Trip to the dog beach and, dang, I am happy with this litter

Yesterday I hosted a party at my house for a friend and both puppies had full lay of the land. Daca did great. Yishai and I were beside ourselves when she picked people to go over to and play with - get belly scratches, play bitey-games (not nipping), and get pet. There were a couple dog-stalkers who would NOT leave her alone despite my telling them it was not going to work, and so . . . it never worked. But if she's allowed to come up on her own volition, she is a pretty friendly little gal. More so than the other puppies that spent time here, even Emma.

Yishai has a friend in town who has a little chihuahua-something, and initially Daca did her fear aggressive thing until Greta (the dog) went, "Seriously? Knock it off." Important lesson learned. So we went to the dog beach today. I wasn't sure this was a good idea for her, but Yishai has been really good in guiding her and he thought it would be good, so I decided to go for it. Glad I did. She mostly didn't try her crap at all, but when she did, the dogs would just ignore her and it extinguished the behavior. More dog park visits, for sure.

Daca and Patty. Yishai and the other dogs in the background.

When Daca got here, this scene was not possible. She's not even worried about the other dogs.

Pretty girl.

Rippa demonstrates my particularly favorite Rippa-quirk - horizontal hoppage.

Dang it. If she did it, I guess I will do it. But I do not like.

Rippa luvs her daddy.

So, we're pretty close to conquering the fear aggression that must have gotten impressed upon her between leaving here and coming back. She is a wonderful puppy. She is also totally a water hound - swimming around and thinking it's all good. Rarely do I see an Aussie puppy do that of her own volition.

Which makes me feel pretty darn good.

When I finally made the decision to send Mr. Moto out to Pennsylvania, it was almost the same day that I found out Daca was coming back. I was literally terrorized to be sending Moto out there - after all, how did my super friendly, brave puppy, turn into a fear aggressive monster? What if he did it? He was going to a first-time dog home - what if my puppies were wired poorly despite everything I had done to make sure they were solid puppies?

At this point, I am pretty confident in saying that what happened to Daca was just a perfect storm. She is a cool dog, she is the same puppy I sent away, and I love living with her. At first Yishai and I were really angsty about dealing with her - but she fits in now, she's a nice puppy, and everyone who meets her adores her, even if she's not ready to get touched by them. I am pretty confident she's gonna grow out of this with time, patience, and effort, and I can safely say that I am damn proud of my litter.

I picked Ben because I wanted him to compliment Fury. I wanted very consistent puppies so I didn't want to outcross, and I think I did get very consistent puppies in type and basic temperament. I don't think I've written about this, but I am shocked at how CALM they are (well, except for Piper, but Bekka likes it and probably encourages it). Rippa and Daca have chewed nothing up, they just sit around watching things, and then when the time is right, they play with each other. But not spazzy or even puppy-zoomy. Just kind of mature, healthy puppies. Maybe that's why EVERYONE and their brother keeps asking me and Yishai if they are minis. (Grr)

I love the looks of all the puppies. Every time I get a photo, I think, "Dang, good work." I think Daca will end up small like Fury, but all of them have decent bone, good basic pigmentation, and just really neat, responsive temperaments. In fact, none of them are that chewy (although Patrick says Reid is an alligator - but I am guessing, again, that they don't mind it) - I warned Yishai that his pants would have holes - no. They've NEVER tried to bite or pull on our clothes. I've never quite had puppies like this. It's very cool.

So yes, I am very proud that my research and experience made these little guys.

And here's some updates from other homes:

Mr. Moto - who writes me emails every couple days!

And Emma:

So, basically, that's Miss Piggy, who lives at the Alzheimer's Facility. When Emma comes in to "work" - Piggy babysits her. They love eachother so much that Piggy cries when she goes home with Lena at the end of the day. Awwww.