will update soon.

Heading to bed but I will be posting an puppy update soon..i promise.

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.   

1.22.17

Peryn chillaxin

Hey there.   

Today we took the pups to the park.   It was a muddy muddy mess.  They had a blast though.

When Peryn was young ..as in too young to go to dog parks or play with other dogs, we used to take the kiddoes to a park near us that was empty practically every time we went.
It was huge and it gave the dogs a chance to run free, play with one another , and acclimate Peryn to a dog park.   It was also a great way to tire them all out.

That park has since been closed to the public, so we hadn't taken the dogs there at all.  We knew of a large park that was somewhat similar in size that we did take the dogs to ONCE last year.   WE drove out there today with Lada and the large dog side was empty!

Lada at 12 and 15 weeks

The dogs loved it. They got to run free and play and tire themselves up.  It was wonderful.  They're all pooped out right now.

Lada is doing well for the most part. We still struggle with her going in the house.  We recognize the signs when she needs to go out and try to catch her.  The struggle is after she's been out and comes back in then proceeds to go right there in front of you.   Are you kidding me?

Duchess looking pretty

Peryn & Lada are great together and there are no issues there.  Athena & Lada are sweet together.   Duchess and Lada ...that's funny stuff. 

Duchess always comes across as ferocious with her deep menacing growl and bark. Plus she loves to play hard!   Lada tends to bark more at her than play. Duchess TRIES to get her to play, but Lada just isn't there yet.   

She's still small, much smaller than Peryn was at this age.  She's 4 months on Friday and still just 13 lbs.     We're expecting her to take after her Mom and be on the small side.  

She's still a sweetheart and cuddler. Love her.

Ms Lada

Peryn. Peryn. Peryn. He's quite the stinker.   No really, he's a great dog.  He's possessive of me, but he's a great brother to all the girls.  He ADORES his puppy family.  He can hang and play with each of them so differently, but it works.

He's still attending day care and it's really helped with the energy.  Now that he comes home to Lada--that really has worked wonders on him.    I almost feel like I could trust him to be free when I'm not home..    A L M O S T    He's gotten so big. It was like overnight, POOF!, he's bigger.   Love that boy.

Duchess is even more cuddly than before.   She's got competition and she's not letting them win.  I like the new cuddly Duchess.   Love my girl.

Athena is Athena.   She's not changed a bit.   Still sweet. Still as barky as ever.

Cuddles 

Pictures from the park.

At the Park

Trail of pups

Peryn & Lada

2 peas in a pod

Duchess LOVING the run

Athena!!

The girls

Taking a break

After park snacks

Mommy's puppy update

Feb 6 "Gotcha Day"

Time sure does fly by.   So much to say. 
First let's talk about my lil dude turning 1 on Tuesday.   My little boy is a big boy now.   He's like huge.  Not really, but he is a lot bigger and sturdier.   It's very noticeable next to his tiny sister.

And today I noticed his bark changed!  I don't know if he's sick and it's affected his bark, but it's a bit less puppy and more big doggy.    He's not allowed to grow up!!

Peryn is a good boy overall.  He was completely house trained at 9 months. NO more going outside, letting us know when he has to go out,  no accidents at all.   I was so proud of him.   

He's very demanding when he wants to play or go outside.  You do not ignore him or he will 1) bark at you 2) climb on you or 3) drop the toy at your feet over and over and over (like right now).

He loves everything. He loves people, playing with other dogs, going on car rides, walks, playing or swimming in the water, and his friends and family.  Boy does this dog have friends, Mr Personality. He loves dog parks or his day care...he loves Maddie from his day care.  

He doesn't necessarily have a favorite food. His focus is more on play. His favorite toys are his slingshot arrow, his tether tug, and his blue hartz ball.   If any other dog touches his toys, then that toy becomes his favorite.

He's fabulous with car rides...passes right out.

He is stubborn. Has the cutest frustrated growl.  And is explorations in the woods scare the crap out of me.

He loves his Daddy, but loves his Mommy more.    He's a sweet guy and I love him to pieces.

Happy 1st bday Peryn.

Gotcha Day

Ms Lada.


Sigh, we've had this little doll for about a week and a half. Tomorrow she turns 13 weeks.     

