One of the pleasures of dog breeding is meeting nice people. Here are some pics of a gentleman I met who ended up coming back frequently just to pet puppies and help with socializing them. He brought toys and love which they needed lots of! Happy birthday to the puppies who are 7 months old today, and to Zach! And a great big thank you too.
Winston the teacher
I like the way Winston schools Clyde and See See, just like Jane did. Here he is with Clyde first, and then See See. The third video shows him letting them have the toys.
Last day of show report, running errands, and current pics
Our last chance to win, and Winston got another Reserve. Boo.
The judge gave me a compliment on See See as I was leaving the ring though. He said he thought she was going to be nice, and that she is just “loose” now, which is true. As I have mentioned to some of the other owners of this litter, some GDSs are loosely ligamented, which corrects itself as they get older. It looks like they have lots of play in their bones and tendons because they do! Those ligaments will tighten up, with the result being a supple well-structured GSD.
After the show, I had to run some errands, so Winston, Clyde, and See See went too. We had to pick up Mel Gibson’s ashes, go to Tractor Supply for dog food, go to PetSmart to get accurate weights on the puppies for the next flea treatment, get chicken at Aldi’s, and stop at the Farmer’s Market for tomatoes. At every stop, Winston and the puppies got petted and loved on, continuing good socialization with people and new places. Winston weighs 89, Clyde 67, and See See 57.
Whenever I take three German Shepherds anywhere together, I always get remarks about how I have my hands full. The funniest stop was yesterday at the bank. I walked in with three German Shepherds, and the manager said, “…uh, ok…” and I said “Hello!” like I owned the place. I thought walking through the little maze with the posts and ropes was going to be a disaster, but, miraculously, we walked right through without getting tangled or knocking anything over. I acted like I did that all the time, no problem. I waited for a teller while the puppies looked around politely, and then walked up to the counter and made a deposit. As I walked out, someone commented on how well behaved they were. “Oh thank you”, I said, as if I walk two 6 month old puppies with an adult male GSD into banks every day. Well, it was a ridiculously hot day, and I wasn’t going to leave them in the van.
Loosy!
Thank you so much, Tiffany, for sending this great pic of Loosy! She looks so beautiful and well cared for. I love the way each puppy from this litter is unique yet resembles each parent or grandparent. In Loosy, I see her dad’s expression and her Grandma Nellie’s pretty long-haired soft looks. I’m also admiring her perfect ears that didn’t need any help (yay!) from her dad Cash. Her good conformation of her front, nice tight feet, and her pretty dark eyes came from momma Jane.
Gladder and Sadder
Winston got Winner’s Dog and Best of Winners again today, with a little more competition too! He is a very sweet boy.
My last kitty, Mel Gibson, died today. He was a very sweet boy.
Glad and Sad days
Winston did great at the shows so far on this five day weekend in Doswell. (I like Doswell! It is close to home and a very nice well run indoor arena.) Yesterday, Winston got Winner’s Dog, and today he got Winner’s Dog and Best of Winners! Clyde and See See each got Reserve today. So Winston got a point each day!
Both days I had to hurry home. I skipped getting our win picture taken because my 18 year old kitty, Mel Gibson, is dying. I cannot believe he keeps hanging on. He has gone down to skin and bones, and he seems to be semi-conscious. I made the decision to NOT put him to sleep because he is so afraid of strangers. I don’t want his last moments to be filled with fear. He does not seem to be in pain, so I just keep petting him and telling him what a good kitty he has been, and how much I love him.
Jane
After having 11 puppies, many female dogs would take a long time to recover. After she had her puppies, Jane’s coat looked pretty shabby, and her teats were stretched beyond recognition! I can’t believe how good she looks after just 6 months! Her coat is back to that dense luxurious feel, and her abdomen is tucked up again, like she never had puppies! One telltale sign though is that her chest is dropped down low. Notice that the lower outline of her chest behind her front legs is considerably lower than the point of her elbow. This is desirable in the conformation of a GSD, and many breeders will wait until after their female has pups to show them because that nice curve of the sternum becomes more pronounced. If you go to the home page, you can see a pic of Jane when she was about 9 months old, and she looks so different! See See favors her at that age.
Johnny and Jane took a trip
Johnny and Jane were born in WV where I used to live. I just sold the house; the closing was on Thursday. So we were there one last time. They got to hang out at the house and run along the creek down in the bottom. We were comfortable there for a few years, and then they adapted well to Virginia. I had very mixed feelings about selling the house, but it was more than I could manage on my own. We made the trip there and back in one day. I still had stuff to pack up, and I got a car dolly and towed the car home. I was exhausted! Special thank you to my neighbors, Gail and Nancy, for letting Nellie, Winston, Clyde, and See See out to potty while I was gone!
More success with ears!
Connie’s ears gave us all fits. They were taped and taped again. They got better, she was teething, they came down, we tried the breathe right strips, and then tried it again, and finally that lazy ear came up! She is so pretty with her ears up! Thank you for sending the pics Peggy! Gosh I hope they are up for good!
Good outcome with ears using strips!
Mustang, aka Chief, the only longhaired male in the litter, had some real trouble with his ears as you remember from previous posts. With the assistance of the breathe right strips they are now standing nicely. You can see in this photo that the hair inside the ear we supported hasn’t grown back yet. Because he is longhaired, we had to use clippers so the strip would stick. Soon his owner will forget about how worried he was about those ears! Thank you, Lou, for your dedication and attention to the process, which turned out to be easier than we thought.
Shepherd Sight 