Jaba has a new name

Jaba went to a new home in Richland on Sunday.  His name is now Caber and he will be an agility dog.

Nosey is thinking about going to a home in Seattle and BB, Bard's boy, is going to a home in Victoria, if he passes his interview with two wonderful people who want a boy.  They weren't expecting a puppy this soon, but he is good enough to go to them and he is a boy.  I can hardly expect to get only girls in my next litter, but if I count on a boy, I won't get one!  Isn't that the way it always is?!!!!!

Jeri's two are growing fast, are cute and hopefully just what I want to take to Hawaii!  Fingers crossed.

Kathleen already took them home for the day, so no pictures at the moment.  Sorry.

Someone asked me for a puppy, but didn't leave his email address.  Call me at 360-477-1869, please.
Thanks,

Curmudgeonville

Nice day out

We were lucky enough to have a few drops of rain last weekend, but this week has been nice and sunny, no rain and one cool day which was nice.

The puppies are growing.  I do love them.  Mr. Jaba is amazingly sweet, active, adventuresome and playful.  His sister, Nosey, is much the same, but not quite as.  BB, Bard's Boy, is beginning to play with them and run around on the floor, even though last weekend I varnished the kitchen floor to shiny slipperiness!!!!  Now it will be MUCH easier to clean.  Whew!

Just home from the Canadian National Specialty where Bryce was Reserve Winners Dog.  He was also Reserve Winners Dog at the last US BT National Specialty too.  The Reserve King.  We also had fun in Earthdog and next time he does it he may well title.  Took him a while to catch on, but then he didn't want to EVER leave!

The weekend before that I was in Colorado and took a seminar and test to become an Earthdog judge.  I had fun there with Janie Ritchie and a few other people with my dogs, Debby Sehi and Kassey Hill.  I also met some awfully nice people and saw some other people I hadn't seen in a while.

The puppies are growing and Jeri had two more a few weeks ago.  These two are remarkable for how light colored they are.  Usually puppies are born black.  These were born cafe au lait colored with a bit if dark brown on the back.  I was wondering if they would be wheatens, which I've never seen, but the stud's owner says they'll be red.  It will be fun to see.

In about six weeks Zinger will have her last litter and will then go live in Colorado.  She'll like that.  She can be a real princess there!

Curmudgeon has to go get a haircut....

Tink update

She is still with us and her weight is hovering around 7.0 ounces.  Since she got down to less than 3 ounces, we think this is "something" anyway!  She does walk a tiny bit on the floor with the others in the kitchen.  She is a phenomenon.

Jaba is his mother all over again.  Kathleen and I both love his HAPPY personality and his gusto for life and his surroundings.  Always curious and busy.  He grabs my pants' legs and tugs for as long as he can and loves it.  Hannah would love him as that is her criterion for choosing a driven puppy.

Renwick makes his show debut at the Hurricane Ridge Kennel Club shows.  Great puppy is doing tracking, S & R, NoseWork, obedience, and who knows what else.  Cherie is a go-getter and LOVES her dog to pieces.  She even drove up one evening from east of Chehalis? for a grooming lesson.  She does a good job even before that!

Nosey is the champion for "getting" the litter box concept.  Amazing!  Jaba is learning.  I'm really looking forward to this adventure!

So, where are the promised pictures?!!!!  If they appear, they will be taken today.  Can't seem to catch up, even though Kathleen is the one who feeds Tink around the clock!  I can't imagine what keeps me from getting more done!

Roller Coaster still going strong

Tink is still with us.  Yesterday Kathleen, who took her home with her to Bellingham for the weekend, thought she was a goner as she wouldn't eat!  Today she is doing well again and has weighed in at 7 oz.  Hasn't quite gotten to double her birth weight, but is approaching it.  Is getting up on all fours and walking.  Interesting puppy.  Driving us wild with her ups and downs.  Wish we could figure her out.

The rest of the crew is doing well.  I am snuggling them and stealing all of the puppy breath that I can.  I DO wish that they could bottle that as perfume.  I'd have men running after me all the time!!!

A REAL cowboy.  My late father.

