LONGER THAN I LIKE

Twelve days since I have written about Bonnie. Her head may be a little straighter but still tilting. I have decided to take her to a veterinary chiropractor. In trying to cover all bases it is possible she hurt herself and maybe has a pinched nerve. An adjustment might help that and she would be able to straighten her head. It is worth a try and would be wonderful if this is the problem. I am hopeful.
The dogs don't like this weather anymore than I do. They just lay around and some of them love the basement floor, it is quite cool.
I had another one of Topaz's puppies visit this week. It is so nice to see how the pups are developing. Topaz and Zuzu her daughter seemed to know each other. When Coco visited a few weeks ago she and Topaz also seemed to know each other. It is fun to see them interact with each other. 
This is a really good day to brush dogs in front of the air conditioner. With this heat and humidity their coats are just falling out in big tufts. It is not too difficult to brush when the hair is dropping on its own. 
Topaz is a very independent girl and will often ignore me especially if there is some paper she can steal. That is her favorite thing to do, she just loves paper of any kind and will play keep away as I really don't want her eating it. That is her next favorite thing to do. I have to make sure that nothing important is within her reach. She loves to steal any thing that she can reach.  So Topaz and I are going to a beginner obedience class. A few manners will be good for her. Lately she has been ignoring my come command, I go get her and tell her come but next time she ignores me again. She is having fun, thinks this is a game. She will get down on her front paws, butt in the air and tail wagging, she is challenging me, "come get me if you can." If I grab a cookie she will come to me but I don't want to reinforce her bad behavior. She is so funny and I try not to laugh, she gets this look on her face that says " I dare you" and she really does. I now put her on a leash when she comes out of her kennel in the morning so she has no choice but to do what I ask and she is fine with that. I think that she will train beautifully and we will have fun. I can picture her as a very well trained dog.

Topaz and Bonnie!

BONNIE NEWS

A beautifully cool morning this morning. Should be a nice day without the humidity and heat. The kind of summer that I love. Bonnie is doing well, we don't have answers for her head tilt. We had thought maybe a tick disease as those diseases attack the central nervous system. All her blood work came back normal, no tick disease, thyroid normal and all other blood work normal. She is on Doxycycline so that if there is some infection this will clear it. At times her head tilt looks a little better but it always goes back to the tilting left. I thought about an MRI which would show any tumors and maybe swelling in the brain, I have decided against it as I would not put Bonnie through the surgery for a brain tumor. Operating on the brain can be so risky. Once she has finished the month of Doxycycline she will go on Methadexazone in case there is any swelling and hopefully it would help that. Then another thought I had was that she could have had a toxic reaction to the heart worm meds. I always used to use Interceptor until they stopped making it, there was no Ivermectin in it. I switched to Generic Heartguard as there was no choice, but it has Ivermectin in it and that could be a possibility. I have read about Ivermectin toxicity and the damage from that is not reversible. My plan for Bonnie is to just keep her comfortable and happy. And she is a very happy girl and seems to have no pain. There is the possibility that she played too rough and hurt herself, but my vet said she would get better from an injury. 
I am sitting here writing and I feel this cold nose poking at my leg, of course it is Keeper wanting some attention. He is the sweetest boy ever.
With this heat everyone is dropping coat and I have hair everywhere. I am brushing as fast as I can and it is pretty easy as the hair is just dropping out. Soon everyone will be naked and much easier to keep, sometimes I think a smooth coated Sheltie would be wonderful.
Well that is my news for today, enjoy this beautiful cool air. 
A friend of mine has a 10 week old bi black female available, she is so cute and has a wonderful personality. At 10 weeks she really needs her own home. If anyone is interested give Harriet a call at 603-539-1603. Her picture is below.

