Boring Blogs and Pup Tents

/9 Comments/in /by

As I write this, I’m waiting for Jennifer to arrive to steal take home Rumble. He’s the first one to leave the nest (and since he’s smack in the middle of his ‘let’s chew everything in sight’ phase, Sean has been making noises about packing his little suitcase for three days now). Everybody else leaves on Saturday or Sunday.

It’s occurred to me that, while I have puppies on the ground, this blog becomes an awfully boring place to be. I turn into one of those God awful new mommies, constantly rambling on about how kyooooot their kids are, and waving photographs in the face of anyone who’ll stand still for more than ten seconds. Of course, the fact that my babies are kyooot might have something to do with that, but it doesn’t change the fact that I really need to learn how to balance ‘other’ stuff with rambling on and on and on about adorable puppies and their cute little noses.

That said, here come some more photos. Suck it up — you can always go read Salon or something.

Sean and I took his dad to Ikea the other day, and while I was there I snagged an awesome little toy for $6 – a nylon ‘pup’ tent. I think it’s actually meant for cats, but I could instantly see what fun the puppies would have with it. Little did I know that someone else in the house would instantly claim it for their own.

Tessa in the pup tent

Of course, the puppies weren’t about to let Grandma Tessa have the entire tent all to herself. They immediately came over to find out just what was so fascinating in there.

Come out, grandma!

Eventually, when three puppies were crammed in there with her, Tessa decided it wasn’t worth the hassle. After that, one of the pups decided that the interior of the tent would make a nice place to poop. It’s now been retired to the utility closet until I can figure out how to get the smell out of it.

Thor says

The rest of the photos are over on Flickr, as always.

Little Puppies, Big World

/1 Comment/in /by

First of all, congrats to all of my neighbours south of the border (and to the ‘cranky dog bloggers’ of Bark Obama in particular) for electing a new president. It’s a nice change to no longer have to worry that any minute now ‘Merican troops are going to mass near Niagara Falls and declare that they’ve annexed us into a new state. Plus, ‘President Obama‘? How cool does that sound? Let’s hope the next four years are great ones, for all of us.

We’re in the middle of an unseasonably warm spell here in Ontario, so I’ve been letting the puppies explore the outside world a lot more.

Here are some photos from their first foray outside – the full set is over on Flickr, along with a new playtime set.

Kung Fu Puppies!

/10 Comments/in /by

The puppies are smack dab in the middle of what I fondly refer to as their “Little Monsters” phase. That’s the phase where they bite feet, chew furniture, attack their elders and generally make you yell out “Hey, you! Puppy! Stop that!” every ten seconds.

Playtime now looks like a scene out of an extreme fighting video. All we need is a cage, and someone taking bets, and we could put it on pay per view.

Here’s a video of the puppies showing that their Kung Fu is strong.

Echoes of Puppies Past

/4 Comments/in /by
Jellie Bean and Heart Making Crazy Faces

Jellie Bean and Heart Making Crazy Faces

When Ellie first came home with Sean and I, she made her opinion of us quite clear – “You stink, and I want nothing to do with you”. Our first tentative attempts to coax her out of her crate were met with undisguised contempt and loathing, and we were left wondering if she’d ever warm up to us.

We knew she was growing to love us the day that she decided she wanted to eat dinner with us. Ellie and the dogs ate in the kitchen, two rooms away from the living room. Ellie was always a slow eater, still working her way through her kibble long after the other dogs were through, and usually Ellie would come and join us when she was finally done. One day, during dinner time, we noticed Ellie running back and forth from the kitchen to the living room. We finally figured it out – she was carrying her food out to us, one mouthful at a time, and eating it sitting beside us. Carry one mouthful out, chew, go back for more, repeat.

After that, it was Ellie’s dinner time ritual – she’d bring her food out so she could eat dinner next to us, and Sean and I finally fell head over heels in love with her.

Two days ago, while I was doing some cleaning in the puppy room, all of the pups were sleeping in a big pile in their bed except for Jellie Bean, who was still picking at her food. When I looked over at her, I noticed she was grabbing a mouthful of kibble, and then carrying it over to the edge of the pen, so she could sit and watch me while she was eating. My heart instantly broke into ten million tiny little pieces, and I will admit that I broke down and cried a little bit.

Every puppy that we have carries echoes of the dogs that came before them. Every litter has a moment when I am struck by a resemblance to another puppy, or another dog. Every time I send puppies home with their new families, I send pieces of myself along with them, and the memories of all the wonderful, beautiful, beloved dogs that are their families and their heritage.

In other heart breaking news, Dexter has gone off to Michigan, where he is about to embark on a dual career as lothario and show dog. He’s staying with our friend Sue Case, of Epic French Bulldogs, where he’s about to discover the joys of fatherhood (hopefully). After that, he’ll be hitting the show trail. We’ll post a list of his entries, so that anyone who is in the area can drop in and cheer my little man on. He’s a bit of a momma’s boy, so please be sure to give him an ear scratch and tummy rub from me if you see him!

Some new photos of the crazy kids (who really, really love their green crinkly tunnel!) are below, or over on Flickr.