The developing of an Aussalier

First you start with an ASDR Reg. Toy Australian Shepherd named "China". A true Aussie, with a spitfire personality and herding instinct packaged in 10" tall, 13 lb blue merle colored, blue-eyed body.

Then you add in a AKC Reg. Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, "Noah". A gentle, sweet soul, happy, playful in a gorgeous coat of black, tan and white. Weighing at 20 lbs and standing a bit taller at 13".

And what do you get? Viola' this beautiful bundle of gorgeous Aussalier puppies!

 Today we're following one of those sweet babies as she grows up. We call her "Concho" and she is the beautiful blue merle with the big white face in the front left side of the picture.

Here she is looking sweetly into the camera at four weeks of age.

Looking more grown up at five weeks!

Taking a ride at six weeks!

At seven weeks we have lots of pictures of her playing outside with her littermates!

(Sorry, not a clear shot, but I love how it shows her "in action")

(You can see from previous pictures that the pigment on her nose is filling in all black:)

And here she is today at eight and a half weeks of age!

She is definitely an Aussalier; a wonderful combination of both mom (Aussie) and dad (Cavalier). Her body build is more like her mom with the Aussie coat and coloring. I'm guessing she should mature around fourteen pounds as an adult. She obviously has the beautiful Cavalier ears and her temperament is more like the Cavalier; sweet, cuddly, but still playful and happy!

She is here waiting for her perfect, forever family!

Will it be you?

Training Puppies and Picking Raspberries!

The easiest way to train a puppy is to put a leash on it and attach it to yourself and have it with you most of the time.*Clears throat* Let me rephrase that. One of the most “effective” ways to train a puppy is to put the leash on and attach it to you and have it with you most of the time. (I’m referring to when you’re at home. And all puppies need nap/crate time away from you each day also.)

So since I’m in the process of training four puppies about the same age, I’ve decided the easiest thing for me to do is concentrate on one puppy per day. (The other three just hang out together in a puppy yard with their toys and each other. Don’t worry; they still get attention each day). But it’s just easiest to deal with one at a time.

Today, Jules (aka Juliet) is my partner and it’s time to pick raspberries. I picked our first little bowl on Friday, but today it was time to really "pick".

                                                             "I'm being good mom, aren't I?"

(Not a clear picture, but ...) She thought she needed to try them too or maybe she thinks she's helping ;)

It's going to be kind of tough getting between the plants and fence to pick back there!

Checking my work....

Ahhh....

She was trying so hard to get under the fence to see Moriah.

Yum! You just can't beat a fresh picked raspberry right off the bush.

Our Pooh-pervisor ;)

All done! And the only hazard of picking berries with a puppy; when you crouch down, bend over and your shirt raises just enough to show some skin, that's when puppy jumps up and plants it's cold, wet feet on your bare back!

Something new and different!

We decided to try something new and different and are super excited to tell you about it!

For those of you that love the Australian Shepherd but you've hesitated to get one because their personalities can be a bit "intense", (most herding/working breeds are.) We'd like to introduce our new litter of Aussaliers! Yes, that's right, they are half toy Australian Shepherd and have Cavalier King Charles Spaniel!

The mother, China is a blue merle toy Australian Shepherd about 10" tall at the shoulder and weighs about 13 lbs. She is a high drive dog (wants to herd the horses, is the best "mouser" around, etc.) a one-man (woman) dog, smart, energetic and we think, beautiful. She is CERF eye clear. This is a picture of her when she was a bit younger so her coat is not as full as it is now.

The father is our beloved, Noah. He is a gorgeous tri-color Cavalier King Charles Spaniel (heart checked clear). Noah is 13" tall at the shoulder and 19 1/2 lbs. Noah completed basic obedience this spring and earned his AKC Canine Good Citizenship Award. He is a typical happy, fun, gentle, sweet, more laid back, but playful Cavalier.

Puppies arrived on June 29 (so these pictures are at one week of age). We have two blue merle boys, one is mostly white with blue patches! Three girls round out the litter, with two blue merles and one beautiful tri-color. We guess that these pups will mature in the 15-20 lb. range (but will have a better idea when they reach 8 weeks of age as we have a puppy formula to guess adult weights). Dewclaws have been done and tails are docked like the Australian Shepherd. Some could have blue eyes, but of course we'll have to wait a bit longer to know about that:)



I'm excited about this litter and hope they will be a wonderful combination of mom and dad's personalities in a beautiful colored package!

 These pictures were taken in the afternoon sun, so unfortunately it kind of makes their colors look "bleached" out. But we will be making an album for these guys and doing new pictures weekly. Please contact us if you are interested in one of these unique puppies!

He passed!

About eight weeks ago, Noah and I started our basic obedience class. 

Now, I had been a bad dog "mom" and the poor guy wasn't hardly leased trained at that point. Noah has what we call a "soft" temperament. Another word for "wimp" *wink* Usually when you leash train a puppy/dog and it's not used to the pressure of the leash, they will hit the end and stop or some will turn into bucking broncos! Noah on the other hand, would hit the end of the leash and yelp! Which made training a bit of a challenge.

