Dayz at Timbreblue

Juliet's puppies at 2.5 weeks old

2011-12-31T05:55:00.000-05:00

Juliet's "Paris Pups" are 2.5 weeks old now and boy are they growing fast! Their eyes are all open, ears are working, and they are growing like crazy. Two of the boys are over 2 lbs already, and the others are gaining on them. We only have two girls from this litter, who are both spoken for, but we should have a boy or two available to the right homes. Check out our questionnaire if you are interested in a puppy.

Juliet's puppies are here!

2011-12-18T20:32:00.000-05:00

Juliet welcomed a litter of nine puppies on December 12th -- 7 boys and 2 girls. The labor was long and exhausting, but we all got through it and now we have these wonderful babies. All of the puppies are thriving and growing fast. You can read more about the puppies on Juliet blog at http://julietwhippet.wordpress.com We will probably have one or two boys available from this litter.

Juliet is expecting!

2011-11-20T23:55:00.000-05:00

Juliet, expecting

We're happy to announce that Juliet is expecting a litter due in the first week of December. She was bred to our boy Blue, who is the father of her Gemstone and Blues litters. She is an amazing mother and we are so happy to look forward to her sweet babies. We have a waiting list for this litter but contact us if you are interested. You can keep up with Juliet through her blog at http://julietwhippet.wordpress.com

Our overachiever, Miss Ashley

2011-10-10T17:43:00.000-04:00

You've probably seen us post about Ashley before -- she is the serious overachiever of the family, owned and trained by the amazingly talented and driven Bobbie and Fred Lutz of Winchester, VA. Ashley has titles in conformation, obedience, rally, agility and lure coursing. She is a Champion of Versatility (given by the American Whippet Club in 2010) and we are SO proud of her achievements! Ashley is also known as GCH, UGRCH, UAGII, UR03, UCD, Timbreblue Windrydr Biker Girl, CD, RE, MC, FCH, NA, NAJ, NAP, NJP, CGC, TT, CAV (all of those letters are titles in various sports).

Ashley going Best of Breed at Warrenton Kennel Club

New Champion Moka!

2011-10-09T14:48:00.004-04:00

Our wee baby Bonnie (Blue & Chippy's baby from the Nautical Litter of 2010) grew up to be a beautiful butterfly! Moka aka Ch Timbreblue Abraxas Mocha Martini just finished her AKC championship on Sunday 10/09 -- a couple of months after her first birthday.

She finished with four 3pt majors, three of those from the puppy classes, and was ENTIRELY OWNER HANDLED by Rebecca Zaun. This is really unusual in whippets because they are so competitive and there are so many extremely talented professional handlers. We are so proud of Moka and Beca and are looking forward to following their progress as they go for their Grand Championship.

Ch Timbreblue Abraxas Mocha Martini

Young male adult whippet available

2011-10-07T17:59:00.003-04:00

NOTE: Thank you to all who were interested. This young boy is now spoken for, but let me know if you are looking for a young adult and I'll be happy to ask around in our breeders' network and find a whippet for you!
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One of our closest friends has a young boy (almost 3 years old) looking for a new home. His family had a change in circumstance and are unable to keep him, so they did the responsible thing and returned him to his breeder. Now we have the opportunity to help him find a wonderful new home.

He is neutered, brindle and white, 30 lbs, great with kids. He has a high prey drive so he would not be good in a household with cats or very small dogs. He is crate trained, a good car rider, up-to-date on all vaccines. He was raised as an only dog but has been socialized with other whippets so he would do well in a household with a doggy friend to keep him company. He is a happy and healthy young boy.

Please let us know if you are interested in adding this sweet boy to your family.

Litter plans and a new home for Daisy

2011-10-07T01:41:00.000-04:00

Hi guys, it's been a little while since we have updated you on our litter plans. We are planning to breed Juliet & Blue, hoping for an early December litter. We also have tentative plans for breeding Rini either this winter or next spring. Both litters should give us blue puppies, but of course we can't guarantee any specific colors in any litter. Juliet and Rini both have waiting lists, but let us know if you are interested and we can talk about whether a puppy from one of our litters would be a good choice for your family. Visit our website to inquire.

If you're looking for a puppy or adult sooner, let us know and we'll be happy to help you find one. The whippet community is very close and we always know of breeders with puppies or adults available.

In really good news, Daisy is at home with her new family in Arlington and settling in really well. We are thrilled for her and her family. All of our Flower Child puppies are settled in with their new families and we even got to see a few of them at the recent Timbreblue Reunion in Harrisonburg, Virginia along with their sister who stayed at Timbreblue, Tiger Lily.

Young puppy available

2011-09-12T17:01:00.001-04:00

UPDATE: Daisy will be going home Thursday to her new home in Arlington, Virginia...welcome to the Timbreblue family, Elise and Aaron!
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Daisy is a female brindle whippet puppy from Chippy's latest litter, born June 4th. Her placement with her new family didn't work out (whippet puppies take a lot of supervision and one-on-one attention for the first few months) so she is available again. Daisy LOVES attention ... while the other dogs are playing and getting into trouble, Daisy wants lap time and cuddling.

We only place young puppies in homes where someone will be home all day for at least the first few months. Whippets are very social and they need lots of attention and socialization to grow into responsible adults. Please contact us if you are interested.

Pair of adult whippets available

2011-09-12T16:53:00.002-04:00

NOTE 10/07/2011: Ilu and Levi have a home lined up and will be going for a trial visit soon. We hope for the best for these awesome sweet whippets. Thank you to all who inquired.
---
Hi guys, a breeder friend of ours has two whippets available, she wants to keep them together in a new home. Here is what she said about them:

Illu and Levi

Due to a job and having to move across the country and not living in the proper accommodations for dogs, I have two wonderful Whippets available. If anyone knows of a home looking for two wonderful companions, I have a brother and sister pair available and I would very much like to keep them together if possible. Illu (boy) and Levi (girl) will be 5 years old in November, are spayed and neutered, up to date on everything, know basic obedience and even a few tricks (especially Levi), they are good with kids having lived with a baby/toddler.

Of course they are house broken, crate trained, leash trained, etc. I would really really like to keep these two together, they have been together their whole lives and I would hate to part them. No rush, they have been here for some time while their owners were figuring out if they would continue with the job out west or come back east and they are now staying on the other coast due to a job opportunity. Here is a picture of them together, playing outside :) Levi is on the right, Illu on the left. They love toys (Illu especially), treats and lots of love!

If you are interested, please contact me at inquiries@timbreblue.com for more info.

Bunnies

2011-07-06T11:20:00.001-04:00

We've been having a discussion on the Timbreblue email list about whippets and pet bunnies. (Bottom line: Not a good mix.)

Pre-whippet, we had a big white rabbit named Lisa.

Lisa was a male, but that didn't bother Jo, who gave him his name. She was about nine, and she chose names she liked regardless of gender limitations. We also had a big yellow tomcat named Mandy. Lisa ran around in the backyard with the pony and the collies with no problems (the pony did step on one bunny with tragic results, but that was Spuds. I think Lisa would have broken the pony's leg if she had stepped on him.) I can't believe I can remember all these names. There must have been a hundred of them during the kid-years in South Carolina, if you include the possum, the raccoon, the squirrels, etc. I was a wildlife rehabilitator so we often had various critters living with us for a few months. My efforts to rehab injured and orphaned wildlife would have been doomed if I'd tried it once we got the first whippet. I remember a fledgling blue jay...but nevermind that. The jay was the last of the wildlife and he just underscored that I needed to be very, very careful with whippets and prey...um, wildlife.

Back to Lisa, though. He was (mostly) housetrained and oh did he love biting electrical cords in half. I worked from home in those days as a conference coordinator and was on a phone call one day with a keynote speaker...Big Deal Phone Call. I had carefully waited till the kids were in school, crated the collies so they would be quiet, and did my best to sound professional. I had the phone cord stretched across the room because I was looking up something in the file cabinet. I heard a noise and turned around to see Lisa sitting up on his hind legs reaching for that cord! I put my hand over the phone and whispered "NO LISA!" but alas rabbits are not especially responsive. The line went dead.

We live half an hour from town so I jumped in the car, raced to Radio Shack, bought a new cord, came home, hooked it up and called the fellow back. I think I made some excuse about a storm and living in the country.

Lisa was the last rabbit who ran around loose in the house. I had to have him neutered for humping my leg (we had a country vet who could not understand why I wanted to spend $50 on neutering a rabbit. "Why don't you just eat this one and get a female?")

During the Lisa years I found a little chihuahua-sized dog by the road. I tried hard to find her owner but no luck. We named her Gremlin and she stayed. Unfortunately she liked to chase Lisa. I kept them separated but didn't worry too much about it because Lisa could beat up the little dog easily.

Once I got home to discover a note from my neighbor Marsha. Lisa had gotten out of the yard and Marcia's dog had gone after him. Marsha screamed at the dog, who dropped the bunny, but Lisa was limp and hit the ground like a load of laundry. Marsha scooped him up and threw him in the car. By the time she got to the vet, he was hopping around the back of the car, so she just turned around and came home Apparently he had fainted.

Eventually though, Gremlin won a fight and that was the end of Lisa It took me two years to 'fess up to Jo what had happened. Since Lisa was living mostly in the yard by then, she didn't notice he was missing for a few days. She didn't much like Gremlin anyway though and that was the final straw. Gremlin went to live with some friends from work, where she spent the next ten years becoming atrociously spoiled.

I believe Lisa was the last bunny. He was enough.

Sharyn

Photos from Skyline Kennel Club

2011-06-19T22:37:00.001-04:00

A couple of photos of our 2010 pups showing at Skyline Kennel Club in May 2011.

Siren, "Timbreblue Drives Too Fast" (Blue & Chippy's daughter from Chippy's first litter, at home at Timbreblue in Virginia):

Siren

Geisha, "Timbreblue's Lil Lightning Strikes" (Blue & Juliet's daughter from Juliet's Blues Singers litter, owned by Maria & Martin Fuchs):

Geisha

Chippy's puppies, ten days old

2011-06-17T18:37:00.000-04:00

Hi guys, here are some more photos of Chippy's flower children at ten days old. We are hoping their eyes will open any day now! It can be anytime after 14 days, which is Saturday the 18th. We do have a puppy or two available from this litter, let us know if you're looking. They'll be ready to go home after August 13 when they are ten weeks old.

Chippy's Puppies!!

2011-06-06T01:40:00.005-04:00

Chippy's litter with daddy Devon arrived starting at 2:50am Saturday June 4th. Chippy gave us nine puppies total, three boys and six girls. We chose a "flowers and trees" theme for the litter names, with flower names for the girls and tree names for the boys.

The girls are: Lilac, Buttercup, Daisy, Petunia, Tiger Lily, and Honesuckle. The boys are: Spruce, Birch, and Cypress.

Please enjoy the following photos with us. If you are interested in a puppy from this litter, please visit our website to learn more about us and our breeding program, and fill out our questionnaire.

Photos of all the puppies on day one.

Henry's son Woodstock in Germany

2011-05-25T01:19:00.002-04:00

Here is Henry's son "Woodstock" or "Sporting Fields Here I Am" who lives in Germany.

Poppy has found a home

2011-05-24T21:55:00.002-04:00

Hi guys, a happy ending! Poppy, the whippet we posted a few days ago, has a home now. A happy ending!!

Lovely young whippet looking for a home

2011-05-16T18:56:00.001-04:00

Poppy

Hi guys, a breeder friend of ours in NC is looking for a home for her young brindle female whippet, Poppy. Today is Poppy's birthday, she is turning one year old, and maybe she can find a new home for her birthday. She is spayed, up-to-date on shots, crate trained, house trained, and rides well in the car.

She doesn't get along with one of the older whippet girls in her household, which is why she is looking for a home. She probably would not do well with very small children. Please let me know if you are interested in Poppy! Her breeder would prefer that she stay somewhere near NC. Thank you!

A Very Happy Birthday, part one

2011-05-15T21:41:00.000-04:00

A year ago about this time, we were helping our sweet Chippy bring her first litter into the world. First to arrive was Photon (then named Sailor) and he was a big bruiser of a puppy at nearly a pound. Chippy had a lot of trouble delivering him, and after he was born, almost as an afterthought, came Kara. She was tiny compared to Photon -- just five or six ounces, if I recall. She was lifeless at first, but with a little rubbing and blowing ir into her mouth, she finally began crying and scrambling to get to her mama. Small as she was, she was a fighter, so we weren't too worried about her at first. She had a tiny heart on the back of her neck.

The next six puppies came along without incident, and what a rainbow Chippy and Daddy Blue had given us! A red brindle boy (Skiff), two black & seal girls (Siren nd Kara), two blue and white boys (Photon and Ensign, now Spencer), a blue brindle boy (Fathom, now Rocket), a fawn and white girl (Sparrow, now Shelby), and a lovely black and white girl, Tempest (now MooMoo). Then came the hours that every breeder dreads -- the minutes, then hours with no puppy arriving.

We began to realize we had a problem, The ninth puppy simply was not coming. We knew Chippy was carrying ten puppies (we'd done an xray the day before) and the "stuck" puppy was endangering itself, number ten, and mama, for that matter.

Of course it was after hours for our regular vet (isn't it always?) so we bundled up everyone and headed for the emergency vet in Lynchburg, about 45 minutes over the mountain. We put all the pups in an incubator at the clinic (the vet sort of shook her head over Kara) and settled in for a long, tense night in the waiting room. Several other emergencies came in: a Border collie with heat stroke, another c-section (a Cocker spaniel), and a puppy who had eaten a bar of chocolate.

It seemed hours, but I'm sure it was not. Finally we got the word that Chippy was fine, the ninth baby had definitely been stuck and we'd lost her, and the tenth, a little brindle and white girl (Bonnie, now Moka) was just fine. I had the usual breeder's guilt; Did I wait too long to bring her in? Was there more I could have done at home.

We brought everyone home, including our little lost girl, who was buried next to our beloved Babs (We warned the new pup not to get on Babs' bad side, as she did have a temper!)

The next few days were stressful. Chippy was a great mom, but try as we might, we could not get little Kara to nurse. Chippy took care of her, she crawled around and climbed on top of the other puppies, behaving like a normal, if a bit weak, newborn. We began to tube feed her after it became obvious she was not going to nurse. Every three or four hours we'd pass a tube down her throat and syringe a little formula directly into her stomach.

Thank goodness daughter Johannah had arrived! We traded off the nighttime feedings, with Walt taking a few as well, I warned Jo not to get attached to this one. I didn't really hold out a lot of hope for her unless she would begin to nurse. But she was such a fighter we had to give her a chance. The fact that she had not gotten any colostrum was a problem. I ordered fresh frozen plasma to give her.

On Day Three, we took the litter in for removal of dewclaws. Dr. Missy thought Kara was too weak to tolerate even the little snip it involves, so we left hers alone. She got some fluids and some puppy vitamins.
Kara went downhill for the next few days, and on bout vet visit number three, she was diagnosed with pneumonia. Our wonderful vets gave her some oxygen and prescribed a tank for me to pick up from their supplier and take home, We used the "blow by" method, and whenever she looked a little blue, we'd give her some oxygen. Jo actually made some videos of Kara's first few days and here's an oxygen treatment she loaded on Youtube...

