Moka and Beca did it again!

At the tender age of seven months, Beca Zaun's Moka took her second major today at Western Reserve by going best of winners! We are so proud of both of them. Beca, it should be easy sailing now! Here's Moka's win picture from a month ago when she got her first major at six months old! Moka is from the Chippy/Blue Nautical litter and is Timbreblue Abraxas Mocha Martini.

Christmas card pictures with Kara

I think I finally got one -- cards will probably arrive after Christmas, but that seems to be the tradition around here. Below are some of the outtakes.

Whippet Lovin' the Snow!

We got five or six inches of snow here yesterday and Karen Beard, owner of Timbreblue Criminal Mind - Spencer - sent these pictures of her boy having fun in the white stuff. Spencer was Ensign in the Nautical litter born May 15, 2010. Most of our crew have been enjoying the snow too, except for Party, who came from Oklahoma and maybe saw enough of it there to last her for awhile.

Rini's puppies are four weeks old

From 2010-11-28

We're having so much fun! Rini & Henry's babies are four weeks old and SO much fun. They love to play, and terrorize their siblings, and give kisses and cuddles. They're very aware of our presence and they love to be picked up whenever they are awake. Everyone is healthy and gaining weight steadily. They're eating solid food (well, mush) now but Momma Rini still nurses them about once a day. We have a puppy or two still available from this litter, so if you're interested, please visit our website.

More puppy photos here: http://picasaweb.google.com/johannah.gage/20101128#

Fathom: Looking for Love

Baby Fathom - photo by Holly Curran

Moka's brother Fathom is looking for someone to love him. Well, he has people who love him right here, but he wants his own home where he will get more attention and his sisters will not beat him up!

Fathom is six months old, a blue brindle over fawn, and about the sweetest boy you ever met. He loves to jump up in the air, will snuggle forever, and gets along with everyone he has ever met. He's crate trained, mostly housetrained, leash trained, and has had all his shots. Both parents are cardiac and CERF (eye) clear.

Photo by Kevin Harris

He needs either a home with other dogs or someone who will be home pretty much all day -- he's not used to being all alone. Fathom is a show prospect puppy, but no kennels, please. Our show puppies have to be pets first. Fill out our questionnaire and contact Sharyn if you're interested -- he is at Timbreblue in Virginia.

If you're looking for a younger puppy, Jo still has a couple of really cute babies available at Timbreblue South, ready to go home in January. See posts below for details.These puppies are in South Carolina, but will be in Virginia for a puppy party the week after Christmas!

Woo-Hoo Moka and Beca!

Moka, who is officially Timbreblue Abraxas Mocha Martini, and her owner Beca Zaun ventured out to the Columbus, Ohio, dog shows this weekend. Moka just turned six months old on the 15th, so she is 'barely legal" for these shows. None of us expected much except that she have a good time and get experience.

Baby Moka

Well, the first day, Moka won her class but she was the only one in it. But she had a good time and Beca had a good time. But on Friday, Team Moka took winner's bitch and best of winners for three points! This is highly unusual for a puppy. Usually the judge goes for a more mature dog. But lest we think it was a one-off or that the judge just liked Beca, today they won a reserve to a four-point major, which means that in the event that the winner is unable to fulfill her duties -- well, you know all that -- then Moka gets the points. (That hardly ever happens, but it has been known to, in the case of the dog having been entered in the wrong class or some such)

We're proud of you, Beca and Moka! Good luck tomorrow!

UPDATE: And on day four, Moka got another four-point reserve. Not bad for a baby! We're planning to repeat this breeding next summer!

Puppies' first playtime!

This is a video of Rini & Henry's three week old puppies having their first playtime. They are awfully cute! We have two puppies from this litter available, and they will be ready to go home in mid-January. Visit our website if you're interested.

New puppy photos!

From Rini's puppies -- week three

A few new photos of our nearly-three-week-old puppies. These are Rini & Henry's puppies and they are at SUCH a cute age! They are very inquisitive and funny. They're trying to play, which mostly involves one puppy opening her mouth and falling over onto another puppy's head. We do still have a couple of puppies available, let us know if you are interested.

ARRRRGH These girls!

