21Jul10
The boys and I drove down to Sandy's house today so we could evaluate them and take their photos. Sandy's guest, Maddie, did a good job as Puppy Socializer. The boys were perfect on the 2 hr drive down. I even stopped for gas just before getting to her house, and I was afraid that as soon as I stopped they'd all wake up and want to go out to potty. Luckily they put their heads back down and waited until they got outside at Sandy's. They were tired out and slept the whole ride home. Such good travelers - again! Two of them have about an 8-9 hr drive home with their new families, so it's a good thing they like to ride!
Tomorrow is the trip to the vet for shots and exams.
19Jul10
I took the boys to the Ophthalmologist today for their etse tests. All passed. They have iris to iris PPM's, which is nckily ormal for their age. The Vet said PPM's should disappear as they get older. Apple's have; she was retested in March. Ffyn will be retested soon and I'm hoping his are also gone. The boys were angels! They all pottied when I took them outside, then they road for nearly 2 hrs, as I had a couple stops to make. I put them in a ex-pen for a few minutes while I bungeed the VariKennel to my 'wheels' so I didn't have to carry the three of them in the crateand could just wheel it into the office. They all sat together on the exam table while the doctor looked into their eyes. They were still and so cute. I wheeled them back to the van and headed home with 2 stops on the way. They never fussed and waited until they got home to the grass to potty. I'm so pleased with them!
When we got home, I let them run and wrestle in the yard, then feed them and they ate every bit and fell asleep. At 6pm a friend stopped over, so I took them back outside to play and to get held and petted. Jack got out the little wading pool that Star was born in and put about 3" of (cold) water in it. Jack set each one in and they all jumped right out. After that they were in and out, having a blast. I took photos with my phone because I didn't have my camera and I hope to get them on the website soon.
16Jul10
Members of the dog training club came over tonight to temperament test the boys. We used the Volhard Puppy Aptitude Test, copyrighted by Wendy & Joachim Volhard. All three boys are very people oriented and very trusting of people. If the tester showed them the umbrella didn't bother her, then they trusted her and went up and sniffed the umbrella. None of them were bothered at all by the dominance tests, though they all struggled for a moment when first forced on their backs, but then therelaxed and looked right at the tester. They will make very good companions for my puppy families.
I took them outside this morning to run around without the big dogs. They had so much fun chasing each other and following me, finding little 'treasures' to carry around. They've mastered up and down the porch steps, though they go down mostly on their bellies because their legs are so short.
They are 7 weeks old today.
13Jul10
We've been having fun with the puppies. They are doing well on walks now, though we don't stay out too long because of the heat. They like to play in the shade of the locust tree, and love to pick up the cedar mulch and run with it like they have a treasure! They've visited businesses in the village, and ridden in the van with no accidents or whining. Tonight they hung out with both of us while we watched the All Star game. They are fun to hold and cuddle, especially when they are sleepy. The make a huge racket when they wrestle now. We strain to hear each other talk when they get to fever pitch. Their favorite game is one puppy in the crate daring the other two to try to enter. They all bark at each other at the top of their little lungs. They seem to take turns being the puppy in the crate.
They haven't missed the litter box when they poop for a few weeks. This makes for much less work when I get up in the morning :) They aren't that consistant about peeing in it - but when they do make it to the box, they get praised and I think they're catching on. Plum is still nursing them 3-4 times a day, but for a shorter time than she did earlier. They are good eaters and clean up their food dish lickity split. Before they were born, I wondered if the faces of this litter would look just like the faces of the puppies in the last litter - they don't. There are similarities, though.
Tonight, after we mowed the property, we sat on the screened porch with the dogs and the puppies. Jack was splashing the water in their water dish with his hand and the puppies were having so much fun watching the water fly around. They were shaking the water off and wagging their little tails. Pretty cute!
11Jul10
I'm so proud of Ffyn's wins at the WSSCA Supported Entry show this weekend. He went Best Of Winners both days for two 3 point majors! This finished his Championship - the first Milestone Champion! He really is most wonderful dog. He moves like a dream, has beautiful angles, bone, topline, tailset, feet, straight front legs, lovely forechest, great depth of body, sweet face/expression - and he's the most easy going, happy dog. He loves all people and dogs and nothing unsettles him. I am so thankful for Vicki and Ricardo's good job of socializing and raising him. Couldn't ask for more. Today is Ricardo's birthday, too. Happy Birthday, Ricardo!!
07Jul10
Still very hot here. Have had the puppies outside in short shifts. They are getting very vocal - it's astounding how much noise 3 little puppies can make!
Clover had a frightening experience. Carlene sent the following email that I will share in the hopes it helps another dog:
I need to tell you about an extremely close call we had recently. I bought the usual 1 1/2 lb of chocolate chips that we use for chocolate chip pancakes, which of course the girls love. One day they snuck the bag up to their bedroom and started the bag, not eating much. Sometime late that evening Clover must have found the bag, and she ate it ALL. I ran into her about 3am trying to drink out of the toilet, which she rarely does. I gave her a bowl of water and she drank the whole thing. She jumped up to the edge of our bed around 5am (just like any sick kid would do, as Alexis said) and I patted her and turned over and went back to sleep. Mackenzie came in at 5:30 and said Clover had vomited in her room, and it looked like chocolate. We thought she seemed ok, until she started to fall over and couldn't walk. We brought her to the vet immediately, but by then her heart rate was up to 240 - chocolate is like an amphetamine overdose for dogs (as you probably know). The vet had me bring the empty bag, she did some quick calculations after putting Clover on the scale, and told me she had likely ingested a lethal dose, and cancelled all her appointments for the morning. She started an IV, induced vomiting, and force fed activated charcoal over the course of an hour (while I held Clover and cried!!!!) Fred ran over to the hospital to get some IV Propanolol to try to get her heart rate down. By midday she was stabilized enough to move her off-island to a 24 hr facility with heart monitoring equipment (neither of which we have here on the Vineyard). We took a stethoscope and checked her heart rate every 5 minutes on the boat, and had to give her more medicine. There is a great animal hospital about 1/2 hour from the boat, and they monitored her closely for the next 36 hours. We all missed her so much, waiting to hear how she fared through the night (they don't allow visitors to sleep in the spacious cages with their pets - trust me, we asked!). She came home to much fanfare, very tired, but she is fine. So all a cautionary tale for dog owners that may not know just how toxic chocolate can be, especially for a smaller dog. And unfortunately we have a doggie chocoholic. We are VERY careful about leaving candy around now.
05Jul10
We had lots of company over the weekend. The puppies got held and played with, they got to spend time outside until it got too hot for them, and they got to hear more noise and people than they usually do.
We had a special visit by Lily and half of her family, Liana and John. They were passing through on their way home from visiting relatives. Lily fit right in and she and Apple were retreiving the ball. Plum seemed to enjoy having Lily here, and greeted John and Liana like old friends. I had my camera out, but didn't get many photos - and some of them were blurry. Disappointing.
It is very hot here. Yesterday and today have been in the upper 90's and very humid. Not my favorite weather. Looks like more of the same for this week.
30Jun10
I took down the whelping box put up the ex-pens so the boys have more room to move and maybe they'll start using the litterbox instead of sleeping in it. They got some time outside today. They had just eaten and after a little light wrestling, they all napped. We've had lovely weather the last two days - mid 70's, sunny, and a light breeze. Perfect for puppies!
29Jun10
Melanie sent me photos of Derby. I put them on the Puppies page. Handsome dog!
28Jun10
Busy weekend. Sandy Holmes, Vicki Stoddard, Nancy Chapman, Lisa Sinke, and I attended a Sporting Breed Judge's Seminar to give the judges who want to be approved on our breed a chance to see them in person, go over them, see them move, and ask questions. Sandy is an approved Breed Mentor, so she talked about the dogs and Nancy and I ran them around the ring. I think we had an excellent group of dogs for the judges to see: Filson, Karma, Ffyn, Apple, Betty Jo, and Crocket. Sandy made copies of The Welshman video for all the judges, and Adrienne Bancker sent copies of the Illustrated Standard for each judge. We had rain storms off & on and got a little damp, but the event went off very well. I think every breed from the Sporting Group was present, even a breed that is trying to get into the AKC, the Barbet. I never got a look at them - they were in the opposite corner of the grounds from us. I hear this morning that a campground about 40-50 miles from us had what appears to be a tornado that killed one person and injured others. We were fortunate that didn't happen will all of us out in the open with our precious dogs.
24Jun10
Our Cedar Dog is 7 years old today! Seven years of happiness. He's our very special dog - First Welshie, and he's taken us on a wonderful journey. He still has a C in freckles on his nose. Thank you Beth & Kent for our Cedar. Here is his Gallery page.
21Jun10
The Boys are 24 days old today. They have started on gruel - soaked, smashed Taste Of The Wild Wetlands & puppy formula - and love it. They get it all over themselves, especially their feet and faces. And whatever their feet and faces touch! I can feel their teeth, and I'm sure Plum feels them, too. Their back legs are still a little weaker than their front legs, or maybe it's just their lack of coordination. They can back up now and are more assertive about barking at each other and chewing on each other. I heard one squeal when another was chewing on his ear.
Neighbor, Robin, stopped by to hold the puppies on her way home from work. They've changed a lot since she was here to help me tie off a bleeding umbilical cord which Plum had licked the dental floss off in her effort to clean the puppies. They were only a few hours old that day.
19Jun10
My mom stopped today to visit the puppies. She got to hold them and to watch them chew on each other. One of them barked at the sign on the box while she was watching. It's so cute to see them look up at the drawing of a puppy and bark at it.
Lily's family sent photos of her after her first full appointment at the doggie beauty parlor. She looks beautiful! I'm hoping they'll get to stop here to visit in a couple weeks.
17Jun10
The boys are 3 weeks old today! What a huge difference in them from the day of their birth until now.
16Jun10
It's 10pm and I just went in and woke the puppies up to talk to them. They moved right to my voice - first time they've done that. They all pottied, then they started wrestling and then 2 of them, separately, walked to the back of the box to the Dura-Whelp sign and barked at it. They are showing interest in the toys that I've started rotating in the box. They are walking faster and longer without needing a rest. They are also more vocal. So fun!
15Jun10
I put a grooming table in the whelping room and set each puppy on it and immediately they tensed because they were on an unfamiliar surface. I gave them a taste of Nurti-Cal on my finger and they worked to lick it off. Then I set them back in the whelping box. I love to hold them at night while watching tv. I hold one at a time. They are so sweet when they are sleepy. You can see in the recent photos that their ears have grown a lot and they now have a bit of wavy hair there.
Jason helped me get photos of their faces on Sunday. I have trouble telling Star and Banner apart just seeing their faces. Spangle has a brown spot above his nose like Plum does. Hers is a cowlick and looks brown when you look at her from the front and looks white if you look at her from the back, so I'm wondering if his will be the same. Time will tell.
The Killdeer babies hatched today. Jack saw the first one when he left for work, and I saw 3 when I left for a hair cut. There were 4 eggs so we're hoping all four made it. They are the tiniest things! I took a photo with my telephoto lens and I could just see the tops of their heads under their mother's wings as she was sitting on the nest. The babies look like the size of cotton balls with legs. Now, I just hope they stay out of the fenced part of the yard.....
12Jun10
They are playing! They are chewing on each other, they are walking several steps before their back legs give out. They are barking, chirping, and making the sweetest little warble. They are Piglets - very fat puppies, but they will work that off while they strengthen their legs and get more active. Jack's been getting home late from his ball games (in the evenings he umpires and referees), so I haven't been able to get any photos of their faces. I'll try today on my own if I can figure out a safe way to do it - they move so fast now it will be a challenge.
I ordered the Fearless Dog CD to play when they are able to hear. It has all sorts of noises that the puppies can get accustomed to, besides all the noises we have around the house. I've been clapping my hands for the last few days waiting to see when they will react to it. When they start hearing, they will startle so I'll know they can hear.
10Jun10
We had server problems yesterday so the website was down. Jase got it running so we're back online.
09Jun10
Jack held the puppies while I trimmed their nails tonight. We tried to get photos of their faces with their eyes open, but they didn't want to cooperate at all. We'll try again tomorrow. I did add some photos I took yesterday and this morning.
07Jun10
I had a nice visit with one member of my puppy families today. Dan was in the area and stopped to see the puppy boys. He got to play ball with Apple, and Plum made sure he gave her lots of attention and petting. It was a beautiful sunny cool day. My eyes are itching like crazy, so the trees must be pollenating, but it's great to be outdoors on such a pretty day.
Speaking of eyes, one of the puppies eyes are nearly open. The other 2 are very close behind. Can't wait!!
06Jun10
The puppies are really mobile now. I put them in the whelping box and packed the wading pool away. The box is 4' x 4' and they can get from side to side much quicker than you'd imagine, being blind and deaf. Their legs are strong and so is their motiviation: FOOD. They are good eaters.
04Jun10
The Boys are a week old today. All three have doubled their birth weight and their noses and lips are turning darker. We are on day 5 of the Bio Sensor exercises. We do that from day 3 through day 16. I give them a tiny taste of plain yogurt when they are done with their exercises and they suck it off my finger. I'm eager for them to open their eyes. Have a few more days to wait - they'll probably be opening by this Monday.
