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.

Not Good News

As expected, I lost the pup I was working with and apparently trying to make sure he wasn't lonely in heaven, Keogh lay on another black male. So we're down to 5. The pups are in a swimming pool because the inflated sides act as a pig rail and give the pups some protection from mom lying on them, but they are too small as yet for the sides to help. Bummer.

Derby results
Want to know why I don't bet? Check out where my 4 horses finished:
9th - Pants on Fire (out of the Preakness because of bleeding after the race)
10th - Twice the Appeal
11th - Soldat (the one I thought might have a chance at the Triple Crown)
13th - Derby Kitten (and "exotic" means long shot)
The only thing I can say is I picked comparable runners!

The winner, Animal Kingdom, has some "foreign" (as in non USA) blood and in his short life (this was his 5th race) has won on all 3 types of track. He was in the lead at 1-3/16 miles (the length of the Preakness) and looked like he could stay in front to 1-1/2 miles (the length of the Belmont which is 1/4 mile farther than the Derby.) So maybe we'll get that Triple Crown this year... finally, after 34 years.

Two horses were injured during the race... Archarcharch who broke a bone in his foreleg (going to have surgery on it; it's not life threatening and he might be able to race again) and Comma to the Top who chipped an ankle (and who won't be running for at least 60 days.)

Wombat and Ost
Left Saturday morning to live in Florida with Cathy of 4everdoodles. She bought them some time back... when I first decided to sell them... but hadn't been able to come get them. Then when we learned Wombat was pregnant, we decided to leave her here until after the pups were weaned... she's a little dingy and young so we felt it might be better for everyone concerned. But since I've been feeling bad and don't know what I'm going to have to do to feel better, I asked Cathy to come get them. Which she did immediately. I'm going to miss at least seeing Wombat's (and Ost's) babies, but...! They are going to be drop dead gorgeous!

Rescues
I'm working on a new website for the rescues. There are 7 (only one large) that would probably do well in the right new homes and, back to not feeling well, I've really got to work on getting them there. I'll post the address once I get everything set up. Please share with family and friends!

Ost is Available

The sad news is Keogh is not going to get bred this year and even if I try thyroid therapy for her, it may not cure whatever it is that's ailing her. SOOOO
Ost is looking for a new home. My only reason for having him was as a stud dog for Keogh and I have enough, MORE than enough, pets around here already. He'll be the PERFECT pet for someone. His information is on my Doodle page... you can go to http://msdoodles.com... or refer people there. Please!
I am really attached to this problem free guy!

Notes

Some of you may have noticed I've changed the email address above from my regular address BACK to the yahoo one. With all my complaining about yahoo, I failed to give them credit for the area in which they excel... the one of preventing or at least, extremely limiting, spam. Yahoo seems to do it automatically but fastmail (like most others) needs to be set up for it and I'm not very good at following those instructions. One week with my regular address and my inbox was... let's say busy. With new pups coming, I need all the room I can get for REAL email, so back to yahoo for everything else!

Keogh
The results from Keogh's last progesterone test are... exactly the same as the previous week! She's still at 1.4. We don't have any real idea what is going on with her. Until yesterday, the guys were all still VERY interested even though she was in her 3rd week. But yesterday, Cotton replaced her in everyone's affections. It is possible Keogh's thyroid is not functioning properly and that is a very easy and CHEAP fix. But, for some reason, I'm not interested in pursuing it. Guess my heart and soul have been taken over by whoodle-mania and there is no real desire to change.
So I'll talk with Bill again on Monday and decide then what to do about Ke... however, the miniature Goldendoodles, followed by Double Doodles are definitely a passing fancy. The only real problem is what to do about Ost who I bought SPECIFICALLY as a stud for Keogh. I've been thinking about it and will most likely commit to finding him a great home. He is a terrific puppy, much more mature in many ways than any 5 months old pup I've been around, so easy to live with! It is really hard to let him go.

Ost

Yes, yes, I know. I promised pictures of Ost. However, I just haven't had the time, what with the pups going home and all the running around THAT entails. At least, they're not all headed out within a week's time like the last litter! Now THAT was work! Louie and Julie's boy is going Friday and Marna's girl is leaving on Sunday, THEN there is a pause so if the weather doesn't turn terrible, I'll get some pictures then.
Ost has done very well adjusting and fits right in with the Whoodles. He's even playing like a good big (much bigger) brother to the Poodles with only a little encouragement from me. I'm still very pleased with him!

Thanks but...
I get a lot of invitations to "friend" people or to join them on other websites and I just can't do that, even though I'm not sure what all it entails. My time on the computer is spent answering email... even the hate mail if it has a legit address... and working on the websites I maintain for myself and other people. The rest of the time, is dog dog dog. Actually, that's backwards... my time is dog dog dog and anything left over is the other stuff. Since my dogs are in the house, rather than kenneled, it's more work just dealing with ins and outs. A few years ago, a friend of mine gave me a t-shirt that said
Today's agenda...
let dog out
let dog in
let dog out
let dog in
let dog....
The same friend once came to visit and babysit the dogs while I made a quick trip to Ohio to visit my elderly mom. The first morning after I was gone, I got a phone call from her and she asked if I was having a good time. When I replied in the affirmative, she said "Well, enjoy it because it's the LAST time you get to go!" Turns out she wasn't kidding... I haven't been away since!