So two days ago Ivy was sleeping on the sofa and Party jumped up on top of her. Ivy leaped up with a WTF!, Party responded with, "Don mess wit me, ole lady!" and they were off. I happened to be on the sofa at the time too, so I grabbed each one by the collar and yanked them apart -- no major damage. Ivy had a little gash on her head above her eye and Party got a small wound on her leg (her Decotog pajamas took most of the damage). Nothing bled much, so I just separated them till they cooled off, lectured Ivy on how she was too freaking old for all this -- she will be 15 in January -- and forgot the whole incident.

Till tonight at 10:30 pm. I was getting everyone settled for bed in the living room when I noticed spots of blood. Assuming it was Juliet coming in season, I marched her off to the dog room and proceeded to clean up the spots. But they seemed to be multiplying rather than going away. Finally it got through to me that the source must not be Juliet after all and I began checking everyone else. Ivy had apparently scratched her head on a shrub during her last nature's call outside and opened up the wound on her head. I took her in the kitchen (tile floor) to put some pressure on it with paper towels. It wouldn't stop bleeding. This went on for a good five or ten minutes, until I finally went up to tell Walt I wasn't coming to bed right away.

He came down and took over holding the paper towels, but we decided we were going to need some help. Called the emergency vet in Lynchburg and loaded Ivy and me in the back of the car. Walt drove. But about the time we got over the first mountain, we realized that Ivy had stopped bleeding. So we turned around, came home and called the emergency vet to tell them we thought we had it under control.

But we can't leave Ivy alone now because she's likely to rub her head with her paw since it hurts. So here I sit with her for the first shift. She looks like something that just emerged from a fight in the pit, with dried blood caked all over her face and head. Around four Walt will get up and take over the watch while I get some sleep, and when our regular vet opens, I'll run her up there for some stitches, which I obviously should have done two days ago.

As Roseanne Rosannadanna says, "It just goes to show ya', it's always somethin'. If it's not one thing, it's another thing..."

Oh, Party? She's sleeping like a baby in the living room.

PS If you go to the Decotogs site and click on SNUGGLIES AND PULLOVERS, you'll see the cutest whippet and min pin up in the corner, modeling their pullovers. That would be our Jetty and his "sister" Lucy, who belong to Lynn and Jason in Ohio! (Jetty was Flint in the Gemstone litter.) All our dogs highly recommend Decotogs. They say no whippet's life is complete without fleece pajamas!

White whippets and Hamlet

Seeing all of Jo's little white pups makes me think of our first whippet, Hamlet. What Hammie lacked for the show ring, he certainly made up for in personality. Put him in a crate and he would smush his nose up against the bars and make a pig face. Leave him behind and he'd make the most peculiar noises -- almost birdlike, but definitely unhappy! He lived to ride in the car and would wait patiently for hours while we shopped. Although he never finished his championship, he took Johannah to many, many wins in Junior Showmanship, though she had to work for every one of them,,,Hamlet believed in making things challenging for her.

For starters, I could not be anywhere in the building. Though he loved Jo dearly, when he went in the ring, you would have thought he was my dog. he whined and flipped and turned around in circles looking for me. The only way to prevent this act was for me to simply leave the building (and make sure he saw me leave!) And oh, did he love to give her a hard time. She'd have him perfectly set up on the table in the ring, and he'd move a foot. She'd fix that one and he'd move another one. And on and on and on.

When Jo grew up and moved to Boston, Hamlet went with her. When she moved to Indiana, he went with her. When she moved back to Columbia, he went with her. But when she married and moved in with Derek, there he drew the line. He began chewing his foot, making it bloody. He tore up a dog bed and spread it around the house. He forgot to be housebroken. (Keep in mind, this was a ten-year-old dog by now!)

Finally Jo threw up her hands and asked if he could come live with me, at least till his foot healed. As soon as he arrived here, the foot-chewing stopped, he never destroyed another thing, and he remembered to pee outside. Frankly, I think he was just tired of moving! Or maybe he just wanted to retire with Mom. He knew he had my number. Jo took much less nonsense from him!

Hamlet had a terrible heart murmur (we never bred him, obviously) but lived to two months shy of 15 years old. When he was 13, he collapsed and was paralyzed. We put him on prednisone, I held him in the porch swing and cried for hours. It was a Friday night and the vet said to wait till Monday and see how he was. By Monday he was lifting his head, and within two weeks, he was walking. From then on, he lurched like a drunken sailor, but he was one happy dog. Walt took him for walks every day, though we could not trust him off-lead. It was amazing how fast he could disappear even with his zombie-like gait.

