Friday, January 30, 2015

The Latest Photos


To err is human—to forgive, canine. ~Anonymous

 First, I want to let everyone know that our Lhasa email address has changed because the company hosting our website has decided to go out of the website hosting business. The new email address is posted on the Joyslyn's Lhasa Apso website, which will soon move to a new website hosting company. The new email is joyslynslhasas@outlook.com.

This week has been a busy one with the new puppies. They are now a month old, which is hard to believe. Time really does fly. It was kind of a shock to write "January 30" and know that January is almost gone. Then I realized February 1st is on a Sunday, which meant today is payday! That's always a good day!

Below are pictures taken this morning of the puppies. They are exploring and wanting to eat out of their mother's food dish,. Windy is a food hog and highly disapproves of sharing, so she now has her meals away from the puppies. They are playing with each other, reacting happily at the sound of my voice, and sometimes actually using the piddle pads for their intended purpose.

The boys, Liam and Noah

Two of the girls, Cora and Abby

Two of the girls, Mysti and Lacy

Another of the girls, Coco
Aren't they all just adorable?!!!

It's been fun hearing from some owners of Joyslyn's Lhasas this week. Catherine, who bought our Hannah after Hannah retired, sent me an update. ( She re-named her Annie.) Catherine wrote, "Annie (Hannah) is still going strong. She'll be 16 in April. She's still pretty spry, though she's losing a bit of eyesight and hearing."
Here is a photo of  Annie with her Shih Tzu friend Mini.

Barbara, Daisy's owner has been hospitalized lately and family is taking care of her Lhasa, Daisy. She emailed that Daisy, "..is such a trooper - love her dearly and cannot wait till I can have her with me again.  Here is a pic of her from this summer - priceless.  Have to tell you story how Brandi watches over her… thought you'd like to see my PRECIOUS PUPPY "PP" like Tom called her - thank you again for letting me have her."

Here's Daisy with her friend Brandi.





From Dawn about Bailey: "I apologize for not sending you a picture of Bailey lately.  She is 11 months old today and doing very well.  She loves playing with tennis balls and will play until she collapses!  She is going through her coat change and it has been rough getting her to cooperate with her daily brushing.  I have decided to get her hair cut short for the time being.  Hopefully it doesn't get too cold again because she loves the outdoors! Attached is a photo we took just last week. We think she is gorgeous, but we are prejudiced I am sure!"

Bailey with her tennis ball

I also heard from three people who own littermates to Josh. Miranda sent this picture of Brigsley.

LaVonne  sent a picture of Cinder as she was getting ready for a bath.



And Kyle and Trish sent pictures and a note about Fin, "Hope you enjoy the photos as much as we enjoyed taking them!  Fin has been such a wonderful addition to our family, we really can't put it into
words!  From the moment he jumps into bed in the morning to supplement our alarm clocks, to his daily 8pm nap on the floor, until he lays at the foot of the bed at night, he is constantly filling our day with laughs and smiles."

Here is one of the cute photos they sent of him.

That is the major news of this week. The big chore over the weekend will be to move the puppies out of their whelping pen and into a roomier area. Luna, Josh, and Henri will be the ones who are most upset since they are used to hanging out where I plan to put the puppies. Actually, though, it might be Boris, our cat whose litter box has to be moved, who will be the most upset!! Yikes!

Wish me luck!

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


Joyce





Friday, January 23, 2015

More Pictures and Little Else






"When you feel lousy, puppy therapy is indicated." ~ Sara Paretsky


 Are you ready for your latest Lhasa Apso puppy fix? Duncan and Windy's puppies are growing and getting cuter by the day -- certainly becoming more photogenic. They are now three and a half weeks old. They are exploring, wagging their tails, trying to play with each other, and doing their favorite thing at nap time -- lying in a puppy pile, some on their backs, some on their bellies, some with heads cradled on a littermate's belly or back. All in all, they are a pleasure to watch and cuddle with.

Last weekend our granddaughter, Klara, came to spend the night. She wanted to name the puppies, so we did. I rejected some of the stranger ideas she had for names. In the end, she named most of them after her third grade classmates.

