Thursday, December 21, 2006

Update

Here is the scoop from the last entry:

-Noodles had some dates with Kami and Bonnie's sister. They didn't like each other in the romantic way and maintained a platonic relationship.

-Chevy is a daddy! Kami had 9 puppies. They are all cream and beautiful. That means Mera is a grandma and Velvet is a great-grandma again.

-Holly is a grandma and Meeko is an uncle and Mera is an aunt and Velvet is a grandma. Kenia is Holly's son and Meeko's littermate. Kiwi is a Velvet/Koby puppy from their first litter together. She is Mera's littermate. Kenia and Kiwi live together with a breeder and just had 12 puppies together.

-Robbie and Steve have gone to their forever homes. That means Rosie and Pepper's pups all have their own families now.

-Tink's girl pup has been chosen. She is going to live with the same family who has Steve. That mean only one pup is left without a family.

Sunday, December 17, 2006

I'm thinking about giving up the diary. What do you think?

Here are my reasons:

1) Face it, every breeder deals with poo, worms, wacky customers, and sick puppies. Most breeders who have been around long enough will end up with an accidental pregnancy and perhaps even an instance of poor judgement. However, most breeders do not talk about it. Since I do talk about it, it can look like I'm the only one with these problems.

2) I'm getting tired of the diary. It is no longer fun, it is just another chore. It is boring. How many times now have I said "I can't believe how quickly they are growing up" "They got spayed/neutered today and are playing like nothing ever happened." "...."?

3) I'm putting personal stuff in it that I'm sure should not be shared with the world.

4) I've had people tell me they decided to get one of my puppies because they appreciated the honesty of the diary. Really though, I have to admit that I'm sure I've lost even more sales because of it.

5) Maybe I don't want to tell all anymore. Maybe I want to keep secrets like everybody else. I've never been good at keeping secrets though.

Thursday, December 14, 2006

Noodles' date

Holly was hung over this morning when I picked her up. She was miserable and swore she was never having a retirement party (getting spayed) again. Thank goodness she got better as the day wore on. By the time her family picked her up in the evening she seemed just fine.

Noodles had a date today with Kami's littermate/Bonnie's older sister. She played hard to get and he respected her wishes not to...well, you know what. Finally, after 2 years, I have a halfway decent picture of him.Noodles the BrideGroom.

Monday, December 11, 2006

Holly's retirement party

Holly's official retirement party was today. She partied so hard that she couldn't even drive home and had to spend the night there. Do you know what the Lincoln Manor breeding dogs do for their retirement party? They get altered...spayed or neutered...fixed...the big snip snip. I was going to pick her up this afternoon so she wouldn't have to spend the night. I ended up having them keep her over night. I was afraid she wouldn't get enough rest if she came back here. She is such a sweet dog. It is hard to imagine she is the same dog we brought back from Oklahoma. She was so skittish at first. Her guardian family has done a terrific job turning her around. She is not at all skittish anymore. She comes up for affection and even bumps my elbow with her head while I'm typing. Today I put together a booklet for her family. It has her test reports, a little blurb about where she came from, and who and where all her kids are. She has 9 puppies, 3 are breeding dogs now. Meeko is her pup so that means she is going to be a granny next month. That is funny. Have I mentioned lately what a big girl Holly is? I had forgotten how tall she is. No wonder her kids are so big.

Sunday, December 10, 2006

We need help

Here is an email I sent out this evening:
"Help guys,

"Someone who has three Labradoodles from me just now called me. She was in tears asking if I could find someone(s) to foster her dogs for a minimum of 2 months. She really does have a sob story (I'm being serious). She and her husband have a set of 8 yr old (maybe they are 9) triplets plus a 6 or 7 yr old son. The mom has health problems and now on top of that, she just got out of the hospital. She broke her leg in four places and is in a wheelchair. She will have a cast on for 6 months. It will be two months before she will be able to get out enough to be able to walk her dogs. Her husband is overwhelmed between taking care of her and the kids and working. He simply cannot take care of the dogs too. They are in a kennel right now. They are asking for someone to be able to keep them for about 2 months, possibly a little longer. They want to make it very clear this is only temporary and they absolutely do want their dogs back.

"About the dogs:
"Coco and Rascal are litter mates from Zion (Leather) and Noodles (BrideGroom). They are one year old and house trained. They are Australian Labradoodles around 40 pounds. Coco is intact and is going to breed for me next year. She just had her heat cycle about a month ago and isn't due for at least another 5 months. I can possibly keep Coco here if I can ever find a guardian home for Bessi. Rascal is mellow for a puppy, but the most active of these three. He wasn't neutered until last month. Pumpkin is an F1B from Rosie's Feb litter. He is a standard size and the most mellow of the three. He is a real sweetie and is neutered.

"Please let me know if you want to help. No need to respond to this if you can't or don't want to help. I am sending this out to everybody and I'm not keeping score. Some of you, I realize, there is no way you can take in another dog. I sent this anyway just hoping maybe you know someone who would like to try out a doodle for a little while.

"Oh by the way, I do need a guardian for a 10 month old F1B black and white Parti Labradoodle girl. I have more guardian dogs coming up in the spring.

Thanks guys,
Jane Stanger
www.lincolnmanor.com
765-642-8287 "

**********************************************************************************

I have made the difficult decision to sell Robbie as a pet. There are several for this decision. 1) I'm running short on guardian homes 2) I don't have a Poodle and that is what he would need bred with 3) umm...well we really need the money now.


Most of the pictures of Missy have been of her sleeping, like thisMissy
So I finally got some of her awakeIs she yawning or singing the blues? See how white she is underneath?
See her white tipped tail?

Saturday, December 09, 2006

Oh I got so caught up in the new baby yesterday that I forgot to mention that Noodles didn't get to work yesterday. Poor guy, his date won't be able to go see him until Monday.

Let's see, what else didn't happen yesterday that I forgot to mention? The prospective guardian didn't get to come see Bessie.

We've been Liudaless most of the week. Since we don't have many puppies right now I really don't need the help.

I took a nap today. That was such a rare treat. The only problem is I've been sick and that is why I napped. It would have been better had I not been sick.

Friday, December 08, 2006

Zokora is here!

Really I have no idea how to spell her name. It is pronounced like Zoe-Cora. Who is she you ask? That is Jill's birth sister. Jill's birthmom and birthmom's husband had a baby today. The husband called me from the hospital just as soon as she was born. They hadn't even weighed her yet when he called. Bryony and I ran up to see her. I took Jill up later this evening. sorry, this has nothing to do with Doodles

Bessie is doing well. Here is her today's pictureBessie. She is such a puppy. She likes to chew things. She has already eaten a glass Christmas tree ornament, among other things. She reminds me of Kori. Oh speaking of that...you know what else she does that Kori used to do? She puts her nose down at the bottom of Bryony's bedroom door and makes these whine-cry noises trying to get to the cat. She is in the same position as Kori and the sounds she makes is exactly like Kori. Bryony and Liuda keep talking about wanting to go visit Kori.

