Pinkie and Lars

Hi everybody, I know it has been awhile since I have posted any info.  Wow -- it is hard to believe that my puppies were four months old yesterday.  Each and every one of them is beautiful and smart.  What great dogs they are turning into!!!

 Gidget, Lars and Pinkie have all been in puppy school together.  They are in Jim's Friday night class and it has been alot of fun.  When Andrew came home earlier this month for my birthday, Dexter joined us in class too!  Also, Curtis, Jake, Andrew and I took Harley, Holly, Lars, Pinkie and Dexter to the Dublin Pub for lunch one afternoon.  They all did very well (the guys as well as the puppies ...).  We also took all five dogs hiking in Sunol Regional Park.  They are all doing really well!

We took the big plunge, and yes ... Harley is now neutered.  I really didn't want to do this, but in the interests of Harley getting along with all of the puppies, I thought it was best.  Next up is Holly -- she will be spayed in the next couple of weeks.

When Andrew first showed up with Dexter, Harley and Holly were not very accepting.  Harley spent most of the weekend wearing the shock collar.  But I was very pleased that by Sunday, both Holly and Harley were able to be around Dexter with minimal supervision.  When Andrew comes home for Christmas, things should go fairly smoothly.

I am also pleased with the great job Andrew and Tanya have been doing with Dexter.  He has really bonded with them.  He is well house-trained (thanks to me  :) ), is quite obedient, loves to play, and is very loving.  Plus, as I mentioned earlier, he is smart and beautiful.  Things seem to be going well in San Diego!

Andrew and Dexter come home for my birthday, and we wear the puppies out.
Here, a worn-out but happy Dexter asleep at the water trough. 

The really big news is that Pinkie went to her new home on October 8.  This was so  hard for me as Pinkie and I are quite attached to one another.  With four dogs in the house, and since she is high maintenance, she just wasn't getting the attention she truly needed.  (Pinkie needs a really strong owner who can remind her constantly of who the boss is.) Pinkie is now Jade, and she resides in Mountain House with her new owners, Cathy, Francisco, and Danika.  Here are some pictures Jim took at Jade's new home:

Jade (aka Pinkie) at her new home with Cathy and Danika.

Francisco with Jade

Our beautiful Pinkie ( Jade) at her new home in Mountain House.

I was very pleased to see how well Jade was doing with Francisco in puppy class last Friday evening.  Jade has bonded with her new family, and she seems calmer.  She also is quite obedient with Francisco.  I am very grateful to Jim for finding such a wonderful home for Jade.  She is so beautiful (and smart!), and I hope she brings them great joy and happiness.  I am looking forward to seeing how she is doing next Friday!

And now for Lars.  I have been in anguish over Lars' ears.  When we went for the third set of puppy shots on October 2, I talked to the vet about Lars' ears, as they were not standing up.  We discussed taping his ears up.  (They use the correct size of curler, insert it in the ear, and tape around it.  This keeps them straight up while the cartilage forms.).  Then -- two days later, Lars' left ear started to go up.  By my birthday, his left ear was definitely up, but his right ear was still floppy and down.

So -- then I began to worry that one ear would be up and one would be down permanently.  And -- last Monday evening his right ear was still down when I came home from work.  However, while we were out walking,  I noticed that the gentle breeze blowing was holding his ear up, and I began to hope again that his ears would go up.  Lo and behold, I came home from work Tuesday night and both ears were up!!!  He looks so noble and kingly.  The reason his ears took longer to go up than all of the other puppies' ears is because he is so big.  Lars weighs in at 48 lbs at 4 months of age.  The vet thinks Lars will be a 120 lb. GSD!

Here is my gorgeous Lars at four months of age:

Lars is now four months old -- and his ears finally go up!

To put Lars' size in perspective, here is a picture of him with his Mommy and Daddy:

Baby Lars with his Mommy and Daddy.  As you can see, he is just about
the same size as Mommy Holly.  It won't be long before he is bigger than Daddy Harley!

