Best of Times

We turned our dining-room into a tv room. We placed a couple of couches in it, tables, a desk and of course a TV. Now the recliner is also in it.

One of the dogs best place in the house is this room. Why? They have a huge crate that they can lay in that connects the 2 couches together. This gives them easy access to go back and forth between couches without going back down to the floor and it has a comfie bed on the crate so one of them can sit up there and watch. It's a high end crate the size that takes a golden with wheels and a slide down door that always stays tucked up and out of the way and open.

We also have beds on the side table, stairs and a dog bed on the floor plus a recliner if Daddy is sitting in it.

It's a pure dog heaven. We never used the dining-room. So we figured why not. With xpens being in the family room along with my desk and dogs not having access while pups are small, it makes sense to have another room to chill. I have to say Fiona will ask to go into it when no one is there just to hang out and have quiet.

I think it is their most favourite room in the house after the bedroom and even the guests think so too.

It's rather nice having a real dog friendly tv room to chill in. Just think I dragged my feet on this one and the men in my life was right. :-)

Dog Shows

Katsura Waiting Turn in RingI thought this may be an interesting read. As it gives you insight into this crazy dawg world. Not always the best but money indeed plays a part and without it, it's a pipe dream.

All of ours are champions but we don't campaign our dogs. We have fun with them. Campaign dogs are out every single weekend taken out to be groomed and shown and placed back in their crate for hours on end. The odd pro handler who doesn't have too many dogs will play and try to give them balance.

The owner/handlers that have the $$ to indulge and want the bragging rights and show themselves are more apt to give that dog balance as it is the only one. There are exceptions but hard to find.

Some have died in the hands of pro-handlers, left on tables and sometimes strung up by accident, not cooled off sufficiently at a hot dog show etc.

When someone does want to campaign their dogs it makes it hard to find who will actually care enough about your dog if it doesn't win big that it will give balance. Sometimes simply they have too many dogs to make ends meet to be able to invest the time.

Dog shows sometimes start in the morning and end at night if you have multiple dogs.

Bravo for all those that invest the time, the dollars etc. as it does give people exposure that wouldn't. Many will brag about their dogs for 5 to 10 years after a big win. They spent the $$ so they deserve the bragging rights.

But you also deserve to see the whole picture of this crazy dawg world.

Nathan loves the dawg shows, me it's work as I groom and prepare and wrap etc. I prefer to applaud the fast runner, the swimmer, the obedience, rallly and agility stars and they are all stars to me that do their time and the dog that has a special gift of calming others that are nervous.

We all celebrate dawgs differently but until you have the experience its hard to see the whole picture.

Oh My!

I have to tell you it is a slow grooming recovery but we are getting there in the bathing department. Yesterday Fiona and Roxie got done. Friday Panda and Logan got done. Today we are going to try for Truffie and Phantom.

If I keep going like this I may get everyone done.

I use the window of right after Wasabi finishes feeding and I am awake. :-)

The way Truffie has been rolling in the snow his coat may be scary. We shall find out.

Wish me luck. :-) At least I know how to get knots out relatively quickly. :-) For the first time Roxie had some. :-( Clean coats knot less. So does a daily grooming. Dirty coats mat easily. When that happens you know it is wash time.

Momma Risa

No matter whose pups, Risa always feels the need to be grandma and that's rather nice.

She likes the strong ones with their own mind. She no longer has patience for those that just don't get on with it but she does try to 'get' that attitude.

You can see the brain working - how will I motivate this one to get the guts to do the stairs, to achieve x.

I guess once a mom, always a mom. :-)

No Expression But....

Here's our boy Katsura. We love him to pieces. He loves me to pieces. hahahahaha

Now that the heat is starting to wind down - well really it isn't till Friday we will have to bathe him again.

What is that we stuff. Okay, I have to bathe him again.

Boys during heat really get to be a mess. They mark all over outside, they whine like teenage boys if they were vocal.

