hex. (Although there may be a fight about that!) Terry will take Hob-b and Joy. Sonia will hopefully have Jordan. I am not sure who will get Pax as she is my special girl and I can't imagine her with anyone else. The Zen pups are mostly spoken for and Johanna knows who is getting one. If Hob-b is pregnant, Terry gets one and Peggy gets one. I think that covers them all! Whew, I hope we make it back in 9 days!

Wow!

A few months ago I started writing a column for the Agility Voice magazine. It was a series of articles called "Raising A Wicked Agility Dog". In the articles I wrote about how I raised Hex and how I started her agility training. I enjoyed writing the articles and putting ideas in writing really helps me remember what I do. Sometimes I do things automatically but this time I had to stop and think "Why do I do that?".

I have gotten some nice feedback about the article and that has been great. I did the articles because I believe in my training and I wanted to share it with others. But I also got one or two comments about how I should feel worried if Hex doesn't perform to expectations! I tried to ignore these comments, but hey,I am only human!

I felt that Hex will be the type of sheltie that will only get faster as we do more full courses. So, imagine my suprise when she came out on her first weekend and ran 6 runs , all clear in nice fast times. At her first show, as I wrote already, she got 2 second places. Well, the second day at a local unaffiliated show (non-Kennel club show) Hex decided to do alot better......4 runs, 4 clears and 4 first places! The classes ranged from 35 dogs in the novice classes to 60-ish dogs in the open classes. And her times were equal or better, over the same course, than the bigger heights.

Hex and I still have a long way to go in our training. We need to become a "team" and that just takes practice.

I am reading a great book right now called "Shaping Success: The Education of An Unlikely Champion" by Susan Garrett. I am only 1/3 the way thru it, but really enjoying it. In one chapter there was a quote that I loved and it is my goal in raising and training all my puppies!

"There is a real magic in enthusiasm. It spells the difference between mediocrity and accomplishment" (quote by Norman Vincent Peale)

Hex has the enthusiasm for everything and know she will go far!

A Long Drive but successful agility show!

Leaving the pups on Friday was very hard! I kept trying to leave and then ended going back and looking at them just once more! But I was very excited to be headed up North to go to Hex's first agility show. And it was our first time at an agility show for ages! The last time I ran Zen was in early August.

So I left on Friday at 10 am and a drive that should have taken 4-ish hours ended up taking six and a half hours. Plus it rained HARD the entire time, so a very stressful drive up. I got to the hotel checked in under an assumed name (I took the room off of someone else who couldn't go and she had a great rate of only £15!) and was in bed by 7:30 pm! I was ready for a good night sleep, but was awoke at midnight by the reception telling me the light was on in my car. Thank God they saw it or I would woken up to a dead battery in the morning. Sleep after that was on and off, so I just got up at 5 am and drove to the venue early. I guess I was a bit too keen, as I was the first one there in the parking lot! I couldn't wait to run Hex!

Both of our Novice runs were the first class in their rings and were on at the same time at 8:30.. So we walked both courses, ran them and were done by 9 am. Hmmmm, a 10 hour round-trip drive and overnight in a hotel for less than 1 minute in the ring! Yeah, I must LOVE agility!
Hex had 52 dogs in her height (small) in Novice Jumping and 50 dogs in Novice Agility.

I was feeling a bit rusty, not having run at an agility show for a few months. Plus starting out with a young dog and not knowing how we would come together as a team. I must admit to feeling a bit nervous! I don't usually get nervous on the start line, I generally just try and focus on the course and my dog and I just enjoy the run. This time, on the start line, my legs felt like jelly and my throat was all dry. Geez, it was just a novice course, what was wrong with me? Plus I was moaning about the course....what a tough weave pole entrance (flat 90 degree left side entrance!), two double spread jumps ( I have forgotten to train those!) ect ect. I must have been nervous, as I KNOW I should not complain like that! Luckily Nicky very subtly (ha!) told me off and made me shut up.

Well to make a long story short.... Hex had two gorgeous clear rounds. She was focused and accurate. I was so proud of my little girl! Then if things couldn't get better, I was able to watch Nicky and Indy run. They were so smooth and I was so chuffed with little Indy! Nicky is feeling quite pleased with him also! She is pretty sure she has guaranteed herself another OBay sheltie puppy in few years and I guess she is right!

So brother and sister ran both courses with under 1 second between them. Indy in first place and Hex in second. Those two wins put Indy into the Senior level after his first show, this is amazing! He has already guaranteed himself a spot to try-out for the World Agility championships next year. Wow, that was a pretty good litter,huh?

Here is Indy looking particularly cute with his winnings. He is a little 13" bundle of cuteness!

Brother and sister win at their first agility show!

Hex and Indy competed at their first agility show yesterday. Indy (OBay Truly Driven) is owned and handled by Nicky Garrett. Hex (OBay Truly Wicked) is owned and handled by me.

Hex and Indy are littermates and are 18 months old. They competed at Newton Heath yesterday in Novice Agility and Novice Jumping. In both classes, Indy came first and Hex came second out of Novice class of 50 small dogs. I guess if Hex and I HAVE to come second, what a better way to do it but to be beat by one of my own puppies! Either way I win!

I am really tired after the long drive up north and will post more details tomorrow! I am so proud of both pups!

In the puppy news.....all the pups now have their ears open and are making the cutest Grrr Grrr noises now. They are actually trying to walk around the box and starting to look more like puppies and less like hamsters!

Yawn!

"Black Leg" doesn't know what all the fuss is about.....

All the pups now have their eyes open, but their ears are still sealed. You can tell immediately when they begin to hear; they start to sit up and yip-yip when you come into the room and talk to them. Hmmm, maybe I should enjoy the quiet while I can, these ARE shelties that we are talking about!