WORRIED ABOUT BONNIE

Bonnie just had her first birthday and is a little terror but very smart and can be sweet if she wants to. The past few weeks she has started tilting her head to the left and can't seem to bring it straight on. At first I thought she was just cocking her head and being cute like pups do. Now it seems to be more than that. We are going to the vet on Monday for a good physical and blood work. There is vestibular disease but she is too young for that, it is something that can be common in old dogs, a head tilt with circling and confusion. Bonnie does not have any of those symptoms. She is just as feisty as ever and every thing else is normal.  I will be glad to have her checked out and see what we can do for her. 
Took a ride up to Illusion farm yesterday to visit my friend Kathleen and see her beautiful pups.She has some outstanding pups and your heart just melts. I am hoping that one day I will have some pups that look like hers. 
For now I am happy that my young ones are growing up. A break from the puppy stage will be really good. I love my seniors and I have five of them and they are so good and so easy. Although it is a little sad to see them getting old. They are such good company, they have their favorite places to sleep and spend much of the day sleeping. But when Fed ex or UPS comes they are right up and letting me know. Then I see these beautiful pups and would love one but know that what I have now is easy and pups grow up before you know it. Having been a breeder for 40 years and showing dogs almost as long, it is something hard to give up, it is in your blood and you never lose the urge to produce beautiful pups.
On that note I have bred Bling to my Walter who is producing stunning pups and maybe something will come from that, but at the least I will have beautiful, quality pets that will make families very happy and that gives me much satisfaction. Quality, healthy pets for families is even more important than the next show dog.
I will post more on Bonnie once we know what is going on with her.
The fourth of July is coming up this week. Please be careful with your dogs, don't let them out during the fireworks. All dogs should be chipped so if they get lost it will help to bring them home. But the best thing is to be extremely careful during this holiday!

BONNIE

A LONG TIME

Guess it has been awhile since I sat down to write. Time just seems to go so fast. The past couple of weeks have been hard and there is no explanation other than I am getting close to the second anniversary of my husbands passing. It has been weighing on my mind, all that has gone by and when my mind gets like this  it is hard to put thoughts on paper.
Been spending more time with the dogs, the evenings have been nice and cool and perfect for playing ball with them They all love the chase. Sammy is an awesome retriever. Walter is a close second, and Bonnie often comes up with the ball and brings it right back. When Topaz gets the ball I have to immediately grab it from her as all she wants to do is to take the covering off the ball. We could sit out there for hours but after about an hour everyone is slowing down, the exercise has worn them out. So now when they all come in they should be good and go lie down. But it does not take long for them to be ready to go again. The old saying a tired dog is a good dog and that is so true.
One of my pups came to visit on Saturday and it was so nice to see her. She looks wonderful, and is learning some basic obedience. They are doing an awesome job with her. I did glue her ears for them as they were looking like a German Shepherd. When the pups are teething their ears can go all over the place and it is a good time to set them so eventually they tip properly.
It is so nice to see a sheltie with pretty tipped ears. They add so much to their expression.
The ticks here have been miserable, it is like they are just waiting for you to come out and they attack. I have to spray the dogs about every other day to keep them tick free. I am going to try a new natural spray called Wondercide, supposed to work really well and I can use it on my clothes too. 
Many chores waiting for me today so that is all for now and once again I will try to not let so much time go by.

My friend Harriet has this lovely sable male pup available, he is 13 weeks and so sweet. You can reach her at 603-539-1603
                                                                 

ROSIE aka ROSEBUD

Yesterday I had Rosie spayed and she had a dental at the same time.She could not have breakfast or her morning cookie, she was not happy. No one got their morning cookie as I could not leave her out, so everybody was not especially happy.
Rosie is one of those special Shelties that loves everyone. She was happy to go for a ride, not knowing what was going on and she was happy to see everyone at the vets. She did not seem to mind that I left. 
I picked her up late in the afternoon and she was not so happy but managed a small tail wag for me. Once home she was very quiet and seemed depressed, she just wanted to sleep which was the best thing for her. Last night was the first time in Rosie's life that she refused to eat. So not Rosie. Later that evening she did eat a little and I was able to get her medication into her. She likes to sleep downstairs where it is much cooler. I carried her down, she is a smart girl, I knew she would not try to run upstairs and she did not. She hurt and seemed to understand she had to be quiet. This morning she greeted me at the stairs with a couple of tail wags, and she was not going to miss another morning cookie, I knew then that she would be fine  in a few days. Right now she is sleeping next to me while I write. This is the best thing for her and for healing. 
I am so glad that I decided to do the spay now, she will be 8 years old in October, we share the same birthday. I asked the vet about the condition of her uterus and it was filled with fluid. She could easily have developed an infection. I had hoped for a Rosie daughter, but just not to be. 
I am thankful for Rosie and hopefully now we will have many years together. She is my best friend. I often call her Rosebud, her nickname. Len started calling her that when she was a baby. She responds to both names.
I love all my Shelties, but Rosie is my heart dog, we have all had one of those who are just extra special.

