We're still here

Hello.  It's been awhile. I've been busy and so have the pups.  We've been taking them to parks to get a workout and the Man has been taking them on walks.   Didn't mean to neglect the blog.

They're doing quite well.  They're looking healthier than they have in ages. They're definitely happier and more relaxed over all.

We went to 2 Husky meets (an official and an unofficial) this month.  Both were held at this fabulous dog park a bit of aways drive.   It's beautifully upkept and the gating is great.  Plus....the best part...it tires the little blue monster out.     Love it.

Turns out Peryn REALLY loves water and playing with other dogs. Oh and fetch....oooh does he looovvveee fetch......a lot.  Like A LOT.   ;)

Peryn got to meet his grandparents earlier than planned. It was an unfortunate situation that made it happen, but he got to meet them and see Uncle Davey again.

Next week we will be attending a Cattle Dog cookout /meet up.  The girls are staying here as they do not travel well and we'd rather not have to deal with them that day. They'll be taken care of so no worries there.

Peryn is the chillest of passengers in a car.   Love that little dude.  He's a joy most days. He's also a little monster..

so handsome

Duchess

Duchess and Atlas playing

Brother & Sister

Having a blast

Oooh Look, I can dig!!

MINE!

Mommy! Stop ignoring me!

This is comfy

Just let me sleep

I love the park!!

Was my good summer dress shoes

Pawsing from play 

What?!

June 12,2016

Hey! Thanks for checking in.

just chillin

The pups are doing well.   Actually, right now Athena is a bit off.
Last night Mommy had a bunch of girlfriends over and she was in the middle of all the craziness.   I think it took a lot out of her. Today she's been dragging.   Hopefully she'll be up and at 'em tomorrow.

Peryn....Well, the day after the last post we attended his first Husky Meet.   For those new readers who are saying "But he's not a Husky",, you are sort of correct. He's an "honorary" husky. His big sis Duchess is half husky and we belong to a wonderful group called N.O.H.M.E.   We went to their May meet, which was also Peryn's first REAL forray into a busy dog park.   Crazy huskies everywhere and he was in LOOOOOVVVEEEE.  Never seen a dog so happy.  

Thanks to all his practice with his big sisters, he wasn't too fearful of all the big dogs. He's a little cautious when meeting a new dog, but he'll still play.  Thank goodness!

He's gone to the dog park several times since being cleared and clearly loves it.  Many love him as well with him being a puppy and a Cattle Dog at that.  You don't see many ACDs around here, so it's a novelty to many.

Peryn & Breck 

Today he went to a mini-puppy meet with the NOHME group. He has one husky that he's played with several times now, Apollo.  They played for quite a bit today. While Peryn isn't knocked out, he is rather 'chill', which is unusual for him.

He loved my get together last night. So many women, so little time.    LOL.

He's getting to be such a handsome pup. He's 35+ lbs of energy.  He loves life...Such a happy little guy and so friendly.  I adore my little boy.

I'm really anxious to find out how big he's going to get.  I know his parents were in the 45 lb range, but it doesn't necessarily mean he'll be that exactly.    I want him to grow a little bit, he's still too small and sneaky...

Right in the middle of things

Duchess...... well in 2 days we are celebrating her Gotcha Day.   3 years with us. So much has happened in that time.   The face of the family has changed drastically.

At the time we had Galen and Sheba. They were 14 and 13 respectively. We knew Galen was deteriorating and that Sheba would NOT handle the loss well. She had never been an only dog and Galen was her bonded brother and best friend.    

TO prep for that time we decided to get an older dog (non puppy) to help ease the loss when the time came.
We were looking for a calm dog that would not be too energetic with our old fogey's.

Duchess (w/Athena) and her "people'

Along comes a forwarded post on FB about a "german shepherd" mix. I call for a meet & sniff. Took Galen & Sheba to meet the dog.   Fell in love with her on the spot. Came by 4 days later to pick her up and take her home.

She was wonderful with them and did the job when Galen left us 7 months later.

Oooh. Cool my tootsies

She is very smart, house-trained, and knew all her commands.

Duchess at the 5/29 Meet

While she's not an overtly affectionate dog, she does love us.  
It was quite a surprise when we did the DNA test to get back that she was not even shepherd-She was half boxer and half husky.   Once we knew what to look for we can't believe we didn't see it earlier.    There is no doubts in our mind now that she is indeed a "boxsky".