I spent some time grooming Cedar Dog yesterday. All the adult dogs need some grooming time, Plum included. Tonight I'm going to work on Apple and I can work on Birch & Plum tomorrow. All the grooming the puppies need is to have their nails trimmed.
03Jun10
Spangle has doubled his birth weight. Star & Banner are a few tenths of an ounce from doing the same.
02Jun10
Quiet day, puppy-wise. Still growing and still sleeping when they aren't eating. Plum takes a break by herself just outside the pool occasionally. I put a dog bed there just now so she has a comfy place to rest away from the Boys.
01Jun10
Yesterday morning the puppies' noses were pink and by evening they were brown. They are all continuing to gain weight - they are sturdy, solid, puppies. The kids were here for the holiday and Laurel held the puppies while I trimmed their tiny nails.
Today they had their tails docked and dew claws removed. They traveled in the warming box that I didn't have to warm, and Plum traveled in the crate next to them. I brought along the whelping pool and let them nurse in the van in the parking lot after they saw the vet, and then packed them back up and headed home. I weighed Banner when we got home just to see if the stress of the trip caused any weight loss - nope, he'd gained 20 grams! The reproduction vet was impressed by how big and strong they are :)
30May10
We got some wonderful name suggestions! We've decided on Star, Spangle, and Banner, suggested by Lily's owner, Sharon. These names are what we'll call the puppies while they are here. They are all over 1 pound now.
29May10
Plum had 3 puppy boys yesterday afternoon. The first was born at 12:30pm and there was a long delay before the 2nd was born. The vet's office told me to bring Plum in if the 2nd puppy wasn't born by 2:45, so I packed some of my supplies and loaded Plum in a crate in the van and put the puppy in the warming box in the crate next to her. We got 12 miles down the road and she had puppy #2. Luckily I had my supplies with me. I pulled over to the side of the road (rush hour/holiday traffic) and got him cleaned up, tied off his cord - very hard to do with one hand - and put him in the warming box with his brother. I continued down the road and 5 minutes later she had puppy #3. This time I got smart and pulled into a driveway. His cord was even harder to tie off - I brought a sample size of dental floss and it only had 1/2" left when I pulled on it. I had to root around in my purse holding the puppy in a washcloth with one hand and had to go through every single pocket before I found it. Needless to say, I headed home after that. Luckily, these are very hardy boys. All 3 were trying to nurse before they were out of their sacks. They've all gained weight since yesterday and are doing just great. Plum has her figure back and her coat is shiny and she looks lovely.
She's being such a good mother. She let the people in the vet's waiting room look at the puppies through the clear top of the puppy carrier. I took them in for a post-whelping exam today. The vet checked Plum over and listened to the puppies and proclaimed that all are in excellent shape. I meant to get a photo when the vet had the stethoscope listening to the puppies, but I forgot. Was too busy watching her go over the puppies.
We are debating what to call them. We usually have puppy names so we don't have to call them puppy 1, puppy 2, puppy 3, etc. The theme of the litter is Patriotism and this is Memorial Day weekend, so that's the line of names we're trying to decide on. You're welcome to send suggestions!
28May10
I slept - I say that very loosely - with Plum in the whelping room last night. She was up and down, rearranging her bedding, panting, wanting me to be with her. She refused her food again today, except for the egg, but she has been drinking water and taking treats when I take her temperature which I'm doing every 3 hrs. (When it drops, labor will start within 24 hours.)
Now she is trying to sleep. She's on her back in her crate, breathing heavily - her pink belly going up and down with every pant. Her crate door is open, but I'm in the room at my desk so this is where she wants to be. The other 3 had a chance to go outside and run around and are now crated now so I can focus on her.
27May10
Plum only ate the softboiled egg on her food and a few pieces of the food this morning. I will offer the rest to her throughout the day. She & I are going to sleep in the whelping room tonight and I'll continue that for the next several days. Hoping the new cot is comfortable.
Puppies any day now!
25May10
Today is Victoria Day in Canada, and Sharon reports that Lily is calm throughout all the fireworks going off on their street.
Scratching Plum's back this morning, I noticed I could feel her spine in the middle of her back. The puppies have 'dropped', getting into position to be born. It's almost a full moon. The puppies were conceived during a full moon, so maybe they will be born during this one. We'll know soon. She still has room to eat 2 big meals a day. I've been waiting for her to signal that she doesn't have room and needs smaller, more frequent meals.
Rhonda Kuhn had a litter of 6 last week and is also expecting a litter this weekend. Beth Wegner (Cedar's breeder), and Betty Oister (Plum's co-owner) are going to be at Rhonda's to help in case Rhonda is called into work. We're all hoping for easy whelping and healthy puppies.
4 more days!
24May10
Have noticed during the last 2 days that Plum is breathing louder than usual. Her body is feeling the pressure of the growning puppies. She asked to visit the whelping room last night, and just sniffed everything again.
I walked around the property with the dogs at 8pm and noticed a painted turtle on the beach of the swimming pond. She was digging a nest. I went back out at 9:15 and she was still there. Looked like she was resting. The sand on our beach is only a few inches deep, and there is clay under that. I think she was exhausted from digging. I will make sure she has finished and has made it back to the turtle pond before I let the dogs out today. If not, Birch will find her and carry her around until I notice him.
The Killdeer have finally laid their eggs along the edge of the driveway. We think they had laid eggs earlier in the spring and that a preditor (probably the neighbor's barn cats) got them before we noticed them, because the eggs are usually laid about a month earlier than this.
Haven't seen any ducklings yet. Also haven't seen the male Wood Duck visiting the turtle pond, so maybe they didn't make their nest there this year. I still hear ducks on the duck pond at the back of the property, so maybe the Woodies are there with the Mallards.
5 more days.
23May10
Left Plum in the house and let the other 3 swim in the pond. What a good time they have! They never want to stop, even when I can see they are tiring. When we left the pond area, I closed the gate, and Apple was off to find her red ball. She and Birch retrieved the ball about 20 times before I got tired of the game. Their tongues were hanging down to their knees. I brought Plum outside and sat down at the picnic table to read for an hour while the wet ones finished drying off. It's a beautiful sunny, breezy day. Good for drying wet dogs.
I finally got all the puppy bedding washed, dried, folded, and stacked in the whelping room. It's so satisfying now to have it freshly washed and ready, but I will be washing it endless times between now and when the puppies go to their new homes. We won't be using that room for a dining room again until August. Luckily we have a table and chairs on the screened porch - a perfect summer dining room.
6 more days.
21May10
Plum had her Xray and the puppies are all in the correct position. They are all a good size and will be nearly doubling their size between now and their birth day. Plum is still eating all her food and is still her cheerful self. When the vet tech bent to lift her to the Xray table, Plum stood up and licked her face.
Filson's owner had a knee replaced on Tuesday. I talked to her yesterday and she was doing okay. She had a rough day on Wednesday, but yesterday was better. She hopes to be home by Saturday.
8 days 'til puppies.
16May10
Laurel helped me set-up the whelping room today while Evan helped Jack with yardwork. Still have a couple supplies to buy. Tonight I let Plum into Her Room and she sniffed everything thoroughly then she got into the wading pool - otherwise known as the whelping box- and sniffed that and the towels I put in there for her to dig in when the urge hits. After she was done and we left the room and closed the gate, she laid down in front of the gate staring at her room. She really does know it's for her.
It was a sunny weekend and very welcome. The ground is still pretty wet in the low places of the property. The breeze couldn't make up it's mind - our windmill kept switching from north to east. When it blows from the east we can smell the cows that are down the road. We are in farm country, after all.
5 days until Xray.
14May10
This weekend Jack & Evan will help me get the dining room ready to be a whelping room and nursery. I've been gathering my supplies and still have to make two more pads for the whelping box. 14 more days until puppies!
It's been raining and raining here for a couple days. We had 3.5" in the rain gauge. Birch and Apple are wrestling a lot this morning - no doubt because they haven't had a chance to get out and run. Today is partly sunny and windy, so the wet yard should have no trouble drying up. The dogs will get to run today - look out rabbits!
11May10
Today is Plum's 4th birthday!! I put more photos of Plum & Apple at the cabin on their pages. And Apple & Ffyn's show photos from their exciting wins in Birch Run are on their gallery pages.
10May10
I took Apple & Plum with me to the cabin for the weekend. My mother and I go up every Mother's Day weekend to open the cabin and put things straight. The dogs were very well behaved, except that Apple found one of my mom's leather gloves on the floor and had chewed it before we realized it. Because of the rain and snow - yes, it snowed hard all Saturday but didn't stick, I didn't get the dogs out for much exercise and Apple was bored. I put some photos of them watching the birds on Plum's page and on the Gallery page.
Plum is getting wider every day. She still has a great appetite and happy attitude. 19 more days.
03May10
I've added one or two photos to Cedar, Plum, & Birch's gallery page and the main Gallery page.
I'm still so excited by Apple & Ffyn each getting a major at the show yesterday. It was a good day!
02May10
We entered a local dog show this weekend. Eva Szabo, Donna Weber, Sandy Holmes, Kim Laird, Vicki Stoddard, and I were entered. On Saturday, Sandy's Goose got Winners Bitch, Best Of Winners, and Best of Breed - a 3 point major. Eva & Donna's Lucy went Reserve Winners Bitch. Vicki's Ffyn got Winners Dog and Best Opposite Sex for 1 point, and Birch got Reserve Winners Dog. Today, Ffyn went Winners Dog, Best of Winners for a 3 point major, and Best of Breed! Apple went Winners Bitch for a 3 point major, and Best Opposite Sex. Birch was Reserve Winners Dog again and Reserve Winners Bitch went to Eva & Donna's Lucy. Yes, having puppies I bred win on the same day was very exciting! I'm so proud of how they are turning out. They are so much fun to live with and lovely to look at.
It was nice to be able to spend some time with the girls and all our beautiful dogs.
Vicki and I had show photos taken of our dogs. I'll put them on the website when they arrive in a few weeks.
Lily, Milestone's Canadian Maple Leaf, weighed 31.4# at a recent vet appointment. Apple weighed 37# at her heartworm test a month ago. Apple was the biggest female in the litter and Lily was the smallest.
28 more days until puppies.
29Apr10
Here is the link for the WSSCA (Welsh Springer Spaniel Club of America) Illustrated Standard: http://www.wssca.com/flash/IllustratedStd/wsscaIllustratedStd.swf It is in book form and you can either left click on the bottom corner to flip the pages or use the arrows at the top of the page. If you are considering getting a Welshie, you might want to know more about the history and what a WSS should look like. This is a marvelous educational tool.
26Apr10
I started incorporating a higher protein and higher fat content food for Plum yesterday. She really likes it. I've also been putting 1/2 tsp of fish oil on her morning food. I spoke with Dr. Wilson (reproduction vet) yesterday and he said the food and fish oil were just what she and the puppies need at this stage. We are so lucky to have him in our area. He has several locations and I'll be going to the closest one for the ultrasound. The best part is that his main office is open 24/7. I called on a Sunday and was fortunate to have him be the doctor there that day. All the vets I've met who work for him have been great.
And, the ultrasound showed puppies! Today is day 30; 33 more to go.
23Apr10
Plum and Apple's last CERF exam results are finally on the OFA site. See Plum's page and click on Milestone Crimson Beauty listed under 'Offspring' to see Apple's page.
22Apr10
My friends, Andrea & Tim, had to say goodbye to their Obie. He was a small dog with a big presence and he will be missed.
18Apr10
I've been contacted by so many wonderful people who are interested in a puppy from this upcoming litter. Really special people who are just the type I pray my puppies will have homes with for all their lives. And, the best thing is that other Welshie breeders are helping me. Susan Mengel had one family over to meet Howard and Garnet and showed them such wonderful hospitality. And she is going to do it again for another family who wants a Welshie but has never met one. Howard and Garnet are to be thanked, also. Eva Szabo has helped by sending people who contact her about puppies to my website and she takes the time to talk with them on the phone and answer their questions. Jerry Berkowitz has agreed to meet with another interested family so they can see if Welshies are the perfect dog for them. The Welshie community is truly a very special group and I am grateful for their help and their friendship. I plan to reciprocate whenever I'm asked!
18Apr10
Plum is filling out. Today is day 21 of her pregnancy - one third of the gestation is behind us. Her rib cage is wider and the light hits her coat along her sides differently so it's easy to see the change. Her 'waist' or loin is also wider, so we're pretty sure she's pregnant - in whelp, as we say. We have the ultrasound scheduled for Apr 26, but we probably won't need it for confirmation since she is definitely getting larger. I'll decide whether to keep the appointment as we get closer to that day.
Birch has been intently watching the Mallards in the turtle pond. He just sits by the fence and watches. Since the high vegetation hasn't grown around the pond yet, he has a clear view of them. Good thing there is a fence between them! Pretty soon the growth will get too high for him to see from the ground and he'll have to watch them from the porch.
