Now They're Growling

Their ears aren't open yet, but they are making sincere rumbling noises! They all seem to do things at exactly the same time, no laggers in THIS litter! Their ears will open in a few days and then they'll be barking at every little sound for 24-36 hours until they get use to "noise." And the smallest guy was totally up on his feet and actually walking... he looked like he was drunk but not falling down drunk! Over all, they are a few days ahead of "schedule."

Wombat (and Ost) have babies
Cathy emailed me a lot last night as Wombat had her very first litter. Unfortunately, they are all black... Cathy never seems to get anything BUT black! I told her I KNEW they were blond, apricot and parti when they left here a week ago last Saturday! Wom did very well with the actually whelping, settled right in with removing sacks, cutting cords, cleaning them... warned Cathy several times that they were HER pups and while she likes Cathy well enough, she doesn't know her very well and wants her to keep her distance. We were both expecting Wom to be a little dingy to start with, but she fooled us. Of course, SHE had a terrific mom and her grandmother was also a wonderful mom.

Bachelor
My 4 year old Goldendoodle guy, Bachelor Parti, left Tuesday and moved to Georgia. It is the PERFECT home for him, up to and including a 2 year old Labradoodle girl for him to keep company with. His new people are great... I told them they couldn't have him because they didn't have a fenced space... they live on 15 acres... and a few days later they had a chain link fenced installed.

So far, things have gone great... but he hasn't "smiled" (bared his teeth in a grin) for them yet. Their girl does it too... can you imagine if they ever have pups?!

Update, suggestions needed
One of Jennifer's pups has absolutely REFUSED to settle in at his new home. It should have been a slam dunk... the lady knows dogs , has a lot of patience AND there is an adult dog already in the home. BUT the puppy is still skulking around like a thief in the night. He doesn't snap or growl or try to get away, but he is making no progress in making up with his owner OR the other dog. He's been there nearly 3 weeks and she says it's like living with a ghost! If anyone has an idea... something that seemed to make a difference with your pup or another dog, please email me.

Bachelor and the new deck

Ravin is fine once more. It actually took 24 hours for her to recover completely... she would stand with her head at the same level as her back and her neck turned to the right. But she's happy as a lark again.

Recently, I had an email about Butler, the Whoodle pup that is available, expressing concern that he is unable to go up and down stairs. The problem is I live in a single story house and don't have stairs. There are a couple steps from the side porch (ie: deck... my age is showing) but pups aren't usually out in that yard. The "deck" was starting to deteriorate... it is getting up there in years (ahem)... so for Easter, Mothers' Day, my birthday and probably Christmas, the kids gave me a new deck. Of course, they're pretty sure old-timers has set in since I requested it be off the ground enough for stairs. Well, it's got a flight of 5 (AND eventually, I'm going to get a ramp.) The deck isn't finished, but I'm back to letting the dogs go out that door to the yard rather than constricting everyone to using the puppy yard. No-one has had a problem with it except the Goldendoodle "puppy" (he'll be 2 at the end of the month.) First, he stuck his head out the door and saw the new wood and said "No way I'm going out there." The other dogs made a bee-line out the door and up the stairs to investigate their elevated perch. Not Bachelor. I had to put a lead on him and force him to leave the house. Then, I went up and stood on the porch with the other 3 dogs. Bach (rhymes with Batch, without the "t") took 10 minutes to make up his mind that the steps were safe enough for him. Now I'm up there with 4 dogs. Three of them spy a rabbit outside the fence on the other side of the yard and off they go in hot pursuit. Bach goes to the edge of the stairs, quivers and backs away. He watches the others for a couple seconds then rushes the stairs again... but only to the edge. He backs off, looks up to me shouting HELP! with his eyes and is offended that I am laughing at him. I just walked off and left him there... where he remained for most of the time the dogs were outside. Finally, just as I was about to herd everyone indoors, he stepped down ONE step and then jumped the rest of the way... which remains his way of getting off the deck even 4 days later.

This is Bach in his winter coat and clipped short last Spring. He's about to get shaved again since it looks like the really cold weather is over.





By the way, Bachelor is up for adoption, intact or otherwise.

And this is a shot I got of Sage, a neutered Standard Poodle, who also is looking for a home. (And no, he is not living on the moon... a family of moles or something moved into the yard last year and the dogs are still trying to find it.)


Need I say that Sage has no trouble whatsoever with the deck?