Friday, May 16, 2014

It's About Time! Where Have You Been?

You may well be wondering where I've been and why it's been two weeks since I've written. A lot has happened. First, Andy, Bailey, and Sadie left with their new owners. Then the following Friday Duncan, Josh, and I trekked up to Eau Claire, WI, for a dog show. Thank goodness for GPS, as I had no clue where I was going when I took some back roads as a short cut. It was Josh's first long car ride and he was so good. He was also great at the show, curious, wagging his tail, and un-intimidated by the strange-looking dogs and the noise. He was also good in the hotel room, except for barking the night the drunk guy ended up passed out in the hallway right in front of our door -- but that is another story that I'm not going to tell today because you just had to be there to appreciate the drama. Suffice it to say, Jan and I did not get a good night's rest that night.

The show was a success on many levels. Duncan took Reserve Winner's Dog on Saturday and then on Sunday took Winners Dog and Best of Winners -- and earned his championship! He is now Ch. Joyslyn's Highly Classified!! I'll post the show photo when I get it. Karen and Jan's Ch. bitch, Secret, finished her Grand Championship on Sunday also. Jan's little black puppy bitch, Flash, was cute as can be and took Reserve Winner's Bitch to a major on Saturday. She's off to a great start!



Here is a picture taken of Duncan in January when he was a year old, just as a reminder of which dog I am referring to.


Magoo left on Monday, and Josh is not quite sure what to do with himself as Henri doesn't want to have a thing to do with Josh. Josh misses having another puppy to play with and we miss watching the fun they had as they played. They were quite a pair. Below is a photo of them napping together after a wild bout of play. (Do not ask me why they chose the hard floor for their nap instead of one of the multiple dog beds lying all over the room! Perhaps they just dropped where they stopped!)

I returned home last night after a 3-day meeting in Peoria and spent the evening grooming Duncan, who decided that the best thing to do while I was gone was to get mats in his armpits, along his sides, and behind his ears. I'd just groomed him Monday night!!

Our next show adventure will be Memorial Day weekend in Bloomington, IL, where there is a 4-day show. Duncan will be shown. The club is having a 4-6 month old puppy class, so Josh is entered in that. There is also a Fun Match on Saturday night, and Josh will be entered in that also.

I've received some nice emails and photos from people about their puppies. I'm going to share them with you.

From Lila's new owner, describing her second day in her new home: "We were home all day yesterday. She did not stop for one minute from the time we let her out in the morning until we went to bed at night, not even for a quick nap …She is busy every second ...she goes from Tam to Collin to me. I have to watch out because she is totally under foot… She is very affectionate — for about 4 minutes, until she glances at something across the room that catches her attention. She spent an hour or so exploring the yard, came  in a mess...I had to chase after her because it was lightly raining, which she didn't happen to notice. Sharp as a tack. She makes us laugh all day."

From Bailey's owner: "Bailey is doing very well. She is getting along with Dusty and is already doing her business outside at the same time as he is.  She is very smart and loving - we couldn't have chosen a better puppy! Thanks for checking on Bailey. We are so happy we found you and for allowing us to bring Bailey into our lives!"
Bailey in her new home
From Mozzie's owner: "Sorry I haven't updated you sooner about Mozzie! I've been so busy at work and going on no sleep as he wakes us up at 4am every morning. But he is adjusting and so is our older dog Kaia.  He's been doing great on walks and I gave him his first haircut!"
Mozzie and his friend Kaia

Mozzie

Mozzie napping
From Sassy's owner: "Sassy is doing well on a lead, head and tail up :-). She went to the Aussie show
with us and was wonderful around the dogs and exhibitors.  Her coat continues to lighten. Sassy is very intelligent and loving.  We adore each other."


From Sadie's owner: "Wanted to let you know that Sadie is settling in very well.  Never made a sound on the drive back..She loves going outside & no problem with the collar or lead.  Like a pro!  Doing very well with potty training, too…You're going to love this, the stairs No Problem!  Started going up and down them last night.  I was amazed!  Thought she wouldn't do that for a while…You were right about her blossoming! I want to thank you again for allowing me to adopt Sadie, she's just perfect & I know we'll be the best of friends.  She already has a nickname "Little Miss
Firecracker". Fits her to a T!!!"
And from a follow-up message: "…Sadie loves Lamb Chop![a stuffed toy]  Loves to kill her!!!   Things couldn't go any better.  Hope all the other new parents are having such an easy time…She's walking on lead like she's been doing it forever.  So Cute!"


Sadie with her Lamb Chop

Sadie

From Magoo's owner: "Didn't cry or get upset on ride home. He has taken over. He and Mallory played all day yesterday and Mallory was too tired to get up this morning…He has really helped Madison enjoy playing again."

