ONLY A MONTH

Time just fly's by so fast. My new little girl Ava, is doing just wonderfully. She is so smart and sweet. Very demanding little girl as she knows her own mind. But she is so much fun. She will chase the little ball as long as you want to throw it. And she is so good to bring it back and drop it right in front of you. She loves to tug with you too.Anything to keep you playing. Cutting her nails is not so easy but she will learn to be still. Maybe! She loves to cuddle but every muscle is moving and her legs are all over the place. Cutting nails without help will just not work. Ava is growing so fast, I just hope that she will not get too big. She is such a lovely puppy with an awesome temperament. Hopefully some day she ill give me pups that are just as happy as she is. 

I call her the fireplace puppy. She just loves being in there. I have now put a small bed in there for her as she loves to nap there. They sure find funny places where they like to sleep. I have a corner in the kitchen and all the dogs love it. They often take turns using the corner. It is very cozy for all of them and they often take turns too. I have another little pup coming to stay with us. I will post pictures once she is here.

I CAN'T BELIEVE HOW LONG I HAVE LET THIS BLOG GO.

 I really can't believe how long I have let this go and not posted anything. I would think about it and then just let it go. I did get a new puppy in the spring and took her to puppy class in August. Now that winter has hit I don't drive down to classes. But we will go back for the spring. My boy Dodger visited with a friend for a couple of weeks late august when I had my cataract surgery. I worried about that alot. But actually it was not bad and not painful. The day after I had to see the surgeon so he could check out my eyes and all was well. A couple of weeks of no heavy lifting was easy to do. I had hoped to have pups early winter but Quinn did not have a heat again. She was ready to retire. She went to a friend of mine and living a wonderful life too. Unfortunately Zoe had weird heats and could not be bred. She is with another friend of mine and having a blast. She gets to go to the beach and retrieve her ball which she loves, if you let her she would play  ball all day. She is living a really good life and now I can concentrate on growing out a couple of female pups. My young sable girl is almost a year old and will probably have pups sometime in August. I have a little tri girl that is growing out here and I will have a pretty bi black girl here also. My boy Flash has been busy visiting some girls of friends of mine. I hope to get a son of his. It is almost like starting over.

I am not ready to give up yet. I still want to produce, quality, healthy pups with awesome temperaments and with these girls I will be able to preserve the sheltie and breed to the standard to keep the Sheltie breed up to what it should be. Quality,happy, healthy pups to be excellent family companions. I know for awhile I was considering not breeding any longer but I could not give up my dream of producing happy,healthy, quality pups with awesome temperaments. So as long as I can care for my dogs and give them what they need I will continue to produce awesome family companions.

There should be lots going on this summer so I need to keep up the blog to let you all know how Jopavist Shetland Sheepdogs are doing. 

I am hoping for an early spring. Stay safe and warm in this so cold winter.

 

                                                         Our new tri girl, Ava

 

NOT MUCH TO REPORT WITH ALL THE HEAT, HUMIDITY AND RAIN.

It has been a pretty miserable summer for the dogs. They just do not do well with heat and humidiy. We have not been able to play agility with the humidity. The dogs really pant in the humidity and don't feel like running in the agility area. I started to get the equipment out one day and maybe got a third of it and it was just plain too hot to do anymore. I hope to have it all out by mid September and maybe we will be able to have a Sheltie play day in September. 

I have been having cataract surgery and will be all done by mid September. My Sheltie friends have been helping out with taking my puppies and one adult dog. The help is wonderful and I so appreciate it.The first procedure is done and it has been so nice to be able to see better. Next week the second procedure. It should go as well as the first. Then all done and no more worry about bending and lifting. 

I can't wait to start training again with Flash. He loved training so much and he is so smart. He just picked up so fast and remembered so well. We really had fun in his class. 

I don't travel much in the winter so I need to get to a class soon.

