Well, Edgar went home Thursday, and he is now Brodie. He lives with the Bartletts in North Carolina, who also have Tiger Lily's sister Cammie and one of the Pelton pups, Cooper. Also Geordie, a rescue, and Britt, from Yvonne Sovereign. I think the Bartletts are officially over the edge now and have joined the Potato Chip Club. We love placing dogs with them because they do so much with them. Brodie is fated to become a therapy dog!
While they were here to pick up Brodie, they got to meet Dashiell too. I didn't bring the whole puppy pack out because I was afraid they might change their minds if they saw the effect all five would have on the living room.
And Thursday my friend Beth came to play with the puppies that are left. Aimee and Juliet had their doubts as to whether Beth would stay once the puppies were brought in.
Conan was his usual sweet self, chewing contentedly on a rawhide and then taking a nap.
Daphne spent the whole time being photogenic. Her life mission is to be the Cutest Puppy in the World, and she works hard at it.
By the end of the day, even Siren had decided she wasn't so bad and actually shared a chair with her. This is huge.
And Dashiell was Dashiell. Busy but not insane.
Wilkie, as usual, was Wilkie. No further comment.
As far as how they are turning out physically, Beth and I determined that Daphne and Dashiell look pretty much like purebred whippet puppies at this point and Cirneco is more visible in Conan and Wilkie.
There was actually no permanent damage to the living room and Beth will recover from the puppy bites and scratches. Most everyone is past the biting stage. Except Wilkie. He and I are going to have to work on that before he has more company. Definitely before Beth will come back.
So the Cirpets grew and every day they got cuter and smarter (Note: Smarter is not always a good thing in a puppy)
We began to think about new homes for them and what we should charge for them. Oops litter or not, they were great puppies!
I said I had no idea what to charge. Walt asked, "Did you stay up all night with Rowan?"
"Two nights," I said, but I didn't know what that had to do with the discussion.
"Did you sleep in the room with her and the puppies for two weeks?"
He knew that I had, since I had been noticeably absent from our bed.
"Did we have the vet remove their dewclaws to prevent future accidents in case they are as accident-prone as...some whippets?"
Well, yes, when they were two days old.
Are we giving them as much attention as a litter of whippets? Are they getting the same intellectual stimulation and socialization?"
Of course we are and of course they are. Where was he getting this stuff?
"Are you planning to take them to the vet for checkups before they go home?"
"Of course." This was getting tedious.
"What do you know about Rowan's temperament and health background?"
"I know her background is excellent and you couldn't ask for a sweeter,more stable dog. She came from a good breeder."
"How about Denim?" Same answer.
"Will they go with a health guarantee?"
"Totally." I recited from our sales contract.
If at any time during the life of the dog it develops health problems that in the opinion of two licensed veterinarians are of an inherited nature, that are unexpected in a dog of that age, and that will interfere with the dog's function as a pet, Purchaser agrees to contact Kennel. Purchaser may return dog and Kennel will rebate 75% of the purchase price; or keep the dog and Kennel will rebate 50% of purchase price. If at anytime during the dog's life, it develops a condition thought to be hereditary, the Purchaser will provide the Kennel with details, whether or not a refund is requested.
(Okay, I really had to look up the wording, but I knew the gist of it.)
"Will we take these puppies back if there is a problem?"
"Of course. At any point in their lives. You know that."
"And we will always refund at least part of the purchase price."
"Yep."
Right of Return: Dog may be returned to Kennel for any reason at any time following purchase. If returned within one month from purchase and provided that the dog has not been injured in any way the Purchaser will then be entitled to a refund of the original purchase price. Refund amount will be reduced by 10% of purchase price for each additional month or fraction that dog is kept. However, regardless of the provisions above, if the dog is voluntarily returned to Kennel at any age, Purchaser is entitled to a refund of 20 percent of the purchase price.
"Do you plan to offer rebates for training classes and titles like we do for the whippets?"
