Money Goes Camping

Last week we headed to upstate NY for camping and a 4-day dogshow in Samson State Park, located on the northweast side of Seneca Lake. It's a beautiful park, very well kept with clean showers and lovely camping along the lake. 

It took about 5 hours to drive up and I'm not entirely sure how we fit our tent, 2 canopies, 4 dogs, several suitcases, myriads of tarps, our kerosene heater, camping equipment and crates into the minivan, but it DID fit.

Money was angelicly good the entire drive.  Upon arrival and after checking in, we let the dogs out of the car so they could stretch their legs and we could unearth the 2 portable expens to contain them while we set up camp.  5 seconds and 10 steps out of the car, Money was already attempting suicide by mushroom.   We quickly stuffed her into the expen and removed any more obvious mushrooms.  She didn't die, so apparently they weren't poisonous...

While we were setting up our tent and canopies, searching for our tent stakes and tying down all the tarps in case of wind and rain (always expected while camping lakeside) and trying to get everything organized, we put Money & her dad with the other two dogs (Z and Scarlett) into the expens. 


As we had arrived on Tuesday and the show didn't start until Thursday AND the park is closed to "non-show" campers for the entire week, we had the park to ourselves.  After dark we took the dogs for a long run under the stars in a huge empty field adjacent to our campsite.   It was very funny watching Money running thru the grass, which, while mowed, was still up to her neck.  Frequently she would trip and roll, head over heels, landing on her back. 

Several evenings we had a campfire and a few evenings were chilly enough for our Kerosene heater.   Money is a comforts kinda girl so she did get to wear her new coat several mornings when it was cold:   BUT what Money absolutely loved best was the SLEEPING BAGS.  Our tent is large and has room for our queen-sized air mattress along with several crates.  Normally Z sleeps with us camping but there just isn't room for anyone else so they sleep in their crates.  The first night, Money woke us about 4am to potty and John brought her into the sleeping bag with us. That was it.  She was IN LOVE.  She never moved until nearly 7:30AM and then REFUSED to get out until she heard kibble noises.

The rest of the trip she could be seen attempting to re-enter the tent repeatedly, even tho it was zipped, in order to regain the warmth and comfort of the magical SLEEPING BAGS.   She would RUN towards the tent and LEAP at the seam for the zipper, having seen us go thru it many times.  Knowing it MIGHT be zipped but COULD be opened, she would be bicycling her front legs like mad, hoping that might show the opening.  Often the tent was zipped tight to deter the spiders and she would SLIDE DOWN, landing in a heap in front of the tent, only to jump up and try again.  Each time she was allowed into the tent alone, she could be found, curled up, sound asleep and very warm, in the middle of the bed.

ONe afternoone we took MOney down to the lakefront to watch the seagulls and see what she thought of the water.   Here are some photos of her,

 watching seagulls,

chasing seagulls,

and eating seagull feathers...

Other things Money found tasty on this trip, besides the fortunately NOT poisonous mushrooms:  sticks, pinecones, a nasty rawhide someone had left from a previous year at the show (EW), walnuts, moss, grass heads (she loved to grab them while running thru the fields, mouth WIDE open), deer poop, rabbit poop, seagull poop.  Are we seeing a trend here?   Yeah, if it was portable, she ate it.  She also likes coffee, cider, and beer, but not wine.  She was not impressed with the wine we bought up there, so we drank it ourselves.

One afternoon Rowan's 1/2 sister Lucy came for the show and brought 3 of her pups along with her.  As you might remember, they are a day older than Rowan's pups.  Money was at first taken aback by her rowdy 1/2 brothers, who are considerably larger than her miniature little self.  Next thing she was chivvying them all over the pen, and they were lined up on one of the dog beds, looking innocent while she collected all the dog bones.  Soon everyone was playing politely and later they all trooped up to the show grounds for a look around.

All the pups enjoyed the show.  They were wide-eyed at strange things like blacktop pavement, generators, flapping flags and tents, the big hairy dogs, the little hair dogs, the chairs and people and cars and trucks and campers, all in a hurry to go SOMEWHERE.  The pups did well.  Money was a bit reserved with many of the people, but a few took her fancy and she made a few friends.  All in all, she had a wonderful time and got a good taste of the great big world she's been waiting to see. 

Sunset over Lake Seneca.

