April Showers Bring May Flowers!

 “May, it’s full of all the things that make spring and the brighter part of the year so special. Flowers bud, the sun shines, and new seeds are sewn into the fabric of our lives. May is awesome.” – Jenna Danchuk

First, thank you to all who sent email greetings and cards on the occasion of our 50th Anniversary. We had a nice day.

Puppy News and Photos

Last week, five of the puppies from the Archie and Millie litter left for their new homes. People came from IL, MI, NY, FL, and WA. As always, it was great to finally meet the people I'd been communicating with for so many weeks. The two puppies that are left will be leaving after mid-May. They are Flynn and Nellie.

Nellie

Flynn

Puppies from the Josh and Autumn litter:

Aria

Elsa

Griffin

Kenzi

Maverick

Minnie

You might recall me telling you about Minnie, the 2.7 ounce puppy that my husband has been bottle feeding since she was born. She has recently started eating from the communal feeding dish, but she still likes the milk and the bottle. At age 9 weeks, Minnie weighs 1 pound, 9 ounces.

Here is a video I took of Minnie toddling around the family room.

Which puppies are still available?

We have a male, Griffin, who can leave here anytime now.

By the end of May, we will have one female (either Nellie or Aria) available. 

When Will We Have A New Litter?

I have no idea! Late summer or fall, I guess.

Messages and Photos from Others

From Debi: "Hi Joyce, Hope all is well and that you had a nice Easter! CONGRATULATIONS!!!!  To you and Lynn on your 50th wedding anniversary!  You both look just as happy today as you did on your wedding day. So glad to hear that Pearl did well at your dog show.  All of the new puppies are adorable! We are so happy to hear your little "Minnie" is still hanging in there!  She must be a little fighter!  Adorable of course.  Lynn is doing a great job!  Hope she continues to do well.

Lacey is doing well.  She is quite a picky eater though.  She has mostly boycotted eating the Bill Jac adult blend since I switched her from the puppy blend. I bought another bag of the puppy blend and mixed it with the adult blend and she actually picks out, piece by piece, and eats just the puppy blend. She will eat the rest eventually if she gets hungry, but I have to leave it out all day for her to pick at...She is also picky with treats.  She loves freeze dried liver though, and will do almost anything for that.  I cut it into tiny pieces so she isn't getting too much liver. She will still toss up and play with other treats like she did with her siblings when we first met her, lol.  She can be a goof ball sometimes... We still take her to doggie daycare once a week and she just loves playing with the other dogs...We have our last day of beginner training today.  She is doing well and we have learned a lot.  We are working on loose leash walking.  She does very well with walking at her pace, but we are learning to walk better at my pace, lol.  She is also doing much better with the "wait" command. Everything is going well.  We take her almost everywhere they allow dogs.  She is very good when we take her anywhere.  She is a perfect fit for us! We have so much fun with her! I sent a few new pictures.  One is of her stealing one of my grandson's plastic Easter eggs, lol. I will send more updates soon.

Ginny wrote, "Joyce, I enjoyed reading your blog this month as always. It was good to hear of your adventures with Pearl. I remember how lovely she was the day we visited, as were all the puppies we got to meet. Our little Maple isn’t so little anymore! She is a sweet addition to our crew and as always, we are most grateful for her. She’s our baby❤️This Tuesday she will have her first grooming. I have taken care of her coat at home thus far, and have really enjoyed it, she has done well. I do think that we will choose a medium length coat at grooming  however, as warmer weather is approaching and she will be outside for greater lengths of time. Including a photo of Maple on her perch along with one of our oldest daughter’s cats.

Take care."

Ginny again: Coming home from the groomer after her first visit. The sun through the window really brought out her golden tones.She did wonderfully!Maple🍁Eight months❤️

Stacey, who owns Lolo and Enzo, wrote, "Hope you are doing well. The pics of the Archie & Millie puppies are so cute! Lola and Enzo are both doing well. They are best buds now!
I enrolled Enzo in the Dog Aging Project so we are now citizen scientists!  Here is the link. https://dogagingproject.org if you are interested in being involved in the project also.

Home - Dog Aging Project The goal of the Dog Aging Project is to understand how genes, lifestyle, and environment influence aging. We want to use that information to help dogs and people increase healthspan, the period of life spent free from disease. dogagingproject.org



Mary sent a photo of Rafe and an update on the health of her Lhasas. (She has 2 Joyslyn's Lhasas -- Belle and Rafe.) Her two Lhasa girls are both getting up there in age, with Rafe trailing a few years behind. Rafe still loves his sloth toy and doesn't mind the girls coming by when he plays with it, but the cats are a different story! Mary ended by writing, "I am so glad your dogs learn to drink from bottles. I tried with Moka after seeing Belle using bottle—no way. She doesn't get her face soaked from water dish. it's ok but debris still gets in dish.  Bottles are just so much cleaner....Between puppies and showing....you are busy! Take care."

