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....

Insta-Spring

I went out and couldn't resist trying my macro lens again on the flowers of this tree.

My last post of dogs in the snow is quite a discordance when I look out the window at all the grass reaching toward my knees. Somehow, spring happened overnight, and the forsythias bloomed between a Saturday and a Sunday. The trees are flowering, and the old pear near the chicken coops has been shedding its tiny round petals so it looks like it the area has been painted with polka dots.

My goal was to get a decent picture of Jubilee, though, so I asked her to lie down in front of the yellow mass of forsythias.

Lying down, I said, Jubilee!

What?

Nemain

After Jubilee got tired of posing for me (about 45 seconds....), Nike came and posed for me, right where I had asked Jubilee to set up. So, I obediently took pictures of the grand dame....

Surprise Snow Doggies! Part 2

Oda, Xita, Lynx

The Yin-Yang of Snow Doggies - Oda & Xita

Yin-Yang, Version 2

 

 

Gargling with snow

 

Life is good.

Surprise Snow Doggies!

I woke up this morning, brushed my teeth, put some clothes on, walked around the corner, glanced out the kitchen window, and HOLY SHIT THAT'S SNOW.

OMG SNOW!!!

"Eat snow, sis!"

I'll bite you! Take that Coal!

"Yarrr, I bite your throat!"

Nemi wonders, "What's this stuff? My toes are cold!"

"Come'on kid, I'll show you!" says Hunter...

SQUEEEEE!

Hmmmmmmm....

OMG WHEEEE!

I'm happy... don't I look happy?

Spring Heat (lamps)

It's gone from quiet around here to a lava pit of brewing hormones. Jubilee and Macha came in heat on Wednesday. And Hunter came in heat today. Xita and Oda will follow at some point in the next few weeks. I've got the girls in heat separated from Xita--I really would like her to please wait another month. For anyone who has been talking to me about reserving a pup from Jubilee, Hunter, or Xita, now is when I'm ready to start accepting deposits. :)

Also, I picked up a box of "hot mail-order chicks" from the post office yesterday morning--so they're out in the kennel building under 2 heat lamps--trying to keep the temperature around 95 degrees for them. So, I took my camera out to get some pictures and I played around with the macro-lens a bit. I couldn't resist spending a few minutes staring into Xita's chocolatey eyes with the macro-lens.

California White chick (macro lens)

A friend and I went in together to get some broiler chicks to raise for our own, home-grown, (somewhat) free-range chicken landfish.

Madagascar Game chick (macro lens)

My friend likes odd chickens and was unable to resist ordering a couple of Madagascar Game Chickens....

Madagascar Game chick (regular lens)

She also wanted some bantam Black Sumatras -- they are adorable and beautiful as chicks--and lovely as adults. 

Black Sumatra chick (regular lens)

 For myself, I got some white egg layers (3 California Whites and 3 Buff Leghorns) and 5 Ameracuanas--which should lay blue or green eggs. They will join my (mostly) free-range flock of mostly Black Copper Marans (who lay lovely dark-brown eggs).