Thursday, December 07, 2006

Here are pictures of Tink and DaVinci's puppies.
Kris Kringle, the available boy.
Mistletoe "Missy", the available girl.
Beau, the chosen one.

Robbie and Steve are in jail I didn't have any help when I was trying to take their pictures. They wouldn't sit still and kept trying to follow me around. I finally put them in the puppy play pen so I could get far enough away from them to get their picture. They are so smart and so cute. Have I mentioned that yet today?

Wednesday, December 06, 2006

The puppies are all so cute. Tink's pups are playing now. They have these cute little baby barks and baby growls. I never get tired of it. Their coats are getting longer and curlier already. I'm still trying to decide if the girl is a Parti or just mismarked. I'm thinking she is just mismarked. She has that white patch on her head that goes down to her nose. Her tail has a white tip, and her front feet are white. She also has some white on her legs and chest. The boys have white patches on their heads and faces too, just not as much as the girl.

Rosie's pups are getting really big too. Robbie weighs 18 pounds and Steve weighs 19 pounds. They are almost as big as Tink. Well, they almost weigh as much, but she is taller.

Bessie is getting more comfortable with us. She is coming up to us for affection now. She has been sleeping in Jill's room at night.

Tuesday, December 05, 2006

Still waiting and waiting

Do you remember that stupid ILA surprise inspection I had October 19, 2006? Me to. I still haven't heard anything back on that. I was supposed to have a copy of the report within two weeks. Supposedly complaints were made against me. *coff coff* How am I supposed to know what to correct if I'm not made aware of the problems? The person I'm assuming ordered the inspection (I don't even know for sure it was ordered since I was never given a report) was no longer in office at the time of the inspection. The person who did the inspection left office very shortly after the inspection. Anyway, I'll report back when I hear something (or not).

Monday, December 04, 2006

Beau got picked

A family came today to look at Tinker Belle's litter. They knew they
wanted a boy and decided on Beau. They liked both boys and decided on
that one because his coat is just a little less curly. See, they are an
experienced doodle family. They know the curlier the coat, typically
the more difficult the maintenance. I like showing off my puppies. It is so much fun. One Tink puppy down, two to go.

Sunday, December 03, 2006

Bessie and I have been stood up. Somebody was supposed to come Friday but called to reschedule for yesterday but was a no-call-no-show yesterday. I thought maybe I
misunderstood and that it was supposed to be today instead. So, I stuck
around all day today too but they were a no-call-no-show again. What a
wasted December weekend.

Saturday, December 02, 2006

Tinks puppies started playing today! That is so cute. This is their very first toddelie play. Their eyes are all open now and they are toddling around like little baby dogs. I guess that is because they are little baby dogs.

My other babies, Robbie and Steve, are so big. They are 18 pound brutes now. They are going to be big gooder-ole-dogs when they grow up. They are so wonderful that I can't believe they are still here.

Friday, December 01, 2006

The night the lights went out

Today was part frustrating part fun. I started out working on answering emails. This is what some of the new emails were: 1) 2nd inquiry from a family that is interested in Steve, 1) a different person also with a follow up question regarding Steve 3) an application for a puppy, no specific pup 4) application for one of Tink's pups 5) new inquiry from a prospective guardian family (came accross to me as a half hearted inquiry, nothing to get too excited about), 6) Liuda is not coming in today. First I went through and read all the emails and deleted the junk mail. Then I went through and was answering them. I was in the middle of answering one when the power went out. Oh that is right, we were in the middle of a big storm. Our power frequently goes out and usually comes right back on. I wasn't terribly worried about it. Well, after an hour I started getting antsy. Somebody (probably a body that walks on 4 legs) chewed up my cell phone charger and I haven't replaced it yet. That means that in essence, I don't have a cell phone. Also, all our phones are cordless and that means they don't work without electricity. I was expecting a prospective guardian family to come this afternoon to meet Bessie, our new parti dood. She was supposed to call first. I had no way of calling her and she wouldn't be able to get hold of me. I also wanted to be available in case somebody wanted to call and get a puppy. So, I loaded up the girls during this high wind (it sounded like our roof was going to blow off) and went to K-Mart. I got a cell phone charger and a corded land line phone. Jill was funny. When we got home and I hooked the corded phone up, Jill went over to it and said "It is like a phone". Kids these days...
The power never did come back on today. The good neighbor called to let me know it was not expected to be repaired until tomorrow. That means I had no computer today! Holy cow! That was so frustrating. I couldn't go check my email while eating. I couldn't go read the forums while waiting for the power to come back on either. We are on well water and have an electric pump. That means that once the holding tank was empty we would have no water. I was in the middle of doing the dishes (between emails) when the power went out so at least we had 2 sinks full of water. I finished the dishes and left the water in there so we could wash our hands. I also filled up the dogs water bowls with the water that was left in the holding tank. The prospective guardian family called to say they would not be out today. They will come tomorrow afternoon instead.

Going without power is fun every now and then. This is one of those times. Rick fixed a nice steak dinner and we ate by candle light (of course). Jill went to spend the night at my mom's, Bry went to a friend's house, Rick went out with his buddy. Aahhhhhh, that meant the Doodles and I had the whole quiet house to ourselves. Ahhhhhhh....that is bliss. After I let the dogs and pups (Robbie and Steve are doing well with potty training) out to potty and back in, I washed their feet the best I could with the damp towel I used on them this morning. Then I layered up in warm jammies, gathered my blankie and pillows and fixed up my favorite chair for the night. I snuggled down with a flashlight on my shoulder and read "The Other End of the Leash" by Patricia B. McConnell until I fell asleep. Ahhhh...life doesn't get much better than that.

Thursday, November 30, 2006

The King has returned

Do you remember Duchess and her little itty bitty puppies? We placed ono of the boys in a guardian home. He is 6 months old now. Here is was as a baby and here he is now He is so cute he doesn't even look real. He is 10 1/2 inches tall and 9 pounds. He came over for a little bit today to visit.

Here are Steve and Robbie, Rosie's remaining puppies.
Steve loves playing with stuffed toy fluff.
Robbie wouldn't hold still for a good picture.
Fill it up?
I'm teaching them not to bite. See?