Rebekah wrote about Karma. "The first night home she was barking a lot in her enclosure at bedtime. I got up around 2am and just rocked her a bit then put her back. The little stinker somehow figured out, between 2am and 4am, how to get out and Rick woke up to her curled up in his clothes next to his side of the bed."

Escape Artist Karma!

Paula wrote that Eleanore (formerly known as Echo) had her first vet appointment. "...all good they love her  they say she is perfect."

Eleanore

DJ wrote about Charlie's (AKA Max) homecoming, "We arrived safely. Some pictures are attached.  He’s a little stressed which I expected since the other dogs, especially the 8- and 4-year-old are all over him.  He slept most of the car ride home.  He was really anxiously initially.  It just turned out he needed to pee outside of a Starbucks.  He was a good boy with that long car ride. 

I can’t thank you enough!  We know we got a great addition to the family.  You and Lynn are such great people.  I will of course keep you posted and send you lots of photos over the months and years!  I’m sure he still misses his original mommy."

Charlie meets one of his new brothers

One tired puppy!

Ruth wrote about Dani, "I just wanted to let you know that everything went well at Dani's vet visit yesterday.  She did very well and the vet said how calm she was during the visit.  She is doing much better with the crate and her snuggle puppy is her best friend.  It really helped her.  She does growl at the dog she occasionally sees at the sliding glass door (her reflection).  I am hoping we can go outdoors this weekend if the rain ever stops."

Marianne reported on her and Kaiju's (AKA Mick) trip home to NY. "Kaiju made it home after a very long day.  We had some weather related delays and didn't get home till 4 am. He was such a good boy!  Took your advice for a wee wee pad in the family bathroom and he did his business. Didn’t make a peep on the plane until after we landed and were lining up to get off.  Then he barked and startled other passengers who had no idea there was a pup on the plane...Now he is meeting the rest of the family and playing.Thank you he is such a joy!"

Debbie M. wrote, "Hello. Hope you are well. Just an update on Sparkles. She turns one on May 6 and we have an appt for her to be spayed in June. I will email the paperwork to you from the vet. She is absolutely fabulous!! I love this dog. So much fun So cuddly. She sleeps with me and has taken over the bed. Thank you so much!" 

Victoria wrote about Honey, "Greetings Joyce! I just wanted to share that today’s Honey's birthday and she got a haircut- the full spa treatment! Ha
She continues to be such a good girl and is oh so playful. She is spoiled with love, enjoys playing with & fetching her toys when thrown by her family. She’s all about the fun. We just adore her!"

Judy G. wrote. "Congratulations on the wonderful article in the monthly magazine. You were very positive about the breed,but saddened for it's  future. I especially liked the pictures by the decades.

Well little Nyx (Note from Joyce: that is Onyx, Pearl's mom) starts a new career in 2 weeks. We will be trying  'fast cat' the 100 yard dash.

She loves to run so I hope she will enjoy it. Last year only 3 Lhasa's had qualifying times, and in 2018 only one.  We need 3 qualifying scores to  get the title. If she is good on Saturday then we will go back on Sunday. The hard part will be me running the dash! It's only judged by qualifying time and by breed.  She loves agility and hopefully this fall we will be ready to trial.

All the other Lhasas are doing fine. TY won't do a down in rally, but he can do everything else with his flair. He still thinks he is  in agility class, so we move quickly through the obstacles."

Violet sent this photo of Shadow enjoying a nap!

And Rafe wrote a note asking why I had not included him on my list of favorites! Poor guy was overlooked! Talk about a dog easy to show and quick to finish! I started him at a show in early July as an older 6 mo. old, and he finished in mid-August, even taking a BOB over adults.

Apologies to Rafe. Here is the photo of his first Best of Breed!

This is one of my favorite photos of the two of us, him because he looks so regal and me because I was young and slim then!

Some Explanation

So, you might be wondering what Judy and Rafe were referring to by mentioning "the article in the monthly magazine" and a "list of favorites."

I was invited to fill out an interview questionnaire for the monthly ALAC Online magazine. What follows are the pages from that interview.

 

American Lhasa Apso Club National Specialty

This year the ALAC National Specialty will be held in St. Louis. Here is the flyer that has the schedule for the 4 days of the National.

