Dackel Princess

Learning

The puppies are pretty much grown now and ready to go. Often buyers ask me why I keep them until they are 11-12 weeks old, especially when it means a lot of work for me?

Take today. The puppies were in rare form. They spent quite a bit of time outside running around, before I brought them in. Usually they have their dinner and go to sleep. Not tonight. Tonight we had the shredding of newspaper, the chewing of sibling ears and toes, and general madness and mayhem! Even Greta wanted nothing to do with them.

I thought I might go mad as well, with the swirling newspaper and yelps. However, this is why I keep them. Yes, there is a reason.

You see the puppies learn about proper dog behavior from me and from each other. They learn how much they can bite their sibling before it hurts and they learn about what is a toy and what isn’t. I took the newspaper from their little mouths and put mini rawhide bones in there for them to gnaw on. Eventually I got them settled, and could put up my feet, but it was a challenge.

However, I really am pleased with this group of pups. They are sweet dogs and so friendly with everyone. They have learned so much in their short 9 ½ weeks on this earth.

I found out today that they will get their tattoo’s on Monday, and then the following weekend we bid adieu to most of the pups! I cannot believe how quickly this litter went by.

The Crazy Old Dackel Lady On The Hill

I have been joking with people for years that when I am old I will be The Crazy Old Dackel Lady that lives on the hill. I will surround myself with a dozen or so dackels and instead of furniture for people I will just have dackel beds all over the house. I’ll have a kiddie pool with water in it for them to all drink from, and will cook roasts for them every night. We’ll have a large screen TV where we will watch Animal Planet and TLC. And I will have a big recliner to get comfy on.

Well, that’s always been the dream until Daylight Savings Time ended. Now the dogs want to get up in the middle of the night, they want to be fed early and quite frankly my four have been just a little cranky with the disturbance in their sleep habits.

And so have I.

Take last night. I stayed up until 10 o’clock. I walked the older dogs (the sweet puppies were asleep) and we climbed into bed. I fell asleep quickly and slept well, until about 4 when Greta started in. She paced back and forth, up and down the bed, stepping on my head, pulling my hair, until I grabbed her and put her under the blankets near my stomach. I eeked out another 2 hours of sleep before the dogs forced me to get up!

Anyway, all of this sleep deprivation has caused me to rethink my goals of becoming The Crazy Old Dackel Lady on the hill.

Shoot, now I have to think up something new to aspire to!

The Time Changed

Our day began early. Since our clocks changed back an hour on Saturday night I’d hoped for a little extra sleep. Of course, no one explained this to all 9 dogs. So at 6 AM I was up with the dogs. I walked them all, one by one, cleaned up the puppy room, and then sat down with some coffee. The worst part was, there was absolutely NOTHING on TV to watch!

I contented myself with the computer and waited for three hours for Hubby to wake up! Then I made brunch for us.

By late morning we decided to take the pups out with Nanny Fritz to play in the yard. I have to tell you that little Schnapps is really head over heels in love with Fritz and follows him everywhere, with a look of such adoration!

Fritz and Schnapps!

Fritz and his babies.

Also, if the pups begin to wander all we need to do is holler to Fritz and he goes and rounds them up.

Greta came out too, and of course she nursed them.

You know, it’s a very good thing for these pups to remain close to Greta and slowly be weaned. Later in their lives they will be well adjusted little creatures, and they will know their birth mother loved them dearly.

Here is Calvin

Curt

Wally

Fenway

Schnapps

So, there they are. 9 weeks old and full of life and spirit. They all know their names, they use either the grass or the newspapers now and they sleep through the night. The time is drawing near, my friends. Soon they will go to their new families and my job as “Puppy Granny” will be done.

Visits

Halloween was a fun day. My daughter, Mandy came up to visit bringing along her sister, Allyson. It was so nice to play with the puppies, run around outside, and have a nice lunch together, where we chatted about what Mandy and Allyson are up to. Mandy is busy with work and Allyson is busy at school, as this is her Senior Year of High School.

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Later after they left, Emily arrived for a little visit with us. She played with each of the dogs. All 9 of them!

Here it was, Halloween and we did not have one Trick or Treat-er!

The clocks change tonight. Fall back!

Lack Of Sleep

My day, on Friday, began at 4 AM. Anneliese woke me with the desire to get up and play. One thing you should know about me, I do not play well at 4 AM! I grumbled and placed her under the covers and then I was able to sleep for another hour or so.

After that I gave up and got up with all 9 dogs. I let Anneliese and Greta out in the back yard and before I knew it, they were running up our driveway (500 feet) in my night gown and a fleece jacket! Oh yeah, I was not a happy camper.

I corralled the girls and led them back to the house. Then I set about cleaning the puppy room. Let’s just say, they outdid themselves overnight.

I fed them, and then sat down with a cup of freshly brewed coffee. Oh thank all that is good for a great cup of coffee!

Hubby slept in and part of me wanted to hold that against him, but by the time he did get out of bed, I was past that and happy to see him.

The day was gray and although we both got a lot done, the puppies seemed to sleep an awful lot. I guess we all have our sleepy days. Of course when they were awake, oh my did they cause their fair share of trouble!

They are sleeping like little angels as I write, and soon I will be too.

Oh yes, Happy Halloween!!!

Fritz The Puppy Nanny

Those of you who have been with me since the first litter of puppies Greta had three years ago, might recall that our good old Uncle Fritz was terrified of the wee pups. When we held one up to him to glance at he would quickly look away.