In some ways, she is very much like Peryn was as a pup--very fearless. She loves to jump from couches, beds, any high furniture or person.  She loves to take on Peryn like he's her size instead of the size he is.

Add caption

The differences are very obvious.  She is much more loving. She loves to be held and give kisses and cuddles.  She also is much more cautious of other dogs bigger than her.  I get the impression smaller dogs and dogs of her size do not phase her, however her big sisters intimidate her.   Only today she actually played a bit in the backyard with them.    I hope this continues to in the house.

The one thing that FRUSTRATES me and I don't know if it is the same as Peryn was or different because Peryn has come a long way, but she PEES CONSTANTLY.   We take her out, she pees.   We walk back in the house and she'll pee right there.    Come upstairs, pee some more.

I have rags and the urine enzyme eliminator in spray bottles all throughout the house.    I don't know if she's getting it when we praise her outside for going out there.

Right now she's a pretty good listener, so she isn't on a tie out a lot. That and the fact that Peryn loves to pull the other dogs leads.   She's too small and gets dragged around by him otherwise.

She also HATES the crate.  The big difference here is Peryn was introduced day 1..when he was just barely 5 weeks old.    She's 12 weeks and lived in a barn until we brought her here.     She's not used to confinement.   We're going to continue to work on that.

Peryn and 2 of his sisters

She and Peryn get along famously.   It's just what we hoped and it will hopefully grow from there.   I am hoping to reduce the # of times a week he goes to daycare-but that remains to be seen.

So that's all I've got for now.   I'm heading to bed . Will update you on the big girls later...

Sibling cuddles

Week one complete

In so many ways she is just like Peryn was last year/just a few months ago. She gets into everything. She is jumping from the chair to the bed. Stealing shoes. Climbing on my nightstand to get to stuff on there.leaping off furniture..

There are also many ways she's different.  She is sweeter much more affectionate than Peryn ever was.

Today's puppy story:
She climbed on Athena's chair grabbed a box of tissues (new)proceeded to tear it apart. Placed the tissues back on the nightstand. Turned around to grab a bowl of water and turned back to find the tissues in her possession and her tearing them apart.....silly girl.

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....

Puppy Updates...

Hey all.   Hope the summer treated you well.   So those of you wondering how the pups are doing, here's your info:



DUCHESS:

Duchess at the park

She's becoming more social at the dog park.  She's always been a bit of a loner. She'd be walking along the fence line or searching in the woods all by herself. She may run with a dog or two, but she's never really played with any dog.   She's never been overly affectionate and tended to be aloof.

Prior to Peryn she would become playful with her food, tossing it in the air and such. She and I would play a bit after I gave her a cookie.  She had her 2 stuffed animals: Lambchop & Hedgehog that she would play with on the bed.    

She would play with Athena until Athena discovered other dogs, now they don't play (or I should say Athena doesn't really play with her).

Since Peryn though, the jealousy Duchess has is showing. She competes for attention from Peryn. 
After getting over the initial "shock" of having Peryn in the house, she often played with him. Actually it was more of her pushing him around.   Peryn loved it though and her rough play helped him out.
With our wanting to socialize Peryn as much as possible, we often had meetups with others to have the dogs play. This additional one on one time with other dogs has made Duchess a little more comfortable around other dogs.  

While at the park she still tends to be by herself, she'll join in with the group more often than not.
Additionally at home she tends to seek out attention and affection much more often. While she still isn't very affectionate (she does NOT lick ) she has mellowed some.  She tends to curl up against us all the time now.   Her competition with Peryn has made her a much sweeter dog.

While the two of them do not play together as much, and I think that has to do with the constant exercise and dog park visits, pay too much attention to one or the other and a "fight" aka Playing starts.

Duchess is a good dog and very protective. I still don't trust her with strangers.  

One good thing that has happened is now that the dogs play often with Huskies (remember Duchess is half Husky) things are better.  I don't feel I have to explain her when she does some things (like her drive buys or aggressive play) because I'm with others who have dogs that are the same way.

So overall Duchess is good.   She is "aging".  Her snout which had been brownish when we adopted her 3 1/2 years ago is all white.  I am unsure her exact age and that worries me as Duchess is my favorite dog of the current 3.   

