All's Well...

So I got the shot yesterday afternoon. The worse part was waiting for the pharmacist to find time to work us (4 of us waiting) in between filling prescriptions. Since the availability of the shots at Walgreens is so widely touted, you'd think they'd have extra help on hand for the great influx(!) of customers.... Last night my arm was so sore I couldn't lift it over my head and I was tired and achy. BUT after taking twice more usual dosage of aspirin (two tablets rather than one) and sleeping until 9 this morning (it was raining so the dogs were hoping I'd sleep even longer,) I feel ok. Maybe all my "symptoms" were psychological... and just maybe it takes longer for the bugs to get a good start before making me sick. We'll see. Got a light week planned in any case.

Owlister
The Deerhound puppy is here for a visit. Since his face is gray and black, especially around the eyes (if you look really hard,) his name is a play on the name Alistair. We went to the vet on Thursday for a well puppy check and he passed with flying colors and charmed everyone he came in contact with. He's just turning 5 months, weighs 50 pounds and stands 26 inches tall. He's as gentle as they come and very well socialized... absolutely NEVER meets a stranger. (But barking dogs offend [or maybe frighten] him. I guess Deerhounds don't bark a lot... however, he's learning fast.) My dogs, especially the small ones, were not happy to make his howdy-dos. The big ones rolled their eyes and told him where he could bunk... which is not with any of them! At the vet, I asked about an elevated food bowl since all the websites seem to indicate this is a must. (I never had them for the Borzoi or Ibizan....) She thinks they are a good idea for ALL dogs so I got a 12 inch double stand and to my surprise, ALL the dogs are eating out of it rather than the bowls on the floor. Even the little ones who have to stand on their back legs to reach in for the food. So I guess I'll pick up some more stands as they have them in stock. Here are some pictures of this sweet guy.

The space between the two poles is 5 feet and he's walking about 6-9 inches from the fence.

Sitting (sprawling) on the deck.

Headpieces... Shadow and Owlister

Size comparison... Shadow is a normal size adult standard Poodle...

And one more thing... the reason I woke up at 9 this morning is Owlister was whining. I thought he had to go outside, raining or not. BUT I couldn't find him. There's a gate in the hallway that was there to keep him in the bedroom/bath/hall (so the other dogs would shut up and not keep trying to tell on him if he wandered around a little) but he wasn't anywhere . He whined a little more and I figured out he was UNDER the bed. It's maybe 4-5-6 inches off the floor! How he got under there, I'll never know, but I had to lift the bed, frame, mattress and boxsprings, off the floor... several times... to coax him out. Tomorrow I probably won't be able to move and it won't be because of the flu!

Just So You Know

I'm biting the bullet and getting a flu shot tomorrow (Friday.) Haven't had one for many years... ever since the last one made me sick for about 2 weeks. (Yeah, I've heard that story about how you can't get the flu from the flu shot...!) So, if I'm not around for a while, don't worry. I've laid in enough dogfood already and plan on hitting the grocery store tomorrow on the way back from Walgreens just in case . Y'all have a great weekend!

Frustrating Day!

I made the mistake of falling back to sleep after I let the dogs out this morning and woke up several hours later with that groggy the-world-has-moved-on-without-me feeling. I know, if I didn't need the sleep I couldn't BUY 40 winks, but...! Then, I ran into a problem... a HUGE problem (from my point of view)with the host of my website. I simply do not understand improvement when there is nothing wrong with the old model. This particular improvement makes it very time consuming for me to make any changes to my site (as well as all the others I maintain.) It took me two hours (that's 120 minutes in people years) to upload just three pictures... small, website ready pictures. This was because everytime I'd click "upload," the photo would be processed in, oh, say, 5 seconds and then the box would freeze... not the whole screen, just the box. I couldn't close it, so even if I moved to another screen, the box was still in the middle, preventing me from doing anything. And then, it would free itself up... and shut down my browser. Once I got the browser up again, I had to go back to the host site, wait for all their homepage info to upload, log in, wait for all THAT page info to appear, click on the icon I wanted, wait for it to open the next page, etc, etc, etc. There are 3 pages to fill in on the screen BEFORE I get to the page I need to start uploading the next picture. Which uploads in, oh, say 5 seconds and then freezes.... I've been thinking about moving to another host ever since these guys started messing with their site... I've used it for YEARS and the reason I chose it in the first place was it was so EASY for a bone novice (ME) to do everything. A copy of html for dummies and off I went. So, I'm going to start asking around about different hosts and putting all my stuff on disc and maybe get everything moved before my enlistment is up.

