Red Progress Report

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

Anyone up for a challenge?

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.

Finally...Available Whippets!

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!

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

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!

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!

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

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?

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

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

Four weeks old and way too cute

The puppies are four weeks old today and at possibly the cutest stage. Well, until next week.

At right is how they look most of the time. They're just starting to play. They actually started last week, but it was more bumping into each other and biting. Now they actually look, focus, attack!

We have a webcam on them a few hours a day (when it is working, which it is not today) and there is a chat room with the cam. That has been great! We've had webcams for several litters now, but this is the first time the puppies' prospective owners have been able to "meet" and talk to each other...loads of fun. It also allows me to get to know our new family members better before they come to pick up their puppies.

We're using Yahoo, but combined with our satellite internet service (all we can get out here other than dial-up) it has been a whole lot of trouble. I hope we'll find a better service soon.

Here's Razzle, our blue brindle boy with one of his favorite toys.

They're walking pretty well now, usually able to make about seven or eight steps before crashing.

Last week was fun. Week three is when eyes open and they start to become aware of everything around them. The first time one comes staggering towards me when I step into the whelping box always tugs at my heart. Of course, now, only a few days later, they are all stampeding, tails wagging, because they have figured out I am Food Lady.

We start them on solid food a little earlier than many breeders, and the only reason I can give is that I feel sorry for their mamas! They are so big at three weeks that they can't all fit at the bar at the same time, and she always looks so put-upon. So Saturday they had their first meal, and it looked more like mud wrestling than eating for a few meals.

But they have the hang of it now and are wolfing down four meals a day.

They all get lots of lap time every day and now we're taking them out of the box for some floor-time play too. They're having a ball exploring everything in the room, but they don't stray too far from Mama.

This next week we start to see personalities and then we'll begin to tentatively figure out which puppy would be best suited to which home. We try to give each owner a choice of at least two or three, but we do guide the choices based on our observations of the puppies' temperaments. You don't want the wildest one in the bunch to go to a quiet couple who want a couch potato, or the most reserved one to go to a home with three kids.

These are the happiest days I have. There is simply nothing I love more than raising puppies. It's a lot of work and a lot of mess, but the joy of getting these little fellows ready for their new best friends to pick them up in a few weeks is the most rewarding thing I have ever done.

Sharyn

Nathan needs a home

Actually I know of several adult whippets who are available to new homes, but let me tell you about Nathan first.

In August or thereabouts, I posted here about three dogs I picked up from another breeder...which story I will try to finish tonight.

One of these guys is Nathan, who is now ready for his best friend to show up and take him home. He is eight years old and was returned to his breeder a few months ago due to divorce. He is in fine health, though he has a very slight cough sometimes, which we are told is due to scarring in his lungs from almost drowning as a puppy. It sounds higher than lungs to me, more like damage to his esophagus from a choke collar, but whatever, it doesn't interfere with his quality of life at all. His heart sounds fine and he is heartworm negative.

Nathan is a gentleman in the house. He'd do just fine in a home with no other dogs or with a female. He doesn't like other male dogs. Well, that's an understatement. He really doesn't like other male dogs.

That caught us by surprise because he is so low-key in all other ways. He'll chase a toy and bring it back, but mostly he loves to just lie around on the sofa or go for walks. He's very affectionate and really loves to snuggle up next to me on the sofa while I read or watch TV.

We have thought very seriously about keeping this boy here as a pet -- Walt simply loves him -- but we have a male German Shepherd and another male whippet, and the possibilities of a fight are too great.

Nathan does wear a "belly band" to keep him from marking his territory in the house, but in a household with no other males, he probably wouldn't even need that. He's quiet, housebroken, crate-trained (though he is not above complaining about it when we put him to bed every night), leash trained, and just an all-round easy dog to live with.

