Nov 14 Pupdate & we're up-to-date

If you're starting here you have plenty of pictures ahead in the next post.   If you've gone in post order, I hope you've enjoyed the photos. 

We're here in November & it's hard to believe the year we've had.  Ziva is growing into a typical puppy brat (the teenage years?).  She's a loving, sweet girl but man is she a brat.   She's 98% house trained. She is pretty good at letting us know when she needs to go out. However 1) when she's in a mood, she goes inside and 2) she abuses her "I need attention" bark. 

She still adores her big brother and he accepts that she is not going to leave him alone.  She & Lada get along fabulously & can be found wrestling hard around the house.  It makes us so happy.  

Peryn has recently become more "affectionate" than previously. I think he's gotten jealous of all the attention every one else was getting. 

Volos has decided to stake his claim on Mommy & is even more of a cuddler. He often climbs into bed to lay on me & on the couch to cuddle. This Mommy is quite OK with that. 

Wednesday of this week we took a ride to my Aunt & Cousin's house. They adopted a new puppy & we were bringing them some stuff we used with Ziva.  We brought Ziva because they met her way back when we brought her home.  We wanted to show them how big she's gotten.  

Ziva loved her new baby cousin, Xena. Xena, 5 weeks, after some trepidation took to her big cousin.  Very very cute!!!

I am really hoping we can get them together again!   

All the pups will be meeting their cousin Marshall on Thanksgiving!  That will be interesting to say the least.

Veterans day the daycare closed unexpectedly so we took the kiddoes to the farm. There were some other pups there.   It was a very nice morning!

Currently they're all passed out around me here in the living room while I get caught up on this blog. 

Also if you were wondering, when we brought Ziva home we were hoping she would be more Rich's dog than mine.  Happy to report that has happened.  She ADORES daddy & shows definite preference to him over me.    
I am quite happy because I already have 2 dogs that are devoted to me & a pack that already follows me around.  

I believe we are all caught up on the pups.  I am also hoping not to go too long in between updates.   Fingers X'd. 

Fall Update

 So much time has gone by since our last update, I feel like there is so much I should have to tell.   However I don't think I can think of anything off the top of my head. 

AS of late, I have been so busy with work, appointments, the dogs, and all that I don't have time to write.  Tues & Wednesdays are out. The dogs are home & demand so much freaking attention & participation from me that I do not have time to sit on the PC. 

Also, the set up in my office--if I don't have my laptop plugged in there nothing is getting done.  I get so focused on work that everything else is out the window.   

So the pups are mostly doing well.  The house is definitely chaos when they are home.  Their personalities all bring some sort of craziness to the table.   Lada with her extreme love of Mommy & fetch (only with a tennis ball!), Peryn with his demanding of fetch with whatever toy he drops at your feet or his goading Volos into chasing him. Volos who's newest love is to climb into Mommy's lap.   Yep. 68# of fur loves to be cuddled up with Momma.   I actually love it!  He's such a big baby.   He still loves hoarding all the toys, but "allows" Ziva to take what she wants.   He still plays with Lada in some of the calmer moments.   Then we have the baby, Ziva. 

She is ....seriously we love this girl. She is so sweet & fun & energetic.  She loves play care.  Has a blast running all around.  

She's SOOOOOOOOOO BIG.  We currently do not have any way to weigh her, but I just saw a post that her Mom is 101# & sister Rixie is 53#.  Ziva is on the lean side.  I'm going to say she's about 49ish #.   Not too far off from Volos! 

Everyone loves her.  Seriously, day care we hear about how cute she  is. Rich gets stopped on his walks because people have to take a picture.    SHE LOVES EVERYONE.  This is the most well-adjusted dog I've had in.... EVER.  

Good news/bad news.  Currently she seems to be favoring Rich over me.   Part of me is sad since I want ALL the puppies, but really this is what we wanted for him.  She is so over joyed when he comes home from work.  She also likes to climb into his lap for some interaction in the evenings.   Rich of course is so happy because Volos & Lada clearly prefer me.  Peryn is a mixed bag.  Hard to tell as he isn't a cuddly dog.  

Rich takes her & Peryn on walks in the park at minimum 3x week. She tolerates it, but she'd rather be doing other things. She loves the interaction with the people & dogs she sees.

