The new adventure begins

The pups are in their new homes. Now I can concentrate on my PUPPIES! Yes I have kept two; I couldn't help myself. Little Itzy is so tiny and I just could not trust anyone else with her! I know it is not an ideal situation to keep two pups but at least I realize that and will work hard with both.

The first pup to go yesterday was Cutie Pie. I really thought for awhile that Cutie Pie was going to be the puppy that I kept. I do think you need to pick a puppy both with your head and with your heart. My head kept telling me to pick her but my heart wasn't agreeing. She was such a cutie but we just did not click together.



I think Karen is happy with her! Cutie Pie is now named "Yazoo" and her registered name is OBay Itz Fantaztic



Pork Chop was just something special. She was so friendly and had the waggiest tail. Unfortunately she had a small jaw problem with an uneven bite. This meant right from the start that I could not keep her with any intention to breed on from her. I tried really hard not to get attached to her even though I thought she had just the best working temperament and such a sweet personality.

Pork Chop has now gone into another sheltie home and will be living with Marilyn. (ARGHH I forgot to get a photo of Marilyn and Pork chop together! Hopefully she will send me one) Her call name has yet to be decided but her registered name will be
OBay Itz A Kinda Magic



So, yes, that leaves two! Chubsy and Itzy are mine. Or at least I think Itzy is mine; Dennis seems to think she is his. When she needs to go out; I ask him to take "HIS" puppy out!

Itzy Or Itz will keep her call name and her registered name is
OBay Itz Itzy Bitzy. She is so darn cute and fun. She likes to leap into the air with 4 feet off the ground.



Chubsy is now known as "Zaz" (a little bit of Zen and a litte bit of Tazz" aka "Zazzer a litte bit of Tazzer". Her registered name is
OBay Itz Got Pizzazz. She is an interesting personality; tough but with a little bit of sensitivity. She is not everyone's friend; but she has eyes for me and that is what I like. I cannot wait to start training her and seeing what we can do together.



Me and my girls.



After Pork Chop left today we took down the puppy pen and put away some of the many thousand toys. I did a little cleaning and generally tidied up. I took a deep breath and now thoughts turn to housebreaking, socializing and training!

Girl Power Pups 8 weeks

The pups will soon be going into their new homes and the puppy pen will be coming down. I will miss them but am looking forward to starting with my own pup.

More on each pup tomorrow but I had to post these photos. I wish they were taken with Dennis' good camera but he was busy having a love-in with Itzy. It is the first time I was able to get a photo of a few of the pups together.

Left to right: Chubsy, Pork Chop and Cutie

Presto the Therapy dog

Nothing could make me prouder than to hear about one of my shelties doing therapy work. Presto is Jordan's "baby" boy and just turned 9 years old. He just started working for a new program in a local school. He goes to the school and helps the children read out loud! How cute is that? The program is called "ROCK": Reading Outloud Creates Knowledge.

Presto (and his litter sister Halo) have such lovely temperaments; Jordan passed on her special sweetness to both of them. The "Essence of Jordan" is just the true sweetness and gentleness of a sheltie.

I hope this link works; it is a slide show of Presto's first visit to the school. The first visit occurred on his 9th birthday and the children had a special card made for him. Eleanor said that his tailed wagged the entire time. I am so proud of them both!

Presto's ROCK visit

I have had a few dogs that have done therapy work. Joy was amazing as a therapy dog; her rock-solid temperament combined with her self-assurance made her a fun dog to bring into a hospital or children's home. I know that Kizzy has also done some therapy work visiting Nancy's mother in the Nursing home. Kizzy reminds me so much of Jordan as a young dog; happy and bouncy when you needed it but mellow and ever-so gentle.

These are the things that people don't hear about; they do not win awards or ribbons but rather they win the hearts of everyone who is touched by them. That beats any trophy or rosette in my eyes.

I've been tagged

I've been tagged by a few blogger friends. I was not going to do it because I knew what was going to happen. But I cannot just forget about her...

The rules were:

Open a document or file folder

Click on the fifth folder and then the fifth photo

Post the photo and describe it

Then tag 5 other bloggers

So, you guessed it, the photo was of Hex. I just knew it would be....