So we started Noah off the first half of the class on a flat collar instead of the usual training collar. He seemed to catch on quickly to what was asked of him. I had to be careful with my corrections though, because of his sensitive nature. And use a lot of praise and encouragement!

Class gave us the basics; sit, down, come, sit-stay, down-stay, stand for exam, walking on a loose leash making different turns and staying together as a team. The teacher always likes to throw in some fun stuff too; relays, Simon Says, and fun agility courses. (I highly recommend basic obedience and CGC testing (if available) for all our Pinewood puppies and families!)

Last week she gave us a sample test of the basics that we had been learning and scored each one on how we did. Noah did really well and got in the 1st place category along with quite a few others.

Last night we received our graduation certificates (and treats for the dog!), plus the chance to go through the CGC test. For those who don't know, the CGC (Canine Good Citizen) is a test that the American Kennel Club (A.K.C.) puts on all over the country by various instructors.

Here's a quote from the CGC pamphlet:

"The AKC's Canine Good Citizen Program is designed to recognize dogs who have good manners at home and in the community. This rapidly growing nationally recognized program stresses responsible dog ownership for owners and basic training and good manners for dogs.

The AKC CGC Program provides an excellent foundation for training in other fun activities such as Rally, Obedience and Agility and results in a well-mannered dog who is a joy to live with. Some therapy dog groups require passing the CGC Test as a prerequisite, some insurance companies recommend CGC training, and and increasing number of apartments and condos are requiring CGC training for resident dogs."

So you can see what a benefit passing this test can be. There are 10 parts to the test that the dog must pass. Test 1: Accepting a friendly stranger. Test 2: Sitting politely for petting. Test 3: Appearance and grooming. Test 4: Out for a walk (walking on a loose lead). Test 5: Walking through a crowd. Test 6: Sit and down on command and staying in place. Test 7: Coming when called. Test 8: Reaction to another dog. Test 9: Reaction to distraction. Test 10: Supervised separation. (AKC has a pamphlet with more specifics about each portion of the test. Contact them at cgc@akc.org)

Well, I was worried about Noah not passing the "down". This is one thing we've had trouble with. And I'll be honest, I hadn't practiced it as much as I could have. But, he passed that part and every test before it! The last part; "Supervised Separation", was the part I didn't think we'd have any problem with. You hand your dog's leash to another person and they hold it for you while you go out of sight for three minutes. He almost flunked! Whiner! But thankfully, he passed that portion also.

So now Noah's official title is "Rose City's Noble Heir CGC" (pending AKC approval)

Waiting our turn!

Test 1: Accepting a friendly stranger

Test 2: Sitting politely for petting

Test 3: Appearance and grooming

Getting ready for Test 4: Out for a walk

Test 5: Walking through a crowd

Part of Test 6: Sit-stay

Test 7: Coming when called

Test 9: Reaction to distraction. (She used the walker around him and now is slamming a book shut). Test 8 (Reaction to another dog) was in this area too. We didn't get a picture of Test 10: Supervised separation.

Ahhhh...testing is over. Noah takes a break to play with his friend, Little Bear.

Good job Noah!

You gotta have Faith!

Just a little Faith. That's all you need. And that's what we got yesterday. I guess my post has a double meaning. We added a new doggie family member yesterday. I really like her registered name, "Lonestar's Lady of Faith". Her call name of course, is just "Faith".

I was kind of in the position that some of you have been in or are in. You find a dog that you'd like to add to your family, but it's clear across the country and you don't know anything about the person trying to place the dog or the dog. So you ask questions and spend time conversing with the person about the dog, etc. You start to feel comfortable and think this is a good thing, then plans start coming together. But it's still a leap of faith. Especially when you are adding an adult that's never had a litter before and you're hoping they'll become one of your future moms.

So let me introduce you to our Faith. She's a beautiful black & tan, AKC Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. She is sweet and friendly, on the smaller side, about 11" tall at the shoulder and about 19 1/2 lbs! Yep, she's what we call a bit "short' for her weight. *wink* She's almost two years old, is heart clear and patellas normal, with a good bite too. (All things we look at for an animal that will be part of our "mom team".)

We are very excited to welcome Faith to the Pinewood Family!

Camera shy!

"Mom, do you have to keep pointing that thing right in my face?"

Playtime outside!

I set up an outdoor play yard right outside the dining room doors. It's convenient for me if I'm working in the house to keep an eye on them and watch them play without them seeing me. If they see or hear me, they stop playing and come to me clambering for attention.

Today I was able to sneak outside by the trees and take some video of them playing. Then I was able to get halfway close to the pen and lay on the ground to snap some photos. That didn't last long though. The big dogs thought me laying on the ground was an invitation to come get in my face for attention. Of course when I told the big dogs to "Get!" (out of my way), the puppies heard me and ran to the fence line whining and barking.

Here's a few shots I did get. I love the last couple. You can see some the puppies howling and barking. "Mom, let me out of here, I want to come get in your face too!"