Done!

The last puppy has left me and arrived safely in her new home in Florida. She's been living in the house, loose 99% of the time, just like a "big dog" for the last 10 days and has been a very good girl. At the airport, at 4 o'clock this morning, she got a lot of attention and even more smiles from all the people who certainly LOOKED more awake than I felt! One big burly guy who looked like a pro wrestler walked passed and gave us a huge "awwww!" I had parked her crate in front of one of the check-in spots and was sitting, with her in my lap, across the room (small airport, only about 20 feet away.) People checking in kept bending down and looking in the crate trying to see inside. One fellow got lower and lower and finally knelt on the floor. I was cracking up! His buddy glanced in my direction, saw the pup on my lap and burst into laughter. Puppy seemed quite relaxed, so it was a good departure for all of us.

Funny to think it will be about 5 months before I'm back out there... Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas... all over and done with for the year by then. My, how time flies!

More Pictures

Lulu who lives in DUMBO New York... no lie! I love the name of that NYC neighborhood! Lulu is a Goldendoodle.

Patch who lives in the Atlanta area, sporting his nice (?) new trim. Mom (and grandma) not totally thrilled. Patch is a Whoodle.

Actually, the two are related... Shadow is Lulu's grandfather and Patch's dad... and the parti-coloring does NOT come from him.

Good News/Bad News

For me, anyway. Because of the breeding I want to do this Fall with my Goldendoodle, Keogh (Lulu's mom,) I took Brogue to the vet to see if he could be "collected" for artificial insemination. The answer was a resounding "NO! and get away from me with that cup!" That's the bad news and pretty much terminates my hope of ever having a Who-Doo litter. The next option for Keogh is my miniature Poodle Sparky. So HE went to the vet yesterday for the same procedure. And he performed like a champ. That's the good news. BUT it raises the question of whether or not I truly want to put all the money it would take to produce a mini Goldendoodle litter (probably over a thousand dollars with progesterone testing and the surgical implantation) when I know a number of breeders who have beautiful, healthy Goldendoodle pups begging for homes. Needless to say, I'm still batting this one around. I have opened a waiting list for G'dood pups with the idea that if I get enough homes lined up I'll do the breeding. And if not, I'll breed Emy and Shadow again when she comes in next month rather than waiting for her next cycle. Feel free to weigh in on this. Opinions always welcome!

A Well Deserved "I Told You So"

This was an a-ha moment for me when I read this report just a few minutes ago on yahoo
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090821/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/us_nightmare_flight

The airlines I had the problem with shipping the very first pup was this very same airlines... Mesaba. They bill themselves as the US's longest flying regional airline. And it's really hard to understand how they've stayed in business. Here is an excerpt from the article:

Instead, blame for the incident, which has revived calls for greater consumer protections for airline passengers, belongs with Mesaba Airlines, whose representative declined to let the ExpressJet passengers deplane, LaHood said in a statement.

A Mesaba representative incorrectly told ExpressJet that the passengers couldn't be allowed inside the terminal because Transportation Security Administration personnel had left for the day, LaHood said.

Actually, security regulations allow for deplaning passengers to be kept in a separate "sterile" area until they are ready to board, he said.

"We have determined that the Express Jet crew was not at fault. In fact, the flight crew repeatedly tried to get permission to deplane the passengers at the airport or obtain a bus for them," LaHood said.

"There was a complete lack of common sense here," the secretary added. "It's no wonder the flying public is so angry and frustrated." (Bold is mine.)

To be fair... to be fair... Mesaba was NOT the airline involved in the flight. They were the only ground crew still on duty. Which doesn't excuse dumb.

My complaint to Mesaba was answered by NWAir and was almost as frustrating as the original problem. Apparently airline personnel are trained to send out form letters even if they don't have one that fits. After several back and forths... with the NW guy STILL not getting it... I got an email thanking me for my comments and suggestions. If they get around to reading the comments, I'm SURE they won't take the
suggestion! Seriously, I tried to be nice but they just don't get it. It is no wonder more and more airlines are falling by the wayside (no pun intended.)

And, again to be fair... the local counter people and I have worked out our differences (they are just as frustrated as shippers are) and are doing just fine.

Well!

In an effort to keep me on my toes and to remind me that I am not in control around here, Diamond has come into season at least a month early. And just to make sure her message sinks in, she is perfectly happy being with Brogue. And I mean in the Biblical sense. I hesitate to make any predictions, BUT if things progress normally, we'll (they'll) have puppies toward the end of October, after the 20th anyway. Which means they SHOULD be ready to go toward the end of January 2010.
The reservation list will open as soon as I'm sure Di's in whelp... most likely in about a month. But don't hold me to that!

