Brown Paper Packages Tied Up With String

I know I have gone on ad nauseum about my Animals Matter bed. It is one of my favorite things. I'm gonna mention it again because all 7 of my pups are curled up in it right now. They LOVE it! It is SO COMFY!

So if you are looking for the best possible present for your favorite pup this should be it. It's official name is the Katie Puff and it comes in a variety of sizes and colors. I have a large so that Roxie and Angus can curl up with me. I think a medium is the perfect size for a TT, but a large is even better. Better than perfect! Kids and even parents have been known to curl up in mine. Check out Animals Matters website for more info.

That's it. That's all I have to say today. Tomorrow the pups and I are going on an adventure. I'll tell you about it soon

A Lot Like Christmas

It snowed quite a bit last night. We LOVE it!


Toby's dads are arriving tonight to spend the night on their way to visit the relatives in New Hampshire. And I look just like a BIG HOT WET MESS (or, maybe, more correctly, a BIG COLD WET MESS). What with my pregnancy, the shedding associated with my pregnancy, and this WET snow. It's not a pretty combination. That's me in the pic all wet and messy (right after shooting my latest video) in my favorite Animals Matter bed. Don't fret. I am getting back in fighting shape. As you can see in the video, I can whip around the yard pretty well and dad is playing frisbee with me every day. I stills gots it! Somewhere.

Toby's 'rents are going to visit relatives in New Hampshire and Massachusetts and then will stop by again on their way back to the airport before Christmas. I think I told you one of my little girls is going to live with them in San Diego.

Toby sent me a note about the whole shebang. I guess it is a Christmas surprise. Don't worry. He's not tech savvy like me so there is NO CHANCE of him reading this.

Hi Suddie,
It's been a long time since I have communicated with you and I am sorry for that. My Dads had gone away and left me with my friend, my handler, Now they came back and I thought we were all going to be together for a long time, but yesterday I heard them discussing another trip. AND they mentioned "Suddie's Whiskey Sours" So I think you must be involved in this next excursion, which I thought might include me. But, earlier today they left me again with my friend. Hope they come back sooner then the last time they left me. They told me they were going to bring me a surprise. I hope that maybe they are going to see you and I hope they will bring me back one of our pups. That would be a great Christmas present. I have been following the progress of the pups and watching the videos. They sure are a handsome lot and very active investigating their new world. You have done a great job of keeping us all informed of the progress.
Take care, and I send a lot of Love,
TOBY

Is Ebony a TT?

I have been getting mail from all over the place lately with all sorts of questions about Tibetan Terriers. And I just received my Tibetan Terrier Club of America 2008 Journal and Yearbook in the mail. It provides breed statistics and other interesting stuff. I bet you didn't know there were only 626 Tibetan Terrier pups registered in 2008. That's pretty typical for TTs. Not many of us out there! The journal also features a beautiful picture of my son Angus. He was the youngest TT to become a champion that year. Roxie is also featured as one to the Top 50 Tibetans in the USA. And she wasn't even a year old yet at the end of 2008. You know, a mom has to brag about her kids.

Moving on.

Last week I received an email with the subject "Is Ebony a TT?":

Dear Deep Acres,
My name is Steve. Five or six years ago we purchased a wonderful dog at a shelter in southern Minnesota. She was there with her two brothers who were slightly larger than she. She is very cute and unique in appearence. We heard that she was a mix between a Shitzu and a Golden Retriever! This seemed unlikely, but it seemed to match her personality. I recently saw a picture of a Tibetan Terrier and immediately recognized Ebony. She is the right height and weight. She is black with some highlights of dark brown particularlty on the face. She has a few white hairs mixed in on her back which you don't see unless you look closely. She has a very little patch of white on her chest.
She is very playfull and loves her toys. She is quite affectionate and demands attention. She enjoys chasing and being chased. She has different kinds of barks. One of them sounds like "roo roo roo". She points her nose to the sky when she does this. She also snorts when she gets excited.
I think I may have a Tibetan Terrrier or a mix of some kind. I am attaching photos. Please respond and let me know what you think.
Steve

My reply:

Steve,
She definitely looks and sounds like a TT. Lucky you!
Suddie

Believe it or not but sometimes I like to keep it short and sweet.

