Birthday Pix

Emy's daughter, Cameer, celebrating her 1st birthday (the 24th)
and Cotton's daughter, Coco, whose 1st birthday was the 27th.



The other Emy pups
I got a few pix of some of the Emy/Boon babies who are 9 weeks today. And then the rains came. And stayed! Let me tell you, as difficult as it is getting decent pictures (in focus, pup looking in the general direction of the camera, etc) INSIDE, doing it OUTSIDE was even worse! First off, I had to take them out in groups, rather than all at once, so I would know who was who during the editing process. Since there are 3 blacks, that meant 3 groups. Second, it was the first time the pups have been outside the house which meant they weren't the most active items on the lawn. And whether the group was two or three, they stuck together like glue. In fact, the last group (of two) stayed where I put them WITHOUT MOVING for 10 minutes... while I walked all over the yard to relieve my PAD.

It started off well enough, or so I thought


when these two (most white male and female) stayed where I put them.
And then didn't move again for some time.
My little Raibs Suns girl wandered out into the yard, sniffed them and then went back up on the deck. I got a few more pictures as they tried to figure out where she disappeared to.

And then, there was the group of three...
least white boy, 50/50 and blond girls
who sort of looked at me right at first


but then quickly changed their minds about THAT.

And THEN there were the final two
Scout and Finn
They weren't going to look at me PERIOD.



See what I mean?


I have some other shots of the first 5 but I don't want to put them on the website until I get more of Finn and Scout... which will probably have to wait until Sunday since the rain is supposed to be off and on throughout the day Saturday.

And in case you're wondering, Emy went right in with the pups last night, stood quietly and let them suckle, cleaned up their mess, and went to a corner. She was still in the same corner this morning, lying on her belly. But the pups let her get up and leave when I opened the gate without attacking her. She must have gotten her message across!

Bad Me

Happy birthday to ALL those pups who turned a year on the 24th and the 27th! Don't know where my head was on Monday. I remembered it was Peri's birthday... and forgot about her brothers and sisters, nieces and nephews and the grands (or once removeds!) Maybe my subconscious remembered this time last year because I've been exhausted all week! So a belated Happy One Year Birthday all around!

Emy
is DONE nursing. And in no uncertain terms! She is cuddling, playing, cleaning and being mom but she has decided she is no longer McDonalds! This morning when the kids were rooting around, trying to get her to expose her belly and the milk taps, she growled at them. It must have been the first time because they were SURPRISED. A few of them decided she was kidding or maybe they had misunderstood her. She disabused them of those ideas a few seconds later when they tried again. This afternoon, when I let her out, she didn't come in the puppy room at all, didn't even look in here when she went passed the door. And the funny thing is, they all saw her but didn't say a word... they stopped and looked, then went back to playing. I can hardly wait to see if she wants in with them tonight!

Nov 7

Public service announcements have been running all day about a NATIONAL test of the broadcast system scheduled for 2 PM Eastern on Monday, Nov 7th. It is supposedly going to last about 3 minutes and then regular programming will resume. The announcements end with the spokesperson asking that everyone tell their family, friends, co-works, etc about this test so nobody panics, thinking we are under attack by little green men or whatever. Consider this me doing my part to let everyone know it is just a test.
Thanks for your attention to this matter.
Orson Welles, et al

More Progress

THIS gorgeous guy is Tucker, an older brother to Emy's pups. Isn't this a great shot!

Today
As I'm sitting here, answering email (LOTS of email!) the pups are ALL out of the pen and roaming around. Several, including Mostly White, are completely out of my sight, in another room. Actually, I know exactly where they are because several dogs are barking at them! The first time they stuck their noses in that room and Lucky (remember Lucky?) alerted to them, they all bolted back to me. They are over that and are ignoring him... or barking back. In THIS room, several of them are trying to destroy my straw broom, always a favorite with pups, and my shoelaces have been untied (and almost chewed through) practically since I opened the gate. A word of warning: shoelaces, no matter in whose shoes, are fair game to any puppy, and they don't care if the shoes are being worn or tucked away under the bed. Another word of warning, even at this time of year, puppy nails scratch right through bare skin. Be sure to wear long legged pants and shirts with long sleeves!

