O Solé Mio

We had a pretty, sunny day the other day and took advantage of it to show some of the new blooms around here.
These are the kids I'm growing on.

Jenga (Toreth's Game Changer) 10 weeks old. (1/15/12) Sire is Lincoln, Dam Celie. This will be Celie's last litter. She's done her part. I'm really grateful for this one, Celie.

Kohl (Toreth's Jingle Bell Rock) 14 weeks. (12/22/11) Sire TM, Dam Rogue. I can hardly wait to show off the reach this fellow has!
Born on Winter Solstice the litter theme was Christmas/Winter. I wanted a black boy from this breeding so badly I would have made a deal with the devil. So I got a Kohl in my stocking for being a bad girl.

Zuzu (Toreth's It's A Wonderful Life). 14 weeks (12/22/11). This girl is quite simply beautiful!  Her name is a reference to the little girl in the movie. I can't believe how many people I have talked to that have never seen this great film! In the story the main character, George, has a daughter named Zuzu. He comforts her and in the process ends up with some flowers in his pocket. Then he ends up having this hallucinatory experience that teaches him to be grateful. When it's over he knows he's back to reality because Zuzu's petals are in his pocket.
Like George I keep checking to see if this is real. She is truly wonderful and I am grateful.

So I haven't been blogging much lately. As wonderful as life may be it can get busy.

I was hoping for another litter next week. But that appears not to be in the cards. It's just as well since we are sure to have more sun and more chores. Do you hear that Spring? We're expecting more sun... sigh... Life in the Pacific Northwest...

Puppies and more puppies!!

So yes. I have a few dogs around here.

We had one litter born a few days before Christmas. Those guys are 8 weeks old plus a couple of days.

One of the boys (black or brindle) and a girl  brindle with an all white head) are still available. Sound health history and temperaments are wonderful.

And another litter was born a few weeks after that. They are almost 5 weeks old now. A black boy and two black girls are still available from that litter. Again sound health history and beautiful, sweet temperaments as these are my first priorities.

Please email me at imleo9@gmail.com if you are interested. It's really important they go to homes that are ready for them so we will talk a lot and get to know each other before I let them go. I encourage my puppy families to ask me lots of questions too and come to visit us on our little hill if you possibly can.

Thanks for looking.

Pictures please!!!!

 I've been hearing you. I know I haven't posted on this blog for way too long! Sorry. I will try and do better.
Above are the blue boys from Celie and Lincoln's litter. It's a game theme for their names. Scrabble is on the one yawning and Bingo is smelling puppy breath. And I just realized I never made this litter's announcement here. Will correct that ASAP!!

We have had sun for several days now and today I took some pictures of the Winter Solstice babies (TM and Rogue are the parents) out in it. Winter babies don't get outside much so this has been very welcome for all of us. The house is getting a good airing out. eh-hem...

 breakfast was Turkey and Pumpkin al Fresco

 followed by a nap in the cabana...

I hope to post more soon! Thanks for your patience!

Nativity At Toreth

Peace to all.

The Longest Night...and Morning.

So if you haven't heard the news already Rogue had her babies last night and this morning. So technically they are Solstice babies and not Christmas but we'll see what I can come up with for names over the next couple of days.
Rogue freewhelped two. A black boy and a brindle boy. Then one puppy got stuck and sadly didn't make it. The rest tumbled out via c-section at around 10 am.


And here they are...

Jolly

Black Boy 1, 11 oz., born naturally.

Elf

Black Boy 2, 8.5 oz., C-section. Maybe what is referred to as a Black Brindle... hmmm.

Yule

Brindle Boy 1, 11.5 oz., born naturally. He seems to be asking, "Ever have one of those days where you wonder why you were born?"

Nog

Brindle Boy 2, 10.5 oz., C-section.

Nick

Brindle Boy 3, 12 oz., C-section (and so are all the rest that come after).

And now for the Brindle Girls...

Ummmm, can you say Double Trouble? I can hardly tell them apart!

 Angel

White-headed Girl 1, she has a spot on her belly, 10 oz.

 Spirit

White-headed Girl 2, no belly spot, 9 oz.

Holly
This one's markings are similar to her black brother, 8.5 oz.

Ginger

And tipping the scale at 12.5 oz. is this beautiful girl.

Rogue is a fantastic mother and all the babies are doing great!
Big thanks are due to many people. First to my husband and my three girls. Thomas and Chloe the oldest in particular helped keep watch over Rogue while I had to work. Because they do so much to keep my little hobby going in a healthy way they helped with names.
Also much thanks to Orchards Veterinary Clinic. The staff are so great and I am so grateful they weren't too busy for Rogue and her babies. They all stopped whatever else that could wait to get the many babies started on their first breaths and latchings.

Rogue's Advent Calendar

4 weeks to grow... I mean go.

Belly getting rounder, belly hair thinner, and milk faucets getting bigger... yep! TM x Rogue babies in there!!!
Since we did progesterone testing we are pretty certain the due date is Christmas Eve/Christmas Day... give or take a day or two. But I've got a pile of potential names based on Christmas movies and songs. And I've put up a countdown widget for the litter's expected arrival.
If you would like to be considered for one of these puppies please contact me. Babies will be black or brindle.
***Correction (11/28/11): babies may be black with tan or brindle points, brindle, red/sable. See chart here. Both Rogue and TM are brindle and carry tri.
##### Further understanding (11/29/11): TM is homozygous for brindle. (Rogue probably is too.) He carries red and tri. (As does Rogue as all brindles carry red and Rogue's sire was tri which means he had to give her a tri gene.) Brindle is dominant and only one gene is needed for it to be expressed. So if the babies have a red base they will be brindles, some will carry tri. If they express the tri (they have to receive a tri chromosome from both TM and Rogue so only 25% chance) they will be black with brindle points. If you're confused by all of this I understand. It's taken me 2 days of reading whenever I had a little spare time to make sure I have it right. I might at some point draw up a Pundett square but the bottom line is there will be mostly brindle babies and a few black/brindle-pointed babies in The Christmas Litter.