A couple of our boys

2011-05-09T01:25:00.000-04:00

Karen Beard is a dear friend of ours in Lexington, Virginia, and she is truly doing amazing work running the local shelter. She goes above and beyond to send dogs home with different rescue groups and find the best homes for everyone that she can.

We are lucky enough that she chose to bring two of our little guys home -- Spencer, formerly Ensign of Chippy's Nautical litter, and Finn, formerly Kent of Rini's Halloween litter. Here's a photo she shared with us of the two boys playing with their new brother, 3 month old greyhound puppy Vyncent.

Spencer, Finn, and Vyncent

Lovely young adult male available in North Carolina

2011-05-05T22:08:00.000-04:00

Our good friend Yvonne Sovereign near Raleigh has a beautiful fawn and white male, elegant with big dark eyes and a super temperament looking for a loving home. Robbie is two years old and isn't going to work out as a show dog but will make a wonderful companion.

He is sweet, loving, crate trained and completely housebroken. No bad habits and good eater. He is a great dog and she wants just the right home for him. Good with other dogs and children, don't know about cats. Contact Yvonne directly at 919-721-2384
or canineart@windstream.net

Anyone who is not familiar with Yvonne's work is missing a real treat. She is an artist with a special love for whippets...and that love shines through every painting and drawing she does.

If you have not already, you should visit her art website at www.yvonnesovereign.com -- and I have to put in a little brag for our Timbreblue whippets who are featured there! The two whippets lying on the bed in front of the window (home page) are our boys Barnaby and Boo, owned by Danny S. and Jeanne & Alan A. respectively.

Sharyn

Bad genes

2011-05-04T12:07:00.000-04:00

Last week I attended a seminar called "The Purebred Paradox." Deciding to go was difficult, not because of the subject matter (genetic defects in purebred dogs) but because it was being hosted by the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), a hardcore animal rights organization whose legislation I spend every winter fighting in Richmond.

Baby Jenny (Miranda) in 2008

But I'm legislative liaison for the Virginia Federation of Dog Clubs and Breeders (VFDCB) as well as being an AKC delegate for the Shenandoah Valley Kennel Club and I felt we needed to know what was said and done at this meeting. AKC did not participate, by choice, which was the right decision. But some of us needed to be there. The VFDCB paid registration fees for Alice Harrington (my co-legislative liaison) and me to go. I'm glad we went.

There are other places on the web where you can read more about the conference (Google Purebred Paradox and Pedigree Dogs Exposed) but I will say I came away from it awfully glad that whippets are my breed of choice (they are mostly healthy) and that Walt and I made the leap to outcrossing as opposed to linebreeding years ago.Linebreeding is the practice of breeding fairly close relatives to "set" the good genes. Trouble is, it often also "sets" the bad genes.

Abita (Rosalind) in 2008

Many breeders are going to have a hard time with that recommendation, but it was made by every non-breeder scientist and veterinarian on the panel. We all learned at our mentors' knees that good breeders linebreed consistently and outcross only occasionally. Walt and I spent many hours studying and discussing this practice and about five years ago made the commitment to breed, as far as possible, to unrelated dogs. Of course, all whippets are related if you go far enough back, but we try not to have names repeated in five generations. We're not always successful, but we work at it and we do believe it's the right thing to do.

Another suggestion from the conference was not to use "popular sires," which are the top-winning dogs that "everyone" is breeding to. That's because if it is later determined that that dog is carrying a genetic disease, there will be nowhere to go to breed away from it if he is in all the pedigrees. That has already happened in whippets, with the mitral valve disease problem. Though I would be hesitant to blame one dog, it's true that nearly every dog with MVD traces his lineage back to the same bloodline.

Bacchus (Falstaff) in 2008

We were also warned against breeding for extremes when they affect health and soundness (the flat faces of the bulldog and Pekes, the sloping topline of the German shepherd dog, the heavily wrinkled faces of the Shar-pei and bloodhound). And there are many breeds that routinely die of cancer at a young age.

The AKC Canine Health Foundation and the parent clubs are working on these problems, or at least the health-related ones. I don't know whether there is a discussion to stop the German shepherd from moving like a Tennessee Walking Horse, but I hope there is.

The Whippet Health Foundation is conducting a years-long study of mitral valve disease in whippets. Whenever you feel inclined to give, consider donating to them.

Lots to think about!

Sharyn

Run, puppy, run!

2011-05-04T02:02:00.000-04:00

One of Party's puppies is now named "Bones" and lives near DC with a doctor who is also a triathlete (down girls, he's taken). Charlie has been working with Bones to build up his stamina gradually since he is still growing. The following is a photo Charlie shared with us of himself and Bones resting after a run, taken by the aforementioned lucky girlfriend.

Charlie and Bones

One year old female available

2011-05-03T22:10:00.001-04:00

We have a breeder friend in North Carolina who has a young brindle whippet girl in need of a new home. Poppy will be one year old on May 16th, she is spayed and up-to-date on all of her vaccinations. She is healthy and has great house manners. She's crate trained and also loves to sleep in the bed. She gets along with male dogs better than females, and would probably not do well with really small children.

If you're interested in Poppy, please fill out our questionnaire and make sure you mention Poppy in the notes section. Just look at that face! Absolutely adorable.

Musings on nicknames

2011-05-02T13:46:00.003-04:00

Rini

Siren

We have a pup named Siren. (Her registered name is Timbreblue Drives Too Fast) Siren is not hard to say. So how come I find myself calling her Si-renny or Si-Si or Rennie? "Sigh" seems sort of sad but I've used that too. For awhile I called her Ren, but then I realized that among our pups from about that same generation, we have a Rainey, a Rini, and a Riri (pronounced ree-ree). I guess I will have to break down and just stick with Siren. If I can.

What is it that makes us give dogs nicknames in addition to their call names? Walt calls most of our dogs by their real names, but I tend to use:

Ivy --- Ivy-Divy or Ivers or Ives
Blue -- Blue-boo
Party -- Party Girl
Juliet -- Ju-ju bean
Chippy -- Chipster
Devon -- Devvie
Dallas -- D-Dog or Big D
Kara -- Karoo
Katie -- Katydid

I don't really understand it since most of the nicknames are actually longer than the call names. Isn't it just as easy to say Dallas as Big D?

When my daughter was born, we (for some reason) decided we wanted her called Johannah instead of any of the usual nicknames. I carefully wrote out "Johannah" on everything that went to daycare with her, But since we didn't give them a nickname to call her, she became Jo-Jo, which I thought sounded a bit monkeyish. So we started calling her Joey to combat that. Of course once she started school, she decided that was a boy's name and informed her teachers she wanted to be called Margaret, which was her first name. We still called her Joey at home. She settled on Jo eventually but her family was slower to catch on,.

One day when they were in high school, my son Travis (Trav or T) answered the phone. "You have the wrong number." When he hung up, he said, "Some guy wanted Joe." Johannah happened to be in the room and wailed, "Nooooo! He asked for Jo!" Fortunately for her, the boy did call back and thus began her longest high school romance. She is now Johannah or Jo.

I'd better get back to the girls -- the Chipmeister and Ivy-Divy-Dabber-Do need pedicures.

Sharyn

Rainey

All the Girls I've Loved Before

2011-04-26T22:04:00.001-04:00

My sweet Diamond, at home with the Kyzers

(F)Annie loved now by the Lantzys

I've been feeling a little blue tonight, trying to organize photos on my computer and seeing again all the sweet whippet faces from our past. The hardest part of being a breeder is knowing you have to let go. You simply cannot keep all the dogs you want to unless you're willing to have a kennel (which I am not -- we are housedogs-only people). For one thing, if you have more than a certain number, they don't all get enough attention.

So the hard part: You keep a little girl puppy from a promising litter and you love her and put all your hopes in her. She grows up to be everything you wanted, so eventually you find Mr. Perfect for her and breed her. She has a beautiful litter and is a wonderful mother. You breed her maybe a couple more times, and then she's retired from the whelping box to the sofa. Meanwhile, of course, you've kept a pup from each litter, so there's four dogs right there. And then there's Grandma and Great-Grandma and....you see where I'm going with this. At some point you have to say, "What is best for the dog? Not for my heart, because I would keep every one if I asked my heart. But for the dog."

And naughty Candy, loved in spite of herself by the Verdus

We never look for homes for our older girls. I could never say, "Okay, we're going to let this one go." But someday a perfect home will show up. Often it's someone who already owns one of our pups and I know for sure the home will be perfect. And then it's time. And lord, does it hurt.

But you know what makes it okay? We have a reunion every year and most of my girls come to that. And I see them so happy with their new families, where each girl is one of two or three or maybe even an "only child." They are always excited to see me and it means the world to me. But what makes me happiest is seeing them turn back to their new families as if to say, "Yeah, I remember you and we had some good times, but hey, these are my new folks!"

Some, of course, will never leave. But the ones who do take a little piece of my heart with them. And I am so very grateful to the people who love them so well.

Someday in the not-too-distant future, Walt and I will give up breeding and I'll be able to keep all my dogs into their old age. But until then, thank you, Timbreblue family members, for giving your hearts to my girls.

Sharyn

Happy Easter everyone!

2011-04-24T10:57:00.000-04:00

We'd like to wish you and yours a happy Easter!

Ivy makes her mark

2011-04-20T21:38:00.000-04:00

Ivy has been sleeping in the laundry basket outside Sharyn & Walt's room for several years now. It's "her place" and it's sacred. She also insists (with a firm bark) that Sharyn cover her up with a blankie before bed.

Kevin Harris, owner of Tango, who is Juliet's litter sister from the Candy and Arthur phonetics litter, sent this today: "For the past couple of years now I have begun to notice certain things about Tango's behavior which seem to be very close or identical to some of the things her grandmother, Ivy, does. Well today she just took the cake and now I am 100% certain that Ivy has been coaching Tango whenever there's a reunion.

I came upstairs this afternoon and found Tango in the hall outside my bedroom...in the last place I thought I'd ever find Tango...see photo. (It's a bad photo - mainly because I rushed to take it with my iPhone and I was laughing)

The circle is complete!"

You can definitely see the Ivy in her kids and grandkids and great-grands!

What is fridge poetry?

2011-04-19T13:15:00.000-04:00

Someone asked me what that means -- sorry, I didn't realize it wasn't a familiar term to everyone. Several years ago, some company came out with little boxes of random words printed on magnets. You put them on the fridge and arrange them into "poems" -- pretty limited poems since you have to work with the words you have! Anyway, a friend gave me the "dog poetry" box a few years ago and since then our fridge has become a repository for bad dog poetry, created mostly by me, though Walt moves a few pieces sometimes. All the poems have a story --- the one I posted yesterday was about the day Ivy finally got fed up with German Shepherd puppy Dallas and bit his leg. Following is our favorite.

Dogs poop and pee
Who did this?
Beg, smile, wag
No food for you
Dirty butt mutt.

Okay, like I said it is bad poetry But it's fun.

Sharyn

Refrigerator Poetry

2011-04-18T23:16:00.002-04:00

Morning run gambol
Chase tail
Happy play
Growl
Bite leg
Mean bitch.
Vet now.

Puppies available in Virginia

2011-04-13T22:46:00.000-04:00

Mimi

These two lovely fawn girls were bred by Jo Pelton and have come to visit us in Lexington, Virginia, for awhile. They're 12 weeks old, up to date on shots and worming, and the sweetest little things I've seen in a long time. All I can say is, someone better come for them soon or I'm keeping them! Their daddy is Yvonne Sovereign's Myles Ch Sowagla Quick Silver To Taejaan and I'll post info about their mama tomorrow (it's in the car).

Elsa

They are, of course, AKC registered, and come with pedigree, health records, toys, chewies, and everything else they'll need to get started.

Puppies this age do best with someone home most of the day for the first few months, especially if there are no other dogs to keep them company.

Although these are not technically Timbreblue puppies, they are closely related to our lines and come with full Timbreblue family support! (Jo Pelton is a dear friend, and as I mentioned, I have already gotten very attached to these little girls, so we'll want to keep up with them as if they were our own breeding)

If you're interested in one of these girls, fill out our questionnaire and give me a call at 540-464-8046 or send us an email

Sharyn

Granny Ivy and Siren visit Timbreblue South

2011-04-13T03:22:00.000-04:00

Granny Ivy and her great-great-granddaughter Siren visited Timbreblue South to see Rini, Fiona (Rini's daughter), Henry (Sporting Fields Move On) and Chase.

We celebrated Ivy's placements in Veterans and Veterans Sweeps at the American Whippet Club national specialty last week, and Henry's grandson's going WD/BOW over some amazing competition. The grass is turning green and the flowers are blooming here in South Carolina.

Puppies available in Virginia

2011-04-03T02:54:00.004-04:00

Our good friend Jo Pelton, whose dogs are related to the Timbreblues via the Appraxin line, has three female puppies available in Virginia.

One puppy is fawn, one is fawn with a black mask, and one is blue fawn. They're lovely puppies and they are grandpups of our Blue. The puppies are now 11 weeks old. If you're interested, you can email us at inquiries@timbreblue.com

Congratulations to some Timbreblue Whippets!

2011-03-31T20:02:00.001-04:00

I have been so far out of the loop for the past couple of months that I don't know if I will ever catch up. I'm going to try in the next couple of days to at least hit the highlights of what's been going on in the Timbreblue family. I will never, never remember it all.

First, congratulations to Nance Hamel in Long Island and Lori and Richard Allinder in Boston for arranging a "re-home' made in heaven for Lily (fka Kitkat from the Candy Dish litter of 2008). Lily -- now Glory, in keeping with Nance's southern theme -- was a little too wound up for the Allinders' new baby girl, and Nance had been wanting a Timbreblue whippet. They got together and Glory is now the happy roommate of Nance's whippets Rebel (fka Red Dog from Cal Perry) and Dixie, as well as Dago the German Shepherd and JLo the pit bull. We just love it when a plan comes together (Who remembers what TV show that line comes from? Careful...it will give away your age!)

We're awfully happy for Jill and Mike Butler, who added a rescue whippet girl to their family last month. Little Brie came to keep Jace (2004 Candy Dish litter) company...I guess Jace finally convinced them to go for the second potato chip.

Another big congratulations to Bev Crawley and Whisper (fka Marilyn from the 2004 Movie Stars litter), who earned Whisper's novice title from the World Canine Freestyle Organization (WCFO)! They will be doing a freestyle demo at the whippet national specialty in Lexington KY next week too!

Our other dancing whippet, Jake, became the first whippet ever to pass his proficiency levels for the WCFO, and just to put icing on the cake, he and owner Diana Cognigni earned his first leg in rally obedience!

No congratulatory post would be complete without yet another Atta Girl for Ashley and Bobbie Lutz. (So what have they done this week, you ask) Ashley will be receiving a Champion Award of Versatility at the national next week and is ranked in the top ten obedience whippets for 2010 as well. Bobbie and Fred's dogs Shannon and Travis are also receiving awards of versatility. I don't know whether Bobbie makes the rest of us look like slackers or Ashley just makes Timbreblue look good, but I'm going for the latter...

Ashley picks up some more UKC agility points

2011-03-29T00:06:00.002-04:00

Ashley (Ch Timbreblue Windrydr Biker Girl) and her owner/handler Bobbie Lutz picked up some more UKC agility points this past weekend (3/26-3/27) and had a blast!!