Rowan X Duncan Photo Updates

Just a few new photos from the pups in their new homes. JUst got back from a camping trip to NY with our little Money, her Dad, Duncan, Grammy Scarlett & Great-Grammy Z. More on that later this week!




Here are your photos:





Here's Hailey looking proud of herself in her new pink collar. Wish our grass was still that green!




Her mom reports she is quite the lapdog and gives many kisses. Also she is wearing out her great-great Aunt Hannah (a sister to Great-Grammy Z) as they play together quite a bit.














Here's Banks with Kosana, his new "brother." He has already started on his field training (whistle commands and hand signals) and is learning to sit, down, come and walk on a leash. HIs mom reports his big brother is a bit too enthusiastic OUTSIDE, but that they play together great indoors. Just you wait, Kosana, till Banks grows a bit!











And Tebow with his new brother. Their mom says Tebow and her son are similar in personality and get along great. She also said that he went to visit a sick relative who asked for him to be put onto the bed with him. The puppy, who is a very busy guy, normally, laid quietly there all day and was a perfect angel.









And MOST importantly, Happy, Happy Birthday to Z, who is 10 years old today. This photo was taken in July at the Pointer Associates of New England Specialty Show. Not too shabby for a great-grandmother!



Happy Birthday, too, to Z's brothers and sisters: Leo, Hannah, Zip, Monet, Rosetti and Chrissie. All are still with us and being spoiled rotten by their families! May we all somehow get 10 more wonderful years!



You are the best, Beautiful Z.








Z as a puppy (about the same age as Rowan & Duncan's pups):

Here they are at 8 weeks:

Monet, Hannah, Leo, Zip, Z, Rosetti & Chrissie

Money 10 1/2 Weeks

It's been an eventful couple of weeks for Ms. Money at our house. One by one, her littermates have gone to their new homes. She lost her buddy Uncle Kelson, and now she is the only puppy remaining here.

She has learned many things in such a short period of time:

She has learned what "Outside" and "Inside" mean.
She has learned about "Going for a Ride"
She has learned to wear a collar.
She has learned to walk on a leash.
She's learned to sleep alone in her crate.
She's learned to EAT alone in her crate.
She's learned a bit about what is HERS and what is OURS.
She's learned that Daddy's lap is a GOOD place.
She's learned that pestering Great--Great Grammy Morgan is NOT a good idea.

Money has learned to go UP the stairs (because the vacuum is VERY scary!) but not down...

She's beginning to learn how to put her feet up to get into her crate (which is stacked ON top of Duncan's crate).

She's learned a little about NOT trampling the gardens.

She's been for runs in the woods and the fields - she particularly likes to grab the grass heads as she bounces by...

We are going camping in upstate NY this week and Money is coming along (as are Duncan, Z and Scarlett). As the weather up there has been VERY cold at night and early in the morning, I made Money a coat to keep her warm. It won't fit long, but she's darn cute wearing it!

At first she told us that it had crippled her and refused to move with it on, but soon she was zooming around, and had learned to run in it AND chew on it at the same time...

The camping trip will be good for her to learn about new places and people and h ave a wonderful time with us. We are really looking forward to having time to spend with her and the other dogs.

A typical morning with Money at home:

Money eats breakfast and goes out to potty.

Money comes in and:

• Murders some toys
• Chew on some chew hooves
• Crawls under the recliner
• Pesters Grammy Scarlett, who lets her
• Pesters Great-Grammy Z who doesn't
• AVOIDS Great-Great-Grammy Morgan who is NOT amused
• Rummages thru my crochet basket
• Has my turned wooden crochet needles taken away
• Finds a sock
• Murders the sock
• Has the sock taken away
• Gets a drink
• Takes a flying leap at the sofa and misses
• Takes another flying leap at the sofa and bounces off
• Takes a flying leap at the big dogbed and lands with a somersault flourish
• Sits quietly for about.... 10 seconds
• And is off again into something else....

Fortunately she also still sleeps quite a bit...

9 Week Update - Rowan X Duncan

Puppies are now 9 weeks old. Two more pups flew to their new homes in Florida yesterday and arrived safely (Whew!).

Their new families have shared some photos of them settling in:

Here's Hailey in her new dog bed. Her family says she "loves the kids and is fascinated by the cat."

Banks lounging on his new porch. He's getting along nicely with his housemate, a Rhodesian Ridgeback, and likes to play in the fountain in their yard.

Here's Jazz with her new big sister, Esma, learning how to dig to China.

