Nice Warm Day

It wasn't warm enough to swim but nice it was. Dusty dropped in to get a bath and her human mom played with the pups with her friends. See those photos on Spice's blog. Here are a few photos taken today.

Contemplating the stick.... - The Peppered One

Miss Risa... posing

Miss Adele Looking at me!

The Panda Bear

The Daisy Gal!

Logan and Kat are back at sniff hunting.

Scruffster the regal one!

Kona participating in the run game. Nathan gets out there and runs with them several times a day. I think Kona thinks that is a piece of heaven as he is so delightfully happy participating.

Dawgs are having a grand time. Each seem to be so full of enthusiasm today. Is it the weather or??

Hedged Day

Kona is totally smitten with Adele. He humps her, covets her and kisses her neck and ears. It's so funny.

Then we have the posers - meet Scruffy

and Logan who tend to stop and look and pose for you when you have a camera.

Brewer and Pepper get along famously. Plus get this Spice is back playing with them - how nice! Now that Momma duties are less.

The crew has had a grand time and tonight Daisy comes and Dusty comes tomorrow for the day. Brewer departs anytime now. He came for a play and a bath.

Plus our hedges were cut so outdoor play was done each time they took a break. Glad that is done. Well don't like how thin the hedges look but the tops look nicer. hehe It is what it is.

Not Much

As we were away there is not much to talk about. Sorry about that. Dennis said he had a full day. He played, he cleaned and he snuggled. I can always count on him. Thanks, Dennis!!

Cooler Weather

I didn't click much. Kona seems to LOVE LOVE the outdoor furniture, the crisp air and watching Nathan read. So do a lot of the others and they will be draped under, over and on the chairs. The dogs are really enjoying the cooler weather, me not so much.

Goldie, Pepper and Scruffy are here and dare I say its been huge play and then dead quiet while they nap? We sat down to watch XFactor and they were all over me in the recliner and suddenly Nathan sits on the couch and half of them make a beeline to the couch and on his lap. Get this, I had Kona, Jeannie, Roxie, Fiona and Pepper and Scruffy left me. Goldie found the couch even before Nathan sat down.

It may sound crazy but the dogs LOVE it when we watch tv. We don't do it all the time together so its a huge treat. Sometimes I am dealing with pups and not till they are older can I leave them for an hour or so but as they get this age I do it on purpose to condition them. No complaints.

Think I will go snuggle with a dog or two or three.

Cooper Departs

Yes, that's grass getting kicked up by the Coops. It's a riot to watch. He gets right into it. We already miss the Coops.

Coops parents got to finally meet Kona. Kona has settled in so well but I think his fave person is Nathan. Every now and then I get his body in my lap and I thank him for that. hahahaha

Adele got best baby puppy again and we decided not to stay till the end of the day like yesterday - well Nathan did. He had to drop me off and go back and that meant a long day for both. Jeannie nothing so we decided to not do tomorrow's show as its too much with the vet on Monday. This was Adele with the Judge - well Adele you are not supposed to stand there like a bear but it was so cute. You can only get away with that when you are a baby puppy.

We brought Adele and Jeannie to Rens. Jeannie was great. Adele wanted to be pulled around like a dust mop. I think it had to do with a VERY huge dog being there. That means class and getting that scavenger list worked on. :-) Still she did wonderful in the ring - funny eh?

Ribbons and Fun

Miss Adele got her first big ribbon on her very first show. We are proud of you. Jeannie didn't get anything. But we are still proud of them both!

Miss Adele had but 1 handling class and well she was a riot but still she won. I guess the judge liked her.

Kona is here and he really liked Panda. Too bad he won't see her till Monday but they were rubbing noses and rather enjoying each other.

But Logan was beside himself. Usually it is Panda but he said hey she is mine. It was all in fun but it was obvious that Logan was breaking up the getting to know you between Panda and Kona. We will see what happens Monday.

