The Start Of Something Great!

Tomorrow we are going on a ride. A long ride. We are going to meet some people who have some White German Shepherd puppies!

They are six weeks old and there are two girls who are not claimed, and may be right for us. I am so excited, although I try to keep myself from getting two excited.

We have missed our White Shepherd, Fritzi so much. Shortly after his death I decided that I was ready to commit myself to another pup. I searched for a while, and then I found these puppies.

After we know for sure that everything it set, I will tell you the rest of the story about these babies.

Meanwhile, the dog/house sitter is set to come and stay, and I’ll be packing a case tonight. You see, besides meeting the puppies, we get to see my sister and brother in-law!

After we get done with the puppies, we will drive to my Sis’s house and have dinner with them, and a visit!

I’m so excited, as I have not seen her since my mother’s memorial service. So, things are happening!

And So It Begins

I started the process of looking for a good breeder to get a White German Shepherd from. Even though we have three dachshunds, our house is amazingly empty without Fritz. It wasn’t that he was demanding, in fact Greta and Anneliese are the ones who are demanding. No, Fritz had a big heart, a spirit so large that it filled our lives quietly.

So, I’ve discovered two breeders that actually have sites written by people they have scammed and cheated. Darn. One of the sites actually had the cutest puppy on it. But there is a Facebook page and a blog all about this woman and her cheating and lying. In fact when I spoke to her she actually lied to me about a breeder I do know to be reputable.

With the new pup I will take it to obedience classes and then I want to go on to Canine Good Citizen and then on to Therapy Dog.

Ah well, we will find our puppy when it is right. Never rush. Check out all references and get the healthiest pup from the most responsible breeder.

Thursday Thirteen

Thursday 13

My Thursday Thirteen are thirteen pictures of my friend’s 4 week old dachshund puppies! We went to see them on Wednesday, and I went crazy! They were just adorable! As I looked at them, I realized how much I missed my own puppies.

So, without further ado, here are the pictures from my puppy visit!

  1. Mom and her babies.
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  3. Let’s cuddle!
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  5. Hubby with one of the babies.
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  7. Come on Mom, sit still. We want lunch!
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  9. Playing already!
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  11. Sweet, yes?
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  13. Look at that baby!
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  15. She was just precious. I wanted to snuggler her and bring her home!
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  17. They are all so bright and alert!
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  19. I love their whelping box!
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  21. Mommy, Veela!
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  23. This is Sam and he wanted to be my friend!
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  25. And I wanted to be his friend. What a peach!
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So you can see, it was just love at first sight for me. And can I just say there is nothing on the earth as sweet as puppy breath!

Oh, The Fun We Will Have!

You know. Having had Anneliese since the moment she was born, gives me a unique perspective into the type of dog that she is.

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The most amazing thing I’d seen was when Anneliese was delivered into this world and came out squealing. I remarked to Hubby that we shouldn’t keep that one! Little did I know…

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Anneliese

She would slowly start to grow on me. She would do the cutest things that made me smile. She never let the fact that she was a wee bit smaller than her brother and sisters keep her down. She would stand up for herself and play with wild abandon!

Feb. 18 Anneliese2

Anneliese

And she worked her whiles on me, until I started to slowly, completely, fall in love with her.

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Me with Anneliese

She is three and a half years old now. We have traveled around the northeastern part of the USA, and into Canada. We’ve gone to Germany, twice. Each night she sleeps nestled up behind my knees.

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Me with Anneliese

At this point in my life, I cannot imagine her not being in it. Now we have my girl facing motherhood for the second time in just a few short weeks. Once again, it will be me and my girl. We’ll handle the birthing and caring of her babies together, just like we did before.

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Anneliese and her first litter

I can hardly wait to see what these puppies will be like. What they will look like. Oh, the fun we will have!

May 17 014

Not long now at all!

Puppy-itis

I started to think that perhaps I am getting puppy-itis again. The last puppies left me in November, and here we are in April, nearly a year since Anneliese’s first litter was born, and I am feeling very much like she should hurry up, so we can have babies again.

I can’t explain what it is like when you hold those new born babies in your hands for the very first time as they make the quiet mewling noise, calling out for their Mom.

This is me with Baerbel.

April 27 021

Yes, I am ready for Anneliese to go into heat, so we can begin this adventure all over again…for the last time. Yes folks, I plan to enjoy every single minute of this breeding and birth because this will be my last litter.

Anneliese’s litter last year!

May 17 021

It was difficult to decide. I do love the babies, but like all good things it must come to an end. I never intended my girls to go on and on, breeding forever. They’re my pets. I want only the best for their health. So, after this last litter, Anneliese will be spayed and begin her life in retirement, being Mommy’s little girl.

Funny, that. I mentioned the other day that the puppies had gotten me up early. The person I spoke with asked if I had had another litter. I laughed. No, Arnie and Anneliese are my puppies, and no matter how old they get, they always will be.

