Goodbye Cutie

Cutie passed away last night. She was fine yesterday AM ... alert, happy and digging into her food like crazy. At noon when I came home she was up and using her piddle pad, happy to see me. By evening, she was lethargic and refused to eat. She just stayed curled up with her toy under her blanket, and that is how I found her this morning.

I blame myself of course. I needed to take her to the vet for an exam when I took the others for their shots. I wanted to find out if the vet could discern a reason for her being so small. We discovered that at 7 weeks and 4 days she weighed less than a pound! In spite of her size, she was active and eating and her heart sounded fine.

I just think the trip to the clinic took a lot out of her, in spite of my precautions of wrapping the crate in heavy blankets and heating the car well before we left. Perhaps she caught a chill or, with her depressed immune system, picked up some fast acting bug at the clinic. Or maybe it was simply her time to go.

I'm terribly sad. Even after all these years and litters, the loss of a puppy affects me. I dropper and bottle fed her since she was 3 days old until she was able to eat by herself. In my heart I knew she was probably not destined for a long life, but never ever did I expect her to go so quickly and without warning.

I know there are some breeders who might simply let a tiny, struggling 3-day old puppy die. I could not bring myself to do that. I had to try and actually thought I'd succeeded. I'll miss the little thing whose intrepid spirit inspired me and whose cute little toddling across the floor always made me smile.

Don't even ask me what I will tell my granddaughter. Cutie was "her" puppy since the day I let her help me give Cutie the bottle!

Life is sad when you lose a Lhasa you love...


Joyce

Happy New Year!

Let this coming year be better than all the others. Vow to do some of the things you've always wanted to do but couldn't find the time. Call up a forgotten friend. Drop an old grudge, and replace it with some pleasant memories. Vow not to make a promise you don't think you can keep. Walk tall, and smile more. You'll look ten years younger. Don't be afraid to say, 'I love you'. Say it again. They are the sweetest words in the world. ~ Ann Landers

Happy New Year, Everyone! My hope for each of you who take time to read this post is that you will find peace, happiness, and prosperity in 2010. (Actually I hope that for everyone I know, whether they read this post or not!)

I've posted the latest pictures of the puppies and find it hard to believe they are already 7 weeks old! On Christmas Day our 3 year old granddaughter decided to name the small puppy, "Cutie." (She is pictured by herself.) So far, she is the only one with a name. Since I am not sure which puppy I want to keep, I have been hesitant about naming them. Names have a way of sticking and generally it takes me a long time to decide what to call a puppy I plan to keep, so I don't want him/her to get stuck with some random name! It's easy to have "nameless" puppies now that the kids are away from home. When they were young and lived at home, the puppies always had names – and not necessarily clever ones. Trevor especially came up with some odd names for the pups and I had to quickly come up with something else so his odd name would not "stick!"

One of our black dogs, Bert, was born when we lived in Nebraska and the kids were 10, 5, and 2. Bert was a chubby little guy, definitely adorable but I certainly had no plans to keep him. The kids started calling him "Fat Albert," after one of the characters on the Bill Cosby cartoons they frequently watched. Fate intervened and "Bert" became a keeper. His registered name became Ch. Joyslyn's Masquerade, but we all knew and loved him for many many years as plain ol' "Bert!"

Last year when we had Christmas puppies, the names came easily (Holly, Spirit, Bell, Decker, and Nick). This year we are back to referring to the pups as the "little puppy (now Cutie)" or the "light girl" etc. Of the 4 boys, we had so much trouble telling 3 apart that one got red nail polish on his right ear, another got it on his left, and the third remains unmarked! The fourth male is darker than the others so he is easy to spot!

I thoroughly enjoyed our Christmas break. One really nice thing about working at the university is the lengthy Christmas break we get. The weather was cold and snowy so it was nice to have time to stay inside, play with the dogs and puppies, watch some TV, and curl up with a blanket and good book. I admit to being ready for it to end though. I was becoming a slug!

One interesting thing that happened was visitors from Mexico! I received a phone call late one afternoon from someone in Macomb who told me he had relatives visiting from Mexico who owned a Lhasa and who had seen my website and wanted to come to visit and see the puppies. We ended up with 11 people in our family room and had a great time talking about Lhasas and playing with puppies!

