Fada

9 1/2 weeks

Last evening I was teaching a couple of private lessons, so took the pups to the training building with me. They happily ran around the building, chasing after me and then I took them up to the tunnel. All they have seen up to now is the nylon and fleece cat tunnel in my living room, so wasn't sure what they would do. Vettel went right through! Daz kept wanting to run around it, but when a friend arrived to hold Daz at the end so I could call her, she ran right through, They happily bounded through again and again.

They are getting into more and more as they romp loose in the house. It's getting tougher to try to work while they are loose! Donna, I am pretty certain if we called in a forensic team though, it would not be YOUR puppy's tooth marks on the cord for the phone charger. : ) They play and romp with all of my adult dogs and generally have a blast.

More photos posted on Picasa, more video shortly!

"Gaiting"

Okay, sort of gaiting. <G> Andy came over today (Thanks Andy!) to help try to get some video of the puppies moving. Most was playing, bouncing and bounding about, but here and there are some glimpses of "moment."

Hope you enjoy it, the pups certainly did!

9 Weeks

Wow, where has the time gone? Puppies are 9 weeks old today. Daz weighs 4 1/4 lbs and Vettel weighs 5 lbs.

In the last week pups have:
Gone 8 (I think) new places, including the vet
Had a structural eval with Auntie Pam
Started eating out of individual bowls in their own crates (rather than together out of the puppy pan)
Worked on click/treat for their names
Daz has started her table stacking training
More on lead walking
They started chasing the bunny on the string (video on YouTube)
This evening got put into crates (one for each pup) when we went out to dinner, rather than loose together in the pen
Had their first vaccinations

Puppies are now eating 3 meals a day. As stated above, they are eating on their own now, rather than the communal pan. They generally get two kibble meals/day (Fromm Puppy Gold) and one of Honest Kitchen (Thrive or Embark).

They each get a 1/2 of a dog biscuit at bedtime and when I leave them home. They figured it out pretty quickly and run to the pen now at bedtime and when I put the big dogs away and know they are getting a cookie.


They got their first vaccinations today. I am using Dr. Jean Dodd's vaccine protocol, so they got just a Distemper/Parvo which will be repeated in 4 weeks. I then gave each puppy a 1/2 dropper of Thuja, to try to minimize any possible ill effect.

Vettel is sure that he is nearly able to jump up on the sofa! He may well be right. Daz can't really come very close to it, but has taught her (human) Daddy a new trick. She runs over and plays on his feet, and he puts his legs out and lowered just enough that she can climb up them, to his chest. (dogs are EXCELLENT trainers!)

They play king of the mountain on their slide. Vettel cannot get under it anymore, but Daz can. So she also lies in wait underneath, darting out to bite him. Reminds me of the troll under the bridge.

I am sure I have left some things out and there will be much more to come this week. Stay tuned!

Lure coursing

I already posted another photo from Daddy Andretti's first lure coursing experience last weekend. Here is a comment from provisional ASFA and AKC coursing judge, Deann Haggard, 


"The real surprise star of the day though was one of the little Portugese Podengos.  His name is Andretti, and boy did that boy live up to his name!  He ran the bunny 3 times and would have been a serious contender for BIF at any lure coursing.  He was on the bunny the entire time, cornered perfectly, never slipped, ran like the wind stretched full out and tackled that bunny with a vengeance at the end.  I was amazed!  I had never even seen one of those before and when I first saw him didn’t think much of him as a coursing dog.  But after seeing him run, I am a fan!  If they are all like that, they really truly are a sighthound, no matter what AKC or ASFA says.  You’ve gotta see this little guy.  He is like an IG in that he is a true coursing hound, but just small."


Maybe it runs in the family? Just so happens, I was out with the puppies playing "chase the bunny" when this message from Elizabeth came through. 

He really IS a handsome guy...

... just easy to make fun of. : )

A few photos from his younger days

 Handsome dude

The many faces of Rudy

The Bostons left this morning. Puppies will miss them! I took pictures of them while they were here. I decided to capture all of the moods and emotions of Rudy here.

Sleepy time!

Tuesday night, bedtime

Tuesday adventure

We were planing on just stating in today, enjoying the sunshine (yes, sun, imagine that!) while it lasts. But a friend called because she had locked her keys in the car at Best Buy nearby. So pups and I went and got her spare keys from her house, then went to Best Buy. In exchange for getting keys, she had to take a pup and we each walked one, on leash, up and down the sidewalk at BB. They didn't do too badly!