Jake is planning to take Lars to Cal Poly SLO with him on November 6.  Oh my -- that is going to be a hard one for me.  But Jake is very excited about having Lars, and I know he will love him googols.  

So -- I have a few more weeks of puppy time, and then we will be puppy-less.  That makes me so sad, as I have loved every moment of our puppy experience.  I think I would really love to be a GSD breeder, but there isn't much money in that.  Puppies are expensive little heartthrobs.  I think I will have to settle for doing this again, but now that Harley is neutered, I am not sure how to make that happen ...

In two weeks we are having a Halloween puppy party, costumes and all.  So stay tuned for the update!

We had our first puppy party!!!

Wow, I am so behind it's incredible!  So here we go -- my attempt to catch up...

Two weeks ago (September 6) we had our first puppy party. We had five of the seven puppies there.  Bella of Temecula wasn't able to attend, but owner Beth is going to try to come to our puppy party in late October.  Sasha (formerly Orange Girl) of Livermore wasn't able to come either, as owner Danny had to work.  Danny informs me that if I give him more advanced notice, he will be able to come next time.  I hope to have another puppy party on Sunday, October 2, since Dexter will be here!!!

Many thanks to Jim and to Jason for all of the pictures I show here.  Jim emailed me these pictures, and I lifted Jason's pictures out of his facebook album.  Thanks so much, guys!

Harley and Holly were of course at the puppy party.  Here they are, looking bored as the puppies dash about but they are leashed up.  Still they are quite gorgeous dogs!  Holly did really, really well with both Kimber and Gidget, given that she hasn't seen them this week.

Our Harley and Holly.  Aren't they beautiful?

Harley, on the other hand, was too aggressive with the puppies.  He hurt Kimber, but thankfully didn't leave a mark.  So -- we ended up crating him for the duration.  Here is Harley, looking miserable in his crate, with Thomas keeping him company (this is a classic!).  Thank you, T, for being such a good guy!

Thomas keeps Harley company while Harley is in time out.

This motivated me to make an appointment to get Harley neutered.  I took him in on Friday and had the deed done.  My poor baby Harley -- he is in such pain that it hurts me.  I don't remember it being like this with Max, my German Shepherd-Doberman mix.  He can't run, jump or play for 14 days.  And -- misery of miseries -- he has to wear the dreaded cone so that he can't tear at his stitches.  I will be so very glad when he is through this period.  And -- hopefully he will be less aggressive with other dogs as his hormones exit his system.

Meanwhile, Holly was a champ.  She had her shock collar on, just to make certain she couldn't get nasty with anybody.  She let Jamie pet her (sorry Jason, next time!), and she was really great with the Babati family and with Jim.  Here is my beautiful Holly girl:

Holly is enjoying the puppy party!

Now that we have discussed the parents, it is on to the puppies -- naturally in birth order!  First up is Gidget.  This last week, Gidget started puppy school at PetSmart in Dublin.  Guess who else is in her class?  Lars and Pinkie!  Gidget is weighing in at over 23 lbs these days.  I was so excited because she recognized me, both at the puppy party and at puppy school.  Those 2 1/2 hours of bonding that Holly, Gidget and I had  before anymore puppies were born are paying off! 

Here is our Gidget at the puppy party.  Guess who won this round of puppy wrestling!

Gidget and Pinkie go at it.  In the background:  Kimber attacks a toy.

Gidget and Kimber also went at it. I got this picture off of Jason's facebook page.  His title of this picture was "Gidget and Kimber compare dental plans".  German shepherd puppies think they are terribly ferocious, and in actuality they are terribly precious.

From Jason Marty's Facebook album:  "Gidget and Kimber compare dental plans".

Here's a really cute thing that happened -- all of the puppies discovered that there was ice
in the soda bucket.  In this picture, Gidget helps herself to some ice!

Gidget helps herself to some ice.

Of course, no puppy party would be complete without puppy kisses.  Here, I get some Gidget kisses to tide me over until I see her the next time!

