Updates and Some Photos

Isn't it appropriate that the month of the tax begins with April Fool's Day and ends with cries of 'May Day!'?~ Unknown

Happy April! Happy Spring! I noticed there is a tulip hesitantly coming up in the flowerbed. The robins are busy in the yard. Geese are flying north. Spring must be here. Finally.

This week has been so hectic, but lately they all seem to be. I took Rafe and Windy to class in Peoria on Tuesday night. We were in a different building for this class, and Windy was back to holding her tail down or at half mast and acting jittery when gaiting. She is perfect when stacking. I wish Rafe was! She is entered in shows this weekend and, while I was getting optimistic about her, now it's hard to be. It takes her a long time to get over the newness of a situation and, in the ring, we don't have the luxury of an hour-long class. Keep your fingers crossed for us. We'll keep trying until I think it is hopeless. I know from previous experiences with my Dancer and Belle that not every dog enjoys being a show dog. A person has to respect that.

Spring is a time of new birth, so I am optimistically announcing that we have puppies on the way, due in early May. As yet, I have no proof of pregnancy.

Speaking of puppies, here are the latest photos of Duncan and Gus, Raven's boys, now 10 weeks old. I wanted to get a good look at their structure last night so I shampooed them, flattened their coats close to their bodies and Lynn took some photos of their heads, fronts, rears, and profiles. The boys were wet, chilly, and not 100% cooperative, but we got some decent pictures. I won't include all the wet photos here, but we also took some of them all fluffy and dry after their baths. As a side note: Neither appreciated the bath and I ended up nearly as wet as they did!

Gus

Duncan

And here are the boys after they were dry:

Gus

Duncan

Gus

Duncan

I love getting emails about the puppies we have sold. I'm so appreciative when people check in and send photos and/or updates on their Joyslyn's dogs. No matter how old the dogs are, I enjoy hearing about them and their lives.

Dan, Maria, and Claire sent a nice note about Ella (aka Ellie at our house): "Wanted to share some things about Ella... She has been doing great and loves the outdoors for potty time and is becoming quite the guard dog shooing away the robins from the yard.  She has started her pet training and seems to really enjoy it. We are in week four coming up and Ella has learned to sit, watch me, down, leave it and drop it.  She is not afraid of other dogs in the class and enjoys all the people who stop to watch her.  She definitely steals the show.  Once again, thank you....we love her so much!"

Ella

Judy, Whisper's owner, sent me a photo of Whisper in her new Easter dress. Judy says, "She is so precious, Joyce. As much as I have the ability to write, I don't believe that I have words to express my love for Whisper. Her eyes just look right into my soul, and there is so much love and trust in them. Thank you for her." Whisper is a litter sister to Raven and Maggie.

Whisper modeling her new Easter dress

I had a bit of emotional trauma last weekend when I decided it was time to clip Walker down. Grand Champion Joyslyn MiToya Wind Walker is now 10 and a half (his 11th birthday is at the end of September) and, while I knew after he retired from showing that I would probably not show him again, I still wanted to keep that option open for the occasional veteran's classes that some shows offered. I finally faced facts, the main one of them being that he would probably be much happier without all that heavy coat and constant grooming. So I clipped him. I'd shed tears earlier when I first made the decision, so while the event was a solemn one for me, I got through it. Afraid I would back out if I did not make the first blade stroke one of  "no return," I first ran the clipper over his head and cut off the braids. It was so hard for me. Walker is unfazed by it and, yes, I think he is enjoying being clipped. I have not yet taken a photo of him. The next moment of trauma and tears came when I ran my fingers through the pile of coat lying on the floor, appreciating its distinct color and great texture, and then looked again at my nearly naked dog!

Walker when he was being Specialed

 As you probably know, I have a number of articles about Lhasas posted on my website. Seventeen of them also appear on the Ezine site. Ezine sent me some stats the other day to give me an idea of which articles were the most popular. The top one is about Lhasas and children with 1761 readers since it was published. Two of my grooming articles are next highest in popularity with combined total of 1221 readers since their publication. "Trimming hair around eyes" and "bathing your Lhasa" are the topics of those two articles. When we bought our first Lhasas back in the early 1970's, little information was available about the breed, and we lived in a small Nebraska town where no one had show dogs, let alone a Lhasa Apso. What we learned in the beginning was by trial and error regarding grooming. The mistakes were many, and once I did find help, I decided that one thing I could do for others was to share what I had learned. That's how my monthly column in Dog World magazine came about in 1976 and that is why I've posted articles on my website and Ezine.

You might want to check out this website that offers some good deals on toys, treats, chews -- up to 75% off (notice I said "up to!"). The company also has free shipping.

And, for those of you who feel stressed and need to relax, I found this helpful article containing a stress reliever I'm going to try -- as soon as I can find the time to relax! LOL
Seriously, it's on my to-do list!

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

Joyce