Since the weather is supposed to be nice and warm for the next couple days, I'm going to try getting the kids outside. They adjusted quickly... within 24 hours... to being allowed to roam on their own away from their "safe place," so I think another adventure will be good for their mental development. The biggest problem is once pups learn about "outside," they tend to WANT "outside." And this weekend is supposed to be rain with HIGHS in the 30s. Believe me, I'd rather listen to their disappointed noise than take them out in THAT!

The Little Ladies are Leading

Yep, the girls may be smaller but they are bolder and more demanding of attention. AND they see more of what is going on around them than the boys in Emy's litter. Usually, there is little difference between the genders, whether it is size or "personality." Apparently, this litter did not consult with anyone before they arrived. So far, the pup who is the first to do EVERYTHING is the mostly white parti. She is also the one who pounces on me as soon as I enter her area or, as of today, the one who tried to climb into my lap as soon as I opened the gate and let the pups choose to leave the pen or not. (The boys all stayed IN the pen, suspiciously close to out, but still inside, while led by Mostly White, the girls wandered out and even into the next room.) A little while ago, I came in from Petsmart with a couple new toys and tossed them in the pen with 7 sleeping puppies. In a flash, Mostly White was up and checking them out. Fifty/fifty was right behind her. And by the time any of the boys woke up, all three toys had been claimed by the three girls.

To be fair, one of the boys IS the first at something... the black with least white guy discovered "swimming in the waterbowl" a couple days ago. Now, I no longer fill it up because it gets splashed out right away. The black-and-tan guy and the other black "dig" in the water, splashing it on their chests and bellies. Thankfully the girls and their blond brother have no use for that kind of shenanigan. At least not yet.

Maggie and Cisco pix
Here are pictures of Maggie and Cisco as 9 weeks old puppies. They were beautiful from the git-go. I'm betting THEIR pups will be too!

8 Weeks Weights

Yep, 8 weeks. Pups had a busy day... getting weighed, getting their first shots, getting wormed, etc.
So here are the new results, again ladies first:
blond - - 5 pounds (previously 2.2)
mostly white parti - - 5 (previously 2.05)
50/50 parti - - 5.6 (previously 2.6)
And the boys:
black-and-tan - - 5.7 pounds (previously 2.4)
black w/most white - - 6.2 (previously 2.4)
black w/least white - - 6.85 (previously 2.7)
blond - - 6.0 (previously 2.75)

Interestingly, the 4 boys are the biggest pups while the 3 girls are the smallest although the biggest female (the 50/50) is just a tenth of a pound less than the smallest of the males (theblk/tan.) Usually there isn't such a distinct difference between the sexes. Makes 12 weeks weights something to look forward to!

Shipping
Unfortunately, because of heavy air travel over Thanksgiving, the pups who are flying to their new homes will be stuck here with me until the Wednesday after the holiday. Flying in to pick one up won't work either because they will be too big to fit under the seat and will have to travel as cargo.

And they can't leave before 12 weeks because of the shot schedule.

Where's my mommy?
Emy leaves the puppy pen around 10 AM when she goes outside and I don't let her back in with the pups until nighttime. Monday and Tuesday, I put her back around 7:30-8 PM. But Wednesday and Thursday, I didn't. Wednesday I fell asleep while watching tv and didn't wake up until about 10... and I woke up to pups crying their little hearts out. Seriously. They had food and water, they just wanted their mama. As soon as I let her in with them, they shut up. Last night, I put her in about 9, before they got hysterical about her absence. And I have to get off here, let her go outside for a few minutes and put her in the puppy pen before it starts up tonight!

Toys

I gave the pups two big balls... big for their size. And they have had a party with them ever since. Even though the balls feel very solid (except for the carpet-like fabric they are covered in,) the puppies have managed to play tug of war with them and even throw them short distances. They share nicely and there has been no fighting or even growling over who gets possession.

But there are only TWO balls...



So they now also have a knotted rope for tug of war AND, today, a new "sock" monkey with a tail and 4 legs to pull on. They have all just come to the front of the pen, closest to me, to take a nap and ALL 4 toys are in the same back corner. What good little kids!

