Day 53 - CERF Exam

New sound for the day - thunder.
New texture for the day - pea size hail.

How to change/clean a whelping condo: 1) undo the 16' X-pen so it can be quickly removed; 2) open gate on X-pen and rush all dogs and pups outside before they get distracted inside; 3) quickly put up X-pen outside 4); round up wayward pups (they are now comfortable running in six directions over about a 4 acre area) and put them into outside X-pen; 5) bring large garbage can into living room and throw soiled, shredded newspapers into garbage bag; 6) remove the two layers of linens that was under paper; 7) shake them out outside then throw them into the washer; 8) wash and sanitise tarp that was under linens 9) wash paw prints off whelping box; 10) put down new layers of linens then newspapers; 11) take out garbage can: 12) let puppies out of X-pen and rush it back inside to surround the whelping condo; 13) round up yard-smart pups and herd/carry them to the whelping condo. Repeat at least 3 times a day.

step 12

My plan this morning was to complete the cleaning of the whelping condo about the time I had to get the pups into the van to go to their eye certification exam. I was at step 5 when out of no where came a black cloud, thunder and hail. I did not need to round up the pups this trip. As soon as I opened the X-pen door they dashed for the back door and into the house. I had no way to contain them inside. McKenzie entertained them with a game of tug while I quickly completed the cleaning and remaking of the whelping box area. Unfortunately, they had not been outside long enough to play, pee or poop. Let's just say they were not just full of energy. After getting them back into their clean home, I got to scout our unwanted deposits as I picked up slippers, books and magazines that had been enlisted as chew toys.

Mr Nome checking out Mushing Magazine

clean digs

The CERF (eye) exam went well. I had taken two crates to transport and confine them in while their eyes dilated. I could not get any pictures because the exam room was dark and I did not want to flash sensitive eyes.

When we got home, they stayed in the van while I changed/cleaned the whelping condo. As I type, the myopic pups are wresting away down stairs.

Day 52 continued

The pups went out for a run after Dave got home from work. Tonight the object of desire was the tunnel. I sure hope these little ones get a change to learn agility. Their confidence, fearlessness, intelligence, structure and curiosity make all of them perfect for the sport.

Cedar teaching the pups "play-bow" etiquette.

Day 52 - Shots and Vet exam

This morning Cedar and the pups were again loaded into the van. This time the trip was to the vet. I had plans of taking lots of pictures but once the pups discovered the controls and wiring for the exam table, not only were they making it go up and down they wanted to play tug with the electrical cord. I ended up on the floor as a body blockade and could only stand up for one quick shot of each pup as it was examined.

new surface for the day - vet office linoleum

Not a shy pup in the bunch.

Dr. Smalley thinks she has the best job in the world.

Ms Willow - pink - 10.5 lbs

Ms Takotna - yellow - 9.9 lbs
Mr Kaltag - blue - 11.2 lbs

Ms Koyuk - orange - 11 lbs
Ms Elim - white - 9.6 lbs

Mr Nome - green - 12.3 lbs

Day 51 - confirmation

Willow reminds me so much of Cedar. She looks the most like Cedar and her desire for high vantage points is all her mother. Willow has decided that her spot is the top of the crate. The beach blanket keeps her from going right on over the x-pen. She is now quite content with her perch, though I know that without the temporary roof, she would be over and out of the whelping condo. Just as she has figured out the minimum amount of moves it takes to get on top of the crate, she has a strategy for getting down. She waits until there are enough pups covering her landing zone and falls on top of them. Today the pups went for a confirmation exam. It was cold, windy and raining. We met at a park along the river, making it even colder. The pups were carried to a shelter and kept inside jackets while waiting their turn for the assessments. Shivering muscles did not make for the best presentations, but they were still able to assess structure. Many thanks to future owner, Jeremy for his help and warm jacket and to Kathleen Monje and Lisa Erickson for their expertise in evaluating the pups. The BrownStone Iditarod litter continues to Wow! people - especially Nome and Koyuk. All have outstanding temperaments and are structurally sound.

Mr Nome
Ms Koyuk

Loving that yogurt:

Ms Elim

Ms Kaltag

Ms Willow

Ms Takotna

Day 50 - Week 7

Here is how Ms Willow greeted me this morning.

She has the climbing thing down pat.

The Ludwigs came for another visit. McKenzie is just a tongue with a dog attached. To her sitting at nose height is an invitation for a 'Nookie".

Alexander, on a visit from Germany, was another BrownStone visitor today. He thought his grandfather was just taking him to a fishing hole. The puppies were a big surprise. Being a 5 year old, he was immediately inside the x-pen. He did not catch any fish but did have a great time chasing the pups about the yard.
Three year old Anna is bi-lingual, German and English. I invited her over to interpret for Alexander and play with the puppies. She too, got to try her hand at fishing.

Rounding up the puppies is a multi-person task.

The puppies crashed after everyone left.
Exhausted pups make for easy pictures, if you can get them to sit up.
Ms Willow - 7 weeks old

Ms Takotna - 7 weeks old

Mr Kaltag - 7 weeks old

Ms Koyuk - 7 weeks old

Ms Elim - 7 weeks old

Mr Nome - 7 weeks old

good night

Day 49 - May Day

My van does not quite smell like May Day flowers but, six pups - what a bouquet! The pups endured 7 1/2 hours of freeway riding today but the trip was worth it. We got to meet Allison, Dakota's mom; Carie, Cedar's co-owner and; Susan, McKenzie's breeder. Carie brought 4 Chinooks, including Cedar's sister, her water dog and Sulky. Susan has more dogs than I could count and a litter of 5 day old Chinooks. Allison, Carie and I were entertained by all the dogs while Susan did one-on-one temperament evaluations on the Iditarod litter pups. After she reported her results, I wanted to keep all of them, but then I knew they would be pronounced as "excellent".

Carie and I also attempted confirmation pictures of each of the pups. The non-focus pups all wanted to be part of the process. Faster than we could get them all off the bench, they climbed right back up and into the photo area. This was not an easy climb but once the route was figured out, there was no stopping them.

Cedar, the Iditarod pups and her sister

"You are not quite stacking right. Let me help you."

Elim trying to open the treat container. The big Chinooks have not figured that one out but Elim got a long way toward flipping the lid locks.

Takotna waiting her turn. The puppies were on and off this porch in a flash while we were truing to evaluate confirmation. Some got off it in unintended ways.

Day 48

I almost overslept getting a daily blog produced. Today was paperwork preparation time. I found that all my documents and new owner handouts were on a 31/2" floppy. Of course I no longer have a drive for that size disk. The pups went in and out as I needed a break but I did not get any pictures. Tonight Dave took me out to dinner. One margarita later and I was ready to crash. I decided that if I went to bed early, I could get a few hours of sleep before the midnight feeding. No family social time but much needed. I have to drive the pups to Washington in the morning for their formal evaluations.

When I turned on the lights to assess the status of the whelping condo and feed the little poopers, this is what I saw:

Yup - Ms Willow again.

The mysteries of how she got herself on top of the XL crate in the kennel and why I can't keep rick-rack on her are solved.
Tonight a quick fix is called for. Tomorrow, while we are gone, Dave will be remodeling the whelping condo.