9/7/2020 0 Comments Sweet Little SavagesWe had visitors today! Ann and Kara came by late this morning and had a good visit with the puppies including nail jobs! Kara is a professional groomer! She whipped out 3 puppies in less time than it takes me to do one! Thank you, Kara! The puppies experienced a couple new sounds today. First a low flying plane to which they all paid attention but didn't seem too fussed about. Next was the tornado warning siren test that happens every Monday at 11AM. Again - response but no fuss. They were less happy about the sound of me dumping balls into a plastic wading pool to make them a ball pit. They were not thrilled about the pit either! We will try it again in a few days to see if they have fun with it. I've noticed several of them sniffing around it tonight, so they are warming up to the idea! Later in the day, I had time to take two puppies back to the real pool with some individual wandering around time after. Rita had a great time running around the pool and was very aware of the edge. Jo Jo, not so much. He was less worried about his swim today than on Saturday, but he was completely clueless about the edge and walked right into the pool! That was quite a surprise for him, but I was nearby and grabbed him out. He then decided to head the other direction, and went to the yard (right through the fence!). He won't fit through that much longer! He loves to run around in the grass. Rhani was out and she play bowed to him. She has missed playing with Raj so much. :( Looking forward to her having a new playmate! Both Rita and Jo Jo climbed the stairs from the pool area to the patio with no assistance! Good puppies! Hopefully, I can get the other three out to the pool and to master the steps tomorrow! I dislike that the days are getting shorter! I only take them out of their pen one at a time because our backyard is pretty large, there are places in the fence that these little guys could easily get under, and there are a pair of hawks hanging around! Besides it is good for the puppies to have individual time away from their litter mates to develop more independence. (Not all of them need help with that...AKA - Rita!) They cleaned up all of their food today for breakfast and lunch, so I decided to add an additional cup of food tonight. They ate most of that too! We are up to 7 or 8 cups a day (collectively - not per puppy)! I've cut Rhani's food in half to help her dry up her milk. She's not very happy about that, and she's also not happy that the puppies are leaving few leftovers for her! So far the puppies have eaten kibble from 6 different kinds of containers. Today's were melmac cereal bowls. They still have the same, very atypical Dalmatian, eating behavior where they eat, then play, then eat some more, then do their business, then eat some more, then play some more....It takes at least a half hour for them to clean up a meal I put down for them! Just imagine that! WEIRD! For the third day in a row, I found one of the indoor suspended toys no longer suspended! I was using these little colorful plastic link chains mainly sold for bird cages. Today, they actually dismantled the chain and I found three different sections of it in different parts of the pen. Time for those to go! I don't need zipper surgery on any of these little guys for swallowing a plastic link! Back to Zip Ties. Not so pretty, but safer and more secure! We have a TV on the patio, and for the past couple days I've noticed the puppies watching it. Very funny to see them fixated on what's on the screen! And visitors, beware! Shoe strings - especially leather ones are irresistible! The videos shows why I call the puppies "savages" when it comes to topping off their kibble meals with mama meals! There are also some random photos for your amusement. Enjoy! Until next time....
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It is so hard to believe these puppies are already 5 weeks old! They've been having a lot of fun with some of our family who visited from Ohio this weekend! Highlights include meeting our adorable 5 year old great nephew, Grant, eating from several new containers in several different locations, new toys inside and out every day, climbing the first stairs, spending a lot more time outside, and their first swim! We weighed them today, and Sadie still leads the pack at 7 lbs 7.25 oz; Jo Jo and Maxwell have also passed the 7 lb mark. Lizzy is almost 7 lbs and little Rita hasn't quite made it to 6 lbs. yet. Don't let her size fool you though. She's got spunk! Imagine that! I will just let the pictures and videos tell the rest of the story from the past few days since I did an update! At the end are their mug shots. (Always presented in birth order - Maxwell, Sadie, Rita, Lizzy and Jo Jo.) Enjoy! Until next time....