The day Walt had to carry him back to the house, we knew it was time to let go. He's buried next to Judy Street Dog, U-CDX, but since they really didn't like each other much, we put a board between their graves. We used to joke that they were beating each other up with their walkers. Neither was strong enough to get in much of a punch, but they'd occasionally go a short round.

We still miss you terribly, Hammie. I wonder if you have come back in one of those little white puppies of Rini's.

Puppies Available!

Daughter Johannah still has a couple of Rini's puppies available, ready to go home in mid-January. None have been "assigned" to homes yet, so we can't tell you who is available, but it will likely be some of the ones here.

If you're interested, check out our price & guarantee, fill out our questionnaire, and give Jo a call at 803-445-1713. These puppies are in South Carolina but can be picked up either there or at our house in Lexington, Virginia.

Ashley corrections and two more pix

A note from Bobbie tells me I got some of the alphabet soup wrong:

BIF, DC, UGRCH Appraxin Callaban Kristobel UAGII, UCD, CD, MC, NA, NAJ, NAP, OJP, LCM3, CGC, V-FCH, TT, CAVX

Slight correction on Ashley's titles:
CH, UGRCH, URO2, UAGII, Timbreblue Windrydr Biker Girl, CD, SC, RA, NA, NAJ, NAP, NJP, FCH, CGC, TT

Is there nothing Bobbie's dogs can't do?

Congratulations, Ashley!

The cake says it all: From three Best of Breed wins one weekend to a CD (Companion Dog obedience title) the next! 

Ashley belongs to Bobbie and Fred Lutz, Winchester, VA, who also owned her father Calvin, known formally as DC, UGRCH Appraxin Callaban Kristobel UAGII, UCD, CD, MC, NA, NAJ, NAP, OJP, LCM3, CGC, V-FCH. As you can see, overachieving runs in the family! (By the way, all those titles mean Calvin was a dual champion, he competed in both AKC, UKC (United Kennel Club), and ASFA (American Sighthound Field Association) events, and he won in conformation, obedience, lure coursing, and agility. He also achieved his Total Dog title from UKC, won Best in Field in AKC & ASFA, and was first place in the American Whippet Club's (AWC) Triathlon 2004and received the AWC Versatility Excellent award. 

Ashley has a little ways to go to reach her father's record, but we are pretty impressed with her titles now! She is CH UGRCH Timbreblue Windrydr Biker Girl CD, RN, SC, NAJ, FCh, UAG1, CGC, having made her marks in conformation, agility, rally, obedience, and lure coursing, as well as earning her Canine Good Citizen title. 

Ashley was born here at Timbreblue on February 24, 2005. She was the most active, mischievous puppy in Diamond's litter, and when Bobbie told me she wanted one with "drive," I said, "Do I have the puppy for you!"

We are so proud of Ashley and are grateful that she ended up with Bobbie and Fred, who realized her potential and have given the time, energy and money to allow her to "chase the dream." Here are a few of our favorite photos of her.

AKC Breeder of Merit!

My mama taught me that it is always best to let other people do your bragging for you, but since no one else much knows about this, I guess I will just have to let my mama down this time. I'm too excited about it not to brag just a little.

Siren

We were named AKC breeders of merit today -- this is a new program designed to help people choose "good" breeders. For a number of years now, a big problem has been breeders who advertise on the web and ship dogs out with no one ever having been to the house/kennel. They put pictures of beautiful dogs and kennels on the site and people placing an order for a puppy have no way of knowing whether the pictures are actually what they purport to be or even whether they're dealing with a substandard breeder or a good one.

To become a breeder of merit, you have to have been involved in the AKC world for five years or more, be a member of an AKC approved club, do all the health testing on breeding stock recommended by your parent club (the American Whippet Club in our case), attempt to achieve 100% registration by your puppy owners, and have AKC titles on at least four dogs you've bred.

Apparently our registration papers will now have a gold border around them. Thanks, AKC -- it truly is nice to be recognized for trying to do it right! (Even if I can hear Mama turning in her grave...)