All our dogs ask to be held when they're tired. I noticed it first in Cedar when he was 8 wks old; he'd sit by my feet about 9:30 in the morning and while looking at me make this little whine. I'd pick him up, hold him on his back and he'd go right to sleep. Now that the 3 older dogs are adults, their asking isn't as obvious. Apple, on the other hand, is obvious. For example, today while we were watching Sunday Morning on TV, she sat at my feet, her sleepy eyes blinking. Getting impatient, she put her head on my knee, still with the blinky eyed look. Then she draped her upper body along beside me, still looking at me with those blinky eyes. Finally, of course, I have to pick her up. She hangs her head back and closes her eyes while I rub her belly. Content. And, yes, spoiled rotten. Gotta love the baby!
16Apr10
Candy called tonight to tell me that Bailey is in a video taken by his day-care staff. I put the link on my home page. He has turned into a very handsome dog. And he made friends quickly with Bella, the other dog in the video. He seems to know the video is about him, because he runs to the camera and sticks his face in the lens to be sure the photographer can see him :)
14Apr10
We've had several beautiful spring days and the dogs are enjoying more time outdoors. Jack mowed the property on Saturday and the dogs are busy hunting for the clumps of mashed grass that fall off the blades here and there. They consider it a treasure, like us finding morel mushrooms. Silly dogs! Birch came in the house yesterday with This Look on his face. I remembered This Look from the time he was keeping a little painted turtle in his mouth. This time it was a clump of the treasured grass. He gave it over like the well trained dog he is and I put it in the compost bucket.
We're keeping an eager eye on Plum's waist - looking to see if we can tell that it's getting bigger! No sign yet. The days are dragging by until the date for the ultrasound that will show if she is in whelp. That is the result we are hoping for!
Haven't seen any Wood Duck pairs on the turtle pond lately, but there has been a pair of Mallards. The Buffel Head pair have left the duck pond probably headed farther north, and there are several Wood Ducks on that pond.
The bluebirds and robins are gathering nest materials. The killdeer who usually nest on our driveway have disappeared. We suspect the neighboring barn cats. Dreaded hunters.
09Apr10
I took all 4 dogs to the vet yesterday for their heartworm tests. All negative. Unfortunately, none of them were looking their best. I had them all cleaned up, of course, then decided the best way to get them all to the van would be to let them out into the yard then go into the side door of the garage and put them in the van there. They didn't run straight to the garage but through all the low areas of the yard where there was still standing water - which I couldn't see from the house. They were like wicks - wet and muddy from their bellies to their feet, and they smelled mucky! I turned the heater on and put the fan on high hoping to dry them some before we arrived at the office. Stinkers!
Two more weeks until we know for sure Plum is in whelp. She is looking so good. Some dogs don't come back after whelping looking quite as good structurally as they were before. Plum's topline is still strong, she's well muscled and her coat is thick and shiney and healthy. She is such a cute dog and cute acting. She 'makes ears' and wiggles that tail a mile a minute and if you give her eye contact she flops down and shows her belly for a rub. We are so fond of our Plum. She still makes those little noises in the back of her throat that puppies do when you hold them in your arms on their back like a baby. She loves to lay in my arms and have her belly rubbed. Actually, they all do! Plum's the only one who still makes the little snuffly sounds.
03Apr10
I saw a pair of Buffle Head Ducks on the duck pond yesterday. Must be the same pair that were on the swimming pond for a few days last spring.
Today I got to visit with Lisa Sinke at the Lapeer County hunting acerage where she was doing field training with Ripley (WSS) and Adam (ECS), along with the SMSSTC folks. I had to work in the morning so was unable to take my dogs for training. By the time I got there most of the folks had gone home. Lisa took her dogs to a back pond and worked them there a few times. She is such a wonderful dog trainer and her dogs are so well mannered and well trained. Her first throw sent the bumper out of Ripley's site and it took a few tries, but you could see her chin go up when she finally got downwind and caught the scent. Adam is tenacious - plowing through the muck and grass clumps even with a chuckar in his mouth. It was such fun to watch the dogs work and really nice to spend a little time with Lisa. I miss going to dog shows with her and just having a chance to visit more often.
31Mar10
I saw a pair of Wood Ducks on the turtle pond yesterday. There are a pair of Mallards and Canadian Geese on the duck pond at the back of our property. The turtle pond is outside the bedroom window. A perfect spot to watch the ducks and their ducklings when they arrive in the next few weeks. Spring has sprung!
30Mar10
On the way back from Plum's 'visit' with Filson last night, I came up over a slight rise in the road heading east on the last 5 miles of the 2 hr drive and I was amazed to see the HUGE moon just over the tops of the trees. I Googled 'full moon' and got the list of Native American names for the full moons. I also have a book titled Medicine Wheel that lists the names of the moons each month and are very similar. We have been going back and forth about what to call this litter (breeders like to have a theme or some system of naming each litter) and we might have to go with Full Moon Names with this one. We've also considered a Memorial Day theme since they should be born about the original Memorial Day holiday.
Apple is done with her heat and can finally play with Birch again. The two of them are making up for lost time, wrestling and running, and now their tongues are hanging out and they're panting from the good exercise that they've both been missing.
We're excited about the upcoming litter. Hoping for an easy whelping, and healthy puppies.
26Mar10
Well, it's just not going to work out to breed Plum to Derby. Derby leaves on Sunday for the National Specialty in Oregon, and Plum's progesterone level won't be high enough before then. So, the good news is that we're going to breed to Filson again. It looks like we'll have puppies at the end of May if all goes well.
18Mar10
I took both Plum and Apple to the Ophthalmologist yesterday for CERF tests. Both passed, completely normal. Apple's iris to iris PPM's that she had at her 8 week old CERF test were gone.
09Mar10
We're home from Maryland. Almost 1,600 miles. Had a wonderful time with Vicki & Ricardo. Their Ffyn won his class on Saturday. Jennifer Pahl did a wonderful job showing him both days. He was 2nd in his class on Sunday. There were no other males entered in the Bred By Exhibitor class except Birch. He showed really well for Sandy Roth. Apple went Best In Sweepstakes and Reserve Winner on Saturday. On Sunday she was 2nd in her class. She did a great job showing and I was so proud of her.
While out with the dogs in Vicki's back yard, as Birch walked over the patio on the way back in the house, his feet sounded like: "click-click-click-clock, click-click-click-clock". He walked into the house on the linolium floor: clock-click-click-click. I started picking up his feet to see what was going on, and the shell of half a walnut fell into my hand. It was stuck over his rear pad - a perfect fit. Sounded so funny!
Thanks to Vicki and Ricardo for their hospitality, generosity, and their love of Ffyn.
22Feb10
Heavy snowfall here today. Looks like we'll get 6" or 7" of the wet stuff. It makes the best snow hills for the dogs to dig in, but I like the dry fluffy snow better because the dogs don't bring in all the snowballs hanging from their coats. Four snow covered dogs make for a Wet Mess!
I'm getting organized to leave for Maryland for the dog show there Mar 6/7. I'm bringing Apple & Birch, and Vicki is coming with Ffyn. There are majors both days. It's one of my favorite shows because I get to see my Welshie friends, the WSS folks usually have the building to ourselves, and the other ring buildings are not too spread out. Weather is usually mild, too, which is always a treat for me this time of year.
Think good thoughts that Apple, Birch, and Ffyn will return with some points!!
09Feb10
Got the photos I took of Apple on the 6th on her gallery page. It was a lovely sunny afternoon, so I took advantage of the opportunity to get some photos of her. She is a few days from being 15 months old.
Welshie owners are heading to New York City for the Westminster dog show. I'm so excited for them. And, I'm really hoping I can find a way to watch the show on my computer because we only have antenna tv now which won't be carrying the show. First time in 20 years that I won't be camped out on the couch for the show.
07Feb10
Put a photo of my four shaggy dogs on the home page. They were all sitting at attention in the kitchen while I was breaking up some liver treats into smaller sizes. I'm surprised the camera didn't catch them drooling :)
05Feb10
Sharon sent a wonderful photo of Liana and Lily. I put it on Lily's page. Thank you Sharon and Liana. I love to see how much Lily resembles Plum, and am touched to see the affection Liana has for Lily.
Things have been pretty quiet here. I did go down to Sandy Holmes' on Monday to see her litter out of Iddi Biddi and Cecil. Beautiful litter. It was a special treat to have Lidewij Harmsen from the Netherlands visiting Sandy to choose a puppy from this litter. Lidewij owns Filson's sire. Her parents have had Welshies for 30-ish years, so she has grown up with them. Apple went with me so Lidewij could meet her and so Sandy could see how she's growing up. Apple got to play in the dog yard with her beautiful half-sister, Betty Jo.
Andrea Pease is expecting English Cocker puppies any day. I'm wishing I was there to assist. Rose, the expectant mother, was the first puppy I ever saw being born and she will always have a special place in my heart.
27Jan10
January is nearly over. It's going out really cold and windy!
I've contacted all my puppy owners and asked if there were any health or temperament issues to consider since I am planning to breed Plum in a few months. There are no health or temperament issues! Yay :) It was wonderful to hear from all of them and to hear that they still love their dogs.
Vicki sent 2 show photos of Ffyn that I added to his page. He's a very nice looking Welshie and I'm looking forward to watching his show career.
19Jan10
Yesterday we had moist air that frosted everything outside. The trees were so beautiful. Here is a photo of the Sunset Maple next to the house. The frost crystals were so thick and fascinating.
10Jan10
The dogs and I are having a nice relaxing time sitting in the living room with a roaring fire in the fireplace and James Taylor singing to us via an old VHS recording of a PBS special. The dogs each have a Nylabone they're chewing on. I'm on the couch with my laptop reading about inbreeding coefficients, something I've always wanted to study. Now that the Welshie community has the new, wonderful version of Chris and Dawn Ford's Heavens Pedigree Engine, I've been looking at the COI of my dogs, and looking at test matings to see what those COI's are.
Another wonderful pedigree engine was made by Crystal Nolen. The pedigrees show photos of the dogs which is priceless. The link to her website is WSS Pedigree Archive. You can see up to 10 generations of your dogs' pedigree with photos of his/her ancestors. Love it!
I want to send out a big Congratulations!! to Rhonda Kuhn and her Saphira (Ch Aurora's Come Fly With Me) who went Best Of Breed today at the American Spaniel Club's Flushing Spaniel Show. I helped whelp Saphira and her littermates - one of my early whelping experiences. Saphira is out of Ch Fanfare's New Year Keepsake and Ch Holly House Joy Of Aurora. I haven't gotten a full report on all the winners, but Congratulations to all those who placed at ASC this weekend. I hope you all have a safe drive home.
08Jan10
We finally had a snow storm pass through yesterday. We could still see the top of the grass through the small amount of snow we had before this storm, and now we have 4" on the ground. The snow started here in the afternoon. The dogs are having a blast, noses under the snow following the rabbit trails, etc.
I'm eager to hear the results of the American Spaniel Club's annual Flushing Spaniel show being held today through Sunday near Philadelphia. Today is the Sweepstakes, tomorrow are the classes, and Sunday is Breed. Very sorry I couldn't be there. There is usually a large entry and the Welshie folks have so much fun getting together. Being in a building full of all kinds of spaniels is very special. This year is the first to have Boykin Spaniels included. I wish all my spaniel friends a successful and fun weekend and a safe drive home.
27Dec09
I heard from Gail & Bill that Maggie Mae is doing well. She enjoys play dates with 2 other dogs one day a week and is still a good hunter/tracker for any critters that dare to cross their property. They have lots of snow for her to play in, too.
26Dec09
Merry Christmas everyone!
Got a great surprise today when I opened the newest issue of the Starter Barks (WSSCA award-winning newsletter). Vicki put in a 2 page ad for Ffyn! He's such a nice looking dog and he has the most easy going temperament. We're really proud of him. He and Vicki are starting obedience classes in 2 weeks with an aim toward an obedience or rally title and a Canine Good Citizen title.
Plum came to the door covered with dirt today. She was digging in the dirt pile (we're trying to give the dirt away but have no takers) and the white hairs on her face was as dark as the red hairs. Her feet and legs and 'bib' were full of dirt and dried grass/weed roots. She had a Good Time, but she was A MESS. So she got a bath. Now she's looking pretty :) Smells better, too.
We don't have any snow here. I'm looking forward to making a snow pile for the dogs to play on - it's a lot cleaner than digging in the dirt pile!
I wish all of you a healthy, happy, prosperous New Year.
18Dec09
Surprise!!! Candy and Bailey sent Throw Me A Bone by Welshie Cooper Gillespie and his human Susan Orlean with recipes by Sally Sampson. I am so looking forward to reading it cover to cover and then making the recipies. Thank you, Candy and Bailey Boy. A wonderful surprise :)
I found a picture today that I'd forgotten I had. It's a photo of Filson taken in front of the same peony bush that Sandy photographed Apple in May. I put it on Apple's gallery page. It's in the 4th row. See how much they look alike!
16Dec09
Sharon sent an email with a new photo of Lily that Lianna took in September. I'll put it on Lily's page. Sharon enjoyed seeing the new photo of Filson and thinks that Lily looks a lot like her dad.