9/2/2020 0 Comments We Need More Hours In A Day!Did I mention that we have house guests arriving tomorrow? That's my excuse for being such a bad blogger! It's been a crazy two days and tomorrow will be also! But we did have a visit with the Marino family yesterday. Several cute photos and a video follow! Here are a few other updates:
That's it for today! Our company, Dave's family from Ohio, arrives tomorrow and we will be busy catching up with them and playing with puppies for several days, so I may not have updates till Sunday or Monday. We'll just see how it goes! Happy Labor Day Weekend! Until next time.... 8/31/2020 1 Comment August 31st, 2020Just a brief post today with some cute photos - most thanks to our visitor today, Kara!
It was pedi day at Juju Dals! All puppies, mom and great grandma got their nails done today. 56 toes dremmeled! We all survived! Then Baili had a vet follow-up appointment for a minor issue, so I loaded the puppies into the crate for a car ride. It's curbside service at the vet offices now, so they come out to get your pet and then bring them out after a phone consult when the examination is complete. Well, we emptied the office of staff to come see the puppies waiting in the car. The puppies handled the ride well. There was a bit of squawking for a few minutes. This was followed by the noise of them playing for about 10 minutes. Then there was silence. They all went to sleep! Sorry I failed to get a picture of them in the crate! Kara came over late afternoon to visit. She's another dog whisperer! She got some really cute photos. The first photo illustrates what I was talking about yesterday with the puppies getting stuck between the doors when the inside door is shut. This is Rita this morning. Imagine that! (She figured out how to hurl herself back outside a split second after I took this photo! She's a problem solver!) Until next time... 8/30/2020 0 Comments Look What We Figured Out Today!This morning before going down to feed the puppies (ETC.!) I told Dave that I bet the puppies would bust through the doggy door today. JoJo would be first, Rita second and Sadie third. Well, after they ate, got cleaned up and put outside, I shut the door to keep them and Rhani out there while I cleaned up their inside space. I wasn't far into the job when I heard a ruckus of banging against the door followed by increasingly distressed puppy yelling. I went to check and, sure enough, Jojo had come through the doggy door on the screen door and was between the inside door and the screen door. LOL! I put him out and went back to cleaning. A few minutes later, I hear the same sequence of bangs followed by what I knew to be Rita screaming! She was now stuck between the two doors. So I put her back out. Back to cleaning, and the whole cacophony started again, but this time the puppy yells just sounded annoyed. Yep - it was Sadie! Imagine that! I managed to get the rest of the pen cleaned with no more interruptions, but when I went out to sit with the puppies while the floor dried from mopping, I left the inside door open. First, I saw Maxwell go through the door and back inside. No phone handy. But Rita was in the vicinity so I grabbed my phone and caught this! Enjoy! Too Funny! I don't think Lizzy went through the door today, but she will. No doubt! Next Steven and Cindy came by to visit the puppies for awhile. Steven managed to build a puppy pile in his lap! Here is the sequence of that! Our friend, Linda, came over and brought a YUMMY brunch casserole for the humans which we thoroughly enjoyed! She last visited two weeks ago and could not believe how much the babies have grown. Maxwell enjoyed a good snuggle. (They all did!) She pronounced them all really pretty! Later in the afternoon I took each puppy (except Rita who went yesterday) out to the pool area and then into the lawn. They really haven't been anywhere except their inside pen and the outside patio pen, so this was a big new thing for them! Each puppy reacted a little differently at first, most of them as I expected. All warmed up to the idea of having new areas to explore. And all of them, like Rita yesterday, were heading dangerously close to the pool in their ramblings, so I moved them out to the yard. They all liked the grass even though it tickled at first! We will do the pool, but not for a couple weeks. They are too little for that right now! Hopefully the weather will stay warm enough. It usually does. And I am not ready for summer to be over! Today, I graduated them to three meals a day of kibble soaked in water. Interestingly, they ate almost all of their evening meal! They are funny little eaters. Maxwell and Rita can't just wake up and instantly eat. They have to walk around a bit and think about it. Jo Jo and Sadie are right there as soon as they see me putting down newspapers. Lizzy usually is too. All of them eat for awhile, go play or do business, climb in the kennel, play some more in there making a LOT of noise, and then re-emerge to eat some more. Rhani is pretty patient about waiting till I decide they are finally finished and let her in to clean up the leftovers. They are getting much better about going to the grass carpet to do their business. They are not 100% but it's way better than the pellets in the pan and easy for me to clean up! I set a station up on the patio for them today too. Paws crossed that in a few days they will be pretty consistent and I won't be constantly mopping and picking up after them! I've started taking them back outside late evening when it's cool. They seem to enjoy it, and so do I! Finally, here are a couple short clips of the puppies playing - one from last night and one from this afternoon. Enjoy! Until next time....