Gidget gives me some kisses from my sister Heather's lap.

I am so very happy that my sister, her husband Steve and their two boys love Gidget so much.  It is so wonderful to have this puppy stay in the family.  I am also very blessed that all of our puppies have good homes.  Check out how much Heather loves Gidget!!!

Heather with Gidget.

I think Gidget is going to turn out to be a great dog.  All of the Babatis are working with her.  I understand she is doing some yard damage (good-bye camellias), but I am certain they will get that under control very soon!

Next up is our teeny tiny baby Lars.  This dog is so terribly gorgeous!

Our teeny tiny baby Lars. At the age of 3 months, Lars weighed in at 38 lbs.

I took Pinkie and Lars to PetSmart yesterday afternoon, just to walk around, see other dogs, and have people pet them.  (Trust me, they got alot of attention.)  Jim and I took Pinkie and Lars over to the scale, and weighed them in.  Lars weighed in at just over 38 lbs!!!!  (Pinkie, the big girl that she is, weighed in at 30 lbs.)  Lars is an amazing dog.  He has learned all of our routine tricks:  sit, give me your paw, lay down, high five.  (Just Friday, at puppy school, Steve was teaching him to roll over.)  Here is a picture of Lars doing a perfect high five.  Look at the perfectly vertical back!

Lars does a perfect high five.  Other puppies in the picture (from left to right):  Kimber, Pinkie, Dexter.  That is me in the picture as well, with my inhibited right cast arm.

Lars also does a great job shaking paws.  Here he is, showing his stuff:

Lars gives me his paw, while Gidget is more interested in something in the lawn...

Shortly thereafter, Lars gets overheated, and he goes to get some ice to cool off.  How funny these puppies are!

Lars will be going to live with Jake after Jake gets settled in San Luis Obispo.  I will miss Lars tremendously.  This is a great dog!

Next up, in birth order is our Pinkie.  Pink Girl has always been the most beautiful puppy of the litter, but her attitude needed some work.  She is now a great little girl -- and both Curtis and I are very attached to her.  Here is our Pinkie:

Our beautiful Pinkie.

Now, Pinkie isn't just another beautiful face -- she is quite the energizer bunny (well, actually Gidget is the energizer bunny, but Pinkie is a close second).  Pinkie regularly falls in the pool.    Today, while I was sweeping the pool -- sure enough, in she went!  During the puppy party, Lucas and Thomas just had to go swimming.  Both Pinkie and Gidget joined them in that endeavor.  Here, Pinkie hangs out with Thomas poolside.

Pinkie and Thomas poolside.

Everywhere I take Pinkie, people ooh and ah over her.  I have had many calls from people the last few weeks, expressing interest in taking her, but there has been no follow through.  We are expecting a phone call from Rachel at PetSmart tomorrow.  Let's see if she does call -- and let's see if Curtis and I can let go of this beautiful girl.  I have thought all along that this was the puppy for my mother.  I still hold a secret hope that my father will relent and let her take one -- and that we will have Pinkie all trained and ready to go to her!

Yesterday at PetSmart, I saw a german shepherd female that I think Pinkie will grow up to look like.  And she was a beautiful dog!  If Pinkie doesn't join the Waverly Drive household in Los Angeles, she may just have to stay part of the Hansen Drive household in Dublin.

Next up is our awesome Dexter.  Look at how beautiful he is.  He truly is a Harley Jr.  Can you see how his eyes are turning golden like his Daddy's eyes?

Dexter, aka Green Boy.  He is truly a Harley Jr.!

Dexter has also shown an affinity for the pool.  Curtis says that he snagged Dexter one afternoon before he floated off into the middle of the pool, and Dexter has been a pool afficianado ever since!  Here are Dexter and Gidget playing poolside.  Do you see Dexter's paws in the water?

Dexter and Gidget poolside.

As time wore on, the puppies wore out.  Here is Steve holding Dexter.  Andrew was lifeguarding out at Del Valle, and wasn't able to be with us for the puppy party.  But he will be here for the one on October 2!