Ashley's FULL name is CH, UGRCH, URO2, UAGII, Timbreblue Windrydr Biker Girl, CD, SC, RA, NA, NAJ, NAP, NJP, FCH, CGC, TT

Ashley's many versatile titles include an AKC Championship and UKC Grand Championship in conformation showing, ASFA Field Championship in lure coursing (a test of the whippet's ability to show the chase instinct), Rally, Obedience, and Agility.

She's entered in the versatility competition at the American Whippet Club National Specialty this April in Lexington, Kentucky and we'll be cheering for her!

Baby Fiona and her daddy

2011-03-04T16:53:00.007-05:00

Just thought we would share a particularly sweet moment with baby Fiona (pictured at 16 weeks) and her daddy Henry. Fiona is our keeper from the "Halloween Litter" of Rini & Henry born October 28, 2010.

Rini is "Timbreblue Colors Outside the Lines" and Henry is "Sporting Fields Move On". All three dogs (mommy Rini, daddy Henry, and baby Fiona) are at home at Timbreblue in South Carolina.

It's unusual for a stud dog to be so patient and affectionate with puppies, but Henry is just a wonderful, laid-back kinda guy.

We were so happy to get him into our breeding program, because our line started with Grandma Ivy, who is half Sporting Fields -- she's a Luke daughter (Sporting Fields Kinsman). Henry and Grandma Ivy are directly related way back there in their pedigrees!

Rini was a great natural mother this first time, delivering all ten of her pups exactly on her due date, in seven hours with no problems or stillbirths. We are planning Rini's second litter for late fall or winter of 2011. She will be bred to a blue-factored male and should have some blue and blue fawn pups in addition to other colors. Please let us know if you are interested in a Rini puppy. Visit our website to learn more about Timbreblue Whippets.

Looking for an adult whippet? A puppy? Try WRAP!

2011-02-06T13:54:00.000-05:00

Check out WRAP (Whippet Rescue and Placement) -- there are whippets available from puppies on up to seniors. The puppies are in Louisiana and North Carolina -- the ones in Lousiana are definitely mixes and the ones in North Carolina may or may not be purebred, but they sure look like whippets. WRAP does not ship, so you have to find one within driving distance.

Senior whippets are a great opportunity to find out whether a sighthound is really your breed. You'll get a dog who's most likely housebroken, not too rambunctious, and it's not a 15-year commitment. Yes, you'll only have a few years with him, but think of the kindness you'll be doing for an old fellow who, through no fault of his own, has lost his home. We've always said that if people knew about the joys of old dogs, no one would be able to give away puppies! And every whippet deserves a sofa to call his own,

There's a fee for the dogs (otherwise, how could they afford to take in the next whippet in need?) but it's very reasonable and varies with the age and condition of the dog. Go to http://www.whippet-rescue.com/available.html for more information.

Why would you compete in agility with a whippet??

2011-02-05T15:15:00.002-05:00

A few of our owners have run into the question, "Why would you do agility (or obedience or rally or whatever) with a whippet? The whippet isn't the easiest dog to train, he's not always cooperative, and he's eager to please the owner only when the action also pleases himself. But whippets can do well in agility and obedience and rally. It just takes a little more time and patience to train them.

I figured out a couple of years ago that there are two types of competitors in dog events: those for whom the competition is the Thing and those for whom the dogs are the Thing.

For people who are devoted to the Competition, it makes sense for them to get the very best dogs they can for the specific competition. That's where most (not all) of the Border collie people come from in obedience, agility, etc. If one dog doesn't get him to the goal, this person is likely to replace the dog with a more competitive one.

I used to think this was a bad thing to do, but I've changed my mind. As long as the first dog is going to a home where he'll be adored for what he CAN do or IS, then he's better off than he would be with someone who is disappointed in him. There's not really any difference between those folks and the ones who show/breed dogs and "grow out" a puppy -- if she doesn't turn out to be breeding or show quality, it makes sense to let her go to a great home where she will be the most beautiful, perfect dog in the world! (It's very hard on the first owner, by the way, but it's best for the dog)

Then there are the people who have a dog and are looking for something to do with him. These people may be serious competitors, but they're not really expecting to be number one in the country at the sport. They don't usually care if they don't place in the ribbons (okay, so they may be disappointed, but it's not the end of the world) For these people, the Dog is the Thing and they would no more consider replacing a whippet with a Border collie just to win any more than they'd consider standing on their heads naked on New Year's Day. In the middle of Times Square. When it's snowing.

Someone who is dead set and determined to make it to the World Agility Open is not going to get a sighthound to begin with! That's not to say a sighthound couldn't do it, but it would sure be a lot easier with a Border collie, a Sheltie, or a Jack Russell. THESE are the people who say, "Why would you do agility with a sighthound?" They assume that the Competition is the Thing for everyone. They don't mean any harm. They just don't get it.

I've also met people who actually choose their breeds because it's easier to win with one of them in conformation showing. Whippets are difficult to finish championships on -- which is why we make such a big deal about it when someone actually gets points on one! That's because as show dogs, they are fairly popular.

As a matter of fact, in this part of the country, a whippet is the 11th hardest breed to get a major on. (Winning a major essentially means you've beaten a lot of other dogs, not just a few, in a specific show.) It takes 12 females for three points. That's more than all other breeds except Labs, Goldens, Danes, Boxers, Shelties, Welsh Corgis, Papillons, Rottweilers, Pugs, and Bulldogs. Whoda thunk? The point system is based on the number of dogs of a breed typically being shown in an area. So the breeds above, plus whippets, are the dogs shown by the most people around here. It's similar in most of the rest of the country. Which means the most popular show dogs are not necessarily the most popular pets. The top five pets include Labs and Goldens, but also German Shepherds, Yorkies, and Beagles, which are not among the most popular dogs to show.

But back to the matter at hand. Most of us compete because we want something to do with the dogs we already have and love. And win or lose, we go home with the dog we brought to the dance..

And by the way, another congratulations to our Ashley (above) owned by Bobbie and Fred Lutz. That would be CH, UGRCH, URO2, UAGII, Timbreblue Windrydr Biker Girl, CD, SC, RA, NA, NAJ, NAP, NJP, FCH, CGC, TT. Obviously, it can be done!

Moka and Beca did it again!

2010-12-19T20:54:00.000-05:00

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

2010-12-18T18:38:00.000-05:00

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!

2010-12-17T22:02:00.001-05:00

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

2010-11-28T19:14:00.001-05:00

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

2010-11-22T08:49:00.000-05:00

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!

2010-11-20T19:55:00.001-05:00

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!

2010-11-17T16:07:00.000-05:00

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!

2010-11-16T16:46:00.002-05:00

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!

2010-11-09T01:40:00.000-05:00

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

2010-11-08T21:40:00.001-05:00

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!

2010-11-08T19:37:00.000-05:00

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

2010-11-04T22:31:00.000-04:00

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!

2010-11-04T19:11:00.001-04:00

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!

2010-10-14T21:59:00.000-04:00

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!

2010-10-01T07:43:00.001-04:00

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?

2010-09-21T19:22:00.008-04:00

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

2010-09-08T22:36:00.000-04:00

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!

2010-09-04T22:53:00.001-04:00

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!

2010-08-30T12:55:00.002-04:00

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!

2010-08-13T14:13:00.001-04:00

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

2010-08-12T19:35:00.001-04:00

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

2010-08-08T22:09:00.002-04:00

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

Puppies available

2010-07-21T21:23:00.003-04:00

As Sharyn mentioned, people's plans change and although most of our puppies are sold before they are conceived, we usually end up with one or two puppies who are still available when it's time for them to go home.

Right now we have four puppies available, one male and three females. They will be able to go home beginning either next weekend (7/24-7/25) or the first week of August. Information about these puppies is here: http://www.timbreblue.com/component/content/article/184

Puppies are available to approved homes only. We like to place puppies within driving distance of south western Virginia, because we want to meet you and we do not ship puppies via airline. We also like to place puppies in a home where at least one person is home during the day. Young puppies need a lot of human companionship and socialization and that is difficult to do if the puppy is in a crate most of the day.

Please let us know if you are interested in talking with us about a puppy for your family.

Be Careful What You Wish For

2010-06-15T00:32:00.001-04:00

I think what we have here is a case of "Be careful what you wish for" all done up like one of those Russian babushka dolls -- a wish within a wish within a wish. We wanted puppies. Okay, we got 21 puppies (two litters, quite unintended -- see previous post). Wanted blues and blacks. Got three blacks, a blue brindle and two blue and white partis in the first litter, and the second litter looks like a black and white TV program on the webcam. Three solid blacks, a black and white parti, three solid blues, a blue fawn, a blue fawn parti, three blue and white partis. (Also in the first litter are a gorgeous fawn brindle and white, fawn and white and a red brindle -- bonuses, for sure even though I didn't ask for them) And finally, I wanted girls. Out of 21 puppies (good grief!) we have only eight males.

We're very fortunate that these puppies already have homes. Well, there may be one or two not spoken for, but I don't know for sure till the deposits come in or don't come in this week. People's plans change and sometimes they forget to let us know until we actually ask for money!

Above is the "set-up" -- mamas have gotten along great. That's Party inspecting. She is like the old maid aunt who has a ton of advice on how to raise your kids. Meanwhile, here's how the day goes.

6:00 am -- I'm up to feed Kara, pictured below, who has a cleft palate (more on her later) and has to be tube fed. Feed Chippy's litter -- they are on pureed Purina ONE. Clean both boxes (change pads, dump litter from the litter box trained ones -- the second litter is too young -- wash out litter box and put in fresh litter, which is actually, by the way, pelleted rabbit food) feed both moms, let all dogs out and back in, change moms' water and puppies' water bowls. Feed all the dogs. Then I usually go back to bed for a couple of hours.

9:00 am -- Walt is up, starts laundry, moderates email lists, general housework.

10:00 -- Walt feeds Kara and I get up again. Both of us check email, answer as much as we can. Clean puppy boxes several more times throughout the day as they need it. If there's a vet trip to be made, this is when I usually do it --there have been several a week with these litters. Chippy had some mastitis with a ruptured cyst, xray for Kara's leg and general check up once a week, there was the Juliet debacle wherein I thought thunderphobia was eclampsia, pick up feeding tubes for Kara, that kind of thing. Weigh Kara every day and the rest of the pups every week..

12:00 -- Puppy pictures, snuggling, getting them out of the box for stimulation, catch up on phone calls, More laundry for Walt. I fold and put away as it comes off the line. The puppies are still responsible for about four loads a day. We have hospital pads in the bottom of the boxes, and though the older ones are pooping in the litter box, they're still peeing on the pads, so that means changing them three or four times a day. The younger litter is still mostly being cleaned by Juliet, but their pads get wet too -- we change them about twice a day. Take all dogs out again. Feed mama dogs. Feed older pups. Grind puppy nails every three days to keep them from scratching up mama.

2:00 - Feed Kara, and I usually get a nap while Walt babysits, doing dishes and laundry in short bursts..

4:00 -- I'm back up to clean boxes, work on some email, maybe file a puppy report to the email lists (Timbreblue Pups is for our current owners and Timbreblue Pupwatch for anyone who is interested in keeping up with the litters) Straighten puppy room -- it is small with two big whelping boxes in it and everything has to be in the proper place or it gets crazy. Take mommies outside. (A whole lot of food is going through them!) Walt gets outside work done -- gardening, mowing grass, etc. This weekend he built the two litter boxes. If he has errands to run (he does the grocery shopping), now's the time.

6:00 One of us asks for ideas for dinner and eventually someone gets around to fixing it. Sometimes we grill out, more commonly we eat something from a can. No time for major cooking these days! Time to feed Kara again and clean boxes. Take dogs out again. Feed all dogs and change water.

8:00 Usually we are settled back into the puppy room for the evening and turn on the webcam. When I have time, I try to join in the chat -- this is all at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/timbreblue-whippets and the password is whippets. Often though, I am busy with email (lots of puppy buyers with 21 puppies!), doing the usual puppy chores -- cleaning, changing water, feeding, etc. Walt often does puppy updates now and I update the record books. Each litter has one, with a page for each puppy and an overall litter page, as well as details on the breedings and whelpings. It's very useful to go back to these when I'm panicking about something with a litter in the future!

10:00 pm Walt feeds Kara and heads for bed and I finish up with cleaning, feed the older pups and mommies one last time, take my shower and settle into my bedroll on the floor. We discussed my actually going back to the bedroom now -- the puppies do not need 24/7 supervision -- but since I have to get up at two and six to feed Kara, we decided it was best if one of us got to sleep through the night uninterrupted by an alarm clock. Somehow getting to bed takes me till midnight and a couple of times I have been stupid enough to stay up till two so I can get Kara's feeding done before I lie down.

2:00 am Feed Kara, take mommies out.

4:00 am - Walt gets up for an hour or so, checks on us (on a good night we are all asleep!), moderates the email lists and does some correspondence. He has always done this -- goes to bed early, gets up at three or four, goes back to bed around five, and sleeps till nine. So this is not really part of the puppy schedule unless he sees something that needs tending -- water bowl empty, puppy distressed about something (though that usually wakes me up immediately!)

6:00 am -- And it starts all over.

Have I mentioned how much I love breeding? I really do, and even with a schedule like the above, there is nothing as much fun as sitting in the middle of the floor with a lap full of whiplets! (Remind me of that in four weeks when they are all out of the box and finding new and creative places to use the bathroom)

And please forgive me for being a little sentimental, but the best days of all are the ones when these puppies go home with their new best friends. For someone to choose us as a breeder is the highest compliment we're paid, and we take our responsibility very seriously. The goal is to create happy, healthy pets, dogs that look and act like whippets, and for every litter to be a bit better than the one before. We don't presume to say we are breeding to "improve the breed" -- I believe it is close to perfect as it is! -- but we do strive to improve the health of the breed and preserve the type, and above all, do no harm.

It's Give Your Vet a Laugh Day!

2010-06-06T19:21:00.000-04:00

One of the many scary things that can happen to a mama dog is eclampsia, what the old-timers called milk fever. Because of the demands from the puppies nursing, she loses calcium at such a rate that she can go into seizures and even die. The early symptoms include panting, pacing, extreme nervousness, shivering...you get the picture. It's most common in small to medium breeds with large litters.

So last Tuesday when Juliet began panting, pacing, being extremely nervous, and shivering, I got scared. She was completely irrational, trying to climb between the whelping box and the wall -- there's about an eight-inch space between them. She was even stepping on her puppies in her frenzy. I've never had a dog with eclampsia, but as a breeder, I live in fear of it (as well as about 100 other things that can go terribly wrong!)

I called the vet in a near panic (eclampsia can be fatal very rapidly) and rushed her to the clinic. As I was getting her out of the car, thunder rolled. We'd had a storm earlier and it had apparently not moved entirely out of the area. Juliet and I entered the vet's office, and as I was describing her symptoms, I suddenly stopped in the middle of a sentence. I pulled out my cell phone and called my daughter Jo. Juliet lived with Jo for the past couple of years and came back to me last fall.

Jo answered with her usual, "Hey, Mama, what's up?"

"Is Juliet, by any chance, thunder-phobic?"

"Oh yes, she's awful. She paces and pants and shivers and tries to climb..."

"Into small spaces?"

"Yes!"

Since Juliet had been with Jo in the summers, I'd never had here during storm season. I looked at the receptionist and said, "I think I just rushed Juliet over here for being afraid of thunder."

