The Labrador Life

2009-03-18T19:07:00.002-04:00

UGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!! Marie Antoinette???? "Let them eat cake..."

http://www.comcast.net/articles/news-national/20090318/Expensive.Divorce/

2009-03-05T10:00:00.002-05:00

Whew!! These 17 weeks flew by! I can't believe I bred 2 litters, both having some twists to them, and whelping and raising 14 puppies!!! Egad, what was I thinking?? LOL All in all, it was a bit easier than I thought, but it still was backbreaking work. 14 puppies sure make a big mess! And it's relatively constant. LOL But, I can think of no better reward than smelling their puppy breath, and watching them grow and become confident individuals. It continues to be an awe-inspiring experience.

Last weekend I drove out to my daughter's in eastern PA with the 10 puppies that were left. 6 of them had homes waiting for them. By the time I arrived, I couldn't smell if they had soiled their crates. I figured it was because I had gotten so used to the smell! LOL Actually, they were very good, and didn't go in their crates! They were very good at my daughter's and my granddaughters, 4 years and 13 months, really enjoyed them.

I am now running on 4 little black females, one of which is still waiting for the right home to adopt her. They are so funny now! They're very good about going in their little litter box, which makes my life soooooooooooooooooooooo much easier! They also know which way the door is that leads to the yard. LOL And such grown up puppies they are! Each retrieves, runs up and down my back stoop doing steps, and knows my voice.

Such pretty girls, too! I am anxious to see how they grow out. No one has a name yet, though. I haven't come up with anything I particularly like. They may be "Puppy Puppy" for the rest of their lives. LOL

Pictures to follow later...

2009-02-23T19:46:00.003-05:00

Tessa's girl at 7 weeks.

These posts are becoming few and far between as the puppies get bigger and leave bigger poops in more places.

The big news is this week is that the puppies are old enough to go to their homes! YAY!!!! LOL Actually, it's always sad for me, and a bit anxiety provoking hoping that each puppy is happy and has a good family. Typical mother!

Yesterday I trekked Tessa's puppies to MD to meet Tessa's co-owner so she could see the puppies. First off, it wasn't supposed to snow! HAHAHA! The joke was on me! Though, the snow wasn't steady, it squalled half the time, decreasing visibility to about 3 feet. LOL It was hairy at times. But, we got to Rocky Gap State Park and took out the boys first, then the girls to look at. It took about an hour and a half to decide who we liked, and we only set up the 3 girls! The temperature was dropping to near absolute zero (or so it felt like it) and the wind picked up...a perfect combination for winter fun. We froze to death! We had to go to the ladies' room to get warm. That's how desperate we were. LOLOL

Then I got home and let the puppies out, and led them back into the basement. We then met 3 lovely families who went home with puppies. :-) This week ALL of the puppies and I travel to PA to go the rest of the families.

See you soon...

2009-02-19T19:58:00.002-05:00

Introducing the actual bosses of the family...Smokey, Slinky, Pixie, and Lulu.

2009-02-16T19:07:00.002-05:00

We made it through the vet appointment with 14 puppies! My husband devised a plan to carry 3 in at a time in a puppy crate. Better him than me! LOL We piled 14 puppies into my van in 3 adult crates, and were serenaded all the way and from the vet's. Somehow, by divine intervention, no one was carsick or pooped. So, now I have the million dollar secret...puppies stuffed in a crate in a car=no poop! I'm rich, I tell ya! LOL

The fecal smear was negative for worms, etc. Yippee! They get one more round of worming this week. The protocol is 3 weeks in a row. Weights ranged from 7.4 lbs to 11.8 lbs!! All are in good health, which we knew. Their second round of vaccines are due in about 3-4 weeks. I space mine out a bit only because I am of the thinking that puppies are babies, and I try to keep to a recommended schedule, but extended.

