Good-bye January!

Life is a series of experiences, each one of which makes us bigger, even though sometimes it is hard to realize this. For the world was built to develop character, and we must learn that the setbacks and grieves which we endure help us in our marching onward. ~ Henry Ford

As January draws to a close, I reflect on the last few weeks comprised of cold weather, out-of-town meetings, a GPS that took me in circles, definite worry about Mom's sudden illness and hospital stays (she seems okay now), the fun of a staff Christmas party that was delayed because of a December snow storm, the pressure of revising one of the grant budgets at work to determine how to best spend an extra $30,000 (It would have been easy to do had it been my own money!), the joy of meeting new friends who came to pick up their puppies.  It's been a full month for sure. 

Since we have no puppies, I don't have puppy pictures to share, but I do have some notes and photos that others have sent that I would like to share with you.

Denise wrote, "Cooper/ Enzo had his checkup today and the last vaccination.  We will wait until he is about a year for the Lepto vaccine, as he does not go outside. The rabies will be in 2 weeks. She said you had very good records.  All is well.  We are enjoying Cooper very much.  We are trying to teach him to come, since he is hard to catch and scoots backwards and he is quick!  So playful, and he loves that crushed water bottle. Thanks again."

Enzo (now Cooper)

Sharon wrote about Giza: "Another year has passed us by and my Giza is 14 years old now. She is definitely showing a little age for the first time…She likes sitting outside in the summer on the patio furniture and checks to see if the neighbor’s dog is out…We have a good groomer that loves her and grooms Giza every 3 wks. I could go on and on. We love Giza and can’t think of life without her. She is as sweet and beautiful as ever. Loves everyone and everyone loves her."

14 year old Giza

Violet wrote, "Shadow just loves watching TV. Yesterday he was by the coffee table in the living room, the TV is always on here. Roman found him just sitting there  looking up at the TV and just watching it for quite a while. Do your dogs do that?"

The photos above are of Shadow. He is a litter brother to Chance and Bekka. Chance loves to lie on the sofa and watch tv! Bekka? Not so much. Must be a "guy thing!"

Mark wrote, "YoYo spends her time keeping track of LiLi, her shadow, they get along so well. I don't know how but LiLi is so patient with her, YoYo is relentless, they have their routines, play time, lay down time, nap, YoYo knows when it is bedtime, exhaustedly walks right in her kennel, but then when we go upstairs she still yips for a bit?? They are both a non stop entertainment show.

YoYo - a Greta and Josh puppy

YoYo sharing a bed with LiLi (also a Joyslyn's Lhasa)

YoYo pestering her big "sister" LiLi

From Sally: "I just finished catching up on your blog and looking at all the photos of your puppies and everyone's beautiful Lhasas. I have to agree with Kathy~ you have made quite a difference in this world. I am so thankful to have found you and been lucky enough to get one of your puppies. 

"News of Ginger- she had her one year check up and weighs 17.5 pounds..... I'm hoping that is it for her. ha! But she is beautiful and in perfect health. The vet and her techs were in love with her and said they wished I could've bred her so they could have her puppies. ha! 

"I am sending you a few pictures~ sorry so many. One is of snow pants I got her for the sticky snow as she hates it forming balls on her fur, however she is not a fan of the snow pants either as you can see. Then a couple fall pictures and one of her in the hole she dug for herself to cool off. Then of course after grooming with her little red bow in her hair and then climbing a snow bank in front of my apartment. She loves that so much. She isn't fond of her grooming table but it makes it much easier for me. We are doing good with grooming now." 

Ginger, all groomed and gorgeous

Ginger modeling her snowpants

Queen of the Snow Mountain - Ginger!

Michele wrote: "Enclosed is a more recent photo of Trinket taken right before Christmas straight from the groom shop. She is growing up quickly and has made a remarkable recovery from the spaying procedure. Trinket absolutely loves the snow and is enjoying the outdoors and experiencing lots of new things. She has a high energy level much higher than the owner. I am teaching her how to jump over small plastic blocks slightly above the ground  in the back yard in order to provide her with additional exercise.  We need to enroll for another obedience training class. We are adept at sit, down, some heeling but we are having some difficulty with the “stay” command. Practice makes perfect.  One day she will surprise me. She is such a great pet, I love her dearly and could not have had a better choice. So many thanks to you Joyce and all your years of professional experience for breeding such a wonderful Lhasa Apsos. I must tell you that keeping the longer hair free of tangles is a real job. Will transmit another photo in February right after the groom session. Take care and good luck in the future shows."

Trinket - all decked out for Christmas!

This is a photo I received of Davy, who passed away at age 12, still in beautiful full coat. He was spoiled and much loved by his owner. He had over 100 toys!