So bellies have to be washed daily but they also stick their faces at the gal's backend so that has to be cleaned too.

Photo Taken Before Snow :-)Can you tell I hate the heat cycle?

Today is Monday and Friday please come. Okay I don't normally like to rush time but you know what I mean.

We don't usually have people over during the heat as the boys cry non-stop (drives you crazy) and mistakes can happen if there is too much activity so when we had Teaser puppy people here the boys went totally away with Dennis. I don't want any ooops litters especially with Spice.

Kat's daughters and sons seem to look a lot like him. You can usually tell a Kat offspring and personally I find him cute. I put this photo up so you can see that half smile as if he has a secret.

Update

I may ask Nathan to update if he has time otherwise stay tuned to the next crazy dawg update.

Just when I settled in for a snuggle Dennis crawled into my bed with the crew. Back to not sleeping with the dawgs. :-)

Half Smile

I love Truffie's half smile. He's always so full of emotion in his face. He still looks cute to me messy or just brushed.

I love that at night he crawls up beside me, tries to clean my ears (do I have dirty ears?) and nuzzles with my neck.

He also looks at me like Katsura does with adoring eyes. It's hard to explain but Nathan will hold them and they just stare and stare at me adoringly. It's good for my ego, not for Nathan's.

I feel guilty about it. I didn't do anything to encourage. Maybe they see me as queen alpha. hahahahaha

Fiona & Logan

Logan comes to visit but goes home with his human mom and dad who also own Panda. Logan is from our friend Yvonne. His best gal pal after Panda is Spice but Spice is in heat so Logan has been a tad lost and has been playing with Truffie but Spice plays a certain way that she challenges Logan. Fiona never plays with Logan. I am not sure why she just doesn't but today, oh boy did Fiona and Logan have fun. Be still my heart. Check out some of the photos I clicked and when Fiona was done with Logan she went on to play with Shoshi. Fiona was in her zone.

This is How You Do IT

When a dog wants to play he invites the other with a playbow. It's an accepted invitation and the pups seem to understand body language early on.

Truffie has a grand time with the pups jumping over them, around them and engaging them in play.

I see that play and be still my heart. It's priceless!

Argh & Tips

I believe it is truly fall weather that we are getting vs. winter. Nathan washed the floor (Usually Dennis does) and 2 minutes later there were leaves all over. This is a Fall moment, I swear.

Can I blast the leaves away, cement my backyard and make the dogs come through a wind tunnel so they come in clean? Not likely but one can dream up all sorts of things.

Do you know who;e greenies really are great for the teeth but not for the hair? We keep them away from show dogs as they truly ruin their beards and so do regular marrow bones which actually turn their beard that wonderful brownish colour.

But what we do is we cut greenies in little pieces and let them chew on them. It cleans their teeth and no beard stickage. They also last longer as you will give one piece of a mini greenie vs. a whole. We actually cut a mini into 3 pieces. A little goes a long way.

Adapting

I am outside, I am messy so THERE! I keep getting sticks and every other darn thing stuck in me as the weather is too warm. Where is winter?

I want to play with the Teaser pups in the snow. Will we ever get a really good dumping?

Okay, I am most attracted to mud but shhh don't tell mom. She just shakes her head and says WHERE WERE YOU? NOT BEHIND THAT POOL HOUSE AGAIN!

But Mom, I can't help it and well Daddy let's me. He comes in and says Darlah Truffie needs to be cleaned. Sometimes Mommy says Nathan you can do it!

This has been the all time worst winter for mud cleanup. I want to pave the backyard. hahahaha

Where's Mommy?

I think Truffie and the other dogs miss me. Miss me at bedtime I mean. We have a ritual and I am not the same as Dennis and Dennis is not the same as me.

I miss the snuggles and hope tonight I get them back again. We shall see.