Getting them to the van was a hoot! I felt like the Pied Piper of Hamlin. LOL I let them all outside in the back yard, and enticed them to follow me by banging on one of their feeding dishes. LOL They were like little ants scurrying around my feet. After the appointment we reversed the trail back to the back yard with my beating on my stainless steel drum. LOL

I am going to email everyone about times to pick up their puppies on Feb 27. I will be leaving Sunday around noon to return home, so it's Saturday 2/27 and Sunday a.m. 2/28. My work is coming to a close, but YOURS is beginning!

2009-02-16T09:56:00.002-05:00

Like I have nothing to do but make photo cards! LOL After the puppies get cleaned up and go outside, we will be getting ready to take all 14 to the vet this afternoon! My husband already devised a plan of running puppies to and from the van. I'll post on here as to how it all went after the appointment. I just love this vet! He's so easy, respects any input I have, and just loves labradors! Not to mention that he's experienced and bright. :-) I feel lucky to have found him here. Later....

2009-02-16T09:47:00.001-05:00

Make a Smilebox slideshow

2009-02-15T13:28:00.006-05:00

I forgot to resize these pics, so they are pretty big. LOL And the puppies nursing on Mai are Tessa's!! They "share" the duties. Tessa likes to play with the puppies, and Mai is guarding her most favorite posession in the world...her orange ball! Notice how she is looking more like a buffalo now as she loses her coat after weaning. Tessa molt is more subtle, since she is black.

We went outside again today, only this time I brought the camera! The puppies marked on their heads are Tessa's, and the puppies marked by their tails are Mai's. The little girl with the pink on her bum is Eve. :-) Just for Jen! I will be moving the computer downstairs today, too, for a live stream. I have now run out of newspapers!!! Egad, I'm relegated to using their old towels until I get more.

2009-02-14T18:03:00.001-05:00

What a bunch of goobers! Tessa's puppies playing!

2009-02-14T08:45:00.005-05:00

This is Eve. One of the puppies going to a family in MD. Click to see the larger photo.

Puppies are 6 weeks old this week!! And what an outlandish week we had! I know I've been lax about posting videos, pics, etc, but during the week, 99% of my spare time is cleaning puppy poop! LOL We have a 3 day weekend (Presidents' Day Monday!!!), and I plan on having the puppies on live streaming video again for the 3 days.

Wednesday night we had a tremendous wind storm. Winds at the Allegheny County Airport in Pittsburgh were recorded at 92 mph! We woke up to no power on Thursday a.m., and only had it restored last evening at about 5:00 p.m. So, any computer activity was hampered, of course. You don't realize how much we depend on electricity until you lose power. I found myself still flipping on light switches out of habit!

New news is that the puppies have been outside every day this week! They absolutely LOVE it, and yesterday we walked the crew up to the middle yard where the "puppy playground" is located...an empty dogloo, and a Fisher-Price baby play cube and a tunnel. Several of the intrepid puppies climbed onto the cube slide and actually slid down the slide! LOL One made it UP the slide to slide down! They crash after their playtime outside!

They have their first vet appointment on Monday afternoon. Something tells me we will be there a while! LOL 14 puppies will take about an hour or more to examine, vaccinate, etc. They will have an allover exam, vaccinations, and fecal exam for parasites. They should be ok, since they are being wormed weekly for 3 weeks.

I am finalizing the trip out to PA where most of them have homes. I'll send emails this week. The weekend of Feb 7, 28 and March 1 is the date I should be traveling out there to my brother's in Upper Bucks County to stay while we meet their new families. :-) It's been unbelievably busy these past few weeks, but it's always sad to see them go. Each one has a special place in our hearts. Take good care of our babies!

2009-02-08T11:15:00.001-05:00

Hoping this works...