10Dec09
I'd like to thank all of you who stop to take a look at my website. It's really fun to know that people around the world are viewing it. Making it was a challenge for me, but keeping it up is something I enjoy doing. I will have close to 3,000 visits to my site this year. In the world of websites, it's just a tiny thing, but in the Welshie world it's significant and I want you to know how much I appreciate your attention, and your interest in my wonderful dogs.
I was thumbing through the advertising circulars that came to the house on Monday, and in the ACO Hardware circular there was a sale on items for animals. Included in the photo was box for Color-Full flea collars and the box has a smiling Welshie on it!!
07Dec09
Sandy Holmes sent me a new photo of her handsome Filson, father of Apple. I added his photo to the Friends and Their Dogs page. Thanks, Sandy. Apple sure looks like her dad :)
03Dec09
I got a new photo of Bailey from Candy and have added it to his gallery page. It's a little blury, but you can see that he's a handsome character and that he is loved. His new thing is to sit on John's shoulder to look out the window.
I also heard from Kerrie who adopted Daisy, a French Brittany we fostered in through WSSCA Rescue. She adopted Daisy in 2005. I posted the photos Kerrie sent on my Friends and Their Dogs page. Kerrie lost her Brittany, Zoey, to cancer in April, so both Kerrie and Daisy had a rough summer. Kerrie wrote, 'Daisy is doing pretty good. Daisy had never been left home without Zoey so she had some adjustment issues the first few weeks with that. She was so cute though. There were a few particular toys that Zoey did not share. About three weeks after she died I started finding Daisy sleeping with them. Then after a bit she started playing with them too. She has also abandoned her bed for Zoey's old comforter. And, now her only friend during the day is the kitty. They are slowly becoming friends. Before they just ignored each other. We have also spent a lot of time at my best friend's house in Reed City this year. Daisy has befriended their horse. It is so cute to watch. She'll go into his area and sit right in front of him and woof once. Then he nickers and they touch noses. They also have 2 dogs so she gets a lot of play time in when we are there.' What a wonderful home Daisy has! Thanks, Kerrie.
28Nov09
I have changed my email address. Please delete the cathymiles2001@yahoo.com and milestonewss@yahoo.com addresses and use milestonewss@gmail.com. Last month a hacker got in and compromised my contacts and is sending out Spam using my Yahoo address. I'm sorry if this has caused you to have computer problems. With Jason's help, I was able to get my computer working again. It is so wonderful to have a son who works on computers!!!
11Nov09
Yesterday when I was out with the dogs, I found in my coat pocket the little Koala toy that Betty bought for Cedar when we were at the dog show in VA . (I was wondering where I had put it.) When we came in, I cut off the tags. He 'knew' that what I had was for him and he was sitting at attention at my feet ready to take it as soon as I offered it. He trotted it right to his crate, humming all the way. He's a very vocal dog :) He loves to collect all his little toys in his crate, and he'll hold one or two or even three in his mouth and takes them with him from room to room. He's good at 'take it' and 'show me' and I can send him to find Jack and show Jack what new treasure he has in his mouth. He will also 'give' and let us look at his treasure, then takes it gently back when we return it to him. He has a special trot when he has a new toy and I swear he smiles. I put a photo of him holding the Koala in his mouth on the home page of the website today. Isn't he cute!
Happy 1st Birthday to Apple, Lily, Ffyn, Bailey, Crash, and Clover. Hugs and Kisses!
10Nov09
The Tree Litter puppies are 1 year old tomorrow! Happy 1st Birthday puppies and may you have many, many more.
29Oct09
YeeHA!!! Birch got his Rally Novice title today with a Perfect score of 100! And he got a 3rd place out of the 25 dogs in his class (two other dogs who scored 100 had faster times). I'm so proud of him. We haven't had a chance to work on rally much - in fact, since his last rally trial in June at the Skyline/Shenandoah shows, we've only attended two classes and practiced yesterday for less than 10 minutes here at home. What a bright boy he is :) He got 97's at his other two trials. (To qualify for a rally title, the dog has to score between 70 and 100 at three trials.)
27Oct09
Apple, Plum, and I are back from Virginia. We had a great visit with Betty and Bill Oister. Betty's Field Spaniel, Fox, has a singleton puppy who they are calling Max. He is 3 weeks old and doing great.
I showed Apple in the dog shows in Leesburg on Sat & Sun. She was Winners Bitch and Best Opposite Sex in the Sweepstakes on Saturday, and went Reserve Winners in the regular classes. On Sunday she went Winners Bitch for a
4 point major. So she now has 6 points and one major toward her championship. It was great to see all the east coast Welshie folks. Especially wonderful to have the Knight family come to the show grounds with Crash on Sunday. He looked terrific!! He's a happy, confident, easy-going, handsome dog. They have purchased clippers and plan to start grooming Crash themselves. Betty gave them a 'crash' course with her clippers on Crash's ears. I'm pleased that they are going to give this a try. It's an acquired skill - takes practice. I'm still learning how to do it!
I wish I had brought Plum along to the show to see Crash, but we had to drive Betty's 4 wheel drive vehicle due to the rain on Saturday (this outdoor show is notorious for wet mud that requires vehicles to be towed out) and there was only room for Beans, Ollie, and Apple. We got home too late Saturday night and returned too early Sunday morning to move everything to the van.
I showed Ollie on Sunday and he went Winners Dog! He also was WD on Sat, so both Betty and I had a wonderful weekend.
16Oct09
I took Apple with me on Monday to the training club because they have handling class the hour prior to the monthly meeting. They have a wall of mirrors that are so helpful, and a nice teacher. We got lots of practice because there were only 4 of us in the class. Apple was very well behaved during the hour and a half long meeting. I was pleased with her. She likes all the dogs, no matter of size, and all the people, and she was able to settle when I asked her to 'leave it'. She wanted to play with the Sheltie next to us. When he invited her to play her whole body was wagging. It was a great experience for her.
I took her back there with Birch & I yesterday. Birch and I had rally class and Apple waited in the van. Then I switched them and brought her in to sit with me while the others were still taking their turns through the rally course our teacher had set up. Birch was rusty since we hadn't practiced rally in a few months. I hope we can get it together enough to pass our last rally leg in a few weeks.
Meanwhile, I'm getting us ready to head to Virginia for dog shows. Hoping to meet up with Crash and his family at the show site since they don't live very far away. Also hoping for non-rainy weather!
10Oct09
Candy sent a photo of Bailey playing in the first snowfall of the season. It's on his gallery page. They start their snow season (in Minnesota) about a month or more before we do here in Michigan. Dog just love playing in the first snow. It makes them do a happy dance :)
Here in Michigan the leaves are turning and falling. The air is cool and we've had some damp days, but today looks like the gray clouds are moving out and the sun is going to shine. Perfection.
27Sep09
Got home today from the shows in Monroe, MI. Sandy Holmes, Vicki Stoddard, Valerie Young, Kim Laird, and I got together for this show. It was really nice to spend time with those gals. On Saturday, Sandy's Itty Bitty finished and is now Champion Trystyn's State Trooper. Ffyn went Best WSS Puppy. On Sunday, Apple and her brother, Ffyn, got their first 2 points. And, Ffyn went Best of Winners! I'm so pleased for Vicki and I'm proud of my puppies.
18Sep09
We had to say goodbye to our Gracie Kitty today. Jason rescued her in the fall of 1990. She had wandered into his shop class (they had the outside door open) and a few kids were looking for nails to shoot at her with the air gun. He couldn't bring her home on the bus, so he found a neighbor who gave him and the cat a ride home. She was between 7 and 12 months old then. I am really going to miss her happy, chirpy little voice. When she came into our lives, we already had 6 cats. She fit right in and she outlived them all. We named her Gracie because she was a Gray Cat. She had a lot of grace and was well-named.
17Sep09
Yesterday Vicki and I met at Paul Morrison's house to introduce the puppies, Ffyn and Apple, to birds. The older dogs all got to work in the field, too. Ffyn took to it like the Welshie he is. Paul had him covering ground, finding the birds, and bringing them back to hand within a short amount of time. Apple also did well. She found the birds and brought them back, but she was less confident about what she should be doing and that is something we need to work on. Poppy and Cedar did a great job covering the ground, quartering, finding and retrieving the birds. Cedar isn't comfortable with loud noises, so when he was busy working in the field with me, Paul got his starter pistol and fired it a few times. Cedar barely noticed because he was so intent on finding the birds. Birch and I worked the field together, because it was me who needed the practice. I had forgotten several of the words Paul had taught Birch to respond to, I was not correct in my hand/arm directions and was walking back and forth too much which wasn't necessary as Birch can cover the ground by command, not by me walking back and forth with him. So, it was really great that we could have a lesson with Paul to help me get back to correct field commands, etc. He's an excellent teacher and I am a willing, but rather scatter-brained pupil. It's a good thing Birch knows what to do, despite me! That's thanks to Paul.
After our training, Vicki and I went to a Mexican restaurant in Howell that Paul recommended. He told us we needed to ask about desert because the chef is so good at making deserts that she could have a separate restaurant just devoted to them. He was SO right! Our lunches (enchiladas for Vicki and mini chicken chimichangas for me) were very good, and when we inquired about desert the waitress came out with a list of 4 or 5 items to choose from. We chose the two chocolate deserts. They both were heaven! I wanted to hum the whole time I was eating mine, and was very sorry when it was gone. On our way back to the cars, we went in the antique store next door to the restaurant and Vicki found a tiny hand-embroidered baby sun-shirt that she bought for her first grandchild who is due in April. There were LOTS of dog items in the store: figurines, sketches, paintings - none of Welshies, but I enjoyed them anyway.
I walked the dogs around the property after we got home, because they had been in the van for several hours by that time. They wanted to swim, but I wanted to get to work on the photos we took at Paul's so I could get them on the website. Hoping to have all the photos there today. Didn't get any photos of Plum. She is now 'retired' from field work. She just would not carry the bird. She would almost pick it up, then she'd spit out the feathers that came loose in her mouth. She did that several times. We're going to concentrate our training with the other dogs.
13Sep09
Our friends, Tim, Andrea, & Amy Pease, stopped by Friday night to spend the night on their way east on vacation. It was so nice to have them here! Amy hadn't been here before, but Tim & Andrea were here back in 2005 when they dropped off their 8 wk old English Cocker puppies for Jack and I to puppy-sit for two weeks while they went on a Canadian vacation. (It was our first experience taking care of puppies and we had a blast!)
After the Pease's were on their way Saturday morning, I took Apple and Plum to the Woods N Water Expo and met up with Laurel and her friend Katie who helped me walk the dogs through the throng of people and other dogs. We have gone to this annually for a few years and this year more people recognized them as Welshies and we heard fewer people saying "Brittany" as we walked by. I saw one of my training club friends, Tammy Bartz, at the Dock Dogs event with 2 of her Labs. She told me about how the judging works and what is required and I think I'll plan to take the dogs there next year and see what we can do. Lots of little girls and a couple little boys asked if they could pet the dogs. The dogs were so calm and loved the attention.
It was pretty warm at Woods 'N Water, so when I got home I let all the dogs in the pond for nearly an hour. After all that exercise, we walked around the property and they did some ball retrieving, and then I sat under a tree and read a book when they finished drying off. The neighbor across the street started firing his gun and Apple who has never heard a gun was 'boofing' (soft barks) at the noise. Cedar who doesn't tolerate thunder, fireworks or gunshots well, looked worried so I said "Wow! Did you see that BIRD?!" All the dogs started running around and the Killdeer who hang out around the pond were flying around the yard calling just at that time, so that distracted Apple and Cedar. A little later the neighbor started shooting again and all the dogs were fine with it. Bodes well for this Wednesday's visit to Paul's to introduce birds to Apple and her brother, Ffyn, and his housemate, Poppy, along with Birch and Plum.
During this past week, I've seen two female Wood Ducks on the turtle pond. One day they were joined by a male. Today when I looked out the window there were seven females all sitting on a log in the middle of the pond. Wish I'd been outside with my camera! Within moments one got off the log, and then another, so there would not have been a chance for me to run out there in time to get a photo. It was a lovely sight, though. I'm guessing they are this years' babies who were born at this pond in May.
08Sep09
We had a wonderful holiday. Jack cooked on his grill/smoker 2 days and we had some terrific dinners. Also did a lot of relaxing in the shade in the yard with the dogs. Jase flew his huge kite. The dogs were very curious about what looked like a huge bird flying over, but when it landed and they had a chance to sniff it they looked unimpressed.
Plum brought me a sparrow on Saturday. I heard a short chirp, and there she was coming up the ramp to the screened porch with a sparrow in her mouth. Maybe the next time we go to Paul's for field training she'll decide she's a bird dog after all!
03Sep09
What lovely weather we're having!! Apple is at the end of her first heat and the boys are ignoring her so I took them all swimming today. This is the first time they've all gone in the pond together since early August. They had fun and got lots of great exercise. We walked around the property for about an hour after the swimming, so they had a chance to dry off.
Groomed Apple this morning and gave Plum a bath with a little grooming this afternoon. Will do more tonight. She is so good on the table. Actually, they all are good, though Cedar is the least patient of them all. We're going to Woods 'N Water in Imlay City next Sat and I want the dogs to look their best. Hoping Plum's heat will hold off until after that day so she can go with us.
