Day 48 - Field Trips

Rex has finally decided to play with everyone - him and Fie will chase each other around the house all day if you let them.

Moto got a special trip out to PetCo yesterday. I wanted to go look at crates to figure out what size would be most appropriate to ship our travelling puppies in. They had a sale so I ended up buying two crates. He was a good little beastlet on the trip - quiet, calm, and one of the employees was dying to hold him so I let her after she washed her hands. We can't be getting diseases right now - - but I daresay he enjoyed his foray out into the world.

So, in the spirit of being honest, I am more than disappointed in what's transpired in homing my puppies. First, I should say that where these puppies are ending up is more than I could have asked for in terms of puppies that will be loved, appreciated, and well-cared-for. The dilemma I have, that I was hinting at, was that there are so many puppies available for homes like this. I did rescue for years - I am intimately familiar with the dilemma. The point of me breeding was to produce serious stockdogs for homes that needed them. The idealism has caught up with itself when I realize that if that is really my life's goal with Aussies, I need to be a lot more committed than I am. Go do demos at stocksales, fairs, work in stockyards. That's how you do what I want to do for the breed.

Instead, I've produced some beautiful, loveable (dang, how loveable - I was just out with them watching them tear around the yard, give eachother eye, head me as I walk, and nip eachother in the butt while they all try to pile in my lap and lick at me and chew on my hair) puppies.

A friend of mine wrote me this about the litter and his surprise at my having a hard time placing them suddenly: "Well my thought is they would have generated a lot of working interest.They both should complement each other in the pups by just what a lot of people want; Ben-deliberate, Fury-intensity. A nice balance, not heavy on one or the other. At least the balance is what I like." That is exactly how I feel this litter was intended and how it's turned out - with puppies in that spectrum (Reid - to - Curry).

I'm also pretty thrilled with their structure and looks. To be quite honest, there are plenty of red litters that I am not personally into. I have found that with merling, it's a crap shoot - you have no idea what kind of markings you're going to get. Look at Firma - the other three merles are the same color, but she's got kind of a darker mocha tone. More than that, though, I think of Trish Alexander's litter, where out of Teal, who is a darker marbled merle, out came Denny, who looks a lot like Fury and my puppies, despite the Slash V side looking more like Teal than Denny. Who knows? The other thing that sticks out to me is how much more bone they have than Fury - although she is looking pretty reedy right now with her fur all gone - I did good there. Fury's in balance to herself, but I wanted a little more strength to the puppies. I love ALL their heads, love their basic structure, it's all kind of awesome.

Also, remember how Tara Moto was the big dude? Reid has far surpassed him. Someone came to look at the pups yesterday and she was like, "How'd he get so fat?" He's not fat, but he's massive. It's also insanely cute how he hums to himself while he eats.

Either way, I went out to spend some time with them in the pen today and they all piled into my lap, competing for love and man, I love them. But I also know the importance of sending them to places that will have time for them each individually - which motivates me to get on the stick about finishing off placing them. I think by the end of next week they should all have a good spot to be, I just need to keep vigilant and honest about what they are and fit homes properly.

I took a bunch of yard photos/videos, but I am too lazy to upload them. Maybe tomorrow night. Have a good weekend.

Fury teaches the little guys the proper tug technique.