Dackel Princess

Puppies and People I Love

Sunday was a weird day. Some rain, some sun, but lots of play times. We took the pups into the back yard as often as possible and allowed them to run us ragged! While they did that Anneliese, Arnie and Greta all worked at teaching them all the things that proper doggies know.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

If you would like to see the pictures to identify which pups are which, you can go over to my flickr account and see them here.

I also used the day to catch up on some laundry, some puppy room cleaning, including washing more of their soft toys, and cooking my sweet Hubby special meals to celebrate Father’s Day. I also gave him a book I knew he would love. It’s “The Berlin Candy Bomber” by Gail Halvorsen . He is the World War II pilot who dropped chocolate down to the children of Berlin during his flights into the city during the Berlin Airlift. Hubby actually knew Gail when he was based in Berlin, and played racket ball with him. He loved the book! And I am guessing the cooking too!

Also a big Happy Birthday to my favorite cousin, Janet! You are more like a sister to me than a cousin. How lucky I am to have you in my life! Go on over and wish her a Happy Birthday!!!

Puppy Playtime

I am so tired! As the puppies grow, they get more and more active and I work with them outside. So what happens when you bring 4 eight week old puppies outside to run? Well, they all go in different directions, of course! Which means that by the end of the day, Grandma is very tired.

I am amazed at the people who let their pups go at 8 weeks. I know that my guys aren’t ready to be away from their Mom, Me, or each other. I see them learning so much from us all every day. I will miss this batch a lot when they are gone. Each one of them has such a great and different personality and it has been so much fun!

In case anyone wonders, here is a short video I made with the movie cam to show a little bit what our outings in the back yard are like.

Happy Father’s Day to all the Dad’s out there!

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Cleaning, Family, & Finally The Sun

The day started off rainy and dark. In fact, most of the day was like that. About 4:30 the skies stopped pouring rain and the sun began to peak out. I tossed the puppies out and started to clean their room. I could still smell puppy smell (not the good kind) and so I decided to take their bedding apart and wash it up. Tada! That did the trick.

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In the later afternoon the people who are adopting Bogart, Denis and Alex, came for another puppy visit. I can just see that this is a good match and I am very excited for them. We were able to get all the pups outside and then there were four of us to chase them all around!

Here they are with their baby boy!

Once things began to wind down the pups actually noticed their nice freshly washed bedding and they started to settle in.

Here is Baron, all asleep in the puppy bed.

Little Ali, loves the fresh bed!

Baerbel and Bogart cuddled up!

Ali, Baron and Baerbel!

Happily, after a busy day cleaning their room, they are all settled down and asleep and I have my legs up. The knees are a tad better, and I am hopeful that with another day of wrapping them and taking the anti-inflammatory I will be all set.

Funny

The pups were being pretty funny today. They were a little on the sleepy side since it was a terrible rainy day. I didn’t mind too much because at least they were quiet, and I got some great pictures.

They all curled up and cuddled closely together.

June 17 09 Bogey under, Ali, Baerbel and Baron

I counted heads and I started to worry that one of them was missing!

Then I saw him can you find him in the other pictures?

Later Ali curled up with Baron, who smiled like a crazy man.

And then there was the beautiful Baerbel.

For me it was a busy day of cooking and cleaning and getting ready for company. I managed to get things done but only after a minor accident. I was feeding the puppies which required me to step over the puppy gate and I slid on the wet (newly mopped), floor and wrenched my knee. I am still hobbling tonight.

Our dinner came out well (stuffed cabbage and mashed potatoes) and we had a great time with our friends, but it is good that I can finally put up my knee and rest it. It is already swollen like a melon!

One More Time…

Today I was late in making my bed. Okay, it was 4 o’clock in the afternoon, but heck, I had a bad migraine and didn’t get around to it until then. Anyway, it was then that I saw the tell tale signs. Yes, Greta is now in heat!

Greta in her special panties!

I had suspected that it would happen soon, as she has been really showing major signs of PMS all week. Add to that the fact that Arnie has been more interested in her than is really legal for a mother and son, and it all was adding up!

On June 28 we will breed Greta and Bernie and around the 1st of September Greta should be having her litter of babies. Ah yes, the pitter patter of more little dackel feet!

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Today I finally got the paper work from Germany that I needed to register the puppies with the AKC! Yippee!!! There was this long snafu due to a language barrier, but today my friend and the Breed Warden for my German Dackel Club helped me out and we got it all taken care of. I should have their papers here next week and then I will fill out each document and submit them to register the litter witht their names.

Our Breed Warden should be coming up to tattoo the puppies in the next two weeks as well. Their right ear will be tattooed with my kennel number and their puppy number. All my pups have green tattoos as Greta came with a green one and I have carried on the tradition.

Today was a great day here in New Hapshire. Lovely! So the pups spent most of the day outside. Sometimes running me around the yard and sometimes in their pen. All in all, a good day!

Reconnaissance Mission

Today Hubby and I ventured out to get dog and puppy food, as well as people food. I went to Wal-mart to get the assorted food and I stood there loading the carriage with cans and a lady looked at me and said, “You must have a lot of dogs!” I smiled and replied, “Yes I have four adults and four puppies”. She looked really puzzled and then said, “Why would you get four puppies when you already had four dogs?”

Yes, she was blond!

We filled two baskets with dog and people food before we were done. I’d brought with us a cooler so we tossed the frozen and fridge stuff in there and stopped to have a Chinese food meal. That was so nice.