Monty's babies

Zen's sire, Monty, (Danish Ag. Ch. Toven The Full Monty) is making some nice babies in Denmark. These are two from a litter that was born 8 months ago. All the pups from that litter are in good working homes and I am looking forward to hearing news about them in the future.

Eye spy

Carmella's eyes just starting to open. They look funny as sometimes one eye will open before the other and they look like little pirates!

Zen is learning to relax with pups. I love how she puts her back leg up on the rail to give them room.

Our first pound puppy

The fab five continue to grow and change. Zen amazes me with her maternal instinct. My crazy girl is just the best mother.

At the tender age of 12 days, little "Dot" has reached the weight of one pound! We don't like to give her a complex, but she is the biggest one of the litter so far. Puppy weight doesn't always correlate with full grown size and I cannot start to even predict size until about 6 weeks. Even then, shelties don't always read the books and it can be a nightmare to determine their final mature size.

Today a few of the pups have started to open their eyes. This is an exciting time, as soon they all will have their eyes and ears open and start to move around more. Puppies usually start to open their eyes around 10-15 days. The ears open a few days later. Once the pups start to hear, the socialization really starts. It is at this time that we put a cassette/dvd player near the puppy pen and play music and sound effects tapes.

Many people don't realize that pups are born with their eyes and ears sealed. The pups rely on their sense of smell and sense of touch to find their mom and nurse. It is amazing to see these little blind and deaf pups march across the box to find their mom. Well.... march might be a bit to strong, they really just inch along on their bellies!

The pups have all received their puppy names. These are not the names they will keep, but just names for us to identify them with. They are:

Dot - has a spot of white on the back of her neck and also named after one of my favorite Border collies!
Black Leg - well, she has a black front leg!
Pickle- half-white collar boy.
Tony - full white collar boy
Carmella - full white collar girl (little Zen look-alike)

Tony and Carmella are named after the lead characters from the American TV show called "The Sopranos". It is a great show about the Italian Mafia in New York and New Jersey. They were born on a Thursday, the night we always watch "The Sopranos"!

More puppy names!

I love the name "Zaney" and Wendy F. came up with the cutest name:

"OBay Catch a Zaney Moment"

Very cute and very appropriate for a Zen puppy! I love it! Thanks Wendy!

Keep the ideas coming! Although it is ultimately the new puppy owner's choice, I'd like to have some good ideas ready for them!

Cute puppy photos

When Zen was outside, Hob-b snuck in the nursery to see the pups and I couldn't resist getting the camera out.




The pups are eating machines! They nurse from Zen until they are full and then roll off and lie around like fat old men!

The Fab Five turn 1 week old tomorrow

It is hard to believe these little hamster-like things will be cute fluffy pups in a week or two!

The pups continue to grow and are all gaining about 1 ounce per day. Zen is still being a good mom and she is constantly hungry from feeding these little hamsters.

We have a few more name options:

OBay Catch Some Zs
OBay Catch As Catch Can
OBay I Can Catch You
OBay Catch Up To Me
OBay Catch Up!
OBay Can You Catch Me?
OBay Catch The Wind
OBay I Didn't Catch Your Name
OBay Catch (Catching) Some Rays
OBay Catch Me By Surprise

Agility training has fallen by the wayside this past week. It is hard to train Hex in the back garden without Zen hearing what is going on. I do not want to stress Zen as she goes crazy when she hears me in the back with other dogs. It is Hex's agility debut next weekend so we better find a way to get out there and train!

Puppy Names

I am still tending to go with the "Catch/Caught" theme for this litter since Daddy is
" Ag. Ch.Toven Catch Me If You Can". One of my supreme pupppy namers is my mate Eleanor and she came up with some new ideas. They are:

"OBay Can You Catch Me"
"OBay Let's Play Catch"
"OBay Catch On Quickly" Or "OBay Catches On Quick"
"OBay What's The Catch"


along with my ideas:

OBay Caught Ur Attention
OBay Caught U Looking
OBay Caught U By Surprise
OBay Caught Speeding
OBay Caught Red Handed
OBay Caught In The Act
OBay Catch A Wave
OBay Catch a Rising Star

Luckily we have 8 more weeks to think of more! And the list of "Z" names is growing, it is amazing what you can find on the internet!

Zoom, Zest, Zinc, Zone, Zaney (perfect for a Zen pup!), Zap, Zip, Zowee, Zing, Zephyr, Zuton, Zulu, Zoing, Zezu, Zaza, Zorro, Zazzy, Zee, Zed, Zev (hebrew for lightening!)

The Fab Five

Here is our smiling mom, Zen, with her "Fab Five" pups! The pups are doing great and all have gained one ounce since birth. That is a great relief.

We have started the "Neurological Stimulation" on the puppies. That continues from day 3 to day 16. Also known as "The super dog or Bio-sensor Program" it was developed by US Military to help their canine program produce a better working dog. More information can be found at
http://www.breedingbetterdogs.com/achiever.html

Once the pups seem to be gaining weight, this is the easy time. I can just sit back and waste time watching them grow. The real work begins once the pups eyes and ears open.

This puppy, now known as "Black Leg" makes me laugh. Her left front leg is almost all black with just white toes. Very cute! We have also named another girl "Dot" for her dot of white on the back of her neck. Puppy litter names are easy as I know they are just temporary! A few years ago I had a litter of two pups, one girl and one boy. They had the very creative names of "boy puppy" and "girl puppy"! (Eventually known as Presto and Halo!)

This is a photo of Dot lying over her sister, Black Leg. :-)