Surprise Visit From Monique!

Madalyn and Monique

Today I got a surprise visit from Madalyn M. and Monique, aka Mikki, formerly Jitsu, the female Papillon puppy I sold back in March. I had urged Madalyn to take lots of puppy pictures (they're only puppies for a short while) so she bought a disposable camera, and brought me the disk of pictures today, 6 months later! She doesn't even have a computer! John had just gotten home from work, around 4:30 and we all visited 'til around 8. A nice long visit. Snapped lots of pictures.

L to R Willow, Maxie, Mikki

Mikki's coat is filling out nicely, soft straight snow white hair, culottes and tail feathers coming in, lively eyes, bouncy and friendly, fearless, curious, and definitely agile.  Not very obedient, though!  She rip snorted all over the place, but did fair recalls when she figured out my pocket was full of treats.  I can't actually remember if Maxie was obedient at 9 months of age. I wasn't keeping a blog or a journal back then.

I was outside working on the new LCCOC Publicity Booth I'm putting together for my dog club, so we hung out in the back yard mostly. We had some fun posing them for pictures.  Maxie and Willow seemed to remember Monique, they just fell in and played together the whole time.  I put Maxie thru the weaves and over a few jumps at one point, and Mikki made a few attempts too. I know she'd get the hang of it quickly with just a bit of training.



L to R Madalyn, Mikki, Willow, Michele, Maxie


All 3 dogs are so alike in color, build and markings one would swear they are related, but they aren't. I also brought her in to see the videos I took of her and her other papillon, Merlin, at the Obedience Match last year.  Despite all the obedience trials she goes to, she had never seen a video of her dog performing! She was amazed.

I weighed Mikki, who at 9.5 months is 5.5 lbs, a little smaller than Maxie at 7 lbs.  We both wonder if she'll grow much more, maybe a little bit.  Madalyn does conformation and obedience, not agility, and is adding something called Super Fuel  to Mikki's diet. I'll have to check that out as it is supposed to increase the dog's stamina, focus, etc.  Something for Lucky's speed, maybe?

Of all the photos she took with her disposable camera, she liked this one the best because it shows Mikki's "stack". I wonder if she is thinking of doing conformation with this dog?

Mikki, at about 5 months. She has a lot more hair now.

Monique (Mikki) apparently loves to tear up the camellias on Madalyn's bushes, hence the flower petals at her feet.  I can attest she also loves tearing up little branches with leaves on them, and digging up acorns in my yard.  I'm thinking I know now how a breeder feels when one of their pups comes back for a visit!  It is very satisfying, like when your nieces or nephews come to see you, hug your neck, catch you up on their news!  I feel like a proud auntie and thrilled that Madalyn is including me in Mikki's life.  I'd take her back in a heartbeat!

Upwards and onward!

Empty Nest - Puppies Sold!



Roku (left) and Jitsu (right),
at 12 weeks.

Roku and Jitsu have both been sold as of Friday night, and I embarassed myself by bursting into tears as the last pup was going out the door.  I could not understand my reaction.  It came as a complete surprise.  I am still processing this "empty nest" feeling I have, kinda like sadness, grief, loneliness -- but I'm neither sad nor grieving nor lonely.  In truth, I'm overjoyed and relieved!

Roku's Mom, Kathy, wants to begin agility training and Mike, her husband, belongs to a dog club and already competes with his big dogs in agility, so that's a good start. She saw Roku (now named Winston) last weekend at the USDAA trial and was instantly smitten with his adorableness, quickness of mind, and beautiful markings.  She came and got him on Tuesday, and sends me news of his progress and photos every few days.

Madalyn and Jitsu saying goodbye
at my door. Turra in background.

Jitsu's new mom, Madalyn, already trains vigorously in Obedience and travels all over the country competing with her Papillon, Merlin.  She came wearing a beautiful gold OTCH pendant around her neck earned with her Yorkie, now retired. Madalyn was impressed with Jitsu's bone structure, symmetrical markings, coat, sure-footedness, and speed, plus her enthusiasm, eagerness, friendliness, fearlessness, sociability, cuddliness and obvious intelligence.  I can't remember what all else she was looking for, but she found it in Jitsu.  She left after an hour's visit to "think about it", and within an hour had called and was back to fetch her dog.

