Nor' Eastern!

I am going to go out on a limb and say that all of the M&M litter, with the exception of lil' sis Gracie Dot, experienced their first snow fall of the season today (Saturday) and I am sure everyone had fun playing in the white stuff.  Swing ran around like a little maniac, skidding along and plowing the snow between her toes and catching the little snowballs that I would pitch to her.  She was more willing to run around in the white stuff than wet stuff (don't tell her that it is just *cold* wet stuff!).

Where are you going?

Leaping the sidewalk

Swing - So, what do we do in this stuff?  Dodge - KIDS!

The temp kept the accumulation to only a couple of inches but it was enough to run around and play in.  If it had been another month we probably would have seen more snow (the weatherman said it could have been a foot!).  We can hardly wait for that!

More teething, field time

Teething continues, Saturday morning I was able to retrieve another tooth from Swing.  Not one of the big molars, but a molar nonetheless.  It was obvious that she wasn't feeling too good after an afternoon playing with Hank and doing a little puppy agility training.  When we got home she wasn't too interested in her supper but instead she headed to that nice donut bed of hers.  She snoozed until early evening and then she finally decided to eat some of her supper.  Sunday morning she was her chipper self and that made me happy.

After agility training on Saturday we pulled the pups out of the xpen to let them run around and stretch their legs, and take advantage of having the equipment to ourselves.  We called the pups over the jump bumps (plastic gutters) and had them racing through the tunnels, which were curved or had a 90 degree bend in them.  Swing took it upon herself to step up on the teeter and she was rewarded for having her back feet on the bottom of the plank in the contact area.  All I really wanted her to do was step up on it, turn around and then step her front feet off and leave her back feet on.  That happened twice and just as I commented that I was wondering when one of them would actually do the teeter, Swing walked right up the plank!  Thank goodness Howard and I were both in position, I caught the board as it tilted and Howard rewarded her when she was on the other end and the board was on the ground.  I seem to remember a Grayhart dog doing something similar when she was a pup, right Linda?  Anyway, she negotiated the obstacle about a half a dozen times without any prompting from me.  Now not to worry, she was totally supervised and rather than discourage her from doing it (and potentially creating problems down the road) I chose to run with it and reward the behavior that was offered.  I would not ask her to do the teeter as she is still developing and I will not chance her scaring or hurting herself.  Swing has been encouraged to offer behaviors and I think that is a key component in having a dog that wants to perform.  Yes, sometimes she does things I would not like her to do (like walk along the top of the couch and jump down off of it) and those behaviors are not rewarded.  I will do my darnedest to keep her safe while building her confidence in herself and her environment.

One thing I have found that does not thrill her is bird work.  She may be a late bloomer or she may not see the excitement in a bird.  Last weekend I showed her a dead bird and she was a bit hesitant about approaching it and after a quick sniff or two she was done.  She was more interested in socializing with the people than looking at that bird.  So maybe she'll change her mind when she is older and maybe not.  It is all good regardless, field work is low on our priority list.  Now Dodge is another story...

We are taking it easy this week since her mouth is sensitive.  I checked it and she does not have her lower canine that was dying as a result of the face plant she took a number of weeks ago.  I'm hoping the replacement tooth comes in just fine, as of now I do not see it breaking through the gum but the fact that she continues to suck on her gums tells me that there is a lot going on in that little mouth that I can't see.  I will tell you that her front teeth, upper and lower, are in and she takes great delight in leaving little nibble marks on my arms with them!

It's suppose to get a little wet and chilly later this week so I'll close with some shots of the gang enjoying the sun when Hank was visiting.  I only have one window where we get that nice sunbeam and as you can see, everyone crowds in there to get a piece of it.

 The bobsy twins

 The whole gang (Dirk is hidden behind Dodge, Swing on couch, Hank on floor)

 Swing close up

Hank relaxing

Let the teething begin! (and more)

Swing lost her first (well the first that I'm aware of) tooth last night, a premolar that I was able to get out of her mouth before she swallowed it.  She's been sucking on her gums for about a week now and I knew it was just a matter of days.  Well she was sitting at my feet and trying to chew on something, which I thought was a piece of a paper towel roll her brother had chewed up, when I found it between her lips and gums.  So it's in a pill bottle and I'm anxiously awaiting the next one.