If you love Lhasa Apsos and live anywhere near St. Louis - and even if you do not - you should mark these dates and plan to attend. You will see Lhasas from all over the U.S. as they compete in a "Lhasas Only" show!

I'll be there!

Thanks for reading the blog and special thanks to those who wrote and sent pictures. Remember - I have some beautiful puppies left so if you or someone you know is looking, have them get in touch at joyslynslhasas@outlook.com

Joyce

Joyce! It's about Time!!

 I know, I know...It has been over a month since I posted anything except those puppy pictures. So...here we go with some news, some pictures, and some fun.

Indeed April does! Around here we have had rain, snow showers, and high winds. No flowers though. I think March came in a month late!

Today, April 10 is evidently National Hug Your Dog Day. Actually for all of us dog lovers, that's an everyday thing, but it's nice someone made it a national occasion.

I also noticed that today is the beginning of National Dog Bite Prevention Week. And, in honor of that, I am sharing a link to one of my favorite articles by Vicki DeGra: Angel Days and Devil Days - Teaching Bite Inhibition to Puppies. I always recommend it to my puppy buyers and always hope they read it!

Show News and Puppy Pictures

I've been to two show weekends since I last wrote a blog update. Pearl and I went to a show in Maquoketa, IA. She was the only class entry of either sex so basically our weekend added up to an expensive training class, but it was worth it as she was prepared for the show in Manitowoc, WI, the following week. I got home on Sunday evening from IA and was repacked and on the road again Wednesday morning for WI.

The WI show was 4 days and for 3 of those days Pearl did well, taking Reserve Winners Bitch to the 4-point majors two of those 3 days over adult bitches. By Sunday, though, she was done! We walked into the ring, she took one side-long look at the judge, and I knew it was not going to be our day! It wasn't!

Sally (dog mom of Ginger and Jaxon) came from her home in MI to Manitowoc to see Pearl and me do our thing in the show ring.

Here is what she wrote about the experience: "I wanted to thank you again for taking the time to show me around at the dog show and explain what was going on and how the judging goes. My main reason for going was to see you and Pearl in the show ring and the other Lhasas too. When I got there I couldn't believe all the beautiful dogs! The grooming area was great and it made me smile walking through and seeing all the dogs getting washed, dried, and brushed for their show. As I watched everyone I saw excited handlers and owners who were proud to show off their well-trained dogs. One thing I know for sure it is A LOT of work! And then after all that work you don't really know if the judge will see what you see! After I saw all the beautiful Lhasas I got mine to the groomer right away 🙂 I felt  lucky to see the top Lhasa from Hawaii ~ so beautiful and perfect!  I honestly appreciate more than you know your generosity with your time while getting Pearl ready to show. My visit to the dog show turned out to be really fun experience! I'll be keeping track of how Pearl does in her future shows as she is so adorable and a winner in my book 🙂 I wouldn't rule out seeing another show at some point."

I'm glad Sally had a good time and I was happy to see the grownup Ginger and Jaxon in person. I am proud to be their breeder!

If you ever hear there is a dog show in your area, take time to go and watch the judging. There are so many beautiful breeds competing. I will try to let you know where I plan to go so you can visit if you live near and have time. I do know Pearl and I will be in Davenport, IA, from May 12-15. If any of you think you want to attend, let me know and I'll send information about where and when the Lhasas are showing.

What is keeping both Lynn and me busy these days are our two litters totaling 13 puppies! It was not so bad until the moms decided to wean those puppies and turned the feeding and poop clean-up over to me. Also, the other day we had a toenail clipping "party." You do the math: 13 puppies each having 18 toenails. A good time was had by all (except one and she only cried once!)

Here are the latest photos of the Archie and Millie puppies at age 6 weeks. The first 3 are of the males, followed by their 4 sisters. All these puppies have been reserved.

Josh x Autumn had 2 boys and 4 girls. This is a repeat breeding of the one that produced our CH Joyslyn's Embrace The Wind (Emmy), who earned her championship at age 10 months. 

Here are the puppy photos at age 5 weeks. Of these 5, one male and one female have not yet been reserved, so if you are reading this and longing for a puppy, get in touch. joyslynslhasas@outlook.com

If you are counting, you know someone is missing! Some of you already know that there was one very very tiny puppy in the litter (Lynn named her Minnie for obvious reasons). Lynn has been bottle feeding every two hours for the last 5 weeks. She was born weighing 2.7 ounces. We thought for sure she would not make it, but so far she has been a surviver! This morning she was up to 9.7 ounces (still far, far behind her siblings). We are proud of her progress. She is not very photogenic yet, but here is her 5-week picture too. 