New places on a Monday

Went to Complete Petmart. Needed more puppy kibble. Also got Daz's new "grown up" food dish, a new bed and some puppy rawhides. After checking that there were no other dogs in the store, I took pups in but held them, since they won't get their first vaccs till this week. Folks suitably oo'd and ahh'd over them. : )

Then we went to Auntie Caren's house to visit her out of town family up here for a visit. Much fun for all!

Now home for lunch and (hopefully!) a nap. Pups are in their own crates eating now, so then outside for another potty trip and back into the pen for a play and sleep.

Neat

(edit: I am not responsible for blurry photos! That is the fault of puppies that are never still!)

Another rainy day!

Okay, a rainy spring in Ohio. Thank goodness for only two puppies! They are starting to get to the point of not minding the rain and wet grass as much (except when it's also COLD) This morning they were playing in a mud puddle. Thanks guys!

We have done a lot in the last 5 days or so.
- Wednesday we went to the vet's office to see Dr. Joanne. Lots of new people and cuddles. A big dog and a cat in the waiting room.  Got drops in eyes and poked and prodded. MUCH excitement.
- Thursday was our first long car ride day. To Mt. Gilead, getting out to romp in a new yard and meeting a new BC and getting squawked at by scary, nesting bird. Then on to Galion and walking around the RV lot parking lot, seeing a golf cart going by and meeting new people.
- Friday we went to Auntie Pam's house where they had to be stacked on a table and got lots of photos taken. Then back to Mt. Gilead, Galion, and home.
- Saturday was the day of "The Great Escape". Not on Facebook? You should be. You can read all about it there! <g>
-Sunday we went to Lianne and Andy's to run around with Spry, Panic and Dexter. LOTS of fun! Pics and video, thanks to Lianne and Andy!
- Today is Monday and it is, once again, raining. May be a quiet day.

For anyone wondering about the recent batch of baby BC videos on my You Tube, I had all of those old ones on my Google video site, which is going away. I have moved them all over to You Tube.

Happy Monday, have a great week everyone!

Piper

(From Fada's first litter, with Ganadeiro)

Daddy Andretti tried lure coursing!

Two of each

 Callie, Boston houseguest

Social life of pups

Yesterday we were helping out a friend who needed to drop an RV off for repair, so pups and I drive to Mt Gilead, got out and played in a new yard. There is a pair of birds there that build a nest n the gravel drive every year.  Momma does this each and every year up there, despite it being a high traffic area. (anyone who has been to Linda M's for camps in the summer have seen them)

So pups see birds, start stalking that direction. Mama (or Papa I guess) puffs up an comes running at them, making horrible noises. Pups startle, ears and tails go down, and they stat to run back to me. Then, they turn back to birds and Vettel goes on his toes and gives his little "ruuuuf!' at the birds. And I swear Daz went into a point. <g> No, I had no camera. Bad puppy Momma.

Vet visit

We went to visit Dr. Joanne today. Both pups looked great. She checks knees, listens to hearts, dilates eyes, etc. Daz weighs 3 3/4 lbs and Vettel a whopping 4 1/2 lbs! Joanne has Irish Wolfhounds herself, so enjoys all hounds and these guys crack her up. <g>

Babies meet Chama!

Daz and Vettel are 8 weeks old!

Wow, I cannot believe how fast the time is flying by! Today my little babies are having their 8 week birthday. So far we have celebrated by having a pedicure. They were less than pleased. And getting harder and harder to hang onto for toe nail trims. And it's not as easy to nap them while they are sleeping these day either. <g>

They are also starting to run AWAY from me in the backyard when it is time to come inside. They LOVE to play outdoors, and are even getting used to damp, muddy days. We are quickly approaching the stage where they will need to go out and potty on leash, then after they are done with the important business, they can run free and play. I also think it may be time for Deb Jones' "in your face" recall game during some of their meals.

We have introduced a new "toy" this morning. It's a balance disk. It is squishy and moves under them when they walk on it. One side is also nubby and would feel strange to walk on, under their little puppy feet. Later (maybe today) we will put a small board on it and it will give them their first tippy board experience.

Today's other "big event" will be a morning visit to Dr Joanne, just to make sure all of their parts and  pieces are okay. The office staff loves Fada and will go nuts over the babies, I am sure.

Oh dear...

Someone has decided to play mountain goat!

But how do I get down?

So cute!

Every few days I change out toys in the puppies' pen. They can use cleaning, and I like to give them new things. "New" meaning only new since the last time those toys were in the rotation usually. There are some real "new" things here and there. But when I put them back in their clean pen with clean, fresh toys, they look like little kids on Christmas morning!