He would need to be neutered when he goes to a new home, but his vaccinations are current, he's on heartworm preventive, and has no parasites. If you know someone who'd like to share a home with Nathan, please fill out our questionnaire and drop me a line at sharyn@timbreblue.com There are more pictures of him on our Picasa photos site

I often know of other adult whippets whose breeders are looking for perfect homes for them. If you want a whippet but are not up to the demands of a puppy, fill out our questionnaire and I may be able to put you in touch with someone who can help.

Sharyn

Puppies at almost-three weeks

This is the last week of unsullied enjoyment of puppies for me. We're starting the solid food on Sunday and then Candy will quit. Not everything, but she'll quit cleaning them. And that's when we go to 24 hours of picking up papers, robbing the recycle bins for more papers, and checking my clothes for puppy poop every time I leave the house.

Candy is still being a wonderful mom, but she is -- you can tell -- a little worn out. She no longer rushes to get back to them, but hangs out with me any time I leave the "nursery." I used to think it was because she had to go out, but mostly I think she just wants adult company. I remember those days! So she comes downstairs, visits with Dad, follows me out to the clothesline, settles in the living room for awhile, and then goes back to Mommy Duty.

Thank goodness, the puppies are all healthy and robust. gaining weight daily. They're all spoken for, I think, though next week is "deposit week" and sometimes people change their minds at the last minute. And then we have Juliet's litter due the 27th of this month!

Sharyn

Bigger every day

The puppies are doing great! Did I say there were four boys and four girls? Originally I thought there were three girls, but during the first night, I think one had a sex change operation because we now have four girls and four boys and I know I didn't make a mistake that dumb.

Candy is being a great mom. She's getting just a little bored with them now -- they're ten days old and she thinks they should be doing something besides grunting and squeaking, but that's about all there is to them so far. Eyes should open any time.

There are pictures at Picasa and I swear I'll figure out how to add pictures to this blog soon...

Our annual puppy reunion is this weekend and we're expecting 50 or so whippets!

Sharyn

The tomato-mozzarella salad mess

Here's a Barnaby story with a bonus....the recipe for a fantastic tomato-mozarella salad is at the end!
___________________________________
It was Saturday evening. Friends were over for dinner. The first
course was going to be a wonderful fresh tomato, basil & mozzarella
salad with pesto and toasted pine nuts. I had placed my lovingly
assembled salads around on everyone's plate, and left the dining room
for maybe 4 minutes to call people to the table. While I was gone,
Barnaby had quietly gone around to EVERYONE'S plate, tossed each and
every tomato slice on the floor, the basil leaves on the chairs, and
had eaten every single slice of fresh mozzarella and every single pine
nut from each and every salad. The moral of the story is either, a)
never leave food unattended with Whippets around, or b) Whippets love
fresh mozzarella and pine nuts, but NOT tomatoes or basil.

(Being a dog person, I would have been happy just eating what Barnaby
had left, but since our guests were NOT dog people, I thought I better
not.)
___________________________________
Layered Tomato-Mozzarella Salads
(4 individual salads)

1/4 cup pine nuts
1/3 cup Newman's Own olive oil and vinegar dressing
2 drained oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, chopped (about 1 tablespoon)
2 cups (1 oz.) loosely packed baby salad greens
2 large tomatoes (about 1 1/2 pounds), each cut into 6 slices
1/4 cup prepared pesto, divided
1/2 pound fresh mozzarella cheese, cut into 16 slices
16 fresh basil leaves

Preheat oven to 350. Spread pine nuts on ungreased baking sheet.
Bake 3 minutes (lightly brown).

Combine dressing with sun-dried tomatoes.

For each salad, place 1/2 cup salad greens on plate. Drizzle with 1
tablespoon dressing and 1 teaspoon nuts.

Place one slice tomato over greens.

Spread with 1 1/2 teaspoon pesto.

Top with 1 teaspoon nuts, 2 slices cheese and 2 basil leaves.

Repeat to make second layer, ending with tomato slices.

Drizzle with remaining dressing.

Garnish with additional basil, if desired.

Keep Whippets away!

