Ava photo in the Group ring

http://lyndabeam.zenfolio.com/p10262070/e165b999a#h165b999a

Ava looks extremely displeased with me but I think it was just the second before she was blinking? She really is a happy dog. I swear! :)

Thanks to Dawn for finding this for me :)

Group Photo

TAKEN JUST NOW!! This is what you get until Monday! Sorry! :) But they ARE cute! Lots of body splashes :)

Puppies are 2 weeks old!

Puppies are two weeks old. Eyes are opening, they are becoming very mobile around the box and their nose pigment is really starting to fill in, nearly completely actually.

To be honest the puppies were an easy whelp. Ten puppies in 3 hours. It must be a record?

The puppies were small. 4.5oz-8oz. About half the size of Ell or Zoe's litters. Looking back at their records the pups basically were twice as big at every stage of their 8 weeks here than this litter is. Now the puppies are fat and sassy, and are gaining every day, so there is no worry there. Its just different!

I had the one stillborn, and about Day 5 I noticed #2 puppy, a brindle male was not gaining. Not only was i supplementing the two small girls (4.5 oz each) but now I had to supplement this boy. After several days, the girls were no longer needing supplementation, but the boy still did. And at this point the vet didn't know what it was, and Daisy was purposely moving him to a corner where there was no heat pad, blanket or other puppies. She'd turn her back on him. I guess nature and mother know best. After trying to supplement him for a few days longer I did end up losing him. Pity. I don't have much control over stillborns, but when you are emotional attached and have spent time, love and energy on a puppy that WAS born alive, it really wracks the brain. And the heart.

Now I need to concentrate on the remaining 8 pups that are all thriving. the two girls are just an ounce less than the next puppy now so everyone is ok in that aspect. Daisy is being an awesome mom, cleaning up after the puppies, eating more than my Briard does every day, and lets the 8 monsters nurse just about all the time. What a good girl :)

I nixed the flower thing. Having four boys is just not working for C names of flowers. So I went again with names of Minnesota Lakes that start with "C".

I'm still trying to decide on puppy registered name theme. I was thinking idioms or song titles or movie titles that start with C but I haven't really thought about it much.

I'm borrowing my sister's digital camera today to take puppy photos. I have a favorite so far, and its a MALE but I know nothing more than length, bone, neck and markings so I could be way off. He was the #10 puppy and was kind of a surprise :)

So photos later

Bolin

This was the Naughty Red Girl Bolin's 2nd point under judge Bev Capstick and expertly handled by friend and co-owner Denise Waiting :) Hey! I bred that!

They're heeeeerrreeeeee!

In three hours Daisy whelped 10 puppies. That's right. THREE HOURS. There were two brindles right away, followed by 5 'ee' puppies and then 3 more brindles at the end. I had one stillborn (#6) who I could not revive and after 20 minutes I put her aside. I had totally forgotten that Daisy could carry "e" and when the first one came out I thought she was a mismark...followed by 'omg its albino' only to have my brain finally catch up and tell me she was 'ee'. So nine puppies. Free whelped. All have really nice markings and no mismarks or fluffs (Sire is N/N for coat length).

Off to nap...

Eating my words

Boy did my dogs make a liar out of me!

Yesterday when the temps were an all time high for the year so far (67 degrees for those keeping track), my friend Kody and I took the dogs for a walk to our north pasture, along a field road in the heart of our acreage. The dogs were doing really well, as always, off lead, and would come when called, and would stay close by.

I started telling Kody stories about the dogs. Like when Sadie got her name "princess sadie" because she would go well out of her way to avoid any mud, or water puddles on the farm because she was above all of that. I told Kody about how Zoe could never quite figure out how to get across large ponds (she didn't know well enough to go AROUND IT, so would just sit and bark at me). After about four or five stories we came upon a giant spring lake. You know the ones that don't stick around for more than a few weeks..... As I was telling Kody about how my dogs don't swim....

well....you guessed it. They made a liar out of me! Naturally the first two in the water were Ballantyne and Brewer. They had a fascination over the kiddie pool as puppies but what made it worse was they had JUST been given baths the night before. They were up to their chins swimming around the lake. Before I could back pedal on my story all of the dogs (minus Oliver and Daisy who were left in the house) were swimming around.....EVEN SADIE the PRINCESS! I could not believe my eyes! And naturally no camera to record such a thing. I bet if I went again alone not one of them would enter the water.

It was a 'good' water pond too. The ones with the mucky water, the slim, the algae, the goo. The stuff that stains their coats.....and smells REALLY nasty. so yes ALL the corgis AND Mitcham..

Humble Pie? Eating my words? I'm not a liar, but I sure felt like one.....wow was I embarrassed.

But the good thing I guess is all the dogs slept REALLY well last night and they were VERY happy when we got home. If only they'd learn how to bathe themselves.....

Ballantyne

Here is the naughty black puppy Ballantyne at just about 14 months of age. My mom was taking photos with my camera phone, and I wasn't quite done stacking but this photo turned out the best (no setting sun reflecting in the door in the background here). I think she's growing up nicely. I love the slow growing puppies! While i can't brag that she finished in 4 shows at the age of 6 months, I can hopefully say she'll finish fast once she does get out there. She isn't a big bitch, but I love her movement, her temperament, her bone is adequate for her size, I like her shorter leg than her sister the naughty red puppy Bolin.

Time will tell. Patience is not my strong suit but I'm learning to be patient. Good things come to those who wait :)