And introducing.....

Lada at 8 1/2 weeks

We've never had more than 3 dogs. Always said it was too much.   So imagine my surprise one day as the hub says "You know what we need? We need a female red to go with Peryn"  For those who don't speak dog lingo....He saying we should get ANOTHER cattle dog, a female this time and a Red one.
Another dog.

We talked about the pros and cons... Pros--they'd be very close in age and energy level so they'd play well together.   Galen & Sheba bonded in a similar situation when they were the same age. These 2 could be really good for each other if we were to let it happen.      Duchess & Athena play with him only when they feel like it--which isn't often.

Peryn's done very well as daycare.   He LOVES other dogs and he loves PLAYING with other dogs.  He's FANTASTIC with dogs of all ages.   This could work.    The girls might not be too happy, but they've dealt in the past.  Best to do it before Peryn gets much older.

But 4 dogs???? Are we crazy?

Lada at 9 weeks.

Did a general search and could not find any red female heeler puppies in quick driving distance.   Not meant to be I guess...

Still I would look and let Hub know that I didn't' find anything.....  until another individual on the heeler group I belong to began posting pics of the new heeler pup she'd be bringing home. Her pup is 2 weeks older than Peryn and she was getting another for similar reasons (love of the breed and a companion to her current pup).

SO I did another search and POOF! 2 weeks prior someone in Ohio (an hour away at that) had red female pups! Seeing that the ad was 2 weeks old, I contacted him to ask if there were any left.   I told Rich. The gentleman responded that they had 1 female red left.    Sent us a picture and HUB was hooked.

We discussed it some more.  We're not getting her until we have stuff for a puppy AND after Christmas (we didn't want to have her locked up too much).   Worked out a time and day for pickup and scheduled it for 5 days later, the day after Christmas.  We went and got everything we'd need for another puppy and then had to wait.

Of course we get sick in the meantime and I'm told my Hub that I BETTER BE WELL enough to go get her.

We had them send pics every few days.  Rich was beyond excited and I made it into a guessing game on FB.

Christmas Day

So we went to get her and she's beyond adorable. She LOVES to be held. First afternoon/evening home was crazy. Dogs could not have cared any less and were not thrilled..  She didn't want to be let down...We couldn't get her to go outside to the bathroom.....
She was completely content to be held and fall asleep in the arms/lap/feet of my Hub.

nightime went as expected...maybe a little worse considering I was hacking up a lung while trying to let them out in the middle of the night.

This morning (12/27) is going much better.   She and Peryn have played.  She's exploring and playful and still wants to cuddle.
Still need to work on getting her to go OUTSIDE for the restroom...but otherwise she is a darling.

Duchess is ignoring her to an extent--so is Athena...but Peryn is actively trying to engage (and bully) her.     I see good things ahead.

day #3 Tuesday Dec 28

It's LADA!!!!!

Today Peryn went to daycare as scheduled.  It would be too much for me to watch them all today.   It was a good thing. She was able to come out of her shell and explore. Duchess tried (and failed) to engage her and I got to work on house training her.
Although little dude scared me first thing this morning and took off into the woods.....heart attack I didn't need.

Well, we picked him up and like always he was exhausted and just slept while we had dinner and cleaned up the kitchen.   However once we arrived back upstairs, things changed.

With him refreshed from daycare he began to actively engage with his sister.   They were playing tug o war, chase, wrestling, and just sitting quietly chewing on different ends of the same toy.   THIS !!! THIS is why we got her.   Two young pups -just bonding and playing.  I'm so happy!

They are still currently playing.   Peryn has a real playmate to keep him occupied.  Lada has someone to help burn all that puppy energy.  They will be each others companions as Duchess and Athena get older.
If they are half as great together as Galen & Sheba were, I'll be very happy.

So here's all about Lada

She's going to be 12 weeks old, born Oct 7.  Both of my pups were born in 2016.   She, like Peryn, is an Australian Cattle Dog.   Peryn is a Blue Heeler and she's a Red.   She's approximately 12 lbs and seems slightly smaller than Peryn was at that age.
Her dad was a Red and her mom was a blue.
She's EXTREMELY affectionate--more so than Peryn ever was or has been.  She's got a sweet disposition and right now seems more of a people puppy.

Like Peryn, she doesn't seem to have a mask.  She will have a big spot on her hind quarter by the tail.  Where Peryn was our kamikaze daredevil from minute one, she's a bit more cautious.
Oh and she's a drama queen.    OMG....you think she's getting hacked to pieces when she's playing and doesn't like something.      That will be interesting to see if that continues as she gets older.


SO welcome to Lada and look for more puppy postings to come....