Both of these owners found me thru dog channels, not by me placing an ad in the paper, which was about to be my next move.

So I cried, and the next morning almost cried again, and realized it is mostly for relief.  What a burden lifted that these puppies made it from a necessarily impersonal breeder situation to the warmth of my foster home, and are now placed in high-quality permanent homes where they will be challenged and trained by day, and scurry around the house by night, smothered in treats and kisses, and sleep cuddled up in Mommy's arms.  They both made it into "the good life"! To top that off, both dogs will remain here locally so I'll probably see them once in awhile.

I hadn't realized what a responsibility I had taken on when accepting these puppies into my care at 8 weeks of age.  Feed them, clean up after them, keep them safe, socialize them.  Time consuming, but easy enough.  Add to that, beginning to shape them for performance careers. Crate training, pottie training, car travel, tugging, reinforcement, guessing games, desensitizing them to various stimuli, developing handler focus, building trust and loyalty, teaching tricks, hand signal recognition, verbal cues. That was enormous fun for me because, as they say, "a beautiful mind is a terrible thing to waste", and they learned fast.

And now suddenly it's over. I have to adjust and let go, again. 

Winston's new carrying case.

Kathy and Madalyn both called the next day to say their pups had a pleasant first night, got clean bills of health from their vets, rode in the car without complaint, held their pottie business for outdoors, are well behaved, and seem to be adjusting fine to their new surroundings.  Kathy sent photos from her iPhone and emails regularly.   Madalyn said I could call anytime to check up on Jitsu (now Mikki), which was incredibly thoughtful. Since Madalyn doesn't have a camera or a computer, I will not be able to keep in touch in my usual way, sharing photos and anecdotes via email, so I will have to print up a portfolio of Mikki's puppy photos and get them to her.

Winston captures his Mommy's
heart with every pose.

Today (Sunday) I woke up again, not about to cry but missing Winston's kaola bear face and precious antics, and Mikki's pointy little nose burrowing through the leaf piles outside, her bullet shaped body tearing across the yard at MACH speed, her high jumping trying to get out of the X-pen to where I am. She's a natural for agility, on her last day going fearlessly over the full-height see saw in pursuit of a treat.

Did I make a mistake letting these puppies go? How can 2 lbs of fluff get so deep under your skin in 5 weeks and you not even realize it until they are gone? OMG I can't imagine if something would happen to any of my dogs. I never want to find out how deep under my skin they are!!!!!!!!!!

I hadn't realized what a responsibility breeders have in placing their litters, how they have to maintain some distance from the puppies, or cry often.  I would never make it as a breeder, much less a foster parent.  Okay, another factoid learned about myself.  But before I move on, I am taking in how much I enjoyed conducting my first "puppy finishing school".  There is not much that compares with the scampering enthusiasm, reckless abandon, and total openness of a puppy, not to mention soft fur, warm puppy breath and a tiny heart beating in your hands.  My house seems empty now, with 4 contented adult dogs lying around my feet, waiting for me to say what's next.

So now that I've got that bit blogged about, what's next is mopping and sterilizing the kitchen floor, shampooing the den carpet, picking up toys, bits of paper and a few dead lizards the puppies managed to find, fixing lawn mower and replacing an oven element, getting my room reserved for our upcoming Mobile trial, and streamlining the trial entry process.

Upwards and onward!

Growth Hormones for Runts

Roku and Jitsu provide me with an opportunity to finally test one of my theories for accuracy, which is: that you can feed cows milk to any small puppy, the runt of a litter, for example, and they will grow larger than without it.  After all, a cows milk has the growth hormones in it to produce a 1200/lb cow., and growth hormones are growth hormones, whatever species.

Some warn that dogs are allergic to cow's milk, but my mother has fed stale bread and milk to every cat and dog that ever visited our household, and my vet assures me milk is safe for dogs as long as it agrees with them (no vomiting, diarreah, etc).

I tried this method out on Maxie, whose breeder labeled him "not show quality" because "he would be too small", and made me neuter him as a condition of the sale.  I actually had no problem with the neutering since I don't want to breed Papillons and prefer neutered pets, plus the price went down considerable with "pet quality" vs. "show quality".  But I didn't want him to be too small. 

