It's Raining

Yesterday, January 28th, the temperature was 74 degrees and we were running around in tee shirts. It's still pretty warm today, but it's raining. We haven't had more than a light sprinkle of rain in months and we've had no snow to speak of, so this is wonderful. EXCEPT, I have two nine week old puppies that are progressing nicely with their training. This will be a setback because it's coming down too hard to get them outside as often as they need to go. Oh well, there are worse problems in life.

Sebastian didn't have surgery yesterday. When the doctor looked at the site of the injury, the place that's draining had scabbed over. It needs to be draining in order to do the procedure, so he came home and we'll wait till the pressure builds up again and it starts draining, then we'll rush him to the clinic and they'll fit him into the schedule. Rob felt bad for him and stopped for ice cream on the way home from the clinic. Sebastian has a dish of vanilla and thought it was wonderful.

The puppies are growing so fast. It seems like I can see a difference each day. Sydney is stretching out and getting long legs. She looks like a young dog now. She has a sweet disposition and loves to be held. She knows her name and likes the words "good girl". She wiggles when she hears those words. She looks a lot like a spaniel.

Mackenzie is still small and has short legs. She can't jump or climb like Syd, but she gets where she wants to go. I think she knows her name, but she ignores it most of the time. She love to roll in the grass and when you call her to come inside, she drops to the ground and starts rolling. She's tough and love to wrestle and play instead of eating or walking on a leash. She's going to be a handful.

We buy small size Milkbone biscuits for the pack and the other day Rob found some puppy Milkbones. I think they're so cute. Syd and Mac each get one at bedtime and they think it's a most wonderful treat. After just a couple days, they wait in their crate for their bedtime snack with tails wagging very fast. Puppies grow up too fast.

Norma Jean the Model

Miss Norma Jean was named for Marilyn Monroe for a number of reasons. Her registered name is Legacy's Some Like It Hot. Her names fit her perfectly. She's a bigger than life, in your face dog who refuses to be ignored. She's dramatic and funny and loveable.

Now she's also a model. After seeing a photo of her on Rob's blog, one of our favorite Etsy designers asked if she could use her on a piece of art. Before listing it, she sent us a photo and asked permission.  We were very happy with the results. See for yourself.

You can see Norma Jean and lots of other art pieces here.

The Big Boys

This afternoon Fudge and Sebastian visited Dr B. Fudge has a nickel size lump on his chest and I wanted it checked out.

The doctor did a needle biopsy and we had good news. It's a fatty tumor and isn't a problem except that it's located over his breastbone where it can become tender when he lies on a hard surface. I'll make sure he has a soft bed to sleep on and that should resolve the problem.

Next was Sebastian's turn and the news wasn't as good. When Sebastian had a cyst removed in November, the doctor found a large amount of scar tissue in the area. He felt that it looked like Sebastian had been bitten by a big dog when he was a puppy. The cyst was removed and some of the scar tissue was removed, but Sebastian has been bothered ever since. He won't leave the incision site alone. He rubs it on the furniture and rolls in the yard and if he gets the chance, he chews at it. We've been keeping him in a jacket and sometimes a cone of shame. Today I took him in for the doctor to look at it.

We discussed the problem and Dr B thought there might be a nerve in the area that was bothering him, but on examination he found an opening. It appears that there is some foreign matter in the area from the original injury. It may be to the side of the cyst that was removed or under it, but it's continuing to drain.

On Monday Sebastian will go back into surgery and the doctor will attempt to follow the path of the drainage and remove whatever is causing the area to bother Sebastian. We don't know what exactly we're looking for or where exactly it is, but we need to provide some relief to this poor dog.

Speaking of dog bites, please go visit our friend Gretchen who was attacked by another dog earlier this week. She had emergency surgery last night and isn't feeling great today.

To reward myself for taking four dogs to the vet this week, I made a blackberry pie and I'm going to make a pot of coffee and after the dogs are fed, I'll pig out.

This weekend we'll start introducing the pups to the rest of the pack. This should be interesting!

Rock Climbing

Yesterday the pups went to the vet for their second set of vaccines. They had each gained a pound and they had each gained confidence. No more whimpering puppies snuggled in the arms of the tech ladies. Now we had curious miniature dogs racing around the room, trying to break into the big bags of dog food and pulling on pant legs and shoelaces. Especially shoe laces! At times Dr B and I couldn't hear each other over the high pitched barking.

Today it's another sunny day in the 50s so we decided to tire them out in the yard.    