Wednesday, November 29, 2006

Christmas pictures

Tinker Belle's (just found out from her breeder her first name is Tinker and her middle name is Belle. She is named after her mom, Bella) puppies' eye are opening. Here are their new pictures.
1st boy
Girl
2nd boy.

Tuesday, November 28, 2006

Jill is sick. Liuda took care of the dogs and puppies and I took care of JillyBean.

Monday, November 27, 2006

The fight for the test results

I'm getting just a bit frustrated. On October 27th one of our guardian dogs went for her hip testing. Her name is Chamois. She is from Velvet and Koby's Oct 24th
2005 litter. Her guardian family took her to the vet for me. I called
the vet's office before hand to make the arrangements and pay. They
were supposed to have put it all in my name, use her registered name,
and use her microchip number. I also paid extra to get expedited
results. Well, here it is a month later. After several phone calls over
the past 2 weeks I finally have the results. It is in the guardian
family's name, my name is not listed at all. It only has her call name,
no microchip number, no registration number. I'm not happy about this. It wouldn't do any good for me to call Pennhip because since I'm listed as the owner I can't make any changes. I called the vet's office and told them that while it is nice to finally
know the results and that we can breed her, this piece of paper is not
going to do me any good. I need the certificate to at least have her
registered name and/or micro chip number on it, preferably both.

Before this string of bad luck, I had all but decided to spay Chamois and not
breed her since she isn't the most beautiful doodle I've ever seen.
However, she has a terrific disposition, good conformation, and is just
a great all around dog. I decided to go ahead and do her health testing
and if they turn out really good then she should be bred. There is more
to a good dog than good looks. Do you remember Deni, the very first
puppy born here? Wellll, I can't really say she would win any beauty pageants either. However, she had great health test results and is very smart and athletic. She and Koby had a litter here before moving along and not all the puppies are ugly.
When deciding if a dog should be bred this is some of what we look at:
over all general health, temperament, parents, pedigree, health of siblings, hips, eyes, thyroid, coat quality, over all beauty, conformation. Each one of those things is just one part of the whole. If one area is lacking a little then she can be bred with a dog that is very strong in that area.
Speaking of Deni's puppies. Here is a picture I got today of one of her cute puppies born here Oct '04. His baby picture
Here he is at 2 years oldBow all grown up.
My babies are growing up.

Woo Hoo! We are famous. The news segment went well. I didn't look too stupid.

Sunday, November 26, 2006

Reality

We had to come home today. (whiiiine) I wanted to stay.

I did miss the doods though and was glad to see them. They acted glad to see me too. Man, Robbi and Steve must have gained 10 pounds while we were gone. They are getting to be like dogs now, not just puppies. Tink's pups are getting big too.

Saturday, November 25, 2006

The vacation continues

This trail riding is fun...but ouch

Friday, November 24, 2006

The family vacation

We went to a dude ranch with my dad and his wife, and my 14 siblings, in-laws, neices, nephews, etc... A couple stayed at our house to care for the doodles while we were gone.

Thursday, November 23, 2006

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving everybody. Something that I think was really funny happened, but in the spirit of the family-friendly holiday I will spare you the details.

Wednesday, November 22, 2006

The puppies are doing well. Bessie is fitting in and seems to feel more comfortable. Robbie and Steve are cute. Ashes is in heat. Velvet is lovely.

Tuesday, November 21, 2006

TV

Da Vinci came over this morning. He, Tinkerbelle, their three puppies, Robbie, Steve, Bryony,
and I went to Indianapolis this morning. We were taped for a little
segment of the news. A reporter called last week (I guess I forgot to
tell you she called when Tinkerbelle had her first puppy) and asked if I
would be willing to sit down and talk to them about designer dogs. That
sent a red flag up and I was really afraid of what their slant would
be. I so did not want to be there and they start blasting me. When she
said she also wanted to talk to a doodle owner I immediately thought of
Beth from IDOG . She is
the one I got the Today Show to send to NY to be on the show with me.
Beth and her husband are terrific. They have trained their dogs to be
search
and recovery dogs a have started the International Doodle Owners group
and have started a non profit Doodle rescue organization. She is the
perfect one to talk about our doodles. I just figured there would be
several people there and I would be able to just sit quietly while the
others did the talking. Ha. Nope, that isn't how it worked. First the
camera man got some footage of all the dogs and puppies. Then he wired
me with a lapel mike and had me sit in a chair with the camera directly
on me. The reporter sat beside the camera out of view. She asked me
questions. I was nervous. Beth had a turn next. She did really well.
Hopefully she will get more airtime. We will be on sometime during the
10:00 p.m. news hour Monday Nov 27th on FOX 59 in Indianapolis.

Monday, November 20, 2006

Bessie's hips

Bessie went to the vet today for her hip testing. She had her hips tested via the Pennhip method. The vet thought they looked good and said she will probably get good scores, yeah. I took a gamble getting her untested. Her parents and a couple siblings have had their hips tested and have good scores. I was sure hoping hers are good too.

Sunday, November 19, 2006

Wwaaaahhhhhh!!!!!

Rosie's two remaining pups, Robbie and Steve, are getting so big and fat and cute.
src=http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b6cf38b3127cce8eb6c68405c200000015108Qcs2jdw2ag>Is
this really Robbie, or a stuffed animal?

src=http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b6cf38b3127cce8eb6d157458200000015108Qcs2jdw2ag>Steve
almost looks like a baby Kori.

Party has a new name now. src=http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b6cf38b3127cce8eb7802ca43500000016108Qcs2jdw2ag>Do
you think she looks like a "Bessie"? Teri (my sister) thought that name
up. I think it is a good one. Her name is Bessie now. Bessie got a
bath. She played outside much of today and got all dirty. She was so
cute outside. She was jumping around and attacking leaves and sticks
and toys. She had a great time.

O.k., I've been putting off the
dew claws long enough. Finally shortly before midnight I went in to
remove the dew claws - to cut their little toes off - to pull out their
thumbs. Man I hate that, can you tell? I walked in the bathroom
and...oh my gosh....noooooo........ The fourth-born, a little girl, is
dead. Just barely dead but dead all the same. I did CPR, gave
injections of NS and of glucose water. Nothing brought her back around.
I had decided not to keep any of these puppies for breeding, but if I
had I thought this little girl would be the one. I'm not exactly sure
what happened. I noticed all today that something just didn't seem
quite right with her. She had this short little cry and I never saw her
nursing. Her belly was fat like she was nursing fine and I wondered if
I just happened to only go in the bathroom between feedings for her.
Still, I kept telling myself that I needed to keep a closer eye on her.
She is also the one thatTink ignored when first born. This pup is the one that when Liuda happened to check under Tink's tail to make sure everything was fine, she found a pup still enclosed in the sac just lying there. Tink ignored her until I picked her up, broke the sac, cleared the airway, and got her going. Maybe either Tink
knew something was wrong with her and was going to let nature take its
course, or maybe she went without oxygen for too long and was never
quite right. Or, maybeTink layed on her. Who knows, but it is sad.