The best mom Sheltie there ever was!!She just loves babies and when the pups are about 4 to 5 weeks she will play with them and take care of them even if they are not hers. 
 

CRAZINESS OR WHAT!

This morning at 5 am the shelties all started barking and it went on for a good 15 minutes, I don't know what all the ruckus was about. I finally got up to check and absolutely nothing was going on. So went ahead and took them out and left them for at least 20 minutes. Got the coffee going, a little early for me. Once the coffee was ready brought them up for our coffee hour. Put the two boys out and left them for half an hour, then brought them up to join us. They were so wound up and I don't know why, maybe because Bling is in season and I need to keep her separated. But their sense of smell is so good, that it did not matter where Bling was, they knew.
Sammy has turned into a real love, stays right by me or wants to be in my lap. He also loves the ball, always in his mouth. I need to refresh the toy box, after awhile the toys get destroyed and are no longer safe for them to use.
The pups are finally all in their new homes and all are doing well. I am so pleased with the homes that they have. I hope to get photos as they develop, I love to see how my babies turn out. Maybe pups late fall, but that is a long way off. Walter has been producing beautifully and would like to have some of his pups here. Maybe fall.
Looks like a good day for working outside, more hay to rake and dump and I need to put up the sun screen over the dog yard. I get a lot of sun out there in the summer, wish I got it in the winter but not enough to do any good. They need the sun screen, almost completely covers the dog yard, there is a small section where they can lay in the sun if they feel like it and sunbathing is something that they enjoy. Just imagine if I could put all the shelties to work, things would get done so quickly! Well I need to get moving and take advantage of this good weather. I sure miss my babies, but I know each one is getting what they need and more than I could give them as they grow up.

I NEED A COOKIE, PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!

THE EMPTY NEST

This morning was a little quieter than usual. My last puppy Coco went to her new home yesterday. I had kept her for four extra weeks as the family had travel plans before they bought the puppy. It is a wonderful home so I did not mind. Though I did not realize how attached I would become with Coco. She was bonded with me too.The people who have her are very excited and she is their first puppy. I have helped them as much as possible and when they have questions they contact me and we work it out. In a week or so Coco will be bonding with them and I will feel good with taking the puppy pen down and putting it away. When the pups normally go to homes at eight weeks, you have been so busy taking care of them and not bonding closely with anyone pup. But when one stays longer it is much harder to let go. I guess this is why I usually keep a puppy. The puppy that definitely was a show prospect was going to be a big girl and probably too large for show, so the decision was made to not keep a pup from this breeding. I will breed Topaz again when she is a little older and will hope for a quality tri color female. I need to be very selective as it is easy to get too many dogs.
Rosie has missed for the third time so she is scheduled for a spay and a dental at the same time.
I did not get a daughter from her, and I did learn with a little older dog there may not be another chance.I truly believe that things happen the way they are supposed to. 
I think the time has come to get my computer room in order, it was my husbands office but I need to pack up his things and turn it into my room. Very hard to do but it is time.
I have missed attending dog class these past two years and think it is time I take either Topaz or Bonnie to learn some basic obedience. I loved going to class and it definitely motivates you to work with the dogs. 
Keeping involved with the dogs is the best thing for me. Losing your spouse of 52 years makes it very hard to start a new life and to keep the old going. I need to continue to live like my shelties do, one day at a time. Someday I may have a new normal. The hardest thing is to make the decisions on the dogs myself, we always did that together. Len had a good eye for a quality dog and he loved to show them.Again I am thankful for the dogs, they keep me going. Caring for pups makes the time fly by. On a more positive note I have met many wonderful people who have my dogs and many good friends have come from being involved with the dogs.

Kaley, a very well trained girl!!