I wish I knew how old she really was, but I'm also fine with not knowing "how much time" I may have left.   I love this girl and she is my baby.

I'm going to leave some photos here of Duchess in celebration of her Gotcha Day.   If you'd like to see newer pics of the pups, check out the New Photos page.

The Dog Report: May 28

The Dog Report

Duchess: That little rat continues to try and steal "MY" attention, "MY" food, and "MY" bed.   Why did they bring him to live with us?  He annoys me.
OK, he's not all bad.  He's fun to wrestle with. One of the only few who like to play like I like to play.  It's pretty cool.
I am however making sure I secure my spot in bed.  I'm so sweet and cuddly at night.   I take the premium spots and he has to work to get in a cuddle.   he he.

ZZZZZZ

Something is going on. Daddy has been walking us everyday after work for weeks.  We haven't walked in days.  We haven't been to the park in days......why??  Then again it's like really super hot here.   I go outside and run and run and run around and then poof! I have to lay down.  I can't do anymore.

So, I had this awesome bed that I liked to lay on. No one could reach me, well until Peryn began to jump and make it.  It was really high and comfy. Then one day they came and took my bed!   They being those people who come with the guy that looks and smells like Daddy and those kids and OH! That nice Stacey that is nice to me.      But they TOOK MY BED.

Mommy got another that wasn't the same, but I can adapt.   THe thing that sucked is it was shorter and so HE has no problems getting on it. Athena can jump on it too.  sigh.
THEN Mommy moved it.  She had to move it and now .....oh my world is falling apart.

It's right by the windows.  So yay-I get to lay and look out. BUT  and it's a big one.  HE is always on it too AND Athena jumps on it all the time to get to her bed at the other window.   SIgh.    I miss having my own stuff.


Athena: Daddee loves me! He was home yesterday and we sat and cuddled and it was really awesome.  I love my Daddee.   My baby brother is fun to play with but he won't leave me alone on the stairs. I go up the stairs and he has to chew on me. I go down the stairs and he chews on me.   I can't play on the stairs!!
The weather has been awesome. It's that weather where I can sit outside in the shade all day and just watch.  There is so much happening out there.  There are animals I need to chase and there is noises from the back part that I need to bark at.  Oh!  And there is machine things on the other side of the grass and trees...and people.. I mean there is so much for me to watch!!!

The bed

I feel bad that I haven't played with MC & Bridger for a long while but Peryn just takes up so much of my play time.     A few times recently we went to the park and Peryn and I had so much fun running around the grassy field.  It so cool.   Sometimes all 3 of us run together.  It is really cool.  
Daddee was walking us a lot but hasn't the past few days. It's ok, I think my Daddee is tired and needs his rest.   I want my Daddy safe and healthy.   I can live without a few days walk.  

Mommy moved the bed that was Duchess'  Now I can choose to lay on it or my other bed.   It does make it difficult to get to my spot, but at least I have choices.

Ok, let me be honest....Peryn is a cool kid.   I don't like when he makes Mommy or Daddee mad---and they call his name ALL the time.   He made Mommy REALLY mad when she discovered he'd been eating on the bed. The corners are chewed up ..she was not happy.  But Mommy doesn't yell at him ....only when she catches him. She told Daddee there was no point since he did it and they didn't catch him.

 

Peryn:   Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi.    Who are you? Where are you at?  Can I kiss you...oh....squirrel!   no really...I have a bunch of them. They are all these little squeakie things that goes in this tree trunk thingy.  OOh my wood thing.    Mommy said it was a hanger or soemthing at one time but I call it my Wood thing.    Did you know I'm getting bigger?   I'm going to be THIS MANY ....oh you can't see that?? sorry.....Mommy said I am going to be a 5 month old big boy!   SOoo cool.

Me and one of my squirrels!

So I'm s'posed to tell you about things I like.   I like ....lots of stuff.   Let's see I like to play with the things that hold our food and water.  When they're empty, they look all lonely so I take them with me and we play around . I like the things mommy moves across the floor.....I love to jump on them. I like anything I find really. If it's on the floor, I play with it.     OH! I love to play fetch......love love love it.   Only inside of course.  At the park or outside...too much other cool stuff to do.  I like the doggies next door.. I like humans.   I like....Mommy. I really really like my mommy. She lets me play on her and land on her and jump on her and lay on her.  She's just the bestest thing in the world. Daddee is awesome too. He takes me on these really cool walks.  I never walk with the sisters which makes me sad...but I do get to go with Daddy around our house area.  