We went back to the farm & Janet (owner) was there with their pack of dogs. She & the dogs played with Ziva. Ziva was in heaven!  We haven't gotten to go back yet because one thing or another keeps us from going. 

Ziva--loves her pack.  Whether or not they feel the same....shrugs.   Volos allows her to be right next to him in his spot, allows her to steal from him, PLAYS TUG with her, & just all around puts up with her.   She tends to stick by him the most.  

Peryn-- he treats her like he treats the rest. He barks or growls at her for different things..... I'm waiting for the day they play tug.

Lada--She tolerates her. She deals with her being by Mommy when it's Lada cuddle time. She does play with her at day care from what I hear.  They've played here once that I saw.  I think they may have played tug.. Can't really remember. 

So yeah, it is definitely more action around the house than previously.   

On the downside,  as of late Little Z has had some GI issues.  A lot has to do with the stuff she tends to pick up on & chew (and swallow).  Last week she ended up eating a jar of my Eczema balm & I had to do an online chat with a Vet to determine if I needed to take her to my vet.   Luckily I didn't , but there were consequences from that.  
Currently we're going on 36 hrs of issues.  Vet was closed today, so I will call in the am.   Rich & I said we wouldn't be surprised if she ate a rock or two.  This girl has been obsessed with the rocks that surround the patio.   This dog is constantly picking up things she is NOT supposed to have & chewing/swallowing. 

She stole my Hawaiian Scooby off the shelf (AGAIN) & destroyed the grass skirt & tag.  It is extremely hard to find this one.  SO I am a tad bid upset about that.  She is getting taller, so she reaches higher. Takes things off the taller side tables.  Shoes. paperwork. Above mentioned balm.    
We will be so glad when teething is over with.  

SO as I said, she's having some issues that have gone on too long now.  So cha ching to the vet we will go. X-rays will probably happen.   

So i think I am going to wind this up.  I need to go prep the pics to share with you.

Thanks for checking in.   

Pupdate: September 11 2021

 

Believe me when I say the lack of updates is due to just how much is going on.   We have a lot going on today, but I have a few minutes to fill you in on as much as I can.    

ZIVA

As of this week she is officially at play care with the others.  Since bringing her home we've brought her up there a few times to get used to the gals who work there. They've watched her twice when we needed & allowed her to become acclimated to the surroundings.   

The thing is, she is such a chill pup--it doesn't phase her.   SO after receiving her final shots on Tuesday, we took her to daycare for her "trial" so to speak.  That was an hour and half of getting to go into the play area & sniff/meet the others.   

Wednesday we introduced her to the farm. I had discovered last week that water does not phase her (the hose) so of course she had no fear with the pond.   Glad we bought her a life vest because she has one awkward doggy paddle.     

Thursday she did a half day at day care.  When I brought her home, she passed out most of the day.   Friday-yesterday- she ended up doing almost a full day.   Girl did not sleep until bedtime.    So today since it's open, she's spending the whole day with her siblings.

From the reports of the gals that work there, she's having a blast.  She loves meeting new people & dogs so this is perfect for her.   She gets to run around & play & have a good time. 

Siblings..... Lada has attempted to play with her a few times. I actually recorded one such time, but other than that--not really much.   I'm hoping Lada will play more with her now that she goes to daycare.  That happened with her & Volos so we shall see if it happens with Z. 

Volos & Z.  Pretty much the same.  They're side by side a lot (Ziva's doing). He tolerates her taking stuff from him & being around him.   I think he grudgingly likes her.  As I have said before--she ADORES him. 

She also tries to play with Lada --but as I said above--the reciprocal is not so often. 

She is HUGE.   She towers over Lada. She's about to surpass Peryn. AND ...to top it off, if you're not paying good attention you can mix Volos & her up.   

She is 36.5# as of Tuesday.   She's still a beauty.  She really has made dealing with a puppy very easy. She has such a laid back personality, doesn't let much bother her.  She loves people.  She loves dogs. She likes water.  She is still teething, so that is the worst part.   She allows you to just pull her to you and cuddle.   She really is a joy.   I love this girl with all my heart.

Daycare, particularly Jen, has taken some BEAUTIFul pics of my girl & even got a full COUCH CREW initiation pic.   I'm going to work on the photos & adding them to this in a few.   Keeping my eye on the clock & listening for Rich ....