The boys and I drove down to Sandy's house today so we could evaluate them and take their photos. Sandy's guest, Maddie, did a good job as Puppy Socializer. The boys were perfect on the 2 hr drive down. I even stopped for gas just before getting to her house, and I was afraid that as soon as I stopped they'd all wake up and want to go out to potty. Luckily they put their heads back down and waited until they got outside at Sandy's. They were tired out and slept the whole ride home. Such good travelers - again! Two of them have about an 8-9 hr drive home with their new families, so it's a good thing they like to ride!
Tomorrow is the trip to the vet for shots and exams.
19Jul10
I took the boys to the Ophthalmologist today for their etse tests. All passed. They have iris to iris PPM's, which is nckily ormal for their age. The Vet said PPM's should disappear as they get older. Apple's have; she was retested in March. Ffyn will be retested soon and I'm hoping his are also gone. The boys were angels! They all pottied when I took them outside, then they road for nearly 2 hrs, as I had a couple stops to make. I put them in a ex-pen for a few minutes while I bungeed the VariKennel to my 'wheels' so I didn't have to carry the three of them in the crateand could just wheel it into the office. They all sat together on the exam table while the doctor looked into their eyes. They were still and so cute. I wheeled them back to the van and headed home with 2 stops on the way. They never fussed and waited until they got home to the grass to potty. I'm so pleased with them!
When we got home, I let them run and wrestle in the yard, then feed them and they ate every bit and fell asleep. At 6pm a friend stopped over, so I took them back outside to play and to get held and petted. Jack got out the little wading pool that Star was born in and put about 3" of (cold) water in it. Jack set each one in and they all jumped right out. After that they were in and out, having a blast. I took photos with my phone because I didn't have my camera and I hope to get them on the website soon.
16Jul10
Members of the dog training club came over tonight to temperament test the boys. We used the Volhard Puppy Aptitude Test, copyrighted by Wendy & Joachim Volhard. All three boys are very people oriented and very trusting of people. If the tester showed them the umbrella didn't bother her, then they trusted her and went up and sniffed the umbrella. None of them were bothered at all by the dominance tests, though they all struggled for a moment when first forced on their backs, but then therelaxed and looked right at the tester. They will make very good companions for my puppy families.
I took them outside this morning to run around without the big dogs. They had so much fun chasing each other and following me, finding little 'treasures' to carry around. They've mastered up and down the porch steps, though they go down mostly on their bellies because their legs are so short.
They are 7 weeks old today.
13Jul10
We've been having fun with the puppies. They are doing well on walks now, though we don't stay out too long because of the heat. They like to play in the shade of the locust tree, and love to pick up the cedar mulch and run with it like they have a treasure! They've visited businesses in the village, and ridden in the van with no accidents or whining. Tonight they hung out with both of us while we watched the All Star game. They are fun to hold and cuddle, especially when they are sleepy. The make a huge racket when they wrestle now. We strain to hear each other talk when they get to fever pitch. Their favorite game is one puppy in the crate daring the other two to try to enter. They all bark at each other at the top of their little lungs. They seem to take turns being the puppy in the crate.
They haven't missed the litter box when they poop for a few weeks. This makes for much less work when I get up in the morning :) They aren't that consistant about peeing in it - but when they do make it to the box, they get praised and I think they're catching on. Plum is still nursing them 3-4 times a day, but for a shorter time than she did earlier. They are good eaters and clean up their food dish lickity split. Before they were born, I wondered if the faces of this litter would look just like the faces of the puppies in the last litter - they don't. There are similarities, though.
Tonight, after we mowed the property, we sat on the screened porch with the dogs and the puppies. Jack was splashing the water in their water dish with his hand and the puppies were having so much fun watching the water fly around. They were shaking the water off and wagging their little tails. Pretty cute!
11Jul10
I'm so proud of Ffyn's wins at the WSSCA Supported Entry show this weekend. He went Best Of Winners both days for two 3 point majors! This finished his Championship - the first Milestone Champion! He really is most wonderful dog. He moves like a dream, has beautiful angles, bone, topline, tailset, feet, straight front legs, lovely forechest, great depth of body, sweet face/expression - and he's the most easy going, happy dog. He loves all people and dogs and nothing unsettles him. I am so thankful for Vicki and Ricardo's good job of socializing and raising him. Couldn't ask for more. Today is Ricardo's birthday, too. Happy Birthday, Ricardo!!
07Jul10
Still very hot here. Have had the puppies outside in short shifts. They are getting very vocal - it's astounding how much noise 3 little puppies can make!
Clover had a frightening experience. Carlene sent the following email that I will share in the hopes it helps another dog:
I need to tell you about an extremely close call we had recently. I bought the usual 1 1/2 lb of chocolate chips that we use for chocolate chip pancakes, which of course the girls love. One day they snuck the bag up to their bedroom and started the bag, not eating much. Sometime late that evening Clover must have found the bag, and she ate it ALL. I ran into her about 3am trying to drink out of the toilet, which she rarely does. I gave her a bowl of water and she drank the whole thing. She jumped up to the edge of our bed around 5am (just like any sick kid would do, as Alexis said) and I patted her and turned over and went back to sleep. Mackenzie came in at 5:30 and said Clover had vomited in her room, and it looked like chocolate. We thought she seemed ok, until she started to fall over and couldn't walk. We brought her to the vet immediately, but by then her heart rate was up to 240 - chocolate is like an amphetamine overdose for dogs (as you probably know). The vet had me bring the empty bag, she did some quick calculations after putting Clover on the scale, and told me she had likely ingested a lethal dose, and cancelled all her appointments for the morning. She started an IV, induced vomiting, and force fed activated charcoal over the course of an hour (while I held Clover and cried!!!!) Fred ran over to the hospital to get some IV Propanolol to try to get her heart rate down. By midday she was stabilized enough to move her off-island to a 24 hr facility with heart monitoring equipment (neither of which we have here on the Vineyard). We took a stethoscope and checked her heart rate every 5 minutes on the boat, and had to give her more medicine. There is a great animal hospital about 1/2 hour from the boat, and they monitored her closely for the next 36 hours. We all missed her so much, waiting to hear how she fared through the night (they don't allow visitors to sleep in the spacious cages with their pets - trust me, we asked!). She came home to much fanfare, very tired, but she is fine. So all a cautionary tale for dog owners that may not know just how toxic chocolate can be, especially for a smaller dog. And unfortunately we have a doggie chocoholic. We are VERY careful about leaving candy around now.
05Jul10
We had lots of company over the weekend. The puppies got held and played with, they got to spend time outside until it got too hot for them, and they got to hear more noise and people than they usually do.
We had a special visit by Lily and half of her family, Liana and John. They were passing through on their way home from visiting relatives. Lily fit right in and she and Apple were retreiving the ball. Plum seemed to enjoy having Lily here, and greeted John and Liana like old friends. I had my camera out, but didn't get many photos - and some of them were blurry. Disappointing.
It is very hot here. Yesterday and today have been in the upper 90's and very humid. Not my favorite weather. Looks like more of the same for this week.
30Jun10
I took down the whelping box put up the ex-pens so the boys have more room to move and maybe they'll start using the litterbox instead of sleeping in it. They got some time outside today. They had just eaten and after a little light wrestling, they all napped. We've had lovely weather the last two days - mid 70's, sunny, and a light breeze. Perfect for puppies!
29Jun10
Melanie sent me photos of Derby. I put them on the Puppies page. Handsome dog!
28Jun10
Busy weekend. Sandy Holmes, Vicki Stoddard, Nancy Chapman, Lisa Sinke, and I attended a Sporting Breed Judge's Seminar to give the judges who want to be approved on our breed a chance to see them in person, go over them, see them move, and ask questions. Sandy is an approved Breed Mentor, so she talked about the dogs and Nancy and I ran them around the ring. I think we had an excellent group of dogs for the judges to see: Filson, Karma, Ffyn, Apple, Betty Jo, and Crocket. Sandy made copies of The Welshman video for all the judges, and Adrienne Bancker sent copies of the Illustrated Standard for each judge. We had rain storms off & on and got a little damp, but the event went off very well. I think every breed from the Sporting Group was present, even a breed that is trying to get into the AKC, the Barbet. I never got a look at them - they were in the opposite corner of the grounds from us. I hear this morning that a campground about 40-50 miles from us had what appears to be a tornado that killed one person and injured others. We were fortunate that didn't happen will all of us out in the open with our precious dogs.
24Jun10
Our Cedar Dog is 7 years old today! Seven years of happiness. He's our very special dog - First Welshie, and he's taken us on a wonderful journey. He still has a C in freckles on his nose. Thank you Beth & Kent for our Cedar. Here is his Gallery page.
21Jun10
The Boys are 24 days old today. They have started on gruel - soaked, smashed Taste Of The Wild Wetlands & puppy formula - and love it. They get it all over themselves, especially their feet and faces. And whatever their feet and faces touch! I can feel their teeth, and I'm sure Plum feels them, too. Their back legs are still a little weaker than their front legs, or maybe it's just their lack of coordination. They can back up now and are more assertive about barking at each other and chewing on each other. I heard one squeal when another was chewing on his ear.
Neighbor, Robin, stopped by to hold the puppies on her way home from work. They've changed a lot since she was here to help me tie off a bleeding umbilical cord which Plum had licked the dental floss off in her effort to clean the puppies. They were only a few hours old that day.
19Jun10
My mom stopped today to visit the puppies. She got to hold them and to watch them chew on each other. One of them barked at the sign on the box while she was watching. It's so cute to see them look up at the drawing of a puppy and bark at it.
Lily's family sent photos of her after her first full appointment at the doggie beauty parlor. She looks beautiful! I'm hoping they'll get to stop here to visit in a couple weeks.
17Jun10
The boys are 3 weeks old today! What a huge difference in them from the day of their birth until now.
16Jun10
It's 10pm and I just went in and woke the puppies up to talk to them. They moved right to my voice - first time they've done that. They all pottied, then they started wrestling and then 2 of them, separately, walked to the back of the box to the Dura-Whelp sign and barked at it. They are showing interest in the toys that I've started rotating in the box. They are walking faster and longer without needing a rest. They are also more vocal. So fun!
15Jun10
I put a grooming table in the whelping room and set each puppy on it and immediately they tensed because they were on an unfamiliar surface. I gave them a taste of Nurti-Cal on my finger and they worked to lick it off. Then I set them back in the whelping box. I love to hold them at night while watching tv. I hold one at a time. They are so sweet when they are sleepy. You can see in the recent photos that their ears have grown a lot and they now have a bit of wavy hair there.
Jason helped me get photos of their faces on Sunday. I have trouble telling Star and Banner apart just seeing their faces. Spangle has a brown spot above his nose like Plum does. Hers is a cowlick and looks brown when you look at her from the front and looks white if you look at her from the back, so I'm wondering if his will be the same. Time will tell.
The Killdeer babies hatched today. Jack saw the first one when he left for work, and I saw 3 when I left for a hair cut. There were 4 eggs so we're hoping all four made it. They are the tiniest things! I took a photo with my telephoto lens and I could just see the tops of their heads under their mother's wings as she was sitting on the nest. The babies look like the size of cotton balls with legs. Now, I just hope they stay out of the fenced part of the yard.....
12Jun10
They are playing! They are chewing on each other, they are walking several steps before their back legs give out. They are barking, chirping, and making the sweetest little warble. They are Piglets - very fat puppies, but they will work that off while they strengthen their legs and get more active. Jack's been getting home late from his ball games (in the evenings he umpires and referees), so I haven't been able to get any photos of their faces. I'll try today on my own if I can figure out a safe way to do it - they move so fast now it will be a challenge.
I ordered the Fearless Dog CD to play when they are able to hear. It has all sorts of noises that the puppies can get accustomed to, besides all the noises we have around the house. I've been clapping my hands for the last few days waiting to see when they will react to it. When they start hearing, they will startle so I'll know they can hear.
10Jun10
We had server problems yesterday so the website was down. Jase got it running so we're back online.
09Jun10
Jack held the puppies while I trimmed their nails tonight. We tried to get photos of their faces with their eyes open, but they didn't want to cooperate at all. We'll try again tomorrow. I did add some photos I took yesterday and this morning.
07Jun10
I had a nice visit with one member of my puppy families today. Dan was in the area and stopped to see the puppy boys. He got to play ball with Apple, and Plum made sure he gave her lots of attention and petting. It was a beautiful sunny cool day. My eyes are itching like crazy, so the trees must be pollenating, but it's great to be outdoors on such a pretty day.
Speaking of eyes, one of the puppies eyes are nearly open. The other 2 are very close behind. Can't wait!!
06Jun10
The puppies are really mobile now. I put them in the whelping box and packed the wading pool away. The box is 4' x 4' and they can get from side to side much quicker than you'd imagine, being blind and deaf. Their legs are strong and so is their motiviation: FOOD. They are good eaters.
04Jun10
The Boys are a week old today. All three have doubled their birth weight and their noses and lips are turning darker. We are on day 5 of the Bio Sensor exercises. We do that from day 3 through day 16. I give them a tiny taste of plain yogurt when they are done with their exercises and they suck it off my finger. I'm eager for them to open their eyes. Have a few more days to wait - they'll probably be opening by this Monday.