A memorable moment came early New Year's Eve morning when I happened to look out a bedroom window and see four deer curled up sleeping in our backyard! I watched them bed down in the same spots that night and on New Year's Day watched them walk leisurely across our lawn, across the street, into the neighbor's yard and disappear behind the neighbor's house. We have not seen them since. I guess they found a better place to sleep. Not being a person who is fond of deer, mostly because the tend to jump in front of cars around here, I was still a little awed by the sight of them in the backyard. They are pretty when they are not standing on the shoulder of the road threatening to bound across the highway!

If you don't already have a Lhasa to love, may you find one in the New Year! Life is good when you have a Lhasa to love you!

Joyce

Merry Christmas

"My idea of Christmas, whether old-fashioned or modern, is very simple: loving others. Come to think of it, why do we have to wait for Christmas to do that?"
~ Bob Hope

As Christmas draws near, I want to wish all those who read my blog a wonderful day, no matter where or how you spend it. At our house, we'll have nearly all our family (which isn't that large to begin with). We'll be missing Erikka and Chris who live in Miami and were unable to make the trip back to Illinois this year. Our youngest is coming home from college. Our oldest, his wife, and daughter live here in Macomb but will be staying overnight on Christmas Eve. Our granddaughter is 3 years old, so Christmas morning will be especially joyful for her when she FINALLY gets to open all those presents she has been patiently eying for the past couple weeks. To be honest, I have admired her restraint.

The puppies will be 6 weeks old on Christmas Day. Puppy pictures (taken at age 5 weeks and 3 days) are posted with this narrative. The single puppy is the tiny female. She is the light of our granddaughter's heart because she is so tiny and obviously easy to tell apart from her littermates. Too bad her parents won't let her have a dog! Imagine, my son being raised with dogs his whole life and now preferring a cat! She has to get her "dog fix" when she visits our house.

The picture of the two puppies is of the other females. The one of 4 puppies is of the males. Everyone is happy and active. Their mom has decided that if I'm going to feed them that I should also have the privilege of cleaning up after them! Oh boy…

Merry Christmas to you all, and in the words of Charles Dickens' Tiny Tim, "God Bless Us, Every One."

Life is good when you have a Lhasa to love you … and the warmth and love of family and friends at Christmas.

Joyce

Puppy Update and Other Things

Christmas has definitely "hit" our house. The tree finally managed to get up and decorated. The presents made it from shopping bags and delivery boxes into "piles by person" on the bed and floor of one of the bedrooms, then into wrapping paper or gift bags and finally under the tree. The office Christmas party—complete with white elephant gift exchange, an annual event that all of us at my office look forward to, is now a fond memory. We have a bunch of great cooks around here who outdid themselves again this year.

Boris, our Russian Blue cat, is confused by all the changes in our routine and in his house. He dislikes change to his environment and routine so he is upset a lot lately. Being a cat, he is interested in the tree and packages and evidently fancies himself a present because we often see him nestled among the gifts napping. He leaves the tree and ornaments alone, thank goodness. He leaves the majority of gifts alone except for the ones in gift bags. He is fascinated by the tissue paper and has managed to "fringe" the edges of all the tissue paper he can sink his teeth into. I decided it was a losing battle, so wrapped most gifts instead of going the easy route and sticking them in gift bags. As a friend at the office is fond of saying, "That ain't the hill I'm dyin' on."

So, this has been a crazy week. Getting information about puppies posted kept getting pushed to the bottom of the list! The most recent pictures are posted at the top of this narrative. The puppies were 4 weeks and 3 days when the picture was taken on Monday.

So here is what's new with the babies: First, they've been moved from the 3x3 puppy pen into a 3x6 puppy pen. Now those of you who know about such things might be raising eyebrows and asking, "3x6?? Never heard of it." Well, I had not either until I had a wild idea in the middle of the night. (That happens to me frequently as my subconscious ponders a problem). Anyway, I decided to see if I could put two 3x3's together into a 3x6 by removing a side panel from each 3x3 then attaching the two pens back together. Note that I say "I" but really it was a "we" thing as my husband did the heavy work while I mostly watched and directed!

Cutting lumber as center reinforcements for the floor grates was necessary, as was a bag of large zip ties.

