We did a doggy spa yesterday since it was over 80 outside and we didn’t have to blow dry. I groomed them all outside and let the hair blow away in the leaves! They are all ready for winter. I’m glad we got another summer blast before winter because I wasn’t feeling well during the last one- that I thought would be our last nice weather of the year.

Izzy has steadily gained 1/2 to 2 ounces daily the last few days. I’d say that is definitely a good sign she is pregnant. I am so excited to see what she is going to have. I am afraid she won’t be having many. I may not be able to tell if Charlie carries piebald- I am dying to know if carries piebald! If she doesn’t have many puppies and none are piebald, we’ll have to wait until later to know. Charlie has tons of piebald in the 5th and 6th generation back. It’s a gene that often carries far, so we are hopeful!

We have had Bree, my friend’s Brussels Griff girl, here for a few days now. She has been bred by Oscar. I guess Oscar is NOT a dud stud! We weren’t sure when he wouldn’t breed the girls last time! He must have just been too young. I love Oscar- he is my baby. He loves me the best. I hope Bree has a lovely litter for Cherry. I can’t wait to see Oscar’s babies.

Oh I just love this weather- it makes me want to move where it’s 70 and 80 all the time. This weather is easy to have animals in. They aren’t too hot or too cold. I wish it’d last! But, the cold is on it’s way….

Pixie, our chihuahua, is the funniest dog. She is potty pad trained, so she roams the house free all the time whether we are home or not. At night, the kids say they hear her pitter-pattering in and out of their room collecting things they leave on the floor. Every morning her bed is full of treasure. Her all time favorite is underwear and socks. Her other favorite is a pair of Billy Bob teeth from the convenience store that she LOVES. She walks around with them hanging out of her mouth. We let her have those now because after being in her mouth all the time, nobody else wants to wear them. She is a crack up. Every morning I come down the stairs and she says, “RaaaaaaaaAAAAaaaaaaaar.” It’s sort of a yawn and a hello in chi-language. She does it almost every single morning.

Every morning I inspect her bed and have to confiscate doggie contraband. She has hoards of toys, but that doesn’t matter. She likes junk better. She would be a good street urchin dog. She is fast at stealing and hides things well. She will steal bits of food that hit the floor and when she is full, she hides them under the pillow of her bed for later. After a night of stealing and dragging things halfway across the house, she will sleep amidst all her junk. This morning I found the following- and this is in addition to several toys and bones she is allowed to have:

1 bookmark
1 blue Lego seat
1 small plastic gun (for self defense?)
a ziplock bag (she snatched it right out of the drawer when someone opened it yesterday)
a spanish flashcard (is she trying to teach herself her native tongue?)
a raw potato (she stole it from the pantry when nobody was looking yesterday)

This is just a typical morning here. I just thought you might think it’s humorous. Maybe I’ll post what she is caught with from time to time. The funny thing is she doesn’t chew anything up. She loves Willy’s crocs and you’d think a dog would shred them in no time- but she doesn’t- she hoards things, but she doesn’t destroy anything.

We sure get a lot of laughs from Pixie.

I have had my needed break from puppies and I am ready to go again! I can’t wait for Izzy to have puppies. At this point, Izzy shows many signs of pregnancy, but she is not very big. I am thinking she is only having a couple of puppies. She has 18 days left and a lot can happen in 18 days. I was hoping for a bigger fatter belly at this point so I could say with absolute certainty that she is pregnant! Maggie tricked us last time and I don’t want that again!

I am looking to see some girth in the next week or so to prove to us 100% that she is pregnant! I have two people anxiously awaiting her puppies and I don’t want any disappointments! I sure wish pregnancy tests for dogs were an option. I would run around the yard and catch her pee on a stick. I hate waiting and waiting to find out- I am not a patient person by nature.

Mandy finally went to her new home a couple of days ago. She has a chocolate Min Pin, Nestle, as her bed buddy and friend. They play and sleep together. We sure miss her. The kids got attached to her after having her here so much longer than the rest. The only consolation was that we can see her whenever we want!

When Mandy went to her new home, we brought back Bree to be bred to Oscar. So she is visiting here until she gets bred and then we’ll bring her back to her home. Bree and Guinevere are becoming fast friends.

Well I hope everyone is enjoying the fall. I love fall. The only thing I don’t like about fall is that winter is on it’s heels and I HATE winter! More later….