After she stopped laughing, I added, "Since we are here, why don't we run a calcium level?"

We did, the vet and vet techs had a good laugh at my expense, the calcium level and the rest of her bloodwork was totally normal, and about $120 later, we were home and she was settled back in with the puppies.

Yes, I guess lack of sleep really is getting to me...

All those puppies! Or A Tail of Two Mamas

2010-05-24T18:08:00.000-04:00

This post is from Walt, the other half of Timbreblue Virginia.

I'd like to explain how we wound up with the prospect of 22 whippet puppies. It's not routine for us -- our puppies are raised inside and underfoot, so that number is a daunting prospect!

A little bit about breeding: You can breed dogs by having one each, male and female. However if you have a breeding program -- a plan, goals, a standard for success, and so on -- you'll probably need six to ten. A small-scale breeder might typically have:

1) Two females that are expected to be bred in the next year or in alternate years. Preferably not at the same time!

Katie growing up --->

2) Two more females that are too young -- we don't breed them before age two because kids having kids is bad for dogs too! These females are generally your own breeding and you want to live with them during their puppyhood and adolescence so you can see who and what they really are. Temperament? Health? Structure? Behavior around other dogs? Around younger puppies? Around people? Even when another breeder (selling you a dog) is absolutely honest, you cannot get equally detailed information. Mom is considered to be 60-75% of what you get

in a puppy, so choosing the right females is critical to success.

3) Many breeders keep at least one male. You can (and we often do) pay a 'stud fee' to another breeder for use of a male you don't own, but owning them is the best way to get acquainted. And Dad does matter. We don't like to use males younger than six because we want them to have a health track record.

Generally one should not, today, do breedings that would be illegal as human marriages, so breeding your own to your own is unwise unless you're able to maintain two or more distinct families ('lines'). Our two males came from Appraxin Kennels, and are only fairly distantly related to our girls. Genetic diversity is now critical to the survival of most breeds.

4) An older puppy or two that is being evaluated.

5) A rehome (from another breeder) awaiting placement, perhaps a puppy returned from your own program -- about one in twenty of ours comes back. Some of these dogs must wait for a specific sort of home, meaning they're here for several months. And like many other breeders, we do some rescue when needed, so there's usually an "extra mouth to feed" even if we didn't breed it!

6) Old folks who have retired but earned a permanent home with the breeder.

<---- Ivy

at 14 1/2

We often place our adults (at great emotional expense) after their breeding days are done. Since they're among six, seven, or eight here, we feel our mamas deserve their own private sofas and to be one of just two or three in homes where they will be cherished as much as they are here. We do what's best for the dog, even though it hurts to let go. But there are some we cannot part with. They remain here to help bring up puppies and snuggle on the couch with us. Ivy is the Queen Mother here. Party will also not be leaving,

So at a minimum, a hobby breeder with an ongoing program has six to feed, house, and pay vet bills for, year-round. Plus when you have a litter there'll be some number of puppies awaiting homes: We keep them to ten weeks minimum and it usually takes 12-15 weeks for all to leave.

<--- Our boy Blue

An average pet dog costs $500-1000/year to maintain, but breeding dogs require more of everything, including more vet care. Immediately before every breeding, a test of both animals for brucellosis -- the doggy STD, which, unfortunately can be caught from a toilet seat, or at least from non-sexual contact with other dogs. (It kills whole litters, sterilizes both adults, and can spread through all your dogs.) Also a 'breeding soundness' evaluation of the bitch. A c-section now and then -- average price $1000. Removal of dewclaws, and a pre-sale vet check for every puppy. Health screenings for whatever are the testable issues in the breed -- at least eyes and hearts for whippets. Plus whatever bad veterinary incidents happen in a year: There are always one or two.

Nearly all dogs do well on any major brand of food but most hobby breeders feed a grade or so above the middle of the range, if only because the stools are smaller. In a year's time, we pick up a lot of stools.

Rini waiting her turn --->

There are constant seemingly one-time expenses: We didn't plan to have any use for a tank of oxygen, but we have it: Rental $35. Usually we tube feed one or two for a few days: More #8 French feeding tubes, syringes, etc., needed this time, $20. Miscellaneous whelping supplies -- a couple hundred dollars per litter. We had a perfectly good whelping box from previous litters: Dissassembly, pressure wash, and fresh coat of shellac: $8 New whelping box for the second litter, $300 in materials. We had plenty of hospital pads for the one whelping box for a single litter: More hospital pads $120. New shower curtain (we use the old one to cover the whelping box floor) $10. Improvements to puppy room floor: $100+ in materials.

Prior to WW II middle class folks owned mixed breeds whelped under the neighbor's porch. The breeding of purebred dogs (the only intentional breeding -- there were no 'designer' dogs) was mostly by wealthy people who owned large kennels. These individuals could afford substantial ongoing costs. After the war, however, both breeding and ownership of purebreds moved into the middle class. Although a very few of the early large hobby kennels did return a significant income to the owners, today's smaller home kennels, do not. Having looked at the numbers for more than ten years now, I can tell you that even if you ignore the value of your time, it is impossible to break even over any several-year period.

Sharyn tells me that we made $346 last year. However, that's a before-tax number and because we have to treat our hobby as a hobby for tax purposes -- the legal status of a breeding business in Virginia is intolerable -- the taxes were much more than that. We paid $1373 in additional taxes because we had income from a hobby, even though nearly all of it was offset by expense.

A realistic goal for hobby breeding is that outgo doesn't much exceed income over any period of a year or more. When a year starts as this one did, with a litter of four (a very expensive four -- about $500 in extra registration fees!) coming right after a year when our investment-based retirement income was way down, the future of our program is in doubt. We had planned another litter now anyway, but now, not having one wasn't a realistic option if we wanted to be able to keep breeding at all.

Chippy -->

This was to be Chippy's first litter so we had no track record to go on. Then she refused mating (when the physical signs said she was ready) until a progesterone test said "It is already too late." We got her bred, but the vet said there was no way she'd be pregnant.

Then Juliet came in season a bit earlier than expected, a few weeks before we would be able to tell if Chippy was even pregnant.

&$*%*$&! Hobby breeding is always a little like bungee-jumping with Mother Nature tying your bungee, but this was really exciting. Based on our estimate that the most likely scenario was just one litter and two medium or small litters was much less likely, but possible. So we did the Juliet breeding.

<---- Little mamas

And what did we get? We had sent Chippy back to South Carolina, where she lives most of the time with daughter Jo and SIL Derek. Then we got that call from Jo telling us Chippy definitely had a "baby bump."Chippy was not only pregnant but had a litter of nine. And Juliet is carrying 13.

Yes, we should be able to pay expenses this year -- but we have to get through the whelping and care of twice as many as ever before. The two of us are doing nothing else right now and it'll be several weeks before that changes. And when it developed that Kara required tube feeding every two hours, and Chippy's milk didn't come in as quickly as usual so all the pups needed supplementing for a few days, we were darn glad to have Jo come up to help for the first few days post-whelp.

Nature expects to throw a few away in these large litters but in fact if they get enough to eat, they nearly always all become healthy adults. So we'll probably be supplementing some of Juliet's puppies as well. It's going to get busier before it gets easier.

But -- It's a hobby. We do it because we love the dogs, we enjoy the challenge, and of course there's the wonderful (and growing) Timbreblue family, the people who really do make it all worthwhile.

Walt

P.S. We're not worried about homes for the puppies, fortunately. We will keep one or two for breeding and show prospects and we have an extensive waiting list for the others. We are lucky to have simply incredible people applying for these pups, so they'll all be going to great homes. I think Sharyn told me we have 15 on the list already, so before Juliet's litter is even born, most are tentatively placed. We keep in touch with all our owners through an email list and occasional phone calls, as well an an annual reunion. So though our family will be growing quickly in the next month or so, we know these puppies will be safe and well-loved!

Juliet -->

Slate is Going Home and We Have PUPPIES!!!

2010-05-23T21:27:00.007-04:00

Slate has found a wonderful new family in Richmond, Virginia, and will be leaving this Friday to live with two greyhounds. If he does not drive them completely crazy (they are older dogs) I'm sure this home will work out for him. Very committed dog owners.

And Chippy -- Timbreblue Goes With Sailors -- had a litter of nine last Saturday (a week ago) by our lovely Blue -- Appraxin Amulet Avant Garde.
She actually had eight on her own, required a c-section for the last two -- one of them was dead. It was not an easy delivery, but she is a real trouper and a great mom. And we have colors you wouldn't believe, blue and white parti, black and white, black, fawn, fawn brindle, blue brindle, and red brindle. Four males, five females.

One of the little girls was really little -- 7 ounces as opposed to the rest of them being 11-14 ounces. She's not nursing, so we're tube feeding her every two hours around the clock. She also gets oxygen and is on Amoxicillin for some pneumonia she picked up, but I think -- pray -- we have turned the corner and little Kara will make it. She's up to 9.4 ounces now. It worries me that she got no colostrum from her mother's milk, but we'll have to take it a day at a time.

Fortunately our daughter Johannah came up from South Carolina to help -- she is Chippy's co-owner and Chippy lives with her most of the time. She was a godsend, as this has been exhausting. And Juliet's pups are due in a few days! Read the next post to see how a breeder can end up with two litters at once when it's not really the plan.

We have quite a long waiting list for these pups, but since it appears we're going to have a whole bunch more, there will probably be some still available to excellent homes. If you are interested, join the Timbreblue Pupwatch email group for updates on the litters and fill out our questionnaire at our website. You'll find everything you need to know about us there, including our price and guarantee on puppies, what we look for in homes for our pups, our breeding philosophy and more. If you have further questions, call me at 540-464-8046,

Slate Needs A New Family!

2010-05-09T20:38:00.006-04:00

Slate, from the Gemstone litter, came back to us a few weeks ago and is now ready for a new home. His owner was a young woman who lived in an apartment and Slate apparently really didn't like being the only dog. He is a sweet, rather easygoing fellow, but when he was left alone in his crate, even for just a few hours, he announced his unhappiness to the surrounding apartment dwellers and even managed to get out of his crate!

Here, he has stayed quietly in his crate for varying times as I tried to reconstruct the problem so we could deal with it.The only time he cries is when he is left alone, without other dogs, and then it doesn't matter whether he is loose in the room or crated. So it's not the crate, it's the loneliness! I suspect this is because he stayed with us till he was almost five months old. They usually leave at ten weeks, but Slate's new owner was not able to take him then, so we held him for her. He became accustomed to always having other dogs around and I think he is just not going to be happy anywhere unless he has some canine company as well as an owner to love.

Slate is a lovely blue fawn boy, just turned eight months old. He's mostly well-mannered (which is the best you can say about any puppy if you're honest), crate-trained, housetrained, and leash trained. He's very, very affectionate and just likes to cuddle. He's a typical energetic whippet who needs to run a couple of times a day, but is happy between runs to hang out on the sofa.

The pictures are of him with his dad, Blue. Slate is the lighter one in the picture. He gets along very well with males and females and has met a number of other breeds. Like most whippets, he likes other sighthounds best, but I'm sure he would adjust to any friendly doggy roommate (he says especially if she's a girl!).

He is AKC registered, up to date on shots, and has a microchip. He still gets a little woozy in the car sometimes, but is growing out of the typical whippet-puppy-carsickness. He will need to be neutered around a year old. His parents were both health screened clear for eye problems and heart issues.

If you'd like to talk about whether Slate might be a good dog for you, please fill out our questionnaire and give me a call at 540-464-8046. Mornings and afternoons are best.

Older pups available in Florida

2010-05-09T13:16:00.007-04:00

I thought I had posted these little cuties before, but I don't see them anywhere, so I guess I dreamed it! At any rate, these little girls belong to Ruby Sipper in Englewood, Florida (between Sarasota and Ft Myers) and are looking for homes. Each has a blue eye, which disqualifies them from the show ring (too bad -- they are gorgeous puppies!) but does not detract one little bit from their charm.

If you're interested in one of them -- I think they are in the six-months range) contact Ruby at srsipper@msn.com

Coursing with Lurchers

2010-03-28T15:10:00.026-04:00

Yesterday I loaded up Aero and Katie to try a little coursing. It was a private party and I was coming as the friend of some invitees. Nellie, Betsy and I met up with Julie, her whippet Rio and Aussie Tansy and headed out. A couple of one-lane bridges and lots of windy roads later, we arrived at a gorgeous home in the country with a beautiful barn and acres of pastures.

The rest of the party attendees mostly had big dogs. Really big dogs. Turns out our host and hostess breed lurchers and most of these were their pups from over the years. I guess it's kind of like a Timbreblue reunion but open to more guests and other breeds (we limit ours to whippets because though they can be fairly bigoted about other breeds, whippets generally get along with each other.)

Lurchers are a purpose-bred mix of any sighthound breed with any herding breed, and they are

generally used to bring in game. Our hostess told me they wanted dogs who could take down larger game than rabbits. (I didn't tell her about Boo and the groundhogs and I don't think she believed my story about Django and the deer, but I let it go.)

Lure coursing is a competitive sport developed for sighthounds -- the hounds chase a white trash bag attached to a string on a pulley. The course goes through a big open field with various turns and ends up back at the lure machine. It is supposed to test a dog's instinct for chasing game, but most dogs who are taken lure coursing never do hunt live game. It's just a doggy sport these days. On this day, there was no competition. It was a private get-together of friends and their dogs. We had a lovely day relaxing in the field watching dogs run the lure and not run the lure. Nellie had her Border Collie Jeb, who spent the whole day "giving eye" to the plastic trash bags. When his turn came to run, he tried his best to herd them, and I guess he figured he did okay since they went back to where they started. He must have thought those were the smallest, fastest sheep ever.

Our vet tech friend Marlena showed up later with her Boston Terrier

Barley, who was so eager to run I thought he would have an asthma attack waiting for his turn! That little fellow could fly! Julie's Aussie would not run, but whippet Rio is a pro and we gave Katie a try teamed up with him. She was a little confused at first, but figured out quickly what to do and though she never caught Rio, she was no slacker.

Next we thought, well, if Katie knew what to do, maybe she would show Aero. Wrong. Julie helped me get them lined up, the lure took out, we let the dogs go, and they headed off at a dead run. In the wrong direction.

They'd apparently decided to go for a lengthy "free run" up at the house, where there was a kennel, a barn, lots of interesting smells, a few other people.... Well, you get the idea. Julie and I hiked up that way to call them back, but they were having none of it. I kept catching glimpses of them darting in and out of hedges and checking out the horse barn. Zip zip zip.

"Food Chick is calling us."

"Yeah."

"Shouldn't we go back?"

"Are you kidding??"

"We might get in trouble!"

"So what's she going to do, beat us?"

"Well, no, but she is going to be pretty mad."

"Nah. she's a pushover. She'll be so glad we didn't get hurt she'll forget she's mad."

"But--"

"Oh grow up, kid! We're whippets! We don't take no steenkin orders!"

A lady who was headed down to the coursing party helped us by blocking them off finally. Eventually Katie came dashing back to me, grinning from ear to ear, and not long after, Aero came looking for her and we managed to snag him too. Then the long walk back down to the coursing group.

That was it for Aero, though I promised him we would try again another day after my heart rate recovered from this time. And after he has had a few obedience lessons. While Katie had the decency to look a little guilty for not coming when I called, Aero didn't even look my way!