So let me introduce you first to the two boys, Liam and Noah:

 And here are Cora and Abby:

And the two black and tan girls, Mysti and Lacy:





And last but never least, little Coco (I got to name her!):




Today is Duncan's birthday. He is two years old! In honor of the occasion, we took some pictures. He has such a pretty face and eyes. I hope the puppies inherited that from him. It's hard to tell at this point.


Not to be left out, Josh thought he needed his picture taken again too. Remember that his birthday was last week. He was a year old then. So here are some "Faces of Josh."







With the weather as damp as it was earlier in the week, Josh would come in from outdoors all wet and stinky. He had a lot of foot baths! I want to remind those of you who are trying to keep your Lhasas in coat that one sure way to break off hair is to groom a dirty coat. Before they are groomed, we wash our dogs with a rinseless shampoo diluted with some water. Faces, feet, butts, and bellies (mostly on the boys) get washed. It takes some time but saves coat.

I should mention our "granddog" here. His name is Henri and he's been staying with us since the end of April 2014. Henri is an Affenpinscher.  Formerly an only dog, he has struggled to make a place for himself in our multi-dog (plus a cat) household. A bit jealous of the attention Duncan and Josh were getting during their photo sessions, then refusing his own photo session by hopping off the grooming table and onto the sofa, Henri opted for a pout in the recliner. I took his picture anyway! LOL



I received a short video of Belle from Mary. Belle was videoed during her agility training. Belle is still in full coat and her training is going well. She doesn't like the teeter though! I don't blame her. That thing smacking down could be scary until a dog gets used to the feeling and the sound.

The Johnson family wrote a nice email about their boy Snickers and sent me a picture of him: "Here is our Snickers!!! We can't thank you enough again for him. He is just such a wonderful dog. We love him so much and yes he's totally spoiled!!! All of us say almost everyday how perfect he is and how lucky we are to have him. You have such wonderful Lhasa's. He brings us such life and laughter. He has such a perfect personality. And yes slowly he is getting better with his haircuts. Lol.
Thank you again."


Snickers is the son of Rafe and Maggie. Here he is, fresh from the groomer!


"The world would be a nicer place if everyone had the ability to love as unconditionally as a dog.”~ M.K. Clinton



Life is better when you have a Lhasa to love you!
~ Joyce Johanson

(and you can quote me on that!)



Joyce



Friday, January 16, 2015

A Weekly "Puppy Fix"



“Petting, scratching, and cuddling a dog could be as soothing to the mind and heart as deep meditation and almost as good for the soul as prayer.”  ~ Dean Koontz, False Memory

Here are the weekly photos of Windy's litter. Eyes are open now and the puppies are moving around a lot more in the whelping box. They prefer sleeping in a pile. Windy is being an excellent mom.

A female and a male

A male and a female

Two more girls

The fifth girl
The puppies' parents are Duncan and Windy. Their photos are below.
Duncan --- Ch. Joyslyn's Highly Classified

Windy --- Ch. MLS Dakota Dancing in the Wind at Joyslyn


Here is a photo of Autumn, a Joyslyn's Lhasa that owner Kristi posted  on her Facebook page.




Autumn is now 7 years old. Kristi wrote, "Autumn loves her toys and her beds yes I said beds cause she has more than one. She has the one in her kennel then the one here. Well I was cleaning and put her toys in her bed well this is what she did! That's one silly dog!!!"

There's that Lhasa sense of humor and fun!



 That's all for this week. Stay warm, keep busy, be kind, and love your dogs!

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


Joyce






Friday, January 9, 2015

Happy 2015!



"We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year's Day."~ Edith Lovejoy Pierce


I hope each and every one of you had a enjoyable holiday season. The time went quickly at our house. We are fortunate to work in a university environment that allowed us a 9-day break this year. The worst part for me was having to go back to work on the 2nd! Ugh...a Friday! I did it but ended up being the only person in my office. The staff all decided to use up vacation time instead.

We had a great family Christmas and a dull New Year's Eve. Both of us were down with colds on New Year's Eve and asleep long before midnight!