Davy

 Davy was one of our retired Champions that we placed in a pet home when he was 3 years old. His owner opted to keep him in show coat (with the help of a willing groomer). 

From Mary: "Belle turned 11 years old on Christmas Day. Of my 3, she has the softest personality; always wants a peaceful atmosphere. She is fun when motivated to run, play, outside. She beelines it like a locomotive when I call her across the yard. She has a silly nature at times, brings a smile to all who meet her. She will protect what is hers but doesn't look for a confrontation with the other two. Well, sometimes her and Moka do a pony tail pull and body slam girl interaction. Her love of life is food, as long as it suits her tastebuds. She always finds the squash in her morning meal, pushes it aside, but will reluctantly eat once I put it in my hand. She is always looking for the "cookie" dog treat. Her idol I think was Roman. She followed him anywhere. She is soft with Rafe, able to put her face close to him, inspect for any crumbs he left behin. She and Moka have a sisterly bond, will snuggle together, crate together without a fuss. Belle makes life happy. Thank you for such a great girl."

Belle (aka Joyslyn's Beauty Secret

Mary bought Belle as an adult when I decided (well Belle decided) that she did not want to be a show dog. So I sold her to Mary, who magically turned Belle into a dog who loved rally and agility! Mary also owns one of our retired Champions, Rafe (GCH CH Joyslyn's Inherit the Wind), who happens to be the sire of our Autumn. 

Rafe

Here is a photo of Mary's three Lhasas.

Belle, Moka, and Rafe

Pat wrote, "Enclosed are pictures of my "sweethearts." They provide an abundance of Joy & Love!"

Baron and Willow

With the aid of his owner, Eddie sent me and email: "I apologize for not writing you sooner but I have been exceptionally busy with the holidays. Playing with all my nieces and nephews and spending time at my favorite activity, fetching. Boy oh boy do I love to play fetch! At the risk of tooting my own horn, I am great at it too!

Mommy and Daddy love me and snuggle with me all the time and I return the favor. Mommy refuses to feed me at the grown up dinner table but Daddy sneaks me a tidbit once in a while as long as he knows it is nothing that can make me sick.

 All in all I am extremely happy here and I get along with everybody around me.(Even the Cats!) I remain very healthy and well cared for."

Eddie

Eddie

Something that might be of interest:

Here is the link to AKC’s online Jan/Feb 2020 issue of Family Dog. 

https://link.akc.org/view/5b8e80e32ddf9c2195101267bd67m.9/638293b9

Finally for today's post, an article written by Cathy Blatz of Summerhill Dachshunds

In Honor of Breeders

In the not too distant past the dog Breeder was held in high esteem. It was an honor to be considered a Breeder. Pedigree Dog Food advertised as the food of choice of Top Breeders. The AKC touted the Breeder as the BACKBONE of the pure bred dog sports.

There were always puppy producers out there but they were never considered Breeders. Breeder said it all, the word needed no qualifiers.

Slowly, over time, the Animal Rights (AR) extremists changed the language of the dog world. Pets became companions. Owners became guardians. People were told they bought from a a Breeder, but adopted from a shelter or rescue.

The AR movement found the worst of the sub-standard puppy producing kennels and labeled them "Puppy-Mills." Pictures of these sub-standard kennels proved to be a tremendous money maker for the AR Movement. Rescues and Shelters joined with the AR movement trying to convince the pet loving public that buying from a Pet Store or Hobby Breeder increased the suffering in "Puppy Mills." Adopt don't Shop became the new mantra.

True breeders tried to distance themselves from "Puppy-Mills." They called themselves responsible. They raised their puppies with love and care. Puppy's parents were members of the family, were show champions and health tested. These breeders were always available to their puppies and puppy buyers.

Today even the most dedicated breeder is hounded by the AR extremist, whose ultimate goal is the elimination of all companion animals. Organizations like PETA and HSUS campaign for legislation to make any breeding illegal or to make permits so expensive that very few can afford one. AR organizations want all companion animals de-sexed so there will be no new pets.

True breeders, who pour their hearts and souls into their dogs, struggle to survive the AR onslaught. True breeders still breed the best to the best. They stay up day and night with their moms and new babies. They spend hours, days and weeks handling and socializing their puppies. They agonize to find just the right home for their precious pups.

These Breeders need no qualifiers, they need not make excuses. They are BREEDERS. They provide a valuable service to the future of their chosen breeds and to the pet buying public.

Will these wonderful home breeders survive the AR agenda of eliminating companion animals? Will the minds and eyes of enough animal loving people open to see the truth behind the AR propaganda?