Mai and Tessa's puppies, 5 weeks old

2009-02-07T09:43:00.003-05:00

Oh my, how life has become intensely busy here at the Mariwyl homestead! We are puppy "servants" now, and cater to their cries, needs, wants, whims, etc. LOL

I have begun feeding the WHOLE crew, 14 of them (both litters) together in my kitchen. Everyone is marked clearly, so I know which puppy belongs to which dam! It takes less of my time at home to clean their boxes while they eat and play. Of course, when that is all done, then I wash my floor! I bet I do 3 or 4 loads of puppy laundry a day, and that's when I'm HOME! But, the more work there is, the cuter they get!

We are moving them downstairs today to the finished (almost) basement. It has a tile floor, so the cleaning is a bit easier. They won't be in their whelping "cribs" anymore. I have pens to put them in, and it will have a "litter" box with wood pellets for their "duties." The litter is called Equine Fresh, wood pellets used in horse stalls. It is very absorbent, and has a fresh odor. Certainly better than eau de puppy poop! I fill their pens with toys, crates, cots, water bottles (the rabbit type...makes for less spillage), and of course, newspaper. The puppies have always been very good about doing their business in the litter area. I clean it daily, but it's easier than moving everyone from the box to the kitchen and back again, and it keeps their eating, sleeping, play area cleaner.

The puppies all know the sound of their feeding dishes, too. What a shriek of voices when it's feeding time! LOL I'm sure the decibel level is near that of an F-14 Tomcat taking off! Only shriller. LOL

We start feeding everyone 3 times a day now, and backing the moms down to twice a day with less food. The goal for the moms is to be back at their regular meal size and type by the time the puppies are 8 weeks. The puppies are completely weaned by then, though it doesn't mean they don't try to still nurse! By that time, it looks pretty funny to see a miniature dog nursing on an adult dog! The puppies no longer look like little infant babies.

Also, this week, albeit a week later than usual, we have started worming puppies. This time around I've used the Safeguard liquid for goats (same as Panacur for dogs) in puppy doses according to their weights. This is given 3 days in a row for 3 weeks orally by syringe. I mix it with equal amounts of corn syrup, since it tastes very bitter. It takes care of all the worms that plague dogs, and is effective. Then it's up to the new families to continue to check and treat, if needed, for worms periodically. I treat my kennel twice yearly.

We have our first vet appointment for check ups, vaccines, fecal exam, etc next week after they are 6-7 weeks old. I will have their vaccine documents for each one to give to their new families, and a list of dates of worming, as well.

This is the first time I have bred and whelped 2 litters together. It wasn't as horrendous as I'd thought it might be, mainly because the litters were delivered 3 days apart. This is like raising a very large litter. I think if I had bred them weeks apart, it would be much harder to manage them and the dams at different stages of development and nursing. Plus, I DO have help from my puppy sitter, Lynette!!!! Thanks, Lynette!

Well, it's now time to start cleaning the basement and trekking puppies downstairs. That also means that my 2 older girls, Wist and Wren, who have been living in the basement kennel, get to move back upstairs. I KNOW they will be ever so grateful for that! Now next on my agenda is to have a puppy room built to accommodate puppies, dams, so that EVERYONE gets to stay inside. It's been very, very cold this winter to leave my dogs in the indoor/outdoor kennel. The garage (the indoor part of the indoor/outdoor kennel) is not insulated, so the kennel dogs come inside when the temp is below freezing. We plan to insulate the garage and add heat this summer for next winter. All the comforts of home! Oh, and there IS a/c in there, too!

Don't forget Westminster this week!!! Tuesday on USA is the sporting group! Also, on the westminsterkennelclub.org you can see the actual breed videos showing before BOB is awarded for that dog to compete at night in the group! That is uploaded after the group is judged, of course.

Pictures to come later this weekend!!!

2009-01-31T10:46:00.003-05:00

Boy pictures...top are Mai's boys (4 weeks tomorrow), bottom are Tessa's boys (4 weeks, 2 days). One of the boys is Jack. :-) Click on the pictures to view larger photos.

