Today we had our last outing as a group before the puppies start to leave for their new homes. The Huntsville Obedience Training Club regularly schedules “puppy playtime”. No training, just fun. In addition to our 8, there was a litter of 4 Norwich Terriers, 2 Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retrievers, a Shetland Sheepdog, and a Havenese. Lots of fun, but, wow, were they tired by the end!

My ear will get high with a little help from my friends. (Oh my doG, is that lame or what? )

Beautiful weekend here in Alabama, so I decide to torture puppies and give them them their first baths. Tripp doesn’t look all that excited, does he? Actually they were pretty tolerant, although understandably a little worried about the big, bad blow dryer.

Aside from MDH, Jinnie Strickland is my best friend and the only part of El Paso I miss. Here she is featured in State Farm’s magazine. Jinnie has worked in the El Paso office for about forever and has recently made a major move up their ladder. The article talks about her life outside of ‘the farm’. Yay Jinnie!

One of the truths of dog showing is that not all promising puppies grow up to be what you hoped for in the ring. Sometimes that means finding them a new home where they can be an adored pet. Our Candy, ‘Dwysan’s Red Hot on KeelMtn, CGC, TDI’, is living the good life now in North Carolina with her new BFF, Meme, and owners, Sissy and Matt. We miss the big red goober around here, but know she’s getting more attention and time with Sissy and Matt. And, hey, I didn’t get to spend my Christmas holiday swimming in Florida, but she did!

You can read the story of Gabi’s sad beginnings on Our Rescues page, but we’re celebrating the one year anniversary of Gabi’s going to her forever home!

Here’s a note from her mom, Diane:
It’s hard to believe Gabi has been with us for an entire year!!! She’s a great dog and I feel she’s happy with us. After a year, she still has a few quirks. She won’t climb down the inside stairs and she won’t come out of her crate, when called. But, Gab has made it very clear she’s a big girl. She’s gone from sleeping in her crate in the bathroom to sleeping on a bed under my bed, along with Chloe. And, we have very few inside potty incidents. She remains sweet. Gabi loves the snow – if it’s snowing, she’s frapping!

How much better could life be?!?

It’s just crazy how much cold and wintery weather we are having this year! After all, I thought Alabama was in the south?! Unlike DH and I, the dogs love it. Even the puppies adore playing in it. So here are their 9 week pics; we never did get around to taking formal shots this weekend. The puppies went down the mountain to see Doc Magee on Friday and were pronounced fit and fine. They got their 2nd shots, we did their microchips, and they weigh between 8-10 pounds each!

Oh, and in the “one of these things is not like the others” category – the Yorkie being mauled (lol!) in these photos is our Pepper, otherwise known as “Bratimus Maximus”, known to AKC as “Faer’Steed Chica Pica, RN, CGC, TT”.

My goodness, such serious faces! It was just about bedtime on Tuesday as Jeri made her way up the mountain to take these for me – thanks Jeri – so maybe that’s why everybody looks so serious. Definitely a reversal from yesterday, when Bob and I came home to find the little monsters had found a way to tear up the linoleum floor. Where were all my puppy cam watchers as that was going on?!?

Here is Chris at 16 months. Still a young dog, he will continue to mature and fill out. And, yes, this is what that little black puppy grew up into. The emergence of the tri coat is interesting and, having not owned a tri colored corgi myself before, it’s been fun to watch as Darla and Tucker’s (going to be Jasper’s) colors have, and will continue to, change.