We did go to a dog show in June. It was fun and alot of work. Bathing and grooming Flash and packing up all the equipment to take to the show. Flash behaved really well and handled the environment really well. This was the first show he had ever been to. He was the only one in his class so he did get a ribbon but did not go further. I was really pleased with his behavior, he acted like he had been  showing for a long time. Actually the obedience training is much more fun. He really loves the obedience and I think that we will stick with that. We need to have fun together.

 

                                                  

•                                         FLASH

FOUR MONTHS SINCE I HAVE TOUCHED THE BLOG

 It sure has been a long time since I have written here. Just plain too busy. I had a litter of nine pups born in mid December and boy that was a lot of work. Two smaller pups needed to be hand fed which was very time consuming. I was going to keep one of the bi black boys but decided that I did not need another boy. 

I have a lovely sable female that came from Wanderlust Shetland Sheepdogs. She is 10 weeks and a little doll. We are starting to learn some tricks so when she is four months old she can earn her tricks title. House training is on going and she is catching on quite well. Lots of paying attention to what she is doing but I am catching her most of the time.Right now she is under the table. She is sound asleep and that might last for 20 minutes. I spend time lots of time with her but she is so smart and I don't want to lose any time with her

Flash is with a friend of mine to practice conformation show training. There are two shows that he will be entered in late June. Will be his first time in a conformation ring.  We are looking forward to the day. He also sired another litter with our blue girl Quinn. A friend of mine whelped her as I needed a break and she is handling the placement of the pups. There are two tri boys still available. She has a page on FB called Wanderlust Shetland Sheepdogs. There you will see some pictures of the tri boys and you can get an application for a puppy. She is Caitlin Foster, and the pups are with her. 

They are not ready to go for another 2 to3 weeks. They are so cute.

I have been taking Finn to class once a week and it is a good hours drive but it is so much fun and Finn is learning alot. Hopefully I will be able to keep this blog up only if a paragraph of what is going on here at Jopavist Shetland Sheepdogs. 

I hope to get some of the agility equipment set up this afternoon. 

It is time to start playing agility with the dogs again. They love it and it is so good for them.

All for now, hope to be back tomorrow.

Jody

 

                                                   FLASH 

                                             Sire of the pups.

A LITTLE LESS THAN A MONTH, NOT TOO BAD.

This has been a busy month, with the Holidays and new pups being born.  Now the pups are four and a half weeks old and are slowly being weaned. They are eating soft puppy food with a little baby cereal. Actually they have huge appetites and doing very well. Even little Pippi who I tube fed for the frist few days and then a bottle for a week. Now she is strong enough to get in there with her brothers and sister. And she really pushes her way through the whole bunch and gets a good place to nurse. She is so tough and now very strong. This little girl is not available as she still needs more time for catch up. She will be living with Beverly, the co-owner. We may have one or two pups available. I won't know for sure until people start making their choices. People are coming to see the pups and get an idea of what they like. They are now old enough for visitors. I hope to get current pictures this weekend. I am up one or two times a night to check on the pups and to let Maggie out to go potty. Trudy has been waking me up at 4:30 in the mornings to go out.I thought she might have a UTI and took a urine sample to the vet and that is the problem, So in about two weeks she should be clear and maybe sleeping longer. I sure hope so, as 4 to 4:30 in the morning is getting hard to live with. The miracle of life is so amazing. So is watching the pups grow and develop and personalities coming out soon. I am trying my best to not consider keeping a pup. I really have my hands full with a 5 month old and 6 month old pup. Lots of work there. This weather sure has not made it easy with the adult dogs, no one likes going out in downpours. Nor do I. Lots to do.Pups need cleaning after eating as they will walk through the food, stand in the middle of the bowl and sometimes lie in the bowl. So a little grooming after each meal but they get used to being handled and that is so good for them.

The time goes fast and before you know it they will be in homes with their loving families and bringing joy to the home. They will be your best friend for life. Such a fun time raising a puppy. 