So for about 3 months I gave Maxie 1 Tbsp/day of whole cows milk from the local Smith Creamery Dairy's grass fed cows, plus they don't homogonize their milk and pasturize at the lowest allowable temperatures.  Their milk is very rich and delicious, and extremely fresh.

Maxie grew from 4.25 lbs and 7" at the whithers at 6 months, to 7 lbs and 10.25" by 1 year old, compared to his father's height of 8" and a slightly larger mother.

Aha!  Now I have an opportunity to test my theory, with 2 9-week-old Papillon littermates, and Roku decided smaller than Jitsu.  I'm feeding Roku 1 Tbsp of milk per day, weighing them both once a week, and plotting the results right here, in 32nds of a pound:

Date               Roku's Wt. #                 Jitsu's Wt #
1/28/11            1.75 (24/32)               2.5 (16/32)
2/04/11            1.95 (31/32)              2 21/32 (+5)
2/11/11            2 (+1)                          2.75 (

I'll only be able to do this until they leave me, but maybe I'll see some definitive results by then. Of course these results will be skewed by the fact that they probably eat different amounts, expend different amounts of calories, are programmed to grow at different rates to begin with, etc.  But it may reveal some information.

Upwards and onward!

Papillon Puppies For Sale!

Roku (9 weeks old, male)

Update! 
Puppies are sold!

Roku and Jitsu - temporary names we are using to identify 2 purebred AKC Papillon puppies I have for sale, littermates from a litter of 2 with champions in their bloodlines, from The Pines Papillons, breeder Lois Horan, whose website is http://www.thepinespapillons.com/

Photos can't do justice to these scampering little personalities, but show their markings pretty well at 9 weeks old. The video below will give you a taste of their liveliness, alertness, and adorable antics.



Jitsu (9 weeks old, female)

Recently married and about to take a trip, my cousin Lois gave me these babies on 1/26/11 to either train, start my own breeding program, or sell.  Since I have no desire to breed dogs, and have 4 dogs already and 2 that I'm actively training.  I can't keep them.  So I am looking for new owners who can provide really good homes for these little jewels.

By Lois's professional assessment, at this age neither puppy shows any faults that would prevent them from conformation showing.

After a week at my house, I finally got a day warm enough to put them outdoors for more than a few minutes.  See video below:



Here are the particulars:

Birthdate: 11/25/10
Color:  Red and White (both puppies)

Pedigree (3 generations back):

Sire THE PINES GOOD TIME CHARLIE Birthdate: JUL-21-2004 wt. 6.5 lbs, Red and White Points: 1 major and 11 points toward 2nd major	Sire CH.COQUINA'N'CAPRICE U MR LUCKY (CD)	Sire CH.NILKO DU MAS DE LA REVELIER (FRANCE)
		Dam CH.HALLMARK'S SAVANNAH ROSE
	Dam THE PINES N CAPRICE FANTASIA White and Black	Sire CH.CAMELOT'S WHITE MAGIC
		Dam CH.THE PINES CAMEO ROSE
Dam GOSSAMER WING TALIA Birthdate: Mar 29, 2007 wt. 5 lbs. White Black and Tan	Sire NIGHTFIRE'S ESSENCE TO WIN (GERMANY) White Black and Tan	Sire EMERAUD VOM SCHWABENHOF (GERMANY)
		Dam LINDATORPS AHLIZA (GERMANY)
	Dam THE PINES CALAMITY JANE White and Sable	Sire CH.THE PINES PRINCE OF ARGYLL
		Dam SHELTONS ANNIE OAKLEY

As you can see, these puppies have a solid pedigree and may have potential as show dogs/breeders, thus are eligible for AKC Full Registration to the right owners. Dew claws are removed and they are up to date on all shots, with vet certification that they are in good health. All paperwork for AKC registration will be filled out at time of purchase.


Back of head markings (Jitsu on left, Roku on right)

How To Purchase:

Interested parties,
call Michele at 225-978-8688
Location: Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Will not ship.  Must pick up.

