Last-minute gift ideas...

Don't forget BarkBox! It's a great gift for dog lovers and their dogs. We subscribed last year and absolutely love it! This link will give you the first box free:

https://www.barkbox.com/r/JOW0F21DZ0

Christmas Pajamas!

We have a holiday tradition of holiday pajamas for our whippets -- one year I put all six dogs in matching white snowflake pajamas for our Christmas photo, so funny!

This year's PJs were a gift from Heather Davis and her talented seamstress mother, Risë, owners of Cinna and Aria of Fiona's Thirteen. They were made to the girls' measurements, and they fit beautifully!

Yay! It's BarkBox day!

Rini with today's BarkBox

Yay!! Our BarkBox arrived! Rini is excited!! My whippets loooove BarkBox. If you'd like to try BarkBox, use this link and both you and I will get a free box. =)
https://www.barkbox.com/r/JOW0F21DZ0

BarkBox is a monthly surprise box with 2 toys, 2 bags of treats or cookies, and a chewie -- all corresponding to the month's fun theme. There are options available for extra toys, and there is a free upgrade for super chewers. Every toy is guaranteed, so if your dog doesn't like it, or destroys it in 5 minutes, you can contact them for a credit in their BarkStore (with free shipping).

We have the "extra toy" option, so each month we get 3 premium guaranteed chew-proof toys instead of two. They have all been a hit with our whippets except for one, and BarkBox quickly offered a $15 credit to their store when I emailed them -- with free shipping, and didn't require me to return the toy. The themes are also fun -- my husband Derek loves the packaging, it always has fun stories and illustrations.

My dogs have become convinced lately that every single box that comes into the house is actually BarkBox, and they are disappointed when allowed to inspect and they discover a box is a non-BarkBox. Fiona's longtime conspiracy theory about the UPS man continues to stand, however. She doesn't seem to credit him with the monthly arrival of the BarkBox. 

Our puppycams

We invite you to visit our mamas with their babies ... Siren welcomed a litter in Virginia with Sharyn on June 12 and Fiona had her babies in South Carolina with Jo on July 14.

Siren's puppycam: http://waltah.camstreams.com/

Fiona's puppycam: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/timbreblue-whippets2

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New to whippets? 

The only book you need about whippets: http://amzn.to/2tfANFeThis is the BEST book about whippets ... it answers many of the questions you might have. It's a quick read and inexpensive. It covers the basics about the breed, pros and cons, quirks, and really captures the essence of whippets. It answers a lot of the basic questions about whippets, and can also teach experience whippet owners a thing or two. 

Visit our website to learn more about whippets and find out about our puppies and our breeding ethics. Fill out our questionnaire to start a conversation with us about whippets.

The only whippet book you need

http://amzn.to/2tfANFe

This is the BEST book about whippets ... it answers many of the questions you might have. It's a quick read and inexpensive. It covers the basics about the breed, pros and cons, quirks, and really captures the essence of whippets. It answers a lot of the basic questions about whippets, and can also teach experience whippet owners a thing or two. 

It was written by experienced sighthound breeder Dr. Caroline Coile, and is a must-have for any whippet lover's library.

http://amzn.to/2tfANFe

Fiona's puppies arrived!

We're so proud to announce that Fiona welcomed her second litter on July 14, 2017! She whelped 11 healthy puppies at home in South Carolina with Jo. Fiona was bred to our Welsh import, Denim, for a repeat breeding of last year's litter "Fiona's Thirteen." The birth weights of these puppies was excellent, with the smallest arriving at 9.5 ounces and most of them over 11 ounces. Those are excellent birth weights for such a large litter! We're calling this "The City Litter" and have named the puppies for world cities: Rome, London, Tokyo, Austin, Bombay, Dublin, Rio, Vienna, Firenze, Montreal, and Aberdeen. We have 5 boys and 6 girls.

Fiona's puppies are live on our puppycam!