I received pictures of Brigsley too. He is obviously loving his new home and enjoying his playmate and "big brother" Snickers.
Brigsley and Snickers

Brigsley

Sharon, who adopted two of my older Lhasas years ago, saw a photo on the blog and wrote, "I was looking at the pictures on your blog and when I looked at the one of Brigsley and Snickers I couldn't believe how much Snickers looked like Charm!  He looks just like she did in an old picture I have, I even had her hair cut the same way.  Is there any breeding connection?" I wrote that I was sure there was, and that he might be a grandson but that I had the puppy pen blocking access to my  records so I could not double check on the connection. Later she wrote, "Although I have loved all my dogs, Charm was one with whom I had a special bond. She was so sweet, she almost had a spiritual quality, and I was particularly close with her."Charm was indeed a very sweet, docile girl. She had a heart of gold and was very special and so easy to love.

I also heard from people who had purchased Joyslyn's dogs in the past and who took time to let me know how they were doing. (I appreciate hearing from them so much!)

From Oliver's owner: "Well, Oliver just turned 2 and he's truly been a joy! He's become the love of my life! He's totally been a breeze with training and we couldn't be happier with him!"

I love that Belle is in rally and training for agility and I love that her owner updates me occasionally on Belle's progress. Lately she wrote, "…we are on round 2 of agility basics. We struggle with some board work; shyness with the teeter. My other 2 went through that phase also … She is fun to work with … One of my friends watched a short sequence Belle did in class [and] said 'uh, oh......you're going to have to RUN with her;' she is quite fast zooming through the tunnels." I hope I get to see that someday! Some of you may recall that Belle was one that hated the conformation ring and who refused to show well for me. I guess her calling was rally and agility! Thanks, Mary! You have done so well with her.

Judy also has her Ty, a Breaker son, in training for agility. I enjoy her updates also. In a recent message she told me about Ty's latest performance, "He was 5 seconds over in time and also one fault over for a Q. Best news..he walked out of the ring as if he owned the place. He's my sweetheart!"


From Hunter's owner: "It's hard to believe that the tiny puppy we picked up a year ago is now the largest of our trio.  He has fit into the pack really well and managed to bond with both Zora and Zeus.  More importantly he is Andrew's best pal.  Those two love to play soccer.  Hunter is an example of a Lhasa that does well with children.  He likes rolling around on the floor with Andrew and does not mind if he gets used as a pillow pet.  The kids each put together a video of Hunter with Pharrell's "Happy" in the background.  We call that the "Hunter" song because he truly is a happy, carefree dog and just like listening to the song makes you happy - spending time with Hunter makes you happy.  I'm attaching three pictures.  One face shot, a side shot so you can see his beautiful coat, and another of Hunter with his birthday present, a world cup mini-soccer ball." 



I hope you all enjoyed the photos as much as I did. Thanks to all who took time to write and to send pictures. I love seeing the dogs and hearing about their exploits!


Life is better when you have a Lhasa to love you!


Joyce










Friday, May 2, 2014

It's Friday??



Puppies are nature's remedy for feeling unloved, plus numerous other ailments of life.  ~Richard Allan Palm

 I cannot believe it is Friday already! I have no idea what happened to Monday through Thursday! It's been a busy week.

The news at our house this week is a new dog. Imagine that! We are taking care of our daughter's dog, Henri, for a while. Henri is a cute Affenpinscher who has already managed to wiggle a place in our hearts and lives and routines for himself. He is familiarizing himself with the house, the cat, and the Lhasas. So far, he is standoffish with the Lhasas, even the puppies. I don't blame him for not wanting to deal with the puppies. They are a bunch of hooligans! Boris, our cat, is curious about Henri. Boris also likes routine. His nose is terribly out of joint at the freedom we allow Henri and the turmoil he has created in Boris' routine. Last night, however, they seemed to be making friendly overtures toward each other—well, Henri was making friendly overtures. 


The younger puppies are now 9 weeks old. Josh is 15 weeks already! First, here is Josh, age 15 weeks. Josh is a total sweetheart. He is also unhappy about having his play interrupted for a photo!
  







Josh gets to go along for the ride to the next dog show. He needs to start experiencing road trips, hotel rooms, and the sight, sounds, and smells of a dog show. Later in May he is entered in a 4-6 month old puppy class. That should be fun.

Here are the photos of the Rafe and Maggie puppies. They are now 9 weeks old.

Andy

Bailey

Magoo

Sadie
For those of you who live in the midwest, keep in mind the American Lhasa Apso Club's national specialty week is October 20-24. This year the national is in St. Louis. If you want to see a lot of lovely Lhasas from all over the U.S. in one place, the specialty is the place to be! If you want to meet breeders from across the U.S., the specialty is the place to be! There will be conformation judging, rally, obedience, an all-breed agility trial, a seminar on new regulations, a sweepstakes for Lhasas whose long coats have been cut down, and more! I'll post more information as the months go by and the actual schedule is set.

Life is better when you have a Lhasa to love you!


Joyce