More Photos, No News!

Thanks to Kathy R. for creating and sending me the lovely Lhasa Apso garden!

I heard from Mary, Gabe's owner. Gabe is a litter brother to Rafe. She sent some great photos of him. Here is my favorite of Gabe batting his paw.

And here he is, just chillin' out....

Windy's babies are growing. Here are their pictures at 10 weeks. They are in alphabetical order: Archie, Bandit, Cherry, Josh, Sassy, and Ty.

These puppies enjoy following me everywhere. Here they are, flummoxed by the stairs.

 And here they are taking action.

Rafe and Maggie's puppies are growing fast too!
Here are the two males. Their new families have named them. Andy is on the left and Magoo on the right.

The girls' families have not named them yet.

They are a bunch of charmers. Love 'em all!

I hope you enjoyed the photos!

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

Joyce

Pictures...Lots of Pictures

Springtime is the land awakening.
The March winds are the morning yawn.
~Lewis Grizzard


Saturday, I saw a robin on the front lawn -- my first "robin sighting" of the season. Saturday, I went shopping and was able to leave my winter coat in the car. Sunday, I woke up to snow and cold windy weather. By noon the snow had melted. We've had cold, snow, wind, drizzles, fog, and sun. I guess it must be spring!

For your enjoyment, I am posting the latest puppy pictures.

First we have photos of the Breaker and Windy puppies. These puppies are wonderful. They are a handful, that is for sure. What one doesn't think of the others do, but they are so sweet as they go about their destruction (just joking about the destruction part!). Multiple times daily I change and straighten the newspapers and piddle pads. Within seconds of my turning away, the play begins. After all, what is more fun than playing tug with piddle pads and hearing a satisfying rrrrrrrr.... rip of newspaper and romping through the resulting pieces? Bones are fun, and so are toys, but it's more fun to pull the throws off the sofa, untie dad's shoelaces, and chase the cat.

They've learned the routines. When I leave for work in the morning and again at noon and when it is time for bed, I just say, "C'mon babies, let's go in your house." They come running (well...okay most of them are already under my feet) and wait to be picked up and put in their pen. One of them, little Miss Sassy, is always the last to go in. She has learned that if she goes into the family room and lies on the dog bed, she'll have some extra time before it's her turn to be picked up.

Poor Boris (he's the cat, a Russian Blue). I'm sure he dreads the run though the gauntlet each time he goes downstairs to get a drink, eat some food, or use his litter box. He gets even by getting them to chase him, then running up the steps. He'll often sit at the top of the stairs and taunt them, knowing they cannot climb the steps. Sassy tricked him the other day when she figured out how to climb. The others watched as she made it up four steps. Boris bolted and smart little Sassy turned around and figured out how to get back down!

Ty and Bandit, 9 weeks

Archie and Josh, nine weeks

Cherry and Sassy, nine weeks

And here are just some candids taken one evening as they were hanging out in the family room...

We took - or tried to take - some video but the puppies are intrigued by the camera and stop what they are doing as soon as they notice someone pointing a camera in their direction.

Rafe and Maggie's puppies are now three weeks old. They are so chubby. She must be feeding them cream and not milk. It's amazing to see the differences of six weeks between the two litters. The young ones are moving around their pen, exploring a bit (but they get very tired!), and trying to play with each other.

Here they are...

The girls, 3 weeks

The boys, 3 weeks

See what I mean???

I had email this week from friends and Lhasa family (i.e., those who have purchased one of our Lhasas). Thanks again, Kathy R., for your email which lightened my heart and brightened an otherwise dreary day.

Barbara sent a picture of Daisy that was meant to assure me that Daisy was not spoiled! :-)

Daisy...definitely not a spoiled Lhasa!

My daughter sent pictures of my granddog, Henri, an Affenpinscher.