2009-01-31T09:15:00.004-05:00

Well, life sure is getting busy, as you can tell from the delay of updating my blog! LOL I am feeding puppies breakfast and dinner now. This endeavor also includes changing bedding once a day now, as well, though moms are still cleaning up after their broods. 4-5 weeks is the age at which breeders' caretaking of puppies increases exponentially! However, it's a labor of love. They are just so adorable now. They wrestle with each other, and I've witnessed a few carrying toys, pieces of toy stuffing, etc, etc. They are so cute! It reminds me of toddlers who wear their parents' shoes and pretend they are all grown up!

Their teeth are almost all in now, and both moms make a quick dash into their boxes to clean up and feed. One of my other girls weans her puppies at 5 weeks. LOL I don't blame her! However, each dam is different, and some will nurse for a long time. Both Tessa and Mai are very good dams.

This weekend my husband will be removing their "pig rails" from the box. At this point, the puppies don't need to be protected with them from their dams lying on them, AND they are using it now as a step stool! A few have managed to be AWOL from their box this week! We also will be adding an x-pen to their area, and I will be buying some material for a potty area for them. They are pretty good, even now, going in a particular area of their box. I use a type of stall composite for horses in their "litter" box that absorbs urine and greatly reduces odors. Most of the time, they are very good at going there. The instinct to separate their living space from their waste space is pretty strong. It makes for easier house training. :-)

I have a few photos I will post, but these are videos from yesterday's dinnertime feeding of both litters. What a mess! LOL Both dams enjoy "cleaning" their puppies after they eat.

Enjoy!...

2009-01-25T12:56:00.005-05:00

We have several new videos today! One is of Mai's puppies, now 3 weeks old today, and Tessa's puppies, now 3 weeks and 3 days, attempting their first meal. They took to it enthusiastically, and did a great job! Of course, I over estimated how much they could eat and made more than they wanted, but the rest is now in the fridge until I heat it up for the next meal. I make the first meal for puppies from ground puppy food (Pro Plan or another good dog food product), soaked in boiling water for hours until mush. Then I add warm water and warmed goats milk (goats milk is easily digestible for puppies), and make a gruel consistency. They eat out of specially designed puppy pans that have a cone-like structure in the middle to lessen the messy stepping through it. The other focus is keeping moms from eating the food. Once they get the idea, they're pretty good at letting the puppies have first dibs on eating. Then, of course, moms finish what they don't. Oh, and the puppies are definitely wetting more!!!! More bedding changes, more often. This is now when real work starts!

We also have a lot of tail wagging going on now, and little growling that they practice. LOL They are definitely in play mode with each other when awake, but still sleep quite a bit. They are beginning to charge each other and run a few steps before falling down. Now Tessa's puppies are cutting teeth!!! Next week she'll start nursing in the "feed and dash" method...jump in to nurse, clean, and jump out when she starts to feel the little needle-like teeth. The puppies are becoming more used to me handling them, too. Some allow me to lay them on their backs in my arms and look at my face, and are pretty relaxed for a strange experience.

I've recently learned (from watching NatGeo) that wolf puppies are more advanced at earlier ages than the domestic dog puppies. The human domestication of dogs has extended their dependence on maternal and human care, and as a result they are not at such great risk to predators as the wolf.

Mai is also adjusting to a change in her diet. She finished her Nature's Variety raw diet patties I was feeding her now along with her kibble to increase her calorie intake. She's been fussy since whelping, which prompted me to feed her a raw diet she preferred. However, now her appetite has dramatically increased, and she will eat what I give her, albeit over a period of hours sometimes! The girls are now eating 3 times a day, kibble with added chicken, plain yogurt and a hard boiled egg for breakfast, just kibble for lunch, and kibble, and ground beef and yogurt for dinner.

Mai and Tessa are also spending less time in the box with the puppies. Initially, they were in there almost 24/7 for about 10 days. And they nursed them cuddled against their bellies as they wrapped themselves around them, protecting them from "predators" (the cats...LOL), and the cold. We DO have heat lamps and emitters on them, so that behavior is more instinctual than necessary.