Current Likes:  Loves Grafton, Kirtland, & Medina dog parks for their sizes. She loves Grafton because it is wide open and in the country. She LOVES the country.  She loves Median for the woods. And she loves Kirtland for the water and the play area.  She loves to splash. She loves to explore and run free.
Loves running with ponies.   Loves her schedule: morning brusha and cookies & her out times.
Loves to lay or sit at the back of the yard, in the shade, and monitor. She loves to lay out on the patio and sun bathe.

Favorite toy: Anything that dispenses treats as she plays with it.
Car rides?   She is a horrible traveler. HORRIBLE. She paces back and forth and whines and husky howls until she can stick her nose out an open window.

Favorite sibling: Peryn

Athena getting some loving at the park

ATHENA: Athena has come such a long way. I was looking through her paperwork from when we adopted her.  She's gained weight (14 lbs),stronger legs, and her infections are gone.
Personality wise, Athena hasn't really changed much over time. She's pretty much the same dog as she's always been.
She really loves us and loves being with us. She loves playing with other dogs..sort of.
She'll play with Peryn, MC, & Bridger, but at the dog park she's happier to run after other dogs and bark at those wrestling.   
She and Peryn are ok. Peryn loves to bug the crap out of her. He will "munch " on her as she goes up and down stairs.  
They're more likely to play with one another than Duchess and Peryn would.   

She loves loves loves going to the park to "play" with other dogs. She's still obsessed with smaller dogs as she tries to mother them. She tries to break up "fights" (dogs wrestling with one another) and sometimes ends up as a protector of weaker dogs by doing so.

She does not sleep in the bed with us as the uneveness of the bed bothers her legs. She still has weak legs from her life before us. While we've strengthened them by allowing her to play and walk, she still has issues with them.  Her own bed is either the big chair next to the bed or the dog blanket/bed on the floor in front of it. 

She has a bladder of steel and once she's in bed for the night, she won't get up until we force her out the next morning.

She's the best listener of the bunch.   Call her once or ask her to stop and she does. She is a barker.  I call her Barky Bark and the Furry Bunch...
  

Current Likes:  If the place has dogs, she loves it.  She loves other dogs.
She's a doll who loves to be outside. She could be outside watching all day long if we would let her. 

Favorite toy: Rocky the Raccoon.

Car rides?   She is a horrible traveler. HORRIBLE from the minute she got in the car with us. She's better than she was, but only if no one (Duchess or Peryn) encroach on her space in the car.  

Favorite sibling: Peryn

PERYN the Pup: Peryn. Peryn. Peryn.   Lil dude is a handful.  He's an extremely happy dog who loves his Mommy very much. He loves Daddy too, but it's like a 60/40 attachment with Mommy being 60.  Personally I think it's more, but we don't want to upset Daddy!

Peryn loves playing.  Other dogs, balls, toys, anything he finds on the floor, the tie outs... 
He is full of life and loves to show it.    He still is not to be trusted alone, so is crated during the day. 

He loves to swim, play rough with his friends, and most importantly FETCH.   The dog can play FETCH non-stop for hours if you have it in you to keep up.  

He LOVES bodies of water. He loves to run, play, & swim in water.  It's going to be a long winter for him.

If you read up on Cattle Dogs, he's matches everything perfectly.   He has more than the regular puppy exuberance.  We've had 2 dogs at the 9-10 month age and neither of them had Peryn's energy.    We've discovered that if he is not regularly exercised, he's a monster.
He will chew anything he finds, walk all over Mommy in the middle of the night, and just bug the heck out of you until you play.  

We started him in day care 2 days a week-starting last week.   A big difference it's making.  It makes dealing with him the rest of the day and the whole next day much more bearable. 
Yay!


He has a few friends he LOVES to play with: MC, Akira, Apollo, & Kato (last 3 are huskies)

Current Likes:  Fetch, balls(Squeakier the better), going on rides, parks, other dogs, walks, playing

Favorite toy: ALL

Car rides?   He's WONDERFUL in the car.  He's like Galen was.  Quiet, comfortable, and enjoyable. He is a great traveler.


Favorite sibling: to play with: Athena.  TO sleep around & run with: Duchess.