I spent some time grooming Cedar Dog yesterday. All the adult dogs need some grooming time, Plum included. Tonight I'm going to work on Apple and I can work on Birch & Plum tomorrow. All the grooming the puppies need is to have their nails trimmed.
03Jun10
Spangle has doubled his birth weight. Star & Banner are a few tenths of an ounce from doing the same.
02Jun10
Quiet day, puppy-wise. Still growing and still sleeping when they aren't eating. Plum takes a break by herself just outside the pool occasionally. I put a dog bed there just now so she has a comfy place to rest away from the Boys.
01Jun10
Yesterday morning the puppies' noses were pink and by evening they were brown. They are all continuing to gain weight - they are sturdy, solid, puppies. The kids were here for the holiday and Laurel held the puppies while I trimmed their tiny nails.
Today they had their tails docked and dew claws removed. They traveled in the warming box that I didn't have to warm, and Plum traveled in the crate next to them. I brought along the whelping pool and let them nurse in the van in the parking lot after they saw the vet, and then packed them back up and headed home. I weighed Banner when we got home just to see if the stress of the trip caused any weight loss - nope, he'd gained 20 grams! The reproduction vet was impressed by how big and strong they are :)
30May10
We got some wonderful name suggestions! We've decided on Star, Spangle, and Banner, suggested by Lily's owner, Sharon. These names are what we'll call the puppies while they are here. They are all over 1 pound now.
29May10
Plum had 3 puppy boys yesterday afternoon. The first was born at 12:30pm and there was a long delay before the 2nd was born. The vet's office told me to bring Plum in if the 2nd puppy wasn't born by 2:45, so I packed some of my supplies and loaded Plum in a crate in the van and put the puppy in the warming box in the crate next to her. We got 12 miles down the road and she had puppy #2. Luckily I had my supplies with me. I pulled over to the side of the road (rush hour/holiday traffic) and got him cleaned up, tied off his cord - very hard to do with one hand - and put him in the warming box with his brother. I continued down the road and 5 minutes later she had puppy #3. This time I got smart and pulled into a driveway. His cord was even harder to tie off - I brought a sample size of dental floss and it only had 1/2" left when I pulled on it. I had to root around in my purse holding the puppy in a washcloth with one hand and had to go through every single pocket before I found it. Needless to say, I headed home after that. Luckily, these are very hardy boys. All 3 were trying to nurse before they were out of their sacks. They've all gained weight since yesterday and are doing just great. Plum has her figure back and her coat is shiny and she looks lovely.
She's being such a good mother. She let the people in the vet's waiting room look at the puppies through the clear top of the puppy carrier. I took them in for a post-whelping exam today. The vet checked Plum over and listened to the puppies and proclaimed that all are in excellent shape. I meant to get a photo when the vet had the stethoscope listening to the puppies, but I forgot. Was too busy watching her go over the puppies.
We are debating what to call them. We usually have puppy names so we don't have to call them puppy 1, puppy 2, puppy 3, etc. The theme of the litter is Patriotism and this is Memorial Day weekend, so that's the line of names we're trying to decide on. You're welcome to send suggestions!
28May10
I slept - I say that very loosely - with Plum in the whelping room last night. She was up and down, rearranging her bedding, panting, wanting me to be with her. She refused her food again today, except for the egg, but she has been drinking water and taking treats when I take her temperature which I'm doing every 3 hrs. (When it drops, labor will start within 24 hours.)
Now she is trying to sleep. She's on her back in her crate, breathing heavily - her pink belly going up and down with every pant. Her crate door is open, but I'm in the room at my desk so this is where she wants to be. The other 3 had a chance to go outside and run around and are now crated now so I can focus on her.
27May10
Plum only ate the softboiled egg on her food and a few pieces of the food this morning. I will offer the rest to her throughout the day. She & I are going to sleep in the whelping room tonight and I'll continue that for the next several days. Hoping the new cot is comfortable.
Puppies any day now!
25May10
Today is Victoria Day in Canada, and Sharon reports that Lily is calm throughout all the fireworks going off on their street.
Scratching Plum's back this morning, I noticed I could feel her spine in the middle of her back. The puppies have 'dropped', getting into position to be born. It's almost a full moon. The puppies were conceived during a full moon, so maybe they will be born during this one. We'll know soon. She still has room to eat 2 big meals a day. I've been waiting for her to signal that she doesn't have room and needs smaller, more frequent meals.
Rhonda Kuhn had a litter of 6 last week and is also expecting a litter this weekend. Beth Wegner (Cedar's breeder), and Betty Oister (Plum's co-owner) are going to be at Rhonda's to help in case Rhonda is called into work. We're all hoping for easy whelping and healthy puppies.
4 more days!
24May10
Have noticed during the last 2 days that Plum is breathing louder than usual. Her body is feeling the pressure of the growning puppies. She asked to visit the whelping room last night, and just sniffed everything again.
I walked around the property with the dogs at 8pm and noticed a painted turtle on the beach of the swimming pond. She was digging a nest. I went back out at 9:15 and she was still there. Looked like she was resting. The sand on our beach is only a few inches deep, and there is clay under that. I think she was exhausted from digging. I will make sure she has finished and has made it back to the turtle pond before I let the dogs out today. If not, Birch will find her and carry her around until I notice him.
The Killdeer have finally laid their eggs along the edge of the driveway. We think they had laid eggs earlier in the spring and that a preditor (probably the neighbor's barn cats) got them before we noticed them, because the eggs are usually laid about a month earlier than this.
Haven't seen any ducklings yet. Also haven't seen the male Wood Duck visiting the turtle pond, so maybe they didn't make their nest there this year. I still hear ducks on the duck pond at the back of the property, so maybe the Woodies are there with the Mallards.
5 more days.
23May10
Left Plum in the house and let the other 3 swim in the pond. What a good time they have! They never want to stop, even when I can see they are tiring. When we left the pond area, I closed the gate, and Apple was off to find her red ball. She and Birch retrieved the ball about 20 times before I got tired of the game. Their tongues were hanging down to their knees. I brought Plum outside and sat down at the picnic table to read for an hour while the wet ones finished drying off. It's a beautiful sunny, breezy day. Good for drying wet dogs.
I finally got all the puppy bedding washed, dried, folded, and stacked in the whelping room. It's so satisfying now to have it freshly washed and ready, but I will be washing it endless times between now and when the puppies go to their new homes. We won't be using that room for a dining room again until August. Luckily we have a table and chairs on the screened porch - a perfect summer dining room.
6 more days.
21May10
Plum had her Xray and the puppies are all in the correct position. They are all a good size and will be nearly doubling their size between now and their birth day. Plum is still eating all her food and is still her cheerful self. When the vet tech bent to lift her to the Xray table, Plum stood up and licked her face.
Filson's owner had a knee replaced on Tuesday. I talked to her yesterday and she was doing okay. She had a rough day on Wednesday, but yesterday was better. She hopes to be home by Saturday.
8 days 'til puppies.
16May10
Laurel helped me set-up the whelping room today while Evan helped Jack with yardwork. Still have a couple supplies to buy. Tonight I let Plum into Her Room and she sniffed everything thoroughly then she got into the wading pool - otherwise known as the whelping box- and sniffed that and the towels I put in there for her to dig in when the urge hits. After she was done and we left the room and closed the gate, she laid down in front of the gate staring at her room. She really does know it's for her.
It was a sunny weekend and very welcome. The ground is still pretty wet in the low places of the property. The breeze couldn't make up it's mind - our windmill kept switching from north to east. When it blows from the east we can smell the cows that are down the road. We are in farm country, after all.
5 days until Xray.
14May10
This weekend Jack & Evan will help me get the dining room ready to be a whelping room and nursery. I've been gathering my supplies and still have to make two more pads for the whelping box. 14 more days until puppies!
It's been raining and raining here for a couple days. We had 3.5" in the rain gauge. Birch and Apple are wrestling a lot this morning - no doubt because they haven't had a chance to get out and run. Today is partly sunny and windy, so the wet yard should have no trouble drying up. The dogs will get to run today - look out rabbits!
11May10
Today is Plum's 4th birthday!! I put more photos of Plum & Apple at the cabin on their pages. And Apple & Ffyn's show photos from their exciting wins in Birch Run are on their gallery pages.
10May10
I took Apple & Plum with me to the cabin for the weekend. My mother and I go up every Mother's Day weekend to open the cabin and put things straight. The dogs were very well behaved, except that Apple found one of my mom's leather gloves on the floor and had chewed it before we realized it. Because of the rain and snow - yes, it snowed hard all Saturday but didn't stick, I didn't get the dogs out for much exercise and Apple was bored. I put some photos of them watching the birds on Plum's page and on the Gallery page.
Plum is getting wider every day. She still has a great appetite and happy attitude. 19 more days.
03May10
I've added one or two photos to Cedar, Plum, & Birch's gallery page and the main Gallery page.
I'm still so excited by Apple & Ffyn each getting a major at the show yesterday. It was a good day!
02May10
We entered a local dog show this weekend. Eva Szabo, Donna Weber, Sandy Holmes, Kim Laird, Vicki Stoddard, and I were entered. On Saturday, Sandy's Goose got Winners Bitch, Best Of Winners, and Best of Breed - a 3 point major. Eva & Donna's Lucy went Reserve Winners Bitch. Vicki's Ffyn got Winners Dog and Best Opposite Sex for 1 point, and Birch got Reserve Winners Dog. Today, Ffyn went Winners Dog, Best of Winners for a 3 point major, and Best of Breed! Apple went Winners Bitch for a 3 point major, and Best Opposite Sex. Birch was Reserve Winners Dog again and Reserve Winners Bitch went to Eva & Donna's Lucy. Yes, having puppies I bred win on the same day was very exciting! I'm so proud of how they are turning out. They are so much fun to live with and lovely to look at.
It was nice to be able to spend some time with the girls and all our beautiful dogs.
Vicki and I had show photos taken of our dogs. I'll put them on the website when they arrive in a few weeks.
Lily, Milestone's Canadian Maple Leaf, weighed 31.4# at a recent vet appointment. Apple weighed 37# at her heartworm test a month ago. Apple was the biggest female in the litter and Lily was the smallest.
28 more days until puppies.
29Apr10
Here is the link for the WSSCA (Welsh Springer Spaniel Club of America) Illustrated Standard: http://www.wssca.com/flash/IllustratedStd/wsscaIllustratedStd.swf It is in book form and you can either left click on the bottom corner to flip the pages or use the arrows at the top of the page. If you are considering getting a Welshie, you might want to know more about the history and what a WSS should look like. This is a marvelous educational tool.
26Apr10
I started incorporating a higher protein and higher fat content food for Plum yesterday. She really likes it. I've also been putting 1/2 tsp of fish oil on her morning food. I spoke with Dr. Wilson (reproduction vet) yesterday and he said the food and fish oil were just what she and the puppies need at this stage. We are so lucky to have him in our area. He has several locations and I'll be going to the closest one for the ultrasound. The best part is that his main office is open 24/7. I called on a Sunday and was fortunate to have him be the doctor there that day. All the vets I've met who work for him have been great.
And, the ultrasound showed puppies! Today is day 30; 33 more to go.
23Apr10
Plum and Apple's last CERF exam results are finally on the OFA site. See Plum's page and click on Milestone Crimson Beauty listed under 'Offspring' to see Apple's page.
22Apr10
My friends, Andrea & Tim, had to say goodbye to their Obie. He was a small dog with a big presence and he will be missed.
18Apr10
I've been contacted by so many wonderful people who are interested in a puppy from this upcoming litter. Really special people who are just the type I pray my puppies will have homes with for all their lives. And, the best thing is that other Welshie breeders are helping me. Susan Mengel had one family over to meet Howard and Garnet and showed them such wonderful hospitality. And she is going to do it again for another family who wants a Welshie but has never met one. Howard and Garnet are to be thanked, also. Eva Szabo has helped by sending people who contact her about puppies to my website and she takes the time to talk with them on the phone and answer their questions. Jerry Berkowitz has agreed to meet with another interested family so they can see if Welshies are the perfect dog for them. The Welshie community is truly a very special group and I am grateful for their help and their friendship. I plan to reciprocate whenever I'm asked!
18Apr10
Plum is filling out. Today is day 21 of her pregnancy - one third of the gestation is behind us. Her rib cage is wider and the light hits her coat along her sides differently so it's easy to see the change. Her 'waist' or loin is also wider, so we're pretty sure she's pregnant - in whelp, as we say. We have the ultrasound scheduled for Apr 26, but we probably won't need it for confirmation since she is definitely getting larger. I'll decide whether to keep the appointment as we get closer to that day.
Birch has been intently watching the Mallards in the turtle pond. He just sits by the fence and watches. Since the high vegetation hasn't grown around the pond yet, he has a clear view of them. Good thing there is a fence between them! Pretty soon the growth will get too high for him to see from the ground and he'll have to watch them from the porch.
