The Notebook

As a creative outlet sometimes I write little rhyming poems to amuse myself with my cleverness. Often this occurs in gushes of ideas which peter out into "I'll get back to it" and then I forget what I did with my coil ring or I used it as a whelping notebook or I stashed it in a cupboard or I thought I lost it and bought another ...

I'm going to occassionally test my poems on the blog because I figure they are better off in cyberspace than locked inside a $2 notebook and the only one who marvels at the prose is me.

Here's one inspired by a Ridgeback's appetite.

A Cookie

Bright eyes insist on pleading
Beneath an upturned brow
Hope is writ unspoken
I can has cookie now?

It's gone before the palate
Knows that it's been et
The eyes return to question
Will you give me cookie yet?

A memory convenient
A thousand treats or one
The endless disbelieving
The cookies are all gone.

Barbarians at the Gate

As I mentioned I was at my parent's house last weekend starting to help my mom pack for their move to Nova Scotia. I took some pictures of the dogs there. My parents breed and show Pulis and since their dogs are not accustomed to the big red dogs they were seperated by a dog gate.



This is Leeloo's best "Pretty please?" because we were in the kitchen preparing dinner (by which I mean we put a pizza in the oven). Her ear is taped again - it has been on and off as she teethes - just the right ear and yes, that is purple hockey tape. How can you deny those eyes?

Here's the eyes times two. Raimi took a different tack than Leeloo's gate rattling and employed the more annoying brain seizing whine. Whenever I was in the kitchen it was a combination of rattle rattle rattle or whine whine whine. Sometimes they would alternate the tactics but the end result was always "Stop it!"



And here is little Berry. She is so cute and is the little Reserve Queen - always the bridesmaid - but did finish her Canadian Championship. Everyone loves Berry because she is so charming and loves dog shows. For anyone who does not know what a Puli looks like there are way better pictures on my parent's website for Immerzu (to the left) or just click here.

Monty Python's Flying Circus

I haven't been able to update any pictures recently because whenever I attach the camera to my computer it does something weird and I can't download the photos. Some setting has changed and it opens the wrong program. And seriously ... there are some pretty darn cute photos on that camera. I'll try again later tonight and see if I can figure out how to get it to behave.

My work hours changed and the dogs, though they don't realize it yet, are going to love it. It means I get to sleep in mornings and work shorter hours. It's the training of the cats and puppy that are going to take some time. They still think 7am is alarm time. It also means I can take the dogs to the park in the daylight instead of the pitch black at 5:30pm. There are also fewer dogs at the park in the mid-morning so less chance of having an 'exchange' with some asshole dog and their asshole owner(which, in the last month, has happened twice; once I was ignored and the other time the Lab's owner demonstrated why her dog was such an asshole. It's nice to know this City delivers exactly what I expect from its citizens every single time - kind of like the guy who cut me off today.)

Halo made it safely to Salt Lake City where she now torments her son with smelling good enough to breed. Once she was bred by Zuli she closed up shop and is quickly going out of heat. I won't know for another 3 weeks or so if she is in whelp but I'm guessing it will be less physical signs and more temperamental changes as the indication for possible motherhood. She gets sort of ... needy ... when she's in whelp. Estrus means sulky and moody and in whelp is more subtle.

I go to pick her up in about 10 days ... hope the weather holds out as I have to drive through a small mountain range to get to Helena to met Erin. It's twisty and turny and can be dangerous in the winter. As long as it's not like two winters ago when I drove down with my Dad to pick up Halo from Helena and we ended the weekend with him being diagnosed with cancer ... that was a drive to remember. He's got the all clear now but it's not really a road trip I want to repeat.

Lying in Wait

I've been a little lax in my updates of late ... busy busy busy. My parents are packing to move to Nova Scotia from Alberta and I was out helping my mom yesterday - my Dad is in Halifax now buying a house. Phew! I hope they get the one with the nice ocean view ... I wouldn't mind inheriting that!

Halo will be heading back to Salt Lake City tomorrow I think. She was only able to be bred the one time - once is all it takes right? You like to cover all options but she said no on Wednesday, yes on Thursday and then no on Friday. Picky girl. You wouldn't think she would be given her ho-bag behaviour. As always there are no guarantees but I trust Halo and since she's an ... er ... experienced girl I am hopeful there was success.

Two weeks from now I go to pick her up in Montana. I don't know many bitches who would travel as well as she does but Halo is nothing if not accommodating and easy going ... something that she reliably passes to her puppies. Some bitches can go out of heat when they travel so it's a blessing that she takes new people and places in stride.

Leeloo has lost most of her teeth. Her adult teeth are coming in but the baby ones are all dropping out and leaving big gaps in her naughty little mouth. Raimi is the ever concerned Boy and spends a lot of time licking her gums and taking care of his darling GF. I found her rolling a molar around her mouth the other day and took it away. No ... I did not keep it ... ew.