Aero has a history, you know. A few years ago when he belonged to Cal Perry, he was sold to a breeder in Ohio. En route to his new home, he overnighted in West Virginia and escaped. In spite of lots of people searching for him, he seemed to have disappeared. This was in December, I believe. He lived for two months on his own in the WV mountains in the dead of winter. Eventually he was found and recovered, though by then his new owner had changed her mind, so (lucky for me!) he went back to Cal's house. But let's just say I was not looking forward to calling Calvin and telling him that Aero was on the lam again!

Anyway, after the great adventure, we let Katie run again with Rio and she almost caught him this time! Jeb the Border Collie got to "herd" the bags a few more times, and an interesting dog called a Leopard Cur took a shot at it. She decided against it, however, and ran back to her mom.

After the sun began to go down we all retired to the house for drinks and a really good dinner. Katie and Aero curled up together and slept till I came back out and I think they would have quite happily slept in the car all night.

Lots of fun and it made me wish once again that we had some regular lure coursing closer to our house. Watching whippets doing what they are bred to do is an experience that anyone who loves the breed should have!

A Letter from Jake

2010-03-24T22:11:00.008-04:00

We get phone calls and emails every day from our puppy owners, but very, very occasionally, we get one from a puppy himself. This one arrived today from Jake, formerly Tater of the Thanksgiving Litter. It sounds like he is proving that puppies are not for the faint of heart!

--------------------------------------------------

Hi,

Me don't know if I'm liken this or not.....momma said her was gonna send me to the outhouse...me don't know what that is???? I libe in a house and the only other house I remember is with gramma Sharyn and grandpa Walt.

Maybe Me should tell you how come momma is gonna send me there...Me was feelin' kindda like liddle...well almost everything here is greyhound supersized....Me was on the back porch with Rocky....Me likes Rocky, him doesn't tattle tail on me...he's not like Cody who tells momma everything me do's...ANy way Me decided to make the blue outside dog bed my size...it was lotsa fun! First Me took off the tag and that opened the bed up so me could start bitting off pieces of the foammie stuff...me was having fun bitting and throwing and making the bed just my size!

Momma peaked out to see how we were doing and ZOWieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee WOWieeeeeeeeeeeeeee me neber heard such a scarey noise...holy guacamole!!!!!!!!!! holy

crap!!!!!!!!!!!!! Whadda mouth my momma has! As her was pickin' up the foammie stuff her said her was gonna send me to the outhouse....some how me don't think me is gonna like it there!

Mom said that her didn't think me should be a mattress maker when me grows up...her liked it better when me was trimming the bushes out back last week...me not convinced that me wants to be a bush trimmer when me grows up so me will try something another time...me thinks me better give momma lotsa kisses before I try something else!

Jake

PuPpY PoWeR

Northeastern Pennsylvania

Happy Valentine's Day!

2010-02-14T15:27:00.000-05:00

Happy Valentine's Day from Timbreblue Whippets. Our Valentine whippet below is "Boo" with his owner Jeanne Ayers.

The Big Snow 2-6-10

2010-02-09T18:54:00.007-05:00

Well, we didn't get as much snow as many people in Virginia, but the dogs have sure been enjoying it!

Aero airborne!

A race around the yard. From front to back, Alex, Katie, Slate, and Blue

Blue with four in the air!

Barnaby and Chippy taking a break

Slate has a home!

2010-01-07T18:35:00.000-05:00

We're happy to report that Slate will be going to live in Virginia Beach with the Reyne family. Welcome to the Timbreblue family!

Four-month-old male puppy available

2009-12-29T22:03:00.007-05:00

Well, we had a puppy buyer simply vanish into thin air on us, so Slate, a lovely blue fawn male, is available from the Julliet and Blue litter. He is a sweet boy, middle-of-the-road temperament, well on his way to being housetrained. We're also working with him on crate and leash-training. There are advantages to buying an older puppy!

He's had all the vaccinations appropriate for his age and is healthy and playful. If you're interested in buying Slate, check out our price and guarantee page (which also tells you a little about our breeding goals) and fill out our puppy questionnaire and give me a call at 540-464-8046. We don't ship and he's too big to fit under a seat to fly home, so his new owner will have to drive to pick him up. We're located about an hour north of Roanoke, VA at the intersection of I-81 and I-64.

We don't have many hard-and-fast rules about our owners -- we think that good dog homes come in lots of shapes and sizes. The one thing that 's nonnegotiable is that we don't want one of our pups left alone all day. Little puppies need interaction and a couple of hours in the evening after work just aren't enough. Besides, I can't imagine coming home to a wound-up, lonely puppy who wants to kiss-kiss-kiss, play-play-play while I'm trying to clean up the mess he made all day! If no one is home during most of the day, we suggest an adult whippet and will be happy to help you find one (Yes, an adult whippet will bond with you. This is the original love-the-one-you're-with breed!)

We like to stay in touch with all our owners. The Timbrebluepups email list is restricted to Timbreblue and Marnay whippet owners and is a fairly busy group. People swap stories, problems, and photos and we've really developed into an extended family over the years. Once a year, we have a whippet reunion, where the people who have gotten to know each other via email get to meet in person...or get reacquainted from the previous year. Some years there are well over 60 whippets and their owners, and this year, even in the pouring rain we had 40! Needless to say, it's the high point of my year and, I understand, for many of the Timbreblue owners as well!

Available: The Amazing Alexis

2009-12-26T22:01:00.012-05:00

Alex just might be the smartest whippet puppy we've ever had here at Timbreblue and she's looking for a home that's a good fit for her.

Alex was bred by our friend Jo Pelton and we helped her find the pup a home with a couple in Waynesboro, Virginia, last summer. But Alex turned out to be a lot more puppy than her people could handle. Though Jo and I both worked with them to help them deal with her, it became apparent that, although they were a great home and Alex is a great whippet, it was just a bad match. They are an older couple who had not had a dog in years and Alex, it turned out, was an awfully smart, awfully active puppy! When it became obvious that Alex needed to go back to her breeder, though, Jo was in the hospital having some knee surgery, so Walt and I offered to take Alex back here. Her father, after all, was our Aero, so we have some responsibility for her too.

Alex has turned out to be an absolutely delightful and entertaining temporary addition to our household. Okay, the truth is, we have been enjoying her so much that we have been remiss in trying to find her a new home. But she needs and deserves her own family, so she is now officially a whippet in need of a home.

First, the basics. Alex is a red and white female whippet, born last April. Her bloodline is pure Appraxin -- her father is Appraxin Aero, who came to live with us shortly after he fathered this litter. She's about medium sized for a whippet, maybe a bit smaller framed, though she's going through a lanky stage right now. She looks very feminine, but Alex is a tough little tomboy who will take on anything.

She's well housebroken, crate trained, and leash trained, and she knows a few obedience commands. This is a bright little girl who can learn anything she wants to!

She's a little shy when she first meets someone and has not been exposed to children. When she saw my grandchildren at Thanksgiving, she barked at them, but I think she would do better with older children. She had just never seen people that short before!

When I asked Walt what words he would use to describe Alex, he said, "Intelligent...active... funny...troublemaker..." I agreed. We have had more fun with this little girl than we've ever had with a "foster"whippet, and if we didn't have seven (eight? I forget) whippets already, we'd be hard pressed to let her go at all.

The main reason we haven't been actively trying to place her is that she really needs a very special owner who will appreciate her intelligence and drive. I have never known a whippet who could figure things out as quickly as Alex. She can open her crate from the outside (we keep a clip on it when she's in it to keep her from opening from the inside!) and often does so when she wants a drink of water or a toy she left. She would excel at obedience training, agility, and probably lure coursing...anything that will keep her busy.

Alex is also extremely affectionate. She loves to drape herself over your shoulders or just plop herself down in your lap. I woke up from a nap on the sofa one day to find her wrapped around my neck like a mink stole. She often props herself up in the corner of the sofa, hind legs extended straight out and front legs crossed, almost as if she is imitating a human. This puppy has made us laugh more than any dog we have ever owned, and that's saying a lot when you've had as many whippets as we have!

If you need a best friend who is willing to go anywhere and do anything with you, a dog who is eager to learn and loves to try new things, Alex may be your puppy. Give me a call at 540-464-8046. There are more pictures of her at our Picasa site.

Looking for a whippet?

2009-11-24T20:56:00.015-05:00

I've been missing in action for awhile now, taking care of Juliet's litter of 11 puppies! Though we had them all placed by five weeks, one of our future owners has decided to wait for the next litter, so we have one male puppy (Jasper) available after all. We also have Alex, an eight month old red and white female available and Naydene Mitchell of Marnay Whippets in Chesapeake has a two-year-old male, Frosty Gator.

Jasper is a solid fawn with white tips and a white blaze in a charcoal face. He's a fairly laidback fellow as whippets go. He will be 12 weeks old Friday and is well on his way to being housetrained. All shots appropriate to his age, dewormed, AKC registered, microchipped, 100% guaranteed.

You can find out more than you ever wanted to know about us and this litter on the website. If you think you'd make a good home for Jasper, fill out our questionnaire and give me a call at 540-464-8046. Pictures of the puppies are on our Picasa site -- this is the Gemstone litter. Pictures of Juliet and Blue, the parents, are also there. Here are a couple of photos of Jasper taken recently. He's a typical whippet puppy, full of fun and trouble, but needs a relatively quiet home. Not a good one for rambunctious kids. He likes to take things a litter more slowly, but once he gets to know you, he's full of himself!

We do require that someone is home with the puppy for most of the day for the first few months and that you stay in touch to let us know how he is doing.

In addition to Jasper, we have a funny little girl named Alex, who has stolen everyone's heart who has met her. Alex is eight months old and was bred by a good friend of mine, Jo Pelton. When Alex's first home did not work out, I offered to bring her here for evaluation and rehoming since Jo was about to have surgery. Well, we have enjoyed Alex so much that I've really dropped the ball on trying to find her a new home, but it's time for us to let her find her real family.

Alex is a beautiful red and white girl. Her father is our Aero (pictures at the Picasa site. She is an exceptionally smart whippet, and extremely busy.

Alex needs a home where someone is home with her most of the time. She is so full of herself and full of life. I can't imagine leaving her in a crate all day, though she is well crate-trained, sleeps in one, and stays in one when we're not available to keep an eye on her.

And you do have to keep an eye on her or she will steal you blind. She's into everything, loves to chew up pens, pencils, books, paper, anything plastic, cell phones....you name it. But she's easily re-directable, and you just figure out what the Alex-targets are and put them away. She gets along very well with other dogs -- males and females, loves to run, but needs a fenced yard. We have a four-foot picket fence and she has never dug out or gone over it -- I've never even seen her try, but left alone in a yard and bored, she might -- she's a VERY social girl.

She is a little shy around new people and is not at all familiar with children -- my young grandchildren (one and three years old) were here this weekend and she barked at them until we had to put her away. I'm sure she would adjust and would probably make a great kid' dog, but it would take some training and desensitization. I don't believe she had ever seen a short person before this weekend!

She doesn't take long to warm up to people, and then she is all over you. She's doing better with manners and we're working with the leash training problem daily -- she only "hits the end of the lead" once a day or so now (and we take her out on a lead seven or eight times a day). Her only real behavior problem other than general puppy wildness is that she is food and toy aggressive with other dogs. Not people at all. I make it a point of taking her treats and chewies away regularly and if she planned to be snappy with people about it, she would have certainly done so with me. However, she's guardy with those things around other dogs, and that can be a problem with a dog who's not very laid back. All of our dogs tolerate the behavior except for Ivy, who tolerates nothing -- so we have no treats or chewies unless in the crate for the duration of her time here. She has been a great nanny for Juliet's litter and they have kept her busy for the past few weeks.

Alex has the cutest habits of any whippet I know. She loves to drape herself over your shoulders if you're sitting in a chair. Yesterday she was looking out the window over the back of the sofa, and she was sitting on Ivy's head (Ivy was sleeping on the sofa) She often leans on the back of a chair, sitting on her tailbone, with her back legs extended straight out in front of her and her front paws crossed in the air at about chest level. It's as if she is imitating a person sitting in a chair! She loves wearing her jammies, and when she is tired of them, takes them off herself. She can also open her crate from the outside...not from the inside yet, but we keep a clip on it just in case.

Alex is up to date on all shots and worming, but will need to be spayed.

If this sounds like your dream whippet, let me know -- we are looking for very special people for her and even though she is not officially Timbreblue, she and her owners will definitely be members of the family to us!

We don't ship and we do require that people come here so we can meet them and they can meet us before we place a pup. Our dogs can always, always come back here again if they need to for any reason.

And finally, if even eight months is too young for you, contact Naydene Mitchell about Frosty Gator, a Timbreblue great grandson. He's two years old and needs a home with no other male dogs. I'll get some pictures of him tomorrow too.

Reunion Update

2009-10-15T09:39:00.003-04:00

The annual Timbreblue/Marnay Whippet reunion for our extended family is scheduled for this Saturday in Leesburg, VA, where the temperature will be around 40 and rain is predicted. We're still going and we'll have fun, dammit! We're going to bundle up ourselves and our whippets and we may spend the day snuggled with our whippets under the tent drinking hot cider and chocolate, but it's still on! We'll get there around ten and it will last until we all give up and go home! Sweatshirts saying "I survived the 2009 Timbreblue/Marnay Whippet Reunion" will be available next week!

Our celebrity whippets!

2009-10-06T19:11:00.013-04:00

It was an exciting weekend for some of our family. Lucia and Conner (from Marnay -- great daughter and grandson of Ivy) won a place in the Smiling Dogs slideshow for The Bark magazine. They're the last photo in the slide show and are pictured with owner Vanessa and her friend Susan. Watch the whole slideshow -- it will definitely give you a lift!

And some of our New York contingent, Rebel, Simone, and Henry did a photo shoot for the Houndz in the Hood whippet clothing line. Really. Here is the Scintillating Simone, who belongs to our dear young friend Rachel of Brooklyn.

The Handsome Henry, owned by Rachel's mom Joy, apparently has become a real New Yorker. Here's a photo of him after he shopped till he dropped. The whippets were paid for their services in merchandise and are definitely going to be the best-dressed dogs on the streets of New York.

People who have managed to stick with this sometimes-blog may remember Rebel as Red, the shy boy who came to us from a breeder who was retiring. He had never been away from home in his eight years, and there were times I despaired of ever finding him just the right home. But Walt and I believe that with only a few exceptions, there is a home for every dog, so we just kept waiting and watching and working with Red here to develop his confidence.

Well, out of the clear blue came an email from Nance in Long Island who just loves working with dogs with problems! Boy, did I have a dog for her. The only trouble was getting him to her. And again Fate was kind. It happened that Joy and Rachel had brought Simone and Henry down to stay with us for awhile when they went to England. They agreed to take Red (now Rebel) back to New York with them when they picked up their crew. And you would never know Rebel as that same shy boy we had here. As Nance says, "Forget Fabian...there's a new stud in town!"

Congratulations to all our stars and an extra hug for Rebel. I always knew he had it in him to be a great dog!