Hard Candy Christmas

Well it did snow here last night and that got me thinking about Christmas and how my pups will be going off to their new homes to celebrate the holidays with their new families. The thought of this makes me really happy but a little melancholy at the same time. I think it may be a bit of a hard Christmas for me this year.

Hey. Guess What?

I received an email from Carole, the woman that recently adopted a six-year old TT, this morning. Do you think she read my blog post from yesterday?

Hi Suddie,
We're having a small problem with Lexie and wondered if you could help. After two great weeks she's started going to the bathroom in the house, mostly at night, which I've been told is not unusual for adopted dogs. My question is, what's the best way to handle this with TTs? We crated her last night, and she was not a happy girl (and we weren't too happy either!).
Thanks,
Carole

And I responded:

Hi Carole.
Did you speak to Joy and ask if this was a problem previously? I would start with that. Did Joy also give you the name of the vet Lexie had been going to? They would probably also know if this has been a problem in the past.

I would start by taking Lexie out every two hours and crate her when you cannot watch her directly. Take her outside immediately when you remove her from her crate. If she crys while in the crate, you will just have to ignore her. I would ask Joy if she did this with her as well. Did Joy crate her when she left her at home alone or was she allowed to roam the house? This information might be useful. Does she cry even if she is crated in the same room as you?

I would also take up her water no later than 7 PM so she is not drinking in the hours before she goes to bed.

She probably just needs to get used to you and her new situation. It is a big change for her after 6 years. Be patient. I know it can be frustrating. It should get better in the next few weeks.
Suddie

Playing With Matches a Girl Can Get Burned

The pups are a little cranky right now. It's raining and slushing out and at first they didn't know what to make of this. Weren't at all sure they wanted to go out in that. But I led the way and they all followed like little ducklings. Soon enough they were really enjoying themselves. But it is kinda cold out so soon enough one after the other, some lagging behind, they all crept back to the warmth of their pen inside. Dad toweled them all off and I think they enjoyed that at least after they figured out he wasn't trying to wrestle with them. Having gotten used to spending more time outside they were full of an amount of energy that the pen found hard to contain. They are all just now settling down. I just hear an occasional chirp. I am trying to keep myself from running over to them every time they let out a whimper. They're going to go out into the big world without me soon.

The weather forecast is calling for snow and I hope that it does. I know the pups would love that and so would I.

I haven't opened up my mail bag and shared any correspondence with you lately have I?

Excuse me for a minute... it sounds as if a cattle stampede is coming right through our living room. And just when I thought things were quieting down...

...I'm back now. Believe it or not it was just the pups. It's amazing what a ruckus they can make when they put their little minds to it. Well, so much for tough love, I ran over and they covered me with puppy kisses and all seems right in their little puppy worlds. For now.

Well, were was I? Oh yes, I received the following note a few weeks ago:

Dear Suddie:
I have a beautiful 6 year old brindel tibetan female named Lexie for adoption. I have lost the breeders contact info. If interested, please call or email me. Thank you.
Joy

Well I had never met and knew nothing about this Joy person, but my interest was quite naturally piqued and I, at least, wanted to see what this TT named Lexie looks like. I received the following response after I wrote back requesting more info:

Dear Suddie:
I am not selling her. I am just looking for a good home. I am looking for a good home as my husband’s allergies got the best of him and the additional meds on top of his other meds are causing a problem. I have attached a current photo of her. She is bright, obedient, lovable and true to the breed. She only barks for protection and rides in the car like a mouse.
Joy

Well, I thought that Lexie sounded very nice and the situation unhappy, but I had never heard of anyone being allergic to a Tibetan Terrier.

In any case, I sent the note on to a few people that I knew were looking for an older Tibetan Terrier with the caveat that I knew nothing more than they did about Joy or Lexie. Well, three people got back to me and said that they were going to contact Joy. Then two of them contacted me to let me know that they hadn't heard back from Joy and did I know what was happening. No I did not! I have nine kids of my own to take care of! So, ugh, I emailed Joy and asked what was up. It turns out that in at least one case Joy's reply was sitting in the person's spam folder. And then I didn't hear anything. Not for quite a while. But then the following note was delivered to my mailbox:

Suddie,
Thanks for matching us up with Joy and Lexie. We picked her up yesterday and she is delightful. She has a great personality and is a beautiful dog. We are thrilled, she's just what we wanted.
You're a great matchmaker!
Thanks again,
Carole

I never heard a thing from Joy. Not even a simple thank you. Sick husbands can be a lot of work.

