Silent Tongue

It. Is. Hot. I have the fans going all the time to try and keep the house a little cooler but it still gets incredibly warm inside. Despite the heat the dogs still insist on their walk everyday so everyday we load up and go. As the walk progresses tongues get bigger and bigger.

I don't know about the dogs but I could use a Smirnoff Ice. Make that a double.

Would you like a side of ice cold water with that tongue?

10 Things I Hate About You

Yet another reason for my dogs to hate me. Photo time! The biggest hater is Leeloo.

She hides her disdain well don't you think? I know she's really trying. You can see it in her eyes.

I tam sure in this one she is thinking "Tonight, while you're sleeping, I'm going to barf on your carpet."

The boys are far more obliging. Archer was all tongue and bad aim.

He also took a moment to pose in a cute little Archer way. He's such a ham. "Quick! Take my picture Mommy!"

Raimi was all over me when I was sitting on the floor but it was hard to take a photo of him mauling me what with me being mauled and all.

And Esme got in on the action too. Well, her tongue did. It was a kiss congo-style.

Growing Pains

Even when a photo isn't perfectly composed or exposed it can still be speak to you on several levels. Here we see Leeloo carefully sniffing a blade of grass. I cannot imagine what it might have smelt of but she spent several moments communing with its delicate scent. Esme, on the other hand, was well past smelling and thoroughly into munching!

A flash of pearly whites while Esme massacres yet another peice of the green countryside. She is a one dog landscaping crew.

Leeloo enjoys a rolls in the grass after a good mash up with Archer. The grass would be nice and cool and I bet crushing it with her body releases all kinds of wondrous aromas in which she can marinate. This photo is just one word: Happy.

Morning Departure

I am so glad I got into the habit of walking the dogs in the morning because when I get home from work I'm tired and it's usually even hotter out than it was in the morning. Now we are into summer the temperature has been turned up and no one notices faster than the dogs. The heat does start to show in them even in the mornings so our walks have been slower and shorter. They always start out with lots of spunk.

Then, a few minutes in, somebody needs to take a break.

Then they are off again.

Raimi spends a lot of time grazing which doesn't take too much energy. As he's aged he's been less inclined to run manically and act like a fool.

Unlike these two who experience huge bursts of energy for short periods of time.

This is what you want to see. The happy satisfied expression of a dog well exercised, tired and happy.  It's  gratifying to know that when I leave for work they have had what they need to stay healthy both physically and mentally ... balance is absolutely key. Even when it's so muggy you feel like you could swim through the air!

Ruthless People

An astute observer mentioned that I must have a strong will to be able to rehome a dog that I whelped and have raised for the last year. (Never mind Halo who I owned for 5 years!) I suppose I should explain how I am able to do this without seeming to be upset by it.

Well, for starters, I am upset by it. And disappointed. And conflicted. And all those other words to describe feeling guilty about making this sort of decision knowing that if it were Leeloo or Raimi who 'didn't work out' that they'd never leave my house and I'd never consider placing them.

There is no fooling the the heart when it comes to the connection to the animals we live with. I won't deny loving Archer for everything that he is but some part of me can't over look what he isn't. Therein lies the difference. I can overlook the things about Leeloo and Raimi and make peace with them - they are imperfect and made more perfect in spite of those flaws. Archer doesn't fall under my eye in that way.

I was raised by the old school brand of dog breeder. My parents have never had fewer than 10 dogs at one time, that I can recall anyway. We had house dogs, never more than two or three, who lived in the house with us and enjoyed the lives that most pet dogs do, but the balance of the kennel was in dog runs during the day. There were always older dogs who either had come to retirement age or had not developed as hoped. These dogs were placed in new homes and lived out their lives as beloved pets in a one or two dog home. I think that is where I get my philosophy about dogs like Halo and Archer. I cannot provide for them what I think they deserve and it would be wrong of me to deny them the very best. Of course, there were the Raimi and Leeloo's of my childhood; Cassie, Fay, Pebble, Tisza, Ruby, Pippin, Berry, Gemma ... the dogs who would never live anywhere else because they just somehow ... belonged. They were the house dogs, the special dogs, the ones who left indelible impressions not only on my psyche but also on Immerzu Pulis as I know them.

The 'old school' teachings of dog breeding have been replaced with what I refer to as 'bleeding heart breeders'. People who use the term 'adopt' instead of 'sell'. Find it hard to let puppies go to new homes (I can't wait for them to get out the door - another throwback from my childhood). And want everyone in the breed to be their buddy (let it go ... it's never going to happen). These are the breeders I have a hard time identifying with - that probably comes as no surprise. 