All our dogs ask to be held when they're tired. I noticed it first in Cedar when he was 8 wks old; he'd sit by my feet about 9:30 in the morning and while looking at me make this little whine. I'd pick him up, hold him on his back and he'd go right to sleep. Now that the 3 older dogs are adults, their asking isn't as obvious. Apple, on the other hand, is obvious. For example, today while we were watching Sunday Morning on TV, she sat at my feet, her sleepy eyes blinking. Getting impatient, she put her head on my knee, still with the blinky eyed look. Then she draped her upper body along beside me, still looking at me with those blinky eyes. Finally, of course, I have to pick her up. She hangs her head back and closes her eyes while I rub her belly. Content. And, yes, spoiled rotten. Gotta love the baby!
16Apr10
Candy called tonight to tell me that Bailey is in a video taken by his day-care staff. I put the link on my home page. He has turned into a very handsome dog. And he made friends quickly with Bella, the other dog in the video. He seems to know the video is about him, because he runs to the camera and sticks his face in the lens to be sure the photographer can see him :)
14Apr10
We've had several beautiful spring days and the dogs are enjoying more time outdoors. Jack mowed the property on Saturday and the dogs are busy hunting for the clumps of mashed grass that fall off the blades here and there. They consider it a treasure, like us finding morel mushrooms. Silly dogs! Birch came in the house yesterday with This Look on his face. I remembered This Look from the time he was keeping a little painted turtle in his mouth. This time it was a clump of the treasured grass. He gave it over like the well trained dog he is and I put it in the compost bucket.
We're keeping an eager eye on Plum's waist - looking to see if we can tell that it's getting bigger! No sign yet. The days are dragging by until the date for the ultrasound that will show if she is in whelp. That is the result we are hoping for!
Haven't seen any Wood Duck pairs on the turtle pond lately, but there has been a pair of Mallards. The Buffel Head pair have left the duck pond probably headed farther north, and there are several Wood Ducks on that pond.
The bluebirds and robins are gathering nest materials. The killdeer who usually nest on our driveway have disappeared. We suspect the neighboring barn cats. Dreaded hunters.
09Apr10
I took all 4 dogs to the vet yesterday for their heartworm tests. All negative. Unfortunately, none of them were looking their best. I had them all cleaned up, of course, then decided the best way to get them all to the van would be to let them out into the yard then go into the side door of the garage and put them in the van there. They didn't run straight to the garage but through all the low areas of the yard where there was still standing water - which I couldn't see from the house. They were like wicks - wet and muddy from their bellies to their feet, and they smelled mucky! I turned the heater on and put the fan on high hoping to dry them some before we arrived at the office. Stinkers!
Two more weeks until we know for sure Plum is in whelp. She is looking so good. Some dogs don't come back after whelping looking quite as good structurally as they were before. Plum's topline is still strong, she's well muscled and her coat is thick and shiney and healthy. She is such a cute dog and cute acting. She 'makes ears' and wiggles that tail a mile a minute and if you give her eye contact she flops down and shows her belly for a rub. We are so fond of our Plum. She still makes those little noises in the back of her throat that puppies do when you hold them in your arms on their back like a baby. She loves to lay in my arms and have her belly rubbed. Actually, they all do! Plum's the only one who still makes the little snuffly sounds.
03Apr10
I saw a pair of Buffle Head Ducks on the duck pond yesterday. Must be the same pair that were on the swimming pond for a few days last spring.
Today I got to visit with Lisa Sinke at the Lapeer County hunting acerage where she was doing field training with Ripley (WSS) and Adam (ECS), along with the SMSSTC folks. I had to work in the morning so was unable to take my dogs for training. By the time I got there most of the folks had gone home. Lisa took her dogs to a back pond and worked them there a few times. She is such a wonderful dog trainer and her dogs are so well mannered and well trained. Her first throw sent the bumper out of Ripley's site and it took a few tries, but you could see her chin go up when she finally got downwind and caught the scent. Adam is tenacious - plowing through the muck and grass clumps even with a chuckar in his mouth. It was such fun to watch the dogs work and really nice to spend a little time with Lisa. I miss going to dog shows with her and just having a chance to visit more often.
31Mar10
I saw a pair of Wood Ducks on the turtle pond yesterday. There are a pair of Mallards and Canadian Geese on the duck pond at the back of our property. The turtle pond is outside the bedroom window. A perfect spot to watch the ducks and their ducklings when they arrive in the next few weeks. Spring has sprung!
30Mar10
On the way back from Plum's 'visit' with Filson last night, I came up over a slight rise in the road heading east on the last 5 miles of the 2 hr drive and I was amazed to see the HUGE moon just over the tops of the trees. I Googled 'full moon' and got the list of Native American names for the full moons. I also have a book titled Medicine Wheel that lists the names of the moons each month and are very similar. We have been going back and forth about what to call this litter (breeders like to have a theme or some system of naming each litter) and we might have to go with Full Moon Names with this one. We've also considered a Memorial Day theme since they should be born about the original Memorial Day holiday.
Apple is done with her heat and can finally play with Birch again. The two of them are making up for lost time, wrestling and running, and now their tongues are hanging out and they're panting from the good exercise that they've both been missing.
We're excited about the upcoming litter. Hoping for an easy whelping, and healthy puppies.
26Mar10
Well, it's just not going to work out to breed Plum to Derby. Derby leaves on Sunday for the National Specialty in Oregon, and Plum's progesterone level won't be high enough before then. So, the good news is that we're going to breed to Filson again. It looks like we'll have puppies at the end of May if all goes well.
18Mar10
I took both Plum and Apple to the Ophthalmologist yesterday for CERF tests. Both passed, completely normal. Apple's iris to iris PPM's that she had at her 8 week old CERF test were gone.
09Mar10
We're home from Maryland. Almost 1,600 miles. Had a wonderful time with Vicki & Ricardo. Their Ffyn won his class on Saturday. Jennifer Pahl did a wonderful job showing him both days. He was 2nd in his class on Sunday. There were no other males entered in the Bred By Exhibitor class except Birch. He showed really well for Sandy Roth. Apple went Best In Sweepstakes and Reserve Winner on Saturday. On Sunday she was 2nd in her class. She did a great job showing and I was so proud of her.
While out with the dogs in Vicki's back yard, as Birch walked over the patio on the way back in the house, his feet sounded like: "click-click-click-clock, click-click-click-clock". He walked into the house on the linolium floor: clock-click-click-click. I started picking up his feet to see what was going on, and the shell of half a walnut fell into my hand. It was stuck over his rear pad - a perfect fit. Sounded so funny!
Thanks to Vicki and Ricardo for their hospitality, generosity, and their love of Ffyn.
22Feb10
Heavy snowfall here today. Looks like we'll get 6" or 7" of the wet stuff. It makes the best snow hills for the dogs to dig in, but I like the dry fluffy snow better because the dogs don't bring in all the snowballs hanging from their coats. Four snow covered dogs make for a Wet Mess!
I'm getting organized to leave for Maryland for the dog show there Mar 6/7. I'm bringing Apple & Birch, and Vicki is coming with Ffyn. There are majors both days. It's one of my favorite shows because I get to see my Welshie friends, the WSS folks usually have the building to ourselves, and the other ring buildings are not too spread out. Weather is usually mild, too, which is always a treat for me this time of year.
Think good thoughts that Apple, Birch, and Ffyn will return with some points!!
09Feb10
Got the photos I took of Apple on the 6th on her gallery page. It was a lovely sunny afternoon, so I took advantage of the opportunity to get some photos of her. She is a few days from being 15 months old.
Welshie owners are heading to New York City for the Westminster dog show. I'm so excited for them. And, I'm really hoping I can find a way to watch the show on my computer because we only have antenna tv now which won't be carrying the show. First time in 20 years that I won't be camped out on the couch for the show.
07Feb10
Put a photo of my four shaggy dogs on the home page. They were all sitting at attention in the kitchen while I was breaking up some liver treats into smaller sizes. I'm surprised the camera didn't catch them drooling :)
05Feb10
Sharon sent a wonderful photo of Liana and Lily. I put it on Lily's page. Thank you Sharon and Liana. I love to see how much Lily resembles Plum, and am touched to see the affection Liana has for Lily.
Things have been pretty quiet here. I did go down to Sandy Holmes' on Monday to see her litter out of Iddi Biddi and Cecil. Beautiful litter. It was a special treat to have Lidewij Harmsen from the Netherlands visiting Sandy to choose a puppy from this litter. Lidewij owns Filson's sire. Her parents have had Welshies for 30-ish years, so she has grown up with them. Apple went with me so Lidewij could meet her and so Sandy could see how she's growing up. Apple got to play in the dog yard with her beautiful half-sister, Betty Jo.
Andrea Pease is expecting English Cocker puppies any day. I'm wishing I was there to assist. Rose, the expectant mother, was the first puppy I ever saw being born and she will always have a special place in my heart.
27Jan10
January is nearly over. It's going out really cold and windy!
I've contacted all my puppy owners and asked if there were any health or temperament issues to consider since I am planning to breed Plum in a few months. There are no health or temperament issues! Yay :) It was wonderful to hear from all of them and to hear that they still love their dogs.
Vicki sent 2 show photos of Ffyn that I added to his page. He's a very nice looking Welshie and I'm looking forward to watching his show career.
19Jan10
Yesterday we had moist air that frosted everything outside. The trees were so beautiful. Here is a photo of the Sunset Maple next to the house. The frost crystals were so thick and fascinating.
10Jan10
The dogs and I are having a nice relaxing time sitting in the living room with a roaring fire in the fireplace and James Taylor singing to us via an old VHS recording of a PBS special. The dogs each have a Nylabone they're chewing on. I'm on the couch with my laptop reading about inbreeding coefficients, something I've always wanted to study. Now that the Welshie community has the new, wonderful version of Chris and Dawn Ford's Heavens Pedigree Engine, I've been looking at the COI of my dogs, and looking at test matings to see what those COI's are.
Another wonderful pedigree engine was made by Crystal Nolen. The pedigrees show photos of the dogs which is priceless. The link to her website is WSS Pedigree Archive. You can see up to 10 generations of your dogs' pedigree with photos of his/her ancestors. Love it!
I want to send out a big Congratulations!! to Rhonda Kuhn and her Saphira (Ch Aurora's Come Fly With Me) who went Best Of Breed today at the American Spaniel Club's Flushing Spaniel Show. I helped whelp Saphira and her littermates - one of my early whelping experiences. Saphira is out of Ch Fanfare's New Year Keepsake and Ch Holly House Joy Of Aurora. I haven't gotten a full report on all the winners, but Congratulations to all those who placed at ASC this weekend. I hope you all have a safe drive home.
08Jan10
We finally had a snow storm pass through yesterday. We could still see the top of the grass through the small amount of snow we had before this storm, and now we have 4" on the ground. The snow started here in the afternoon. The dogs are having a blast, noses under the snow following the rabbit trails, etc.
I'm eager to hear the results of the American Spaniel Club's annual Flushing Spaniel show being held today through Sunday near Philadelphia. Today is the Sweepstakes, tomorrow are the classes, and Sunday is Breed. Very sorry I couldn't be there. There is usually a large entry and the Welshie folks have so much fun getting together. Being in a building full of all kinds of spaniels is very special. This year is the first to have Boykin Spaniels included. I wish all my spaniel friends a successful and fun weekend and a safe drive home.
27Dec09
I heard from Gail & Bill that Maggie Mae is doing well. She enjoys play dates with 2 other dogs one day a week and is still a good hunter/tracker for any critters that dare to cross their property. They have lots of snow for her to play in, too.
26Dec09
Merry Christmas everyone!
Got a great surprise today when I opened the newest issue of the Starter Barks (WSSCA award-winning newsletter). Vicki put in a 2 page ad for Ffyn! He's such a nice looking dog and he has the most easy going temperament. We're really proud of him. He and Vicki are starting obedience classes in 2 weeks with an aim toward an obedience or rally title and a Canine Good Citizen title.
Plum came to the door covered with dirt today. She was digging in the dirt pile (we're trying to give the dirt away but have no takers) and the white hairs on her face was as dark as the red hairs. Her feet and legs and 'bib' were full of dirt and dried grass/weed roots. She had a Good Time, but she was A MESS. So she got a bath. Now she's looking pretty :) Smells better, too.
We don't have any snow here. I'm looking forward to making a snow pile for the dogs to play on - it's a lot cleaner than digging in the dirt pile!
I wish all of you a healthy, happy, prosperous New Year.
18Dec09
Surprise!!! Candy and Bailey sent Throw Me A Bone by Welshie Cooper Gillespie and his human Susan Orlean with recipes by Sally Sampson. I am so looking forward to reading it cover to cover and then making the recipies. Thank you, Candy and Bailey Boy. A wonderful surprise :)
I found a picture today that I'd forgotten I had. It's a photo of Filson taken in front of the same peony bush that Sandy photographed Apple in May. I put it on Apple's gallery page. It's in the 4th row. See how much they look alike!
16Dec09
Sharon sent an email with a new photo of Lily that Lianna took in September. I'll put it on Lily's page. Sharon enjoyed seeing the new photo of Filson and thinks that Lily looks a lot like her dad.