Tebow just before he left for Florida, peeking out from under the recliner:

And we still have three little ones at home here (two go home next week, leaving us with Ms. Money):

Conagher has conquered the buffalo toy yet again:

Nelson with Uncle Kelson having a nap:

And Money, being naughty, as usual (she's a cute pest, but a pest nonethless!)

Sadly, tolerant and protective Uncle Kelson was put to rest a two days after these photos were taken. I know the babies will miss having him to play with. Kelson was 13 1/2 and a loyal and devoted companion who raised countless puppies with patience and not a small amount of resignation. He will be sorely missed.

Puppy Video: The Pots, The Sprinkler & the Dummy...

Last video of all the babies together! Pups are now 7 weeks. I set up the sprinkler near their pen and gave them some plastic pots to play with. And we introduced them to a retrieving dummy with pheasant wings attached. You will see some of them pointing! This is only really an indication of their pointing instinct, not their hunting skills or talents. I'm hoping to have some live birds before all the pups go home if possible. The best way to start puppies is on LIVE quail (we choose quail because they are the smallest and seem to have the strongest scent).

Puppy Housebreaking

Puppies have begun to go to their new homes. Jazz & Banks have headed off on their merry way with their new people, and both are doing well. They are eating well, sleeping quietly in their crates at night and learning how to fit into a new family.

Naturally the first order of business with any new puppy is housebreaking. Part of this is potty training and part is learning house manners.

It's important to remember that your puppy has only a beginning of these rules. We do make an big effort to begin potty training and house manners before your puppy goes home, but puppies spending an hour or two in teh living room with us and most of the day either outside or safely in their puppy pen indoors is very different from all the freedom they have in a new home.

POTTY TRAINING:

Puppies need to go out far more often than adult dogs. Our adults might go out between 3 and 5 times a day. The pups need to go outdoors after nearly every activity. They wake up, they need to go out. They eat, they need to go out. They play hard for 30 minutes, they need to go out. Since at first they don't know or understand the rules, it is YOUR job to help them. Get used to the idea of putting the puppy outdoors whenever the activities change. It's helpful to put the puppy out on a leash at first - go out with them and supervise. Choose the spot in the yard you will MOST wish the puppy to use for elimination, and walk her to that spot. Then just wait - don't try to play with the puppy or interact much - it's not playtime. You might try walking in a small circle to get the puppy moving around. Once the puppy has gone, tell her how great she is and you can either take her back inside or remove the leash and let her play.

For the first several weeks, any accidents the puppy has are really not her fault. It is up to you to keep a close eye on her and get her out BEFORE any accidents. If you missed your chance, and you find the mess but the puppy is not caught in the act, you can only clean up and vow to watch more closely. You CANNOT discipline the puppy unless she is caught still squatting. Even if the puppy is still in the same room or NEAR the mess, YOU CANNOT DISCIPLINE. IF the puppy is not actually still going, she will just think she is being disciplined for say, standing near the mess. Or, being in that room. Or, standing near a lamp.

If I see a puppy starting to have an accident, I will call out "Hey! Not in here!" and scoop the puppy up and get her right outside (at this point I'm saying "Outside! Outside" in a more pleasant tone. Usually they will then go immediately since I've startled them. NOW I can praise for right behavior. Puppies usually get the idea fairly quickly.

DO NOT put your puppy's nose in the mess and discipline them. They are sure to agree it's disgusting, but this message is not going to be clear. It will only be clear and make sense if they are disciplined DURING the act and shown immediately where the correct place is.

Putting your puppy on a schedule at home in which he is being fed, played with, taken outdoors and put to bed at approximately the same time will really go a long way to facilitating the potty training. It will be several months until the puppy has full bodily control of his functions, and the schedule will help him to get the idea before his body is ready to comply with what he is learning.

Each time I take a puppy out the door I will say "Outside!" and each time I take them indoors I will say "Inside!" Some of the pups still here already understand these words. Some of them will already go towards the door when I said "Outside!" The same goes for putting the puppy in to the crate or the puppy kennel. We use the word "Kennel!" for nearly every doorway so they learn that the word "Kennel" means "Go in there."

HOUSE MANNERS

I'm surely nearly every new puppy has a pile of new toys to play with. Make sure these include items puppies like to chew on. Hard bones, nyla bones, chew hooves (the white ones don't smell nearly so bad as the black ones!) and teething toys are great. We strongly recommend you do NOT use any rawhides. The dogs seem to like to soften them up and then try to swallow them whole. This can lead to constipation, indigestion and sometimes obstruction surgery in the intestines.