Anneliese and Arnie when they were a six weeks old.

Jan. 20 Anneliese and Arnie

And here they are now at three and a half years old!

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To have had them from the moment they took their first breaths is such a special thing. It’s hard for me to describe. I’ve never had a pet this way. They are my babies, that is for sure, and I love them with all of my heart!

Puppies, Puppies, Puppies!!!

Lately I have been thinking about puppies. I know, you probably think I am insane to miss the little ones right now, with temperatures so low and snow so deep in my back yard, but I do. I even sat down a couple of weeks ago and made up a little booklet through Walgreens with pictures of the puppies from both litters. Oh my goodness, they sure were cute!

Sept. 30 Wally18 Sept. 30 0Fenway22

Wally & Fenway

Sept. 30 Calvin19 Oct 5 Curt8

Calvin and Curt

Oct 22 Schnapps13

Schnapps

The five puppies above were from Greta’s litter, born at the end of August. They are all doing great in their new homes, but I sure do miss their furry faces!

Below we have our little German Babies!

July 6 09 Ali13 Baerbel
Birgit (Ali) and Baerbel
June 26 09 Baron30 Bogart
Baron and Bogart

These four are Anneliese’s babies born last April. They were fathered by the gorgeous Isegrim Vom Bruchsee in Germany. I’ve been thinking that a repeat breeding is in the cards. Not only do I get a trip to Germany to see Uschi, but Anneliese gets to go for a plane ride and see her lover-boy, Isegrim once again.

As best I can figure, Anneliese will go into heat again at the end of May or beginning of June. That gives me plenty of time to let me eye heal, and get my papers in order.

So, what do you think? Are you all ready for me to breed Anneliese so you can read daily puppy updates, and see pictures and videos?

What A Day

In anticipation of puppies arriving very soon, Hubby and I took to the Market and did our fair share of buying. I stocked up on dog food and puppy food, and yes, I picked up my glasses.

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So, here they are. What do I think? I think it is wonderful to be able to see again!

We got home and I found some beautiful pictures waiting for me of Ali and her very own little girl, Faith. Faith’s Mom is a professional photographer in Michigan and as you can see she did a great job with these!

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When I saw these pictures I started to cry with happiness. Ali has a great life with Faith and her parents. She is greatly loved and then she is a real dynamo out in the field learning to track with her Dad. Thank you so much for these great pictures!

Greta is getting bigger by the second. Since today was in the upper 90’s, we had our air conditioners going just to keep my little princess cool and comfortable!

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Aug 18 014

She is so close to having her x-rays and I am just dying to know how many babies she has in there.

Aug 18 008

The Puppy Room

I took big old Fritz in to have his yearly shots today at our Veterinarian’s office. He was an angel and even though he is strong, he did obey me when I told him to sit, to wait and to get into the car. In fact the command to get in the car was hardly out of my mouth when he leapt into it!

Dr. Chris asked if I had the puppy room set up yet, and he also asked how Miss Anneliese was doing. I mentioned that she was doing well, but pretty much stays in the kitchen now stretched out on the throw rug in there.

So Dr. Chris mentioned I might want to set up the puppy room so that Anneliese has a chance to get used to it.

I came back home with Fritz and once I settled him down, I looked at our mud room to determine how to go about this transformation.

I have a table in there that we use under our mirror to hold our hats and gloves in the winter. Okay, that would go into our dining room. Check!

Then we have a bench that holds all the yard toys for the dogs, and extra gloves and hats. Okay, that goes into the dining room too. Check!

We have pegs on the wall that we hang up our jackets on, so all those jackets needed to be moved into the front hall closet. Check!

I got out the vacuum and cleaned everything with that, and then got out the disinfectant and washed everything down. Floors, walls, etc. Check!

I sat down long enough to watch “All My Children” (yes, I know, no snickering please!) then got out the kiddie pool and washed it down with disinfectant too, dried it and put it in the puppy room. Check!

I brought out the towels, all my birthing supplies and placed them in a tote bag which I hung on a peg. Check!

So in just 12 or so days we will be welcoming little bundles into our home and they will settle in the puppy room, with their Mommy, Anneliese and their Granny, Maribeth.

I can hardly wait!

Apple Sauce

Hubby and I sliced, and cleaned apples today so we could make apple sauce. Once it was done, we put the sauce in plastic freezer bags and we put it in the deep freeze. We put together 2 big batches, with the help of the twins, and got it all put up.

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Oct 11 003

This year instead of using sugar we used Splenda. As Hubby is diabetic and I am a Weight Watcher, we decided that this was at least, worth trying. WOW! It came out great. The nice thing is, with the Splenda, I can have some all measured out and it is point friendly!

On another bright and nice note I received a Halloween Treat from Hootin’ Annie.

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I am honored by this and will now include it in my sidebar for the month of October!