Sharyn
AKC Breeder of Merit (!!!)

Rini is expecting a litter!

Henry and Rini, parents-to-be

We're delighted to announce that "Rini" (aka Timbreblue Colors Outside the Lines) and "Henry" (Sporting Fields Move On) are expecting a litter on or about October 31. Puppies will be ready to go home to their new homes in mid-January. Rini has a pregnancy blog where we are keeping track of all the changes she is going through and all of the prenatal care that we provide.

Rini is the first solid blue born and bred at Timbreblue, so she is extra special. We're expecting a wide range of colors, from blue, black, brindle, fawn, and possibly red. We have a waiting list for the litter, and if you are interested, please visit our website where you can review our price and guarantee and fill out our puppy questionnaire.

One thing we KNOW we'll get from this litter are amazing temperaments. Rini is just a cuddlebug and loves to give hugs and kisses like her mother, Juliet. Henry is very unusual for a stud dog, in that he also is very sweet and affectionate, and gets along wonderfully with males and females. They are both playful, fun dogs, and both have great pedigrees for show and performance. We're counting the days!!

Is she or isn't she?

Our solid blue Juliet daughter, Rini ("Timbreblue Colors Outside the Lines") was bred August 28th to our Henry ("Sporting Fields Move On") for our first cross back to the Sporting Fields line since great-grandma Ivy, who is a daughter of Luke ("Ch Sporting Fields Kinsman").

Now we're waiting (anxiously!) to see if Miss Rini is pregnant. She seems like she is, and she's had an upset tummy for the past couple of days, so it's looking like we will probably have a litter expected around October 31st.

We're so excited to see what these two promising youngsters will produce. Henry has champion children and his son was Winners Dog at the American Whippet Club National dog show in 2009. Henry is a SWEET sweet boy, very loving and agreeable to live with. He has quickly picked up basic obedience training and house manners, even though he started out life living in a show kennel. It's amazing that he is a stud dog because he is so easy to live with in our household.

Rini is the first solid blue bred at Timbreblue Whippets so she is extra special to us. She is also an exceptionally intelligent, sweet, and affectionate girl. She knows lots of obedience commands and little tricks like "shake hands." She is a very cuddly whippet and, just like her mother, she loves to give hugs and kisses to EVERYONE!

With these two parents, we expect a nice mix of colors including blue, black, (Henry's mother is black, and blue is a dilute color of black), brindle, blue brindle, fawn, blue fawn, and possibly red. We expect these puppies to have VERY sweet and affectionate, outgoing, and fun personalities.

As far as show prospects, we hope they will inherit their father's gorgeous movement and refined elegance, along with their mother's beautiful topline and great angulation. Henry's pedigree can't be beat, he has nothing but champions for the past three generations, and he himself has 14 points with one major in limited AKC shows. You can view the litter pedigree here.

The puppies are being whelped and raised in South Carolina, and will be ready to go home in mid-January. If you're interested in being on our waiting list, please visit our website where you can find our guarantee and fill out our questionnaire.

Diana

Diana still needs a home. She was planning to go home with some wonderful folks who came last week, but we decided that her sister Mercy would be a better fit. I had thought to keep Mercy here at Timbreblue, but she just seemed a natural for the family who came. They had never had a dog and Mercy is a quiet little thing, much less active than Diana, who is a typical whippet puppy -- busy, curious and mischievous!

That leaves Di without a home for the time being, but we know her people will come. We never worry about finding the right homes for puppies. They always come. And until they do, we enjoy every day we're lucky enough to have them here!

We don't ship, so you'll need to plan a trip to Lexington, Virginia, and we do much prefer homes in which someone is home for most of the day as long as the puppy is a baby (for the first six months or so). Whippet puppies really do require attention on and off during the day, and leaving one alone in a crate for more than an hour or so can be dicey. If you think Diana might fit into your family, call us at 540-464-8046 and fill out the questionnaire on our website.

She's a glossy black girl with little white socks, the barest hint of a white tip on her tail, and a white blaze. Diana was born May 26, so she has just turned three months old.

Puppies still available in Tennessee!

Terri Reedy has some lovely whippet pups ready to go to new homes. She has one who needs a show home and others just looking for people to love them!