So now we wait ... we wait for Halo to come home, we wait for sign of babies in the oven, we wait for babies to arrive ... a world of waiting.

The Tie That Binds

Today Halo finally convinced Zuli that she was worth his time and effort. I was a day off from my original thought that it would be Friday. So we mark our calendars from today and count 9 weeks which puts puppies possibly the last week in March. She will be bred again tomorrow and Saturday and that will cover the 5 day gammut of ovulation. She will then make her way back to Salt Lake City this weekend and I’ll pick her up in Montana in two weeks.

I have missed Halo in her time away. It’s been a year of upheaval for the poor girl and once she comes home with me … home she’ll stay. Of course, she’ll have to put up with Leeloo while she’s in whelp. The biggest benefit to having Leeloo now is that she will play with Raimi rather than Raimi hassling a pregnant Momma to play. She was long suffering last time …

Nothing at this point is guaranteed of course but we remain hopeful. I’ll be contacting my waitlist this weekend to see who is still interested in a Halo baby. If you are not on the list yet now’s the time!

N/L's Las Vagas Vacation

I realized yesterday that I haven’t posted a Halo update lately. She made her way to Las Vegas last weekend chaffeurred from Salt Lake City by Erin who is her breeder.

From what I hear we can equate Halo’s behaviour to a desperate Vegas strip prostitute but Zuli is not falling for it or he can’t afford her price. Here he is pictured falling for something but it has little to do with sex - I hear he's just a big sweetie. She probably isn’t ovulating yet or if she is it’s just starting. I’m guessing Friday is the big day.

For those who want to know (or care) dogs only ovulate once or twice a year. When a bitch comes into heat she is not immediately ready to be bred, she has to ovulate first. They start their heat and a few days in (up to 20 sometimes) they experience a lutenizing hormone surge which triggers the bitch to ovulate over a period of 5 days. The eggs have a kind of shell around them and when ovulation occurs the shell takes about 48 hours to completely open, is open for about 36 hours and then the egg starts to die over the next couple days. Think of it like a banana; buy it green, it starts to turn yellow til it’s ripe, it stays ripe for a couple days and then it starts to die … voila! Ovulation!

You want to breed just as the eggs are opening to catch them at their ripest. Sperm can live for a long time in the bitch so if you breed as the eggs are opening the sperm will be just sitting around whistlin’ dixie until the bouncers open the strip club doors and they flood in waving little spermy dollar bills. The first day the dogs are bred is when your 63 day gestation count starts. Nine weeks later, more or less, you should see little babies arrive.

Halo had her fist litter exactly 63 days from when she was bred … practically in the same hour. Her second litter was born on day 61 which means they wanted OUT. It was crowded in there.

So she spends her days now wandering up and down the Vegas dog run, wiggling her doggy bum and trying to entice Mr. Zuli to buy what she’s selling. Here's a picture of him feigning disinterest ... or it is actual disinterest ... either way I’m pretty sure he’s starting to crack …

Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?

A few days ago I mentioned Rory was coming to visit. I haven’t posted on him because the more pressing issue of getting donations to fight for every dog owner in the Surpreme Court. The donations are rolling in and they are fast approaching their goal of $67,000 … lawyers are expensive!!

Anyway, Rory came over on Wednesday night, Raimi was all with the “MY house! MY toys! MY Leeloo! MY Mommy!” and then he got distracted by a piece of floating fuzz …

They played and played and played and played. By the time bedtime rolled around Leeloo was comatose. Rory started out in my room on a dog bed, his fussing made me relent and he was allowed to lie on the bed. Raimi was less than thrilled. By 4am I’d had enough of musical dogs and into the dog room Rory went. His whining could not be heard through my earplugs.

Raimi and Leeloo spent the entire day with Rory but when I got home Raimi ‘squashed’ Rory to demonstrate how much of a man he was compared to this young upstart. Show off. It was cute in an annoying kind of way. Rory just gave in with a “Ya ya sure man … you’re the boss.”

Leeloo thought Rory was great because he was good to play anytime. Raimi got in a few naps while Leeloo and Rory re-arranged my furniture. I was constantly straightening the rugs and putting the loveseat back.

Dogs are not allowed on the furniture in Rory’s home but they are in mine so it only took Rory a couple days before he ‘snuck’ onto the loveseat, made himself veeeerrrrrryyyyy small and went to sleep. If I moved or coughed he’d open his eyes in trepidation but settled when he realized I was not shifting him.

Of course he was delighted to see his own Mommy but not half as excited as Raimi was to see him gone. I'm sure Raimi was getting worried he was sticking around. They’d stare at me and Raimi would hold eye contact in an effort to keep my attention on him alone. It was so sweet. Occassionally I’d catch him looking at Rory like “You’re still here? Why are you still here? When are you leaving anyway?”

Things are back to normal now, Raimi is so thrilled to have me as his alone. Well … me, the love of his life Leeloo, and his mom returns in a few weeks so he’ll be in seventh heaven.