All in all, I am pleased with the girls' transition to mothering and nurturing. It's just so fascinating to watch and learn. They still clean up after the puppies (no more kisses from them for now!), and Mai, especially, is very tuned in to crying puppies...hers AND Tessa's!

More later....

2009-01-23T05:39:00.002-05:00

More pictures! I've had a rather busy week, so I'm behind in posting pictures and updates. These photos are of Mai's puppies. It's 5:30 a.m. and I'm about to get ready for work. Late as usual. :-) Mai's puppies will be 3 weeks Sunday, and Tessa's where 3 weeks yesterday. All are up on the feet, starting to run, and just starting to recognize each other. They've started playing with each other, and they are exercising their voices and practicing barking! It's a hoot! They have no teeth yet, however I can feel them right under the gums, so I expect some eruptions this weekend. I'm going to introduce them to some puppy "gruel" this weekend (ground puppy food and warmed goat's milk). The first time is a riot! I WILL post pictures! I'll also try to get better video with sound. In 3 weeks, they've gone from little blind and deaf blobs to miniature labradors. :-)

2009-01-18T17:26:00.002-05:00

Mai's chocolate baby I temporarilty named Cherry Cordial. :-) 2 weeks today!

2009-01-18T15:58:00.002-05:00

Now the fun starts! The puppies' eyes are opening more, and most of them can hear. It's funny to go to the whelping boxes and whistle, clap, or call, "puppy, puppy, puppy!" and watch the heads bob up and look around with their ears twitching. And you should see these guys get about on all fours now!

Today I cut their toenails. Ouch! Not for the cutting, but poor moms have had to endure needle sharp nails. So, today I cut them. Oh, that was fun! No pain, but they squirm, yip, and fight being confined. LOL Then I changed their ricrac to new ones. The older ones were getting raggedy and I had little left to let out as they grow. Then, everyone got new paper, bedding, etc.

This a.m. with the wood stove going, it was very warm and cozy. The little guys were yipping up a storm, so I watched them. They were looking to crawl under the pig rails again, and a few were panting...too hot for them. I turned off their heat lamps, and in a little while, all was quiet. They don't need to be kept at 85+ degrees anymore!

I took some video I'll post in a bit too, but enjoy the pictures for now. :-)

2009-01-17T11:08:00.004-05:00

Leave it to my brilliant husband to come up with this trick! At -2 degrees this a.m., he thought instantaneous freezing of boiling water was worthy of a video. It's pretty kewl! Mind you the water is boiling, and instantaneously freezes when hitting the below 0 degree air outside.

2009-01-15T19:18:00.007-05:00

Took some pictures tonight. If I hadn't, I was afraid I'd be tarred and feathered! LOL Those on the cream colored bedding are Tessa's, and those on the green bedding are Mai's. Notice how the puppies love sleeping under the pig rails! The puppies are now attempting to walk on all fours instead of crawling. They're pretty good at it, and they don't even have their eyes or ears open yet! Tessa's babies are 2 weeks today, and Mai's are 11 days old. Enjoy the pictures! This is a 3 day weekend for us, so there will be more pictures coming!

2009-01-15T05:36:00.001-05:00

EYES are opening!!! One of Tessa's girls has a glint in the corner of her eye. They are 14 days old today! I will take pictures tonight and post a few. Mai's puppies have not opened their eyes yet. I expect over the weekend I'll see a glimmer in some.

I was going to take some pictures last night, but we had snow all day, and it took me 3 hours to get home!!!! Enough time to feed dogs, potty them, eat dinner, do the neuro exercises with the puppies and go to bed!