This really hurts. This makes 4 girls dead and a missed pregnancy all in the past 2 months.

Saturday, November 18, 2006

Coming and going day

Sometime in the very early morning hours my sister came home from
running an errand for me. She went to TN to see Sherry at Dandy Doodles
and brought back a Party for me.
This is Party, an F1B Labradoodle. She is 9 months old. She is one week older than Rosie's first litter. I'm going to change her name.

I
went to bed shortly before 1:00 this morning and had to get back up at
3:00 a.m. to take Ernie to the airport. I took a money order with me to
pay for his airfare. They wouldn't accept it. Good thing I had enough
money in my checking account to cover it. yikes, and I thought that
would be a good idea.

Duncan went home at 2:30 p.m. His family
drove all the way from WI to get him. This was the first time they had
seen him in person. They were very pleased and said he looks even cuter
in person.

Mike went home around 3:30. They had seen him before
and were happy to be taking him home today. They are going to train him
to do therapy work.

Poor Steve and Robbie.

I keep putting off removing the new baby pups' dew claws.

Friday, November 17, 2006

Today I finished putting together the books I make for the puppies. Also got the puppy blankets finishd and dog their bags packed. Ernie got a bath and got his crate packed.

Tinkerbelle and her pups are doing really well.

Thursday, November 16, 2006

Tinkerbelle has puppies

Wow, Tinkerbelle surprised us by having her puppies today. I'll fill you in tomorrow. All is well. Ssee our availabl puppies page and our chat page for more info and to see pictures.

Wednesday, November 15, 2006

Davinci spent the night last night and stayed again today to play. It was great having him around. I miss him. He is such a great dog. He went home this evening.

Tinkerbelle came over yesterday. She is staying until after she has and raises her pups. She is pregnant by Da Vinci. They did speak a bit but he is through with Tinkerbelle. He is more interested in Ashes. That is not nice of him. He can't have Ashs anyway. Tink barely looks pregnant. She isn't due until next Tuesday the 21st. She has a lot of growing to do.

Honey, the Josie Da Vinci
girl we have in a guardian family, came over this evening so I could
give her shots to her. She is incredibly gorgeous. She also weighs a
little less than Rosie's puppies.

Tuesday, November 14, 2006

Charity Event

Da Vinci came over this morning and played. He had his nose up Ashes' butt most of the day. Oh well, at least it was just his nose.

This evening I took Da Vinci and 2 of Rosie's pups, Ernie and Mike, to the Children's Bureau Dave Thomas Celebrity Cook-off and silent Auction. I'm thinking I already told you all about it and about all my stipulations for donating a pup for it, so I will spare you all that now. I brought these three guys just as demonstrations. This was a much bigger and fancier deal than what I thought it was going to be. We were the hit of the evening. All three of my guys did fantastic and each drew their own fans and each had people who wanted to buy them. After several hours I could tell that Da Vinci was getting tired and overwhelmed. He started facing the wall and had his tail pointed down. I thought that was a very nice way of telling me he had enough. I took him out to the van and let him spend the last part of the evening in there by himself. He seemed to appreciate that. The pups did great. They didn't whine or pee or anything. Well, they did pee, but only when someone took them outside to do that. The couple that won the bid for a puppy passed the application and everything. They have always had a dog but their last dog died. They have been thinking of getting another. This was a great way for them to help the Children and to get a great dog all at the same time. They are going to get Mike and have him trained to become a therapy dog. I'm tired, good night.

Monday, November 13, 2006

A misc day

Today was a day for odds and ends. I was really busy but didn't do anything in particular.
Rosie's pups got their second set of immunizations. The neutered boys got their stitch out. Poor Ernie. His stitch was deep and I had to dig to get to it. I couldn't have timed this any better. There Liuda and I were in full view of the front door. We had Ernie on his back with his little parts up in the air and I was digging around there trying to get the stitch out. Just then Bryony walked in from school. Niiiice, she really appreciated seeing that the moment she walked in. I was having troubles finding the stitch. Have I mentioned lately that I lost my glasses on the airplane on the way to FL? I went to the eye doctor last week and am now waiting for my bifocals. Whhiiiiine...I'm getting old. Anyway, Luida couldn't get the stitch. This was hurting Ernie and making him cry and Luida just couldn't bring herself to do it. I handed, or should I say "tried to hand", Bryony the suture removal scissors and asked her to do it. Surprisingly enough she refused. She did at least hold a flashlight for me. That helped a bunch and I was able to get it right out.

What?! Luida?! Did I mention Liuda? Could it be could it be? Yessssss!!!!!!!!! she loves me, she really loves me. One day I came home from taking the girls to school and there was Luida's BMW in my driveway. I was afraid to get my hopes up and thought maybe she was just here for a visit. I walked in the house and there she was in her work clothes, rubber gloves, and cleaning puppy poo. I was sooo excited and wanted to hug her.

Sunday, November 12, 2006

Caught up

I am totally caught up with my diary now. This is Sunday so we didn't have any appointments. I've been working with the puppies teaching them to come and sit.

nitey nite

Saturday, November 11, 2006

Veteran's Day

When I was in the Navy, I was stationed on Adak, Alaska. Only when I was there the whole island was nothing but a Navy base, no civilian community, no McDonald's, no Pizza Hut, no nothing. Even so, I would love to go back.

Today was bathie time and picture day for Rosie's puppies. They average 11 pounds. Here they are, they are still damp in the pictures.
Steve is still available.
Duncan, Uncle Charley, will be moving to WI.
Mike needs a family. He has that "go ahead and do what ever you want to me" attitude.
Robbie either need a guardian family, or I would be willing to sell him to just the right breeder.
Ernie's new family is going to keep the name Ernie. It rhymes with their last name and sounds really cute.
New Sally got a new family today and a new name. She is now Sadie and lives with a guardian family.

Friday, November 10, 2006

Dave Thomas Celebrity Cook-off and silent auction

Did you know November is National
Adoption Month
? The Indiana Children's Bureau is having a Dave
Thomas Celebrity
Cook-Off and silent auction
. When they called to ask if I
would donate a puppy to the auction I felt torn. Of course adoption is
near and dear to us. Yet, the idea of auctioning off a puppy is appalling to me. I listed some strict stipulations and they agreed. These are my requirements:
1)
The winner must undergo the same screening as anyone else. He/she must
fill out an application. I will not give a pup to anyone I don't feel
comfortable with no matter if he/she wins the bid.
2) The pup cannot be a gift for someone else.
3) I will not donate a specific pup to be auctioned off.
4) The winner must be matched to the right pup for them.
5) The winner will not go home with a pup that day. The winner must take his/her time and be adequately prepared before bringing home a pup.

