Will Winter Ever End?

"February is merely as long as is needed to pass the time until March."
- Dr. J. R. Stockton

"If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant."
- Anne Bradstreet


Aren't you all just tired of this weather? Someone emailed and asked how I was doing, and I responded that I felt as if I were just going through the motions of living, doing what needs to be done, and waiting, waiting, waiting…for warm weather, sunny days, flowers and trees budding. The only thing really good about February is that it is short! Even the idea of "March," knowing that it often brings blizzards and chilly winds, seems to lighten my heart because March brings April that much closer.

And… in a few months we'll all be complaining about how darn hot it is!

In the meantime, Zeke, Zach, and Desi are all doing well—eating, growing, loving chew bones and stuffed toys. I've decided on registered names for the two I am keeping. Desi will be Joyslyn MLS Dakota Heart's Desire and Zach will be Joyslyn MLS Dakota Playboy at Heart. I'll leave it to Zeke's new owner, whoever he/she will eventually be, to officially name him.

I'm off to a show in Des Moines, Iowa, tomorrow. What amazes me is that there is actually (for this show and this time of year) a nice Lhasa entry—0-5-2-0. (Translated for those who do not show: no class males, 5 class females, two male specials, and no female specials.) I am taking Walker and Belle. (Will she walk?? Pray for us! I don't care if she wins. I just want her to show!) Next month Mira and Belle are entered in shows in Belleville, IL.

In a previous email, I referred to shampooing the puppies before evaluating them so I thought I'd show you some pictures of Zach when he was wet, to give you an idea of what is under the coat.
So, the picture of the wet dog at the top of the page is Zach, bless his heart!

I hope you all stay warm and cozy…and that the rest of February zooms by so we are that much closer to spring!

Life is good when you have a Lhasa to love you (and to cuddle with you on these cold winter nights – and days!)

Joyce

New Articles and An Important Decision

I've posted abbreviated versions of some of my grooming articles on
ezine. Here is the link if you want to check them out. A couple new ones should appear by mid-February. I also wrote and recently posted two new articles under the "Articles About Grooming" category of my website. They are "Keep It Clean! The Key to a Long, Healthy Show Coat" and "Preparing for a Show: Finishing Touches—Tips on Trimming Pads, Feet, and Coat."

A major afternoon activity today was evaluating the puppies. I have two males that I really really like and I was having problems deciding which to keep. I thought it was Zeke, but the more I watched them, the more I thought perhaps I should keep Zach instead. Decisions, decisions! So this afternoon, I shampooed both puppies, plastered their coats down with the shampoo so we could really see the structure, and then stacked them on the table to go over them. Lynn took pictures of fronts and profiles. The "plaster-the-fluffy-coat-down-with-shampoo" method is one I have used for years. It gives me a chance to see a puppy's structure under his coat and is basically a way for my eyes to acknowledge what my hands have been telling me!

The decision has been made. I will be keeping Zach. Zeke is a great puppy, and I'll now be able to look for a home for him. I'm very glad to have that decision over with. I want to keep the "best" for the show ring and my breeding program, and I had to get quite nit-picky when it came to deciding between the two. But now it's done. I am happy with my decision. No more second guessing!

Now comes the next tough decision…what will the puppy's registered name be??? I'd like to use "Heart" in his name. His mom is "Secrets of the Heart." His grandfather is "Rebel at Heart." He has two half brothers who are "Heartbreaker" and "Heartthrob." I welcome suggestions. You can email me at lhasas@joyslynslhasaapsos.com or just post ideas in the comments section of this blog.

Next weekend I'll be traveling to WI to meet Karen to pick up Alvin. He'll be spending some time here with us while we wait for Dancer to come in season. If nature cooperates, she'll be bred in late February or early March. This was a breeding we tried in August that did not "take," so we are looking forward to having better luck this time by breeding Dancer here at home.

I hope to post some of today's puppy pictures later this week.

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

Joyce