"Yes. They need puppy kindergarten and obedience classes and you can even show them in some AKC events so we want to encourage people to get involved with their dogs."
Performance Rebates: Kennel will pay the following rebates on receipt of proof that the dog has successfully completed the following AKC or UKC classes and titles Puppy Kindergarten -- $25.00 Companion classes* -- $25 each course STAR Puppy -- $25.00 Companion titles* -- $50 each title Canine Good Citizen -- $25.00 AKC Therapy Dog title -- $50.00 * Crossbreeds are allowed to compete in AKC companion events, which include obedience, rally, and agility.
"Will they go home with a bag full of toys and chewies and leashes and collars and books about puppies?"
"Of course."
"And they will be invited to Timbreblue reunions and puppy parties?"
"Absolutely."
"Can people call or email if they have problems?"
"I sure hope they will. I hope they will call or email if they don't have problems too."
Walt's point was pretty clear. The Cirpets are not shelter dogs or rescues or unwanted in any way. Even though they were an unplanned breeding, they are well-bred and have been well-raised.
So then I asked our daughter/partner Johannah, who usually cuts to the chase.
$750 she said without hesitation.
"How did you arrive at that?"
"They are half a whippet. We should charge half what we charge for a whippet."
If you're interested in a very cool, very unusual, few-of-a-kind puppy, drop us an email or fill out the questionnaire on our website and in the comments, say you're interested in the Cirpets (pronounced chir-pets).
Sunday, October 18, 2015
And the Cirpets began to grow and develop little personalities. They acted a lot like whippets and looked a lot like whippets. Or maybe they looked like Lab puppies.
Maybe their faces were a little sharper than whippets, but overall, they weren't too different.
They were smart and funny like whippet puppies and got into just as much mischief. They might have been just a it more agile, believe it or not.
We only have the one Cirneco, so I don't know a lot about them as baby puppies. We got Rowan at six months old.
She has fairly small "golden" eyes, they have large dark whippety eyes.I couldn't say they looked much like her.
Siren's pups are safely tucked into their wonderful homes. Jo is keeping Ceri and about now is wondering why. Puppies are fun, adorable, delightful, snuggly and maybe the best thing in the world. They are also mischievous, destructive, stubborn, and busy! But Ceri is too, too cute and no one can stay mad at her for long!
Just when I thought I would get the fall and winter off from puppy rearing, our Cirneco dell'Etna Rowan let me in on a little secret she'd been carrying.
It seems she had fallen deeply in love (or something) with...
Denim, the blue whippet.
And she found herself in an awkward predicament.
But as I told her, though it was certainly not something we would plan, puppies are puppies and we love them all. She presented us with six black Cirpets (pronounced Chir-pets) on August 14,
Why black? Humor me while I give a micro-genetics lesson. The color blue in whippets is actually black with a dilution gene. Think of it as pouring bleach over a black dog (but don't try this at home). The dilution gene is recessive, though, which means both parents have to carry it before they can produce dilute puppies. Rowan, being a Cirneco, does not carry a dilute gene. Also, black is dominant to chestnut, so about the only color we could get was black.
And boy were they black. We had to color code them as they were born so we could tell them apart. Two girls, four boys, all healthy.
Since we didn't know how Rowan got pregnant,we gave them a Mystery theme. Well, wait. We did know how she got pregnant (we have, after all, been breeding dogs for 30 years or so), we just didn't know when or how they managed their little tryst. So the puppies were named for classic mystery writers: Edgar Allan Poe, Dashiell Hammett, Daphne du Maurier, Agatha Christie, Arthur Conan Doyle, and Wilkie Collins.
Today is Monday, September 14, and Siren's pups are 8 weeks old today!! They continue to be sweet, smart, intuitive, adorable, and charming puppies every single day.