The others are doing well.  Volos has become even more of a cuddle bear. His favorite thing to do first thing in the mornings is jump up on the couch & cuddle with me.  i love him so much.  Ziva has definitely brought out an even cuddlier side to him. 

Peryn--- Peryn is still a jerk., an AH, & just a plain ole PITA.   seriously he lives to annoy. HOWEVER... I think I have caught him "taunting" Ziva a few times with a toy.   Volos was nearby so I don't know if she was just in proximity or if he really is trying to get her to play.

Volos & Peryn got into it over a toy. Peryn taunted, Volos responded. The two of them went at it with the object, an alligator, in their mouths while they wrestled hard for it.   It gets tiring (& messy)l..     Their personalities are in direct opposition.    Luckily (if you want to say that) they only fight over toys.   

Pupdate: April 25,2021

 

The last pupdate focused on Volos, so who is next?  I'm going to go with my partner in crime. The goodest of girls.  My sweet psycho Lada. 

Rich is the one who asked if we could get a 4th dog.  After raising 3 for so long, it sounded insane. He wanted a playmate for Peryn.  He wanted a dog for himself.    
I said Yes, but was filled with anxiety at the thought of a 4th dog.    
At the time I was extremely sick (recovering from bronchitis) but we made the trip to Burbank, Ohio to pick her up.

To say she chose me from the moment she saw me would not be stretching the truth. She literally jumped in my arms & on my shoulders when I went to greet her.  The rest as they say is history.

Lada is very energetic.  She has the nickname Psycho because she doesn't do anything half heartedly.

She's a lot of love in a small fur package. She can also JUMP.  She often has escaped the play area at daycare if she thought Mommy (or something better) was in the office.   The only thing that keeps her there is that she wants to be. 

Lada & Peryn took to each other right away. They were BFFs in an instant.  She got along very well with Athena.  Her relationship with Duchess was different. To some it would look like she was constantly "attacking" Duchess, but that's how they played.  Duchess never laid a paw or tooth on her although she sure deserved it. 

Lada loves to be with Mommy.  Now you may think, well my dog loves to follow me around too. No. Lada must have me in sight almost all the time.  She freaks out if she thinks I'm not around.  

She loves Peryn and Volos to death. She has different relationships with each of them.  She does love her Daddy.   She loves playing fetch with Mommy more than anything other than sleeping with Mommy.

Since Duchess she has taken on role of "The Protector". She barks at people walking by. She barks at people at the door. Even people she used to let in without issue get barked at.   

She does love Daddy too.  Don't get me wrong..Daddy gets plenty of loving, but you really can't compare against her love for Mommy.

She owns the passenger seat in the car. It belongs to her. If a human is sitting in it, she expects them to hold her (this doesn't always happen, but she does try).  On our trips to and from Tenn she sits there, refusing to sleep and watches me non-stop. I used to always try to tell her to sleep, but she just watches me. 

She ALWAYS expects me to hold her (after she jumps into my arms) when we are some place. Pick her up at daycare, jump into my arms.  
At the dog park, Jumps into my arms.   At a rest stop on a road trip, jumps into my arms.  Talking with neighbors, jumps into my arms.    

At the one Cattle Dog meetup she sat on my lap facing me while I held her.   Many commented they had never had seen that before.    She loves Momma.    Momma loves her.

 

She's obsessive.  Obsessive when she's playing. Obsessive when she's kissing. If she wants to be in your lap or arms, she will be in your lap or arms. She's very agile to keep her down.

She LOVES to give kisses. However there is so much frantic energy in her kisses. It is very difficult to breathe when she is giving you these kisses.  OH and don't you dare laugh.  If you are laughing whole-heartedly she thinks you need kisses.   
Because she is so small, she jumps easily and that is annoying when she wants something and gets on you.

She is the most social of our dogs. She has many different friends at daycare & will play with those she likes.  She's also not afraid to stand up to those who bug her.    

Her favorite toy is a tennis ball. Simple as that. When she does play by herself, she rolls it around in her paws.    That is rare.   Her favorite thing to do with the tennis ball is have Mommy throw it and she retrieves it. 

She does like playing with her herding ball and tug..both with Peryn. 

Essentially all her faults lie with her energy...her unending energy.   