It was the Agility Club show 2006. Hex was only around 14-15 months old. A friend was judging and she wanted me to run her course to see how it ran. I thought it would be fun to try Hex on her first full course. As to be expected with Hex; her first full course and she ran it perfectly. We did a few extra weave poles just because I was so shocked that she did them perfectly and Dennis took some photos. I thought this one was funny because she had one eye closed. It was at this show one year later that Hex won her first Championship ticket at her first Championship show.



I'm going to tag:

Mary-Anne

Team Small Dog

Shelta Shelties

Macfarlane Dogs

Sassy and dogs in NJ

Girl Power pups 7 weeks

Pork Chop with the world's smallest dog toy bought for Itzy by Karen.



Chubsy looking cute outside.


Dennis got home on Thursday and, thank God, I have been able to get more done with the puppies! They have had a busy week and I cannot believe they will be leaving in a few days. My blogging has been sporadic just because of lack of time; but I hope it will get easier once some of the pups leave for their new homes. I wonder if anyone can guess which pup(s) I am keeping? :-) This weekend each pup got a trip in the car and a walk around town. Not only does this give them a great experience meeting people and seeing new sights but it also gives me an opportunity to see how they react to new things.



First we took Chubsy and Cutie. I walked one and Dennis walked the other. Cutie got to wear a new pink coat that fits her perfect; so guess who walked her? Dennis refused although he was fine walking Chubsy with her pink collar and lead. The high street was busy and both pups did really well with the crowds and noises. Chubsy had a habit of chasing feet and bags as they go by her; I have seen this tendency in all the litters of the same breeding. They do have some trouble with self-control!



Then Itsy came with us to the hardware store. She had a great time walking around town and in the store. Dennis thought we should buy her this sign because she is so ferocious.

Pork Chop took ride today to the local country/equestrian store because it was raining too hard to walk outside through town. She walked up and down the aisles with no trouble and came home with a new rawhide chewie that Chubsy promptly stole.



All the pups got a bath and blowdry this weekend. The baths were fine but the drying caused much screaming. I must admit I am not as diligent as some "show" breeders about grooming and stacking pups from a young age; my heart lies more in teaching them to tug and play which means they are great tuggers but hard to groom initially! Chubsy in the kitchen sink.



Pork Chop looking cute after her bath.



The pups have spent alot of time outside; we bring them out regularly to help in the housebreaking effort as well as give them loads of exercise. The weather has not been great and they are getting used to being out in the rain and puddle. Since we have re-done the patio; they no longer get muddy just wet. They always play on the plastic child's slide. That was the greatest boot sale find ever (it probably cost all of $5) and has done well for every litter so far.



Tim and Marion gave the last litter of pups this little red sled which acts as a great outdoor wobble board and general launch spot for puppy play.



There is no better toy that a squished up plastic milk container. Add some pebbles or coins and it is guaranteed to encite riot in these pups.



They have had many good visits from new people this week; it is great for them to meet new people everyday. Here Pork Chop teaches a new person to give her tea; all the pups love to steal tea out of the cup just like their Mum Zen.



I love this last week with the entire litter. It is hard work but it feels as if it all just falls in place when the pups are set to go into their wonderful new homes. They are into the stage when they start having group "FRAPS". Let's see, I think that stands for Frenetic Random Activity Periods or something similar. You know them when they happen as the pups go tearing around and around and use the furniture as racetracks. They play constantly and are so much fun to watch. Zen has been a good Mum lately; she seems to like spending time with this litter. I have to supervise as she likes to play rough but she often will try and entice a pup to tug with her by dangling a toy near them. It is so cute but hard to photograph. I got this little video clip of Zen playing tuggy with Pork Chop.

Funny thing about how rumours start

There is one thing about the dog world; people love gossip! Recently I heard a silly rumour about me and my pups and thought I would clear it up. I figure if I put in on the blog, people will then talk about it! haha.

For some reason, a few years ago when I first started breeding in the UK, the rumour went around that I charged 1000 pounds for my puppies. (that would be nearly $2000 US dollars!). Who knows where that idea came from but I actually had someone come up to quite aggressively at a show asking me about it; I think they were ready to have a go at me but then calmed down when I looked blankly at them and told them how much my pups were. I heard nothing else about it until this week.

I thought that was it; but this week someone (who is wanting a pup next year) asked me if it was true that my pups were 1000 pounds because she couldn't afford that. She was relieved when I told her that it was a rumour but she said she heard it from a few people.

SO.....to clear up the rumour: My pups do NOT sell for that amount or anything NEAR that amount. I personally think they are priceless but, for me, the right home is more important than any amount of money. So I just hope that some really good homes were not put off contacting me just because of that rumour. That would be sad.

