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?

The Puppy Confinement Area

I just wanted to share a bit about what kind of set up I recommend when you first get your puppy home. On our "Puppy Items" page on our website I show a couple kinds of containment areas; a portable exercise pen or an Iris pen.

Right now I have the Iris pen set up in my dining area. Our house has an open floor plan so this is a main area of the house for the puppies to see and hear what's going on. Plus it's close to the french doors that open to the back yard where I have a couple exercise pens set up for potty breaks.

This is the taller of the two Iris pens available. I am using six panels which is just big enough for a small crate, a litter box (more on that later), food and water dishes and some toys. In the beginning you do not want to give the puppy to much room and freedom; less room, less mistakes. As the pup gets older and is consistently using the litter box you can allow more room.

This is where the puppy should be unless he is with someone under constant supervision (playing with someone, attached to someone, etc.) When you're at home the puppy can be taken out for potty breaks (after waking from a nap, eating, playing etc.) But if you have to be gone for a couple hours or you work away from home this is the perfect set up to keep the puppy in. The puppy is safe, your house is safe and there are not a lot of options for puppy to make potty mistakes while you're away.

Our "Puppy Items" page on the website mentions the Ugodog potty system. This is a clean, professional set-up which works great for one puppy. I have found when raising and training a litter of puppies that what works better for me is the system you see here; a Rubbermaid container with wood pellets (the kind that are burned in a pellet stove). Just use a cat litter scoop to scoop out the droppings, the pellets will "fluff up" when they absorb the urine. You can change the whole box out every day, but I usually wait until the pellets have become fluffy before I change the whole container. The only disadvantage I find to this is, the fluff does get tracked around a bit when it sticks to the puppy's feet. Your puppy should be able to use either system.

Right now I have two Cavapoos  (Kai and Fritzi from Belle and Desmond's litter) that are waiting to go home so they are using this pen. They should have a jump start on potty training by the time they go home!

 And like children, puppies also like to rearrange their "room" and make messes!

I also like to use this as "Jennifer's Lazy Way to Crate Train a Puppy"! Seriously, raise your hand if you love getting up at night to take your new puppy outside to go potty! Yeah, I didn't think to many of you enjoy that. *wink*

Your puppy will not be able to hold his or her bladder/bowels for several weeks after you get him home (if you're getting the pup around eight weeks of age.) It's just not physically possible on a consistent basis. So if you're crate training them (which I highly recommend) you will be getting up at night to take them out. Unless, you use my "secret" system. And for only 6 monthly installments of $29.99, I tell you my secret. Just kidding!

Seriously, I've done this before and it works. Take your puppy out to potty one final time when you're ready for bed, then put him/her in their containment area and off you go for a good night's sleep. (Granted most puppy's will be a bit fussy the first few days as they adjust to their new home and routine, so be patient). Do not shut the puppy in the crate! (*For more crate training information, don't forget to read the "Puppy Info" that is sent home in your "Puppy Packet"). Most likely the puppy will go into the crate to sleep and when the need arises can then freely go out to use the litter box and put itself back to bed. When you get up in the morning, first thing, take the puppy outside to potty.

As the puppy grows and matures you will start to notice a clean litter box in the morning. When puppy is going all night without using the litter box, you know he/she is old enough to hold it all and and now can be closed in the crate at night if you wish. Simple and easy!

From Coco's mom

This was a recent message I received from one of our Pinewood puppy adopters...(totally unsolicited by me!)

"Why Pinewood Kennels is indeed the place to go for a puppy.

 

When looking to buy a Cavapoo we chose Pinewood Kennels May 2011, a decision we've been extremely glad we did.

 

From the get go, Jennifer was awesome to deal with. When we said we'd like to come see the Cavapoo we chose from pictures, she said, "sure, we'd be glad to have you visit." 

 

Our drive to Pinewood Kennels, took us across the State of Washington, and as we got closer we were as excited as two kids on Christmas. On our arrival, Jennifer warmly greeted us, showed us the puppies with their mother Buttercup and later Scout the father, as well as her other dogs. The love Jennifer and her family have for all their animals was apparent the moment we drove up their road.

 

It was important for us, not only to hold our puppy, but also to meet Jennifer & then see what is the perfect setting for breeding happy, healthy, and lovable dogs.

 

As promised, Jennifer kept us informed of Coco's progress. As scheduled, Coco flew from Spokane to SeaTac, accompanied by Jennifer's friend who met us at the airport. 

 

Here are pictures of Coco when we met her at 5 weeks, her drive home with us from SeaTac, one year on our riding mower, and at two years.

 

Forever grateful to Pinewood Kennels.   G, J and Coco too"

Coco at 5 weeks when they came to meet her.

Riding home from the airport.

A year old and ready to mow the lawn...just kidding, but she is smart ;)

Coco at two years of age.

I was thrilled of course to get "J's" email update. Here was our ensuing correspondence:

"J,
Thank you so much for this heartfelt letter of recommendation! You cleaned out my tear ducts this morning:) I'm thrilled that you so love your Coco girl and the experience you've had with us. I will definitely be sharing your note with others! Thank you, thank you!

Give Coco a birthday hug from her "other" mother:)
Warm regards~Jennifer"

 

 

"Jennifer you are certainly welcome.

 

G was hesitant in our getting a dog at our age (he will be 82 this July, and I will be 75 in June)  However, I knew he loved dogs and when he finally agreed there was no turning back.  Coco of course sealed the deal, the very moment we saw and then held her in our arms at your home.

 

The joy and love we've had from Coco, has been more than we could ever imagine. She keeps us young and active, makes us laugh, helps us relax (she loves sharing our chairs)

Alerts us to when someone comes down our driveway, gathers us up at the end of the day, or getting ready to go somewhere. ( a mother hen sometimes, cracks us up)

 

Have a great summer, enjoy your new poodles (they are adorable) We pray you continued success, as share your 'special dogs' with families everywhere.

 

J, G and Coco too!!"

 

 

And this is what it's all about! *smile*

 

What is "normal" anyways?

This is Abe.

I love this puppy. He is a beautiful sable color, playful, rambunctious, happy, super friendly and outgoing. He loves everybody!

But Abe is different. Abe was born with only one ear. He has cartilage on his left side, but no opening to the ear canal and no ear flap. His right side is perfectly "normal".

We don't know why this happened to Abe. Obviously something didn't develop right in the womb. He did have seven brothers and sisters crowded in there with him. 

Our vet has checked him out well and he's perfectly healthy and "normal" in every other way. I love the way our vet described him. When I said he had a disability. She said, "No, he has a different-ability." 

Abe doesn't know he's "different". Abe doesn't know he's suppose to have two ears. Abe doesn't know he's not like everybody else. Abe doesn't know he's not,  "normal". I guess we humans are the ones with the hang-ups. We see something different and we step back, we're afraid, we're cautious, we don't know how to react or what to do or say. Maybe we can all learn something from Abe. Love everybody whether they fall in our category of "normal" or not! Give everyone (including animals) a chance! Have fun! Enjoy life! What is "normal' anyways?!

"Can I read the paper?" (Actually he'd rather shred it!)

"Travis, turn me back over!"

Sitting at attention. He's staring at my son.

"Here mom, I'll hold the strap while you take the picture! I'm such a good helper."

Cuteness!

His left side without the ear.

"Haha, I got the kids toy!"

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father.." (James 1:17)

 Abe is a gift!