Hi there, Olive!

Olive's mom Liz sent some new photos of the pups. I just love this one of Olive and her older "sister" Maddie. Wuv Awwiv.

Priceless-Herding

Sunday I took Syd for a herding lesson (well, she took ME for a lesson!) and I took Biscuit and Avery along to see if either one of them had any interest. When they were about 4-5 months old, I took the puppies to a herding clinic, and Biscuit tried to climb over and under the fence to get OUT of the pen. No thank you! No sheep for Biscuit!
So Sunday, I was speechless when Biscuit went in the pen, went right up and told those sheep to get out of that corner and move it!

At the end of the afternoon, it all boiled down to

Two year old running shoes (clearance on Amazon.com): $59.00
Cheap "who cares if they get muddy" jeans: $30.00
One sweet, tired, happy, content, never-opened-his-eyes-the-entire-100 miles home, Biscuit:

PRICELESS!!!!

Now I just hope the weather will stay acceptable so Biscuit and Syd can keep going to lessons on the weekends. The Biscuit definitely approves of the sheep now!

New Champion in Real Life

Avery's New Champion show photo arrived in the mail today. It was quite an event getting this photo, as everyone was cheering wildly for Grandpa Harry in the group right next door. Avery was much more interested in the goings-on over there than in standing pretty for her picture. So, at least she's got all four feet on the ground-even if they aren't exactly where they should be, she's standing up, and she's looking alert (although I think she's pouting too).
But it was kind of funny to get the "pretty show dog" photo today, since just last night, I caught this photo (horrible quality, but it was dark, and I only had the phone for a camera), showing the Avery that I know and love. The Real Avery, right here, ladies and gentlemen! How that can be a comfortable way to sleep is beyond me, but it seemed to work for her!

And there you have it!

A Birthday Visit with Brecon

We had a nice visit with Brecon for his first birthday. Friday night, a few days late, but still lots of fun! I showed up with a cardboard box filled with birthday goodies, and we let Brecon open his own gifts. Here's a short video of Brecon making quick work of the cardboard box!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MoQFhYNyQXY

Then a fun surprise for Brecon! Miss Avery came to play! Wahoo, those two were like a whirlwind around the dining room table, around the back yard, through the leaves, and back again. Brecon was the perfect loyal subject, bowing to The Princess quite appropriately. Avery has all the boys trained *very* well. :-)

Slurp, slurp! Brecon got plenty of cookies during the visit.

And then the best part of the whole visit.... Momma Syd! A very happy reunion. If anyone said that dogs don't remember their puppies, I'd say they are dead wrong. From the second Syd walked into Brecon's house, she was instantly in full play mode with her baby boy. She and Brecon used to play and play and play when Brecon was a puppy. Apparently, they still share the same love for romping.

It's uncanny how much Brecon looks like Syd. Complete with giant tongue and goofy smile, he's definitely his momma's son!

We did have a heart-stopping moment, Syd and Brecon were running in the back yard, and they disappeared around the side of the house. It was dark, and what we didn't know was that somehow, Elaine's gate was open on that side of the house. ACK! I got to the side of the house just in time to see two white tail flags trotting down the sidewalk. Well, at least they stayed on the sidewalk! Unfortunately, they were heading directly toward a pretty busy street in a college town. I got to the sidewalk, hollered in a happy voice something like, "Come on, do you want a cookie, let's get in the car good dogs yay for you let's go syd brecon BRECON good boy whheeee let's get in the house" and then I ran for the front door. I mean, of course I only gave very clear, level-headed instructions to the dogs (vbg). Thing 1 and her loyal sidekick Thing 2 turned tail and came running right for me, probably because they thought I was crazy and they were going to miss the big show, and they were both jumping at the front door to be let inside before I could turn the knob. W.H.E.W.!!! What good dogs. :)

Thanks for letting us come play, Elaine and Brecon. Elaine said that Brecon whined for a while after we left. I'm sure he wanted his momma to come back and play some more. Because the dogs had such a great time together, we're going to plan to get them together more often.

Happy First Birthday, Brecon and Biscuit!

Can it already be their first birthday? Surely not! I remember it like it was yesterday, the early arrival of the two best puppies in the world.