Hank is visiting for a few days but he shows no indication of losing a tooth, but if he does I hope I find it to add to Swing's budding collection.  Maybe he will surprise me with one before he goes home later this week.  In the meantime he's been having a blast hanging with his sister and cousin (and Dirk, the old man who gorged himself on a box of Milkbones on Monday.  My fault, I forgot to take them off of the counter before I left for work).  He's learned to have his teeth brushed, negotiate a bunch of steps, open the pantry door  (that one surprised even me) and supervise yard clean up.  Tonight is toenail night which we will do at training and tomorrow we may have a bath night since they could all use it after dealing with the mud leading in from the back yard.  He doesn't have a large fenced in yard at home and it is so cute and funny watching him and Swing race around the back yard like a couple of young foals/deer.  I'll get some pictures of that before he leaves.  I warned Howard that he may not get the little monster back since he has settled in so nicely.  Of course we all know that keeping litter mates is not a good idea and I wouldn't dream of it, one is enough work!

This past weekend the weather was wonderful and after agility training we put together some props for me to take pictures of all of the dogs.  Of course the dastardly duo had to have their pictures taken and it was quite comical watching 3 adults try to handle and manipulate two 19 week old puppies.  Individually they were manageable, together was another story.  But we got the task done and here are some results...

Swing (L) and Hank (R)

Swing

Beau (aka Hank)

And the pups were not the only stars of the photo shoot.  Dodge sat patiently while I took his pictures (he was very good about taking directions from my friends) and while I love the colors in this shot if I were to re-shoot it I would find a way to shield some of the sun from his eyes (can we say diffuser?).

Dodge

This is Candy, Jan's sheltie that Howard is presently running in Novice.  At her first agility trial she picked up one Novice standard and one Novice jumpers leg.  We were glad that there was a bit of a breeze on Saturday because Candy has blown her coat so she isn't carrying as much as she was a month ago.  The wind helped "fluff" her a bit.

Candy

Finally, one of the shots that I really like, we have Bart.  Bart has the wonderful honor of being his breeders for ROM and he's currently running with my friend Carolyn's husband, a job he took over when she injured her knee last fall.  Now Carolyn did all of the ground work with Bart so her husband just had to learn how to handle him and they have done extremely well since hitting the ring less than a year ago!  As you can see, Bart is quite the looker and he obviously knows it.

Bart

Photographing animals and kids is considered challenging by some photographers.  Personally I find it fun to work with subjects that can be unpredictable, uncooperative, sometimes unruly and basically FUN!   The key to successful pictures is having an assistant or two that understands said subject(s) and can take direction from the photographer.  It also helps if they can take over pressing the shutter when the photographer realizes that they need to intervene and take over the posing duties.  This is what happened when the puppies were being photographed.  Trust me, I have a number of shots of one or both of them jumping off of the bales of hay, climbing on each other, looking away, etc.   Thanks to all of my assistants, I think we got some nice pictures.

Yes, I'm crazy about feet!

For those of you that do not know me that well let me explain today's blog title.  I have a thing for cute dog feet.  I love a nice tight foot that has a nice strong pad, nicely arched toes and SHORT TOENAILS!  Toenails are generally done twice a week in my household and one of the days I set aside for doing toenails is what I call "toenail Tuesday" (there is also manicure Monday if I'm feeling really adventurous at the beginning of the week).  Now I'm blessed with two dogs that have pretty feet, Dodge and Swing (well her back feet are a little ugly right now but she is just about to start teething so I expect all of her feet to look ugly at some point) and so far pretty much all of the GraytSky dogs have pretty feet.  Feet are probably the most important structure on the dog if you stop and think about it.  I mean if they do not have good feet (and good feet vary from breed to breed, I know that a sighthounds foot would not look like the foot of a sporting dog) then you can not expect them to hold up in performance events.  So let's take a look at some feet...

Clay's feet (Dodge's daddy)

Yep, when I went to see him at Westminster one of the things I looked at were his feet and I liked what I saw (tight, well arched toes, short nails, strong pads).  Feet like that should stand up to a day in the field or the jumping and turning in obedience and agility as well as moving easily around the conformation ring.  If you saw Clay you know that his movement was lovely.