Double Doodles
A breeder in Florida asked for my help in advertising his pups and I sent him to dogbreedinfo.com and then had to do some work myself to get him started. He breeds Double Doodles which I'd heard of but never seen. Once I started looking into them, I was really impressed. And one of the nicest surprises were the photos sent me by someone who is using an F1B Labradoodle male she got from me in HER Double Doodle program. (His pups are GORGEOUS!)
What I found out in my research is there are TWO kinds of D-Doods, just as there are two (very different) kinds of Labradoodles. First off, a double Doodle is the cross of a Labradoodle and a Goldendoodle. Generally the American version uses just American Labradoodles, first generation and first generation backcrosses with the same generations of Goldendoodles. But the version that is called The North American Retriever uses AUSTRALIAN LABRADOODLES with Goldendoodles. This is a big, gigantic, HUGE difference. Australian Labradoodles are made up from as many as 6 different breeds while American Labradoodles are the mix of a Lab and a Poodle. The NAR (North American Retriever) people bill their dogs as double doodles but I have yet to run across a Double Doodle breeder (using just American dogs) who says he's breeding NARs.
I send out big thanks to Sharon McGuire of dogbreedinfo.com for adding Double Doodles to her list of breeds AND for understanding and appreciating the differences in all this Poodle-hybrid confusion.

Finally...
I'm getting a new puppy. Well, he's just going to be staying with me for a while, starting this coming weekend. My neighbor has just purchased a very well bred Scottish Deerhound puppy from one of the country's top breeders. (Her dog won Hound GROUP at this year's Westminster!) Mina (my neighbor) lives alone down the road from me and already has an older Lab. And she just found out this AM her doctor wants her to have gall bladder surgery. SO the Lab and the new puppy are going to stay with me for a bit. I'd already told her I'd help with show training and finding a handler for this guy. Deerhounds have long been a favorite of mine so I'm really looking forward to this.

Oh, before I forget
This is a photo of one of Penny's Whoodle pups. I'm not sure if it's Chase or Coldwater, but it's a girl and she's still available (ready to go second week of November.) Penny's website is www.whoodledogs.com

Diamond

Got Diamond's hair all clipped off and yes, I think she is pregnant. But no, I'm not 100% sure yet... she's only 3+ weeks... so I'm not ready to open the reservation list. She has a poochy little belly and very pink nipples. And she about tore off Emy and Cotton's heads when she got back from the groomer... a typical "I've had a rough day, leave me alone. Or else." reaction when she's pregnant and has been out of her comfort zone. Actually, she's been a little testy most of the week. But right now the 3 of them are curled up in one big pile with Brogue sleeping about a foot away. Ah, family!

A Cotton Son Checks In

Brady in New York

After having him in the family a month, Brady's mom writes
Hi
I wanted to let you know that Brady is doing beautifully. We absolutely adore him, and he has won over everyone he has met! I'll keep sending the occasional update to show you how he is doing!
~Stacey

LOVE hearing from my puppies' people and seeing how much they're growing, BUT I'm still on dial up and downloading large files is impossible. Stacey sent me several photos but my computer (or phone!) gave up after the first one. I know, I should really look into high speed, but the last time I checked it wasn't available out here (except through the cable company and I don't think so!) So, please, downsize.

And earlier this week, I heard from the other Cotton boy in New York:
Sherry, we took Cooper down the beach with us for the past 4 days-he didn't love the car ride; but everyone in the hotel loved him. I can't tell you how many people stopped us in the lobby, on the boardwalk, on the walking paths everywhere to tell us what a cute pup. Everyone commented on his looks and his behavior (very mellow). Car ride going home was fine.
Enjoy your labor day.
Doug


Grooming appointment
Di is going to get her hair done tomorrow so I may be able to tell if she really is getting a little belly on her. I wish they'd come up with a pregnancy test for dogs that actually works!