Cooper and Logan was playing up a storm. It was fun to watch though I had just finished brushing them all and I was watching that hair go every which way but hey that's okay.

Cooper departs tomorrow and we will miss him. He is such a ball of enthusiasm.

Jeannie is an absolute mess but I am washing feet and that's it. It is what it is.

Looking forward to Tuesday - no driving anywhere and maybe Nathan will indulge me and get me Japanese again. I so love the food and its terrible when you think about wanting something you just had. Food addiction - I tell you! I think the dogs have that issue too. No wonder why I love them so. hahaha

No Photo Day?

Alene Said: Here is Shady's last swim of the season.  Nora is not too fond of the water, but can swim well, and gets mad at shady when shady abandons her for the water.

From Me:

See each have their own personalities and families of 2 can bond and have sibling rivalries. :-)

This is Roxie in her - you got to be kidding look. The dogs have torn apart a duck - yes torn it apart yanking it from each other every which way. They had fun. I am glad!

Logan is so good about the grooming these days that he knows the time and says okay groom, I eat and its time to go home. Panda is more laid back about the experience. She just wants the treat.

Even Cooper now knows groom equals treat and if I don't have enough at my grooming table and happen to run out they make sure I go to where they are so they do get their treat. :-)

Off to wash 2 dogs so this update will be short but everyone is having a great deal of fun.

The dogs ARE enjoying the cooler weather!

Guilty as Charged: No Galleries

Well we have been enjoying outside as much as we can and the dogs think we are silly. We did get Kat and Roxie jumping in as a last hoorah. We tried to get Cooper in but he wasn't having any of it today.

Come in Cooper....

Well, it looks fun.

Maybe some love will work.

Well, Roxie is in the pool.

But I don't think so.

A little coaxing.... but...

...today he enjoyed the running around the pool vs the swim in the pool. People are like that and so are dogs. He's an amazing swimmer so its not that. It appears he was more into running even in this bloody heat than swimming.

I wonder do dogs actually get that the pool means you are cooler?

So instead Nathan took Cooper up to visit Jazzy and they played in the store. I heard they had a grand time. Then when they came back Roxie, Coops, Adele and Jeannie created a game themselves and were running around so fast in and out of the hallways grabbing this duck.

So maybe we used the wrong toy in the pool. :-0

Guilty as charged - didn't get to the galleries but will in a day or 2. Just doing so many fun things with the dogs that there leaves no time for anything else but more play and more fun. :-)

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday, Magic, Finn, Tangles and Joey!

We are going to take a photo of Magic (shes coming for a playdate today) with Mom and Dad (Miss Abs and Truffie) Hoping to see photos of the rest and if I do we will add them as the day goes on.

Update on Tuesday, September 10, 2013 at 3:02PM by Darlah

Taking photos with multiple dogs is interesting. This was the best of the lot. It was nearly impossible. Plus cause its so hot they keep drinking water and getting wet beard. hahahaha

Photos Received

Here are a few photos I received yesterday and today.

Football Yawn?Tell me do you also get your own snacks to cheer on your fave team?

From Stella's Mom:

I just had to send this angelic picture of Stella. Who would think that just a few hours earlier she was standing on my dads dining room table. She's quite the jumper !!!

From me:

Yes those Wasabi/Spice pups are some agile dawgs!

Levon Chillin'

Shannon Said:

If there's ever any question about missed deadlines.... 

I have the answer!

Tomorrow we will cover the Birthday of Magic, Finn, Joey and Tangles. Huge Happy Birthday to you! Send photos please!

No Grooming Day

This is how it works. I had a no grooming day today. Roxie reflects such. It's okay to have a day off. I could truly do them every other day and hardly ever see a knot or I could do it twice a week and have it take me more time than if I did it daily or every other day. It really depends on the weather but if you are sitting watching tv, its a perfect opportunity to just do a comb out.Plus a clean coat lasts longer staying knot free.