I'm
sure I said other stuff too, but I don't remember. I'm listed here
and even get an extra page here.

Thursday, November 09, 2006

This morning Ashes had to go the vet bright and early for her pre breeding testing. When I picked her up later they asked if I was aware she was cycling. Uh, no, I didn't know that. They said it looks like she is only just now starting. She has a very little blood and no swelling. That explains it. That is why Noodles was such a nut case yesterday and why he and Ashes were flirting so much. I asked them to put a rush on the testing. I also had them draw a progesterone level. When I got home I sent an email to Meeko's guardian mom. I think they are on vacation now. Hope they hurry home.

Rosie's puppies are getting so big and are just adorable. They are going to be big dogs. They also look like they are going to be "gooder 'ole dogs". They have that look in their eyes like they will be the best dogs ever in the world, they will be a child's best dog friend ever. Do you know what I mean?

Here are a coupld of them:
Steve would make a good working dog.
Ernie will be moving to New York.
The pups got to play outside in the sunshine today. They loved it.

Wednesday, November 08, 2006

Still waiting

Lewis, the last of the Josie pups, went home today. I took him to the airport early early this morning. It was scary driving in the dark without my glasses.

After taking Lewis to the airport I hurried home and got Jill and Bryony up and ready for school, took Ashes and Velvet on a quick 1 1/2 mile walk, took Bry to school, took Jill and a Rosie pup to school (I take a pup or dog to Jill's school every day twice a day, just don't always mention it here), picked up Noodles (BrideGroom), went back home, picked up New Sally and Robbie and Lacey (who was dropped off here a few minutes earlier), and took them to the eye doctor in Indianapolis. Noodles was a complete noodle. He was really something. It was a good thing Bryony went with me to help. Somebody had called me as I was trying to get out the door to get the doods to the eye doctor. I was running late and was a bit distracted. Since he was really close to where the eye dr is, I had him meet me there. I felt badly that I was not able to completely concentrate on talking to him. I think it went o.k. though, he was able to see New Sally and Robbie. He was interested in being a guardian and just happened to work out well that we were able to meet up.

The CERF exams went perfectly on all four doods. They are done and out of the way for another year. Coco and Tucker are due to have their eyes examined next. Rosie and Francie will be due next April.

We had our very own doodle romp in our back yard this afternoon when we got back from the eye doctor. They had fun. Noodles was wacko. He and Ashes played and played and flirted and had a great time.

I was supposed to have a written report of that ILA kennel inspection within two weeks. It has been one day short of three weeks now and I still don't have it.

Tuesday, November 07, 2006

Lewis had a big day today. He went to Jill's school twice, the vet for his health certificate, and went shopping at the pet supply store. He certainly received more than his fair share of attention. He is just a pretty boy. He got to try out some crates and pick just the right one to fly home in. He goes home tomorrow. Oops, do you suppose I ought to let his family know he is going home to them tomorrow and that they need to go to the airport to pick him up? Here we are doing all this preparing and yet almost forgot to let his family know. I just called them and good thing they are delighted and good thing they are able to pick him up tomorrow. I was up really late tonight.
Bye bye Lewis, you were my favorite from the moment you were born because of your white chin, white 'r' on your chest, and your white toe.


It about killed me to have you neutered. I will miss you.

Monday, November 06, 2006

Wham bam...

It was 2:00 a.m. before I got to bed this morning, and before 6:00 when I had to get up.

According to the progesterone testing, today is Mera's peak day for breeding. Mera spent the night so she would be here when Meeko and his guardian family arrived today. They came over around 10:00 a.m. or so. We let Meeko and Mera say hi to each other while we went over to look at Rosie's pupppies.
I handed one of the pups to the mom and, oops yuck, he had some dried
poo on him. I haven't had a chance yet to bathe them
(sigh...remembering the Laaaazy River). I real quick like took one of the pups in my bathroom to give him a bath. When I was just finishing up with him, Meeko's mom came to let me know Meeko and Mera were doing the deed. So I walk in the living room, and where do you think they were? Yup, on the luuuuv couch. That silly Mera. I'll just bet it is a learned behaviour for her now. That is the only place where Da Vinci was able to reach her and now she must think that is where she has to be for it. It was really pretty funny. Meeko is a big boy and he doesn't need the couch to reach her. When they were done, I disinfected
the couch. I don't think I will ever have a cloth couch again. How in
the world could they be sanitary? Sure, not everyone has dogs doing it
on their couch. But still, people sit on them and maybe even put their
feet on them. So,Meeko arrived at 10:00 and was leaving already at
10:30 a.m. He arrived, said hi, did the deed, romped for a minute in
the backyard, licked the top of Mera's head and told her "thank you, bye" and was off.
Yessss....what a good stud boy he is going to be!

Sunday, November 05, 2006

The Laaaazy River

Aaahh, today was the best, except for the going home part that came later. I slept in as late as I wanted. It was after 8:00 a.m. before I got up, wow. I spent the entire morning lounging around in my fuzzy purple footie jammies hanging out with my four apartment mates (and Renee when she got around to coming over). So far 3 out the 6 of us has sold a puppy via cell phone and/or computer this weekend. I was not one of them.