She loves car rides, day care & her small # of approved humans that she will let you know she loves.   

She's a good girl over all.  Annoying at times, but really a very good girl.  She definitely is the one who loves her pack being together.  She's been very loving of all her siblings.  She was wonderful with her older sisters that is for sure, especially Athena in the end. 

 

The WHOLE Crew

 Here are every single one of my babies.    Formal photos except for Goldberg.
The note on the photo indicates he was originally my brother's dog. Additionally most of the photos we have are from BEFORE digital and I haven't gotten around to scanning them yet. So he got his own section.....

Couch Potatoes

 The Couch Crew

My dogs have taken over a particular couch at DayCare. These have been taken over the past few weeks....

These are various photos taken from Oct 27 to today... They've claimed it as their own.   

Pups are still good & happy....

    

It's a party

Puppy update 2.16.17

Hey all.    It’s been super crazy. Four dogs can do that to a person!   It’s really not all that bad.  They’re all getting along for the most part and keeping each other busy and exercised.  Sometimes though, they make me want to pull my hair out.  We took them to the park again, about 2 weeks later. Again they had a great time. There were other dogs there, so Lada and I stayed away and went to the small dog side.  Peryn found someone willing to play fetch with him, so he was quite pleased.     No new park visits as of yet. Ready for the rundown?

Mommy just scolded her

DUCHESS: I think competition has been good for her. She’s much more affectionate…well as affectionate as SHE can be.   She’s a lot less standoffish. She continues to engage Peryn in playtime.  He takes her up on it of course. She attempts to play with Lada.  They have this weird love/hate relationship. Lada is both afraid and in awe of Duchess. She’ll bark a storm at her when they “play” yet she follows her around when outside. Duchess is definitely a better dog since bringing Lada on board.  Not that there was much wrong with Duchess. She’s always been a good, loyal, protective companion.   We really got lucky with her.

ATHENA Athena and Lada have a great relationship.  Just like with Peryn, Athena loves to play with Lada. The two of them are pretty cute together and Lada adores Athena. Athena still plays with Peryn, but not to the extent that Duchess and Peryn play.    Athena is doing well and seems pretty happy.  I adore this girl, so I really don’t have anything negative to say.  I do think Athena is more engaged with the “pack” than she was before.   She definitely seeks out affection a lot more than she used to. She’s quite demanding of it really.   It’s nice to see her with us than off by herself like she used to.

Ugh. I hate that camera thing.

PERYN Lada has been a godsend for Peryn.   We’ve cut back to 2 days a week in daycare as of late.  I was getting reports that he just wasn’t as enthusiastic about playing as he once was. Either he is missing his sister or the constant play has tired him out. He’s been a MOSTLY good dog.   In fact a majority of the issues we had that made us start taking him to daycare in the first place are gone.  We’ve even left him out of his crate when we’ve left a few times. He’s done brilliantly.    He still wants his fetch every day, but it’s for a smaller window of time than it used to be. He LOVES his baby sister.   LOVES.  They are constant companions and play all the time.  They’re around each other constantly. It’s really sweet to see.  The conflict comes when it comes to Mommy giving any affection. Both of them do not like to share me, Lada more than anyone.  They will do their best to block the other from getting to me.   It was cute for like .04 seconds, but it is annoying. One habit that Peryn has brought back is the walking on me.  He does it to get to me before she does and it HURTS.   He’s also back to eating poop….  Bad puppy habits he started back up thanks to lil sis.   HE also has taken to taking exploratory walks off the property.  In fact just a bit ago I was stuck chasing down (at a walking pace) him.  Of course Lil Girl had to join him, so I HAD to follow them.  I was not a happy camper.   Especially since I was not dressed to be chasing dogs down in 20 degree weather.

You want to play fetch with me all day long.

