The home stretch

You've almost made it!
The way I see it, you are all divided into two camps: those who are waiting for a puppy to come home and those who are quite tired of all the puppy talk.
This is the home stretch.
Here are pictures to cap off the the Season of the Puppy, aka the Dog Days.

Niece Maddie cuddling with a new little friend. Maybe not so little.

This is where Maddie slept while she was here. It is the guest room, after all.

Puppy kisses. So sweet.

Maximus and Lockjaw chillin'.

Because I'm a giver...

It  has been arduous couple months around here. What with all the roly-poly puppy wrestling, breaking up puppy squabbles (ahem, Samantha),  eating puppy meals family style 3-4 times per day, puppy poo, friends visiting and children playing and hugging puppies, it has been a delightful but tiring season.
When you try to fit running a business, family and Christmas in around puppy time, things move fast.
So it was time to schedule a puppy vet visit/day spa and just rejuvenate.
We needed some quality "Me" time.
All the puppies were up for it and, with Reader Brenda's indispensable help, we loaded everyone up into the SUV and headed into G-Town.
 It was a quiet and uneventful trip and we enjoyed Christmas music along the way. While it was not exactly Silent Night, nobody was Rockin' Round the Christmas Tree. It was all good.
 Joy to the World.

Everyone is in excellent good health, although one of our little girls had a bit of a cloudy eye due to an eye infection when she was a week old, she is just fine, improving and no treatment is needed. The pups weigh from 8.00 lbs (Samantha) to 11.80. (Maximus)

Sure, we can play in here...but what's out THERE?

Zeus checking out the Vet's office

Brutus looking concerned with the vet and his super-assistant.

Ebony with Dr. Richards having her eye checked.

Lockjaw looking slightly concerned.

Poor, worried Maximus being examined.

Whoa, what a puppy! Dr Richards and his amazing assistant, Amy check out Brooklyn.

Random group shot.

Reader Brenda gets some snuggle time with itty bitty little Maximus.

Ebbie being held by the world's best vet assistant. And best daughter. Did I mention Amy is my girl? :-)

Brooklyn needed to be sedated (NOT!!) during his mani-pedi. They were so relaxed during this visit it was unbelievable.

Max lounging after his mani-pedi. Yep, these pups just need to rein it in and calm down.

Brutus really needed to be heavily restrained during his spa treatments.

Samantha resting after the exam. They obviously were very traumatized by their first vet visit. :-)

Uh-oh

We work hard to desensitize your puppy to every possible situation. You never know when your pup will run into a cartoon character.
It could happen.
Now they are ready.

Happy 302nd!!

This is my 302nd post.
I thought we should celebrate.
A puppy video would enhance the party atmosphere.
Maybe it will even make this headache go away.
Here ya go.

Because I care.

And this little puppy...

....finally found a home!

Congratulations Lisa S. and family on finally finding your bullmastiff puppy, Ebbie.
She misses you already.

I should probably ask permission before I publish your photo for all the world to see....

Naaawww. Where's the fun in that?

Now with Lisa deciding on Ebony, this means that 4, yes FOUR, puppies will be traveling back down to California with my dog-loving sister, Jackie and her amazing daughter, Maddie.

Can you picture this without cringing?

Me, neither.

Be brave, little soldier. Be brave.


Maybe I should  send Lucy down with you to give you breaks.


She's real helpful.


 Sound good?

Before Puppies

Does anyone remember a time before puppies?
Maybe it's just me that can't remember.

I don't even know, but here are some fun pictures and a video.
Maybe I don't want to remember a time B.P.
Wondering...

Maxinus...advertising for Meyer Duct Cleaning. And a broom.

What do you mean nobody has picked me yet? I'm the last one? Nooooooo!!

Bellying up to the bar. Or the trough.

This doesn't get old. I do. But this doesn't.

See? Doesn't get old.

Weekend puppy update

They are 5 weeks old already.
Almost time to go to their new families. I am not gonna lie; we have been through alot with thses pups and we are going to miss them.
Who wouldn't miss these faces?

Or these faces?

The best part of our day is getting to snuggle, wrestle and kiss these puppies. They make us smile and we know they will make you smile, too.

We still have one beautiful, stocky girl puppy available. I am wondering who is going to end up with her. We had a couple people interested last week, but both ended up not being able to buy her. It will be fun to see where she ends up.

Here is a short video clip of Rod with the puppies this morning. Enjoy!

Dear Puppies,

Dear Puppies,
This morning when I came out into the kitchen to begin making your 1st breakfast and saw you in the hallway again, I was not amused. The partition is there to keep you in, not simply slow you down and build your climbing skills. Please stop breaking out.