Henri coming home from the groomer's

Henri sacked out on the sofa

I received a call from one of our librarians who asked me if I'd participate in the summer reading program for children ages 4-8. The theme this year is "Paws for Reading." So, I'm on the schedule for early June. I chose a book (see image below) and will take whichever puppy I decide to keep and/or Lila, a show lead, and some grooming tools, and will talk a bit about Lhasas and dog showing. (Attention spans will be short, so it'll be a brief presentation.) I'm also taking a lot of my old show ribbons to give to the children who want them. It should be fun!

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

Joyce

Finally...Some New Photos!

March is an in between month, when wintry winds are high. 

But milder days remind us all, Spring's coming by and by.  

~Author unknown 

My husband, Lynn,  and I had conflicting schedules last week. I was away at a workshop and returned home the afternoon of the morning he left for an out-of-state conference. Since he is the photographer, puppy photos did not get taken until early this week.

Sunday the puppies had their first experience with a bath and a blow dryer. Cherry was the loudest protester of the six. By the time her bath was over, I was almost as wet as she was! This is a week of firsts: later today they will have their first experience in a travel crate, their first car ride, their first appointment for checkups at All Pets, and their first vaccinations. They'll be tired by the time we get home, and perhaps will settle down and take naps for a while.

They are wonderful puppies - lovely, lively, and smart. Like a swarm of two-year-olds, they are curious and into everything. Last night, for example, they discovered that tugging on the phone cord resulted in the phone falling on the floor, a loud bang that shocked and scared them. But a minute later, they were back at it. I suppose they wanted to find out if they'd get the same result!

Our family room and utility room have changed appearance as the puppies have extended their investigations. There are gates up everywhere, creating barriers for not only the puppies but also for Lynn and me. Life is a challenge with six lively, curious puppies dogging your every step.

A friend stated in a recent email, "You must be busy with all those puppies." Yes, I am. I love them though, in spite of the fact that they are constantly trying to trip me as I walk across the floor. They've made up a game called "Who Can Get Out of the Gate Before Mom Closes It?" The girls are the winners so far.

Speaking of games, the fun of shredding piddle pads and tearing up newspapers has been discovered. Sometimes their room looks like a disaster area -- but they are having fun! They are happy puppies and entertain themselves, stopping by to check in with me now and then, as long as I am in sight.  

I am vigilant. We recently remodeled our family room, and I have horrible visions of the new baseboards being chewed on as the puppies begin to teethe.

So  here are the recent photos...

Archie and Josh, 7.5 weeks

Tyler and Bandit, 7.5 weeks

Cherry and Sassy, 7.5 weeks

Next time I post, I'll put up photos of Maggie's babies. We have not taken any since they were born. They will be two weeks old tomorrow and should have eyes open soon and be more photogenic. Four of the five are plump. The fifth is our "runt" and, hopefully, like the little duckling Ruby in the children's book Ruby In Her Own Time, will do things her way and eventually catch up to her larger siblings.

In this day and age being a dog breeder is difficult because animal rights groups tend to paint us with an unflattering brush. They also try to "guilt" people who want to buy a purebred into instead adopting a dog from the shelter. I've had a couple of puppy buyers tell me that their friends gave them a hard time about buying a purebred. Recently, Michelle Gonsalves' article, "Neither of My Dogs Killed A Shelter Dog," was published in Show Sight. She makes some excellent points, and I hope you take time to read her article.

I had good news from my friend, Marsha. She wrote, "Twist and I got the job done today and finished that Open Standard Agility title!  He is now officially CH MLS Desiderata Twist RN OA NAJ." Congratulations, Marsha and Twist! Twist is dear to my heart. He lived with me for a few months when he bred our Secret.  One of results from that breeding was my Ch. Joyslyn MLS Dakota Playboy at Heart ("Zach").

Mary emailed  this week and told me she and Belle have one leg toward Belle's Rally Advanced title and were working on some foundation agility. Mary sent these photos of Belle, taken at the fun run agility trial.  Belle is indeed a beauty!

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

Joyce