Hi Mommy Best Buds

LADA This girl.   She’s a trip.    She’s freaking insane! She’s also very very sweet and still so tiny.   She just weighed herself and she’s 15.8 lbs.  Almost 6 lbs more than when we brought her home.   Peryn was almost 30 lbs at the same point.  She is a REAL VELCRO DOG!  Peryn has nothing on her.  While he may pull his possessive mounting of me, she lets them all know I’m hers. End. Of. Story. She reminds me of ROO from Winnie the Poo.   So I have taken to calling her Roo.   She also is quite the jumper.  So she’s really a kangaroo in a puppy’s body.   She doesn’t get as bored as Peryn would get.  She can keep herself entertained in the office during a work from home day. Peryn couldn’t ever.   She LOVES her siblings.  She likes to follow them and mimic them.  She loves other dogs..as long as they don’t move.  When then try to interact back, she sort of freaks and runs away. She loves people though.   She’ll greet anyone.  She looooves are neighbor Kara.  Kara helps out on some of the days I work downtown and she adores the dogs.   Lada adores her back. She doesn’t have a favorite toy or thing…she just loves a bit of everything.   She is a piggy though. She loves to eat treats and tries to steal them.  She’s a good traveler like Peryn, but Peryn still is the best traveler.

  Annual Cattle Dog Cook Out 2017

We just found out this years Cattle Dog get together is in June.   We're excited to be going again. This year will be even better with Peryn & Lada together!    So we have that to look forward to.

SO that's what's up with the dogs.      They're great and wonderful.   

Where is the off button?

Sorry a few days late with our update.   This weekend I spent Friday night and Saturday steam cleaning the carpets throughout the house. This potty training thing has to progress before it kills me.

MC, Athena, & Peryn

The girls:   They've been very chill as of late.   Their baby brother is wearing them down.  Where they once used to bug us all the time for going to the park or for a walk. That's a rarity these days.  They're both content to play with their baby brother and the neighbors. Even MC (Athena's boyfriend) plays with Peryn.   It will be awhile before we can take them all to the dog park to play with OTHER dogs, so I'm glad this arrangement seems to be working for them still.  
I've definitely noticed a change in Duchess. She's more social and playful (for her) than she has been in the past.   Peryn has definitely been good for her.     I hope she realizes that he's going to get bigger soon and she won't be able to push him around much more.

Athena & Peryn

His & MC's tether tug

Athena has her puppy that she's always wanted to play with. It will be interesting to see her at the dog park when he can go. Will they ignore each other or will they go to town?  A few more months before we can find out.

Peryn. Peryn. Peryn.   This boy has some energy.   He's hilarious and frustrating at the same time.   He LOVES to play fetch.  So we try and tire him out with that inside the house.  He's gotten so BIG.  He's not a little puppy anymore ( to us).  He's a little doggy.    He goes for his 3 month appt Thursday, so I'll have a weight update then.

Training with him was at a standstill. He knew sit.   He's been shown Paw over and over and over, but he doesn't do it on command.  He understands Potty.  On the FB group there are all these people telling what their puppies can do and Peryn is behind the curve.

I looked into Clicker Training.   Read up and watched vids on it.  Picked up the clicker yesterday.   We now have Lay Down added to the list.   We're also working on Leave It, Cuddles, and Come.
I have faith it'll work.  He is really interested in the training.
What else to tell you?  Some days he's like the energizer bunny. He keeps going and going and going, much to his sisters' dismay.   Other days he's pretty chill.    
He sure loves his Mommy though! Well, he loves us all. He adores his sisters and it's so cute.  They're just not always wanting to be with him --even if he feels like they should.  I'm pretty happy at the progress we're making.

 He met his Uncle Davey the other day. Uncle Davey lives very far away and was the first in my family to meet the pup.  The girls were deliriously happy to see Uncle Davey as well.   They all fought for his attention.    It was cute.  Not sure how much Uncle Davey liked it though.

I wish my parents could meet him as he is now. Sadly, they won't until he's a bit bigger.    Hopefully I'll have him skillfully trained by then.

Peryn's doing a little better at night. Some nights we can get in 4 1/2 hours of sleep. Others it's every two. This past weekend was HORRIBLE.  Throw in a time change. Oh. It was awful.   Good thing he's cute ;)

Uncle Davey!

He's MINE!!

He prefers to be with us, but that is a common trait with Heelers.   They are very family oriented and want to be with the family and most especially their Person.    I'm hoping with the clicker training, we can have a better track record of Potty time.   FINGERS X'd.

So, this weekend marked four weeks with us?  I'm losing track--wow 5 weeks.    Sheesh.   So as I mentioned, he's such a big boy.  My little fur ball puppy is gone.    Now we have a sweet, rambunctious, little fur ball to contend with.

Snazzy! 

TWINS~!!!!

The Pack.