Puppies have arrived! Part two

So Walt babysat Candy and the kids while I went down and got the car ready to go, which, incidentally, I should have done Sunday while nothing was going on! Took everything out of the back and put blankets, towels, got a heating pad warmed, the whole thing. While I was downstairs, I fed the rest of the dogs and tried to convince them that there was really nothing exciting going on upstairs. They weren't buying it.

We called Dr. K again at 2:30 pm and she said to come on -- we would give Candy a shot, give it awhile to work, then do a section and have everyone home by seven or eight.

I gave Candy the news while she was cleaning Kitkit for the 15th time, and she said, "Oh, wait. I think I am having a contraction!" I picked up the five puppies and put them in a box with a heating pad so Candy could concentrate. She pushed hard but nothing was happening. There was a gush of water, so I knew there was a puppy "ready" but it didn't appear.

Okay, time for the heavy-duty midwifery part. I will spare you the details, but it involved a surgical glove, lubricant, a very slippery puppy leg, an unhappy Candy, and a hyperventilating breeder. I kept thinking of those movies where everyone is sweating and the mother is screaming and they keep yelling PUSH! PUSH! Those movies usually end badly for the mother for some reason, so I didn't share these thoughts with Candy. Dogs are much tougher than people. She wasn't screaming or crying, but I know it wasn't the mostest favorite hour of her life.

After about 20 minutes of high drama, we produced a blue brindle boy puppy that I just knew would be dead. He gasped and a leg moved! I picked him up, cleaned the yucky stuff out of his mouth and held him upside down for awhile while more drained out of him. I rubbed him with a towel until he started to cry, held him upside down some more, and listened to him breathe. He still sounded a little "bubbly," so I shook him gently, still upside down. By now Candy wanted him back, so I turned him over to her. And thus came Razzle at 3:00 pm.

Number seven arrived half an hour later with no fanfare. This little guy was dead and beyond resuscitation. His umbilical cord had apparently detached and he didn't have a chance. These always break my heart. You just mourn for the little life that never was and the people somewhere who will never have the joy this specific little fellow would have brought them. We tried to revive him anyway, then let Candy "work" with him for a little while. I've brought many puppies around over the years, but this one just didn't have even a spark. I slipped him away from Candy while she was busy with another puppy. Walt took him later to bury him with Judy and Hamlet, the old folks we lost last year. His name was Starburst and he was a blue brindle and white puppy.

Dr. K called during this time and advised that we should get Candy in. She said the dead puppy might have been the problem and that puppies after that one might be in distress. Once more I began gathering up towels and what-not to take Candy out to the car.

But while I was still thinking about Starburst and worrying about the other two we knew were there, Candy decided to get busy with another puppy. Kisses arrived at 4:42, a tiny little girl who was ready to nurse before she was dry. She is a brindle and white who looks like paint spilled on her left side...some on her neck and some on her rump.

And at 5:30, Wonka decided to close up Puppyland and come on home. He's the puppy with the least white on him at first glance...just a dot on his neck and a little strip on his side, but he has four white socks and his tail is half white and his whole underside is as white as the top is dark.

Candy is being a very sensible but devoted mother, just the kind we like! Some of them are a little too casual about the whole affair and some are too obsessive. I guess when you think about it, they're like all moms. Some are better than others! Candy, thank goodness, is a very good one!

Puppies have arrived! Part one

Candy's temperature was down Sunday morning to 98.3 --- the first sign that puppies are actually going to arrive within 24 hours. We always let the vet know when time is getting close so she can know there's a possibility of a c-section if things go wrong. Dr. K. was out of town, but we had a backup. I called our backup at home, who cheerfully wished us luck and said she would be around if we needed her.

Walt and Candy and Ivy and I settled in to wait. Ivy had her special Grandma crate set up and was quite content to just stay out of the way. For some reason all our moms allow Ivy to be in the room during whelping, but woe be to any other dog who tries to wander in. Ivy, of course, is everyone's mother, grandmother, or great-grandmother, so maybe they think she knows some kind of whelping voodoo and should hang around to help midwife.