I do not find the Havanese hair difficult but I also know how to take knots out and the more you do the faster you get - sad but true. I find very short hair as long as you do the ears and tail they can skip a number of days without an issue. Still, if someone is visiting me they get a brush out even if they don't need it. Why? It's great conditioning and I truly believe if I do it daily when mom and dad gets them at home it is easier due to that conditioning. Why do I do it? For the dawgs, of course. You see I rather love them -  mine and visitors alike. If they are happy and I can make things more positive then its worth the effort. It should be for you too.

Just a little effort makes a huge difference with our relationships with our dawgs.

PS: They love the human that does for them.

I have a ritual at bedtime. I look at ears. I clean around eyes and I snuggle and love them up and of course they get a small treat at the end. Nathan would like to think that all they want is the treat but its not true. It's also the ritual that gives them comfort as strange as that sounds.

Paula Posted This

As you know Paula grooms dogs too up in Sudbury and posted this on Facebook.

What do you mean he is matted?

Now as someone who has dematted many dogs I want to say DO NOT WASH YOUR DOG if it has knots. If you do you make the knots tighter. Knots do hurt. When it gets felted they can get skin lesions. It's not fair to you or to them to keep them in a long coat if you don't want to comb them out on all layers not just on the top layer. There is NOTHING wrong with a short coat.

The more you groom the better you get at it. TRUE! The faster you get too as you become confident.

Brohs and More

Okay so its rainy and they have red eyes but hey you can see that they are brothers from a different litter. Bailey was over for a visit and really cozies up to his new gal pal Adele. He also got to play with Fiona as well.

We also had some visitors today so the adults got to play and socialize too.

It's all mine!

Fun and Games

Catch me if you can!

Oscars also visiting but only for overnight. It means a very quiet time tomorrow and a no grooming day for me.

Just so you can see how cute Bailey is without the red eyes - here he is again.

Thanks everyone for playing with the dogs, loving them up. They hate it so - NOT. :-)

Happy Birthday!

Want to wish, Levon, Piper, Boo and Ella a big happy birthday. How did the time fly by so fast?

This is how Levon is celebrating his.Just teasing...  Just about now I could easily crawl up beside him and fall fast asleep but he's at home, not here. :-) So have a great one!

This is the Piper gal. We are wishing you a big happy birthday too! Hope you are doing something wonderful!

No photo from Boo or Ella so I dug up a photo of Boo when he was a pup.

Boo, we hope you are having a great birthday too!

No photo of Ella but we are shouting out a huge Happy Birthday. Hoping all 4 of you are having an amazing day!

Socializing

We had Logan, Panda and Levon here. It's mighty quiet around here.

Goldie drops in for the day tomorrow and I get to wash 10 pups and 1 Spicy mom. Today I groomed 1 here and there as I felt like it and by 4pm everyone was done. Usually I like to just do it in the morning.

No matter which way I do it if someone comes the ones Nathan want to take to the door are always the ones not brushed. Now what's that about?

It's Over

Kat is no longer reacting to Fiona - hooray! Sanity is back. Levon comes tomorrow. Goldie comes later this week and so does Scruffy and Pepper. We are hoping for a sunny weekend so we can get puppy visits in.

Time to get the pool covered but still hoping for one hot day so we can get the pups in. We shall see. If not its an excuse to get all of them back to swim next summer. :-)

Fiona Returns

Fiona returns. Yesterday I spent the day combing her all out. Today she got a bath. Silly boy Kat thinks she is still in heat. I want to shoot him - well not literally but throwing him in the pool comes to mind. Get over it, Kat!

It's cloudy today. Everyone seems to be in a funk. Not much playing. Lots of cuddling and napping including Nathan.

I finally put Terra's beds and bowl away. Losing the uncle yesterday was well difficult - still is. Nathan has been sleeping off and on all day mumbling too many losses. This too shall pass.