This resort has a water park that has a Lazy River in it. Renee and I finally got around to going. As soon as we got there I called the others and strongly advised they come join us. I assured them they did not have to wear bathing suits or get wet. The winning points for them was that we could order food here. Everyone was hungry.
Anyway, Renee and I didn't waste any time checking out the Lazy River. It looked so peaceful and tranquil. One of my very favorite things is just floating on an inner tube and enjoying the sunshine (and not getting wet). So, it took some fancy moves but I managed to get on a tube and on the water without getting wet at all. Aaaahhhhhh...this is the life...just floating along...letting the sun gently wash over us...not a care in the world...aaaahhhhh...perfection....we float around the bend...and what is that sound Renee...do you hear that...what the...OH MY GOSH IT IS A WATERFALL! No...it is right in the middle of the river. Oh we hurry and try to paddle to the side with our hands. Renee managed to get to the side and she reached her hand out to save me. It was all so very dramatic. I managed to grab her fingers and pull over far enough to grab a fern. Ferns don't exactly have branches, but what ever it is ferns have it saved my life because I was able to grab it and pull myself over to to the side. So we kept a hold of the side and inched past the waterfall without getting wet. Whew...glad that is over...now where were we...aaahhhh...back to enjoying peace and tranquility. Hey! Not another waterfall...but...but...that is not fair and it didn't give us enough warning...noooooo...save me Renee....I...can't...make...it...splash splash glug glug. Well, that was invigorating. I went right square under the waterfall and got drenched. Somehow it wasnt' as bad as I thought it would be though. The water wasn't freezing and the sun is warm. I have to keep reminding myself that we aren't in Indiana. Hey, no fair, Renee didn't get sucked under the waterfall, she is dry. humpf! I'll have to try to talk her in to going for another round so I can shove her tube in the current so she can experience the waterfall too. One must get the full experience to thoroughly enjoy it. In the meantime, back to the peace and tranquility. When we rounded another corner there was a young man working there. They had these life guard people stationed here and there to ensure the safety of the guests. So where was my life guard when I was about to get drenched? Renee and I start giving him a hard time about us get getting wet. He made it sound like we were idiots for being surprised that we might get wet while playing in the w-a-t-e-r (that is what he said). Somehow I don't think he caught on that we were only teasing. When we rounded another corner we spotted the others so we got out (without getting wetter).

We found a nice area to lounge and we ordered our food. It seemed to take forever to get there. I only had about another hour before I needed to leave for the airport. Finally it arrived and just as we were getting ready to eat, Diane's phone rang. It was kind of funny. All weekend when someone's phone rang the rest of us would say "oh, maybe she is going to sell a puppy", and we got excited for her. It was neato hanging out with others who know exactly how it is. Our long awaited and expensive food had just arrived but Diane didn't mention it to the caller. She was very happy to talk to her about her puppies. Renee and I were following along. That was pretty funny too. When Diane told the caller "he is 11 weeks old" I leaned over to Renee and pretended to be the caller "what is wrong with him? why is he still there?". Then Diane, who was oblivious to anything else, said to the caller "there is absolutely nothing wrong with him, he just....". Then I leaned over to Renee and we both said at the same time "would you be willing to come down on the price since he is so old?" Yes, of course that was the next question Diane answered for the caller. We couldn't hear the caller but we knew what she was going to say next. See, there are others that live my life. This is the best part of the weekend. Just being with others who understand and know how it is. She likely sold the puppy. That makes just two of who didn't sell one. pout

Whiiiinnneee....I don't wanna go .....

I pried myself from the lounge chair and drove back to the apartment, showered, packed, and drove back to the airport. Yikes, I had to go out of my way to find a gas station to fill up the SUV. I'm running late and I just know I will have some type of problem when I turn in the SUV. Oh man, why did I do this to myself? O.k., I found a gas station, filled up, and found my way to the airport and to the rental return. Wow...no problems at all and it didn't cost anything extra for the SUV. wow. Now, I'm still running late.

I drag my luggage to the terminal and I am faced between using the elavator or the escalator. I figure the escalator must be faster so I climb aboard. Why is this a big deal you may ask? Because it goes up two stories...straight up...no getting off anyplace...just straight up two flights. My hands and feet are sweating for real now just reliving that nightmare. So there I drag my luggage on and go up and up and up and up...I'm a little over half way up...and oooohhhh myyyy goshhhhh...I just know I am going to die...this is it....my luggage is going to pull me backwards and I am going to fall back down the stairs and I am going to be killed...that is it...there is not a doubt in my mind I am going to die right here right now. I try closing my eyes but that makes it worse because I'm afraid I will lose my balance and fall backwards and down the stairs and die. (I have to keep stopping and wiping my hands as I'm writing this). I can't turn around and I can't get off. I just have to stay on until I get to the top and hope I don't trip at the top or get stuck and fall down the stairs and die. I try meditating and repeating to myself that I have never heard of or seen anyone falling down an escalator and dieing. I've never seen anyone falling down an escalator. but...I've never seen anyone getting murdered, never seen anyone get hit by a train, never seen anyone fall off a roof; but I know all those things happen. I was with one of my sisters once when she broke her arm on an escalator. Made it! Whew, I made it and I didn't die. Wow, I had to hurry and walk away from there because I was afraid I would trip or sneeze or somehow my luggage would force me back to there and I would die.

Had to hurry had to hurry I was running late. Whew, the flight was delayed and I was fine. Once on the plane I admit that I looked around for my glasses again. I was sitting in the same seat as before, but not certain it was the same plane. The flight was uneventful, thank goodness.

Ooohhhh man...I lost my van keys. When I got my luggage I ended up taking everything out 2 times looking for my keys. It was 11:00 p.m. or so when I had to end up calling Rick asking him to drive an hour each way to bring my keys. For some reason he didn't act too thrilled to see me when he got here.

I sold a puppy over the weekend and didn't even know it. There is someone I had been talking to about Lewis the Josie/DaVinci pup that is still here. She had submitted an application already but just hadn't been quite ready to commit. When I got home of course I made a bee line to the computer and saw she had sent in payment in full for Lewis. Well how about that. He will go home this week.

The house was not in bad shape at all.

Saturday, November 04, 2006

The Romp and Dinner

I'm still in Orlando, Florida at a Doodle breeders convention thingie.

Wow, I slept in this morning. No puppy whines, no toddler getting in our bed, no alarm clocks, no husband snoring, no nothing but peace and quiet. We (not the royal we, my apartment mates) couldn't lounge around too long though. The Doodle Romp started at 9:00 a.m. and I was going spastic thinking we might be late. It was a beautiful day. It was perfectly sunny and warm. When we got to the romp I ended up taking off my shoes and going barefoot. I half expected a dog to run off with my Crocs, but they didn't. The romp was really nice. They had a service there with a guy walking around with a pooper scooper picking up the poos right away, very nice.
Here are pictures (not of the pooper scooper):
See how nice it is outside? I'm barefoot in November.

One of the breeders who helped put this weekend together trains killer whales at Sea World. She had the dog trainer from Sea World come to our romp with his dog and do a demonstration for us. It was really neato. I took their pictures because they are probably famous and I just don't know it.


Here are some breeders and some people (what, like breeders aren't people?)

They gave prizes away and I was a winner! I won a water bottle and Renee won a nice basket of doggie biscuits. We coveted each other's prize so we swapped. I feel badly that I don't know who donated it. I would like to thank them.