On the left in the top picture is Darjah, the show puppy. The larger pup on the right in the picture is also looking for a home (his name is Ace) as well as is Barron, the fawn brindle in the picture below right.

If you're interested, contact Terri for more pictures and information. 

If you're thinking about a whippet but are not ready just yet, contact Julie Poole about getting on her waiting list. Besides taking the best pictures of whippets (including these!) of anyone I know, Julie has lovely dogs herself and has a litter due any time now, ready to go home in November. 

Daniel Boo!

The Boo-man is an accomplished hunter of squirrels, so it's only proper that his mommy Jeanne bought him a hat like this to celebrate. We think he looks quite dashing!

Oops - we have a puppy available after all!

Tempest

Tempest left for her new home last week, but we just heard that she's coming back. After a few days here to settle down, she will be available again.Her new owners just underestimated how much time a new puppy takes and are unable to devote the attention to her that she needs.

Tempest is, in spite of her name, a fairly laid-back pup for a whippet.She's a snuggler, but like all whippet pups, does have her wild side and needs someone who has time to devote to her. She's a flashy black and white girl with a full collar and white boots. She will be 13 weeks old tomorrow.

Remember: When you get a whippet puppy, you're getting two dogs: a little hellion (at times) when it's a baby, and after about two years, a perfect dog!

Fathom

We do require a home in which someone is there for most of the day until the puppy is seven or eight months old. To grow up to be good citizens, whippet puppies really need attention on and off during the day, so if your whippet will routinely be alone for more than two or three hours at a stretch, we suggest an older puppy or adult dog. Just like a human toddler, a whippet pup left to his own devices all day is lonely and become destructive or neurotic. Dogs are pack animals and are not happy alone for long periods. Puppies especially need company and supervision. They simply have too much energy to leave crated or penned all day.Yes, puppies do nap a lot, but like babies, when they wake up, they need human interaction. And remember, an unhappy, neurotic dog or puppy is no fun to live with either!

We feel badly sometimes when we turn down a wonderful home just because everyone in the family is gone all day.I do understand that people have to work for a living! But nearly every puppy we have had returned -- there have not been many -- has been because the new owners didn't have enough time for it.

We never have hard feelings when puppies or even adult dogs are returned. Life is not perfect and you never know what's going to happen or how things will work out. The puppies don't mind either. They view their short-term home as a cool vacation and we look at it as excellent socialization experience. But it's hard on the owners and we hate to see them go through the heartache of getting attached and then having to send back the pup.

Fathom is also still available to an active home where he can channel his energy into agility, coursing, flyball, or something like that. 

Whippet puppies we know about

UPDATE 8/16/10 - The puppies in Georgia have been sold, as has the show quality pup in North Carolina. We have two boys who need homes -- Fathom and Magic Sam. There are still pups available in Asheville with Kitty Williams and in Tennessee with Terri Reedy. Details below!

Our guys are mostly gone (except Fathom, who needs a very busy lifestyle!) but there are several good breeders we know who have some puppies.Most of these breeders will arrange transportation or meet you halfway. They all require applications and the pups are for sale to approved homes. Some require home checks, though that can often be arranged through a friend if you're at some distance away.These are all breeders we know personally or at least are very familiar with by reputation.

If you're looking around Georgia, Chris Durance-Watkins has a little boy who needs a home. Go to Cherche Whippets to see him. Chris travels often to Virginia and North and South Carolina.

In North Carolina, Festiva Whippets has a beautiful little show quality girl available. You can see Lisa at Festiva's website. Contact Katie at festivaeast@hotmail.com

Also in North Carolina, Kitty Williams still has a couple of puppies for some lucky people. Check them out at Wilhaus Whippets and you can conrtact Kitty through the website. Kitty is generally willing to meet you halfway if you';re coming from a distance.

If you're close to Tennessee, Terri Reedy has some puppies available. Contact her for photos. One is at the left (photo by Julie Poole)

Adventures in microchipping

Geisha (fka Lightnin')

About five years ago we decided that we really wanted to microchip our puppies before they went home. I checked around and found we could order the chips from Microchip ID Systems at a reasonable price, and besides, the president of the company, Jean Anne, is a friend I've known for years. I was a little embarrassed that we didn't already chip the puppies, but she pointed out we all have to start somewhere. So I asked what she recommended. She said there was nothing to inserting them, -- hey, no big deal, right? so we got in the first batch. I had heard the needles were big, but good lord, these suckers looked like javelins! And I was supposed to stick them into my little whippet pups??