2009-01-13T13:08:00.002-05:00

I'm still sleeping in the living room. I think both Tessa and Mai (in the adjacent kitchen) enjoy my presence, as unconscious as it is. :-) Both have settled down into motherhood very nicely. No more panting and digging a den. The hormones seem to have balanced out enough for lactation and nurturing only. Whelping is behind them. The puppies are growing like weeds. Tessa's puppies, being 3 days older than Mai's, look like chunkos. But, comparing weights of both litters at the same ages, they are pretty close. All are nursing really well, and sure know how to find Mama! And they are vocal about it, too!

I anticipate eyes opening this week with Tessa's puppies, and Mai's to follow right behind this weekend. Then the fun begins! They start to recognize other litter mates, and ears open up right around that time, too. That is very funny to recognize. When you call them or make noise, their ears twitch and they lift their bobbing heads to see what all the fuss is about. Some will even bark! LOL

After that, introducing them to food is right around the corner at 3-4 weeks. Then MY fun ends! LOL

I'll try to post more pictures this week and weekend. Now they'll start looking like little dogs instead of black blobs. :-)

2009-01-11T08:53:00.006-05:00

I seriously contemplated sleeping in my own bed last night next to Keith, my snuggle buddy. I laid down and realized I'm not ready yet to let the puppies and girls sleep alone. So, back to the sofa bed. When the babies are walking around and eyes and ears are open, I can go back to my bed. Another 10 days or so. Mai likes to "rearrange" her blankets, and I feel the need to "rerearrange" them for the puppies. OCD? Actually, it's so the puppies don't get lost in the blanket folds. :-)

Mai has taken well to her new diet. She has decided the only food she'll eat now is the Nature's Variety frozen raw patties. Here is some information on Nature's Variety: LINK. Great nutrition, but expensive! She also likes cooked ground beef and chicken breasts. Tessa, on the other hand, is a great eater! She's not at all picky. God Bless her for being easy. :-)

The puppies are beginning to sound like little dogs. They have a little growlie bark now, and are finding their voices. I will try to take a video of them nursing. It's amazing to watch them. Their sense of smell is unbelievable. They smell mom and locate her like they have a GPS system internally. Reminds me of the crabs at the shore that scuttle towards the water.

Mai and Tessa are feeling more comfortable leaving the whelping box for short periods of time now. But, as soon as they hear their babies, they make a beeline for the box again.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Mai puppies!!! One week old Sunday!

Tessa and her nursing puppies. They are 10 days old today!

2009-01-10T11:00:00.007-05:00

(First photo) Mai's litter
(Last 2 photos)Female and Male from Tessa's Litter

Well, here we are 2 years later with TWO new litters! We bred Wren last April 2008, and she did not conceive. We later discovered she was hypothyroid, now corrected. Not wanting too much time to elapse breeding Tessa and Mai, I decided to breed them both. That was when I left my brain behind in my bed that day. LOL Mai came into season one day after Tessa, so progesterone timing and the breedings would be very close. It unraveled from there. LOL Without making this a painfully long explanation, we did breed Tessa easily using Dr. Hutchison in Cleveland via a transcervical insemination. Getting Mai pregnant was another issue. After several interferences, an uncooperative Mai, going only on her LH peak, etc, etc, she stunned us by being pregnant! We had no clue she'd even conceived. Needless to say, she is VERY fertile and the sire, Doc, is VERY virile! LOL

On New Year's Day, 2009, Tessa whelped 10 black puppies. Then 3 days later, Mai whelped 7 black puppies, and 1 chocolate female on January 4, 2009! This from a dam who wanted nothing to do with getting pregnant, and us believing her ruse. The chocolate is not available until I see how she looks at 6-8 weeks. :-)

To bring you up-to-date, it's been a VERY busy week, hence the lack of photos until now. I sleep in the living room on the sofa bed just a few feet from both girls, ensuring nothing out of the ordinary is going on. Tessa is in the dining room behind me, and Mai is in the kitchen, adjacent to Tessa, but of course, separated by a very tall gate. The a.m.'s are busy with feeding, letting dogs outside in shifts, and weighing puppies. So far, all are gaining and looking very healthy and adorable! Both dams are very good mothers. That always makes my job easier.

