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.
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….
Well I am finally getting the “Past Puppies” section of our website done. For all of those who have sent me pictures, thank you! Those that haven’t, I’d love some to show off! Have a look around at it- the 8 week old puppy pictures are clickable to photos sent back to me from their new owners. We love seeing them in their new homes and we love the funny stories you tell us. This way I can share those photos with everyone else that looks at our website.
Izzy is looking more and more pregnant to me. I won’t make the call for sure on it until I see some more weight gain and a big belly after Maggie tricked us last time. I am so excited for her litter I can’t stand it. We are going to miss the family Thanksgiving dinner this year to be with her! We will have to make our own turkey here at home. She is due November 22nd. There will be no way to got to dinner this year. Hopefully she won’t be whelping ON Thanksgiving! In that case, it’ll be pizza.
We went to a dog show Sunday afternoon. Hannah and I are anxious to start showing. Guinevere will be our first show prospect. She is a beautiful red standard Dachshund girl. I will have her photos up on the website soon. Guinevere is a beauty. The Dachshund people will groan when they see her coming into the ring. She is a shoe in for the win. We are starting ring training with her now.
Well we just have Mandy here now. She will go to her new home in a week or so. She is with Penny, our piebald puppy we picked up Sunday. I traded my friend Mandy for Penny and Hazel. Mandy was forlorn after her siblings left, so we got Penny a few days early so she could have a friend. They are doing well together. Penny’s photos will be up on the site soon too.
Thanks for following the news here at Gallagher Farm!
The house is much quieter. My doggie chores take 1/4 the time in the morning. We have just 4 puppies left here- down from 13. What a difference that makes! It is sad to see them go- but it’s fun to see people who’ve waited so long finally get their puppies. We enjoy meeting these people face to face that we’ve talked to for so long. I hope you all keep in contact and email me from time to time with photos and your funny puppy stories. Enjoy your little furry bundles.
I can’t be positive yet, but I’m fairly sure Izzy is expecting. So, I have a new litter to look forward to. It’s like Christmas to me off and on all year around waiting for a new litter of puppies. I can’t wait to see what they’ll have. You never know what you will get. It is like a surprise gift!
Izzy is a beautiful dog and with Charlie the color possibilities are endless. This is going to be so much fun. I hope more than anything she is expecting because Cyndy has been waiting for a chocolate and tan wirehair puppy from us for months and months. She was disappointed when we found out days before Maggie was due that Maggie wasn’t having any puppies after waiting Maggie’s entire pregnancy with us! I hope Izzy has just the puppy she wants and that it is worth the wait. I don’t think I know anyone as patient as Cyndy. I know I’m not!
Sherman and Abigail ship on the 10th, Shug on the 14th, and Mandy will go to her new home right after that and then our puppy playpen will be empty until Izzy has hers. Over one month with no puppies is going to be a long time! I guess we’ll take that time to enjoy our newest ones- Hazel and Guinevere.
Thanks everyone for reading and following along what goes on at this little farm. We’ll keep posting news as it comes.
Well Hannah alerted me this morning that the puppies need a bath– she called Texas Tootsie Pie- “Texas Sour Pus.” I said, “Hannah why did you call her a sour pus?” She said, “Because she smells like sour milk and she needs a bath.”
So, needless to say, we did doggy spa treatment on every puppy in the house. We trimmed nails up, scrubbed ears, and bathed everyone. Next the Brussels are going to get their rear end shaved a little to help keep their rears clean.
I think we’ll go right on and do the adults outside later this afternoon when it warms up. Everyone is getting a bath!
Now that I’m wet and smell like a dog myself, where do I go to get MY spa treatment?
We are in the BUSY part of raising puppies. They are all big and need room to play and know how to whine for what they want! Big puppies poop big poopies too! Keeping everyone clean and fed is consuming my days at this point. This is the marathon to the end. This hard work is what makes it possible to let them go. You get so exhausted taking care of everyone that even though you love the puppies, you are ready for some relief! It is always a sad time to let them go though. The house is quiet all of a sudden and we hardly know what to do with ourselves not having puppies crying us awake in the morning for their breakfast.
All of the puppies are doing well now. I had a tough time last week with Tootsie and Mandy, the two Brussels, because Sophie’s milk is drying up early. I have them drinking goats milk from a bowl now because they don’t like dog food yet. I had been syringing measured amounts down them and monitoring weight. I was a nervous wreck that I’d lose one. They had lost some weight and weren’t acting like themselves. We are out of the woods now and they are both gaining. I think I spent the better part of several days next to their crate! I am glad they are drinking milk out of the bowl now.
Well the first puppy goes this weekend. Snooker is going with me to St Louis. He will meet his new Daddy there! Then, puppies start flying October 3rd. I am excited for the new puppy owners and very pleased with the homes we have found our puppies this time around.
We are in the process of weaning all the puppies. I like them weaned 1 week before they go so they have a chance to be on just dog food here for 1 week and I can see how they eat. Tootsie’s puppies will be weaned by the weekend at the lastest. Hers are all doing very well. They are hungry little things in the morning whining and begging for breakfast. They have woken us up all week wanting breakfast.
Millies puppies will be weaned within 1 week from now. I will gradually increase the time she is outside away from her puppies and start having her sleep in a crate without them starting tonight. Last night she wanted out at bedtime. That’s a good sign it’s time to wean.
Muffin and Sophie’s puppies are just beginning weaning. I’ll wean them over the next week to week and a half. I will only bring the Momma’s in 2 or 3 times today and will reduce that to none over the next 10 days or so.
So- it won’t be long and the Momma’s will be done with their little charges….and they’ll soon be ready for their new homes. We are going to miss the puppies!
On the bright side- Izzy and Charlie were bred and Izzy’s due date is November 22nd!
I was working on answering emails and the kids were playing with puppies behind me. I heard Hannah say, “Ok boys, get ready for the love circle.” I turn around to see what they are doing and they are all in a circle with the dachshund puppies in the middle. They all pick a puppy out of the middle, hug it, snuggle it, and pass it to the person sitting next to them. When every puppy gets a hug from each kid, they put those puppies back and pick new ones. So- this way they all get their share of love- assembly line style! What will they come up with next?
Even Thomas was trying to get in on the love circle. We have to watch Thomas though because he likes to love a little too hard at times! We also have to watch him because apparently he has seen the momma’s lick the puppies- and he decided he wants to lick them too.
HAHA! He just licked Millie’s girl as I was typing this. She has a little wet spot on her head from him. Thomas is just doing his part to love the puppies. I told you they will be socialized and I mean it!!
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