The OTHER Pups :o)

With how much attention we've focused on the Elsie/Ridge litter here over the past four weeks, it would be easy to forget about Kenya, Pinot, and Tuc -- our three older pups. :o)

The big dogs (Ridge, Elsie, and our OTHER pups) are getting less attention while we have a litter in the house (of course, and it shows in some of their training lapses!), but we're working hard to make sure they still feel loved, needed, and a part of things. All said, they've been remarkably upbeat and patient. They seem to know the little ones need our time.

They still, however, enjoy us when they have us. Here's what they're up to these days:

KENYA: Kenya is now 27 months old, and we're still waiting on the results from her OFA evaluation, but all looks well (my fault... I thought Don had sent them three weeks ago, but he hadn't, thinking I had, so her x-rays went out later than I told you all originally). Kenya is shaping up to be an ideal retriever (we couldn't be more pleased!): gorgeous on conformation/breed standard; intelligent; eager to train; obedient; strong retrieve; energetic; eager for praise; loving, wiggly, and super-people-oriented. :o) She's just terrific and has so much potential (people keep telling us we should compete her, but I just don't think I can deal with the show politics and petty jealousies of some of the local groups here). I wish I could invest more time in her.

In any case, here she is training with Don yesterday:



PINOT: The Pinot Squirt, at 14 months old, is the pup we kept from last year's Elsie/Ridge litter, and she's looking every bit the leggy adolescent Kenya and Elsie looked at this age (she's no longer a "squirt"). She's just SO eager to please and train and retrieve and has become incredibly athletic. Her favorite thing in all the world is to train with DH (she thrives on 1:1 and is bent on getting praise however she can!):


This is Pinot breaking her sit when Don gives her the "okay" to retrieve the dummy (she sits there and quivers until he tells her "okay" and then bolts -- you can see how fast she takes off!):





DH does sometimes still have to hold her to get her to stay put until his release, but she has absolutely no trouble staying focused:


Such a good girl she is. I'd love to be doing more with her, especially along the lines of agility (she's just so fast and skilled athletically). It's just going to have to wait a bit, though. Can you believe she's over a year old already! Where in the world did that year go?

And then there's TUC:

He's just five months old now, and working out really nicely. Oh yes, indeed, he is still King Imp of all Imps, but what a wonderful little boy he's turning out to be. He, too, loves to train with DH (and me, too, of course):



He's even giving Kenya a run for the title of Wiggle-Butt-Extraordinaire (what a happy-go-lucky pup he is)!



Papa Ridge (7 yo) and Momma Elsie (3.5 yo) also get in on the act, Elsie much more slowly now that she's got full teats swinging from her belly. But you hear enough about them.

I thought you might like an update on the other "kids" for a change.

:o)

In the meantime, the pups are well -- becoming more like real puppies every day (and pooing like them, too!). Now we're into the extremely busy stage of puppy-rearing. But it's also the most fun.

The difficult part of all of this for me is learning how to balance my time: how much should I spend with the pups? how much with the older dogs? how much with DH? how much on the phone with my human kidlets? how much time with my 85 yo widowed mom: how much with my in-the-middle-of-a-divorce twin-sister? how much with friends? how much on my volunteer work in the church? how much on just staying on top of laundry and meals and dishes and cleaning? And then there's the question of working, to boot (I've got to seriously start writing for publication again - we really need me to generate income). There's only one of me and only so many hours in a day. And this version of me (at 48) doesn't possess the same vim and vigor as the twenty-something version of me did.

I'm still not balancing it all the way should. I guess I could say I'm still a work in progress when it comes to investing my time. I just wish I could figure it out for good. But life keeps changing! Aaargh.

And I guess that's just the way of it. So in the meantime, I'll enjoy and invest in the pups while we have them. And figure out the rest another time. :o)

Sounds like a plan. For now anyway. ;o)

'Til next time,
Joan