More Good News

Brogue's hip results are in and he is "good." We seem to be on a roll... should probably do everyone in the house, rescues and all!

Also
Everyone I've gotten updates from has reported the pups are settling in and doing quite nicely. One gentleman even asked if the microchips I used had a house training program embedded as the pup (Bode) is going outside like he's been doing it all his life. That would be a great idea... someone should get to work on that right away.

Well, THAT's Done!

All the pups have homes and by this time next week I'll have just one still at the house. (She's not leaving until the 28th so I get to spoil her rotten for a week!) Outside of the confusion this week with getting paperwork done and ferrying pups back and forth to the vet, groomer and their departure points, it hasn't been terrible. It HAS been a little more trying and stressful than normal because of the numbers AND because Cotton's pups all looked like clones of one pup, but all in all, a pretty good experience. For me, having Virginia Woofs' pups here was interesting because I got a chance to compare the two litters. Cotton's gang was and still is very pack oriented. It will take them a little longer to settle in at their new places... especially if there are no dogs around for them to buddy with (and get assurance from.) Kate's pups are more people oriented because there were less than half as many AND because I suspect JB's daughter spent a lot of time handling them. Plus, they were already uprooted once... when they were brought to me... and have that experience under their belts. Wish I could say I was going to miss the buggers. But truth be told, I can't wait to clean my bedroom and get the wet newspaper smell out! I've never been able to figure out why pups have to DIG in their water bowls and splash water all over the floor!

BUT in a month or two I'll be looking forward to the next litter. And that's probably a good thing 'cause it looks like that's about all the time I'm going to have....

That Thought Went Fast

I've already talked myself out of keeping one of Kate's boys. I'm supposed to be cutting down on numbers, not adding. That means no more rescues and no more puppies staying. So there are TWO "wheaten red" boys available from Kate and Luke's litter.

And if you are wondering how that happened... Marna has decided she is just not ready for a puppy. She is hoping Diamond and Brogue will get back together this Fall and she can have a sister to Dakota. (Actually, I think she feels that there are already two Cotton pups in NYC and that is enough!) Anyway, the female Marna was going to take is now going to a family who initially wanted a girl but chose a male when all the females were already spoken for. That freed up their boy.

And speaking of Diamond
Her OFA results came in... she got a "good." Am I good or what?! Isn't that what I predicted? It's not who you know but what you know about how things work. I'm not particularly unhappy (I really think it should be pass/fail like a pregnancy test) but I don't think I've seen prettier hips ever. Now I'm on pins and needles waiting for Brogue's results... NOT!

Two Down... Many MANY More to Go!

The first two pups left this weekend. One was very easy (and I appreciate Matt and Ashley letting me rush them so I could deal with the other issue.) And the other was the other issue. It's still too raw for me to go into detail but suffice it to say I am not a happy camper when it comes to Mesaba Air, NW Air and by association, Delta. The puppy is FINE. He arrived in good shape and seems to be fitting himself in (as the photo below shows.) But just getting him on the plane was more work and time consuming than shipping my ENTIRE last litter.


This is "brown dog" who had a very trying day on Saturday but seems to be handling it with aplomb!

By the way, brown dog weighed in at about 10-1/2 pounds while his brother, pig boy, is a little over 12. Differences are finally beginning to show up! Yeah, now that they're leaving.

And finally for today... an addition here... or not
I am thinking about keeping the last Virginia Woofs male puppy. Yeah, I know, I do NOT need any more dogs around here. But "need" is a relative term. Brogue is getting up there in years, for a breeding dog, and I do not want to a) depend on outside stud service or b) get another purebred Wheaten guy. (As I've said, I've loved all my SCWTs, but I've been very lucky with them... don't know how long that kind of luck will last!) Anyway, the check for the last boy was sent regular mail... and is apparently lost... or perhaps not even written... and I have been thinking about a replacement for Brogue anyway. So I'm looking at this as a sign. Haven't come up with a name for him yet... which may be a sign of something else (and I'm not talking about old age!)

Suplements - NOT!