I like the wet dirty stuff-mom calls it mud- that I find at the park. Did you know you can dive into it?

HI!!

Uhm. I really really like people and dogs and treats and bottles and squeakies and beds and furniture and shoes.....love shoes.     I like lots. I like Mrs Lissette and Daniel and Master Chief.   I see them lots. I also like Bridger too.   I don't get to play so much with him since he's further down and I can't reach him.   Let's see ......Well............oh look! String!!

Mommy's Turn:

Things are going well. Peryn is growing so big.  He's about 32 lbs of fur.  His nails were Ninja like knives (we call him a Ninja) and he was marking me up pretty badly.  The number of large scratches and times he's drawn blood were getting ridiculous.  We had them trimmed and he's now just bearable.  He really does like to be around me. He uses me as a launch pad, landing pad, wrestling mat and his favorite thing to do is climb all over me when I'm in bed.

Mommy! Get up!

Oh HI there!!

And I mean he gets on top of me and walks across me.
A few times he's even lept off the chair arm and landed hard on me.   NOT FUN!  I'm posting a pic of what he did to me the other morning that we were able to catch on camera. Mind you this is a regular thing.
This morning he nearly choked me when he chose to lie across my throat.

He's been cleared for dog Park play.  We took him twice to the local park to get him used to playing with other dogs.   It was a let down as none of the dogs really liked to play.  Tomorrow however is a Husky meet. The first one we can attend since adopting the kid.   It's at their favorite pakr (the one we've gone to many times because usually no one is there).  So that will help him with his comfort.  This is is first foray into some REAL dog play.  

Depending on the dogs he meets he'll either dive right in to running and wrestling or he'll get all nervous and try to hide from them.   I'm not too worried, his big sisters are good at keeping an eye on him.

Tell you more about it later....

Taking a break

Love this place

Mud. Mud. Mud.

Happy Mother's Day

Duchess

HEY!!  Happy Mother's Day!

Puppy's are doing well.  

Athena went for her annual and is doing well.   She's happy and healthy and loves her little brother.

Duchess has been good, but seems to be a bit off today.   She is loving the fact that her baby brother is growing.  Their play has become increasingly more physical and anyone watching better stay out of the way.

Peryn is growing like a weed.   He is about 30 lbs and just loves life.  We've also discovered he loves mud puddles.  At the dog park the past two weeks he's found mud puddles and loves to roll in them.

With Daddy.

He can hold his business overnight and all day when in the crate.  However, we're still working on the letting us know when he needs to go out and he gets the excited "leaks".

He's officially over 4 months.   He's a handful, that's for sure.   Daddy has taken to walking the kids after getting home for work. Peryn gets the longer walk.
It was great at first, he'd come home pooped.   Well, now it's barely having an impact.   If he doesn't get a walk, he's a monster at night. Playing in the bedroom and walking all over his Mommy.    Not fun for Mom at all.

I'm tooo tired.

 He definitely loves his sisters. He loves Athena quite a bit. He irritates her at times, but she allows it. They are pretty sweet together.  At the dog park, Athena likes to keep an eye on him and they tend to run the park together.

However, when it comes to naps and bed time, Duchess is his go-to girl. They tend to nap near one another.
The girls may act annoyed by him, but they do keep an eye out for their brother.

Peryn loving the park

The muddy little bugger. 

His most favorite toy-the Alligator

His favorite nap spot when we're having dinner.

Nap Time.

11 Weeks in.......

Today, April 23

I wish I could remember every thing he's done since we last blogged.   It's just been really crazy.  
I can tell you that we've started taking him to a dog park with the girls.  This place has been empty every time we've gone since day 1.

Knowing that, we've taken the 3 to the park.  It's been a joy to watch him run free and play with his sisters.  We took them earlier today.   Additionally he was up early and playing with Duchess for about 3 hours on and off this morning.   Thanks to all that, he's a pooped pup.   It's a nice little break from him.

Daddy has been taking them on walks lately. He takes the girls first and comes back to take Peryn.   It's great as it burns a lot of his energy. When he comes back, we just do a few rounds of fetch and soon he's calmer.    His walks have been getting longer and longer.

He's jumping on the higher bed now.  Athena can't even do that.  Duchess is no longer alone up there. It doesn't matter any ways as the bed is going bye bye tomorrow.   Duchess will not like that one bit.
The office is also the guest room and unfortunately the bed is too big for both my desk and a queen sized bed.   We'll need to look for something smaller.