Steve with Dexter.

The day after this puppy party, Andrew and Tanya drove back to school in San Diego ... with Dexter.  It was really hard to see him go.  Dexter is doing very well, and has acclimated to apartment life.  He started puppy school and PetSmart in El Cajon last Friday, and, according to Andrew, was the star of the class.  He is definitely a Harley Jr. ...  I am really looking forward to seeing both Andrew and Dexter in two weeks!

Okay -- who is up next?  Our Yellow Girl, aka Kimber.  Now, if any of you are friends with Jason or Jamie on facebook, you will see the fantastic pictures they have of Kimber.  Yes, I hate to say it -- this is another extremely well-loved puppy.  (Yes!)  Jason takes very good care of her.  Our Kimber of Tracy is quite the girl.  When I saw her at the puppy party, I couldn't get over how much her face looked like Harley. Now, you might recall that Kimber was Holly's favorite puppy.  And yes -- Holly let Kimber near her!  Kimber was beside herself when she saw her Mommy.  And she definitely remembered the house.  It brought tears to my eyes, both that she has such a good home now, and also that she remembers me.  Here is our Kimber with Jason:

Jason and Kimber at the puppy party.

And here she is with Jamie:

Jamie and Kimber at the puppy party.

Now, just because you see Kimber hanging out in Jason's and Jamie's laps, don't get the idea that she stayed there the whole time.  She was very busy at puppy play.  Here you see her with the gang:

The puppies at play: Gigdet, Pinkie, Kimber, Dexter and Lars.

And -- guess what !  Yes, I got puppy kisses from Kimber too!

Jamie holds Kimber while I get puppy kisses.

Okay -- next up in birth order is Orange Girl, or Sasha.  Sasha wasn't able to join us, but Danny sent me this picture of Sasha last week.  As of about ten days ago, Sasha weighed in at 22 lbs.  Way to go, Sasha!  Check out those ears!  Shades of Holly -- she had to grow into her ears too.  In fact, her ears are still to large for her head...

Sasha at 11 weeks of age.  Check out the ears!

I am going to bug Danny, in hopes that he and Sasha will join us at the next puppy party.

Last, but definitely not least, is our beautiful Bella of Temecula.  Bella is doing fabulously well in her new home.  She has Daisy and Zoe to play with, and gets lots of love from Beth and Mike.  Beth has her going to puppy school, and says that Bella doesn't really want to play with the other puppies, she just wants to hang out with Beth.  I hope we hear from Beth soon that Bella is feeling more comfortable at puppy school, and is playing and socializing with all of the puppies.

Bella also went in for her second set of shots this week, on Wednesday, the day she turned 13 weeks old.  Bella weighed in at 26 lbs!  You go, girl!  Here is a picture of Bella playing with Daisy, shortly after she joined the Anderson household in Temecula:

Bella and Daisy.

And here is Bella with Melissa, Beth and Mike's daughter:

Melissa holds Bella, while Daisy plays with her.

Okay, so what else did we do at the puppy party?  Well of course the puppies played ...

The puppies hard at play.  Gidget takes Lars down, while Kimber looks on.

... and when they got thirsty they attacked the ice in the soda bucket...

The puppies take time our from their play to attack the ice.

..and they did tricks, tricks and more tricks:

Pinkie, Dexter and Lars are supposed to be sitting -- not quite!

... and they did more tricks ....

Steve gets the pups to strut their stuff.

.. but they have a ways to go before they rival their Daddy ...

Harley gives Jason a high five.

.. but they will get there.  These puppies didn't actually ever wear down, but I heard from my sources that they slept well that night!

Many thanks, Jim and Jason, for the pictures.  I hope you all enjoyed them!

The Puppies Begin Leaving For Their New Homes

Wow, this has been an interesting two weeks ...

Here is the last picture of all of us together:

Our puppies.

