Valerean

I was looking for a pic to kick off the start of the new season today when I came across this pic of our pups during their first month with us. It's hard to believe that these little guys joined our family four years ago now. They've brought us so much happiness -- just like this season. There is no better time of the year than this one, and I hope you enjoy it, too. Happy Summer!

I'm writing this post on the morning of March 27th -- yes, I'm seven weeks ahead of myself on the blog now -- and I'm furious. I have to go see my doctor in a few hours and if I don't calm down he's going to think I've developed high blood pressure. I just ranted for a solid twenty minutes about this problem and I don't feel any better. Fortunately my guy is staying out of my way, because otherwise I'd probably rip his head off. I walk each of my dogs twice a day, and I go from our house to the front entrance to our neighborhood to stay away from people. I wave to other dog walkers to let them know I'm approaching, and move to the other side of the road to stay away from people. I will wait and let other dog walkers, runners, or people out walking in the same direction go ahead of me and put distance between us so I can stay away from people. Note the common goal here? There are three reasons why I stay away from people: my dogs are not fr...

I haven't done a pet post in a while. The puppies turned a year old at the end of May. We've given them free run of the house day and night, and leave them loose when we leave the house to run errands. I've left out their crates with the doors open (these are their safe places, and they like to nap in them.) Beau likes to keep an eye on me whenever I'm working while Shadow occasionally patrols the house. These days Shadow rarely sits still for a photo; he's become a little more aggressive, too. He'll bark at anything he doesn't like, which is everyone except me and my guy. Beau is more calm and a Mama's boy, but he's just as protective. We let them loose in the backyard now, as they're property-line trained, but keep them on leads everywhere else. Anything that falls on the floors is theirs, so I'm pretty careful about policing the floors and watching myself. I've lost a couple spools of thread that fell off the table wh...

After many months of searching for a lemon tree, we found a Meyer at the flea market that was healthy and in our budget range, so we brought it home. We plan to plant it so that our neighbor can have easy access to it, as she also cooks with lemons like I do. The puppies are now full grown, and have settled down quite a bit behavior-wise, so they're getting the run of the house 24/7. They're a little shocked to be allowed in my home office with me while I work as you see here, but aside from messing up the floor quilt now and then they're being good.

Today our Sheltie pups turn one year old. Beau, our sable here, is very sweet if still a bit timid around strange-to-him things and loud noises. He's the best with other people, and is getting friendly with our neighbors. He does not like thunderstorms at all and is the loudest one as far as barking goes. Shadow, our tri-color, has bonded so closely to me he's basically my bodyguard now. Although smaller than his brother he is the dominant of the pair, quite fierce and fearless. He loves to run and has endless energy, but he's also sneaky and very observant. Shelties are not known for being quiet, but Shadow is almost silent 99% of the time. He still doesn't like strangers, but he's gradually learning not to be aggressive with them. The boys love to play Frisbee in our big back yard, go for walks, play ball and blanket monster (I use a blanket to cover my hands and arms when we play to protect myself from bites and scratches, which has now evolved i...

It's been a while since I posted some pet pics, mainly because these two won't sit still for more than a second at a time. But here's Beau with his perpetual grin. He's noisy and playful and a big marshmallow, but a bit of a scaredy-cat when it comes to cars, loud noises and strangers. Shadow is still slightly smaller than his brother, and the quieter, sneaky one I have to watch; he rarely makes much noise. He isn't afraid of anything at all, and he's bonded with me and defends me like a guard dog, even going after Beau if he thinks he's playing too rough. They'll be a year old at the end of May, and have basically settled down. They love to play Frisbee and we're starting to property-line train them now, although I prefer to keep them on a lead when we go out in the yard. An ongoing problem is that both of the pups are still perpetual chewers -- I've never had any dogs that loved to chew as much as these two -- and they have a thi...

The boys quickly attacked, subdued and terminated this gigantic fuzzy creature for me. I didn't have the heart to tell them it was just a blanket.

I took this pic two days after we brought the puppies home. I took this one about a month and a half later. They're getting big. :)

I had to use my camera's flash to get a shot of Shadow to come out clearly, but here you can finally see his cute little face and pretty markings. :)

As threatened, I took some pics when we cleaned Beau's ear with the anti-fungal/anti-bacterial ear wash the vet gave us. To do this she uses a cosmetic pad. You soak the cosmetic pad with the ear wash first. You then use the pad like this to clean the ear. This is so much better than directly squirting the wash into the ear and having it drip everywhere, and far less messy. I think it's also more comfortable for the pup.