Pickin' Puppies

2009-09-18T12:05:00.001-04:00

A number of you have emailed asking how we determine who gets which puppy, so I thought I would respond here. If you are not on our waiting list and want to be. now's the time. We still have a couple of males available but there are a few people who are trying to decide, so those may be spoken for at any time. Also, we usually have one or more people whose plans change when time comes to take the puppies home -- new job, divorce, move, whatever -- so sometimes there's a puppy available at the last minute. Now: How do we match puppies to people, do you get to choose, etc.

If you pick a dog solely by the way it looks, the relationship runs the risk of working out about as badly as a marriage based solely on looks. We try to match puppies with homes where they will fit in best -- in other words, we don't place

a quiet puppy in a home with four kids or the rowdiest one in a home where the people just want a snuggle-pup.

That said, most of our whippets are fairly similar in temperament --- we're not going to come up with one as slow-moving as a St. Bernard puppy or as hyper as a Jack Russell. We hope not anyway. There's a range in each litter -- usually a big mouth, a pushy one, a quiet one, a whiner, a goodie two-shoes...the usual mix you get on any playground!

That does not mean you don't get to pick your puppy. We try to arrange it so that you have a choice and we certainly do our best to match you with the puppy you want. Here's how we do it:

-- Between two and three weeks (about now) we ask for deposits on the pups. That way we can be sure how many we actually have placed and can let anyone "wait-listed" know if there will be a puppy for him or her. The deposit is usually half the purchase price but if that's a problem, let me know. If for any reason you decide later you don't want one of our pups, you get the deposit back -- it is not intended to force anyone to take a puppy, just to give us a solid-as-possible count.

-- Also about now, we ask prospective owners to give us three or four choices. If you WERE going to base your selection on looks alone, which would you choose? (You are always welcome to change your choices later)

-- When the puppies are about six to seven weeks old, we start seeing distinct differences in temperament. Often there are one or two who are more reserved than the others, and though we immediately start giving them extra attention to bring them out, those will probably be the pups who should go to a quieter, more sedate home. There are always one or two "wild children" and we like to see them go to more dog-experienced homes, The temperaments we see at this age are not always how they end up, but they're usually close.

-- You'll find that usually your "rank" on the waiting list won't matter -- I'm always surprised at how few times the same puppy is wanted by two people. When it does happen, obviously we go by order on the list, but just because you end up last on the list doesn't mean you won't get the puppy you want!

-- We'll be talking with all of you throughout these last weeks to be sure everyone's happy.

-- We'll have a puppy party when they are seven weeks old -- that will be October 24 -- and all of you who are close enough are welcome to come meet all of the pups, Juliet and Blue, and us,

-- At eight weeks, we'll "evaluate" the puppies for show/breeding possibilities and decide which one, if any, will stay here. At that point, we'll get in touch with each of you and settle your choice.

-- They go home at ten weeks.

And you bring them back to the reunion every year!

I'll be talking to everyone "on the list" in the next week and in the meantime, feel free to call me at 540-464-8046. I'll be home most of today (Friday), gone Saturday, and home again after that.

Peepers!

2009-09-18T11:56:00.003-04:00

The puppies' eyes are open! It's funny the difference that makes -- they turn from moles into actual little dogs. They're walking now too...well, lurching and staggering anyway, and I occasionally hear a little bark from them.

Mama Juliet has gone into full bore High Princess. She no longer gets in the box with them, but reclines on her big dog bed next to it. When they cry, she stares at me. During the night she

wakes me up by nudging me in the mouth with her cold, wet nose. Then I put about half of them out with her to nurse. When they are full and dozing off, I replace them with the other half. That way she doesn't have to deal with all of them at once. She says this is much more acceptable than having 11 at a time groping at her.

Everybody is still gaining weight and coming along beautifully. We have not had to supplement any of them, so I guess if Juliet needs a little "domestic help," I don't mind providing it!

The puppycam is on most of the time at Ustream -- the password is whippets. The camera doesn't cover the whole whelping box, but I do try to keep the camera aimed at the majority of the puppies. If you check it out and it's down, try back a little later. Ustream occasionally drops the connection. Now that the pups are up and

walking, it will be a little more interesting!

I have been so busy I haven't had much time to check in on the chatroom there, but I know some of you have been using it. I'm going to try to get over there Friday evening. It's at the same Ustream address.

I'll get two-week pictures of them tomorrow and will post the link.

We got puppies!

2009-09-06T11:52:00.003-04:00

The pups were born Friday, September 4, all day long. Juliet was finally done at 2:45 pm after having started labor at 2:00 am. Needless to say, we were both exhausted.

Eleven puppies -- three girls, eight boys. We have several solid blues, some blue and white parti-colors, one black, and several mostly solid fawns, at least one fawn and white parti. (The colors are hard to pin down this early. There is one that I think is blue but might be fawn) All healthy and happy and so is mom.

I am taking them to the vet today for dewclaw removal and puppycam with chat will be back up at 6 pm. We're trying to keep it up most of 24 hours a day, with occasional downtime for technical difficulties. The address is http://www.ustream.tv/channel/timbreblue-whippets

and the password is whippets

Join us tonight at six! You can watch the cam just by signing in, but if you want to chat you'll have to set up a free U-stream account, which only takes a few minutes. They'll ask you to do it when you sign in, I think, or try to chat and they will definitely do it then.

Juliet's expecting ten or eleven pups!

2009-08-28T16:32:00.004-04:00

The x-ray was today and our vet thinks she has ten or eleven pups. We're asking for ideas for litter themes ... let us know what you think in the comments. A few suggestions we have heard so far:

Gemstones
Trees
Flowers
Disney characters
Care Bears
Triple Crown Winners

Remember these are just litter names -- the new families have no obligation to keep these names once they go home.

Thanks in advance for your comments! We'll post a poll on our website in the next couple of days to find out what is the most popular theme idea.

-Johannah.

Update on Upcoming Litter

2009-08-21T12:59:00.002-04:00

Juliet is widening daily. She certainly is happy though. Every morning she grabs her toy (favorite today is a big floppy white bunny) and runs around the house showing everyone her "new" toy. When Walt gets up, the whole routine starts again. She has her favorite comfort zones in every room: in the kitchen, it's a bed under the counter by Walt's feet; in the living room, it's Nathan's cuddle bed or my chair, when she can get it; in the "nursery" it's the giant smushy bed Johannah sent Ivy for Christmas. Juliet certainly seems to feel good for looking like a walrus!

We took down the whelping box yesterday for scrubbing and re-varnishing (should have been done after the last litter left it, but you know how those things go....I cleaned it and got it ready to take down and that was the end of it till yesterday.) Walt pressure-washed it and because it has been raining every day and night lately, took it to the basement to dry -- there is a dehumidifier down there. Probably tomorrow he will get the new varnish on and we'll reassemble it Monday or so.

I'll make an appointment for an xray for Juliet on Thursday or Friday. We always like to know how many puppies are there -- if she stops delivering them before they are all accounted for, we'll have to get her to the vet pronto. She looks veeeeery big, and considering that and the fact that she had a litter of 11 last time, I expect at least eight and possibly more.

I'm so glad she's happy -- we have had one or two who seemed simply miserable the last week or so, and I hate watching them try to get comfortable. Juliet just wags and smiles and flops down wherever there is a soft bed. She even still runs when I take her out for a walk, but not for very long!

I was a little concerned she might be upset about Henry and Simone, who came to stay with us for a couple of weeks while their owner Joy is in England, but she's completely unconcerned. We've had so many "boarders" this year that I don't think my dogs think twice about a new kid any more. She just waddled up, checked them out, and plopped back down, as if to say, "You'll pardon me if I'm not a very good hostess right now..." She didn't even mind when Simone took over the cuddle bed in the living room. She just made room for herself on the sofa next to Henry.

These puppies should have wonderful dispositions. Juliet is just Miss Congeniality around here and Blue, their daddy, is the most laid-back whippet we have. He just goes along to get along.

I had thought we would not have brindles -- from my reading, I thought you had to have one brindle parent to get brindles, but yesterday I talked to a woman in Illinois who bred a black to a fawn and got three brindles. Back to the genetics books... We have one on color genetics, so maybe I'll try it. I'd been using the web, but maybe I need to get more basic. It's been a long time since high school biology and the fruit flies.

We'll get the webcam up for a test run Sunday or Monday (I will be gone all day tomorrow) so we'll be ready to go when the action starts, More news as it develops!

Sharyn

The Timbreblue Reunion

2009-07-29T20:03:00.004-04:00

The Timbreblue reunion is October 17th in Leesburg, VA. The following details are for our owners who plan to attend. If you don't have a Timbreblue puppy but would like to meet some whippets before you make up your mind about whether you want one, give me a call at 540-464-8046. Guests are welcome as long as arrangements are made ahead of time.

Since we have a number of people who are coming to their first reunion, I thought I'd do a little FAQ -- more information will follow as we get closer to October.

Q. Are the dogs are on or off-lead at the reunion? Do they race around constantly?

A. Most people allow them off lead but a few keep their dogs on leash for various reasons. That is entirely up to the owner. They all run when they first get there, and then it settles down. Since people arrive at different times, it's not quite the chaos you would expect. Okay, so there is a fair amount of chaos.

Q. How many whippets and people are there?

A. I expect we'll have in the neighborhood of 60-70 whippets this year, and enough people to give them rides to the reunion. Some people stay the whole time; others drop in for just awhile and leave, so the number is a bit fluid.

Q. Do the dogs ever fight?

A. Not so far. The main thing we have to watch is when suddenly all the dogs decide someone is "prey" and the whole crew takes off after him or her. Sometimes the dog playing prey is perfectly happy with it, but it makes me very nervous and we try to stop that kind of behavior right away. Before the reunion, I'll post some things to watch for that indicate an impending barroom brawl and tell you what to do about it. We do have "emergency dog fight kits" scattered about the area (more on that later) but have never had to use them.

Q. What if my dog is the worst-behaved one there?

A. I assure you that every person at the reunion will believe that his or her own dog is the worst one there. Like children, your dog will attempt to embarrass you by telling everyone there that

1) No, he has never been trained and has no idea of the definition of "come," "sit" "down," "get off that table," "drop that hotdog!" or any other command that doesn't fit in with his agenda at the time.

2) You never, ever feed him and if everyone at the picnic would give him ONE little snack, he might survive to the next reunion ("no begging" is also a concept they tend to forget at the reunion)

Remember we all have whippets and we all understand that they are perfect at home (well, after a year or two) but whippets in public.

Q. What if I am afraid to let my dog off-leash?

A. Obviously anyone who is uncomfortable with the dogs being off-leash should keep his or her whippet leashed and we will also have crates available for rests and time-outs (whether the people or whippets call for it!) I keep Ivy on a leash some of the time because she tends to be the fun police with her offspring.

Q. If the dogs don't run all the time, what do they do?

A. It really is a bit like a doggy cocktail party. Some of them work the crowd, some stick right with mom, and most do a mixture of the two. Candy and Juliet, I never see again till we get ready to leave -- they're too busy socializing. Some whippets are more social than others and either is normal. Diamond used to stay right under my feet the entire time we were there. She wasn't scared -- she just preferred to be with her mommy. Ivy is somewhat like that too, though she doesn't mind taking off after some rascal she sees having too much fun. (Thus the leash for her) There's often someone throwing a frisbee or ball, there are wading pools, but mostly, being whippets, they lounge around.

Q. What are the rules?

A. The reunion rules for whippets are simple: No fighting, no bullying, no humping. And believe me, that third one will be tried by about the half the dogs there, neutered and unneutered! It's just a natural doggy thing, but we correct it just like we would a child picking her nose. "It just doesn't look nice, dear. No one wants to see that."

Q. What if I don't see my dog is acting up?

A. We are all family and if someone else's dog is being obnoxious, it is perfectly okay to grab a collar and say, "You cut that out!" No one's feelings will be hurt. Every reunion has some bratty cousins that get corrected by each and every adult there at some point. We all keep an eye on our own but if there is a problem developing, whoever is closest should deal with it. (Note: It is not fair to deny ownership if your dog gets in trouble)

Q. Are there structured activities?

A. We've tried that, but I am just not good at gathering people up and getting anything organized. Professional dog trainers Bev Crawley and Karen Haynes are going to offer some (free) basic training lessons for anyone who wants them throughout the day. I also think we can talk Bev into doing a couple of freestyle dancing sessions for those of you wanting to learn some basic dance steps with your dogs!) so we're in the process of getting a separate area for that. We will have some door prizes....gate prizes? I'm hoping Fred and Bobbie Lutz will be there with one of their portable agility sets (for sale at http://www.agilitytools.com) so some folks can try a little of that too. We have a swap table for dog stuff you don't need any more and if any of you make things to sell (leashes, collars, coats, etc) you're welcome to set up a table.

Also anyone who wants to bring business cards or brochures or samples of whatever is welcome to consider this a business networking meeting as well. In the family we have personal trainers, artists, attorneys, interior designers, architects, CPAs, web designers, and all kinds of other things I can't think of right now. Fred Lutz might even sell you a damn fine Toyota while you're there. We distribute goody bags as people leave (which I forgot to do until most people had already left last year -- We need to put someone other than me in charge of remembering that!) and anyone is welcome to drop flyers or business cards into them. In the current economy, any networking you want to do is just fine.

Mostly we just eat and socialize and talk about how we really ought to do this twice a year!

Q. What do I bring?

A. Your dog, a leash, a bed for him or her, treats, and a covered dish. Suntan lotion and insect repellent if you need it. It will be October, and the club will provide some tables and tarps, but if some people want to bring a card table or two and one of those pop-up tarps, it would be very much appreciated. And bring lawn chairs or blankets to sit on.

Q. What kind of food?

A. We'll get the food organized shortly -- we try to keep a running "menu" going so we don't end up with 25 desserts and no vegetables. (For some reason, that doesn't seem like a good idea to some people though I cannot imagine why not)

More later, and I'll upload some pictures too, to give you a better idea. And all this information will also be in your invitation -- I hope to get those out at the beginning of September.

Red still needs a home

2009-07-13T12:39:00.003-04:00

Red is a beautiful, sweet, sensitive whippet who is looking for a home. He is eight years old and has been a kennel dog most of his life. Though he has never been mistreated or neglected, his experience range is limited, so he will require patience, time and love. He is adapting to house life very well, plays with toys and other dogs, and is extremely affectionate, though he doesn't seek out attention. (He's still learning that!) He is up to date on shots, heartworm and Lymes negative, neutered, and ready to go.

Red is leash and crate trained and would do better in a home with another dog or a human who is home most of the time. Although he is gentle, he has never been around children or cats, so I think a home with no cats and with older children or no children would probably be best. He's going to take some time and patience, so a busy household will not work out well. You'd need to have time to commit to him. I'd like him to stay within 200 miles of us (Lexington, VA, north of Roanoke) in case he does need to come back to us.

Although he's eight, he's in good health and should have several more good years to enjoy. He would be an ideal companion for an only-whippet of the female variety or for someone who for whatever reason is hesitant to make a 12-15 year commitment to a new pet.

As with any Timbreblue dog, Red can always come back here if for any reason his new home doesn't work out. All we're asking for him is $250 t0 cover his neuter, microchip, and associated vet costs.

If you know anyone with room in the heart and home for this guy, please let me know. He needs to get settled fairly soon.

