Puppy Pens? Check!

Hooray! Puppy pens, CHECK! I decided I was going to have to do puppy pens on a budget, but I also needed fold-down-ability. During one of our recent trips to Lowes, The Hawklet and I discovered something called "tileboard." I'm sure all these things are familiar to most people, but I had never had a reason to notice it before. Hmmm, I thought it just might fit the bill. The nice people at Lowes will cut at no charge, so I had them cut the 4 x 8 sheet into strips. I bought some trim that's an "L" shape, and headed home.

Tonight, I imposed upon friends who already do SO much for me and my dogs. I loaded all the pieces and parts in the van and motored over to visit Don and Jacque. Don did all the fine-tuning on cutting the pieces to fit exactly in the xpen and attaching the "L" trim to the two side pieces. Jacque and I, uh, "supervised" the operation. I think Don invited us more than once that we could go back in the house, he'd manage without us. :-P

Now, it'll take a bit more paint and cleaning up, and I have another piece of tileboard to attach to the swinging door to make the wall appear solid where the cut-out is (when the door is closed), but voila, puppy pen for under $25, it fits perfectly inside the small white pen, and it is completely flat for storage. whew! Oh, and with one 4 x 8 sheet of tileboard for each box, I got the 4 sides, plus half of the sheet to put under the entire thing. Shiny white and completely washable.

Some pix of the puppy pen. As Garrett would say, you should be able to click and "biggify" the photos.

More Bouncing Baby News

More Bouncing Baby News from Breezy!

Careful, Bree, we didn't mean bouncing babies literally!

You may have read over at Syd's Blog that Syd (CH Kingsbury's It's My Alias NAC TN-N) is expecting puppies by "Mick," CH Telltail Like a Rolling Stone (WD, BOS at the 2009 CWCCA National Specialty from the Bred-by class!).

Well, more good news to share, Breezy (Kingsbury's Cover Girl) is also expecting babies, this litter sired by CH Telltail T For Two, "Smarty." Smarty has sired some lovely puppies, including the handsome Dickens. We are very anxious to welcome happy, healthy babies from Breezy on or about December 5th! While these puppies will be registered as Cardigan Welsh Corgis, I'm pretty sure they could be part Mountain Goat like their mother, always in the air, bouncing around, climbing, leaping.

It's going to be a busy winter in the Hurrikane household!

Who needs agility classes? This was taken through the back door window. When Bree gets this muddy, I call her the tri-color undercarriage cardigan. She loves to perch at the top of the Aframe and look out on the neighborhood. I think I need to build the dogs a wooden play gym like the kids have. ;-)

More Daddy-dog Pix

Some more photos of Daddy-dog Mick. All photos generously shared and copyright by Emily @ dreameyce. Mick is CH Telltail Like A Rolling Stone. He made quite a splash at the 2009 CWCCA National Specialty. Mick won WD, and then went on to win BOS from the Bred-by Class! Congratulations to Paula O. and Telltail!

Sydney, 30 days

OK, I'm sure this will not be exciting to some who have had lots of puppies. But, since this is my first litter from the start, and Syd is the first puppy I ever raised from babyhood, I'm going to be watching for new things every day. So here's Sydney at 30 days. I think it will be fun to compare as time goes by.

Gizmo says, "How many babies am I having, mom? Can we call it sympathy weight?"

It's Official!

As long as everything continues to go well, we WILL be hearing the pitter patter of Sydney-Mick puppy feet the day after Thanksgiving!!!

I was such a wreck at the vet today, I made Dr. Becker write it down and fold it up for me. I didn't watch his face as he palpated, and he really played it up, asking how many days from first or last breeding, etc. I was really discouraged, but he's quite the actor, because I got out to the car, and unfolded the paper to a big YES!!! written across it.

FedEx, Part Deux

This last week, we've had deliveries via FedEx again. And hopefully, we'll have more good news to report in the coming weeks. It was not my idea to be embarking on this project times two all at the same time, (Syd's announcement on Syd's Blog) . However, with my job and travel requirements, it seemed like this was the only time to make the attempt in the next two years. Our next project is local, so I would not be traveling after little ones would arrive. And with several scheduling and shipping near-fiascos, plus the given that both girls thought it was funny to schedule for weekends, the first phase for both is now over, and the waiting begins again. I believe this could be brindle-only, as so far, there have been no red pups from this stud dog, so it will be interesting.

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I'm now shopping around for the best option for a mental health facility for myself, but with Norma and Jacque as calming influences who both seem to be very positive about the possibilities, I might just make it! And bless Norma's heart, she's told me every time we talk or email not to worry, she's around to help. Now only time will tell if either of the two girls or both will be bringing special deliveries to us at Thanksgiving and beyond.

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And a HUGE thank you to Paula, who has made personal visits to just about every package carrier (FedEx, UPS, USPS), and happily reports that she doesn't anticipate any further problems with any of them. ;-P She has the patience of a saint, and a great sense of humor. Amen for that!