We made our first visit to the vet with the boys to get their next round of shots and see how healthy they are. This is when I think they finally realized they're not at the puppy toy store place. They were a little scared but otherwise well-behaved. Everyone loved them, of course. The vet said they're both quite healthy, and administered their twelve-week shots. Beau has the beginnings of an ear infection, though, so we had to get some stuff to treat that. The vet also showed me an easier way to clean the puppies' ears. I might share that if I can get some pics when I do Beau's ears this weekend.

The boys like napping under our dining table best. I think it's because the tile floor is cool, and wearing a fur coat in summer means you're always hot. So cute. :)

I have a lot of smaller quilts that don't get much use, like this art quilt I picked up at a show some years back. No one in the family wants them, so when I head off to the next place I imagine they'll be donated to Goodwill. As you can see I've started putting the sturdier ones I have down as play mats for the puppies (this discourages them from chewing and tugging on the carpet.) I also use some of the old ones that are softer to line their crate. I like that they're finally out of the closet and being used. Just seeing them around the house makes me smile.

Beau smiles while he naps. The size difference between the boys -- Shadow is starting to catch up to his brother now. The first time the boys obeyed my sit command. They're still not sure what the camera is. :)

One more pic of our new puppies. My guy took this one. The boys have very different personalities. Our sable Beau seems to be fearless; he throws himself into everything whole-heartedly. He barks at everything and gets in your face and can be grabby with toys and food. Whether he's eating, walking, or playing, just get out of his way. That's why I gave him Bulldozer as a nickname. Our tri-color Shadow is the exact opposite: quiet, standoffish, and sneaky. He's only barked once since he came to live with us. As the runt I thought he would be scared of everything, but he just watches everything for a bit before he decides what to do. Then, when he jumps in, he's fast and precise. That got him the nickname Baby Shark (also he loves it when I sing him that song while we play.) They're both really lovable, and each in his own way is very affectionate. It will be so much fun to watch them grow up.

We're house training our new puppies, and it's working out well. Beau and Shadow have the run of the house during the day, and only go into the crate when we're sleeping or if we have to leave the house to shop or run errands. They've already learned to wake us up in the morning when they need to go outside. Accidents in the house are minimal now, too. Shetland Sheepdogs typically aren't biters, but I discourage the puppies (who are teething like babies) from gnawing on me. Kisses are fine, biting is not. The pups stay with me most of the day in my home office, which I've transformed into a play room for them. They nap there whenever they're tired. When I leave the room they always come with me. Because we're in a rural area with lots of wild life we always take our dogs out on leads. They're a lot faster than we are, and there are a couple of farms around us with working dogs who might attack them if they get loose and trespass...

Beau is a born photobomber. If he's awake and sees me trying to take pics of Shadow, he dives right into the shot. Life for me has changed again (this time, in the very best way.) Thanks to our new pups I go to bed every night too tired to toss and turn, and sleep without waking up. For someone with insomnia, this is as close to heaven as it gets. I miss my quilting a little, but for right now bonding with and training the puppies is more important. I've waited a long time to have dogs in my life again. Once I have them house-trained I know I'll get back to it. Not all change is good, but this time it is. This time I am grateful for it.

Because you can never have too many, right? This shot my guy took shows Shadow's face and markings. Except at night we let the boys roam free -- I've puppy-proofed the house -- but we don't leave them unsupervised. They stay in the office with me while I work. Like all babies they sleep a lot. As a new mom (at my age!) I'm timing everything I do according to their sleep/wake patterns, too. House training is going well, too; we're old pros at that, and have them on a good food and water schedule. Once they figure out how to bark or whine to tell us they need to go outside, we'll be set.

Our new puppies have moved in with us at last. This is our sable, Beau. He was the largest pup in his litter, and the feistiest. I've always wanted to name a dog Beau, and he's very good-looking so it suited him. Shadow is our little tri-color, although he's mostly black and white (and also hard to photograph.) He was the runt of the litter, and the sweetest. He stays behind his big brother, like a little shadow. The boys are eating and playing well, and Beau is already barking. Shadow is still a bit skittish, but he's warming up to me. Expect more pictures. :)

Our two new puppies are coming home with us today, so we went shopping yesterday to get everything I needed for them. Which ended up being over three hundred bucks, but I invested in a couple of things I really wanted for them. I also had to buy the same food the breeder is using right now for them so I can gradually switch them over to the brand I prefer. I spent a little extra on this Sherpa pet carrier, too. I never like having puppies lose in a car; even on leashes they can get bounced off the seats too easily. It fits pets up to 22 lbs., and since our little runt probably won't get very big he'll likely fit in it for life. I'll reveal their names tomorrow, so stay tuned. :)