Brio in his new Canadian home

Hi Sunny,

Here's Brio. He has been unbelievably amazing on the ride home, and any time he is in his crate. He didn't have a single accident, and can go through the nite without having to go out to pee. He sleeps a lot - puppy has got to grow. But when he's not sleeping this is what he's like....

Wellness visit to the vet

This hot afternoon we went to Baldwin, WI for a wellness check up at the St. Croix Animal Hospital with Dr. Dick McConnell. All the puppies were proclaimed normal and healthy after very thorough exams! The weights ranged from 11.5# - 11.7# - 11.9# - 12.2# - 12.7# - 13.4# - 13.7# - 13.8# with the 11.5# puppy being a girl and the 13.8# being the fawn boy who could stand to lose some hair if not weight in this heat!

The vet clinic has linoleum floors which are new to the pups but didn't stop them from exploring!

Microchips

If you would like your puppy to have a microchip, we can have it implanted for you. We use HomeAgain chips. You may want to go to their website at www.homeagain.com to help make the decision. Some families choose not to chip their puppies so I will defer to the owner's wishes. Another form of permanent identification is tattooing (Una has a tattoo)but they become increasingly difficult to read as the dog matures.

Puppies and the kiddie pool

A week or so ago I brought this kiddie pool out, put some water in it and encouraged the pups to investigate it. No way! This morning after the dew had dried down, I dragged it back out and put water in it and yippee!!! The puppies are like a group of 4 year old kids!

You can see, in the background - our henhouse, part of the vegetable garden and the piggie yard - behind me is a gravel road - so a lot of interesting things happening!

Nutri-Nutro-Nutra - it gets confusing!

The kibble the pups are currently eating is Nutri Source Large Breed formula - chicken and Rice. Here's a link for you. I've copied the image from the Nutri Source website so you can see the package.

Saturday - hot and sticky!

Sugar and Spice

and everything nice :)

Airlines and the weather

I have begun to look at possible flights for the pups who are leaving via air - please keep in mind that with the exception of Continiental Airlines, it must be cooler than 85F in both Minneapolis as well as in the destination city in order for DELTA to accept pups. Delta/Northwest is the airline with the most flights from MSP. I generally use www.kayak.com to see what is available and then go from there. Many airlines no longer accept pets (USAir for example.)

I am approximately 1.5 hours east of the airport and the pup needs to be checked in two hours in advance so it is important to factor those times in when looking at flights.

More junk! What's she thinking??

Training props - like the empty water bottles in the tub - are one of the many things I think up to help the puppies understand the world. However, even I have to admit that the empty boxes and other piles of stuff were starting to look a bit junky today - Jim says it's the plastic potting containers that were getting out of hand but they've been great playthings!

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Puppy Training

The past few days I have taken teeny-tiny bits of hotdog and cheese and begun having the pups make eye contact with me. I will sit with them and when I notice someone looking to me, I give them a little bit of food. Here is Jim this afternoon, the pups are cleaning out his ice cream bowl - very unsanitary, I think but what can I say??



Believe me, it doesn't take long for a feeding frenzy to ensue! Today I will take the pups out one by one and do the same thing - if it isn't too unbearably hot I will also make little tracks of bits of food to see who can focus on that task. ** I DID do the little tracking 'tests' and ALL of the pups put their little noses down and ate the little morsels laid on their 18" tracks.



No, it's not the Flying Nun - but you've got to love those ears!



It is almost 9:30 a.m. here and already very humid, the pups have eaten, cruised around for a while and are now taking their first of many naps.



This is the blue boy - he's a lover!

A few more pictures from yesterday

I am making chevre this morning and have a few minutes while the milk heats - here are a few more pix from yesterday.

It is humid here in the little valley today. I have the puppies in the kennel building - with its cement floor and many doors, it stays cooler than in our house or even in the shady parts of the yard. The puppies have figured out how to use the doggie door and I 'think' I noticed them going outside more than inside to relieve themselves. I also have this soft saucer thinggy that I tie in one of the doorways to the pups' kennel - they must go over or under it in order to come in - it quickly becomes a toy that they love to play with - either by climbing up on it (as here) or by using it for a tug object! We have a lot of puppy toys, mostly garnered from the kids department at various stores - this one has blinkling lights and sounds when it moves.

Assuming it cools down this afternoon I will take the pups outside into the shade for a while. They kept me company for an hour or so while I sat on the floor and attempted to read the paper - then while I did some little cleaning chores. They're sacked out now and I'm off to have a bite of lunch.

Solo's puppy blog

I had completely forgotten that I had started this little blog when Solo was a baby: http://bouvier-solo.blogspot.com/ - it is a lot of fun to review it now on this overcast, raining off and on day!

Our soon-to-be-famous papa

Joanne Fleming-Plumb has chosen Solo's picture for the cover of her upcoming dvd - how much fun for all of us! I will ask when the dvd will become available - likely through Canine Training Systems. As you all know, Solo is currently living with Joanne as she trains and trials him - currently they are in Canada but often in the winter they travel to Texas for a respite from the cold.

Fun in the shade!

It's hot here today and I have the pups outside in the shade - not only are they lazing about but they are also playing and snacking....