Whippets and Toys

2009-07-13T12:02:00.000-04:00

When Ivy is in a really good mood, she has to take a toy out to the bathroom with her. She can hold the toy (no matter how big it is) while peeing, but not while pooping. Her little game is to "forget" the toy, come flying back to the porch and stare at me, wagging her tail. I say, "IVY!! Where's the toy?" She turns around and either:

1) Flies back out to get it and bring it back or

2) Wags her tail harder till I say sternly, "You go get that toy!" THEN she flies out to get and and comes to a sliding stop against the front door.

One of the things I enjoy so much about whippets is their love of toys. I used to buy toys for the collies all the time and they never really played with them after about six months or so.

We finally had to replace the big cardboard box that'd been in the living room since Christmas. My friend Carol sent us a giant box of stuffed animals (I'm talking 2 1'2 foot square box here) Ivy and the Shakespeare litter opened it, I cut a more attractive opening, and we just let it stay here for awhile. Gracie liked to climb inside and sleep in it so we hated to move it. Then the Pelton puppies came and they decided the box itself was a great chew toy. Two days ago it finally fell apart and I replaced it with a big plastic box. Our living room has definitely lost a little of its...um, character, since the cardboard box is gone.

We go through a lot of stuffies around here. I keep a good supply in the living room and just a few in the dog room. The good ones have to stay in the living room or upstairs though because Candy and Juliet simply HAVE to have toys in their mouths when they go outside, and they generally forget to bring them back in. Which means when SinCin and Dallas go out, we have the Chainsaw Massacre out there. Part of the reason I try to clean the yard every day (and sometimes twice a day!) is to get the fluff out of the yard. SinCin (Lab/Chow) is amazing to watch. She picks up the toy, lies down with it delicately between her paws, and with one wrench of the jaws, rips its head off. Dallas will carry one around for awhile and sometimes even sleeps with one all night without destroying it, but it eventually falls prey to the German Shepherd Jaws.

Goodwill does a booming business with us. Fifty cents a stuffie, no matter the size. And ours like the almost-whippet-sized ones best.

The Timbreblue Toy Wars, where the toys never win.

Puppy Plans

2009-07-10T16:03:00.006-04:00

Aero's puppies are all settled in their new homes and we are planning a litter of our own for late August. We've bred Blue to Juliet and (fingers crossed) due date should be in the neighborhood of August 30. I'm hoping for a real rainbow of colors with this litter. Juliet is fawn and white but both of her parents are brindle and white. She did produce a couple of blue brindles in her first litter, so we know she carries that gene. Blue has red, black, and steel blue in his pedigree, so there is just no telling what we'll get!

That was quick!

2009-06-19T10:31:00.002-04:00

Aero's two daughters have already been sold to families in Virginia. Sawyer, the boy, is still available. He's an energetic, smart little guy, very full of himself. The girls here have been putting him in his place. When he arrived, he had always been the biggest pup in the litter and figured he could pretty much do what he wanted. Wrong! I think Granny Ivy was the first one to nail him to the floor and since then Zoey (one of Candy's pups who is boarding with us for a couple of weeks) has given him a few talking-to's about proper behavior around ladies.

Mostly he and Bonnie (the other pup, whose family will come for her tomorrow) are just rolicking around the house creating more havoc than we already have....which is considerable, with one girl in season and four intact boys (not counting Sawyer!) in the house.

NEWS FLASH! PUPPIES BY AERO AVAILABLE!!

2009-06-15T11:47:00.004-04:00

Three puppies still available in Virginia, bred by Jo Pelton -- these are sired by our Appraxin Aero (echoed clear for mitral valve disease) and are sweet, easygoing puppies (unusual for whippets!) There are one fawn and white male, one fawn and white female, and a brindle female, around 14 weeks old, all puppy shots and dewormed. Call me at 540-464-8046 if interested.

How NOT to Start a Monday

2009-06-15T11:04:00.009-04:00

Our sincere thanks to Lisa Ochoa for this account of a morning in the life of a whippet owner in the country

How NOT to Start a Monday

AKA Smart Decisions at 4:00am: Mom 2, Banjo 0

The alarm woke me at 3:45 from a sound sleep and a pleasant, albeit
unremembered, dream. I hit the snooze and contemplated sleeping in a bit, until 4:15 or so, then decided that I would get up on time and give Rafa some extra runs with his Frisbee. So I got up and went to the bathroom to get dressed. Once in the bathroom, I looked at my work clothes and decided that, since we had had an overnight thunderstorm, I would go down in pajamas and dress for work later.

Both of these simple decisions turned out to be much smarter than they appeared at the time.

I came yawning down the stairs, started the coffee, and let Banjo and Zorro out. After a few minutes, I went out to bring them back in. Zorro showed up right away, so I let him in the house and started yelling for Banjo.

I did not realize at the time what a mistake this would turn out to be - not until an unbelievably dreadful odor smacked me in the face like a sack full of rabbit guts. The said smell was closely followed by Banjo, who came leisurely trotting around the side of the house, licking his chops and wearing a satisfied expression.

Without a word, I went right back in the house and mixed up a box of baking soda, a bottle of hydrogen peroxide, and a couple of squirts of dish soap. I grabbed the bowl of mix and a leash and went back outside. By now, Banjo had figured out that the morning routine was no longer on track, and he eyed me warily. The wariness became disgust as I tied him to the flagpole and covered him thoroughly with the destinkifying mix.

Banjo in full Pout Mode is a sight to behold; you would never guess that a skinny black dog could push his lower lip out that far. I left him tied to the flag pole to soak while I considered my options.

I still had four dogs left to take outside. I had a pretty good idea what Banjo had caught, but I didn't know if it was dead or alive or wounded, or where it was, or if it still had any ammo left in its body (based on the evidence I doubted it, but you never know). It was still dark out, and while I didn't exactly relish the idea of searching all three acres with a flashlight, one dog tied to the flagpole was one more than I wanted there at that hour of the morning.

I finally compromised by leash walking the remaining dogs. None of them were amused by this unexpected break in the routine, but they all survived and none of them joined Banjo at the flagpole.

Then I went back to Banjo, rinsed him, and took a sniff. He was still pretty gamey, so I coated him with the remainder of the destinkifier and went in the house and fed the rest of the dogs. Then I came back out and rinsed him off, and followed that up with the old stand-by, Fluffy Puppy shampoo, which has an agreeable baby powder scent. As I was lathering him up, that old line from Mel Brooks' Frankenstein "could be worse - could be raining!" ran through my head.

And right about that moment, the drops began to fall from the sky ...
I finished rinsing Banjo as fast as I could (helped along by the
sprinkle that quickly became a downpour); then we ran into the house.

I toweled him off and he made a beeline for his La Z Boy, where he lay GLARING at me and muttering under his breath. (It's a lucky thing that I don't speak whippet as he would almost certainly have had his mouth washed out with soap.) I gave him his breakfast, which he refused to touch until Suckerdaddy Pat came downstairs and commiserated with him about the Dreadful Treatment he had received.

I finally got to have my long-delayed cup of coffee, and then polished off the rest of the morning tasks in record time. By now, the sun was starting to rise, so Suckerdaddy Pat went out to see if he could locate the Scene of the Crime. I joined him about halfway through the search, and we walked purposefully around the vegetable garden and then around the house toward the orchard.

We were hit by a wall of Eau De Skunque Le PEU! in the middle of the south field, close to the lean-to. As if that weren't enough, several large clumps of black and white hide were lying around the area.

We pieced together the evidence (no pun intended), and decided that Banjo had apparently made the spur-of-the-mom ent decision that Chunk O Skunk would be a nice addition to the morning menu. The skunk declined to be so honored, but Banjo is fast enough that he avoided the full extent of the skunk's displeasure, while the skunk was close enough to the lean-to to be able to make its escape (we assume, there were no major body parts in evidence).

Thoughts about this incident:

1. It just goes to show that listening to those little whispering voices that say "get up on time!" and "don't get dressed for work quite yet" is a wise idea.

2. Coffee should be drunk BEFORE the first round of dogs comes back inside.
3. Don't tempt fate by saying such things as "could be worse "
4. It would have taken a lot longer to bathe a long-haired dog.
5. This might be one of those times when Banjo is Suckerdaddy Pat's dog.
6. Time to replenish the mothballs out in the lean-to!
7. If Banjo is going to start beating on skunks, I am going to have
to start keeping the ingredients for Destinkifier at work. Despite
numerous washings in everything ranging from kitchen cleaner to
heavily perfumed hand lotion, my hands still smell faintly skunk-like.

And, of course, the obligatory poem, for all you Lynyrd Skynyrd fans out there:

That Smell

By Banjo Ochoa-Reynolds
(with apologies to Allen Collins & Ronnie VanZant)

The mornin's dark, Mom lets us out,
To pee and start the day
There's something furry up ahead,
Look what's movin to the lean-to.

Ooooh that smell
Can't you smell that smell
Ooooh that smell

The smell of skunk surrounds me

I grab it up, and spit it out,
Then grab it up again,
CHORUS: (you fool you!)
Its skin and hair lie all around me,
But the O-Dare would defeat most men.

CHORUS: (hell, yeah!)

Ooooh that smell
Can't you smell that smell
Ooooh that smell
The smell of skunk surrounds me

Now they call me The Main Man
Tacklin nasty critters is my job
I'm sure I'll be all right tomorrow
And tomorrow I'll bite that thing again!

Ooooh that smell
Can't you smell that smell
Ooooh that smell
The smell of skunk surrounds me

One little problem that confronts me

Got a skunky odor on my back
Just one more fix, Lord might do the trick
One hell of a price for me to get my kicks

Ooooh that smell
Can't you smell that smell
Ooooh that smell
The smell of skunk surrounds me

So how's your Monday going?

Congratulations to Ashley!!

2009-06-08T22:09:00.002-04:00

Our Ashley, daughter of Diamond and Calvin and owned by Bobbie and Fred Lutz, finished her championship Sunday at the Asheville shows. She is now CH UGRCH UAG1 Timbreblue Windrydr Biker Girl, FCH, SC, RN, CGC!

For those not familiar with the dog fancy's alphabet soup, here's the translation:

CH = AKC Championship

UGRCH = UKC Grand championship

UAG1 = UKC Agility 1

FCH = AKC Field Champion

SC = Senior Courser

RN = Rally Novice

CGC = Canine Good Citizen

In other words, Ashley has been a busy little girl since she left here! Finishing a whippet's championship these days is much, much more difficult than it used to be -- Bobbie and Fred put an awful lot of time and money into getting those titles, and we are ever grateful.

Ashley was a handful as a puppy. I remember telling her when she was five weeks old, "You're not staying here, honey!" And when Bobbie said she wanted a puppy with a lot of drive, I knew just which one to steer her towards.

We are so proud of our little girl and sincerely appreciate all the Lutzes have done with her!

Red Report and Puppy too!

2009-06-08T21:58:00.003-04:00

Red has progressed to the point that I think we can call him "reserved normal." He's still a bit spooky, but has adjusted amazingly quickly. He has an appointment to be neutered in a couple of weeks and will be ready to go. This is a sweet, sweet boy who needs a quiet home. He's playful and loves toys, but must have a very gentle, patient owner.

And Puddin arrived two days ago. He was bred by my friend Jo Pelton and is just staying with us till he is sold. He's a fawn and white male, 12 weeks old, and simply precious. He's a real snuggler and wants a lap to call his own. Anyone interested can contact me for more information at sharyn@timbreblue.com. Here's one picture of him and you can see more at our Picasa album.

Red Progress Report

2009-05-27T19:47:00.003-04:00

Well, just as I was about to think Red would never come out of his crate under his own steam, we began to make real progress. This morning he came to the front of his crate to get his leash snapped on to go out -- I have been crawling into the crate to get to him! After breakfast, I was lying on the sofa, sort of reading, sort of snoozing, when he wandered out of his crate and began to play with a toy! I was astounded! This is big.

He took cheese from Walt's hand and has almost completely stopped ducking away when I hold my hand out to pet him.

I think this boy might actually make a good pet. It's hard to imagine how he feels. He has spent every day of his life in a kennel setting...either in his crate for the night or out in a paddock with several other dogs. He has been well-loved, but not as a house dog. Now suddenly he has brand new roommate dogs and lives inside the house. It has to be unsettling, even if he is more comfortable.

Spread the word...he needs a home! I hate for him to have to go through all this adjustment twice. He might as well start where he will be for the rest of his life.

Sharyn

As promised, photos of Red

2009-05-25T23:14:00.008-04:00

Anyone up for a challenge?

2009-05-24T14:41:00.002-04:00

We have a beautiful whippet here who needs a home, but it has to be one with tons of patience and love. Red is a male, about six or seven, who was very happy in his first home, but never really went anywhere other than his own yard and house. His owner is having to move into an apartment for reasons of age and health, and is unable to keep him. We're looking for a home where Red will be loved and cherished for himself. He's a gorgeous solid, deep red with a full white collar (picture later today).

This is not a rescue. He's a well-bred dog with an impressive pedigree who came from a good home -- it's just that his range of experience is severely limited. He is very gentle, well crate-trained, walks on a leash, and has had no accidents in the house since we brought him home. He eats well and appears healthy -- he'll have a vet exam this week. There have never been any signs of aggression, either towards people or other dogs.

Our household is just too large and busy for him. He needs a quiet home, where he can proceed at his own pace. We'll provide lots of support and of course, he can come back if it just doesn't work out. There are several internet "support groups" for owners of shy dogs, and our own Timbreblue Pups list for our owners is a tremendous resource as well.

Because of his age and lack of worldly experience, I doubt Red will ever be a dog-park/rollicking-around-the-house/go-anywhere dog, but I'm sure there is someone who would love an easygoing companion to share the sofa with. He was very, very devoted to his previous owner and I am sure he will transfer that devotion to a new owner, though it will take a little while. Whippets are the original love-the-one-you're-with breed!

He would probably do best in a home with another sighthound, preferably female, but an only-dog home is not out of the question if there is someone home during the day. Ideally his new owner would be someone who has dealt with a very insecure dog before, perhaps a rescue greyhound. He's really not a project for a first-time dog owner.

I don't want to minimize how insecure this dog is. He has basically stayed in his crate (door open) for two days now, though he is beginning to come out and sniff about a little. He is just terribly confused. We're not pushing him at all, just letting him approach us and the other dogs. The only times we have "forced" attention on him have been for his bath yesterday -- he was very good, but not too happy about it -- and to take him out on a leash.

Ordinarily we would keep him here for six months to a year to socialize him a little before sending him into a new home, but in Red's case, I think the sooner he can get to a permanent home, the happier he will be. That home just has to be with someone who understands:

1) the need for security in a case like this -- shy whippets are at extreme risk for escaping;2) that he will need lots of patience -- it may be several weeks before he actually seeks out attention;3) that he will never be an outgoing, happy-happy whippet, but will probably prefer to snuggle with one person and stay home.
I'd love to be proven wrong and have him show up at our reunion in October as a bouncing, rambunctious boy, but I don't think he has it in him. He's a poet rather than an athlete!

We'd ask that his new owner cover the expenses he will have here, probably around $200, so we can afford to take on another whippet needing assistance. He will go to his new home up to date on vaccinations and neutered.

If you're interested, fill out our questionnaire and we'll talk. Let's get this boy settled into a new home soon so he can begin to take over a new owner's heart.