Still no news of Cotton
I am making a concerted effort to NOT think about her. Every time I start going in that direction, I deliberately change the subject in my mind. Can't say that it has helped my mood or my depression, but at least I can have a normal conversation with people. As long as they don't bring it up.

Not My Day

Went up to rent a mailbox. No can do because they are probably closing their store at the end of the year. They've been in business for over 30 years. The second generation just took over a couple years ago. The next closest place is a UPS store. I don't like the people who work there and parking is an issue. The next closest place is several miles, on the wrong side of the mall (with the holidays coming and all.)

Speaking of bad parking, as much as I hate Walmart, with the weather changing tomorrow or Thursday, I thought I'd better go load up on blankets, etc. Could NOT found a parking spot anywhere within what I consider a reasonable distance. Is there some magical sale going on that I'm not aware of?

Then I drove out to pick up a supply of newspapers... and got some... and decided to call a restaurant near home to order one of their large chef's salads for supper. Guess who didn't remember to bring her cell phone.

I'm back home now and going to take a nap.

Oddball Stuff

Peri is back on 4 legs, sort of. The sling is off and a new x-ray shows the femur head is deep in the socket just as it should be. (If she were a year and a week older, this would be an OFA x-ray.) She's still tentative about using it and probably will be for a couple days but, since she's still on restricted exercise, that's fine. Bill (my other vet... Jane's hubby) said she gets the award for best dog EVER to handle a sling. She weighs just 16-1/2 pounds so she'll probably do just fine for my goal of getting some 20 pounders (with Sparky who is also under 20 pounds.)

Emy weighs 30 pounds and actually looks chunky. She went in for a rabies shot which was overdue because of the pups.

Ost and Wombat
My young 'doodles who went to live in Florida are looking for another home, together or separately. Their new mom's family is expanding but their living quarters are not. Ost has sired two beautiful litters and Wombat has had one good sized litter which she did fine with. These dogs are used to people of all ages, dogs of all sizes and have been around horses. If you are interested in either, email me and I'll put you in touch.

Crockett
My Chinese Crested puppy has just turned a year.


Here he is with a Boxerdoodle rescue sneaking into the shot.


And one more, this time with Popcorn, a PomPoo rescue who is his best MALE bud.

Two Things

PIX!
A new page of photos at the regular puppy page address.
There is also a link to the old individual pages which we'll keep for a little bit.

Move
So far, the pups have handled the move and new, more spacious quarters well. They're more active... doing a lot of running, even the tail-tucked head to the hills type running... but for shorter periods of time. Then they sleep VERY soundly! Their neighbors, my mini Poodle guy (Sparky) and two Malti-Poo (?) rescues, are fascinated by them. So everyone seems happy enough for the time being.

MY new address
I have reached the breaking point with the US post office and am getting a "mailboxes r us" address, probably on Tuesday. I'll still have the old po box address for at least 6 months, so not to worry. I WILL send you the new address... not posting it on the web!

Moving Day

The pups are going to be leaving the bedroom and moving into the tv room. Sounds simple enough. But in order to do that, I have to move the dogs in the tv room some place else. And that means moving the dogs already some place else to another location and... you get the picture. Plus, just like when you move the couch, even if it's only to another wall, you have to get everything out of the way on the other wall... which means dusting everything and running the vacuum over that entire side of the room, including the wall and the blinds. And when you get the couch pulled out, there is all that stuff that has fallen behind or been kicked under it, like the tv remote you ended up replacing because you'd looked everywhere and couldn't find it and several copies of warranties that didn't end up in the file like you thought they had, and so on. The good news is everything seems to be going smoothly. New roommates are getting along AND several rooms are ready for an early Christmas! Since there is absolutely NOTHING worth watching on regular tv tonight, I may put the pups in their new spot and watch something on cable with them while they get used to the idea. Then again, I may move them and close a few doors and go to bed early!