Now the puppies have a large area to play in. Their piddle pads are at one end and blankets for sleeping at the other. Best of all, they are off the floor, which in spite of the efforts of our furnace, seemed way too cold for puppies, no matter how many layers of newspapers and blankets we used. If anyone who reads this wants to try it with a couple of 3x3's, let me know and I'll send a picture and a description of what we did.

I started weaning the puppies today. It's sooner than I generally begin weaning, but Secret is getting tired of them. They are getting curious about the food in her bowl, and she is getting protective of her food and not wanting to share, so... today she got a break and the pups got some mushy looking stuff that evidently tasted great because they dug in and ate with a passion! They were still excited to see mom when she came back to spend the day with them! They mauled poor Secret and she gave me a look that said, "And this will be over when???"

As Christmas approaches, so does Belle's first birthday! She and her litter mates were born on Christmas morning last year. Oh my, what a mess that was as we prepared for company and took turns delivering puppies. What beautiful little gifts Flame gave us that day. The girls: Holly, Spirit, and Belle. The boys: Nicky and Decker. Holly and Belle are the only two whose owners kept their Christmas-y names. I know all 5 of these puppies continue to be blessings to their people.

As 2009 nears its end and we get ready to greet 2010, I wish you all the best. In case I don't get back to you until after Christmas (in spite of my good intentions), I'll share a New Year sentiment that a friend sent me this morning in an email message:
"May peace break into your home and may thieves come to steal your debts. 

 


May the pockets of your jeans become a magnet for $100 bills. 

 


May love stick to your face like Vaseline and may laughter assault your lips!

 


May happiness slap you across the face and may your tears be those of joy.

 


May the problems you had forget your home address.
May 2010 be the best year ever!"

And if I don't get back to you next week, have a joyous Christmas with friends and family!

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

Joyce

Show Results, Puppy Update

Mira and I attended the shows in Belleville, IL this past weekend and came home with no points. She took a third and a fourth place in her class. It was disappointing of course. I was hoping to come home with a new champion, but then, so were a lot of other Lhasa owners. The competition was keen. Many lovely Lhasas were entered.

We had a great time though, for a number of reasons. First, it was the first time Mira has ever gotten to go to a show with me by herself and she enjoyed having all my attention. When Mira started showing last January, I was still trying to show Dancer (who was so scared on the table that I finally had to give up on her. Showing her was just not worth her going into panic.) Then, of course, Breaker was ready to show, and then I was taking Breaker, Mira, and Belle in May. This was a nice change for Mira who loved being the center of my attention for the entire weekend. I liked it too. She is a neat little dog!

Secondly, I was thrilled to see so many Lhasa friends. People came from MO, OH, WI, TN, KY, and IL (I may even be missing some states). We had our own impromptu "specialty." This was the second year for a great turnout at the Belleville shows, so it may become a habit. I hope so. We had a lot of fun. Ronnie Crowder finished his male, taking majors on both Friday and Saturday. Sandy Copeland's bitch finished, taking majors on Saturday and Sunday. It was a wonderful early present for Sandy, whose birthday is this week. Jeannie Cleary's puppy bitch took a major on Friday and Jeannie's male won the major on Sunday.

Third, my Shiba Inu friend Jane showed Mira. I am still in the surgical shoe and limping around so thought it best that I not go into the ring and be a klutz. Jane agreed to show Mira -- as long as I groomed her! Jane did a fantastic job showing her and Mira looked great with and responded well to Jane. I enjoyed the opportunity to watch Mira from ringside and evaluate her performance. She looked great and showed well.

Speaking of Jane, I have to add that we had a thrilling time on Sunday first when her male Shiba puppy took WD for 2 points, and then a few minutes later when he won Best of Breed over five Shiba specials for a 5 point major! He'd also won 2 points on Saturday. Not bad for it being only his second weekend of showing.

We also managed to squeeze in a couple hours of Christmas shopping Saturday night. It needed to be done! The holiday is sneaking up on me. Our tree is not even up yet!

On the subject of puppies, the "kids" are growing and looking great. The most recent photos are at the top of this post. The picture with 4 puppies is of the boys; the one with three is of the girls. They get cuter each week! The little girl is growing. The supplemental feedings are doing the trick. When I pick her up now, she immediately starts sucking. Talk about "conditioned response!" LOL! One of my friends at the show recommended Tomlyn's Puppy Vitamins for the puppy, saying she had had great luck using them when she had a situation similar to mine. The vitamins must be tasty because the puppy was smacking her lips after the first dose!