After the romp some of us were hungry and wanted to go grab something to eat. I didn't want to leave anybody out, so I went around to each breeder and invited him/her to join us. It was all very last minute. Imagine my delight at the restaurant as eventually almost all of the breeders showed up. It was great. It was so fun seeing in person the people I hang out on the forums with. I would so love to name-drop, but I better not. I don't know how shy some of the other breeders. Hey, if you were there and want to say "hi", feel free to post a comment with your website and email address included. I sat next to Renee. She doesn't come across as being shy. She is hilarious.

After lunch I was supposed to go get my bathing suit on and meet Renee, Karen, and Peggy at the pool. Well, I did get my suit on, wrapped a towel around me and drove off to where I thought the pool was. I saw a sign for the pro shop and was thinking the pool was behind that. The parking lot was nearly full and there were people walking around in nice golfing clothes. Somehow I felt uncomfortable with the idea of walking through an upscale golf shop wearing a bathing suit and towel. This isn't Motel 6. I was disappointed and got depressed and went back to the apartment and went to bed. Ahhhh, that was nice to go to bed in the middle of the day. I took a 2 1/2 hour nap. That was total luxury, but not a luxurous as napping by the pool would have been. I felt badly at standing the others up. I tried.

That evening we went to dinner and listened to two speakers. The first speaker was Dr Arun of the Florida Animal Reproductive Center I learned lots from him. The other speaker was a trainer who told us how/when to train our pups before they go to their new homes. I learned lots from her too. I'd say the weekend was worth it. It was so great to chat with the other breeders. One of the poor breeders got a phone call from home during dinner. His 14 yr old Poodle died unexpectedly.
Here are some pictures from this evening. I won't tell you who they are unless they let me know it is o.k.
Those are not pictures in the background. That is really real.

Ta Da!

We all lined our cameras up and one of the employees so kindly took pictures with each of our camera. The battery of my camera died so I wasn't able to take anymore pictures. This was good though.
They had give aways this evening too. I won some shampoo and conditioner that Mindi donated. Thank you Mindi, I have been enjoying them.

Speaking of being a winner. I forgot to mention that another breeder had shirts and hats made that she gave to each of us. Someone also donated Lupine collars and I won one. Again, I feel badly that I don't remember who. I think it might have been Alisa that donated them.

Friday, November 03, 2006

Leaving on a jet plane

2:30 a.m. came too quickly. Bright and early, 5:55 a.m., this morning I flew to Orlando to a doodle breeders convention. The sky was bright and blue and the sun was warm. The book I'm reading while doing the airport/airplane thing is "Cesar's Way" by Cesar Millan, star of National Geographic Channel's Dog Whisperer. It is great. You guys should all read it and watch his show.

We arrived in Orlando at 9:35 a.m. That meant I had all day to enjoy the sunshine. That airport is so big we had to take a tram over to the other side of the airport to get our luggage. (that is the royal we and our) O.k., so, I have my luggage and I go over to the car rental place. There all these counters for all these different car rental companies, and only one company has a line. It isn't just a couple of people, but a whole big long line of people waiting. I'm looking at my car rental reservation that I printed out yesterday. It says something like "bypass the lines, go directly to pick up your car...", so naturally I thought "well, I don't have to be like all those poor people, I get to skip the line". I dragged my luggage and walked way over to the garage to get my car. The chick there looked at my reservation and said I would have to go back over to the airport and wait in line. But...but...it says...she didn't care what it said. She said I have to go back, so back I went. It look forever, I was so glad I didn't have an appointment or any reason to be in a hurry. After I waited forever and signed the form I went back over to the parking garage. It was so weird, they said to just go pick out the car I wanted that was in the area I signed up for. They all had keys and I was just supposed to get in and drive away. They had tons of cars, but only two in the Premium section. There was just a little car that didn't look like anything special, and an SUV. Ooooo, that SUV had to be a mistake...I wonder if I would get caught if I took it....oooo but it was in the premium section. I looked around to see if anybody was watching...then I real quick-like put my bags in. This chick came over and looked disappointed to see that other car was the only one available in that section, she got in it and drove away. Well, that means this SUV is the only one in this section. Still I was just waiting for someone to come over and tell me I couldn't have that one. I got in, looked around figuring out how to operate everything then back it up and started driving off. This was too easy, what was to keep people from just diving away in them without signing up? Oh, I get it now, we had to stop and show our paperwork before getting out of the garage. Oh great, there is no getting away now, he is going to see I signed up for premium and not an SUV. But but this was the only vehicle in the Premium section. His computer must have been down or something. It was forever to get up there. The plane landed at 9:35 a.m. and it was 11:30 a.m. before I finally got out of there. He just looked at my paper work, did something in the computer (probably dialed the cops to report me for stealing an upgrade) and said o.k. I am free to go. I said "That's it?" oh gee, do you suppose I could have been more subtle? and he said "yes, that is all". off I drove. Oh, did I mention that I lost my glasses on the first flight? Yup, I have to take them off to read. I either put them in my shirt pocket or had them on top of my head when I was reading and waiting to board the first flight. I don't remember if I put them back on when I got up to board the plane. At any rate, they were no where to be found when the first flight landed. I really need them for distance vision. That means it is scary for me to drive without them. Well, actually, driving during the day in good weather is fine. So, anyway, off I drove. What an adventure to hop on a flight, grab a car, and drive to the resort. I drove right to it. It was about 1/2 drive and would have cost $78 each way for a cab or if the resort hired a car for me. No thanks, driving is fine and much cheaper. So I got to the resort and was really hoping to be able to check in early and take a nap before heading back to the airport this afternoon to pick up some other breeders. Just as I was afraid of, since I am not the one who made the reservations I couldn't check in. I had to wait. Shoot, I was so tired. I went out to the car and napped on and off for three hours until going back to pick up the others. I drove straight to the airport without any problems. It was early so I went to the food court and had some pizza and read more of Ceasr's book. It is a good book, you need to read it. Then I went down to the baggage claim area and found where they will be picking up their bags. Then I walked from that area to where I parked the SUV. I wanted to be able to impress them with how well I knew my way around the Orlando airport. Then I went back and alternated between reading the book and looking at the travelers and trying to guess which were the other breeders. I love doing that (trying to pick out people I know only from the computer and telephone). I thought I figured out who they were but just as I went closer to them some guy that was obviously part of their group joined them. I wasn't rooming with a man so I knew they weren't the ones. I kept seeing these two women, but I was looking for a group of three, and besides, one of them looked too fancy for a dog breeder. It turned out to be them. The other was over with a family delivering a puppy to them.

Yeah, it is time to go back to the resort now. Keep in mind that I have already driven straight there and back already. That is over an hour in that vehicle with no problems. Well, we make our way to the vehicle and all get in. Then one of them says something about feeling nervous when she drives people around because she feels like they are watching and judging her. Hmm, I hadn't thought of that. I don't feel nervous when I drive people. So what do I do right away? I turn on the windshield wipers instead of putting it in reverse. Then at one point on the way back I made a wrong turn. Oh well, at least we made it in one piece.