8/29/2020 0 Comments 4 Weeks Old Already!Oh no! Our time with these babies is half over! It goes so fast and they grow so quickly! Apologies to friends, family, and responsibilities I have to organizations, but the next 4 weeks are just for having fun with these puppies while they are with us! We did weights today. Sadie is the first to reach 6 pounds! Imagine that! Lizzy advanced past 5 pounds to join the boys in that weight class, and little Rita is at 4 pounds 9.5 oz. Don't let her little size fool you. She is full of piss and vinegar! While trying to capture head shots, I took Rita down by the pool this afternoon. She was at first a bit uncertain about the new surroundings, but I soon had to abandon the camera so I could keep up with her to make sure she didn't take an unintended dip! Margot and Dave visited today. The puppies were on the patio and woke up for about 10 whole minutes to entertain them by chewing on their shoe strings, buttons, fingers and anything else they could get their mouths on! Then they crashed again! And they graduated to kibble simply soaked in water today with no objections. Soon we can stop soaking and I can begin carrying dry kibble in my pockets to reward good behaviors (assuming they exhibit any)! Here are their 4 week mug shots and their 1 day to 4 week collages with a bonus cute puppy pick to fill out the frame for each! Scroll on because there are some pretty funny videos (mostly featuring Rita) at the end! Until next time....
8/28/2020 0 Comments Octopus's Garden!Where did today go???? Poof! Imagine that! But we have new carpet in our living room and bedroom and new flooring on our screened porch that the puppies will love! Despite all the commotion and activities, the puppies had fun! We've decided that morning and later evening are our most fun times on the patio where we have more room to run play and leave little gifts for Grandma to clean up! I have a number of cute photos and videos to share tonight. Our friends, Donna and Rich, visited the puppies today and brought a very cool corduroy octopus with a variety of squeaky and crinkly sounds! Big Hit! Thank you, Donna and Rich! It's always nice to have another breeder come by to observe the puppies and share thoughts! We all agree that these babies are cute! Here are a few more random photos from today (and a couple from yesterday that Mike sent me of Riley and the puppies!) And I am getting better about bringing all my "equipment" with me (at least in the morning and at night) to be able to video the puppies! They are really beginning to interact with their environment which includes toys, each other, furniture, feet, etc! Here are a few videos depicting most of that! Enjoy! Until next time....
8/27/2020 0 Comments 5 Pounders!We haven't weighed puppies for a couple days, so we had big jumps for all today! Maxwell, Sadie and Jojo are all 5+ pounds now and Lizzy and Rita are over 4lbs! Chunky monkeys! Sadie is still the largest. She eats with gusto! Imagine that! A few new toys were introduced today and were immediately noticed and inspected! Biting has begun as those teeth are fully erupted. Puppies are beginning to run (not very well), go in reverse, and eat chunkier food. It's very humid here now and the puppies do NOT like it. Maxwell and Rita are particularly unhappy about the heat. Most of our visitors come in the afternoon. If we go outside where there is more room to sit and interact with the puppies, the entertainment is short-lived. The grass mat is getting about 50% attraction! Hopefully that will improve! I'm waiting till my new supply of puppy pads arrives from Amazon to set up one outside for them. Our friend, Fred, visited the puppies early this afternoon. (No photos as I was still on after lunch clean up patrol!) Later Mike and Riley stopped by. They are really getting to know the puppies and do such a good job of engaging with each of them! Today I got to see photos of Riley, Cambell and Amelia with their first Dalmatian, Quincy. The girls were so tiny and Quincy was so sweet with them. No wonder the family wants another Dalmatian! And we have bonus photos from yesterday thanks to Peggy who sent me a couple photos from their visit with Cameron and his girlfriend, Kelly. Enjoy the photos and a few short video clips! Until next time....