Of course I still see the dogs after I get up but they don't have me at night and not while I am sleeping during the day. Of course I have yet to be able to sleep more than 4 hours but still - it's all precious time. hahaha

Crazy Times

Let's see, I got 90% of the dogs washed and/or groomed and Nathan finished the rest. Phantom must be done daily as well as Kat not just groomed but washed thoroughly underneath as they are breeding. That means shampoo, hose off, brush and dry. Nathan doesn't do this so that is on me.

Boys also stop marking outside when the heat is finished. I am looking forward to that. Let's see we have 12 more days of that.

When I got up I washed Truffie's bum. I brushed him out, I washed several others on their back end. It was the %$& mud.

I did Terra's ear and Nathan swept the floor after I mentioned it for the 50th time. He mumbled he hasn't sat down yet. I said welcome to the club. hahahaha

But otherwise we are playing with the dogs, getting everything done. I am not sure I brushed my hair. I did get a shower in and it lasted about 10 minutes vs 2 minutes.

Puppies for the 1st few days are a lot of work. You have to clean the mom's bottom each time they go out and blow dry it so pups don't get a chill. You have to feed them several times and they don't want to leave the pups so half the time you are hand feeding the, to make sure calcium intake is up and the rest. Milk production, their health and minimizing stress is important and we do spoil our moms. I didn't forget about Teaser. She got a massive massage all over today and she was in heaven. You also have to make sure all pups are on the nipples each feeding and that's not always easy.

I have listened to the same TV show 5 times and have yet to hear it all. Laundry is going and going and going.

Tonight when everyone is sleeping I will clean all 3 pens and sterilize and change the beddings. Teaser pups will go upstairs and Abigail and Wasabi will have their gates open so they can go in and out. They work well together and trust each other. Interesting enough they don't trust Teaser yet but Teaser trusts then. Go figure. That will come.

Well back to moms. Blogs done, I think.

Chill Out Day

Everyone is doing well.... no elaboration or stories today. If I do puppy duty tonight I will update later but if not it will be tomorrow. Dennis and I are trying to figure that out.

Update on Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 2:03AM by Darlah

What was I thinking? Of course I am doing night time duty but I am not truly awake enough to do a real update. Let's see, Thursday night I had a full sleep. Friday night/Saturday day I was up all night and all day except for 2.5 hours of sleep. Sunday no sleep till maybe 7am but most likely 8am as there will be things to fill them in on and well it just happens that way. Who wants to figure out how much sleep I have had since Friday morning at 630am when I woke up.

I am doing okay. I am tired but I am not able to update photos with the right photo with the right dog. hahahaha ooooh must be tired.

I will have you know when we arrived home the dogs were crazy to see me. I may drag Abigail to bed with me at 7am. We shall see. She was nesting and she did have temps drop to high 98s but back up again. That to me says false drop. Time will tell. As long as she doesn't decide 7am is the time to start.

Pictured here is a photo of Miss Abs nesting in the blankets at around 10pm. Dennis told me - hey that is cute take a photo of that. Then when I took her outside with Wasabi she was digging in the leaves.

My big guess and watch me be wrong but I was right about Wasabi is today or Monday. My bet is on today...

Fiona Hanging Out

Fiona today just wanted to investigate the back yard.

It was warm today for winter and I am glad that we got the pups out.

Who knows what tomorrow will bring but somehow, someway we will get them out again tomorrow. :-)

Hard to believe Fiona's hair is so long after having pups. Most people shave them down as it is easier. Her hair grows like weeds.

Icy Ground

Quito (not one of ours but owned by a dear friend) is here with Panda in the background.

I posted this photo so you could see the condition of our yard. It is trecherous.

The pool cover is clear and they can run across that but the grass area is icy and slippery. It is also muddy too in the non ice sections - joy - not.

I am hoping that we can get the pups outside tomorrow before their baths but time will tell.

Teaser the Character

There is no denying that Teaser is an absolute character.