The pups are growing up; they make me laugh. I am no closer to picking a puppy but think I have narrowed it down to two and it wasn't the same two I had picked last week! They change so often; I wish I could keep two of them but I know that I would not get the best out of both if I did that.

Dennis comes home on Thursday which is not soon enough! I miss him and the puppies miss him. He is such a big help with the pups and it has been exhausting this week without him.

Itsy looking adorable.

That's big drop for a little girl.

Oooops!

Girl Power puppy play 6 weeks video for Johanna

This is how I spend most of my day in-between cleaning up puppy poo. I have tried to use their names so that you can figure out who is who. I am hoping this encourages Grandma Johanna to come and visit them before they leave for their new homes!

As for the poo situation (also known as the poo-meter)....things have improved. We had almost 100% solidity this morning!

Dog in Japan

Dennis is away in Japan. On the weekend a Japanese friend took him around to do some photos. Dennis said he was so busy all weekend; they even went to Mount Fugi just to do photos at sunrise. Unfortunately they were thwarted as Mount Fugi was behind clouds that morning. I hope these photos do him justice as I just downloaded them from Picassa and they are not the originals.

He is having a great time and I think he is enjoying himself more than any other trip to Japan. He really wants me to come to Japan with him but I hate to leave the dogs for that long; I am getting quite sad in my old age.Anyway my husband is so sweet; he takes photos of dogs wherever he goes just to show me.

Here in Yokohama he took this photo of an older couple who put their chihuahua in the ladies' wheelchair! Or at least I hope it was their wheelchair and not just for the chihuahua. He knows I eventually want a chihuahua (long haired) of my own. I don't know why I do not just keep Itsy-Bitsy and be done with it as she is practically a chihuahua! Notice the pink sweater on the chihuahua; so cute! I am hoping Dennis finds that doggie store from his last trip and brings home something cute for my puppy. (whichever it is!)


On their travels they saw this dogpark and stopped for photos. Dennis said they had to leave the park because they got scolded that they were not allowed in. Apparently you have to pay a price to belong (I don't know if it is per day or per year). Is it not funny that the sign is in English? Although not the best shot he got a photo of the shelties. I guess the smog was bad as the man is wearing a surgical mask!

Girl Power pups 6 weeks

I had planned to add some new photos and video but poo gets in the way. The pups have been having some soft poo and this is requiring lots of cleaning and a trip to the vet. So I just don't have time to go through Dennis' photos from when I was away. Suffice to say there were hundreds of photos and Dennis did loads of work with the pups. Since Dennis is away now in Japan for the week; I have been trying to get some photos but he took the good camera with him. Bastard! So between cleaning up after the little darlings; I took some photos and video with my little camera. Not quite up to par with Dennis' photos but you will get the general idea! The whelping box has come out of the pen and I have added a crate (without door) and a raised bed. I thought the raised bed would be fun for them to jump on and off. Sometimes they sleep on it; sometimes under it. The bed has been a big hit.

The pups have been wearing their new little pink collars (bought in North Carolina at HUGE Petsmart). After the initial "I cannot move with this thing on me" they are now used to them and look really cute. Of course, Itsy has a slightly different pink collar as she needed a collar from the teeny-tiny collar section. Her collar is still pink but it has polka dogs on it. Gosh how I love buying pink puppy things! I could have gone crazy in the Petsmart store. I also placed an order with cleanrun while I was in the US and came home with a suitcase FULL of tuggie toys. Chubsy, Pork Chop and Itsy are great tuggers but Cutie needs extra work so I bought some great tug toys to see what worked best for her. Today I took them for a ride in my car; they got the top deck of the new cages. We stopped at the supermarket and just opened the back to let them watch the world go by. Next week I will start doing individual trips but that will have to wait until Dennis comes homes. My new car crates are great.

Itsy and Chubsy. Cutie and Pork Chop. I got this great child's toy from Ikea. It is a blow up seat and looks like a hedgehog. I thought it would be good for balance work once the pup gets older but they actually love playing on it now. We took some of the air out to make it small enough for the pups as this age. They use it as a trampoline and sometimes as a dog bed. Itsy is the funniest with it and I took some little videos. It is so hard to video pups; as soon as you get the video out they stop doing what they were doing!

