Hunter just says No to having puppies...

Hunny badger don't care....

If all had gone as planned, Hunter would be very pregnant right now and due to have puppies in 9 days. Ultrasound says she's not pregnant, however, so we'll try again next season and hope that we have success next time. :/

  Hunny badger gonna go for a walk

 and roll in something stinky in the grass...

Life goes on....

Letting One Go--Macha Gets a Job

I kept Macha back for myself and trained her in herding and a little bit of obedience. As she approached 2 years old, my older females started making her life miserable (which meant I would have to keep her separate from my other girls) and she was a dog who *needed* a lot of 1 on 1 time with me, which was hard to provide while also keeping her separate from the other females. So, I looked around for other opportunities for her.

Macha at 11 months

This summer, she was evaluated for work as a guide dog/service dog by a woman with sensory processing issues and passed the evaluations with flying colors. Macha has taken to SD training with great joy and loves to get her vest/harness on so she can go lie quietly under a table in some restaurant or library. She's well-mannered and handles crowds and lots and lots of people and strange sights and sounds and different footings and smells. She has learned to curl up and fit under a chair, too--which is a funny sight, because she's a fairly leggy girl.

So now she has her very own person that she accompanies almost everywhere. She's still learning some of the finer details of her job, but she and her new person are very happy together. To top it off, she just got her OFA Good/elbows clear ratings.

So, she's no longer my dog. It was a hard decision for me, but it is such a great home for her and she is learning to help someone else. She has a job and a person she loves--and no matter how hard it was to let go, her happiness and the fact that someone else *needed* her trumped all.

That's one of the things that is hard when you get involved in breeding dogs--I can love them all, but I can't keep them all. It wouldn't be in my best interests or in theirs. And recognizing when a dog will be happier in a different situation and acting to improve her life--and mine--is an important element of being able to stay involved and active with the dogs I do have and is crucial to making sure all of their needs are met.

Nike - Fourteen Years Young

Today was Nike's 14 birthday. She had a small celebration with a few of her kids and grandkids.

Jubilee, Nike, and Coal

 And then she beat the crap out of her Egge...

 
And then she went for a dip in the pool....

Life is--still--good.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NIKE!!! Thank you for sticking around another year.

You can see all of her birthday pictures here...

Post-4th Puppy Extravaganza

The late June storm knocked out power here for 3 days--which we all sweated through and survived. The weekend after the 4th, a few friends joined me and we hid out in the A/C. The puppies--15 of them (Reason had gone to his new home)--joined us.

The chaos of 15 puppies rampaging through the house is... well... watch and enjoy!

Born on the 4th of July

Happy 2nd birthday to the force of Lawful Evil in my life, the One Dog Axis (of evil)!

R Pups at 5 weeks

Picture, 1000 Words = 'nuff said?

 

Wordless Wednesday (a few hours late)

Meet the S Puppies

Xita x Jedi Pups at 2 Weeks

Three boys

Two girls

 More pictures at the S-Litter gallery.

R Puppies at 2 Weeks Old

More pictures in their gallery, here.

Puppies - Xita x Jedi

On May 19, Xita gave birth to 7 boys and 5 girls. There are two solid black males, the rest are bicolors or dark black & tans.

Introducing the R Puppies

 Born May 12, 2012

Three boys and one girl--bicolors and dark black&tans

out of Jubilee and Dorian

 

Guest Puppies and Soon-to-Be Puppies!

Nike and the Guest Puppy

Spring has been moving right along into summer--we finally got rain yesterday, which should tamp down the clouds of dust that were starting to puff up when the dogs were running through the yard.

I got through the great March Hormone Hell only to have Oda and Nemi come into season. Nemi has been such a diva, it was almost a relief when I realized it was hormones. Somehow, I've raised a fierce taskmistress.

If I am petting her and stop to type--she woofs at me--she does this little snorting bark-cough. It's the smallest bark possible, "oof!" (I'm working on putting it on command!) If I keep ignoring her, she will escalate--first she'll give me a pretend nip--kind of touching my arm or leg with her front teeth, then she puts her paw on my leg. Then, she'll go into a full-on bark and hold if I am so rude as to continue ignoring her. 

I have had a Guest Puppy visiting--just here for socialization before she goes back to her breeder. She was very bold and bitey--excellent schutzhund prospect, and she'll be staying with her breeder to be titled and, perhaps, one day, have bitey puppies of her own.
 

So, housetraining and crate training and back to baby puppyhood again for a few weeks. I exchanged her for her solid black sister on Tuesday--she's  not as bitey, but back to the start with crate and house training!

Guest Puppy and Nemi had a great time together--after Nemi got over not being the smallest and the center of the universe, which took a few days.

I guess it's good to get back into puppy-raising practice, though... Ultrasound confirms that Jubilee is pregnant--due May 13(ish)--and so is Xita--due May 20(ish). So, it won't be long before there's baby puppies around here!

Nike was not amused by this new puppy, so much like the old....

Unfortunately, ultrasound seems to indicate that Hunter is not pregnant, although I'm not sure I believe it. I'll have to x-ray her before her due date just to make sure she's not hiding any pups in there....