Sunday passed, waiting and watching nothing to speak of. Walt brought his notebook computer up and we both go some work done. Candy redesigned her box some more and Ivy slept. That night we made a pizza to eat in the whelping room, put a DVD in Walt's laptop and watched a movie. (Dr. Who) I called Dr. K -- just back from her trip -- at 10 pm and woke her up to let her know nothing was happening. I'm sure she appreciated that little news item.

Finally Walt went to bed and I took a short nap on the floor next to the whelping box. Candy entertained herself by jumping out of the box and onto my back, cozying up beside me, waiting till I got back to sleep, then leaping back into the box, using my back as a launching pad.

At 5:25 am, she wormed her way under the covers with me once more and began whining. I snuggled her close to me and then realized it wasn't her puppies I felt moving around, but an honest to goodness contraction!

So we settled into the whelping box and a beautiful little brindle and white girl arrived at 5:47. That was Kitkat. She had a full white collar and a mark that looked (you guessed it) like a cat on her side. She had a wide white blaze and weighed 10.1 ounces. Walt woke up and checked in on us. I said all was going well. He took some of the dirty laundry to wash (whelping puppies is an incredibly messy business) and went downstairs to make coffee.

After that, things got more complicated. Candy kept insisting she had to go out. I kept telling her, no, she didn't, that was a puppy wanting to get out. No, she said, she had to poop. We took two trips out - no poop, no puppy. On one of these trips, she knocked my coffee over onto the postage scale we use for weighng them, so Kitkat was the last one to be weighed until the next day when Walt went to get me a new scale.

I was getting a little concerned -- puppies usually are spaced 3o minutes to an hour apart, and we were headed for three hours. However, since she hadn't been having contractions, there was no real emergency yet. I called our vet, Dr. K, just in case. She said to let her know. She just seemed pretty happy with her one little girl, except she said she had to poop. Really she did.

Finally on the third trip, at 8:25 am, she squatted and out came Godiva, a lovely blue brindle and white girl. Fortunately, I had brought a clean towel with me for just such an occasion, so I caught the little one before she hit the ground, and we went back upstairs, with me telling Candy, "I told you so." She ignored me. Walt had gone back to bed, so he missed that whole little drama.

We all went back upstairs and an hour later Skittles, a brindle and white male with a stripe across his back, arrived right on time. I kept thinking he looked like a Dutch belted cow so Lakenvelder was a possible name, but considering how little sleep I was getting, staying with the "candy" theme seemed wiser. He will never know how close he came to being named after a cow.

Candy apparently decided faster was the way to go (I agreed) so at 10:03, along came Truffles, another female, with a dramatic zigzag stripe up her back.

Candy was doing her job, cleaning and licking and nuzzling and puppies were doing well. At 10:20 (yes, just over 15 minutes from Truffles' arrival), she stood up, the sac around the next puppy broke -- indicated by a whoosh of amniotic fluid -- and I looked under Candy's tail to see a second tail...a little tiny one, but definitely a whippety-looking tail, protruding from Puppyland inside. One push from Candy and Twix arrived before I could catch him. Plonk onto the bedding. He was no worse for his dive, so I put him with the four others for Candy to mind till it was time for the next one.

I waited and Candy licked and nuzzled and cooed. (Okay, she didn't coo, but she would have if she could) And I waited. And waited. No contractions, no concern on Candy's part at all. An hour passed and then two. I knew there were still four puppies in there, due to the magic of xrays, but Candy was in no hurry.

I, of course, was frantically going through all my books on reproduction. They always seem to cover every possibility before the babies actually start arriving, but when you need to see something specific in print like, "Some dogs, like Sharyn and Walt's girl Candy, can wait 12 hours and 20 minutes between puppies and be just fine," it just isn't there. Some said two hours. Some said two hours if the bitch is having strong contractions. One said three or four hours between puppies was not unusual if the bitch is resting comfortably. One assured me that her own dog had produced a puppy an entire day after the rest of the litter, but she added that it was "mummified."

