Had a minute - they're still sleeping. Wanted to post some new picutres of them. I have tons more of them tearing around the lawn after each other. And of their prowess at being defensemen on the hockey rink out back with Kyle. He tries to score & they try to take the puck (okay, so we use a ball out back) away, or they score themselves. It's very cute.
Housetraining is going well. Just a couple of inside accidents a day. They are using the doggie door, only they haven't quite associated the door with "potty" yet. Joe still thinks it's okay to use the door to come IN the house to potty.
I must say, though, that all of this is much better than I anticipated. Two pups are much easier than one in many ways. They play together & keep each other great company. I could never entertain either of them as well as they do each other. And still they are very loving toward all of us. They love to be held & cuddled. Double the cost, but double the love!
Friday, April 15, 2005
chaos reigns!
Well, I spent several hours yesterday, on & off, writing a lengthy post about the pups. I intended to finish it last night, when lo & behold, I came back to my computer to find that it had rebooted itself due to some critical Windows update. Lord, I wanted to scream! So, doubtful you'll ever get to hear about all the trials & tribs over the last 5 days with my babies!
They're doing great. Visited the vet (social visit only - with their freshly bagged stool samples) and got weighed - 10 pounds each, despite Snoopy looking much bigger. Snoopy just has more fur :-) I upped their food, as I wasn't feeding quite enough. They scarf down a meal & are ready for more sometimes.
They love the lawn & chase each other around endlessly. It's funny how they can be running one minute and sound asleep the next. Truly amazing. They have very different personalities. Snoopy is much more social, but fearful of strange things. Joe is more shy, but braver. Snoopy is the vocal one. He barks & barks. Really cute. He even "talks" when he's playing with Joe. Joe is more laid back. He really "goes with the flow."
The crate training is going really well. Up to almost 5 hours at a stretch with 15-30 minute breaks. Their breeder said she's got the remaining two pups crated for up to 7, so I may try a little longer each night for the next few days. I would love to sleep for more than 3 hours at a stretch! Snoopy still cries a bit, Joe sometimes too, but they are getting the hang of it.
I hear puppies awake so I must run for now. More later.
They're doing great. Visited the vet (social visit only - with their freshly bagged stool samples) and got weighed - 10 pounds each, despite Snoopy looking much bigger. Snoopy just has more fur :-) I upped their food, as I wasn't feeding quite enough. They scarf down a meal & are ready for more sometimes.
They love the lawn & chase each other around endlessly. It's funny how they can be running one minute and sound asleep the next. Truly amazing. They have very different personalities. Snoopy is much more social, but fearful of strange things. Joe is more shy, but braver. Snoopy is the vocal one. He barks & barks. Really cute. He even "talks" when he's playing with Joe. Joe is more laid back. He really "goes with the flow."
The crate training is going really well. Up to almost 5 hours at a stretch with 15-30 minute breaks. Their breeder said she's got the remaining two pups crated for up to 7, so I may try a little longer each night for the next few days. I would love to sleep for more than 3 hours at a stretch! Snoopy still cries a bit, Joe sometimes too, but they are getting the hang of it.
I hear puppies awake so I must run for now. More later.
Monday, April 11, 2005
1st day home
Well, we made it back. I have tons to post about the trip, and the ride back to the cabin, and the first night at the cabin, and the first day back here. But tonight I'm whipped, the puppies are asleep & I'm taking advantage of a "nap" before it's time to take them out of their crates to pee. 3 times tonight. I will say, they are precious. They are a wonderful gift from God (and Bitz & Toss) and our lives will be blessed with them around.
Friday, April 08, 2005
The first entry
Hi everyone. I decided (after some persuading from a friend) to start this blog. It will (hopefully) keep everyone informed about the chaotic goings-on in our household. It might be funny, it might be sad, it might be boring. I make no promises.
Hockey season officially ended for Kyle last Sunday at the 2005 Grand Canyon State Games. As we figured, the Peoria Roadrunners beat us in the championship game 3-0. The kids played really well - held them to a 0-0 tie almost through the 2nd period. But Peoria is, and has been all season, the better team, and they held out to win it. Alex Taylor (our goalie) was outstanding stopping 40 of 43 shots on goal. It was a great way to end the season.
Which means that Kyle is no longer a Squirt. He is now a PeeWee. Full contact hockey begins on 4/19 with tryouts for next fall's PeeWee94 Travel Team. While we truly hope he makes the team, we are realistic that he is a) small for a PeeWee, b) not one of the fastest kids, and c) not one of the strongest players. But he is determined to try, so we are committing to an entire summer of pre-season hockey to try to get him on the team. We won't know until August if he makes the final cut.
Today, however, we are off on our big adventure to rural New Mexico to pick up our two new Border Collie puppies. For those of you not current on the events - in February we had to put our beloved baby, Toosox, to sleep. After almost 13 years of constant companionship, lymphoma took over and claimed her little life. Our hearts are still breaking with the loss, but we knew that we owed it to her to end her life with dignity. She will forever be our one & only baby girl.
Shortly after her loss, I started looking into pups. We have promised Kyle for at least the last 5 years that when Toosox was gone, we'd get him a pup. Ron insisted on another Border Collie. Well, Borders are not easy to come by in the state of AZ. I did, finally, find a litter in Mountainair, New Mexico. Born 2 days before we put down Toosox. The females were already "reserved," but there were 4 little boys to choose from. Kyle chose a little white pup with 2 black ears and a black spot on his back. He promptly chose the name Snoopy, and has stuck with it.