 These People Are Celebrating 50 Years 

on April 15!

Then

Christmas 2021

Notes and Photos from Others

From Bob and Jody: "Hi Joyce & Lynn, "Bernie is 6 months old today. We can’t thank you enough for him! He is a sweet little guy.

He has had two chiropractic adjustments (he loves them) and 3 grooming appts. He gets along well with all dogs and people he has met so far. He lives to play catch. And is over 15 pounds-fits into Buster’s harness now. He makes our day! 

I’m waiting on my copy of Corrupted Souls to arrive-can’t wait!
Hope you are enjoying retirement. The dog shows must start up again soon."

From Debi: "Hi Joyce, "Hope all is well and hope you had a nice time at your dog show with Pearl.  The new puppies are all adorable!

Lacey is doing well.  I can't say enough how much of a joy she is!  She is so sweet and makes us laugh every day!  We call her our little ferret because she still loves to steal anything she can.  I am sending you a picture of her stealing my grandson's cup off

of his little table. It's the perfect height for her.  At first we thought it was stuck on her face, but it wasn't.  She just had it covering her nose, lol. 

We have to keep our bathroom doors closed or she will pull all of the toilet paper off the roll in a flash!

She was starting to show fear of other dogs, so we take her to doggie daycare once a week.  Now she loves to play with other dogs, so much that when I took her to her first obedience class she was disappointed she couldn't play with the other dogs.  She did well though.

I think she is going through her coat change.  She started getting mats almost out of the blue.  I had just got the #1 systems spray I saw you had posted about on your blog.  It worked well.  I felt so bad for her because it took me about an hour to get all the mats out, they were close to the skin and she was so patient!  I brush her daily, but maybe I wasn't doing it well enough.  Her coat is so thick and I have kept it quite long because it is

so beautiful!  I am hoping I have a handle on it now, so far so good.

I sent some pictures with this e-mail.  One is of when we took a walk with our grandchildren on the 1st 70 degree day of the year, and stopped at the park.  I was holding Lacey because she got a little afraid of some other children that were screaming.  It got extremely windy toward the end of the day and both Lacey and my hair were blowing in our faces."

From Nanda: "Sometimes Ty likes to let us know how he feels about reality tv. 😂😍"

She also sent this photo. What a shame that boy has no toys! LOL

From Michele P.: "Hi Joyce and Lynn, Apologies for not forwarding photos of Trinket in a timely fashion. Trinket was 3 on March 30th and celebrated her birthday at the Huntley Vet. Office on that day by having her annual physical. We always follow your blog and really enjoy the photos and comments from you and your clients. Trinket has such a wonderful personality and disposition and is loved by everyone.  Thanks to you and you're long history as a prominent breeder and judge.I do promise to send more photos.  She was just groomed and has an unusually thick coat therefore I have been trying to maintain a medium length coat in between the grooming appointments.Thank you for helping me select the most perfect dog.
Love your blog! "

From Jim: "Hi Joyce, daisy is going to be a big sis! We are expecting. I hope that daisy learns to love the baby quickly!"

Congrats Jim, Christina, and Daisy!

Michelle H. wrote: "We bought a chair for our Grandson Connor but Sunny seems to think it’s pretty comfy!" 

She also sent also a photo of Sunny watching over the baby Isla. Good boy, Sunny!

Kathy wrote: "Hi Joyce, We wanted to let you see what Bandit looks like at 61/2 months. He’s had 1 puppy cut and two hair cuts so far. After the last groom he didn’t have much color left They cut it really short. He’s still a puppy, a bundle of energy....He’s not one to sit in our laps, not yet anyway. We are thinking he may need some training as he doesn’t want to come when called, especially if he’s outside. He’s been a great addition to our family, he’s keeping us young!😊 ...Have you had any new puppies? I notice that a lot of people are looking for that breed, so I’m sure you would have homes for all that are born. Hope all is well with you and your family."

Larry sent this:

Hippity Hoppity Easter's On Its Way!

We have grandsons ages 7 and 5 so each holiday I try to find some cute kid-friendly jokes to send them. Here are a few that are going in their Easter cards (along with $ for treats).

Why shouldn't you tell an Easter egg a joke?

It might crack up!

What do you call a mischievous Easter egg?

A practical yolk-er!

Knock Knock!

Who's there?

Sherwood

Sherwood who?

Sherwood like to wish you Happy Easter!

That said, I hope you and your loved ones have a blessed Easter!

Until next time...

Joyce