An average-sized whippet litter is 5-7 puppies. Fertility runs in our line: Fiona's mother, Rini, had one litter of ten puppies, and Fiona's grandmother, Juliet, had 11, 12, and 12 in her litters. We also outcross, instead of "line breeding" or inbreeding as many breeders do, and outcrossing provide better genetic health through "hybrid vigor" -- here's a link for more about hybrid vigor.

We do have a waiting list for this litter, but we might have a puppy or two available. If you're interested, we invite you to fill out our questionnaire, visit our Facebook group to get to know us better, and enjoy Fiona's puppycam where you can watch the puppies grow up.

Mama Fiona:

Daddy Denim:

(our import from Wales)

New to whippets? 

The only book you need about whippets: http://amzn.to/2tfANFe

This is the BEST book about whippets ... it answers many of the questions you might have. It's a quick read and inexpensive. It covers the basics about the breed, pros and cons, quirks, and really captures the essence of whippets. It answers a lot of the basic questions about whippets, and can also teach experience whippet owners a thing or two.  

Visit our website to learn more about whippets and more about our puppies and our breeding ethics.

We're expecting July puppies

Hi guys! We're so happy to announce a repeat breeding of Fiona and Denim, the parents of last year's May 23 litter ("Fiona's Thirteen") -- new puppies due July 13, 2017. We have a waiting list for this litter, but if you'd like more information, please contact us at inquiries@timbreblue.com

Fiona

Sweet FiFi

Fiona is past the rough morning sickness phase and is feeling great! We're keeping up with her daily exercise, and she's had an increased appetite. She's getting daily fish oil (wild Alaskan salmon oil) for DHA and amino acids, folic acid, and Solid Gold Seameal vitamin supplement. At day 40, she will start getting an extra meal with fresh fish and Panacur (see our website for info on our Panacur Protocol).

We keep our puppies with their mothers until ten weeks old, so this litter will be ready to go home in late September. We do not ship puppies, but new families are welcome to fly to Virginia (we're convenient to the Richmond airport) and fly their puppies home with them in the cabin. We insist on meeting all of our new families, and we're very selective about placing our puppies. A Timbreblue puppy comes with the lifetime support of the Timbreblue extended family. Most litters are all promised before they are born.

If you're interested in this litter, please visit our website and fill out our questionnaire under "Contact Us" to start a conversation. If you have trouble with the form, email us at inquiries@timbreblue.com -- some people have trouble with the form on mobile devices.

Fiona's Thirteen -- May 23, 2016

Fiona's Thirteen at age one week

Fiona's Thirteen at age 9 weeks -- 7/22/2016

Puppies Available!

UPDATE: Thank you for your interest! These puppies have all been placed with families. Visit our website to find out more about our puppies or submit a questionnaire to start a conversation with us about our whippets.

- - - - - -

Hi guys! We have a puppy or two available from our Aimee and Tula litter, born January 22, 2017. They are 9 weeks old and will be available to go home as soon as the first week of April. We'll be having a puppy party at our home in Virginia on April 1st for the new puppy families to meet, have some lunch, play with puppies, and take their puppies home.

We have a very close-knit Facebook group for our puppy owners, and it's always fun to put a name to a face with the people you'll be chatting with and comparing notes over the next few weeks (and years!) of your puppy's life. We're here to help with any and all issues, from housetraining to choosing sweaters and coats, any health problems or concerns, and, many years from now, letting go. Our puppies and puppy owners span the years and life stages of all dogs.

If you're interested in talking with us about a  puppy from Aimee's litter, please check out our website at Timbreblue.com and fill out a questionnaire, or contact Sharyn at either (540) 464-8046 or (540) 784-8948 (or email inquiries@timbreblue.com). We'd love to get to know you, and discover if you're a fit for one of our babies!

Kong frog toys are a big hit!

Rini with her granddaughter Brienne

We just got an order from Amazon, containing 3 of the medium-sized Kong brand toy frogs, and they are a big hit with our whippets!

They're a great size for whippets, and the fur on the toys is as soft as silk. They come with a squeaker in their heads and a velcro pocket in their backs with an extra squeaker included. You can open the velcro pocket and put in the squeaker, then if your dog "kills" the squeaker, you can replace it with a new one. I love this feature!