Over spring break we took Kyle to the wilds of NM (little did we know that there was going to be a major snowstorm going with us) to visit his pup. The roads were closed to the ranch, so we had to spend a night between Albuquerque & Mountainair to wait out the road closure. The next morning we set off.
Sure enough, there was about a foot of snow up there in Mountainair. And they obviously aren't used to it, as none of the roads were plowed. There were tracks from the main highway onto the ranch road, so Ron got our SUV in there, but the snow was too deep to actually make it up the ranch driveway. I got out my hat & gloves and hiked in. Leon, the ranchhand, took the 4-wheeler out to the road a couple of times to dig a path for Ron to drive in on.
The pups were PRECIOUS. Six of them - 4 boys, 2 girls - all came out to visit. Mom stayed in her room so we could play with the babies. Kyle had a great time with his pup. Snoopy never once took a nap. He just played & played. I think Kyle was smitten. I grew quite attached to a little girl that curled up in my lap and slept. Ron found the runt (just like Toosox.) He was born first, and not really a "runt", just a little smaller than the rest. He was a sleepy little boy. Ron plopped him in my lap and asked, "Isn't he cute?" Fortunately for my husband, he was the only other pup not claimed. It was very obvious that Ron wanted to bring this one home, too, but he wouldn't say it.
After 2 hours, we headed back to the car for the long drive back to our cabin in Heber, AZ. I told the breeder that we would let her know in a few days about the second pup.
Sure enough, Ron did some mighty convincing to get me to commit to the puppy. Now we have 2 coming - Snoopy & Joe. We pick them up Sunday morning and take them back to the cabin. We'll be back here on Monday, with loads of news about the new babies.
And I chose now to start this blog????
Hockey season officially ended for Kyle last Sunday at the 2005 Grand Canyon State Games. As we figured, the Peoria Roadrunners beat us in the championship game 3-0. The kids played really well - held them to a 0-0 tie almost through the 2nd period. But Peoria is, and has been all season, the better team, and they held out to win it. Alex Taylor (our goalie) was outstanding stopping 40 of 43 shots on goal. It was a great way to end the season.
Which means that Kyle is no longer a Squirt. He is now a PeeWee. Full contact hockey begins on 4/19 with tryouts for next fall's PeeWee94 Travel Team. While we truly hope he makes the team, we are realistic that he is a) small for a PeeWee, b) not one of the fastest kids, and c) not one of the strongest players. But he is determined to try, so we are committing to an entire summer of pre-season hockey to try to get him on the team. We won't know until August if he makes the final cut.
Today, however, we are off on our big adventure to rural New Mexico to pick up our two new Border Collie puppies. For those of you not current on the events - in February we had to put our beloved baby, Toosox, to sleep. After almost 13 years of constant companionship, lymphoma took over and claimed her little life. Our hearts are still breaking with the loss, but we knew that we owed it to her to end her life with dignity. She will forever be our one & only baby girl.
Shortly after her loss, I started looking into pups. We have promised Kyle for at least the last 5 years that when Toosox was gone, we'd get him a pup. Ron insisted on another Border Collie. Well, Borders are not easy to come by in the state of AZ. I did, finally, find a litter in Mountainair, New Mexico. Born 2 days before we put down Toosox. The females were already "reserved," but there were 4 little boys to choose from. Kyle chose a little white pup with 2 black ears and a black spot on his back. He promptly chose the name Snoopy, and has stuck with it.
Over spring break we took Kyle to the wilds of NM (little did we know that there was going to be a major snowstorm going with us) to visit his pup. The roads were closed to the ranch, so we had to spend a night between Albuquerque & Mountainair to wait out the road closure. The next morning we set off.
Sure enough, there was about a foot of snow up there in Mountainair. And they obviously aren't used to it, as none of the roads were plowed. There were tracks from the main highway onto the ranch road, so Ron got our SUV in there, but the snow was too deep to actually make it up the ranch driveway. I got out my hat & gloves and hiked in. Leon, the ranchhand, took the 4-wheeler out to the road a couple of times to dig a path for Ron to drive in on.
The pups were PRECIOUS. Six of them - 4 boys, 2 girls - all came out to visit. Mom stayed in her room so we could play with the babies. Kyle had a great time with his pup. Snoopy never once took a nap. He just played & played. I think Kyle was smitten. I grew quite attached to a little girl that curled up in my lap and slept. Ron found the runt (just like Toosox.) He was born first, and not really a "runt", just a little smaller than the rest. He was a sleepy little boy. Ron plopped him in my lap and asked, "Isn't he cute?" Fortunately for my husband, he was the only other pup not claimed. It was very obvious that Ron wanted to bring this one home, too, but he wouldn't say it.
After 2 hours, we headed back to the car for the long drive back to our cabin in Heber, AZ. I told the breeder that we would let her know in a few days about the second pup.
Sure enough, Ron did some mighty convincing to get me to commit to the puppy. Now we have 2 coming - Snoopy & Joe. We pick them up Sunday morning and take them back to the cabin. We'll be back here on Monday, with loads of news about the new babies.
And I chose now to start this blog????
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