Other People's Puppies for Sale!

My friend, Penny, called yesterday with news that I am again a grandma. Her Calamity Jane has a new Whoodle litter of 6 or 8 (can't remember!) ALL GIRLS, sired by her chocolate (brown) standard Poodle, Jerico. Jane is a full sister to my Emy, from the same litter, and like Em, is a wonderful mother. Penny's website is whoodledogs.com if you'd like to check her out. No puppy pix (of the new kids) yet, but they'll be up in the next couple days. All the girls are black with white markings (not parti.)

AND Pen has another litter born the same day... again ALL FEMALE... of Khalas, the hairless sighthound from Central and South America. The web address for those is
http://breeders411.com/hunkhal.html

My Night Visitor

All my dogs are in the house. But they're not all loose at the same time, for a number of reasons. First, they would all always be in the same room I'm in... and I have a very small bathroom. Second, the older I get, the harder it is to shove the bigger ones off the furniture AND I'm tired of tripping over the ones on the floor who barely lift their heads in acknowledgement when I stumble over their bodies. Then there's this whole dog breeding thing... I want my pups to come from the parents I have chosen for them. So, along with the food and water bowls in every room, I also have pens and a couple wire crates. Just so you know, the only crate that is in steady use and has the door closed is the one where my old toy Poodle camps out... he is slow, crotchety and fragile... not a good combination for being around big dogs.

Anyway, at night, most of the gang have room assignments and are always in x-pens with the same dog or dogs. As soon as the lights go out, you can hear a pin drop. It is amazing... even when there are puppies around, the lights are out and everyone is quiet. Which is why I've been so annoyed the last couple nights with several of my guys. In my so called dog room are my young adult Goldendoodle guy, Bachelor, a neutered adult Poodle named Sage, Sparky, my miniature Poodle, several rescue males AND Keogh, my Goldendoodle girl (Bachelor's mom.) In the middle of the night, out of the blue, Bach starts barking. The other guys take up the chorus. About the only voice I don't hear is Keogh's. After a minute or two... a loonnngg time at 4 AM... it gets quiet again. Then as soon as I've settled back down, it starts all over. Two nights in a row I've gotten out of bed, traipsed, IN THE DARK, down to the dog room and read them the riot act. Which worked one night but not the other. The first morning after, I checked Keogh to make sure she wasn't coming into season... a very exciting event for young MALE dogs... and she isn't. (She's not due for a month and a half to two months, but you know how things go around here.)

So last night, I was about ready to take the shotgun along with me when I went to shut everyone up. And I turned the lights on just to see the best shot. And decided maybe the dogs just wanted to go outside for a quick potty break. So I open the pens and everyone rushes passed me into the kitchen... which is the wrong direction for going outside. I turn around to yell at them and some of them rush back while others stay in a clump staring at the floor. Finally, I make my point and they all go outside. On the kitchen floor, however, is a blob of fur. Which turns out to be a possum, a juvenile possum, curled in a loose circle, mouth open, tongue kinda out. It's very pretty silver color (except for it's pinkish snout and hairless tail) and my first thought is "Oh, durn, they've killed the poor thing." The obvious thought, "That's what it gets for coming in a house full of dogs." doesn't occur for several minutes. So now I've got to get it picked up, in a plastic garbage bag and out of the house. But wait! Don't possum carry lice and other such critters... do I want to touch it?

No, I do not. My broom is right there so I sweep it through the kitchen and manage to get it over the thresh hold of the door to drop in the small trash can that is right outside. It is as this poor thing is airborne that I hear the slightest squeal. And realize I've seen NO blood anywhere. I quickly close... and lock... the kitchen door.

And in the morning, it's gone.

So now, before the lights go out at night, I have to shut the doors. A common practice for city people, I understand. But out here I usually only shut doors to keep the heat (or a.c.) in. And right now, our weather is glorious! But perhaps caution is in order. Maybe the wild critters know something about the coming Winter and are looking for a place to hole up. Maybe they need to keep looking!