Last Sunday afternoon, we experienced our first puppy leaving for a new home.  I am happy, as Jamie and Jason love our Yellow Girl (Kimber) and are very excited about her joining their family.  Jason stayed home with Kimber for a few days, and (in my opinion) she made a fairly smooth adjustment.  Here is Jason and Jamie with Kimber:

Kimber (Yellow Girl) with her new family, Jamie and Jason.

I had a little bit of time with Kimber before she left, with a last bonding moment:

Saying goodbye to Kimber (Yellow Girl).

After spending a couple of hours here, Jamie and Jason bundled up Kimber and headed home to Tracy.  She did fairly well in the car, having never been in one before.  As they drove off, Harley and I stood at the front door.  Harley was quite upset by Kimber's departure.  Holly?  She kicked up her heels -- one less puppy still nursing!

Two days later, I went in for hand surgery.  I have two pins sticking out of the back of my hand, holding my right ring finger in place.  My finger also had to be cut open to align the bone properly.  Here is Harley taking care of me after I got home:

Home from surgery and not feeling great -- but Harley takes care of me.

Two evenings later, Purple Girl (Gidget) went home with my sister Heather and her family.  Gidget is doing great!  I saw her yesterday, and her ears were completely up!  She is coming over this afternoon for a play date.  Here is a picture of Gidget before she left:

Gidget (Purple Girl).

And here is a picture of Gidget with her new family:

Gidget with her new family: my sister Heather, nephew Thomas (with Lars),
brother-in-law Steve (with Pinkie), nephew Lucas (with Gidget), and of course,
our beloved Harley.

Yesterday, Steve demonstrated Gidget's new trick:  the Harley high-five.  She gets her second set of shots next weekend (with Lars and Dexter), and then it's off to puppy school!

Last weekend, my good friend Beth and her husband, Mike, came to pick up Blue Girl (Bella).  Here is a picture of our Bella:

Our beautiful Blue Girl, Bella.

Bella had the toughest trip (to-date) to her new home.  Mike and Beth drove back to Temecula last Sunday.  It took them about eight hours to get there, because of the many Bella stops.  She cuddled up to Beth for the entire journey, doing some bonding there.  And no accidents! When they stopped, she did her business.  

Bella has adjusted extremely well to her new home.  She got her first shots last week, weighing in at over 20 lbs.  She starts puppy school quite soon.  Her new playmate is Daisy, a one-year-old golden retriever.  Apparently Bella has tried to nurse Daisy a few times!  The miniature dachshund, Zoe, is quite happy to let Bella and Daisy roughhouse without her.  Here is Beth and Mike with Bella:

Beth and Bella.

Mike with Bella.

Friday morning, a young man named Danny came to look at our Orange Girl.  Danny works with our trainer/friend, Jim, at Pet Extreme in Livermore.  Danny is 19, and is quite excited about having a german shepherd.  He is an energetic guy, which is good, because Orange Girl is rather energetic herself.  Here is our Orange Girl as we get ready to say goodbye to her:

Our Orange Girl.

Here is Orange Girl with Danny.  He is thinking of naming her either Sasha or Shayla (great names!):

Danny with Orange Girl.

Orange Girl on her way to her new home.

So, that leaves us with Dexter (Green Boy), Lars (Red Boy), and Pinkie.  Andrew and Tanya are taking Dexter to San Diego next weekend.  Here is a picture of them with Dexter before Andrew went back to school:

Andrew with Dexter, aka Harley Jr.

Tanya and Dexter.

Jake needs to get settled in San Luis Obispo before he takes Lars.  Here they are together:

Jake with Lars (Red Boy).

And Pinkie?  We are looking for just the right owner for her...

Harley plays with Pinkie (Pink Girl).

Our Pinkie.

Here are some pictures of the puppies at play,

Puppy playtime.

our puppies learning to sit,

The mob learning to sit.

our puppies sleeping,

Morning naptime.

and our puppies getting ready for bed:

Bedtime!

Next weekend we are hoping Gidget and Kimber will come over for some puppy playtime.  I will try to post a new blog after that!