The holidays being what they are, we received annual Christmas greetings from some people who have Joyslyn's Lhasas and who keep in touch now and then (for which we are very grateful). Giza's owner, Sharon, sent photos and wrote, "I can't say enough to tell you what a special little dog she has been. So sweet, cuddling with one of us is her favorite thing to do…She loves large stuffed animal  toys to play with that squeak…All in all she is a happy little dogs and loves everyone. She has a lick for everyone and we love her very much."Giza is 9 years old now and very beautiful. Here is my favorite of the pictures Sharon sent.


 Mark wrote about Lili (pronounced "LeeLee" and known as Lila when she was at our house): "…her coat is incredible, the legs look she has pants on. Her personality is way too fun. This morning it was about 12 degrees, the cold doesn't faze her a bit, she lounges around laying with her legs spread out on the frost covered deck patiently waiting for Tam to do her business before she can come in! She is the queen at our vets office. They all love her .... She gets tons of love, and gives it back!"


We heard from owners of three of Rafe's littermates, Griffin, Gabe, and Zora. Penny wrote in her Christmas note, "Griffin is a wonderful little boy. We are so lucky!" Here is the picture of Griffin.




Mary sent a photo of Gabe.


 Laurie and Matt sent a photo of children and their three Joyslyn's Lhasas (from left) Zora, Hunter, and Zeus.

The card noted that "Zeus, Zora, and Hunter are therapists to all." Knowing how much I enjoy hearing about the dogs, in a later email, Laurie wrote about Zeus, saying, "Zeus has decided he loves dog beds.  He got really excited when I bought new faux fur lined dog beds…He knew that I bought them with him in mind.  Some women collect purses and shoes; Zeus collects dog beds."

About Zora, she said, "Zora was so funny this Christmas.  She kept finding my hiding place for her presents (lots and lots of squeaky tennis balls - she has a tennis ball obsession).  She got really excited when we hung the stockings.  The dogs have their own stockings, and Santa gives the dogs toys.  Christmas morning she went flying downstairs and knew that she would have something in her stocking.  It's like having a permanent 3 year old each Christmas."

She wrote that "Hunter is the family scapegoat, but he does not mind.  As the third child he'll take all attention he can get.  He likes to bark at noises outside.  You can't look at his happy face and wagging tail without picking him up to give him a hug.   Meaning he is both obnoxious and sweet at the same time.   I laughed at paw prints at the first snow.  Zora and Zeus have dainty prints.  Hunter has big bear paw prints with big nails.  His looked like a wild animal.  He is so big - I tell him all the time that there must be some bear or Tibetan Terrier in him.  He just wags his tail and agrees.  Did you notice how pretty his adult face is?"  (Yes,  I did!)



Judy sent email about Raven and Maggie's sister, Whisper. "…she really wants to snuggle. She is still very kissy, but has leveled out a lot there, and balances it with snuggles. She wants the affection and affirmation, I believe. She loves to look at me and every single time I marvel at the beauty of her face and especially those small brown eyes that are just so bright and inquisitive. Whisper is still very attached to tennis balls and continues to play with them daily. It amazes me how many hours a day she can amuse herself by just playing with the tennis ball like a cat would play with a mouse."






Catherine posted greetings on my Facebook page along with a photo of Magoo and Mallory. They also have an abundance of coat!





Ken sent a card and letter about Davy, Ch. Joyslyn's Heartthrob, describing their nightly play routines and Davy's cute mannerisms, especially the parade of toys Davy drags out and displays for admiration. He said, "...he slowly marches each one to show me. Of course, I always act surprised [and admire each one]...and of course he just beams with pride. Each night it is the same routine. He never tires of it..."


Here are the latest photos of Luna, who has yet to receive an official AKC registered name. I've got a couple good ideas, all having something to do with the moon, of course! She is now 3 months old and looking good. She has a great attitude which I hope will carry to the show ring. She will need to go to conformation training class soon. We're putting off going to shows until Spring. Unfortunately, there are so few Lhasas being shown now that we have to choose the shows carefully, making sure there will be other entries before we write the check to pay entry fees!



An exciting event occurred on December 30—Windy had puppies. Labor and delivery went well. We had some nerve-wracking moments when one puppy was full of fluid and not breathing, but eventually we got that straightened out. Here is the group taken at one and a half weeks old. The first two puppies on the left are the boys.


I will continue to post photos as they grow.

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


Happy New Year!

Joyce