Snowballing

You might know that us TTs love the snow. The only problem is when we walk through the snow snowballs form on our feet and legs. It seems to be a universal problem. This is a pic of my new friend Bobby, a TT from Bristol England, just back from a walk in the snowy fields.

Grooming Tips

After posting my "Grooming Your TT" video on youtube, I received the following comment:

Thats all very well on how to groom, but, how do you stop the fighting when they dont want to be brushed?. We have to put ours on the ironing board to keep her still, and it takes two of us because she struggles all the time!

An ironing board?

This comment made think I should post the grooming tips that I share with the new owners of my pups. Really, I think the biggest key to success is to start grooming your TT as a small pup even before they need to be groomed so that they get used to it (and maybe even enjoy it). Also us TTs can be very sensitive about having our feet touched so I recommend that you start massaging and holding and grooming your pup's feet very early on.

Grooming Tools
Although your new puppy won't really need to be formally groomed until the age of 6-9 months (with the exception of nails which should be done from the time you bring your pup home), we recommend that you accustom the pup to grooming from an early age. Make sure you handle the pup’s feet during grooming (so they get used to it), because TTs seem to be particularly sensitive about having their feet touched.
We recommend that you buy a metal greyhound comb, a good quality pin brush, and a slicker brush for grooming. (We use a pin brush with 27mm pins and a slicker brush from Chris Christensen, available through Cherrybrook at www.cherrybrook.com.) You’ll also need nail clippers; we use Resco guillotine-type clippers.


Grooming
Teach your pup to lie on his side on a counter or table. You’ll be forever grateful. With your dog lying on his side you can complete one side, then flip him over and do the other.
Brushing completely through the coat is the only way to get out all mats and prevent new ones from forming. We use the pin brush for this. It isn't enough to brush from the part along the back down the sides of the dog. You must line brush each side of the dog, starting at the belly and proceeding up the side of the dog, brushing each section or “line” of hair separately. In this way you can brush all of the undercoat as well as the top coat.
When you reach a mat, gently try to separate it with your fingers until you can pull out just the mat without any of the surrounding hair. You can also use the greyhound comb to tease out the mat. The belly, behind the ears, and where the legs meet the body will are the areas that mat most readily.
When you’re done combing your dog’s coat with the pin brush, comb through the entire coat with the greyhound comb to find any mats you might have missed.
Always mist the dog’s coat with water and little conditioner before brushing or combing, to reduce coat breakage. Also, always brush and comb your dog before and after a bath. My parents usually bathe us every two to three weeks. They find that a clean dog is easier to groom.

Pandy in Paradise

I received this video of my little Pandora chasing her dad Toby around the pool in California. I understand that sometimes poor Toby has to hide under the bed to get some peace and quiet.

Grooming Your TT

About a year ago our friend Sonia asked us to create a video that would help her groom her TT. You see she lives with one of my pups from my first litter. Well almost a year later.....

I hope that Sonia finds this video helpful and maybe some of you will as well. I am in a coffee shop with my dad trying to upload the video and youtube won't accept it because it is too long. So I am now trying to break it down into three parts so that it fits. I can't really play it to see if the parts equal the whole without disturbing everyone in the coffee house. So I'm going to wing it and hope it's not too shabby. I will fix it over the weekend if it's all nutty. Oh, and another thing, please try to ignore the view of the toilet in the background of the videos. I tried to push the door closed with my head, but I just couldn't seem to manage it.

Schools are for Fishes...and Puppies

You know I value education. So I was very happy to learn that Elsa and Rufus are attending school with their new sister Sophia. I received this sweet note from them. It makes me feel warm all over.

Dear Mommy,
It's been a crazy few weeks since we left you in Massachusetts. The ride to our new home was a LONG one, and our stops at the rest areas were sometimes downright frightening. Our new crates are warm and cozy though. It has been cold and snowy outside. During our most recent walks, the snow is deeper than our legs can carry us. We have to jump.. jump... jump. We've had great appetites, and our new owners think we are growing every day.
Grace and Sophia can't help but give us hugs and kisses all the time. Ryan likes to snuggle with us on the floor. Just this week we took a trip to Sophia's preschool. It was fun to explore a new place, and all the kids were sweet. We included pictures of the trip so you could see how nice it was.
Gotta go for now. We are going to play downstairs with Grace and Sophia. We miss you, our brothers, and our sisters, but we love the new family we have found in Iowa. We hope you can visit us sometime.
Love,
Rufus and Elsa

Buster and Jazz and Mabel and Elsa and Rufus

As promised by her new mommy, I received some pics of Jazz with her big brother Buster (from my first litter). I thought you might like ot see a couple. Jazz seems quite content curled up in Buster's tail. Buster and Roxie and Angus and all of my pups from the first litter will be two years old on Saturday.


And I just received a bunch of great pics from Mabel's new parents. Mabel now lives in Maryland and, as you may recall, her parents want another puppy from Deep Acres Farm's next litter. Mabel turns two on Saturday too. Here are a couple of pics of her out in the snow. She's a pretty girl!


And my newest pups will be three months old this week. Here are some cute pics that I received from Elsa and Rufus.

Jazz Hands

I was dying to hear about my little Bitsy and how she is doing with her big brother Buster from my first litter of pups. Her name is now Jazz and she is doing just great:

Buster and Jazz are doing are doing great together. She holds her own with him. We tried so hard to keep her on her puppy food but she and Buster traded bowls and that is that. Buster is not a great eater. His bowl will sit full all day and he will pick at it. Jazz on the other hand will not stop until every last bit is gone. We will have to watch her waist line...We call her Jazz because she has "Jazz hands". Vet says she is fine. I'll send pictures when I can
Tammy

I am not exactly sure what they mean about her "Jazz hands." I am guessing that they are referring to her great big TT paws and the fact that she is highly physically expressive. Perhaps she has a future in interpretive dance.

And then I heard from Mabel ( the darling itsy bitsy from my first litter) and she wants a sister from Deep Acres Farm's next litter. That will have to be from Roxie or Angus because I AM DONE!

Dear Suddie, We have been following your puppy blog with great interest. The puppies are so cute and they have all found wonderful homes. It must have been hard to let them go. Mabel wanted to inquire about the possibility of getting on a list for your next litter of pups. She seems to want to have a playmate, perhaps a sister? The cat is just not any fun to play with. We know you don't plan another litter for 2 years but we just wanted to let you know of our interest.
Sincerely, John, Sarah and Mabel