Rock climbing seems to be their favorite activity. Here's Mackenzie on the rocks. Mac is totally fearless and that's something we're going to need to watch closely. There are lots of ways for very little dogs, who think they're big dogs, to get in trouble.

Sydney also likes to play in the rocks, but she's not as daring as her sister.

This is something they do a lot of. Some call it 'bitey-face" and in the Portie community, it's called "sharking".  Whatever you call it, it's accompanied by some very startling sound effects.

Bitey-face can get out of control sometimes. Watch out for your ears around Mac.

Look how fast we can run!

Then they both sleep for several hours after playing outside until they wake up screaming for their next meal. What a life, eat, sleep and play!

Congratulations Bo

Today is an important day for America.

While the rest of the country celebrates our democracy at work, we would like to congratulate our Cousin Bo on the start of his second term.

We're proud of you.

Fudge

 Morgan







Tess

Lola

Bailey

Noah

Norma Jean

Sebastian

and Sydney and Mackenzie






Keep up the good work.

Field Trip

It's been very cold here all week, teen temps, but today it's on it's way to 60 degrees, so it seemed like a perfect time to introduce the puppies to the back yard. After everyone had eaten and settled down for a mid morning nap, we carried Syd and Mac into the back yard. They were trembling with nervousness and I wondered how they'd do.

Be careful, Syd, those things might eat little puppies.

Look what I found.

They weren't at all frightened and had a great time exploring. We've learned over the years that a good way to tire puppies is to stand at opposite sides of a yard and call them back and forth. It worked again and we have two sleepy pups who will probably snooze away most of the day.

A Rhyme

It's time for an end of the week catch-up post. We'll start with a rhyme.

Syd has pink spots on her nose

And we both have freckles on our toes.

And bellies.

So much for rhyming. The girls went for a weigh in on Monday and had each gained a pound. Syd is a great eater. As soon as she sees that bowl she concentrates on finishing all the pieces and licking the bowl clean.

Mac, on the other hand, is easily distracted. Once I direct her to the bowl, she takes a few pieces and plays with them, tossing them around and pouncing on them. Then she seems to forget what she's doing and wanders off. I direct her back to the bowl several times before she settles down to eat. By that time Syd is finished with hers and ready to help with Mac's dinner. Sydney gets held while Mac works on cleaning her bowl.

It's been cold here for most of the week, so the pups have played in the guest bathroom instead of going outside. At first I was able to put them in the tub and know they were safe while I cleaned their pen, but Syd learned how to climb out and come looking for me, so now I clean the pen while they bounce around the room trying to get into trouble.

Both Noah and Fudge are much better. They're both eating and gaining weight. They're both having good stools and we're about to pronounce them well. We decided that as soon as we have three consecutive days of good appetites and no loose stools, we're cracking a bottle of champagne. It looks like tomorrow may be the day.

Sebastian is wearing his cone yet again. He will not leave the incision site alone. This time we're getting serious about this and we're spraying him daily with a spray bandage to protect the area, he's wearing a cone and sometimes a jacket and after a conference with Dr B, he's taking something for anxiety. We're hoping we can perform some behavioral therapy over the next couple weeks and break the habit of chewing on his hip.

Morgan is doing great. She's growing hair in the shaved areas and doesn't pay any attention to the surgical sites.

On Tuesday the little girls will have another round of vaccinations and then they'll be ready to meet the big dogs. The older dogs are all curious. They know the pups are at the end of the hall and they sit by the gate hoping for a glimpse. We'll be making introductions gradually and we hope it goes smoothly. I'm curious to see the reactions. I have some ideas about who will like the puppies and who may want nothing to do with them. I'll let  you know if I'm right.

What Do We Love Most?

The girls love their dinner.

And I love little pink puppy pads.

Among other things.

Bird Dogs In Training

We have a clarification to make. After a conversation with the previous owner, we know that the father of Syd and Kenzie is a Brittany Spaniel and their mom is a Springer Spaniel/ Beagle mix. So they're 3/4 bird dogs.

Rob stopped by the pet supply store and found some heavy duty chew toys to give our hands some relief from the piranha teeth. He picked up a little ball and a tiny tire and some other hard rubber toys, but my favorite was this little bitty wubba.

I gave it a couple squeaks and tossed it a few feet away. Then I told the pups to get the bird and Syd grabbed the bird and settled down to play.

But Kenzie wanted the bird, too.

A great game of tug ensued. I wish I had recorded the sound effects. They sounded like the were going to tear the bird and each other apart.

Finally Kenzie got control of the bird and she wasn't going to stick around and risk losing it again.

I've given my caged birds a warning to stick close to home because we  now have vicious bird dogs in the house.