She goes, goes, goes making sure those babies are all taken care of and them she crashes relishing a belly rub.

As her hair comes in I realize just how pretty she actually is. When you shave a dog down you really lose their looks. If you keep it at a puppy cut or longer they tend to have some stylin.

Well, that is just MY opinion. hahahaha

Logan

Logan was acquired from Yvonne Poole who is a dear friend to us. He lives with Panda, Roxie's sister.

We had a mystery as Logan wasn't himself and then the mystery unfolded. Lynda his owner wrote about it. I thought you may enjoy!

PS: Logan was playing up a storm today with Fiona and I mean crazy play. Nathan was diligently taking a video but my guess he forgot to push the record button or had it on playback mode or something. arrrgh

Now on to Lynda's mystery...

How Nana’s Logan became the Chow Hound

A Dog Fairy Tale

Once upon a time (yes, that is how it starts), a lovely little sable puppy was brought home to live with the Tam clan.  The intention was that the little puppy would be wonderful company for Nana, a sprightly eighty-eight year old senior.  The puppy was registered as Chicadoro’s Nana’s Logan, or Logan for short.  The “Nana” part is very important because Logan loved his Nana and sat by her chair and played with her and scurried after her around the house. 

One day, Nana decided she would like to try living in a retirement home and make some new, two-footed friends.  After a few months, she decided all the old folks were just too old and crabby and she moved back home with the Tam clan.  In the meantime, Logan had found a new daytime home away from home visiting his dear friends Nathan and Darlah and their little band of Havanese (and Terra, of course, the big, retriever).  Whenever Logan had a chance to visit with them, he was thrilled to go and couldn’t wait to get in the car.

When Nana came home, Logan was very happy, and after a little while, he didn’t seem so eager to leave when he had the chance to visit his Havanese friends.  In fact, he was sooooo reluctant, he would plank himself in Nana’s chair and the six foot seven inch young Jonathan Tam had to pick him up and put him in the car.  Soon, this was happening every single time Logan was going to visit his furry friends at Nathan and Darlah’s.  The Tam clan was stumped and asked Nathan and Darlah what could be wrong with Logan.  Nathan and Darlah were also stumped.  Logan was one of the happiest little Havanese they had every met and he had such a jolly time each time he visited his little band. 

Nathan, being a very wise man, thought he had figured it out.  He said that the only thing that had changed in Logan’s little life, was the return of Nana.  Perhaps, suggested Nathan, Logan felt he should never leave Nana’s side, even for a really fun time.  Darlah agreed and so did the Tam clan.  “What a loyal dog Logan is”, they all said.

That night, now that the mystery had been solved, Logan came home and ran, as usual, right up to Nana’s chair.  Lynda Tam told Nana how the mystery had been solved and that Logan was obviously sooooo devoted to Nana. 

Then, a funny thing happened.  Lynda Tam noticed that Logan, sitting at Nana’s feet, seemed to be focused on her big telephone on the table beside her.  Lynda asked Nana if she was feeding Logan treats.  At first, Nana said that she wasn’t, but then gave in and said that she had a little stash of treats under her phone which she gave to Logan every night.   No wonder Logan would sit on her chair and rest his chin on the arm within inches of the phone every morning! No wonder he would have to be torn away from the chair to go to visit his furry friends!  Shocking!

Ah, so Logan is not really devoted to Nana after all.  He is devoted to treats.  He has become a chow hound!!!

Truff Wild Child

I do believe the snow brings out the fun in Truffie.

He doesn't understand all the heat business. He's still too young - thankfully!

I am glad he can just play and not be preoccupied.

They grow up too fast....

Snow

We finally got a dusting to cover all that grime. Now let's see how long that lasts.

They say tomorrow may bring 2 inches.

Let's see if it happens.

We may be seeing Meeko and Andy for the day. Now that will be fun for us. They get a bath so not sure if fun for them - well that part but the rest will be!