Sit! Stay! Come!

We have started working with the three remaining boys on learning manners, and what quick little pupils they are!

My last attempt to teach a dog to 'come' resulted in a great deal of frustration, and a dog that, three years later, I can only get to 'come' when I blow on a harmonica.

My goal this time is to produce obedient little puppies, not big dogs. To accomplish this, I am blending several different training methods together in the hopes that one of them will stick. So far, the Dog Whisperer/Mother Knows Best/operant conditioning-trained puppies are actually 'sitting' on command, nine times out of ten. This process is greatly aided by the huge sacks of delicious liver treats I am shoveling to them.

We'll see how the 'come' thing goes.

Conformation Puppy

Miss Amanda and Tuffy went to their new home this weekend, along with Lexie and Abigail, who both wound up close to us. We are all missing them terribly, especially at playtime, when the big group made for such a fun dynamic!

But we are delighted that they all have wonderful new families to love and care for them. And we are looking forward to playing in the leaf pile with the 'three amigos' who are left: Ace, Tater, and Tex.

Until we post their leaf photos, here, once again, is the lovely Miss Amanda, striking an attractive 'conformation' pose.

What a sweet puppy!

Discrimination...

I just realized how many pictures of the boy puppies I have posted, compared to pictures of the girl puppies. I hate to discriminate, so I am posting a picture of the lovely Miss Amanda.

Amanda is a very sweet, genteel puppy, who does not like to get dirty, and who dearly loves to snuggle. She is our go-to puppy when we need kisses, or tears wiped away.

Speaking of snuggling, we delivered Tank to his new home Sunday, a 10-hour drive. He spent the entire time curled up in Grandma Helen's lap, happy as could be. We were a little worried about him spending his first night without his brothers and sisters, but once he hit the ground in his new home, he never looked back. He was home. More on that later...

Punkin' Patch Puppy

Cute alert!

Puppy in the Pumpkin Patch!

Puppy Parasol

We have had rain in North East Texas. Lots of rain. Big-time rain. Relentless, persistent, dogged rain.

The rain, while a blessing for ryegrass and mushroom growers, has been a bit of a pain for people raising puppies. A 'potty trip' that a few weeks ago would have involved skipping merrily outside and skipping back in, now involves mats, towels, raincoats, mudboots, umbrellas, and hair dryers. All repeated eight times, every few hours.

But we have a bumper crop of mushrooms!

Of course I spend all of my time running around bent over trying to snatch them out of puppies' mouths.

Here is Amanda, with a particularly large specimen keeping the never-ending drizzle off her fur.

Notice her expression.

Perhaps a better title for this post would be, "What am I doing with this giant mushroom on my head?"

Don't worry, be Happy...

Like the Old Woman Who Lives in a Shoe, I have so many puppies in my kitchen right now that I can never remember all their names.

This puppy looks so much like two of her brothers that I always get them mixed up. I *think* her name is Abigail.

But if we were to wind up keeping her, I think I would name her 'Happy.'

Or 'Smiley.'

Is this the face of a naughty puppy?

Uh-oh.

I think it is possible that I did something naughty.

Is it possible that I might possibly have peed on your new rug?

If so, I would like to extend my most humble apologies.

I never, EVER would do anything like that on purpose. And when I am a big boy, I will never, ever do it again by accident, either.

I promise.

Scout's honor.

Will you forgive me?

Oh, is this warm blanket for me? And this pretty round ball? And this chew toy? Oh, now you are picking me up and snuggling me against your chest, and...gee, this feels good! I feel so warm and safe and happy. What's that? You want me to forgive you for that ugly face you made at me when you found the tiny spot on the rug?

Not to worry.

All is forgiven.

We're good.

Just don't set me down anytime soon, okay?