2009-05-22T01:43:00.001-04:00

After months of telling people we don't know of any available whippets, I'm finally hearing about some available! We're planning to breed a litter in June or July, to be ready for homes in October-November -- details to follow in a few weeks -- but in the meantime, here's an update on whippets I know about who need homes. Write me at sharyn@timbreblue.com and I'll put you in touch with these folks.

There is a litter in Wytheville, VA, owned by a very nice lady named Jo Pelton. They're ten weeks old, 100 percent Appraxin breeding. I haven't seen them, but from what I know of Jo, I'm sure they have been well cared for. I understand there are mostly fawn and whites and maybe one brindle and white, mostly males, though there may be one female left.

Katie Rudolph in North Carolina has a male pup for sale to a show or pet home. He's a half-brother to our latest litter and, I think, ten weeks old.

And now for my special boys. We'll have three or four adult males to place in the next few months. An old, dear friend is retiring from breeding and these are the last of the kennel. They range in age from four years to eight or nine and as far as I know, have no "issues" other than that they have lived mostly in a kennel situation and would need some TLC to adjust to home living. They are accustomed to other dogs, so I don't know how they'd be in an only-dog home. We'll bring them here one at a time, keep them for a month or so for assessment and to provide any vet care they might need, and then they'll be available for a nominal price to cover their care here. I'll post pictures and details about them as they arrive. I really want to find these boys homes where they can finish out their lives on their own sofas!

Marie Hand in Raleigh has a 10-month-old female for sale too. She is timid but very sweet. I haven't met her and don't know much about her, but I'll be happy to give you Marie's contact information.

More to come on our planned litter and our "foster" dogs. I'm going to pick up the first one tomorrow, so will post details and, I hope, some pictures of him tomorrow night or Saturday!

Sharyn

-Help us find MicMac!

http://findmicmac.blogspot.com/

Field trial success for Simone and Henry!

2009-03-30T10:16:00.005-04:00

On March 29 at the Big Apple Sighthounds AKC trial at Stillwell Woods near Syosset on Long Island, Joy Holland's two Timbreblue whippets Henry and Simone had great success. Henry finished his JC (Junior Courser) title, and Simone won Best of Breed in whippets.

Even though the weather was cold and drizzly, Simone and Henry did what they do best -- run and chase. Simone is from the Midsomer Murders litter (Calvin x Diamond) of February 2005. Henry is from Ivy's last litter with Joker, July 2002. Henry will be racing in the Veterans' class starting in July when he turns seven years old.

Joy and her daughter Rachel live in the Greenwood Heights neighborhood (near Park Slope) of Brooklyn, New York. Joy's blog, frequently featuring the adventures of Henry and Simone, can be found at: http://anglo-brooklyn.blogspot.com/

Pictured is Simone, resting after her exciting day. Our congratulations to Joy and her racing hounds!

Sharyn Hutchens & Johannah Layson Hutchens Gage
Timbreblue Whippets

Simone

The Poop Wars

2009-03-02T12:23:00.003-05:00

Here is Tybalt with new roommate Mico (Italian Greyhound) in a much sweeter moment.

This just in from Jessica, Matt, and Tybalt in Florida. Tybalt is one of Juliet's puppies by Justin (Ch Bohem Just in Time) Fortunately his new owners have a great sense of humor! Oh the joys of puppies...

Tybalt went out for a late night potty tonight, and when Matt brought him in, he was holding him like a baby (cradled in his arms feet up). Matt said in a cute-sy baby voice "you're such a smelly puppy!" And I noticed Tybalt's foot was caked in poop. I said "that's because he stepped in poop." We took him into the bathroom to clean it up. And of course, he chose the runniest diarrhea poop to step in so it was caked between his toes, in his nails, and in the fur.

As we were trying to figure out the best way to clean his paw, I noticed that Matt had poop on his shorts, and down the front of his shirt from when he picked Tybalt up. We both started to laugh. After trying unsucessfully to get the poop off with paper towels and soap, we decided to run his paw under the tub faucet.

This idea didn't sit well with Tybalt, and in his haste to tell us so, his poop paw smeared right across Matt's face and then landed on my bare foot. By this point, we were both laughing so hard we couldn't see straight. We finally ended up with me sitting on the edge of the tub, holding Tybalt in my lap with both of his back paws standing in the toilet (it was his back paw with the poop). He was so good natured about all of this. I'm sure he wondered why we were making such a fuss!

At the end of it, poor Matt was covered in dog poop from head to toe, and we both had tears of laughter streaming down our faces.

Happy Birthday, Ivy!

2009-02-14T15:57:00.003-05:00

Our Ivy turned 13 a few weeks ago. In talking about another oldster celebrating a birthday, one of our friends said, "Girl is a real sweetheart. Seldom asks for anything. Loves just being in the same room with her humans. Goes about her daily life with calm, quiet dignity." Well, I'm afraid I can;t say the same for Ivy. She asks for everything -- no, doesn't ask....demands. She does love her humans, like Girl, but sees us more as her devoted servants.

As far as calm and quiet dignity, she has not gotten to that part yet. She still acts like a puppy, stealing a toy from the real puppies and flying around the yard with it in her mouth. She's known as Grumpy Granny around here and the puppies don't cross her. Neither do the adult dogs. What Granny sez, GOES.

Every morning she dashes into the guest room as soon as I wake up, chooses a toy from the upstairs toy box, and flies downstairs with it. She has to take the toy outside with her to pee, regardless of how big the toy happens to be. One of her favorites is a bear that's almost as big as she is, and how she gets it downstairs, I don't know. She literally demands her treats, grumbles if she is not covered up properly, and expects to be treated like the queen she is. Yes, we have spoiled her terribly and we continue to do so. I can't imagine any of our other girls even considering the stuff she gets away with.

I hope she is still in this shape when the national rolls around. I'm planning to show her in veterans if she feels up to it (which at this point, I'd say she will) She has "honorable scars" in various places from having to put dogs (including a Doberman and a German Shepherd) back in line over the years and I don't expect her to win among the big stars who are bound to be in her class, but she dearly loves showing and it will be a nice last hurrah for her. I HATE showing, so I hope she will appreciate this! I'd send her in with a handler, but she made it clear back during the show days that if SHE was going in the ring, I was going in the ring.

So happy birthday to all the old girls and boys who are hanging on, still enriching our lives and reminding us why it is we love dogs!

Sharyn

Ashley wins a major!

2009-01-17T17:58:00.006-05:00

We are so proud to report that the very versatile "Ashley" (UGRCH, UAGI, Timbreblue Windrydr Biker Girl, SC, FCH, RN, NAJ, CGC) has won her first major (3 points) at the Clearwater Kennel Club show in Florida today under judge Mrs. Anne Savory Bolus, handled by Aaron Wilkerson. Ashley was bred by Timbreblue and is owned by Bobbie and Fred Lutz of Winchester, Virginia.

A key to Ashley's titles:

UGRCH = UKC Grand Champion

UAGI = UKC Agility Title

SC = AKC Senior Courser (lure coursing)

FCH = ASFA Field Champion (lure coursing)

RN = AKC Rally Novice

NAJ = AKC Novice Agility Jumpers

CGC = AKC Canine Good Citizen

Whippet Sub-types

2009-01-11T13:27:00.012-05:00

It occurs to me that there are a lot of sub-types in whippets. We have had just about one of everything, and there may be more I just haven't encountered. Of course the trouble with these types is that it will do you no good to decide which one you want. You can't tell during puppyhood which you will get (except for the possible exception of Just Plain Dawgs and Shrinking Violets) and rescues often don't reveal their true personalities until they have settled in permanent homes either. So whippets are a little like Forrest Gump's box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get. Fortunately, they are all delightful pets. You will adjust to the whippet. She will not adjust herself to suit you.

The Ice Princess Whippet

Very devoted and likes (has) to be close, in the same room at least, usually on the sofa next to you, but is not a snuggle-bunny. As a matter of fact, if you try to lie down on the sofa or just rearrange yourself for comfort, and maybe touch her with your foot or disarrange her blankets, she sighs heavily and moves to a chair. Don't bother trying to get her to come back. You had your chance and you blew it. You can scritch her butt for her, but the worst thing you can do to her is pick her up or try to hug her. Yuck! The legs go stiff, the head turns away, and the eyes get wild. However, the Ice Princess definitely has Excessive Greeting Disorder and has to maul visitors for at least three or four minutes before she settles down on the sofa with them. In fact, she is so friendly to visitors that you wonder if she's not going to just climb in the car and go home with them. But you know once she got there, they'd get the ice treatment just like you do. They would be, after all, just her minions.

Timbreblue's Ice Princess: Ivy

The Benevolent Princess Whippet

Has all of the above

but doesn't mind snuggling when she is in the mood. Make no mistake, it is on her own terms. And like a cat, a Princess Whippet will get up and walk off in the middle of a neck rub if you are not getting it just right. Except a cat will bite you first and then walk off. A Princess whippet demands the best of everything and may be a pound underweight because making you worry about whether she is eating enough is a major source of entertainment for her. (There are also Benevolent Prince Whippets, but I have never met an Ice Prince. It takes too much self control for a male.) If you never forget that you are the subject and she is the Princess, you'll do fine with this girl. Alexis was a fine example of the benevolent princess!

The Groupie Whippet

Wants to share your DNA. If she could get inside your skin, she would. Her idea of heaven is to be snuggled just as close to you as she can get, and she really, really wanted to be an Italian Greyhound so she could ride in your purse. She is actually reserved around new people. Not

unfriendly, but not all over them like most other whippets. She only has eyes for her Deity. However, as Diamond taught me when she went to live with Lisa in Richmond, although the Groupie whippet thinks she might simply wither away without you, the title of Deity is very quickly transferrable. In my experience, most male whippets are Groupies. Timbreblue's Groupie: Diamond

The Cheerleader Whippet

Just loves life and everybody in it. She not only adores her people but anyone else's people. She tells you she would absolutely curl up and die if you were not with her, but she is lying. She is happy with anyone who will let her snuggle up on the sofa and is not totally grossed out by French kisses and ear slobber from her. The main drawbacks to these girls are toenail scratches and head butts to your chin if you lean over to pet them. Don't bother leaning down -- they will come up to you to be petted. It is not possible to teach a true cheerleader not to jump. It's just what they do. Timbreblue's Cheerleaders: Candy and Juliet

Their mother {F}Annie is the original Timbreblue cheerleader. She is currently leading cheers at the Lantzys' house in Sterling, VA

The Shrinking Violet Whippet

Is nervous and clingy when he meets people, but very sweet. He seems to want to disappear into the wallpaper in public, but does worship his owners. He does okay as long as his world is very small and pretty much the same thing happens every day. But a trip to PetSmart or the dog park is a major stressor. Our Shrinking Violet is Joe-Dog, who was completely unsocialized as a pup, so we're working with him to bring him out of his shell. Sometimes this is a hereditary temperament, which is why we will not breed Joe, but often it's just a matter of not having gotten out much as a puppy. With just me, Joe is a full-fledged Groupie and a delightful, affectionate dog, very happy in his own environment, but I don't know whether he will ever be a social dog. Joe, by the way, is looking for an understanding home where his owner will have lots of time to work on his self-confidence, or perhaps just a quiet home where he won't have to deal with much out of the ordinary. He'd be the perfect dog for a recluse!

Timbreblue's Shrinking Violet: Joe-Dog

[Newsflash! Joe-Dog has a new home, and it's not with a recluse, but with someone who does understand his "special needs."]

There are a very few whippets, usually males, who pride themselves on being

Just Plain Dawgs

There is nothing foo-foo about them and they do not need those wussy coats, thank you. They like a good belly rub and to roll in foul-smelling things just like terriers. A Dawg does love to collapse on the sofa with his head in your lap after a long day in the woods and is very affectionate as long as you don't get into that baby talk stuff. He eats gross things and is proud of it and doesn't understand what the fuss is about when he drags a dead squirrel in through the dog door. He likes hanging out with the guys, riding in trucks, going camping, and he thinks girls are fun, but only if they know their place. Needless to say, Dawgs get beaten up by girls a lot. All girls think Dawgs are eeewwww. Timbreblue's Just Plain Dawg: Nathan

I imagine I'll discover more whippet types. But these are the ones we've seen here so far.

Sharyn

The Candy Dish Litter and Shakespeare?

2008-11-27T14:07:00.002-05:00

Well, we had to call them that, didn't we? Updated pictures are in our Picasa album and on their litter page. The webcam didn't work in the long run. We have satellite internet -- all we can get out here -- and it wasn't compatible with any webcam service we could find. Sigh. Maybe by our next litter they will have run cable or gotten a decent wireless out here.

However, thanks to my brilliant daughter, Johannah the web designer, we have the next best thing: a chatroom with a slideshow! We're usually there around seven or eight in the evening and sometimes you can find people hanging out there in the afternoon too. The slideshows there have pictures from Candy's litter and Juliet's as well. (Yes, Juliet has a litter too...that's what comes of saying, "I really doubt XXX will get pregnant this time; she's already missed two breedings. Let's just breed XXX as a 'backup.'" That is how you get XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX puppies.)

Meanwhile all pups are doing great -- we've moved the Candy Dish downstairs to the doggy den now where they have more room. And Juliet's babies, the Shakespeare Litter, are snuggled in upstairs. I am running back and forth between them all day and much of the night...more on the Prima Donna Mother later.

Sharyn

Surprises from whippets

2008-10-21T11:28:00.000-04:00

Everyone, including me, likes to talk about how wonderful and affectionate whippets are, but it's good to remember they are also "kill hounds" and to live with one means the occasional...surprise. This came last week from my friend Cheryl in California.
------------------------------------------
Subject: Did Big Mo do it again or did Woot take up the sport?

Hi all

Late this morning I was greeted by a wet and dead field mouse right on a pillow placed in my path to the bathroom.

Does this give Big Mo 5 squirrels, 1 scrub blue jay and umpteen + 1 small rodents or does this mean that Woot has learned the family trade, so to speak?

I rather think the latter as Mo has previously brought in only the trophy sized kills - the squirrels and the blue jay. Also it was Woot who ran over and playfully tossed the little bugger's carcass for me after she heard me gasp and ran to see if I had found the prize.

Hear tell that one of them, Loki (Button), has already taken down some gophers.

So......you might consider telling the small creatures that live near you that there is an assassin in their midst. Unless you have gophers of course and then you might as well keep it a secret from them as long as you can.

Big Mo took her first trophy just before age one and went into season the same week.

Just so you know.

Hope you have a pleasant day with no startling discoveries.

Regards

Cheryl

And a followup the next day--

Subject: Now she's gone too far!

Before I tell you how bad Woot has become, I want you to know that I've received emails from the families of all but one of the puppies telling me that their pup is also a hunter. From gophers to squirrels to field mice - nothing seems to be very safe.

Woot has gone too far with this though. She's gone from -0- to 60 in less than a week. There were the two field mice left in the hall for me on consecutive days. A couple of days ago I was about to go to sleep when I saw that she had left one on the sheet! Eeeeekkkk!

And today as I was brushing my teeth, who should trot happily in the back door and down the hall towards me but Woot, with her nice juicy catch in her mouth. I could not help but give a startled noise and a horrified look.

She stopped dead in her tracks, looked at me a moment and then turned around and took her prize back outside.

I think she may have gotten the message.

And I think I must have some field mice in the compost pile or somewhere. Doesn't seem to be just the odd transient mouse.

Still slightly disgusted,

Cheryl