We got all checked in and each got our own key card. It is a cashless resort so we have to put everything on the card. It is a 2200 acre place, and very nice. Our room was great. It really was more like an apartment. It had three bedrooms and three bathrooms, living room, kitchen, balcony, and even had an oversized closet with a washer and dryer. I had a room, dressing area, and bathroom all to myself. It was wonderful.

We had dinner with a bunch of other breeders and it was really fun.

Thursday, November 02, 2006

No puppies

Today was Holly's due date but it came and went and she is still not even looking pregnant. Tuesday when I took Mera
to see the same vet that did Holly's ultra sound, I told him that Holly
doesn't seem pregnant. He said that if she is only having one pup then
she could pop it out without ever looking pregnant or might only start
showing the day before having the pup(s). Great, that got my hopes up.
I emailed her guardian mom to let her know that and to be on the look
out for suddenly enlarged mammery glands. She said still no signs of pregnancy.

Today I finalized all the going-away plans. When I double checked with my husband to make sure he had his end covered - transporting the girls to and from school and a babysitter in case he wanted to go out - he gave me the deer-frozen-in-the-headlights look. Oh my gosh, it is not like he didn't know I'm leaving and it is not like he doesn't know he is a parent too. So, I made all those arrangements too. Jill's birthmom and her husband will be coming over to babysit. This will be the first time for that. I'm so happy they will be part of each other's lives. That topic is for another blog...back to the doods. Liuda will be coming over Friday and Saturday and Jill's birthmom's husband will be coming over Sunday (first time for that) to take care of the dogs and puppies.

Remember when I said somebody from ILA might eventually notice that one entry? Well...somebody noticed.

I didn't get to bed until after midnight thirty or so.

Wednesday, November 01, 2006

Rosie's boys got neutered today. Ernie, Steve, and Duncan are their names. I'll spare you the details, just insert the usual...I can't believe how quickly they are growing up...I can't believe how well they do after surgery...They are running around and playing like nothing ever happened....

Ashes looks and acts so much like Velvet. Just looking in to her face and her eyes is like looking in Velvet's face. Sigh...I love Ashes already. This is her puppy picture She was born 4-5-05. She is just going to hang out here with us until either after she retires or until after she is spayed. Hmmm, I guess either way she will be spayed before leaving us.

Tuesday, October 31, 2006

Boo

What a day today was. Man, it was too busy.

Today started out with the usual taking dogs/puppies out to potty and exercise; got the (human) girls up and took them both to their schools; came home and cleaned the pup areas; cleaned the house; then answered emails. I had to rush to get all that done and then hurry to the airport to pick Ashes (a Velvet/Koby girl that is 1 1/2 yrs old and coming back to live with us) up at 1:30 p.m. That is an hour drive each way. As soon as I got back home I had to drop Ashes off and pick up Bryony and take her to her appointment. Then I went out and picked Mera up, went back to Anderson and picked up Jill from school, picked Bryony up from her appointment, took Bry and Jill home, took Mera to yet another town for her Porgesterone testing, then took her back to her home and then went home. By the time I was finished with all that running it was 8:00 p.m. and I had missed seeing Bryony and Jill Trick-or-Treating. Bummer...I am such a bad mom. They had a great time. As soon as I got home Bry's friends came back to our house and we all sat around watching a movie and eating candy and french fries that Bryony made. It was fun.

Monday, October 30, 2006

All the puppies got dewormed and the shots today. They are getting so big and are so cute. Rosie just spends a little time with them, but not too much.

Lewis (the remaining Josie/DaVinci pup) is in with the big dogs now. Last night he slept in a crate in the living room. I put the crate up on an end table and slept on the couch right beside him. He just whimpered a very little bit and only a couple of times. I put my fingers in the crate and he immediately quieted right down. I took him outside to potty around midnight and again around 5:00 a.m. or so. He is doing really well with housetraining so far. He hasn't had any accidents yet.

Sunday, October 29, 2006

They better poo gold

Another puppy, Leland, went home today. That leaves poor 'ole Lewis all alone with the babies and the grown ups.

Holly was supposed to come here today and stay until after she has and raises her puppies. Dangit! She isn't pregnant after all. Remember, she had the ultrasound that showed she was having a small litter? Well evidentally it is so small she isn't even showing or anything and she is due in a couple of days. The vet probably just saw the bladder or something and not a puppy. Dangit, and this is her last litter. That is what I get for not doing the progesterone testing on her. I put a time limit in the guardian contract so their obligation wouldn't drag out indefinately. According to her contract, she is to be spayed by Feb '07. Since she has only had one litter, her guardian mom has graciously offered to let me breed her one more time. That is very nice of her. I may take her up on it, but maybe not. I'll have to take inventory of all the dogs (that makes it sound like they are in a closet) and figure the breeding plans for the next two years.

I need a chocolate ALD stud.

Holy cow Batman! I have switched doggie food and have I mentioned how expensive it is? I stopped at the store last week and bought almost $200 worth, thinking it would last a long time. I just stopped in today to get more and it came to $275. That will probably be two weeks worth. It is http://www.naturesvariety.com/ It is good stuff and a great way to feed a raw diet with the convenience of just opening a bag and giving it to them. Jeepers, I guess convenience comes at a price. The bag of dry food is $40 for a 25 pound bag. I can feed them a raw diet from the meat dept of the grocery store for less than that. Well anyway, they give me coupons to give send home with the puppies and it is best to try it before just recommending it to the families.

Saturday, October 28, 2006

Brooklyn flew home this morning. He got to fly out with a cousin. Well, maybe they weren't technically related, and maybe they didn't get to fly in the same crate, well I don't even know if they were on the same flight. There was another local Labradoodle there just finishing up dropping off a puppy when we got there. They had another Fancy puppy with them and man, was she ever a cutie.

Lonnie/Fizz went home this afternoon. His daddy has a really nice camera and took classes so we should expect some good pictures of him (Fizz, not the dad). They also hope to be able to come to Doodle romps now and then. Won't that be fun?

Friday, October 27, 2006

Louis Louis, Louis Louwow

Louis went home this evening. His family is going to take lots of pictures of him and take him places. They don't live too far from here and will hopefully come to some Doodle romps.

Rosie's puppies are certainly turning out wonderfully. I just love 'em so much. Here, look at SteveNow doesn't he look like a model puppy? Oh, and look at Mike He has the perfect sad puppy dog eyes. He looks that way all the time.