10Dec09
I'd like to thank all of you who stop to take a look at my website. It's really fun to know that people around the world are viewing it. Making it was a challenge for me, but keeping it up is something I enjoy doing. I will have close to 3,000 visits to my site this year. In the world of websites, it's just a tiny thing, but in the Welshie world it's significant and I want you to know how much I appreciate your attention, and your interest in my wonderful dogs.
I was thumbing through the advertising circulars that came to the house on Monday, and in the ACO Hardware circular there was a sale on items for animals. Included in the photo was box for Color-Full flea collars and the box has a smiling Welshie on it!!
07Dec09
Sandy Holmes sent me a new photo of her handsome Filson, father of Apple. I added his photo to the Friends and Their Dogs page. Thanks, Sandy. Apple sure looks like her dad :)
03Dec09
I got a new photo of Bailey from Candy and have added it to his gallery page. It's a little blury, but you can see that he's a handsome character and that he is loved. His new thing is to sit on John's shoulder to look out the window.
I also heard from Kerrie who adopted Daisy, a French Brittany we fostered in through WSSCA Rescue. She adopted Daisy in 2005. I posted the photos Kerrie sent on my Friends and Their Dogs page. Kerrie lost her Brittany, Zoey, to cancer in April, so both Kerrie and Daisy had a rough summer. Kerrie wrote, 'Daisy is doing pretty good. Daisy had never been left home without Zoey so she had some adjustment issues the first few weeks with that. She was so cute though. There were a few particular toys that Zoey did not share. About three weeks after she died I started finding Daisy sleeping with them. Then after a bit she started playing with them too. She has also abandoned her bed for Zoey's old comforter. And, now her only friend during the day is the kitty. They are slowly becoming friends. Before they just ignored each other. We have also spent a lot of time at my best friend's house in Reed City this year. Daisy has befriended their horse. It is so cute to watch. She'll go into his area and sit right in front of him and woof once. Then he nickers and they touch noses. They also have 2 dogs so she gets a lot of play time in when we are there.' What a wonderful home Daisy has! Thanks, Kerrie.
28Nov09
I have changed my email address. Please delete the cathymiles2001@yahoo.com and milestonewss@yahoo.com addresses and use milestonewss@gmail.com. Last month a hacker got in and compromised my contacts and is sending out Spam using my Yahoo address. I'm sorry if this has caused you to have computer problems. With Jason's help, I was able to get my computer working again. It is so wonderful to have a son who works on computers!!!
11Nov09
Yesterday when I was out with the dogs, I found in my coat pocket the little Koala toy that Betty bought for Cedar when we were at the dog show in VA . (I was wondering where I had put it.) When we came in, I cut off the tags. He 'knew' that what I had was for him and he was sitting at attention at my feet ready to take it as soon as I offered it. He trotted it right to his crate, humming all the way. He's a very vocal dog :) He loves to collect all his little toys in his crate, and he'll hold one or two or even three in his mouth and takes them with him from room to room. He's good at 'take it' and 'show me' and I can send him to find Jack and show Jack what new treasure he has in his mouth. He will also 'give' and let us look at his treasure, then takes it gently back when we return it to him. He has a special trot when he has a new toy and I swear he smiles. I put a photo of him holding the Koala in his mouth on the home page of the website today. Isn't he cute!
Happy 1st Birthday to Apple, Lily, Ffyn, Bailey, Crash, and Clover. Hugs and Kisses!
10Nov09
The Tree Litter puppies are 1 year old tomorrow! Happy 1st Birthday puppies and may you have many, many more.
29Oct09
YeeHA!!! Birch got his Rally Novice title today with a Perfect score of 100! And he got a 3rd place out of the 25 dogs in his class (two other dogs who scored 100 had faster times). I'm so proud of him. We haven't had a chance to work on rally much - in fact, since his last rally trial in June at the Skyline/Shenandoah shows, we've only attended two classes and practiced yesterday for less than 10 minutes here at home. What a bright boy he is :) He got 97's at his other two trials. (To qualify for a rally title, the dog has to score between 70 and 100 at three trials.)
27Oct09
Apple, Plum, and I are back from Virginia. We had a great visit with Betty and Bill Oister. Betty's Field Spaniel, Fox, has a singleton puppy who they are calling Max. He is 3 weeks old and doing great.
I showed Apple in the dog shows in Leesburg on Sat & Sun. She was Winners Bitch and Best Opposite Sex in the Sweepstakes on Saturday, and went Reserve Winners in the regular classes. On Sunday she went Winners Bitch for a
4 point major. So she now has 6 points and one major toward her championship. It was great to see all the east coast Welshie folks. Especially wonderful to have the Knight family come to the show grounds with Crash on Sunday. He looked terrific!! He's a happy, confident, easy-going, handsome dog. They have purchased clippers and plan to start grooming Crash themselves. Betty gave them a 'crash' course with her clippers on Crash's ears. I'm pleased that they are going to give this a try. It's an acquired skill - takes practice. I'm still learning how to do it!
I wish I had brought Plum along to the show to see Crash, but we had to drive Betty's 4 wheel drive vehicle due to the rain on Saturday (this outdoor show is notorious for wet mud that requires vehicles to be towed out) and there was only room for Beans, Ollie, and Apple. We got home too late Saturday night and returned too early Sunday morning to move everything to the van.
I showed Ollie on Sunday and he went Winners Dog! He also was WD on Sat, so both Betty and I had a wonderful weekend.
16Oct09
I took Apple with me on Monday to the training club because they have handling class the hour prior to the monthly meeting. They have a wall of mirrors that are so helpful, and a nice teacher. We got lots of practice because there were only 4 of us in the class. Apple was very well behaved during the hour and a half long meeting. I was pleased with her. She likes all the dogs, no matter of size, and all the people, and she was able to settle when I asked her to 'leave it'. She wanted to play with the Sheltie next to us. When he invited her to play her whole body was wagging. It was a great experience for her.
I took her back there with Birch & I yesterday. Birch and I had rally class and Apple waited in the van. Then I switched them and brought her in to sit with me while the others were still taking their turns through the rally course our teacher had set up. Birch was rusty since we hadn't practiced rally in a few months. I hope we can get it together enough to pass our last rally leg in a few weeks.
Meanwhile, I'm getting us ready to head to Virginia for dog shows. Hoping to meet up with Crash and his family at the show site since they don't live very far away. Also hoping for non-rainy weather!
10Oct09
Candy sent a photo of Bailey playing in the first snowfall of the season. It's on his gallery page. They start their snow season (in Minnesota) about a month or more before we do here in Michigan. Dog just love playing in the first snow. It makes them do a happy dance :)
Here in Michigan the leaves are turning and falling. The air is cool and we've had some damp days, but today looks like the gray clouds are moving out and the sun is going to shine. Perfection.
27Sep09
Got home today from the shows in Monroe, MI. Sandy Holmes, Vicki Stoddard, Valerie Young, Kim Laird, and I got together for this show. It was really nice to spend time with those gals. On Saturday, Sandy's Itty Bitty finished and is now Champion Trystyn's State Trooper. Ffyn went Best WSS Puppy. On Sunday, Apple and her brother, Ffyn, got their first 2 points. And, Ffyn went Best of Winners! I'm so pleased for Vicki and I'm proud of my puppies.
18Sep09
We had to say goodbye to our Gracie Kitty today. Jason rescued her in the fall of 1990. She had wandered into his shop class (they had the outside door open) and a few kids were looking for nails to shoot at her with the air gun. He couldn't bring her home on the bus, so he found a neighbor who gave him and the cat a ride home. She was between 7 and 12 months old then. I am really going to miss her happy, chirpy little voice. When she came into our lives, we already had 6 cats. She fit right in and she outlived them all. We named her Gracie because she was a Gray Cat. She had a lot of grace and was well-named.
17Sep09
Yesterday Vicki and I met at Paul Morrison's house to introduce the puppies, Ffyn and Apple, to birds. The older dogs all got to work in the field, too. Ffyn took to it like the Welshie he is. Paul had him covering ground, finding the birds, and bringing them back to hand within a short amount of time. Apple also did well. She found the birds and brought them back, but she was less confident about what she should be doing and that is something we need to work on. Poppy and Cedar did a great job covering the ground, quartering, finding and retrieving the birds. Cedar isn't comfortable with loud noises, so when he was busy working in the field with me, Paul got his starter pistol and fired it a few times. Cedar barely noticed because he was so intent on finding the birds. Birch and I worked the field together, because it was me who needed the practice. I had forgotten several of the words Paul had taught Birch to respond to, I was not correct in my hand/arm directions and was walking back and forth too much which wasn't necessary as Birch can cover the ground by command, not by me walking back and forth with him. So, it was really great that we could have a lesson with Paul to help me get back to correct field commands, etc. He's an excellent teacher and I am a willing, but rather scatter-brained pupil. It's a good thing Birch knows what to do, despite me! That's thanks to Paul.
After our training, Vicki and I went to a Mexican restaurant in Howell that Paul recommended. He told us we needed to ask about desert because the chef is so good at making deserts that she could have a separate restaurant just devoted to them. He was SO right! Our lunches (enchiladas for Vicki and mini chicken chimichangas for me) were very good, and when we inquired about desert the waitress came out with a list of 4 or 5 items to choose from. We chose the two chocolate deserts. They both were heaven! I wanted to hum the whole time I was eating mine, and was very sorry when it was gone. On our way back to the cars, we went in the antique store next door to the restaurant and Vicki found a tiny hand-embroidered baby sun-shirt that she bought for her first grandchild who is due in April. There were LOTS of dog items in the store: figurines, sketches, paintings - none of Welshies, but I enjoyed them anyway.
I walked the dogs around the property after we got home, because they had been in the van for several hours by that time. They wanted to swim, but I wanted to get to work on the photos we took at Paul's so I could get them on the website. Hoping to have all the photos there today. Didn't get any photos of Plum. She is now 'retired' from field work. She just would not carry the bird. She would almost pick it up, then she'd spit out the feathers that came loose in her mouth. She did that several times. We're going to concentrate our training with the other dogs.
13Sep09
Our friends, Tim, Andrea, & Amy Pease, stopped by Friday night to spend the night on their way east on vacation. It was so nice to have them here! Amy hadn't been here before, but Tim & Andrea were here back in 2005 when they dropped off their 8 wk old English Cocker puppies for Jack and I to puppy-sit for two weeks while they went on a Canadian vacation. (It was our first experience taking care of puppies and we had a blast!)
After the Pease's were on their way Saturday morning, I took Apple and Plum to the Woods N Water Expo and met up with Laurel and her friend Katie who helped me walk the dogs through the throng of people and other dogs. We have gone to this annually for a few years and this year more people recognized them as Welshies and we heard fewer people saying "Brittany" as we walked by. I saw one of my training club friends, Tammy Bartz, at the Dock Dogs event with 2 of her Labs. She told me about how the judging works and what is required and I think I'll plan to take the dogs there next year and see what we can do. Lots of little girls and a couple little boys asked if they could pet the dogs. The dogs were so calm and loved the attention.
It was pretty warm at Woods 'N Water, so when I got home I let all the dogs in the pond for nearly an hour. After all that exercise, we walked around the property and they did some ball retrieving, and then I sat under a tree and read a book when they finished drying off. The neighbor across the street started firing his gun and Apple who has never heard a gun was 'boofing' (soft barks) at the noise. Cedar who doesn't tolerate thunder, fireworks or gunshots well, looked worried so I said "Wow! Did you see that BIRD?!" All the dogs started running around and the Killdeer who hang out around the pond were flying around the yard calling just at that time, so that distracted Apple and Cedar. A little later the neighbor started shooting again and all the dogs were fine with it. Bodes well for this Wednesday's visit to Paul's to introduce birds to Apple and her brother, Ffyn, and his housemate, Poppy, along with Birch and Plum.
During this past week, I've seen two female Wood Ducks on the turtle pond. One day they were joined by a male. Today when I looked out the window there were seven females all sitting on a log in the middle of the pond. Wish I'd been outside with my camera! Within moments one got off the log, and then another, so there would not have been a chance for me to run out there in time to get a photo. It was a lovely sight, though. I'm guessing they are this years' babies who were born at this pond in May.
08Sep09
We had a wonderful holiday. Jack cooked on his grill/smoker 2 days and we had some terrific dinners. Also did a lot of relaxing in the shade in the yard with the dogs. Jase flew his huge kite. The dogs were very curious about what looked like a huge bird flying over, but when it landed and they had a chance to sniff it they looked unimpressed.
Plum brought me a sparrow on Saturday. I heard a short chirp, and there she was coming up the ramp to the screened porch with a sparrow in her mouth. Maybe the next time we go to Paul's for field training she'll decide she's a bird dog after all!
03Sep09
What lovely weather we're having!! Apple is at the end of her first heat and the boys are ignoring her so I took them all swimming today. This is the first time they've all gone in the pond together since early August. They had fun and got lots of great exercise. We walked around the property for about an hour after the swimming, so they had a chance to dry off.
Groomed Apple this morning and gave Plum a bath with a little grooming this afternoon. Will do more tonight. She is so good on the table. Actually, they all are good, though Cedar is the least patient of them all. We're going to Woods 'N Water in Imlay City next Sat and I want the dogs to look their best. Hoping Plum's heat will hold off until after that day so she can go with us.