In the last month or two, I've been contacted by several different companies who sell "supplements" for pets by using breeders to push them on their websites. Most of these companies could care less if I use them on MY dogs, they just want to give me "an easy way to supplement MY income" by putting a link to them on my site. (One company, however, actually provided me with a month's supply of their product for one dog... either a month wasn't enough time to make a difference, or there was no difference to be made!) I know several breeders who push these items and "better health" websites and wish them well. BUT a healthy dog on a decent diet doesn't require... or benefit... from unneeded vitamins and minerals. I actually feel it would be dishonest to suggest them to people who visit me on the web.

On the other hand, for large breed dogs... those who are going to mature over 50 pounds... I do feel a little extra vitamin C every day can help in the hip department. Many (many) years ago there was a vet in California who did a number of studies with German Shepherd Dogs and vitamin C. This vet suggested hip dysplasia, to some extent, was similar to scurvy in humans and was caused by the same thing... a need for more C in the diet. C is easy to use and is not harmful to the dog even if it is already getting enough of it. And it's cheap. So why not?

Visitors
My daughter and 13 year old granddaughter are visiting this weekend from Indiana. Haven't seen them since March 08 (yep, 2008!) And they brought their 2 year old Schnauzer with them. I'm not a big fan of the breed, but Princess is a delight! She's well mannered, affectionate and rather cute in an Ewok kind of way.

This and that

Yahoo... I'm REALLY REALLY unhappy with them right now. Their site gets slower and slower... and slower. About the only one I'm ever on that is worse is godaddy. Both of them have the same problem(s)... WAY too much content on each page and too many ads. (My pop up blocker keeps me from seeing them, but they still slow down the site.) Also, with Yahoo, they are continually making improvements or what THEY think of as improvements. This time the biggest one seems to be moving "logout" from the right side of the screen to the left. Now THAT's an improvement! Every time I go to sign off, it ticks me off as I'm so used to clicking on the right. What a pain and for what reason? All I want is email, easy access email. I don't need im or texting or human interest stories, just a normal looking mailbox. Yahoo, fix something that's broken and leave your email alone!

Something else I've been thinking about, particularly since Cotton had her pups. One of the statements the purists always use ("purists," in this case, meaning the folks who think it is a sin to mix breeds... as if God created all the "purebreds" just before the seventh day rest period...) one of their statements is pups from a mixed litter don't look alike... like, say, a litter of German Shepherd Dogs does. Obviously, the people making such ridiculous assertions have a) never studied a litter of purebred puppies and/or b) never studied doodle or whoodle pups or adults. The very differences that supposedly DON'T exist in purebred breeding is what gives them "show" quality or "pet" quality pups and have to do with obvious to anyone things like coat, color/markings, size, etc not to mention the finer points like head piece, tailset, shoulder angle, rear construction, blah, blah, blah. Yet anyone can look at a group of Poodle mixes and see amazing similarities. Look at the Labradoodle Shadow just bred and then look at my Keogh... Ke may be an inch or two taller and she is more silver, but they look alike. And I've never had a litter before like Cotton's... so identical I still cannot, at 11 weeks, reliably tell one from another. If this was a purebred litter, people would be in awe of the consistency. I'm in awe... and annoyed!

Pictures - not
Look folks, I know everyone wants more pictures and I'd love to oblige but I probably won't get to. I'm trying to get all my normal running around done for the next two weeks in preparation for the almost daily visits to the vet and groomer I'm going to be making so I can get your little darlings on their way. I just know I'm going to take the wrong pup at the wrong time or worse, show up at a meeting or the airport with the wrong guy. I'm even dreaming about it! So just hang in there... almost all of you will have your hands on your pup shortly and you can send ME photos! (Just remember I'm still on dial up... downsize please!

Shadow's DOODLE Pups

This beautiful girl is Chauncy Lawrence. She and Shadow are planning a litter in late September... actually, it's more than "planning" as the deed's been done and there are buns in the oven. Chauncy is an F1 Labradoodle. (I know! She looks a LOT like my GOLDEN doodle, Keogh, which might be why I'm so taken with her!) Chauncy lives about 20 miles from me and her folks are looking forward to some beautiful small standard backcross pups this Fall. These will make wonderful Christmas presents! I expect most of the pups will be born black and many of them will silver as they mature. Please email me for contact info for Chauncy's owners. (They are working on their own website and I'll post it as soon as it's up.)

And if you just can't wait that long... if you're ready for your very own Dood RIGHT NOW... my friend, Liza, has BOTH backcross Goldendoodles (black only) and backcross Labradoodles (apricot only) ready to go. Her website is lizadoodlelittle.com. Liza is a breeder of long standing who has raised sweet natured, healthy pups for years. She's easy to work with and stands behind her pups.