In order to maintain an objective view of your breeding program you must be ruthless in 'culling' the dogs who just aren't good enough or who have expired in their usefulness as breeding stock. My dogs are my life, I adore them - but they are show dogs, breeding stock and are intended to carry on the line of purebred Rhodesian Ridgebacks - they are not just pets, they are important genetic components in a dwindling pool of quality. Breeding is hard, unforgiving, expensive, traumatic, frustrating, depressing, engrossing, and terrifying. It is also exhilarating, engaging, uplifting, inspiring, fulfilling and some times even miraculous. They do balance out although some days it sure doesn't seem like it!

Making a decision to place a dog like Archer never comes easy but with a view to the future there isn't a doubt in my mind it's the right one. It's the best decision I have made for him in his whole life.

Fly Away Home

It has taken me weeks of thought to come to actually write this particular blog. Sometimes, when making a choice, you have to give it time to become the right decision before it actually is the right decision. However, this does not make the decision any easier.

As a breeder I have a particular idea in mind when I breed two dogs together - this is the primary reason ethical breeders are so picky about who is bred to who - the image in my mind is set and what I want to see in a Ridgeback is what I am striving for whenever I breed a litter.

Leeloo is my only girl and I have intentions to breed her to Raimi in about 6 or 8 months - thankfully they have both developed into dogs who will likely compliment each other (and I have made peace with the size I am likely to get!). It will set certain traits in the line that I desire and hopefully strike a balance between their faults and virtues.

Then, looking to the future, I laid out in my mind who else I wanted to breed Leeloo to based on my 'perfect Ridgeback'. Sadly, Archer was not on the list. He seems pretty happy about it though!

There is no sense in keeping an intact male 'just because' that will not be used at stud.  Archer, like Halo before him, is in limbo and that is not fair to him. Most people own dogs just to have and enjoy them(which I of course do)  but I also breed them toward a purpose. A dog that doesn't quite fit with the program is a draw on resources that could better be utilized toward progressing the line - in short, I am not a dog collector, I am a dog breeder.  Archer needs a home that will pay attention to only him and not expect more from him that simply to be the best Archer he can be.

I have said Archer is the most beautiful boy. In fact, in my house, as regards type and structure, he is far and away the most correct Ridgeback I live with. However, in my breeding plans he just does not fit where he should. Bred to Leeloo he would, in my opinion, not produce what I want to see. It's a complicated mess in my brain and hard to put into words, but when I look at the three dogs I want to breed to Leeloo he is a completely different type. In breeding a line you want to establish type and unfortunately Archer deviates from that ... and not just a little bit. 

Archer is gorgeous, sweet, lovable, cuddly, smart, active, silly, happy, bouncy, respectful, mannerly, and impossibly cheerful. He is the little ray of sunshine in my house and only the very best home will do. Fortunately I have met a family that is willing to give him the attention he deserves. They met him yesterday and believe he will fit very nicely into their home and I think they will make a great new family for him. Since he is on 8 of 10 points they are willing to keep him intact until I can get those last two Championship points. Since there is really no class competition here chances are it could be quite a while before he can finish but both his new family and I are willing and prepared to wait. Trusting someone to ensure he does not breed some neighbour's unspayed crossbreed is a leap of faith in a province that does not seem to believe in fences!

Baby Archer of the now well known beach photo is going to a new home in August. It's hard to type and hard to imagine.

Italian Straw Hat

Esme has been scratching out her coat, as I've mentioned, and today I purchased Phase I in Operation: Cord Me. I was going to get her a sweater but since it's summer time I thought that might make her a bit too hot so opted instead for booties on her back feet. I found some on sale for $2 at Walmart along with a cute little hat - I can live with a $2 solution. Booties thus purchased she is now incredibly annoyed with me and life itself.

But what of the hat? Well, being me I couldn't resist a little fun with the dogs and if I do say so myself they look mah-velous! Raimi was very handsome in his little hat made littler once it met his head. 

Leeloo had her stricken face perfected. Her eyes are all big with concentration trying to levitate the treat into her mouth by psychokenisis.  I'm not sure she even realized she was wearing a hat once she knew there was a treat involved.

Archer was by far the most dapper of the bunch. He was rockin' several sweet attitudes. This is his 'too cool for school' look.

That's right - I'm the Hipster Dufus.

Or just the Dufus. Go on, you know the ladies love that tongue. He's rockin' the hat a little off-kilter ... very suave.

Esme tried it on but was a little less photogenic about it ... she was busy thinking about how awful her new shoes are. Usually the girls love shoes but not Esme.

And another of Archer ... he's just so darn cute. Don't you just want to kiss his nose?