And when I replied to Carole and asked her for her address, I never heard back from her. I guess she didn't want the special little Christmas something I picked up just for Lexie.

I hope it all works out because you know playing with matches a girl can get burned.

Gotta Go

The pups are doing so well! I took them to their vet on Tuesday for their first immunizations and check-up. Our vet thinks that they are a beautiful litter and very healthy. Some of my pups cried when they got their shot. But some of them didn't. The vet warned that the shot might make the pups a little sleepier than normal, but, oh no, not my pups. They were just as energetic as ever. They will get their next shots in four weeks after they are with their new owners.

Of course, I am still working on getting the pups used to doing their business outside. They are doing really well for such little things. I take them out immediately after they wake up from a nap and immediately after they eat. And I mean IMMEDIATELY! At this age, they don't like to wait. Not at all. The pups pen is right next to the door to the backyard. It's opens onto a wood deck and then a few steps down to the yard. The first day dad had to carry the pups out to the yard as the steps were too much for them. The next day he added stepping stones under each step and the pups now rip up and down the steps like little mountain goats. Now don't get me wrong, they can be a little wobbly at times. But you should see them zipping around the yard discovering everything for the very first time. They are pretty good at coming back inside especially if I lead the way.

I just came across a great tip on housetraining on a blog from dog expert Kathy Diamond Davis.

“I don’t train my dogs to ask when they need to go outside. I take them outside on a schedule. Their bodies easily adjust to wait until the next scheduled [potty break]. I get many questions from people who don’t consider their dogs housetrained until the dog will get their attention and persuade them to stop what they are doing and take the dog out every time the dog needs to go. In many cases, this is expecting too much from the dog.” Kathy’s distinction between training a dog not to soil the house and training a dog to let you know when he/she needs to go out is important.

Without knowing it, I'm doing the same thing. Maybe I should be a dog trainer? We go outside first thing in the morning, after every meal, whenever they start to stir from a nap, and last thing at night before bed. This way, the pups have predictable breaks, and they “hold it” (as best they can) until the next break. I also let them out if they’re sniffing around or are hanging around the pen's gate.

If you have been away from the house (no matter for how long), you should immediately take your puppy outside. Even though I am pretty responsible myself, I agree with Kathy’s suggestion that pet owners need take responsibility for getting their dogs outside for a potty break, rather than giving that responsibility to us dogs.

You can check out Kathy’s blog at http://kathydiamonddavis.blogspot.com/

The Dog Clapper

It sure does seem quiet around here. Well comparatively quiet anyway. It can only get so quiet with 10 dogs in the house. But right now all the pups are sleeping. They all crawled in their crate after lunch. But first I took them all outside to do their business. They did a pretty good job too. Especially since this is the first day we are starting to introduce them to the concept of going outside. I mean we did start taking them outside last week but that was more for the fun of it and to slowly introduce them to the big world. Of course they would go while they were out there but it wasn't that purposeful if you know what I mean.

Today dad had them all out there bright and early and again right after lunch. It didn't matter that it is raining out and a bit cold. Every time a pup would head over to the newspaper side of the crate and start sniffing, dad would scoop them up and take them outside. He only missed once but that was because someone called him on the phone and distracted him. The pups seemed to like the rain at first. Mucking around in it. They were captivated by the water coming out of the downspout splashing on their heads. But soon enough they got a bit chilly and were ready to head back inside. Yesterday it was bright and sunny and we went for two extended romps outside. All of us. Roxie and Angus and Sadie and me and all of the pups. It was so much fun.

Sadie and the last of the relatives left this morning. I think that even Roxie misses Sadie even though she sometimes gets a little bent out of shape when Angus pays her too much attention. That's a picture of Sadie and Angus above. They were sitting by the table where all the relatives were playing some dumb game called Quiddler. We love to hang out at the relatives feet. Dad said it felt like an English hunting lodge with all us dogs about. Grammy Jill is really good with the pups. Whenever they would get a bit rambunctious she would clap her haps together sternly and all order soon returned. My parents call her The Dog Clapper. Last time I had puppies Grammy came and helped me out for a month. I'm glad that this batch got to benefit from her good nurturing skills.

Below are some pictures from our time outside yesterday plus a few of the pups right after they came back in.