Duchess and Peryn at the park

The girls are doing fine.   They tolerate their brother most days.   He is a handful and tends to bug them at moments when they're not having it. They put him in his place though.

He's holding it a lot longer.   Our friend who lets him out during the middle of the day was on vacation this past week.  We both had to be at work and that's about 9 hours in the crate.   Each time it was bone dry.   This dog can hold it almost all night and most ogrf the day, but can spend 30 mins outside and come back in to pee in the middle of the floor! I don't get it.

He's got the commands I taught him down now.  He finally FINALLY does paw.   Working with him on Stay & Come.     .......

He's grown so much.  It's like you close your eyes and boom! he's taller/longer.   He's now over 25 lbs.   He was under 9lbs when we brought him home 11 weeks ago.

Buddies

As of today he's also micro-chipped.  I want to make sure i get my baby back.......
Which leads me to this train of thought..
It is absolutely amazing how many people are taken with him.   Rich tells me every time he walks him someone stops him to ask about Peryn. It happened twice today when I went in to have him chipped.  

As a avid dog lover, I was aware of an Australian Cattle Dog/Blue Heeler. When we went to pick him up, it was not a surprise about seeing the breed.   However I'd say almost 98% of the people we've come in contact with or who have seen his picture always ask what he is.  
I posed this question to the online group I belong to and it was mixed. Those down in Texas, where there are ranches galore, know the breed well. Actually most areas where there are farms or ranches with cattle or flocks to be herded, know of the breed.  The rest say they have the same reactions.

Duchess

I was used to the questions about Duchess, but now we get to deal with them about Peryn. In fact, at the drive through today someone was insanely curious about Duchess and then when they saw Peryn, they asked about him as well.   Poor Athena. Looking like the German Shepherd that you are doesn't make people ask about her.

Life is busy with 3 dogs again, but it's been pretty good.  Our only complaints is the chewing on EVERYTHING and the ninja poops.  Otherwise they are a great bunch that I adore.

Oh and MY complaint is Duchess and Peryn feel the need to wrestle on top of me. If they don't start there, they end there. My thighs are bruised up. My lower legs, which are extremely sensitive to begin with , are scratched up.  I have teeth marks from where they go to "bite" at each other and miss, getting me in the mean time.

Double Trouble

It was cute at first, no longer.  I dread and hate it. Even when I get out of the way, Peryn finds me and then uses me as a launch pad to dive at his sister.
It's irritating.

Well, I'll let you enjoy the pics of the pups....












On a sad note, four years ago I lost my little clown.  We said goodbye to my little buddy Goldberg. The first of my kiddos to leave me and the worst as it was so unexpected.   Here's a moment for my little BUG.

Guess who's getting big?

Hello!  Thanks for checking back on the puppies.

We had a quiet weekend. Athena pulled a muscle in her leg, so we kept Peryn off of her until she had a chance to rest and heal.

Peryn's doing quite well. He's holding it longer and longer as each day goes by. He's been given the privilege of sleeping outside the crate on the weekends. He usually curls up in between us at our head/shoulder level.    He's quite the cuddler.

He's making strides in his training. He's mastered sit, lay down, off, up, and FINALLY after weeks and weeks of training, he finally does PAW!    

Some of the other commands that we've worked with, but need more time with: Leave It, Stay, and Come.    

We'll work our way up to the bigger ones a little later.
He LOVES LOVES LOVES to play fetch.   I can't wait to be able to take him to the park where he'll have more room to play.

Duchess and Peryn have a love-hate relationship. She loves playing with him and being near him, but at the same time she is ridiculously jealous of him. ANYTIME he gives and gets affection, she's there to "play".  She starts by pushing him around.        She better pay attention, he's getting bigger.

Duchess has become more affectionate since Peryn's arrival. That's not to say she's all cuddly and all that. No, she's just less likely to go off on her own. She cuddles closer to us in bed.   It's the little things.

Athena must like him. She sometimes gives up playing with Boyfriend and Bestie to come back and play with Peryn.  He adores her as well.    
They all make a good team.

Another new thing is their walks. The weather has gotten better and Daddy has been taking them for walks in shifts.  The girls first and then Peryn. Peryn gets a longer walk because he has more energy to burn.
Mommy will join them as soon as the weather turns a bit warmer.   It's very difficult to move at times.   The knee is pretty bad and has NOT stopped hurting since the winter.  
We shall see.

Duchess

Athena

Peryn!