And here is where the real headaches come. The veterinarian is a breeder's best friend, but when it comes to whelping litters of puppies, they are not nearly as familiar with what's normal and what's not as an experienced breeder. I bred collies for 20 years and have bred whippets for ten. I've advised other people on what is an emergency and what is not. I called Dr. K at three hours and she said to go ahead and get ready to come in, but that Candy would probably deliver one in the car on the way. Unfortunately we are 30-45 minutes away from the office or Walt could have run over there and picked up an oxytocin shot for us to give Candy. They stimulate contractions and a lot of breeders keep them on hand.

The trouble is that in some cases, stimulating contractions is the last thing you want to do -- for instance, if there are two puppies in the birth canal, if the uterus is twisted, if, in other words, no amount of contracting is going to get the puppies moving. In that case, if you give an oxytocin shot, you end up with a mama with a ruptured uterus. Which is why we have decided not to keep them on hand here.

--more to come--

Candy - Day 61

Candy's temperature was down Sunday morning to 98.3 --- the first sign that puppies are actually going to arrive within 24 hours. We always let the vet know when time is getting close so she can know there's a possibility of a c-section if things go wrong. Dr. K. was out of town, but we had a backup. I called our backup at home, who cheerfully wished us luck and said she would be around if we needed her.

Walt and Candy and Ivy and I settled in to wait. Ivy had her special Grandma crate set up and was quite content to just stay out of the way. For some reason all our moms allow Ivy to be in the room during whelping, but woe be to any other dog who tries to wander in. Ivy, of course, is everyone's mother, grandmother, or great-grandmother, so maybe they think she knows some kind of whelping voodoo and should hang around to help midwife.

Sunday passed, waiting and watching nothing to speak of. Walt brought his notebook computer up and we both go some work done. Candy redesigned her box some more and Ivy slept. That night we made a pizza to eat in the whelping room, put a DVD in Walt's laptop and watched a movie. (Dr. Who) I called Dr. K -- just back from her trip -- at 10 pm and woke her up to let her know nothing was happening. I'm sure she appreciated that little news item.

Finally Walt went to bed and I took a short nap on the floor next to the whelping box. Candy entertained herself by jumping out of the box and onto my back, cozying up beside me, waiting till I got back to sleep, then leaping back into the box, using my back as a launching pad.

At 5:25 am, she wormed her way under the covers with me once more and began whining. I snuggled her close to me and then realized it wasn't her puppies I felt moving around, but an honest to goodness contraction!

So we settled into the whelping box and a beautiful little brindle and white girl arrived at 5:47. That was Kitkat. She had a full white collar and a mark that looked (you guessed it) like a cat on her side. She had a wide white blaze and weighed 10.1 ounces. Walt woke up and checked in on us. I said all was going well. He took some of the dirty laundry to wash (whelping puppies is an incredibly messy business) and went downstairs to make coffee.

After that, things got more complicated. Candy kept insisting she had to go out. I kept telling her, no, she didn't, that was a puppy wanting to get out. No, she said, she had to poop. We took two trips out - no poop, no puppy. On one of these trips, she knocked my coffee over onto the postage scale we use for weighng them, so Kitkat was the last one to be weighed until the next day when Walt went to get me a new scale.

I was getting a little concerned -- puppies usually are spaced 3o minutes to an hour apart, and we were headed for three hours. However, since she hadn't been having contractions, there was no real emergency yet. I called our vet, Dr. K, just in case. She said to let her know. She just seemed pretty happy with her one little girl, except she said she had to poop. Really she did.

Finally on the third trip, at 8:25 am, she squatted and out came Godiva, a lovely blue brindle and white girl. Fortunately, I had brought a clean towel with me for just such an occasion, so I caught the little one before she hit the ground, and we went back upstairs, with me telling Candy, "I told you so." She ignored me. Walt had gone back to bed, so he missed that whole little drama.

We all went back upstairs and an hour later Skittles, a brindle and white male with a stripe across his back, arrived right on time. I kept thinking he looked like a Dutch belted cow so Lakenvelder was a possible name, but considering how little sleep I was getting, staying with the "candy" theme seemed wiser. He will never know how close he came to being named after a cow.

