Ha! It's always fun to see what YouTube has in store for us once we're finished with the video we intended to watch. Generally it's in some way related to the one we just watched. But not now! Oh No! Now we're subjected to criminal investigations, controversial reporters and a guy who wants to make America Great Again! ... Just can't seem to get away from it. :-) !!!
My Current one definitely has some issues.... :-( It seems my camera is on the fritz. And the timing sux. Had hoped to open up the individual pup pages this week but it's somewhat difficult to do with no photos. I looked online in hopes of quickly settling on one that I could get here early next week but there are just too many to choose from. If any one of you has a recommendation for a point and shoot camera that takes decent shots of moving subjects please provide some info on it. I'd like to stay somewhere in the $500.00 range -or less. Maybe a little more if it comes with a great recommendation. I went to Target today and picked up a simple camera in hopes I'd get enough shots to open the pages. I got the shots... their not the best. But they're what I have. I'm going to work on them now. Just wanted to get this out there.
Hi puppy people... I've been thinking about you and feeling like I've been slacking on the updates. I know by past comments at least a few of you are checking in regularly. I'll try and get back on track. Especially since the pups are going through some definite and noticeable changes now. Don't know how you all are doing with it, but it seems I allowed myself to get a bit drawn in to the political arena which is highly unusual for me. I've gotta say... all the hoopla around our upcoming election is really something! Everything is well here for the most part. The pups as you can see in the slide show below are growing like weeds. The past few days I've noticed and have enjoyed watching their first attempts to play. They bat one another and spend quite a bit of time gnawing on one another as well. They're barking and growling at each other and it's not uncommon for them to bark at me too. They routinely bark when I enter the bedroom upon my return home from work. Turning into watchdogs already! Blue boy is showing some drive as far as play is concerned. I threw a ball and a bone in their habitat and as well as seeming eager to play with the other pups he quickly displayed some interest in the ball too. The ridge of white hair I mentioned last week that separated his rust chest markings has disappeared. Not sure how I feel about that actually. I kinda liked it! In other news they had their first taste of mash last night. Just a get acquainted meal to see how they'd do with it. Smart little buggers dove right in! Their reward -two full meals today! I had an unexpected trip to the Vet with Red yesterday. Well... not unexpected by the time yesterday rolled around actually. Friday evening I noticed he had an area above his right eye that was slightly swollen. Didn't think too much about it at the time but by Saturday morning it was noticeably swollen. At the time I wondered if he'd been bit by something or maybe scratched by another pup. His eye itself looked ok. No redness or drainage, just a swollen upper lid. Unfortunately Saturday morning marked the 1st day of my work week which now runs Saturday through Monday. As a result I wasn't able to get to the Vet until yesterday. A judgement call I guess. Long story short, Red's eye was nearly swollen shut yesterday morning. He's now receiving oral antibiotics and steroids and is currently removed from the selection process until further assessment can be made. I feel reassured by the fact that his Vet didn't seem overly concerned -we have a follow up appointment in 2 weeks. Fortunately I was able to see a slight improvement within 24 hours so I think we're on the right track. I say judgement call because if he had shown any signs of distress I would have taken him to the small animal emergency clinic at the U. But he didn't. He continued to eat and play, have normal rest and wakeful periods etc etc. Fingers are crossed that he'll be healed up and ready to go with the rest of the pack... I'm actually hopeful he'll have a clean bill of health before the selection process begins. For now we just wait and see. I've included a somewhat close up photo of him so we can all monitor his progress in the upcoming days and weeks. Hello Puppy People! A few of you have questioned me about the second deposit I mentioned earlier. Well, sitting down and actually getting the invoices sent has been one of those back burner things. Finally got them sent off today though so keep an eye out for them in your in-boxes. The deposits go toward cropping which has been scheduled. If the pups had been born just one day earlier, I probably could have gotten them to you in time for Thanksgiving but as it turns out the pups, the rest of the crew and I will be feasting together. We may or may not have leftovers. Our cropping date is set for November 29th and these darlin' Dobermans will be ready to join their new families the following day. I hope everyone is actively preparing for what will be some active additions to the family. With that said, they are becoming more active by the day. Poor Majestic is no longer sight unseen and it seems it's a tackle for the goods when she steps in the box. The pups are starting to walk.... still pretty feeble attempts but they're trying. Brown boy was the first noticed to get up on all fours and actually walk. Blue is turning into a dog already and has learned how to bark! I've had some long and busy days lately but take some time each day to touch and handle the babes. Now that their eyes are open, I cuddle them up and look 'em straight in the eye. From there I move to their nose and then their cheek where they receive kisses and whispers of sweet nothings into the ear. In essence I breath love and gentleness into them and they breathe sweet puppy breath back in return. And I'm in heaven! I've begun to wrap up each session by placing the pups on their backs on my lap and scratch or massage them until they relax. Red seems to have calmed and was actually one of the quickest pups to relax today. Blue let me know what he thought about things at the completion of his session by offering up an endearing rolling bark! There's something else I noticed about Blue... something unique and something I happen to like. Blue has a very small ridge of white located smack in the center of his chest dividing his rust markings into two perfect halves. He's the first Doberman I've had with a white mark on it's chest but in readings it's not uncommon. It's also not a fault in the show ring as far as AKC is concerned as long as it doesn't exceed a half inch in size. Blue's mark is very small, very unique and truly just a ridge of color. It will be interesting to see how evident it is as he matures. Well, I guess that's about it for now. The pictures below are just a few I snapped last night before retiring for the evening -lulled to sleep by the sweet and gentle hum of a pack of pups. Not exactly what I anticipated but I've learned over the years to go with the flow. The flow for me almost always centers around work it seems. And plans are made simply to be broken. Today I had the only tree that Matthew put a hurtin' on taken down. Dead for some time it finally began to snap at the base held in place by a large branch of a neighboring oak. Added to the pile was the last remaining water oak. And I burned. And burned and burned and burned! Things are still smoldering away as I write this and I'm hoping to find nothing more than a pile of ash in the morning. It's doubtful, highly unlikely actually, but there's hope. I'll be happy, ecstatic in fact, if I can lift that which remains unburned so I can pile it up, stoke it up and be done with it by this time tomorrow. I had helpers. The dogs provided the moral support I always rely on. One at a time they came out ready for the challenge. Mid way through the day, I decided I might as well get the camera. My thought... they're not puppies... but they're something. They're basically my everything and they are Dobermans. Jess even came out for an evening jaunt with me. She wasn't real excited however to be out by the burn pit. Too far away from her pups I think. So.. we took a much appreciated break from our duties and simply sat, took in a breath of fresh air and enjoyed the rest. When we returned to the pup den I flipped on the light and immediately noticed something different. One of them appeared to be looking around. I took a closer look and and low and behold I saw eyes!!! My highlight of the day!!! Awareness!!! Big changes -huge changes come with the opening of the eyes. From here on out the pups change rapidly and are a joy to watch. The development of personality begins to form! They become fun! Below are a few scenes of the day. Remedy and Skye, the fire and a slight hint of some eyes just beginning to open. |
Author GMBD's Archives
December 2016
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