On Second Thought

Ost has arrived! Even though he missed his early morning flight out of Little Rock, Delta still managed to get him on his scheduled connection to Tri-Cities and he got here right on time... actually, about 15 minutes early. When I went to pick him up, the girls told me he had a very loud voice BUT he was quiet as long as he could see/hear people. We got him out of the crate and he immediately gave me a big sloppy kiss. And he wagged his tail for the girls. (Now, do you think he instinctively KNEW who to suck up to or he just naturally liked me best?!) He is quite an attractive puppy... great coat (going to be thick and heavily waved,) good pattern to his spotting (including the white rim outlining his nose) and a very interesting head piece (almost no stop, with more hair on the sides of his face at eye level than on the muzzle, giving him a triangular look.) What a sweetheart! Very calm and sensible... he'll fit right in here! He's been playing with my adult dogs and has discovered the bed is the best place for a nap. Going to let him and the pups get together in a few minutes... they've been sniffing at each other through the wire. It's a good thing there isn't much on tv tonight because I don't think I'll be able to hear it once everyone starts romping. Oh, he's at least one-third BIGGER than the largest Whoodle so I'm guessing he's going to end up around 50 pounds. Pictures tomorrow or Thursday... our temps are SUPPOSED to get up above freezing tomorrow... yeah, that was supposed to happen today. But it's winter. For sure.

MY Big News

Finally! It looks like Ost will be here tomorrow, Tuesday. Although our high is still supposed to be below freezing, Delta is accepting the shipment... at least, according to the 800 number. However, it has been my experience that those folks know very little about actual shipping... what can go and when... and the real deciders are the people at the counter when you arrive at the airport. Still, everybody, fingers crossed! I've been ready to meet this guy for 4 weeks!

Busy Week Coming Up

The pups start going home next week. I'm not really all that ready to let them go and am glad a couple of them will be sticking around for another week or two! These guys have been easy to live with. They are so smart about so many things (and not so bright about a few others, but...!) For instance, if I feel like taking a nap in the early afternoon or late evening (or both) when it is still light out, all I have to do is turn off the light in the bedroom (where the pups still live) AND turn off the tv and they immediately form a pile and go to sleep as well. It doesn't work if the tv is still on... even late at night... or if I leave the light on. I realise the pups are just following the example of the adult dogs, most of whom sleep 20 hours a day anyway, but it's like having a magic wand or that clapping switch. And, by the way, clapping is the best way to get their attention. All of them seem to dislike the sound and will look up immediately.

Next week, starting Tuesday, I have appointments scheduled for every day... the groomer, the vet, meeting people, etc. I'm not looking forward to all that ESPECIALLY as the weather is supposed to warm up out of the 20s and be nice enough for the big guys to spend some time outdoors. It has been a LONG almost 4 weeks since they've been able to do that. I'm sure they're as tired of me as I am of them!

Ost will probably make it here next week... just in time to watch everyone, or most everyone, else leave. To refresh your memory, Ost is On Second Thought, the F1B Labradoodle puppy I bought as a mate for Keogh. His first arrival date was scheduled for December 18th... the "bad" weather started the 17th. Now watch there be an airline strike...!

Something New

If you've been on the website today, you probably noticed that I am making a change. Of course, if you have the Whoodle PAGE as a favorite link and never go to my home page, you didn't see it. And I'm tempted to be mean... it's been one of those days!... and not explain here. BUT in the interest of keeping things as simple as possible, I'll just tell you.

I've decided to do Double Doodles.
Now, I can hear you saying, what the heck is THAT? DOUBLE Doodles are the result of crossing a Labradoodle and a Goldendoodle. They are also called Ultimate Doodles and a friend's children have labelled theirs "SUPER" Doodles. (If an Australian Labradoodle is used in the mix, the cross is called the North American Retriever, which seems rather ironic. For the uninformed, there is a HUGE difference between the AMERICAN Labradoodle, which is the cross of a Lab and a Poodle, and the AUSTRALIAN Labradoodle which is the cross of 5-6 different breeds. This is well documented, so don't kill the messenger!)

Anyway, I have found and purchased a darling little F1B AMERICAN Labradoodle boy and Ost (rhymes with "host," "most," and "boast!") will be arriving here on the 18th when he is 8 weeks old... actually, he's 2 days younger than Di and Brogue's puppies, so he'll have playmates his own age for about a month while he settles in. I expect he'll be in the mood for making babies before the end of the year... will do some preliminary testing (VWD and hips) and then let him talk to Keogh. I'm also looking for another Goldendoodle female, puppy or young adult, mini to medium size, in any color but black or parti since Keogh isn't a youngster herself.

So, right now, that's what's got everything HERE in an uproar!