No News about Cotton

Sunday will mark 4 weeks since Cotton (and Peri) got lost. By now, Cotton would have had the pups... they were due around the 12th. The weather was nice up until Tuesday and then it got rainy with downpours yesterday. I have had visions of Cotton in a mudhole, trying to keep those little blond babies warm and dry. Sometimes I imagine her inside a barn or shed, at least out of the weather. Of course, my HOPE is someone has managed to entice her into a house where she is warm and getting food on a regular basis. I try not to think that she is lying dead alongside a road or in the woods somewhere... but that, of course, is a real (maybe the only real) possibility. I don't know how else to explain her and Peri being separated and Cotton not being seen by anyone again. I want the pups, of course, but my tears are for Cotton. Every day it is harder to believe... even think I'll ever see her again.

7 weeks old today
Emy's pups are starting to grow up. They are beginning to whine to get out of their pen. The other dogs are of great interest to them and they will try to paw them, touch noses, etc through the wire. Tomorrow I am definitely moving them to the tv room. They'll have more space... and new dogs to meet. And pretty soon, they'll be allowed out to roam first THAT room and then the bigger "living room" it opens off of. Have to get in there and hide cords first! Emy is willing to spend a couple hours away from them at a time... outside or loose in the bedroom... but she still spends most of her time WITH them. Every litter, when I get to this stage... the age so many breeders are permanently removing moms from their babies... I wonder how often that would happen if they just once left them there longer and watched the interaction between them. It can't be just MY dogs who love their youngens after they get teeth!

Good Maggie News

Penny says Maggie is getting big. She used to fit nicely on Penny's footstool but the last few days, just keeps sliding off in one direction or another. Yea! About 4 weeks until the puppies get here.

Nothing new about Cotton
I really appreciate all the prayers and words of encouragement.

My son went to the library today... where I ran off the flyer yesterday... and was telling the ladies there that he REALLY needs to find a job. One of them told him she knew how he could get $500. And when he perked up and asked how, she said there was a lady in there yesterday who was offering a $500 reward for the return of her dog. Andy said they have a flyer right out on the counter and are showing it to everyone who comes in. (Don't know if he told them he was my kid.) And a couple people who saw the flyers from Monday's search called to see if I had found her yet. It is nice to know all these people care about one little dog. If I could just find that ONE person who has given her shelter....

Peri
Had to have her sling reinforced yesterday and has an appointment on Monday for reevaluation. I've run out of fingers to cross!

Different Things

First, Cotton. No news. I spent the day sending out over 4 dozen copies of the flyer to vets and groomers, shelters, rescues, etc. And about that...
do not believe it if you hear you can call Office Depot, give them a file (via email or off a website), tell them what you want and a couple hours later go in and pick it up. I started with them early yesterday. First, you're on hold for 5-10 minutes and that's IF someone answers the phone before you run out of the number of unanswered rings allotted by your carrier. Then they take down your info and tell you they'll get right to it and call you back IF there are any problems. When they call you back several hours later, it's to tell you the flyers will be 3 pages. And when you say, "do you not have 'shrink to fit?'" they say "Oh, never thought of that. I'll get back to you in a few minutes." Several hours later, when you call them, they say if they shrink to fit the pictures will be the size of postage stamps... which seems strange since it really looks like it will fit nicely on one regular sheet of paper. So you rework the flyer, remove about half the photos, call them back again and go back to wait mode. Hours later, you remember you haven't heard back, so you phone in once more only to be told they can't remember the website address.... SOOO, just before closing, Icalled and asked for the copy/print center manager (Josh) and discussed the situation with him. He's been just so awfully busy all day he doesn't have a clue what I'm talking about but will get to it "some time tomorrow."
I did not cuss him out. I simply told him no thanks. And in the morning I went to the library, ran off a one page color flyer (shrink to fit=80%) and a cover letter and took them to Office Depot. Where they charged me 59 cents a copy for the flyer and 10 cents each for the cover letter.

Now, here's how out of it I am lately... it never occurred to me that I paid the library 25 cents for an original of the flyer.

If I don't get Cotton back soon, I'm going to be completely bonkers!

Emy's pups
Will be 7 weeks old this weekend and I'm planning to move them out of the bedroom, into the tv/computer room. Em will stay with them most of the time for another week and then I'll put her with her mom and sister (Di and Peri) for most of the day.

The pups will be 8 weeks old NEXT weekend. That means the final payment is due for those who still have a balance. I'll email reminders the first part of the week.
If I don't forget.