That is up to you. It is up to each of us to learn the truth behind the slick ad campaigns.

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Thanks for stopping by to read this! Until next time!

Joyce

Happy New Year! Welcome 2020!

"Cheers to a new year and another chance 

for us to get it right." ~ Oprah Winfrey

First, I want to thank all of you who sent Christmas/Holiday greetings via cards and email. I hope all who are reading this had a great Christmas and are looking forward to the new year. 

Among my many wonderful Christmas gifts this year, were some Lhasa/dog items, which included the following:

A Lhasa-themed throw -- thanks Rebecca!

Lhasa Figurine -- thank you Marsha!

T-shirt -- thank you Connie and Mary!

You may not be able to read all the words on the t-shirt. It says:

Dog Mom

The reason

I wake up

Every Morning

Really Freaking Early

Every. Single. Morning

So very true...

Speaking of gifts, I got a new phone case before Christmas when I had no idea this one existed, so I missed out. I thought some of you might be interested. This one is very colorful and cute and, best of all, the Lhasas actually look like pretty Lhasas! (Thanks for the link, Jane!)

You can find it on Facebook at

https://www.facebook.com/1712215952162021/photos/new-release-only-available-in-our-storeorder-here-httpswwwteepizzcomdog-lhasa-ap/2786814934702112/

Puppy Pictures

Enzo is leaving early next week. Here are recent pictures:

And if it works the way it is supposed to, here is a video of him chasing his water bottle toy.

Here are the photos of the Breaker and Jenna puppies at age 6 weeks.

Female 6 weeks

Male #1 - 6 weeks

Male #2 - 6 weeks

Male #3 - 6 weeks

Photos and Notes from Others

Mark sent a picture of YoYo, Enzo's litter sister.

Jim sent photos of Daisy. The second one just cracks me up! She must be quite a character!

Maria sent photos of Ella. 

Mary sent a photo of Gabe.

Here is Joe's Abby.

This is Jan and Rick's Zoey.

Sue wrote about Chewie: "He is also the light of our life. He's our little hopping bunny. Todd's playing with him on the floor right now. He's my cuddle buddy. He goes everywhere in the house now and I'm working on taking him to different places in town (Petco, different parks). He did well in his confidence class and we learned several games we still play. Like finding hidden food to practice using our nose or putting good treats in a box with noisy items to get used to different sounds. He loves jumping through the snow (what little snow we had). He also has a job. It's his job to run through the backyard and chase away the geese that are pooping on our lawn when there are a lot of them. He loves this and I need to send you a video. It's hysterical. Chewie running and barking and geese flying and honking LOL."

Here are photos of Chewie, sporting his Christmas outfits.

Molly Ann wrote a great poem about Luna, one of our retired champions whom she bought from us earlier in 2019.

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Luna

Molly Ann also wrote: "I am so grateful for this incredible dog. You are right, she is beautiful inside and out. She is sturdy, steady, responsible and soft. We flew through obedience with ease. She was all over the little "game races" in a class of over 12 dogs. But—when taking the CGC test she suddenly decided  she had never heard the word 'down' before —c’est la vie, we will try again. She goes with me most of the time & has her neighborhood "rounds" every morning. She is truly a blessing!"

"I tried to get her full name in her Night before Xmas parody, but it just would  not fit "sentence sense" or cadence. I presumed your eye would catch it, and it would not mean anything to anyone else, anyway.....

You will always be her  First Mama and I completely understand how difficult it was to part with her. She is incredibly special, remarkably intuitive, so very sweet, with an endearing sense of humor. She is not afraid of anything, eagerly explores everything and introduces herself to almost everyone. I sometimes worry she is too trusting, but I am always there with her. She has two neighbors who bring treats out to her, and another two that always ask us in and let her run around the house (as did the photography studio-"she's so good just let her down on the floor"). One couple asks if I  need to go somewhere, so they can keep her for an afternoon. She received a myriad of Christmas gifts-most not from me!

"It is always reassuring to hear someone say "Isn't  she a happy little dog" or "she is so good". To which I reply, "I cannot take credit, she was raised right". I may never get this written as she keeps rolling her head over the keyboard for more attention…."

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Now if you are thinking I did not tear up when I read that, you would be wrong!

When people ask me about my retired champions, "If you love them, how can you let them go?" and when I ask myself, "How can I ever part with ——," I recall letters like this one and know that my beloved dogs will still be taken good care of, will have good and full lives, will be well loved, and will love in return. That is how I can let them go.

I wish you all a happy and healthy New Year, the ability to handle challenges that arise, the joy to celebrate your accomplishments, and the love of family and friends. 

Joyce

P.S. Never forget....