Ebony, our only puppy still available. I call her Ebbie. Too bad she's not cute or anything.

Something you might not be aware of is that if you poop enough on anything, it will eventually smell poopy, even though I wash and wash and wash it. Right now, you might notice that your bedding blankets smell April Fresh with a subtle poopy aroma. This is not considered a good thing in polite company. Something to think about.

When you look up at me with your soft puppy eyes, I AM going to scoop you up and kiss  and snuggle you. This cannot be helped. I am  like Pavlov's dog.
In reverse.
Kind of.

Please. Stop the  excessive whining, howling and barking when you smell bacon frying. You are not going to get any. No matter what. That is all.

Please stop scratching us with your little demon claws. You are like Ninja Cats the way you claw anything within paw's reach. You have made me bleed enough. Thank you.

Consider using your table manners while dining. I understand that your Puppy Mash is served family style, and that you are very competitive with your siblings. But there is no call to climb in the food dish and wallow around like you do. Didn't your Mama teach you any manners? Never mind. I know her. She didn't.

Back to the poo.
Could you just ease up a bit? Back off or at least slow down? A suggestion; maybe use the absorbent puppy pads I've thoughtfully provided for you. And then maybe don't walk or play in it. Again, just a suggestion.

Finally, I would like to submit to you all that you are the best, most cuddly and sweet puppies ever. You make me melt in a puddle.

Eye of the Beholder

My photograpy skills are legendary.
Do not try to compete with them.
You will fail.
In an epic way.
I have lots of evidence.
Photograhic evidence.
Case in point:
Amy's photograph of Rod holding a puppy. (Maximas to be exact)

This was taken with her phone. In other words, not a great tool. But she made the puppy the center of the picture.
Now mine. Taken with an expensive Sony camera.
Ready....?

Words are not needed here.

As  I said, my photography skills are legendary for a reason.
This is it.

If you would like to see more amazing photographs from our trip to the zoo, please go to this blog post where my skills are documented for the world to see.

Especially if you are someone that has recently asked for my advice on what kind of camara to buy.(cough cough erich cough)
 Because, clearly, I have loads of talent and plenty of  solid advice.

I thought I would end our work week with a short video of our puppies. Because my life truly does revolve around puppies at this time.

My disclaimer on the puppy video is that I had to use my camera, rather than my Flip video because my Flip video is in FL on vacation with Josiah, Ashley and Max. The lighting is poor, so you can hardly see them or their new collars. Just use your imagination as to how cute they are.
That is all.

Okay, I'll add one more picture so everyone will know that their fat little piggy puppy is getting fed.

Puppy key:

Maximas-red

Hagrid-turqouise (looks light blue)

Tiger-lime green

Ebony-purple

Brutus-blue

Lockjaw-black

Samantha-brown floral

Goliath-green

PS: I laid down a few sheets of newspaper under their dish, thinking this will help with clean up.

I don't know....what do YOU think?

Happy Meals

This was the hope. I would buy this, "Loving Pets Stainless Litter Dish Puppy Bowl " with the thought that it would deter puppies from climbing in the dish during feeding times.
 Because, I'm gonna tell you, it is a MESS.
 Big time.

But reading the description, "Loving Pets Stainless Litter Dish Puppy Bowl is an excellent dish for puppies to share their meals or water in a whelping cage. These stainless steel bowls do not absorb food odors and are dishwasher safe. Perfect for all puppies. Lifetime guarantee." gave me hope.

 Although it doesn't actually claim mess free puppy feeding times, the design lends itself to a vison of puppies quietly lined up, side by side, "sharing" their meal in the shiny new dish.

Yesterday, when the UPS guy delivered the bowl, along with some puppy teething toys and puppy pads for the new kennel (which will go up later today) I was psyched and ready to give it a test run.

I envisioned the puppies gathered in a calm circle 'round the new dish calmly nibbling up their breakfast.
This is what I got:

Really, puppies?
This is my Vietnam, people.

Here is Lucy, showing how very much she cares.

Thank you, Lucy. Thank you very much.

Here is what the battle field looked like when they were finished.

Can you see all the bits of dogfood mush flung here and there and everywhere? I can. Oh yes I can.

And, finally, here are the food encrusted little darlings, telling me that they are not going to put up with staying in a child's wading pool that much longer.

 In fact, I think I can hear them whispering and muttering as they plan their Great Escape.

 I'd better go.

 Have a terrific day.



Puppy Picking Weekend!