8/26/2020 1 Comment Let's try this....These puppies were just not getting the idea of the pine pellets (many thanks to Rhani!). Plus they are messy. There are pine pellets everywhere! So this morning I talked to Karen Rowan, another breeder, who told me she uses fake grass with puppy pads underneath. I'll try anything! So off to Home Depot I went to purchase a 6'x6' piece of fake grass carpet! I cut it into 3' x 3' sections and put puppy pads underneath it to soak up the liquid (per Karen's instruction). So far, other than Rhani thinking I put that in there for her to lay on (Imagine that!), the puppies seem to think it's a good place to pee! Always the optimist! An old friend from work and her son and his girlfriend came by to visit the puppies for a bit early this afternoon. It was really hot out so the puppies did not entertain them very long before taking a snooze, but they were cute anyway! I failed to get any photos of our guests with the puppies. Bad puppy grandma! I tried the puppies on just soaked (not ground) kibble for their afternoon meal. They lapped up all the milk, but left the kibble. That made Rhani happy since she got to clean it up. We'll try again in a few days. After the board meeting tonight, I brought the boys out on the patio to watch the Cardinals game with me. This was the first night outing for any of the puppies. Maxwell was not all that happy with it, but Jo Jo went about his usual business of exploring. Here are a few photos and video clips from today. Enjoy! Until next time....
8/25/2020 0 Comments Who Moved My Cheese????It was a big day for the puppies and an all day dog day for me! It started with Baili's breakfast, then Rhani's, then the puppies. Next up was puppy clean up, then out on the patio for them and Rhani. Next, as promised, down came the whelping box which needed to be cleaned and packed up for storage. Then puppy pen clean up - laundry, floor mopping, and installing a few enrichment items for them. Next, we did puppy nails for the fourth time! (They were still pretty well behaved for that!) After that, they finally got to come back inside to the air conditioning and their new digs! What??? Where's our box? Here are a few clips I took as they experienced their new environment for the first time! They actually adapted pretty quickly and were off to exploring all their new stuff! They figured out that their Vari Kennel is the place to go for a nap. We're still working on that litter box thing though!
Once everybody seemed settled, I left Rhani and the puppies to their devices and took Baili for a walk. (It was HOT because by now it was noon.) Then I took Rhani for a walk (even hotter!) Then it was past time to feed the puppies their second meal of the day. More puppy baths and pen mopping! And then it was Rhani's turn for lunch! After all that it was 3PM! A friend called and I chatted with her a half hour, grabbed a half hour in the sun and then cleaned up a little myself to prepare for the Marino's visit! Riley couldn't make it today because she had to work, but she's coming on Thursday! One of these lucky puppies will be the second Dalmatian for Mike and Valeri but really the first for their daughters since they lost their Quincy when the girls were just 3 years old. The puppies were unusually subdued this afternoon - probably from all the excitement of the earlier part of the day! Imagine that! But the Marino's did help them discover the best puppy toy ever - the big pink Octopus! That toy was a gift from my friend Linda with our first litter. Every Juju Dal litter since has loved it! It's been mended and laundered countless times but is still in tact for the Imagine babies! My phone was upstairs so I didn't get videos of all the puppies playing with it, but there is a clip of Sadie for your amusement! I'm sure the octopus will appear in many more photos and videos over the coming weeks! This is a busy week! Puppies have visitors scheduled everyday, I have another board meeting via Zoom tomorrow night, and we are getting new flooring on most of the main level on Thursday and Friday! I will do my best to fit in some photos and/or videos and blog updates!
Until next time! |
Toni LinstedtI like to keep a diary of the puppies as much for myself as for prospective puppy buyers and interested friends. Sadly my blogs for Lucy's and Baili's litters are no longer available due to legacy systems, but I saved them off as pdf's and was reviewing them last night. It was a good refresher on all kinds of things and brought back lots of good memories. Looking forward to Imagine memories too! Archives
January 2021
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