A Brief Period of Hope

A lady called this morning to say her husband was working in a neighborhood about 10 miles from here and saw a dog that could possible be Cotton. So, everything else got put on hold while Di, Keogh and I went looking. I found the area... I'm not joking when I tell you a lot of places out here are hidden, even when a good number of people live there... and drove around. There were a lot of people working in their yards, sitting in the shade and even walking around. I passed out flyers and talked to most of them. Several folks told me they knew about the white dog in the area BUT it was large (described as a wolf-dog or husky-type) and had been there for several months. They though it probably lived in the neighborhood and simply got out of its yard from time to time. When I took the call, the distance was pretty far BUT she could have gotten there by crossing the major streets later at night. So I hoped. If only for a short time. Truthfully, though, I don't know if the high from adrenaline and hope is worth the fall back into despair afterwards.

At least I know people ARE aware that she is out there and they're looking out for her.

For anyone that is interested, this is this week's flyer, going out to all the vets, shelters, rescuers and groomers in the area:
lost

Puppy Pix - 6 Weeks

Pups are still nursing AND getting nourishment from mom... even though they are so big they now have to do it in shifts.


They also are eating quite a lot of dry kibble. Sometimes the choice is difficult....


AND when they're not eating (or sleeping) they spend a lot of time tussling with each other.



Don't know if you can tell from these photos but they are starting to get a lot of hair. AND their most favorite activity of all is tearing up newspaper! I don't know what it is about dogs and newspaper... from puppyhood to old age, they love to shred the stuff!

Info WILL Be Coming

I will send out emails several weeks before puppy travel time detailing things like dog food, toys, shot records, crates, etc. as well as GENERAL health info so all of you will have most of your questions answered. It may be a good idea to print these emails as there is a lot of information, much of which you may not need right away. Any questions that you have that are not answered or are not answered clearly, please ask again.

Also, anyone who needs their puppy to stay until after Thanksgiving, please let me know. Remember, the week before Thanksgiving is the busiest travel time of the year and flying could be problematic, especially the weekend before and after.

No Cotton news.
This photo is of her a week before delivering in 2009.


I want my dog back.

Puppy News Plus

First, nothing on Cotton.

Second, Peri did fine with her "reduction" on Monday and I brought her home... again... yesterday afternoon. Poor girl is going to have to live with the burrs for 2 weeks while her leg is bound up. And I MEAN "bound." It is all scrunched up into one big ball (sort of) so there is no way she can put any weight on it. She's hopping around just fine on 3 legs but has to live in a crate so none of the other dogs knocks her over and injures the other leg. Right now, she's out, lying by my feet while everyone else is either outside or locked up elsewhere.

Third, the puppy news
No, NOT about the current pups but about another litter. I am leasing a Wheaten girl from a friend of mine. She was bred on Sept. 6th to her gorgeous apricot standard Poodle. Pups due mid- November. A family situation came up after the breeding which makes having pups right now a bad idea, so this works out for both of us. I would welcome either of these dogs in my own breeding program and have NO qualms about the pups. Will post parental photos and other info on the website in a day or two.

And, current puppies
If you use the url I sent... http://whoodledogs.com... you'll get ALL the puppy pictures that were used in picking. Each pup has it's only page. Just click the link.

Lastly, the dog in the barn
This is the very beautiful stray dog who is not Cotton. He/She is a youngster, smaller than Cotton and to me, looking nothing like her. But apparently it looks like her to everyone else. The lady who called me about it was SURE it was my dog even though the timing was all wrong and the distance too far. I went to look simply because I just CAN'T take any chances and took several pictures. Just like Cotton, it is scared to death and runs when it sees a person. It ran when I opened the car door and let Diamond out. The lady who called me is taking it food and water every day and is planning to get a humane trap from the shelter... I pray someone is doing the same for Cotton. I put the photos on craigslist and got a phone call and several emails telling me there was an ad on craigslist that showed MY dog was found in a barn.... Cotton's pups are due the 12th to the 15th. It is getting harder and harder to see a happy ending.

Peri Update

First, there is no word on Cotton.

Then, Peri is at the vet. She was limping, carrying her right rear leg off the ground. My hopes that it was something minor were for naught. She has a dislocated hip.