After the brood left and just Arnie and Anneliese remained Fritz would try to hide on the sofa out of reach and the eye of those horrid creatures. This last until one day when Anneliese made Uncle Fritz fall in love with her. I’m not sure exactly how she did it, but one day he was terrified and the next they were climbing all over him.

Here’s Arnie and Anneliese with Uncle Fritz way back in April, 2007

Anneliese’s litter didn’t seem to bother Fritz, but he kept his distance and didn’t offer to be around them at all. I could understand the worry, so I never forced him to spend time with them.

Flash forward to Greta’s current litter. Fritz was interested right from day one. He would come by the puppy room and check out the newborns, and now will walk on by to make sure that the little ones are behaving.

Today Greta didn’t want to hang out with the pups. Personally I think she has finally gotten tired of nursing them. So Hubby and I were outside with the puppies and the Puppy Nanny, Fritz! Yes, Fritz had the best time running all around the back yard with puppies following in his wake! He even played some serious dog play with them, and they just loved it.

I raced around snapping pictures and although some are a little blurry, I did try to capture the moment.

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I hope you enjoy the montage and have a great weekend!

Update: Dackel Princess Birgit! (aka, Ali)

Little Ali, (Dackel Princess Birgit) from Anneliese’s litter last spring, tracked her first deer today. Brad’s wife wrote me this:

“Brad is tickled pink and is doing back flips. He shot a small 4 point tonight so that he could run Ali on a track. He took Ali to the spot in which he shot the deer and that is all it took. She was on the scent in no time, very little blood and she had Brad crawling on his hands and knees through the thick brush. Brad was crawling and Ali was pulling and whining the whole way as if to say, come on dad, keep up! As Brad stated…she nailed it. She took Brad right to the deer and started tugging and pulling on it. Brad is a happy hunter tonight and very pleased with his dog! Here are a couple pictures of her with the deer.”

I am so happy for them, and I am also very proud. I breed these adorable and loving little creatures with the hope that they will be healthy, good natured, and well loved. It’s even better when the pup performs the job which they have been bred for.

Congratulations Brad and Ali!

Happiness

I slept so well on Tuesday night. It was wonderful. In fact, I slept past the time I normally get up and when I finally looked at the clock my heart sank. I had exactly half an hour to shower, dress, clean the puppy room, feed the little guys and make a breakfast to go for myself, as Wednesday is Weight Watchers day.

I lingered at nothing, and accomplished it all, and as I headed out the door I called back to Hubby “Good luck getting your breakfast!”

At Weight Watchers I lost one and a half pounds, and found the meeting to be a good one. I like our leader and find her very uplifting.

Upon my return to the house I was greeted by 9 very happy doggies. My four and the puppies all barked upon my return, with great happiness.

It was a rainy day, but I was able to get the puppies outside anyway. They played and ran about and today I caught them frolicking in a puddle. Now that was cute!

Almost as cute as their continuing to try to fit into that bed.

Schnapps, above.

Calvin, above.

Hubby and I are planning a trip just before the holidays. We’ve got a house sitter coming in to stay with the puppers and the two of us will go off someplace warm and rest up. This year has been full of life’s ups and downs, and both of us are really tired. Time to recharge the batteries!

News Papers & Puppy Dog Tails!

I sent Hubby off to the Recycling Center to dispose of the two dozen bags of rolled up newspapers and puppy poop! I smiled and asked him to do me a big favor.

Get me more newspaper!

I actually can brag a little here. You see all of the puppies are now paper trained! I am so please about that. Yes, I do still have a ton of newspaper to clean, but their beds and toys stay nice and clean.

I was also thinking about Greta nursing her babies yesterday. How cute it was, right? Well think back. Here are side by side photo’s of Greta nursing the babes. The first was the day they were born, and the second one is of her nursing them yesterday.

It’s amazing to me how, in just 8 short weeks they can go from tiny, helpless creatures, to puppies that run and jump and wag their tails when they see you!

Time is slipping by and soon they will be leaving for the adventure of their new life. The best part for me (aside from the extra sleep) is knowing that I had a hand in making it all happen.

8 Week Check Up

We had the puppies in for their next shots today. They were weighed, had their teeth checked, their eyes examined and the boys were all checked for…ahem…their manliness.

It’s a lot of fun to go to see our Vets with the babies. Their first breaths were taken in their office and each time we go back, it is very much like a family reunion.

While we waited for the doctor, I played with the pups. They are so darn cute, and they love their Granny something fierce!

Soon, Dr. K. came in and the exams began. Who did she start with? Yes, her favorite. Wally! Just so Wally’s owners know, she loves the name you have selected for him and says that he really is a Wally!

Wally really has such a great rapport with Dr. K and she just nuzzled him through the entire exam.

Next we were on to Schnapps. Now Schnapps is a bright, energetic and alert little Miss. She never stops and holds her own with her bigger brothers.

What a beauty she is!

Next was our butterball, Curt. He has such a wonderful personality too. He, Schnapps and Calvin have been showing me their great noses and their real interest in what they are smelling.

But in these pictures, he is looking more like he is wondering what is going on!

Calvin was up next and he was the most patient of the pups.

Even when they checked his teeth, he remained calm.

Meanwhile, Wally began to howl.

Then it was Fenway’s turn. He was a little suspicious!

But then, he started to relax.

We did not take Greta with us, but when we arrived home and allowed the pups to run in the yard, we let her out. What did this girl do with her 8 week old babies? She lay right down and nursed them for about 10 minutes.

I am constantly amazed at the beauty of motherhood with my girls. Greta especially was an even better mother the second time around. And I couldn’t be prouder of her!