Bentley on Mayne Island with his friend Brindi.  Zinger X Levi

Medical school classmates

Wishing I could use my new avocado tool on these!

Sweet, crazy Harper!  Cute, yes?

Elli, the oldest of the Elwha bunch, maybe having TIAs the last couple of days.

Time to go back for a visit to the casa!  (Hale in Hawaiian.)

Elli, Kathleen's best bud, besides Reese.

Hawaii calls!!!

Hawaiian grandsons.  Aren't they cute?!

CinderElli, Elli.

Rugby loving the beach!

Couldn't look much more like Pip, correct?!!!!

Will take some pictures of the babies tonight and get them on tomorrow.  They are super sweet and loving.  Working on the litter training!

Curmudgeons rule!!!

Wish I had a magic wand!

Well, the TINY one now has a name.  Her name is Tink, for Tinkerbelle because she is tiny and because she is magic.  Can't figure out why, except for Kathleen feeding her, she is still alive.  She isn't growing and teeters around her birth weight.  She sucks, sometimes on Mai, and walks around the crib and has her eyes open.  Seems fairly strong, just not as strong as the other pups.  Her "friend," the Mai and Bard boy, has opened his eyes this AM and is MUCH larger than she.  Her real brother, the BIG one, now has a name, Jaba.  Her real sister is Nosey, and she is as cute as they come, Jane and Jerry.

I always say I'm not superstitious, but didn't name her before for fear that naming her would cause her to die.  I guess I just got tired of calling her everything in the book.  A name is nice.

Her sister is Nosey.  Maybe someday she will do K9 Nose Work.

I've been stealing a name from his great-grandfather and calling the Mai X Bard boy BB, for Bard's Boy.  Not very inventive, but it is just a baby name.  They usually change.

Pictures taken this AM

Tink next to Jaba.  Littermates.

Tink with the rest.

Tink ON Jaba.

Again, Tink on Jaba with the other two very visible.

The puppy breath is outstanding.  I do LOVE puppies.

Signing out for today,
The Curmudgeon

I lied!!!!!!

We are doing cartwheels today.  We thought she would be dead this AM and she is up and sucking on her own and motoring.  Last night she was out, lethargic and her lungs were crackling when she took her short breaths.  She didn't move.  Kathleen said she screamed about 12:30 this AM and Mai started licking her and taking care of her and we were afraid to look in the crib this morning.  Put it off for some minutes.  After that, Kathleen must have said a hundred times that she didn't believe what she was seeing.  Neither did/do I....  AMAZING.  All I did yesterday was stick some Amoxicillin in her mouth and we gave her water to wash it down.  I gave her a bit of normal saline under her skin and she screamed to high heaven.  I didn't want to ever do that again.  I hate hurting the poor girl.  Today she's still alive and fighting.  Can you believe it?!!!!!!!!!!  We are still being superstitious and not naming her.

Someone out there has been praying awfully hard.  Thanks.

I know....

I am disappointing many of you not writing more and not posting pictures more often.  Sorry.

Pip had five puppies.  We lost two girls the first day, and a third one has failed to thrive and I think we will soon lose her.  She is still below birth weight despite both Kathleen and myself supplementing her and plugging her on day and night.  She is fading.  We have tried fresh frozen plasma,  normal saline under her skin, Esbilac, peanut butter, honey, etc.  She is certainly spunky, but something is wrong or she would have made it and be plump and vital today.  Not.  Fading.  We cry when we talk about it.  Kathleen sits and rocks her a lot.  She no longer nurses.  Just a matter of time.

Mai had her puppies one week to the day after Pip.  The first one, a girl, was born dead.  Probably a separated placenta too early.  The boy is healthy and fine and growing.  The tiny one went to Mai so that there would be two on each girl.

Pip's boy is a tanker.  My gosh he is big!  I will attempt to put pictures up of the four of them taken yesterday.

The little one LOOKS much bigger than she is and she feels as if she weighs nothing!  Hasn't yet gotten back to her birth weight.  So sad.

The two on the left are "Mai's."

Later,
Sad Curmudgeon and Kid