Dodge's feet (are they too cute or what?)

Fortunately Dodge got his sire and dam's nice feet.  Other than adjusting his toes everyone once in a while (generally after running at an agility trial), he's never had an issue with his feet and he handles any type of footing with ease.  We've received many a compliment about his short nails and I have been pretty diligent about grinding them weekly (again, usually twice a week or every 3 to 4 days).  He accepts the procedure with little resistance and I am careful not to nick him or draw blood.  Grinding allows you to get close to that point without causing bleeding like a pair of clippers (guillotine or scissor like) can do.  There is rarely a need to have Qwik Stop handy when using a grinder.

Dirk's foot

Poor Dirk has the biggest and ugliest feet of all of my dogs.  Unfortunately he had a rough beginning and even after 10 years this is the best that I have been able to do with his toenails.  They are at least half as big as I like them, he's flat footed and his pads are quite soft.  This foot would not hold up to a long hard day (which is why Dirk's idea of a hard day is having to get up off of the couch more than 6 times a day) and anyone who knows Dirk knows that he is all about his creature comforts!

Swing wasn't being too cooperative this evening so getting a shot of her feet will have to wait for another day when she isn't sore at me for grinding her nails.  But I can report that she has nice nails, good arch to her toes, pads that are starting to thicken and toughen and a nicely shaped foot.  As I mentioned earlier, her back feet are a bit flat and resemble a hair foot at the moment but I expect them to improve after teething and maturity.  For now you will have to accept this shot of one of her little feet...

Yes, it is bedtime and the little munchkin is snoring away in that bolster bed.  We'll revisit this subject in the future and if any of you are inclined to take pictures of your puppies feet I would enjoy seeing them.  There are some judges out there who appreciate nicely manicured nails and good feet.  So please do not forget about the foot when you are getting your dog ready to show or contemplating taking up some dog sport (flyball, dock diving, agility, obedience, rally, tracking, hunting, etc.).  Until next time...

18 weeks and growing like weeds!

The M&M litter is 18 weeks old today and first hand accounts report that they are growing like weeds (at lease Swing and Hank are!).  A friend saw them at the agility trial today (they were there to hang out and take in the sights as well as get in some hard core play time with each other) and commented on how big they were from the last time he saw them (and he sees them weekly!).  Between growing and teething (which hasn't officially started but I fear it will be here before we know it) they will be unrecognizable to those that only see them every couple of weeks (or longer).

Those puppies that share their homes with other grey dogs (does anyone have any other color???) are finally being accepted by the little munchkins as evidenced by pictures like these...

 Beau & Kasper napping in the sun

Sue, Beau and Max (yes, even the humans get in to it!)

Swing, Dirk and Dodge enjoy monopolizing the corner section of the sectional and just this evening she had herself tucked in between them.  Of course we've seen Ella playing with big brother Stanford and I'm sure they share the dog beds as well.

Handling class continues for Hank and Swing (although Swing is taking time off while her handler attends a photography class with her BFF) and reports are that last week they learned to do the triangle pattern.  I have a sneaking suspicion the next pattern will be the dreaded "L" pattern (well it really isn't that bad, I only know two judges that use that pattern so chances of seeing it in the ring are kinda rare these days).  Howard's only complaint was that he couldn't figure out how to keep his hand still while gaiting Beau, we solved that little mystery this weekend at the agility trial (yes, we were doing things other than running dogs in agility).  Puppy class continues for a couple of the pups and besides the standard, sit, down, come, walk on loose leash and recalls I've been told that crate games are being played in at least one class.

The days are getting shorter and while fall is one of my favorite times of the year, I do not like leaving for work and coming home from work when it is almost dark.  But the shorter days mean that we look forward to the weekends even more, and for me it also means cramming as much outdoor training in as possible.  Hopefully we'll have some glorious weekends like this one we just had, thus allowing us to get our puppies out to possibly play with birds or go tracking or even just hiking and enjoying the outdoors.  So enjoy these fall weekends and get out with your puppies as much as you can.  Gracie Dot says there is no excuse not to get out and do something and anyone trying to do otherwise will be met with a big raspberry...

Have a wonderful week kids!