The dilemma

So I was at my vet's today for an appointment.

As I waited at the front counter, ready to "surrender" my debit card to the receptionist ;)  the Dr. walks in and starts gathering dogs for an outside potty break. (She takes in a lot of rescued/injured, rehabs and rehomes them.) So of course, she throws out, "Do you need another dog?!" HAHA...yeah, I needed another dog like I needed another horse!

We went out and visited while four dogs (two of hers that had been rescued and two needing homes) played and pottied. There was a 3 month old lab/husky type cross with these gorgeous light eyes and this old "man". He had been found on the highway; no micro-chip, no tag, no owner found. He came in with a female that had already been spayed and successfully placed. The vet thinks he's about 8, although he already had that sunken in look over his eyes and appeared older to me. They think he's a lab mix of some sort. He had the longest, lankiest looking legs though. It reminded me of how some Anatolians are built, although he isn't that big. He just seemed like a sweet, gentle soul.

Of course since we lost our Jack dog, I've thought often about what we would get next. I still have two great watchdogs, Moriah and Echo.So I've only thought about getting another large dog after one of them passes away.

And now my vet has to throw this at me.

I don't need another big dog to feed. Especially one that will just be laying on the front porch, with not enough energy to help "watch". Sorry, if that sounds harsh. That's my practical, bill paying part of me; my "head" that tells me "No" (husband probably will too). But my  gushy, animal loving, sentimental heart says "Yes". Who cares if he isn't a good watch dog. Doesn't the old guy deserve a loving home for his last days. And he might still have many good years left.

What to do. What to do. That's my dilemma.

Cookies!

I don't know about your dogs, but my dogs get treats everyday. At our house, the dogs all know what the word "Cookie" means!

So I go through a lot of cookies and am always looking for some that look halfway "healthy". One day I decided to do some internet perusing and find some recipes to make my own.

Today was the first test recipe that I found on Pinterest. They are called "Homemade Pumpkin Dog Treats" and found on http://blog.doggievogue.com.

I decided to try a double batch since I have more than a couple dogs ;) And I did substitute some unrefined white flour and rice flour for some of the wheat flour since I didn't have enough. They still turned out fine.

Here they are ready to go in the oven. And yes, it did take a while to make all those! The recipe says to measure the dough out by teaspoonfuls then flatten with a fork. Doubling the recipe got me over 120 cookies.

They puffed up a bit with baking.

Now to see if the "taste testers" will eat them. This cookie is disappearing!

Number two cookie going in!

The cookie monster looking for crumbs.

Yep!  I think we'll make these again.

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?

This is what happens....

when you buy a label maker and you have boys at home......

They spelled his name wrong :P

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!

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!