Darby- One Year Old 12/10

My baby Vallhund, she's looking so grown up! And what a good sport Darby has been, especially since I've been so busy with Syd and Breezy's puppies recently. She didn't complain {much} when she did not get a big birthday celebration for her first birthday. She did get some new toys, and she did have to have a little fit of dramatic facial expressions. I expect nothing less from Baby Show Dog. Hmm, well, that's OK, she'll always be Baby Show Dog to me!

"Hello? Is anyone going to come out and play with me on my birthday?"

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"What's that? You are telling me there is no party for my birthday? Stoopid puppies."

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"No, no, that's OK, I'll survive. Really, it's not that big of a deal."

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"Excuse me? I'm sorry, did you say presents, and COOKIES??? Oh, that's much better!"

"Look at me, I just finished Baby Show Dog obedience classes, I can lay down and look Super Cute to wait for my cookies!"

Happy Belated Barkday, Baby Show Dog!

Indignant (Darby)

Darby says -cuz some people thought maybe it was Hawk (who would never dream of acting so dramatic or demanding). sorry for the confusion!

How. Dare. You... Lock. Me. Out.
Ignore. Me.

Tell. Me. To. Be. Quiet.

I. ..Demand... A... Lawyer

signed, I can bark louder than you can

Hawk-Daddy

Hawk is a proud dad again! This time he has some red and some stub-tailed babies. A first for the Hawk Man, as Bitsy's pup Frankie was grey and had a full tail, and all of Mele's pups were grey, full tailed babies.

11, count 'em. Nikita (CH Bodatorp Nikita) free-whelped a total of 12 puppies last night. I was talking to her owner, Lori, on the phone last night when there were a total of nine puppies. Then Lori said that she thought Nikita was having another, and out came #10, a boy. Another 20 minutes, and Lori said another was here, but sadly it was stillborn. Five minutes later, #11, another girl, arrived, alive and healthy. Whew, that's a lot of puppies. I finally got off the phone with Lori, and she called me about an hour later and said, "You know how I said I wouldn't call unless there was another puppy?" Well, Nikita had ANOTHER puppy. TWELVE total delivered, ELEVEN living. The breakdown on tail types and colors are as follows:

7 tailed girls (5 red, 2 grey), 2 stub girls (1 red, 1 grey) (the stillborn was a tailed girl)

1 tailed boy (red), 1 stub boy (grey)

Lori was able to take a few pictures last night. Look at that pile o'puppies! What gets me is how happy and refreshed Nikita looks. Shouldn't she be exhausted?

Rotating the puppies so everyone can nurse without competition last night.

Maybe Nikita is just happy she doesn't look like this anymore!

Photographing Wrestling Vall-Pups

When Vall-pups are playing and wrestling, it's serious business. But first, before getting to the photography portion of our program, doesn't The Hawklet look so grown up in this photo? He hardly looks like a puppy, maybe it's the demonic wrestling side of his ownself taking over!

OK, so the Vall-pup wrestling is serious stuff. They get so wound up, and they always end up jumping into these oval dog beds (thank you Costco!). Whoever makes the first leap into the bed ends up at a total disadvantage, as you can see. Darby didn't stand a chance against The Hawklet. So, I pick up the camera, hoping to get a few shots of them playing but maybe looking at me.

Me: "Puppies, Darby, baby-dog, hello, look at me." (infer high-pitched voice)

Me: "Hey, Darby, look, I have the camera. Hawklet, puppy, here pups."

Me: "Come on you guys, I just want ONE picture, puppy-puppy-puppy"

Me: "OK, then, I guess nobody wants a COOKIE!"

I wish I could express the instant Vallhund reaction where Darby literally flung herself up and tossed The Hawklet off of her and out of the dog bed! And it's a real shame that I was so busy laughing about how quickly Darby was all smiles (and I think The Hawklet is learning the smile too!), the photo is out of focus!

Hi there, handsome...