So far I've had a hard time convincing the younger puppies (Brienne and Jaime) not to take the frogs outside, they love to play keep away with them.

I highly recommend these toys, they're a great deal on Amazon right now at $4.69 with Prime shipping -- here's a link:  http://amzn.to/2nZUJg7

Timbreblue whippet tested and approved! 

Placing Adult Whippets

Because we seem to get a lot of traffic on this blog (Lord knows why--we are not exactly great at keeping it current, though we're always striving to do better!) we're sometimes contacted by people looking to find excellent homes for their beloved whippets. There are many reasons people have to give up dogs and until you've walked in a whole lot of moccasins, it's best not to second guess them.

Life does not always work out exactly the way we've planned and sometimes it is better for the dog to go on to a second chapter in his life. Having rehomed a number of adult dogs, I know the pain and guilt involved, but I can say every dog we've let go to another home has ended up happy, spoiled rotten, with just as good (or better!) care than he or she got here. As hard as it is, I have never regretted it. I've missed the dogs, and still do, but I know I made the decision that was best for the animal, if not for my broken heart.

These past couple of weeks, we've learned about several older dogs looking for retirement homes. The oldest of these dogs is ten, and they all still have life to live and love to give. My Ivy lived to five days short of 16, and up until two days before she died, was playing with her toys, running ahead of me on walks, and in general, running the household. Most whippets live to 12 - 14 at least and many make it longer than that with a good quality life.

Older dogs are easier to live with than puppies, you don't have the whole housetraining issue, they're already leash trained, crate trained, over the carsickness...in short, as Walt says frequently, "If people knew about old dogs, we wouldn't be able to give puppies away!" Mature dogs are especially good for people who think they want a whippet but aren't ready to commit to a puppy or for someone looking for a companion for another whippet.

And you would be amazed at how quickly they bond to you. Whippets are the original "love the one you're with" breed!

More Good Dogs in Flux and the Story of Babs

A couple of months ago-- okay, three months ago -- I posted about a couple of good dogs looking for homes. We were inundated with emails about them and they found homes very quickly. Thanks so much to all of you willing to open your hearts and homes to them.

Now we know of a few more. They are not here at Timbreblue, but I can put you in touch with their owners. I can tell you about a couple of them now and there are a couple more I believe with be available soon. None of these dogs are rescues. They are well-bred, well-loved and well-cared-for and are only looking for homes because life has a way of throwing curveballs. Most of them are mature adults...eight or nine years old, Their owners have decided that their circumstances have changed to the point that it would be better for the dogs to start the second halves of their lives in new homes where they will be just as pampered. This is a hard, hard decision to make and shows how much these dogs are loved.

Before we get to them, though, let me tell you about Babs. Babs came to us when she was 12 years old and many of our friends were horrified that her owners could let such an old girl go. But when the family had acquired Babs, they were mostly-at-home folks with a stay-at-home mom and three kids. Years came and went and suddenly the kids went to college, Dad was working out of town all week, and Mom went back to an eight-hour job...with a two-hour commute.  Suddenly little Babs was spending all day and half the evening alone. She was miserable. Her family called to ask if we thought rescue would take her. She was still in good health, but her quality of life had been greatly reduced in the last year or two. We said sure rescue would take her, but we had a better idea. She could come live with us.

It took Babs all of two days to adjust to us as her new family and we enjoyed her for a year before she was diagnosed with cancer. We wouldn't have missed that time with her for the world, and her last year was spent surrounded with love and other whippets, The moral of Babs' story is that older dogs can be perfectly content in a new home as long as they are spoiled adequately.

Babs changed my attitude entirely about rehoming older dogs. I came to realize that these owners, far from being uncaring or irresponsible, are taking the best option for the dog rather than for themselves. It is an extremely difficult and selfless decision to allow an old friend to start a new life in another loving home when the first one is no longer the best one. Once when I was placing a young adult dog with  family with children, the eight-year-old daughter exclaimed, "Now she will have more people who love her as much as you do!" Out of the mouths of babes...

Next up, more good dogs looking for homes!