It's also important to note that all of the Corwyn puppies, as well as other puppies, are usually raised in a whelping box or pen lined with newspapers. So, it's a good idea to keep newspapers, magazines and other paper items up off the floor where the puppy could get confused.

When puppy proofing our home, we put away important items the puppy might swipe, and make sure all electrical cords are out of reach, if possible. However, it's useful to leave out a FEW nonessential items which are NOT puppy toys in order to be able to show the puppy what IS and IS NOT allowed. I usally have at least one pair of ratty old shoes and a few tissues around on the floor. This way, when the puppy picks up something NOT for the his use, I can take it away and provide something appropriate that IS his. And, if he does go after the shoes or tissue, I've not lost anything important.

Until your puppy begins to understand the rules, it's best to be sure he is supervised at all times. If you must be doing something that distracts you from watching him, put him safely outdoors or into his crate. I don't particularly like having puppies helping me cook, fold laundry or clean the house. It's very difficuilt to do a good job at these tasks AND watch the puppy as well. If I allow him to be loose while I'm distracted, any damages are really my fault as the puppy simply has not yet learned the rules.

It's important that children in the household learn to keep their bedroom & playroom doors closed and keep their possessions off the floor. Anything in reach is going to be interesting to a curious puppy. And puppies all seem to feel that most of these interesting items are much improved by being turned into confetti....

So, those of you still waiting on your new puppy - start looking around for things the puppy might find interesting and put them safely way. Begin thinking about the schedule you will set for your puppy and a quiet place to put his crate. In a few weeks you will be enjoying your new baby and teaching him all the new rules in his new house!

Here's Jazz in her new home meeting one of her "cousins."

And Ms. Money is settling in here quite nicely:

Money and Scarlett Money, Z and Scarlett

Rowan X Duncan 7 Weeks (Plus Video!)

A lot of people over the years have asked me why pups need to stay at Corwyn until 8 weeks, even after they are weaned. I think now many people understand that 8 weeks is the "minimum" age for pups to go home, but they wonder why?

As you have seen in the videos, the pups are exploring their environment more and more. Their physical development is progressing, but so is their mental development. Every new sight, sound, smell and taste is foreign, and many things are scary or startling. Having one's parents, adult dogs, or one's siblings around when experiencing new things builds confidence. It's not just about having a puppy physically larger or about learning bite inhibition or leadership from other dogs and siblings.

With pups at this age, if something scary happens, they will bunch up and look for some security. If no person or adult dog is nearby, they will group together and weather the scary experience. Often one pup will spook at something new, and others will be more curious. Next thing you see is the spooked pup taking interest with the others, and the fright passes. This time with siblings is very important and can really advance confidence and mental development.

It is a busy time for the breeder, however. The pups are into EVERYTHING. Safety barriers that worked at age 4 and 5 weeks are no longer sufficient. Mom is no longer cleaning up so if pups do not have regular access to the outdoors due to weather or safety concerns, clean-up is arduous. Right now I am doing at least one load of laundry every day, and our pups are spending most of their day outdoors because the weather has been fair.

The pups need people socialization. Luckily we have had lots of nice folks coming to visit the pups and they've learned that everyone they meet is kind and affectionate and tolerant of the little "pirhanas." We have even been able to borrow a few children and for the most part they seem to like them. Money was not too sure about my 15 month old nephew, who is just learning to walk (read: stumble), but fortunately she runs VERY FAST!

The pups have now had 2 baths, and the second bath went much better than the first. A bit of scattered sniveling, but no shrieks of horror.

We've been working on coming when called, which is going pretty well - now nearly everyone comes inside and goes outside as a group. We have also started crate training and, after a few rough nights, everyone is now quiet in their crates from about 10PM until 5-6AM. They are also clean in the crates, altho often while putting the first pups out the ones waiting cannot quite make it out of the crates. But they are getting the idea. We have been bringing them into the living room to play and explore and some of them will go to the back door when they need to potty. Others, not quite there yet!

Meanwhile there is all the boring stuff like making travel arrangements for puppies going out of state, creating puppy contracts, making sure the AKC papers are all in order, putting together puppy packages that will include photos, pedigrees, a daily schedule, worming & vaccination records and other important material we like our puppy folks to have.

And, of course, we must keep up with the videos! Here is the latest!