We came home and got the babies out in the sunshine. In fact it was a nice day from the start so the puppies spent most of the day outside. It’s nice to watch as Arnie, Anneliese, and Greta all teach the puppies about life.

Arnie and Bogart playing.

June 16 09 Arnie and Bogey18

They love it and so do I. By 6:30 they were totally exhausted and ready for their beds. I didn’t have to put them in them either. They climbed into their favorite spots in the puppy room and went to sleep.

Meanwhile the adults in my crew enjoyed looking out the windows at the birds and at Hubby mowing the lawn. Arnie and Anneliese just loved watching him and his feathery friends.

We’re all settled in now and getting ready for sleep. I so value that right now.

The Beginning Of A Wet Week

I woke at 7 AM and I pulled myself out of bed and went to clean the puppy room and serve them up their breakfast. When I opened the door of my bedroom, I was amazed to find that the little darlings were all still asleep! I might have been able to stay in my nice warm bed another half an hour if I had wanted to.

The puppies began their fussing as soon as they saw me and I went to pat each of them and to give them kisses. They were anxious to run around and since it wasn’t raining I opened the door and let them go outside in their little pen. They jumped around and played with their rope toys and balls and I closed them out so I could thoroughly clean the room.

I did that, went back into the kitchen to make their breakfast, and turned on the coffee. After I was done getting their canned dog food on the plate, I returned and saw them all lined up at the door, with the first droplets on rain falling on their little heads! Had I been more awake I would have gotten the camera to record that moment as they truly looked adorable!

They came in and I dried them off and they chowed down their breakfast, and then as I poured my first cup of coffee they returned to their bed to sleep.

The weather here today has been just terrible. Rainy and cold and just no good for taking the puppies out into the grass.

Ali, Bogey and Baron.

June 15 09 004 ali bogey baronm

I did manage a few brief runs in their pen, but now the rain is coming down again and I think they will be stuck inside for the rest of the day. They do not like that. These puppies just love being outside! They love the smell and the feel of the grass.

Baerbel.

June 15 09 Belle5

They do play in the puppy room, thankfully they have each other to keep themselves occupied. Sometimes I hear crazy barking from in there and stand up to catch them playing with each other. Little, sweet, puppy games.

Ali with Baron.

June 15 09 017 ali Baron

She loves to play this game and usually she wins!

She got Baron to come out. They all take turns attempting to hide under the mattress, and eventually one of them comes out. Or the other ones will all go under too.

They’ve had their dinner now and I’ve got them settled for the night. They are saying Tuesday will give us a little sunshine. I sure hope so, and so do the puppies!

After The Rain

Sunday morning I woke up at 7 AM! I was shocked that the puppies and Anneliese allowed me to sleep in. Could it have been the dark skies and pouring rain? Perhaps, but whatever the reason I was grateful.

Of course, cleaning up the puppy room and then feeding the little buggers proved to be a challenge. I got it down and by 7:30 was sitting having my first cup of coffee.

The kids arrived after breakfast to play with the pups, and we played taking picture after picture of the little darlings. I then began to reflect upon life. And that’s when I put together this short video.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

The pups came in for a little nap and I was sitting enjoying a nice strong cup of coffee, when the kids came back and we took the puppies outside in the emerging sunshine. I wanted to work with them and the deer hide, so I was able to snap some more (and even cuter) pictures.

Baerbel, Baron and Ali (Birgit).

They all got in the act!

June 14 09 022

Bogey, Ali and Baron.

June 14 09 Bogey Ali Baron21

The sun is setting and Grandma Greta and I have decided to call it a day. The special little creatures are bringing such joy into our lives.

Great Day

My day was a full one on Saturday. I felt loved. You see I had my wonderful Hubby, all 8 of the dackels around me, plus several of my friends came to visit.

First my dear friend Alice came over from the great state of Vermont to visit me and the puppies. We had a great lunch, lots of puppy snuggles and enjoyed a lovely day. Here is a short montage from our time together.

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Then just as Alice left another friend, who teaches in India, arrived with her pal and two of her kids. They were amazed at the dackels. Makenna and her sister came by, another neighborhood child, Jacqui and then my friend Dori and her boyfriend Bob came for dinner.

I was so busy, that I didn’t dwell on the fact that 24 years ago my life changed forever. Twenty four years ago, I had the worst day of my life, but lived to tell about it. You can read about it here.

No, today I lived. Happily and healthfully. Life was good.

The End Of A Long Week

The day started out cold, rainy and even though I was up at 5 AM with the pups, I had a lot of trouble convincing the other four dogs to go outside in the horrible weather to do their business. Eventually I got them all out, with the exception of the puppies, and then set about cleaning the puppy room, feeding my babies and then settling in to have my first cup of coffee. Oh what joy!

I am truly enjoying the new laptop and I have it just about set up for every day use. I love the machine. It is faster, and many of the new features make it easier to use.

Eventually the rain stopped and the sun came out and I was able to get the puppies out for a run. And run they do. They are all so darn quick! Here is Baron just before he kicked into high gear and got me running to catch up with him!

The great thing is that I have Arnie and Greta as well as Mama Anneliese to help teach the puppies about doggy life. Today Greta gave Ali a little, gentle lesson on how to behave with ones elders. I was a little nervous, but was amazed at how gentle she was with her grandchildren. Here she is with Ali.

The kids come over every day now to play with the puppies and they’re a big help. These little guys are so fast and keep me on my toes. They are also getting to know what grass is for and I follow them with little shovels!

Time for this Granny to put up her feet. Happy Saturday!