Skiff

The thing is, I can't do it myself. I can give shots almost blindfolded (not that I would try it), can tube-feed a puppy, can administer fluids to a dehydrated dog...but show me that big fat microchip-deploying needle and there is NO way. I tried it once and the puppies' skin was so thick I couldn't get it through and after shooting about three chips across the room, I gave up and took the pups to the vet and paid $35 each to have them "professionally" inserted.

By the next litter, I happened to have made a new friend, a Pembroke Welsh Corgi breeder who had just moved to town. She chipped that litter for me. But then she moved away.

So last year I hauled two whole litters up to a friend well north of Harrisonburg (about two hours) and she did them for me. Very long drive with a car full of carsick whippet puppies, but I did enjoy the visit with my friend..

Then there was a litter of four. I just sent them home with the chips and asked folks to get their vets to insert them, but I wasn't very happy with that. A couple of vets said they couldn't insert them because they "weren't familiar with that chip." Oh please. More like, "You didn't buy it from me, so I'm not helping you out." The chips come in a sealed package already loaded into a syringe. How much is there to know?

Moka (fka Bonnie)

So anyway, a couple of weeks ago, here I was with 21 puppies (remember, this is two litters, the first one supposedly an impossibility!) and no way to microchip them. I sent the first two home with their chips. Then daughter Jo came up to puppysit while we went to look for a car -- forgot to mention that I totalled mine a couple of weeks ago, but that's another post. When we got home, I mentioned the chipping dilemma and she said, "I can do that!"

I looked at her dubiously. "Have you ever done it?"

"Nope," she admitted, "but how hard can it be? Lots of breeders do it." Jo used to work for a vet and I knew she could give shots, but chips???  I asked, "Have you seen that needle?"

Ranger (fka T-Bone)

Yes, she said, she had, and she still could do it. I should mention that though Jo is my daughter, she is a bit over 30 years old, so I wasn't entrusting my pups to a seven year old or anything like that.

So we decided to give it a shot, so to speak. We put the puppies in the kitchen sink because when you're doing something like this, you want them to feel a little insecure so they won't fight you. Something else to think about, you know, like, "Why am I standing in this metal bucket in the kitchen?" and "Am I going to get a bath???" The idea being that when they discover we are just going to plunge a sword into their poor little shoulders, they'll think, "Oh well, at least it's not a bath!"

First, I told Jo, we had to organize all the chips and get the paperwork ready. Since I don't own a scanner, we had to be very sure we put the chip we intended into the puppy we intended. I can spend hours "getting ready" to do something I am putting off, but Jo watched me shuffle papers and syringes around for about two minutes and said, "Let's get this show on the road.."

Magic Sam

My job was to go bring the little vic-- uh, puppies into the kitchen. I picked Siren first. She is staying here for the long term, though is going off to summer camp for a month with my friend Sat Ananda in Charlotte. I figured if we messed her up, at least it would be my puppy and not one I'd sold to someone else. (Precisely how we would "mess up" a puppy wasn't clear, but looking at that needle, I knew it could be done.)

I watched this one. Never again. The puppy was brave and didn't make a peep, Jo did the deed efficiently and apparently painlessly, my blood pressure shot up ten points and I almost hyperventilated. Siren did even squeak, but I think I did a lot of moaning and groaning, complete with sharp intakes of breath and ."Ooooohhhh"s. .

Sparrow

We agreed that I would simply hold puppies and look the other way. That worked much better. Only one cried a little. Maybe Johnny Ace?

Anyway, it all got done, the puppies survived, my BP has dropped to normal and there was not one drop of puppy blood spilled! I call that a success. And better yet, I have been taking the puppies for their going-home exams, about six at a time, and my wonderful vet has been scanning them for me to be sure the chips "took." So far every one has shown up and been the correct number (so I guess we really didn't need to spend two hours organizing, the way I would have done without Jo's...um...encouragement)

So if any of the puppies fall out of their cars on the way home, they'll be traced back to me!

Memphis Minnie

Sharyn