Candy apparently decided faster was the way to go (I agreed) so at 10:03, along came Truffles, another female, with a dramatic zigzag stripe up her back.

Candy was doing her job, cleaning and licking and nuzzling and puppies were doing well. At 10:20 (yes, just over 15 minutes from Truffles' arrival), she stood up, the sac around the next puppy broke -- indicated by a whoosh of amniotic fluid -- and I looked under Candy's tail to see a second tail...a little tiny one, but definitely a whippety-looking tail, protruding from Puppyland inside. One push from Candy and Twix arrived before I could catch him. Plonk onto the bedding. He was no worse for his dive, so I put him with the four others for Candy to mind till it was time for the next one.

I waited and Candy licked and nuzzled and cooed. (Okay, she didn't coo, but she would have if she could) And I waited. And waited. No contractions, no concern on Candy's part at all. An hour passed and then two. I knew there were still four puppies in there, due to the magic of xrays, but Candy was in no hurry.

I, of course, was frantically going through all my books on reproduction. They always seem to cover every possibility before the babies actually start arriving, but when you need to see something specific in print like, "Some dogs, like Sharyn and Walt's girl Candy, can wait 12 hours and 20 minutes between puppies and be just fine," it just isn't there. Some said two hours. Some said two hours if the bitch is having strong contractions. One said three or four hours between puppies was not unusual if the bitch is resting comfortably. One assured me that her own dog had produced a puppy an entire day after the rest of the litter, but she added that it was "mummified."

And here is where the real headaches come. The veterinarian is a breeder's best friend, but when it comes to whelping litters of puppies, they are not nearly as familiar with what's normal and what's not as an experienced breeder. I bred collies for 20 years and have bred whippets for ten. I've advised other people on what is an emergency and what is not. I called Dr. K at three hours and she said to go ahead and get ready to come in, but that Candy would probably deliver one in the car on the way. Unfortunately we are 30-45 minutes away from the office or Walt could have run over there and picked up an oxytocin shot for us to give Candy. They stimulate contractions and a lot of breeders keep them on hand.

The trouble is that in some cases, stimulating contractions is the last thing you want to do -- for instance, if there are two puppies in the birth canal, if the uterus is twisted, if, in other words, no amount of contracting is going to get the puppies moving. In that case, if you give an oxytocin shot, you end up with a mama with a ruptured uterus. Which is why we have decided not to keep them on hand here.

--more to come--

Drooling Barnaby

Another one from Jeanne in Pennsylvania, owner of our own Boo and Barnaby and the long-suffering Emma from Surrey Hill. I just love these people!

=============================

Barnaby is what one might call an extreme drooler, a true drooler extraordinaire. Let me tell ya, that dog can DROOL! If he knows there is the slightest crumb coming his way, the drooling begins ... slowly at first, but soon it comes forth in copious amounts.

Well, today I pulled up to the bank drive-through (with the B-Boy and Emma in
the car, as usual), and placed my transaction in the little plastic tube that shoots it back to the bank teller. Just like Pavlov's dogs, Barnaby and Emma know that very soon that little plastic tube will shoot back in our direction, containing two dog biscuits, and Barnaby starts to drool.

I have no idea what took the teller so long today with our transaction (maybe she was hunting the dog biscuit box?), but we sat there for at least five minutes. By the time the biscuit-bearing tube shot back our way, poor Barnaby was hyper-drooling! AND, the woman in the car behind us was more than a little irritated. She was shaking her head, waving her arms, demonstrating her disgust with me AND my dogs (even though WE were not responsible for the delay!).

By the time I opened the biscuit-bearing plastic tube, Barnaby was standing over me, and the drool was just pouring into the tube like a waterfall. (I was actually rather impressed with his aim.) Since the woman behind me was so very anxious for me to get out of her way, I did not take the time to wipe
Barnaby's drool from the tube. Childish -- yes. Unsanitary -- maybe. Gratifying -- most definitely!

~Jeanne