We are lucky enough to have wonderful homes for all of her puppies, and though they are traveling wide and far -- Velvet to Charlottesville VA, Dita to Atlanta GA, Cherie staying here in Camden SC, Channing to Concord NH, Marco to Virginia Beach VA, and Cashmere to Durham NC -- all of our new owners are active online so we're confident that we can stay in touch and get photos via Facebook as the puppies grow up.
Here's a photo of the babies sleeping peacefully tonight. They're so sweet, they make my heart skip a beat!
Siren's babies (the Glitter Litter!!) are five weeks old and we couldn't be prouder. They are fat, sassy, healthy and smart. This litter has been so vibrant since day one, they have been so easy and such good babies. We are lucky to have all of them placed. I'll introduce you to all of the puppies and where they are going.
Firstborn "Velvet" will be "Beatrice" and will be moving to Charlottesville, VA with the Yamauchi-Carson family.
Second born "Dita" will be "Raleigh" or "Timbreblue Suede Shoes" and will be going to Atlanta, Georgia with the Rhodes-Osborne family.
Third born "Satine" will be "Cherie" or "Timbreblue The Runaway" and will be staying here at Timbreblue in Camden, SC.
Fourth born "Channing" will be going to the Szpara family, to join his Timbreblue sister Lulu, in Virginia Beach, VA.
Fifth born "Marco" will be "Argyle" and will be moving to Concord, NH with the McNeal family.
Sixth born "Cashmere" will be "Alice" or "Timbreblue Alice in Glitterland" and will be moving to Durham, NC with Terry Kruger.
Just like human mommies, dogs often have morning sickness. I have to be careful when I give her supplements, and make sure she eats something with them, or they upset her stomach. She's taking folic acid and fish oil (for the DHA) every day. She's looking bigger and bigger every day!!
Our girl Siren and our Welsh import Denim were bred, and as of today -- day 36 -- it seems that they are expecting! Puppies will be whelped in South Carolina, but the puppy party will be in Virginia. Photos below of Siren's at 36 days preggo.
Aimee & Bomber's puppies went home this weekend, to great people, and we had a fun puppy party to celebrate the puppies and their new families! We've started doing this with every litter and it's SO MUCH FUN! All of the families come together, we put out a great picnic lunch, and we all just hang out for the afternoon with puppies and food and fun. We have a good bit of land -- 7 acres -- so there is plenty of room in the meadow behind our house to spread out blankets and a big exercise pen for the puppies (when they are not being cuddled!!). I can't wait till the next one!
We're so excited to announce that our Tiger Lily (Timbreblue Tramples the Flowers) is expecting a litter of whippet puppies sired by GCH Surrey Hill's Golden Boy (Butters) next week. We are delighted that Karen Lee of Surrey Hill agreed to the match, since one of our first two whippets was sired by CH Surrey Hill Firing Line. It feels wonderful to incorporate the beauty and performance talents of the Surrey Hill line with our Timbreblue whippets.
Dawn is a very affectionate black and white whippet who would love to find a female owner. She came to us when her previous owner's family had severe ongoing medical problemsl they felt she was not getting the attention she deserved. (Her breeder would happily have taken her back, but she is several states away) Dawn is two years old and for unknown reasons does not like men. She's not afraid of them. but is very uncomfortable in their presence. (And it's no just Walt! She's met several men over the past weeks here and didn't like any of them. She gives the most effective "stink eye" I have ever seen!) She's extremely affectionate and loves to cuddle with women. She might get over this aversion to people of the male persuasion but it would take a lot of time and patience.
She would do better in a home with no other female dogs, however. As sweet as she is, she is very dominant with other girls. She doesn't fight, but could easily cause trouble with her pushiness.
Dawn is housetrained, crate and leash-trained, and very playful. Drop me a line at sharyn@timbreblue.com if you're interested.
By the end of the day, even Siren had decided she wasn't so bad and actually shared a chair with her. This is huge.
Well, yes, when they were two days old.