Happy First Birthday, Brecon and Biscuit!
I remember how naked the puppies were, no hair on their feet or bellies. They looked more alien than canine, and they spent most of their first couple of days in the warming box. I put them with momma Syd every two hours, because she was still groggy from the unexpected c-section.

I wasn't sure what kind of mom Syd was going to be. She accepted the puppies right away, even though she wasn't quite sure about their newborn squeaks right at first. Within a couple of days, Syd was in full swing of motherhood, and she did a great job, even when Brecon was sick.

When I was reviewing photos, I laughed out loud as I came across this one. Knowing Biscuit now, I should not have been surprised to find him like this as a newborn! Reading back through old blog posts, I found one (at one week old) where I described Biscuit as being the one wearing the lampshade at a party. Wow, who knew I had predicted so accurately!

The boys grew quickly, and everything seemed to be going so well. Healthy, happy puppies and mom were my only request.

I've never seen faces sweeter than these two boys.

Then the eyes opened! Hiya, Biski!

And then the bottom fell out of the world. Baby Brecon was sick, and the vets were not optimistic. Xrays showed a large mass, could have been an enlarged heart, fluid, or other problem. Twice daily trips to the vet for supportive therapy, tube feeding, and no sleep for me for a couple of weeks. Brecon was a trooper, and he fought the good fight. Dr. Becker calls him the miracle puppy to this day. :-)

Biscuit has always been a good sleeper, Brecon's illness did not set back The Biscuit.

Soon the boys were experimenting with "real" food. Guess who was first to the bowl?

Digging in!

Biscuit got fuzzier and fuzzier, almost as fast as he got cuter!

The boys learned to love the snow, and they played outside lots with their cousins (Kitty in the front).

Before I knew it, it was time for Brecon to leave. He and his mom had a great relationship, and Brecon is a mini-me, and he reminds me so much of Momma Syd.

Thankfully, Brecon did not move far away. He lives with his Mom Elaine, and this fall, he came to stay with us for several weeks. I'll get to see him this weekend to wish him a Happy Birthday in person. I understsand Elaine is taking him to the Three Dog Bakery for his barkday!

Brecon is healthy, happy, and you would never know how sick he was as a baby. He continues to be sweet, inquisitive, and "bouncy" as Elaine describes him.

Biscuit is still living with me. And he's still a great sleeper! :-) He has a way of stealing your heart... ...even when he's finding his way into trouble!

Biscuit would still love to have his very own family, and be the Center of the Universe for a special person or person(s). But for now, he's my special boy, a puppy who is so happy every morning, bouncing out of his crate, running to greet every other dog with his back side wagging furiously. He lives every moment to the fullest, and with great gusto!

For those not on Facebook, Biscuit is featured in many photos from our Fall Photo Shoot, starring momma Syd, cousin Avery, and The Biscuit. Handsome boy, Biscuit is quite photogenic, and a camera ham to boot! Here's a link to the album:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=96354&id=1501999749&l=5453f54cf0

Happy First Birthday, Brecon and Biscuit. And thank you, Syd and Mick, for two very special boys!

New Champion

CH Hurrikane Have Mercy*

"Avery"

Baby Avery finished her championship on Saturday with a 4-point major in Springfield, MO. I'm very proud of Avery, she was not too sure about all this dog show stuff when I started taking her to classes as a baby. But she quickly learned that dog shows = good treats, and that's all she needed. Now, Avery starts her canine pogo stick jumping when she sees the leash, and she's very happy to jump into the van to go on a ride. Good girl, Avery!

It seems like just yesterday she was born, amidst all the chaos of an unplanned c-section. I can't believe that in just a few weeks (for the girls, just one week til the boys have their first birthday!), it will have been a year since my beautiful, sweet, sassy puppies arrived and became the very first "Hurrikane" Cardigan puppies in our home.

*pending AKC confirmation

Sisters Reunion Videos

I drove to Tulsa yesterday to show Syd and Kane in TDAA (teacup) agility. Avery went with us. Courtney was there from Dallas to run her dachshund, Thor, and Franny came along.

The two sisters recognized and/or liked each other immediately, and they were wild playing with each other. It was a bummer they had to be on a leash, but they made the most of it!

The first meeting, wild girls dashing around inside the dog club building.

Sorry for all the wind noise in this second video! We thought we might be just a slight distraction inside the building, so we took the frapping outside. This is the third play session between Fran and Avery.