It was great to meet most of the puppy people this weekend and introduce them to their newest family members. Although they won't actually be picking up their bullmastiff puppy until the end of December, they got to meet them, name them and fall in love with them.
A success.
Here are a few updates.
King Kong is now named Brutus and will be going to Florida where he will lounge lakeside in the wonderful environment. He may be a show dog as well as a beloved family dog. (No I am not shipping. His family is coming from FL to fly him back with them. Nice!)

T-Bone's new name is Hagrid (from the Harry Potter series!) and he'll be staying fairly close by, in the Canby area. He is going home to a family with four kids, so he is going to have plenty of love and fun.

Sampson's name is now Maximus Decimus Meridius!! They will call him Max (which I am so partial to.) He is going to be trained to be a certified companion dog and will be visiting vet's at the vet's hospital in Southern Oregon. This really blesses our hearts.

Godzilla has been named Lockjaw and I am so happy to see him go to his new family in the Oakland, CA area. His new Dad is a chef and is looking forward to feeding Little Lockjaw until he is ginormous Lockjaw. Shouldn't take too long. These owners have been waiting for a bullmastiff since 1993 so I am beyond excited to see their bullmastiff dreams come true.

Roca is now called Samantha, and her owners have sent her very own special collar for her. (I have had to remove it for now as I keep finding it wrapped around her shoulders). She will be traveling down to the San Jose, CA area where she will join her new brothers, a bullmastiff and a Great Dane, as well as her mama and daddy. Samantha may also have a show career. but we'll have to wait and see.

Here is Hagrid with his new family. Everyone posed perfectly. Unbelievable. We would never be able to recreate this!

Uhhhh, Dave? You left a little something at our house. (No, not just Max!) We'll hold onto it until you come pick up your puppy.

So, we loved meeting each of you, and look forward to meeting a few more of you. I am feeling very much as if I'm now a foster mama; caring for and loving your puppy until he/she  can come and make a home with their real family. Call, skype or email anytime. I'll do my best to be available with puppy pictures and updates.

And they called it....Puppy Lo-ooove.

We can't let a weekend go by without a little puppy love.
You can make believe you can hear 16 year old Donny Osmond's young voice as you stare into his deep dreamy brown eyes from his album cover and idly wonder  what it would be like to be Mrs. Donny Osmond....
Oh wait.
Back to puppies.
Because, frankly, they are a kajillion times better than being Mrs. Donny Osmond.

They have puppy breath.

This is Rod with Samantha, Jill Z.'s newest family member. I think I can actually hear all the "Awwwwwww's!"

Here is Dave with his puppy, Samson. Please just look at the puppy and ignore the sad, and crooked picture in the background. The 80's called and they want their goose decor back. Humph.

I wanted to add this little snippet because one puppy,who shall remain nameless (except for his name starts with King and ends with Kong) kept growling every time Rod tried to rearrange pups so everyone got some milk. I think I only captured a time or two, but he did it about 10 times in a row.The puppies are really serious about getting their dinner, and KingKong kept thinking one of the other puppies was trying to knock him away.  

.Hope you all had a marvelous Thanksgiving!
PS. We have one male and one female puppy still available! Contact me if you are interested.

Monday morning puppy fun

I don't know why it is so entertaining when puppies start to be able to see and hear and move around a little bit. They are just furry bits of fun right now. Happy Monday, puppy-stalkers!
Edited to add:
 Here are some of the crazy photos we tried to take of wiggling puppies yesterday. I'm not gonna lie; no one was being cooperative.


This is Tiger, who started out life as one of the smallest, and is now catching up to his big brithers! No chest markings. He was the first puppy trying to get around and has been a fighter from the beginning. Very sweet. Hard to imagine these pups will grow up to be 150 lbs+!



These are the girls, Ebony on the left and Roca on the right.

Okay, I had to put Lucy in because she is working so hard and enjoying our snow walks so much rigth now.

Really? Could I be a worse photograher? I think not. This is KingKong who is an adorable puppy...but you'd never know it from this. Dang it. No marks on his chest.

Well, hello there, Godzilla! He looks like he is trying to stop all the papparazzi with his paw sheilding his face. :-) He has small upside down V on his chest.

Goliath is just trying to get back in the puppy pen and EAT...AGAIN. This guy is voracious! Stripe on his chest. Haven't seen that before.



Hey, hey hey! This is T-bone, who is still the largest pup, but all the others are hot on his tail. (get it? His tail??) Oh, I slay myself sometimes!) T-Bone has a T-bone shaped white mark. Cool!

And last but not least is Samson. Big husky boy with a round white spot on his chest. Adorable!