Everyone take care with the Arctic blast that is coming our way. Don't leave the dogs out in the bitter cold. They need to be in with you. 

 

                          Maggies puppies, these are the boys!!

ONLY ONE MONTH BUT BUSY

No Excuses, just plain too busy. A litter due, a new blue puppy to join the family.Hopefully a second litter due the end of the month. Maggie's pups were born Dec. 14th. Whelping went well and pups are all doing good. Maggie had quite a litter, 9 pups, 6 girls and 3 boys. All Bi black and Tri color. Not what I was expecting for sure. They are all doing well, pretty much eat in shifts. It seems to work well. I am supplementing the smallest of the pups, there are three little ones , they nurse well but I am supplementing as a little extra nutrition will help.

I am up a minimum of three times a night to check. I have the baby monitor on so I hear every thing.I will be glad when my sleep is no longer interrupted. When my other dogs come in I take Maggie out of her whelping box as she tends to just jump up when the other dogs come into the house. But they have to have their house time and time with me.

Now Christmas is almost here and I have so much to catch up with. Mostly wrapping which is not especially fun.But I have to get it done. I spend some time just sitting and watching this little miracle. Maggie is doing well, she makes sure that they get fed at regular times. She is such a good mom. I just wish she would sleep through the night. The puppies have grown some already. It is amazing to see. In a couple of weeks they will hear and start to see a little, the whole process really is a miracle.

Hope you all have a very Happy Holiday season and a Healthy New Year.

I know it just looks like a pile of puppies and that is exactly what they are. I call it pig piling, they all get together for comfort and warmth. They love to feel close to one another.

 

 

                                    MERRY CHRISTMAS

WELL I SURE DID GET BEHIND AND TOTALLY DID NOT POST FOR TWO MONTHS. BUSY,BUSY,BUSY

 I did classes with Dodger all summer and it was fun and busy with training outside of class. I brought home Trudy a Sam daughter and a pedigree I wanted to add to my breeding program. I try to schedule all my own appointments before winter and I had a few of those this summer. I don't like driving in the snow so I get as much done as possible. As it is I have two appointments early December and hope the weather is good. 

I am having the Thanksgiving day with my sons in laws. First time since my husband passed. It will be nice to be with family again.

I bred Maggie and she is due to have pups mid December. I did breed Zoe too but I can't tell if she is expecting. I have several people waiting so I hope I will have enough pups for everyone. I won't know until the pups actually arrive.  

I had a couple of Sheltie gatherings at  my house, one in the summer with dogs and one this fall without dogs. We are having one more before winter settles in. All the agility equipment is put away in the garage and the A frame is covered. Ready for winter. The dogs can still run and play and run they do. Dodger and Flash are pretty equal in speed. And when Owen comes to visit he and Dodger are usually neck to neck with their speed. They have so much fun. 

Much more to do for winter, clean the furnaces and have the septic pumped. Thankfully I have appointments for both.

The dog yard is empty of the crab grass and ready for snow. But I am not, last thing I need is snow. Dodger was so funny with the first little snow we had a couple of weeks ago. He is just 9 months and had never seen snow. He stood there and barked at it, when it did not move he barked at it again, He was so funny, yet when he walked the snow disappeared. Finally he just trotted away in the snow and stopped barking. A strange reaction to a first snow. Most of the dogs would just bite at it and then run as if it was chasing them. Too funny!!

Now I have to get ready for the babies that will be coming. I am looking forward to that. I have to set up the heat lamps, gather all the towels needed for the whelping, set up the incubator so we have a warm place for the pups when another one is arriving. 

It is a very busy time but it is exciting to see all the new little lives. It is such a miracle. In the meantime I have two pups to leash train. Trudy 4 and 1/2 months old and has started leash training and doing well. Finn the newest family member only 13 weeks. He has started and knows what is going on. He is a blue merle boy and as cute as a button. He is a Sam son and that makes the family complete.