End of Week Round Up
Pickle meets her Auntie Penelope
A great big wrap up post, with a bit of this and a LOT of that, including new puppy photos, the pay differences between good and evil, and why Naboo Tatooine is freaking me out.
Floor Time Fun with Delilah’s Kids
A new video of Delilah’s kids, hanging out with us and with their (completely crazy) mommy.
Near the end of the video, there’s some fun footage of Tessa sitting on the floor with the puppies. Lately, when the pups are on the floor she wants to get down there with them. We call it ‘baby sitting’ – she sits there and keeps an eye on them, allowing the pups to take some pretty spectacular liberties (watch for the scene of Pickle launching herself repeatedly at Tessa’s face, while Tessa sits there and takes it all in stride). When Tess has finally had enough, she simply walks over and waits for one of us to put her up on the couch. She enjoys watching the smaller puppies, but Bunny’s gang of hooligans little angels are a bit too much for her.
I should note that this isn’t really new video footage – I shot it a week and change ago, and it’s taken me this long to edit and upload it.
One down, three more to go….
Video after the cut.
Weaning Puppies Onto Raw
Luke enjoying his first solid meal.
Tula’s pups have been nibbling at her dinner the last few days, so we decided it was high time to wean them. I tend to feel less of a rush for weaning when I’m dealing with a mom like Tula, who has remained fat and happy throughout this entire litter. Her kids are both chubby and healthy, and Tula is still flowing with milk. Still, all good things come to end, and it’s time for Luke and Leah* to start eating solid food.
In the ‘old days’, I weaned onto rice pablum mixed with goat’s milk, eventually adding in some raw meat. The last few litters, however, I’ve gone straight to raw and the pups seem to just love it.
A great big photo update
Mouth wars! Pammy and Delilah
Sean and I have been busy passing the flu back and forth. I got it at work, then gave it to Sean, and he somehow managed to give it back to me again. He said it’s because he’s all about sharing. Awww… generosity. Apparently it’s over rated.
About the only useful thing I’ve managed to get done in a week is a mammoth photo update. Oh, I also shot some video – but it’s still sitting on my hard drive, waiting to be crafted into an actual video. Not gonna happen tonight, that’s for sure. I’m off to bed with a cup of tea and a heaping dose of Nyquil Cold and Flu.
Photosets below the cut, or on Flickr as follows –
Thinking with your head instead of your heart
Pickle with her red ball (Leah in the background)
I’ve been a bit down all weekend.
As time progressing, it’s becoming clearer and clearer to me that Pickle isn’t shaping up to be a show prospect. Aside from the fact that she still hasn’t quite caught up from her self imposed fasting, her front isn’t perfect and her head is a little plainer than I’d like. All of this is forgotten, of course, when she jumps up into my arms and insists on kisses, preferably right at face level, or when she falls asleep on my shoulder, curled into the line of my jaw.
When I can be impartial – or when I borrow the impartial eyes of friends – I know she’s not what I need to keep from this breeding. Her brother is simply stunning – big and bully and heavy boned, with jaw dropping movement and attitude to spare. Her other two sisters have gorgeous head pieces, dead straight fronts with deep chests, and strong rears. Pickle just can’t compete, other than in terms of personality, which she has to spare.
Being a breeder is all about progress – picking the best of our litters, the puppies that have what we need, complement what we have already and help us to move forward with improving our lines. Breeders are supposed to think with their heads first, their hearts second – but oh, that certainly doesn’t make it any easier.