This and That

Suzanne and I took dogs for a walk yesterday…

Pozy, Sparkle, Sundance and Skylar (photo by Suzanne).

Quite the contrast from the mayhem in Washington DC. What a terrible, sad day for the United States. I must say that and acknowledge what happened — even in a blog about Life with Dogs.

Okay — and cats.

Today we have a report from Alex about Lupine from the Wildflowers. He shares, “Lupine is doing great.

We have started going to weekly one-on-one obedience lessons and she is picking up on everything just as quick as usual.

She hasn’t been weighed for awhile but our estimate is somewhere in between 60-65 pounds and she is in great shape.

Curly coats are normal for puppies and is not a sign that Alex puts rollers in Lupine each night.

Although she is by all means at a healthy weight and size, she appears incredibly small compared to our other dogs. We affectionately refer to her as our quarter-berner (Mesa was our half-berner so that title is taken).

She also refuses to let go of her last baby tooth, apparently sending the message that she wants to be the baby of the house indefinitely — which we will oblige, because we love her!

Thank you, Alex! Lupine is as beautiful as ever — and I am glad to hear she is also smart. It is fun to catch up on our puppies :)

And speaking of puppies…

That is Daisy’s measurement with three weeks to go. It is about the same as when she had two weeks to go with her last litter. In other words, either Daisy is eating too much or she is on track for another big litter.

This is Claire with two weeks to go…

It is becoming increasingly clear that Claire will also be having a big family. Puppy Palooza, indeed.

Please have a wonderful day — and a peaceful one.

Kitsap Update

It is hard to believe that the Wildflowers are already seven-months-old. There are so many quick changes in the first 8 - 10 months of a puppy’s life — some days it feels like Pozy was possessed by a different puppy during the night :)

We have a fun update today about the puppy formerly known as Sage and now Kitsap:

“Despite planning to write a nice update at 6 months I didn’t, I chalk it up to needing to take the Thanksgiving break to rejuvenate for the last two weeks of the semester plus finals.  Now that the semester is over and we have had a few days to recuperate I want to be sure and get a note off.

Kitsap continues to grow and develop into a wonderful handsome Bernese Mountain Dog.  At his 6 months check-up with his vet, his weight was 64.4 lbs.  He is about 24.5” at the shoulder today. We will stop by the office to use the scale in the coming week for a quick update on his weight.  Kitsap is definitely lanky at this stage, slim and trim with a well-defined waist when viewed from above.  It is harder to notice changes daily, still on a week-to-week basis it is obvious he continues to grow.  Part of marking progress happens on our weekly play dates with Hasley, his springer spaniel friend.

Kitsap’s coat is curly on his back and small white tip on the tail is pretty much gone.  I love those curls, which I caught in a couple photos at the Nature Park this week. As you can see from most of the pictures, he still has a bit of his grey baby fuzz on his ears.  I did finally trim his ears a little to tidy them up.  I tried to strike a balance of a more polished look and keeping his highlights.  His face no longer has puppy written all over it, many who don’t know the breed assume he is an adult dog. As we walk around town, we sometimes need to explain to folks who don’t know him, young dog in training.

Kitsap loves to mulch the twigs and small branches that come down in a windstorm.  He sleeps with his feet in the bookcase where he used to lay.  If not up against the bookcase he typically prefers to partially lay on a polar fleece rather than the linoleum.  First Berner I have had who prefers the soft over cool.  He’s an expert at getting his banana out of his Kong.  He has the cutest way of sitting up on his back haunches a staying there with a little stabilization from his Mom’s arm.

His nose is definitely well tuned, if the deer have been through the yard just before he goes outside, he will pick up the scent on the air, follow it to tracks in the yard and follow the tracks. I feel confident he would follow the tracks through the brush and beyond if I would let him.

Kitsap is getting much better about hopping into the car when asked, which is a blessing.  He went through a period where a treat trail, lots of patience and time were required to load, despite always going somewhere fun and no apparent stress once the car was underway.  Yesterday and today, he hopped right in both outbound and the hard part, when we got ready to return.