I have a "puppy sitter" who is with the girls and their broods daily for about 4 hours. She's wonderful, and alleviates my anxieties about not being able to stay with the puppies for weeks at a time. When I return home late afternoons from work, it's feeding dogs and letting them out again in shifts. Then beginning on day 3 of life and for 13 days, I do neuro-stimulation exercises with all of the puppies. This has been shown to enhance canine health, endurance, and intelligence. When puppies are whelped their eyes and ears are completely closed. Their main functioning senses are smell and tactile. The neuro-stimulation exercises enhance those senses and increase neural pathways in the brain. At about the age of 16 days, the puppies' eyes and ears begin to open and they become more aware of their environment, so the neuro-stimulation is no longer as effective.

Keep checking back here. I hope to have updates frequently with pictures and video. Once the puppies reach 3 weeks of age, they then become very entertaining!

2007-01-09T08:31:00.000-05:00

Here is the first picture of the litter of our final count of 10!! (Mariwyl Wren x Trendmaker's Tycoon). We have 3 yellow females, 3 black females, 1 yellow male, and 3 black males. Love the color and sex breakdown! Everyone is doing well...mama and her babies. All have gained weight and are nursing vigorously. Wren is such a good mother. This is her second litter, and second litter of 10.

2006-05-25T08:52:00.000-04:00

EARLY A.M.s HERE

Well, all week long Piper and Margaret have been letting us know when they want to get up. This can be the down side (if any!) of raising puppies. Normal time is 4:30 a.m. (I work in Pittsburgh at 6:30 a.m., hence the ungodly hour). This week they have decided that 3:30 a.m. is the time they choose to get up. Try as I might, it's still 3:30 a.m. to them. So...we need a new strategy. I have a few up my sleeve, the first being to FINISH the kennels!!! They can't go to bed later, because then they'd be up after I went to bed! Otherwise, they are sooooooooooo funny! The up side of having puppies (there are many in my book) are their antics and watching them grow with individual preferences and development. Latley Margaret has taken to hunting for some piece of us to carry, sofa throws or pillows, for example. Piper now decides that when she is done eating in the kitchen with the other half of our crew it's her duty to check her email with my husband. lol Then she waits for Mai, the terminally slow eater, to finish eating before she'll go out again voluntarily. She's the social worker in the family...so thoughtful.

Wren is about mid-cycle now in her heat, so we watch her like a hawk in the yard. Dickens is still serenading her when he can.

Well after a few days of experimenting, the culprit of the 3:30 a.m. alarm is Margaret!!! Poor Piper is as quiet as a church mouse, but her sister INSISTS on getting up at 3:30 am.!!! With Wren in the kitchen for the short term, until she's out of season, they must be alert to her movements. In any case, it was a LONG week!

The hair pile is getting bigger and bigger in our trash. All but Wren is blowing coat now. I am expecting Labrazilla to arise from the hair and walk the earth soon. There certainly is enough hair to create a behemoth like a labrazilla.

2006-05-21T06:56:00.000-04:00

It is NOT a weekday, I repeat WREN, it is NOT a weekday! I was woken up at 5:30 a.m. Wren, now in season, is staying in the kitchen to keep my wood floors clean from the discharge. Well, she's figured out, like her mother, how to get around the gate and was up on our bed with my shoe waiting to go out. *sigh* Another hour and I would have had enough sleep. But, at that time in the morning, once someone is up and about, EVERYONE wants to be up and about! So, everyone is up and about in their respective yards waiting for breakfast. I hosed the mud off of them yesterday in the kennels, so it will be a delight to see how muddy they have gotten again. At least it didn't rain last night. I hope I can stay awake until the "Sopranos" tonight. *yawn*

A friend in AZ sent me this picture she took of Dickens at the Potomac labrador specialty held in April every year. Here he is showing his stuff in the 12-18 month black dog class. I just love this boy!