Hip dislocation is a blunt force trauma. She could have been hit by a car or kicked by a horse, cow... or human, or fallen from some place. Since I have a problem visualizing her letting anything get close enough to kick her, I'm thinking probably a fall... she's too small for a car to have hit her and not done more damage.

They are doing a closed reduction this afternoon. That means no cutting. And she'll be in a sling for several weeks. IF that works, fine. However, since it's been several days, the probability is that it won't and she'll require surgery of some sort, from just a cleaning up of the socket to removal of the femur head.

She was NOT happy to be taken aswy from me.

She should have thought of that two weeks ago!

Picks going well
Already on the last choices!

Peri Pix

Diamond keeping a close eye on her wayward child.


Peri keeping an eye on ME.


Up close and personal again!


Emy's pups
Ok, I promised pix to pick by and I did it. Well over 100 shots to get 4 half way decent pictures of each of the 7.
Now, I've sent the page link to the families with 2nd pick male and first pick female.
As soon as they've picked, the next two in line will get the links to the available pups.
And then those with the last picks will get pictures of their puppies.

I HAVE PERI!

Larry's daughter called about a half hour ago and said Peri kept coming into the house but would bolt back outside before she could close the door. So I grabbed Diamond (Peri's mom) and went over there. And Peri was IN the house, the door shut so she couldn't get out. I walked in and she was peering around the corner at me... or rather, at Diamond. She stood there just a second and when I said "Come on, Peri, let's go home" she ran to us. To BOTH of us. She couldn't decide which one of us she wanted the most. She whined all the way home in the car. And now she is in the room with her mom and Keogh and her 2 pups, playing with the pups. Thank you all for being there with me. If she could only tell me where Cotton is!

Peri

A call first thing this morning from a lady who had just seen Peri in the same area as she was seen yesterday. No sign of Cotton. I took food up there last night and today I'm going to take a blanket the other dogs... Diamond (Peri's mom,) Keogh and her pups... have been sleeping on for the last two weeks. I'm hoping their smells will calm Peri and we'll eventually be able to catch her. Also going to call the animal shelter and see if they have any of the large traps available.

As for Cotton, I'm afraid. I guess that says it all. Several people have warned me there is a man right there who shoots every dog he sees because he has horses and people "should keep their dogs locked up." One lady, who was in an altercation with him last year, told him the next time his horses were on her property, she was going to shoot THEM. The lady who called this morning said they heard shooting over his way yesterday.

The weather has gotten dramatically colder... highs in the 50s (versus the 70s) and lows the last couple nights in the 40s, supposed to go down into the 30s tomorrow night. 30-50% chance of rain over the next couple days as well.

We need prayers and incantations and anything else that might help.

Later update
It's possible that they got separated because Cotton did not look out for Peri. When I saw them, a week ago Friday night, Cotton was running a good 50 feet ahead of Peri. Peri saw me and something was going on in her head... I could tell by the way her gait changed... but then she looked ahead and saw Cotton still running, and ran after her. Or maybe someone was able to trap Cotton and Peri wouldn't let them get her. Or something terrible could have happened. It's interesting that Peri found her way back to Larry's place because they were a good distance... miles... away. AND yet, she hasn't been able to find her way home. Larry saw her last night, inside the crate on one of his decks, eating, but she ran away... a short distance... when he opened the door. She went back to the crate and food when he went back in the house. And this morning she was sitting on the same deck, and left again when he went outside. As he and his wife were going to the car, he saw her go under another deck so he thinks she's making a little home there. Maybe, if nothing startles her... if nobody chases her, she'll settle down and let herself be caught. I took a blanket... a VERY smelly, dirty blanket... over and a dirty bowl her mom and pals have been eating out of, hoping the smell of the dogs she knows will calm her. And I got a trap from the shelter. Didn't leave it because Larry wasn't home and I don't know if he knows how to set it... will take it over tomorrow. I'm not very good at not being in control. It's frustrating. And very tiring. Never having been much of a sharer of MY feelings, I'm surprised at how much it helps to be able to post about the pain and sorrow to sympathetic people. I hope this experience hasn't created a monster!