You can definitely see the impact of his early training from MaryAnn and our Wildflowers PuppyU. He has an excellent and really attentive sit.  Stay is going well, he is able to wait at least 30 seconds to be released for the treat thrown and in front of him in either the sit or down, and a solid 20 seconds in a stand.  He is solid on spin (our word for a clockwise) and circle (our word for the counterclockwise).  We have a fun trick, a figure eight between and around my legs. On either side, he can turn out away from me and switch hands as I turn around to go in the reverse direction (one of those skills shared with us in PuppyU). With a treat In my hand, he does a great job with a healing pattern.  I have to watch that I don’t raise my hand too high or he will try to bounce for the treat.  We still struggle with a consistent down, he is so focused on the treat in my hand that he tends to assume a really attentive pretty sit will earn the treat.  Sometimes I need to move my arm down a little to get him to connect regarding the requested behavior.  He is getting the hang of “back-up” on command as well.  I really need to get serious about videotaping so he can earn his novice trick dog, I am pretty confident we have 10 solid skills from the list.

Pandemic life has helped develop a really strong bond between Kitsap and me.  He’s a great work companion lying at my feet through endless hours of Zoom meetings, occasionally popping on screen to say hello and show off how much he has grown.  Of course, it does mean that if I try to leave the room for another part of the house without allowing him to join me, he is quite vocal about the situation not being to his liking.  Fortunately, that does not translate into separation anxiety if I leave the house.  He happily crates and naps or chews on a bone until I return, whether Bob is home or not.

Speaking of vocal, Kitsap is the most vocal of the Berners I have owned.  We regularly tease him that he is keeping his vocal cords in shape for a reunion of the Montana puppy choir. He has quite the dynamic range. Getting close to mealtime he will be sure to whine or whimper to let me know he is hungry, happy to eat early, and to be sure I haven’t forgotten about him.  Ready to get up and start the day same thing.  Excited in play can be a boisterously loud affair.  Thankfully, that doesn’t translate into barking at every dog or person that goes by.

I could go on for pages but will stop here so I can send this off so others can see how much he has grown and what a wonderful dog he is becoming.  So grateful to have him in our lives.”

Thank you, Bridget! What a wonderful life Handsome Kitsap is enjoying :)

Thanksgiving

I wish you a Happy Thanksgiving — or if Happy is not attainable, I hope it meets the bar for Adequate. Regardless, it is Thanksgiving.

I am grateful that I will not be Driving Miss Daisy on Thanksgiving. Her progesterone is taking a slow, leisurely climb into FertileVille.

LH = Luteinizing Hormone. That is what triggers ovulation but it is hard to measure, and so we measure the companion hormone, progesterone, instead.

Unlike humans who ovulate eggs ready to be fertilized, a dog’s eggs have to mature after ovulation before they are ready to tango. This maturation process takes 24 - 48 hours, and then the eggs remain viable for 2 - 3 days.

Pinpointing ovulation helps us breed on the optimal days; poor timing is the most frequent reason for failure when breeding dogs. Based on Daisy’s progesterone level, it appears that she should ovulate today; we will draw blood again tomorrow to confirm. That means her optimal breeding days will be Saturday and Sunday.

Since Daisy’s breeding involves travel — in a pandemic — precision in the timing is even more important because I want to minimize the time I am out in the Great Viral Unknown.

The pandemic makes all of this so much harder. It is challenging enough finding a stud dog who checks all the boxes but in the age of Covid, an additional requirement had to be added: Stud Dog Owner Takes Covid Very Seriously.

Mission Accomplished. I am very, very happy with the choice of Daisy’s future husband, both because I love the dog but also because his owner is smart and careful and safe.

I highly recommend a Pandemic Kitten — Rosebud is hilariously entertaining.

Sparkle and Rosebud

The Wildflowers are six-months-old today! Happy Half-Birthday to all of them, including our Pozy Clarkia…

This is Pozy on the walk down the driveway away from our house and towards the main road.

As I wrote that, I realized I need to clarify that the main road is that dirt road by the small house. A Main Road in Montana is different than — say — California.

Wherever you are, whatever you will be doing or eating today, I hope you find the things that inspire gratitude.

Please have a Grateful Thanksgiving.