Me, I have been doing things with the dogs but I have to admit I only picked up the camera a few times so photos are not plentiful.

Today Logan and Panda gave me a massive hug. Now that's what days are for - those moments!

Update on Tuesday, September 3, 2013 at 5:55PM by Darlah

We will be in Ottawa for a funeral from early morning to late at night. I am not sure how updates will work but expect them to be short.

Grace Departs

Grace is a fun dog. At times she is a going concern and others she is a gentle fun soul. She's still a puppy I think. She's not one of ours so I don't know when she was born but she has been amazing with the pups. She also can be mischievous as ever. Helen and Suzie fell in love with her yesterday. We love her too!

The pups will miss her but tomorrow we get to see Levon and we will see how he does with the pups.

It's quiet this month and that's usual. I actually wish it was busy. But I could use the downtime - well downtime such as it is.

Gracie had a bath. Miss Fiona came home and I am waiting a day before she gets a bath and gets combed out. Yvonne is amazing that she took her but she set me a note saying you know me I am not great grooming sorry. So, Fiona gets a reprieve tomorrow and then a comb out and if I finish the comb-out a bath. If not she gets bathed the next day.

Get this - Kat thinks she is still in heat and oh boy I have a headache listening to Kat cry. It's well over 21 days but we are keeping them separate. Will we survive? Maybe a bath will help but not up to a dematting today. Tomorrow yes.

Hunting & Friends

I got this photo from Lynda this morning. Panda was chipmunk hunting - can you play with me? It's so cute just seeing the Panda Bear's back end!

We had Helen and Suzy over. Pepper and Scruffy departed at noon. I got everyone groomed. I didn't sleep so much last night but that too shall pass.

We did have a great distraction with the dogs - no extra except Gracie and Helen and Suzie brought Milo and Hugo over. It's a quiet house but tomorrow Miss Fiona comes home.

Here are a few photos from today.

Now I feel like Wasabi does in this photo - a need to chill out and stay distracted. It's too quiet. :-)

Deep Sadness

We had to put down Terra today. She had a fast growing cancer. Originally we had thought that she was having issues with her hips as she had bad hips as she stopped walking for the most part the last couple of days and stopped eating. Goldens never stop eating. Havanese do. A golden is a food hound to the max. She refused steak.

When we arrived at the vet she walked in the door and hadn't been. I had great hope they would put her on Metacam and then that was it. She walked - of course she was fine. But her gums were ashen, her breathing labored. I attributed the breathing to the walk but even after an hour it was labored as she stayed on the floor. Her heart rate was racing. She was very ill and testing revealed she was bleeding out fast. This was a fast spreading cancer as it began to effect her lungs as well. Denial is a wonderful thing I suppose at times but this was so fast - well I am shocked.

Removing the spleen was no longer an option and this happened in days. Removing the spleen can buy you up to 6 months. It is a silent killer in dogs like goldens.

It's a crime as she was an amazing dog - yes with bad hips but she never complained. She loved the pups. Was a gentle soul and never demanded anything but a little love. She played with the Spice pups just last week. She was always a great big dog socializer.

I love all my dogs more than you can ever know. I stayed with her to the end. Nathan cried in the car. We both cried all the way home. We each grieve differently. Poor Dennis is deeply sad. But I will tell you my heart feels like it is broken beyond repair.

Yes, good that it was quick but you are in shock. No time to think. No time to say goodbye truly. I am glad that we do so much with our dogs every single day even when I am sick. I have many memories but for now I am in shock and deeply, deeply sad.

We came home, took out the pups into the grass and clicked and played.

So forgive me if I share a few photos of Terra over the years. It's the ones I could find without searching.

Terra and Shoshi. She played flicking snow games with her and was famous for always getting down to the puppies level to engage them in play.

Panda adored the Terra - well visitors and our own all did. She was a dawg magnet.

Wasabi, Terra and SpiceShe is greatly missed.