Girl Power pups 5-6 weeks

Last week I recieved some sad news. My Aunt Mary (my godmother and my mother's twin sister) passed away suddenly. Thank God she did not suffer long and she died with her three children and many grandchildren by her side. My Aunt Mary was a ray of sunshine and a fabulous person; I will miss her.

Dennis, as usual, came through and got me plane tickets to fly out the next day to be able to attend my aunt's wake and funeral. I wanted to be there for her family, but also to say good-bye to her. It was a real Irish funeral; a celebration of her life. A sad event mixed in with lots of laughs about her life. She was the type of person who made everyone feel special; she made you feel good about yourself. I will never forget her laugh especially as it lives on in her children Mary, Elizabeth and Arthur.

I just got back home to England this afternoon and am so tired but wanted to post some you could all see what the pups have been up to. Dennis was in charge of the pups from Thurday to Monday. He took them on their first car ride and they had a visit at his office. They had some new visitors and met children for the first time. I hope to post more photos and video tomorrow but it depends on how tired I am feeling. First things first and I have pups to play with!

So here are a few tasters of what Dennis and pups got up to for the weekend.

I am glad they got to meet some nice children this weekend.



They took two car rides with Dennis; once in his car and once in mine. In my car they got to ride in the top cages and watch the world go by.




Dennis took the pups out of the car and into the office in a fancy basket!



And out pop the pups.



On Monday Dennis had to leave for Japan so I asked Nancy if she could watch the pups for one night. You can see their progress with Nancy on her blog at:

Nancy's Blog pups first day
and
Nancy's blog more pup fun

I think Nancy is absolutely fed up with picking up poo and wiping up wee! It was great of her to take care of the pups for us and she did a fabulous job. Thanks Nancy and thanks Andy for lending us Nancy!

More later when I have energy.

Girl Power pups 4-5 weeks

The pups will turn 5 weeks old on Thursday. They are eating 4x per day and are poo and wee machines. I should have asked for paper towels as Christmas presents!

The pups have had visits from Sonia and Bob, Hannah, Karen, Nandy and Sue. It is interesting to see how they react to different people. Each pup changes from day to day; one day one is bolder than the other and on another day one might be less sure than another. So far Pork Chop has the waggiest tail which is a rare quality in my shelties.

The ramp is down on the whelping box all the time now. The pups are pretty good about waking up and toddling down the ramp in order to pee and poo on the newspaper. Sonia and Bob have lent me extra puppy pen panels and the puppy pen is huge this time. It takes up half the living room! They spend much of the time out of the pen in the kitchen and hallway and running through the living room. But at least when they have to be in the pen; they have acres of room to sleep and play.

Here are three pups just woken up and waiting to roll down the ramp.



Do you think they have enough soft toys in their whelping box? You can hardly find Cutie-Pie.



Trying to escape. Hmmmm...... reminiscent of another pup from another litter?



Today the pups had their first trip outdoors. It has been cold here so I haven't had them out yet. Today, although cold, was sunny and the wind has died down. I took the pups out twice for only 5 minutes at a time. They dealt with it fine although after a few minutes started shivering from the cold.

Not a great photo but you get the idea!

Girl Power pups 3-4 weeks old

It goes without saying that time flies when you have a litter of pups. I am sure I say the same thing everytime. After Christmas my nephew Patrick came to visit and since I had to stay home with pups; Dennis spent 4 days taking Patrick around to do some sightseeing. Patrick had never been to England before so they spent 2 days in London and 2 days doing some local stuff. It was nice seeing family!

Since I haven't had much time to blog or download photo and videos; I thought I would just put a few on today to try and catch up.

The pups had their first meal at 3.5 weeks old. I like to hold off as long as possible but Zen is more of a working mum; she loves her pups for the first 3 weeks but as soon as puppy teeth start coming in....bye bye pups! So that is my cue to start feeding them.



After eating their first meal; Chubsy Wubsy fell asleep in the bowl.

Patrick is Terry's son so he knows Zinna (The Lil' Mouse) very well. So I took a photo of Patrick with the latest mini OBay sheltie called "Itsy Bitsy". Itsy is still very itsy bitsy and I hope she starts growing soon!

The pups have had a few visitors but we need more! So please come and visit but remember all visitors must sit on the floor! Here is Dennis bonding with the pups.

Some silly videos....Chubsy Wubsy and Zen play with the car and Pork Chop gets to know the stuffed chicken hanging on the puppy pen.