2006-05-20T12:04:00.000-04:00

MEET THE LABRADORS

I thought it be a good idea to introduce our labradors before I start blogging about them. First, our house dogs. These are our retired dogs who have earned their right to live out the rest of their lives in the house. The keep watch over the house and cats, and keep our feet warm on cold winter nights. Though we consider all of our labradors as family, we can't accommodate all of them in the house. The youngest and active show dogs are in the kennels when not romping the yards.

Our oldest is Bess, pictured above, the sentinel of the house. She is a great watchdog, companion, and bed buddy. Bess, now 11½ years old, needed one major to finish her championship, but our moves and living the desert interfered with our goal to finish her. She teaches our puppies the proper respect and yet is very tolerant of them.

Next in line is our beloved Wistful, on the right. Wistful is an English import, and by my eye, is nearly perfect. She has a wonderful confirmation, and is one of the brightest labradors I've ever known. Wistful is my shadow and she has two goals in life...first to please herself, then next to please me. She's a firecracker, and unfortunately to say, is one step ahead of us all the time. Wistful gave us three beautiful litters and is now a retired brood bitch accompanying me places.

Wren is Wist's daughter from her first litter. Wren is a our current brood bitch and open black show bitch. She's a delight to have. If I am not actively trying to grow coat on her for showing, she also is a resident house dog. Wren has one quirk that is a bit frustrating for us, though. She carries our shoes and doesn't always tell us where she last left them!

Dickens, our only male, is Wren's half brother, whelped from Wist's last litter. He's a BIG GOOBER! We just ADORE this boy! He is a hunk, a silly man, and a bull in a China shop. He has already garnered a few points towards his championship, and we hope to finish him, preferably owner/handled. Dickens does live in the kennel for now. He's a sweet boy and is always fishing to find a way to play with our puppy girls.

Mai Tai is our current co-own and only chocolate labrador. I've never been sold on chocolates, but more and more I am seeing nice ones in the ring. I can probably name more chocolates I like right now than yellows. She's a PIP! Her main goal in life is to torture her older kennel mates, and play with her puppy pals, our other two babies. She is the S-L-O-W-E-S-T eater I've every owned! But, at 6½ months old, she's coming together nicely.

Piper, right, and her sister, Margaret, below left, are the current puppies we are running on from our litter in January out of Wren. Piper is our only yellow at the moment. She's a very sweet puppy and quite eager to please. Margaret, on the other hand, is more like her grandmother Wistful, a schemer. Margaret has her mother's penchant for carrying things around the house, and ultimately, things we can't find easily. They are staying with us for a while, and also live in the kennel along with Mai and Dickens when not digging in the yard somewhere.

Stay tuned for developing antics from the Mariwyl gang!!

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PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE IN LATIN
Ego vexillo unitoruum statuum americae ac rei publicae quam refert ipsum fidelitatae voveo. Uni nationi sub deo, indivisible, cum libertate atque justicia omnibus.

This is how I learned it. We recited it every day before class started in Mr. Kuna's 8th grade Latin class at Wilson Jr Sr High School in Easton, PA, c. 1964-1965.

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The title of this blog is a simple statement of who I am and how I primarily identify myself. Despite holding a Master's Degree from Bryn Mawr College in social work, I have dedicated my recreational life to my passion for breeding and showing labrador retrievers. I say "recreational life" because I work to SUPPORT my recreational life. Though my life is dedicated to my labradors, I am not one dimensional by any means. I am a Gemini. I am supposed to be able to, and can, do many things at once and well. Rather Mercurial. My passion does not begin or end with my labradors. I am passionate about many things. My husband, my children, and my grandchildren. I am passionate about justice, equality, the forgotten, and the rights of all living creatures in general. You'll never see me squash a bug unless it's out to get me. Enjoy the show!