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

Joyce

Puppy Update

My website has an article on it that refers to Robert Fulghum's All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten and applies his list to showing and breeding dogs. Since the puppies were born I've especially been aware of the item "Be Aware of Wonder."

Here is what my article says under that item: "As a breeder, you are a god -- your decisions on which dog and bitch to breed affect not only one particular litter of puppies but also the lives of the people who purchase your puppies, not to mention the future of the breed itself. Be conscious of the wonder of it all. Too many breeders see puppies as little dollar signs, rather than as individuals that may have a profound effect on the future. Who's to say that that tiny 5 oz. puppy won't someday become the breed's top winner or top-producing champion? Be aware of the possibilities and the wonder of life."

On November 13, I helped Secret bring seven new lives into the world and since that time I have worried over them as I watched each new step in their development. I have been in awe of the miracle of it all, from removing each puppy from its sac and cleaning it to making sure it was nursing and now to watching as they grow and take on individual personalities.

I've especially been amazed by the "runt" puppy, a little girl that I have come to respect and admire a great deal. She is as cute as can be, quite small compared to all her siblings and a few days behind in her development compared to them (e.g., her eyes opened three days later than everyone else's). She is also very determined! I started supplementing her with puppy formula and a bottle when she was three days old. She loves her bottle and goes after it with a passion. She also nurses when the bigger puppies are not pushing her out of their way and off the nipple. The big lugs! She is not above pushing back, not realizing her pushing has absolutely no effect. She does not give up.

The most recent pictures are posted at the top of this post. The picture with 4 puppies is of the boys. The picture with 3 is of the girls. The tiny one is on the right.

With each litter I am aware that not only will these dogs impact my life but also the lives of the families with whom they will live for the next 10-15 years. It's a huge responsibility and one that hits me at the oddest times. You'd think after 36 years it would be like second nature. I do each breeding for myself, hoping of course that the result will be at least one dog I can keep to show and later add to the breeding program, yet also knowing that I cannot keep them all and I am raising puppies for others to love and care for.

The puppies are now nearly 3 weeks old. They are cute, cute, cute and so much fun to watch as they grow. Most are now trying to get up on their feet and walk rather than crawl. They are an active, yet quiet litter (thank goodness). Secret is a good mom, but I'm sure she is counting the days until I start weaning them so her duties will be over. Seven is a lot to take care of and the bigger they get, the more "mobbed" she'll be feeling at dinner time!

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

Joyce

Not REALITY TV!

I confess to watching a lot of CSI, Law and Order, and NCIS reruns during my recuperation. A CSI NY episode last week had me both laughing at and chewing out the writers for their stupidity and lack of research.

One of the murders took place in the grooming area at a dog show. When one CSI asked another about witnesses, he was told there were no witnesses because when the show events began, the grooming area totally emptied out. What!!!???

It seems the murderer added a drug of some kind to the dog's water bottle, not to kill the dog but to goof up its performance that day so her dog could win. Instead, the dog's handler took a drink from the dog's water bottle and that drug interacted with her prescription meds and killed her. Okay. Plausible. BUT…the dog's water bottle, as depicted on the show, was a baby bottle!! Seriously. It showed the handler sucking on the bottle's nipple first, then offering it to her dog to suck! What!!!???

My dogs might enjoy chewing on a baby bottle nipple but I can't think of one of them who would SUCK the darn thing!

At the end of the show, two of the main characters were in the bleachers of what I assumed to be Madison Square Garden, watching the results of Best in Show and betting each other on the winner. The scene looked like the usual Westminster layout, with drapes and carpet and boxes with the breed names on them. HOWEVER, the winner was not revealed by the judge presenting the handler a huge ribbon and trophy. Oh no! Instead, a representative from some accounting firm presented an envelope containing the tabulations. Accounting firm? Envelope? The envelope was opened, and the Best in Show winner announced. WHAT!!!???

That was quite enough crime FICTION for me. Good heavens…I know the sport of showing dogs is a mystery to many people, but these writers were clueless. I turned off the TV, snuggled down with Belle by my side, and went back to reading a novel!

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

Joyce