First short video I took of Roku and Jitsu at play in their Xpen, a week earlier than the video above, puppies considerably smaller:

  

A few weeks later, and I've been working with the puppies every day, and link here to another blog post, with more photos, illustrating that both these puppies are quick, smart and eager to learn.
The Guessing Game

Cape Coral Trip

T to B: Mom, Dad, Maxie, Willow

John and I just returned from an 8 day, 1800 mile road trip to Cape Coral, FL to help celebrate my dad's 95th, and my mom's 90th birthdays.  4 days on the road (2 there, 2 back), with 2 dogs, covering about 450 miles a day, stopping every few hours at McDonalds or a gas station for coffee and to stretch, pottie ourselves and dogs.  At each stop, I kept with my commitment to sprint 100 yards. 

We found a great halfway point between Baton Rouge and Cape Coral in Tallahassee, where we stayed at a really nice LaQuinta Inn, exit 199, right off of I-10, which included roomy rooms, continental breakfast, WiFi, NOON checkout, and NO PET FEE for only $58.50/night, including tax. There was no microwave or fridge in the room, though.  $4 extra for that.  Rooms 161-167 (odd numbers only) faced on a charming wooded slope the dogs could run in, and there was a designated grassy pet area further down.

5 hours to Houston had been Maxie's longest road trip up til now, and both he and Willow travelled like champions. At the birthday party Maxie did all his parlor tricks, and Dad got the biggest kick out of his "I'm depressed" trick (where I say "When you knock a bar, are you depressed?", and he slumps over and hangs his head and won't straighten up until I say "That's OK". Nobody understood how I use food to train various behaviors, so I got to demo that as well.

Maxie got ill for a few days, throwing up and diahrreah, wouldn't eat.  First time ever for being sick, scared me. We think maybe he ate a berry off the ground around one of the many palm trees in the area.  That's what it looked like came out of him, anyway, or maybe he licked harsh chemicals off the tiles of the Paradise Cove hotel room.  So on the trip I blogged about putting together a Doggie First Aid Kit.  He recovered, but I should have been better prepared.

Willow and Maxie are none too happy about
potential rivals to their thrones (puppies in crate).
Maxie is positioned between me
and the pups, keeping up a low growl. 
Willow keeps licking an empty bowl.

On the way home we stopped in Myakka City, FL where my cousin, Lois, a Papillon breeder, surprised the heck out of us with 2 9 week old AKC Papillon puppies -- to keep, or to sell!  She doesn't have time to fool with this litter, she said.  Since I acquired Maxie when he was 6 months old, and Willow at age 6, I've never been around Papillon puppies.  Oh my, are they ever cute!!!!!  I will keep them another few weeks or so to socialize them before hopefully sending them off to a good home.  Please, God, don't let me get too attached.

Already I can see differences.  The female is slightly more dominant than the male, quicker to figure things out, faster, stronger, and has a more dense body.  When I got home I weighed her on my kitchen scale at 2.5 lbs.  Though they appear the same size, the male only weighs 1.75 lbs. 

Jitsu (sitting) and Roku (lying down).
Roku looks bigger because of his fluffier hair.

We temporarily named him "Racoo" because his face looks like a raccoon's, then we nicknamed her "Jitsu" after a sign we saw posted on a telephone pole for Ju Jitsu lessons.  Then Racoo devolved to Roku for some reason.  So it's Roku and Jitsu.  They eat every few hours, and pee and poo all over the place and often, and they and their shredded paper stunk by the time we got home.  I gave them a bath, blow dry and nail clip, and now they smell sweet and are little soft white fluff balls.  Jitsu loves water. 

We set them up in Lucky's big crate, lined thick with newspaper so I can remove the top layer a few times a day, a tub of kitty litter on one side (which they love to dig in, so that didn't work), a towel to snuggle on, some little tug toys, and a heavy bowl for water (which they scamper through).  Outside, I set up the x-pen in the grass and they tumble around in there several times a day.  They seemed to suffer no ill effects from the long trip home. 

I've got my work cut out for me for the next little while.  Yet another learning curve - crap!  Will I ever know everything about anything?  I'll take some pictures and videos over the next few days to try and capture their markings, expressions, and antics, which will help in advertising them for sale.  They are hearty little things, mighty cute, and such a blast they make John laugh great big belly laughs, which I've never actually heard coming out of my husband before.

Upwards and onward,