Summer and Michelle helped me get pix of The Hawklet (4 mos) today at a puppy match. Little guy got a Group 3 and he actually walked on a leash and tried his best to behave. My standard disclaimer is that YES, I know I'm biased, but I think the little dude is getting more and more handsome. It appears we do need to do some work with that inside back leg, it seems to be doing its own thing in a couple of the photos!

New Hawk Litter On The Way!

There will be a new brood of Hawk-babies arriving shortly! We are excited to see the new babies, and will post pix as soon as we get the good news. I'm very pleased with the way Frankie grew up, and the new litter with mom Mele is a very handsome group of babies.

Anotha Brotha, Loki

Look, we've heard from Liz and have located The Hawklet's Brother #3! His name is Loki, and he lives in Indiana with Liz and family.

According to Liz, Loki's teeth have a fondness for footwear! Oops, naughty Loki.Loki has a 14 year old Pem sister, and well, you Pem people won't be surprised to hear that sister Maddy is none too fond of the Loki pup! Imagine that!

The first thing I noticed about Loki in this photo is his super fat foot. I love that fat foot. To steal a phrase from my good friend Jacque, I could just eat it with a spoon! Love the fat feet. haa. So thanks Liz for sharing photos of Loki, I hope I'll keep getting more and more photos of ALL the other puppies. Now I just have to track down one more brother and one more sister to have the family all accounted for!

It might just be me, but I'm getting the impression that Loki is one spoiled little guy. I think the cat is trying to tell me something, but if she was blinking an SOS in Morse Code, that doesn't translate well in photos. But I can just imagine him beckoning a human to hurry up and sit down, because he needs a lap for a nap!

Who's behind the door?

You know, in studies of monkeys, The Hawklet probably wouldn't be rated beyond a Baboon for the "self recognition" test!!!

All in the Family- Kash and Seti and Acorn

Fun stuff today! We have made contact with some of the other Hawklets! Two of the baby brothers are on opposite sides of the country, and both are absolute cutie pies! And sister Acorn lives in Canada.

First, we have Kash (Caval's Loose Change). He lives in Arizona, and he lives with another Vallhund big sister, 12 1/2 year old Sage.Isn't he a doll??? He has started some clicker training, and his mom hopes he may be a good service dog with training. He really likes his older sister Sage, and follows right behind her on their walks. We are hopeful that Kash will have a family reunion with us in Flagstaff next June when the Vallhunds head to Arizona!

The next brother is Seti, short for Forseti (Norse god of justice). He lives in New Hampshire. His mom says that right now he's learning that the cats, pigs, and chickens would like him more if he didn't play too rough! He really loves playing outside exploring the woods. We think Seti is also a handsome, handsome little dude!

And then there's sister Acorn! Acorn lives in Canada, eh? She's pretty cute, and keeps her mom hopping! Hey, is she sticking her tongue out at us???

How'd You Get So Handsome?

The Hawklet's mom and dad. On the left, Caval's Mele. We think she's a pretty girl. And on the right, a familiar character, The Hawk-a-doodle.

So I ask, how can this little munchkin NOT be a cutie?

He's a Genius!

So The Hawklet has no name, but he's a genius already, at 12 weeks old. Tonight I decided it was time to start some training. Since I skipped the dog shows with Syd, this is kind of like a "free weekend" and I thought it would be good to see what kind of brain the little guy has!

I did about 10 click/treat to help him understand that the click means good things. Then I put a treat in the clicker hand, and c/t when he touched my hand. That was it, then we were off for the real test.

Here is the first video, of the first time we practiced TOUCH. Notice the moment the Light Bulb goes off and he figures out how to get the cookie (which is really a piece of kibble). :-)

Now in the second video, 30 seconds later, it's clear that the puppy is a genius, and he is training for Speed Touch competition.

No Fear

The Princess and her new prey! Darby is sleeping well at night, that's for sure! She's always in demand, either to play with one of her Cardigan sisters, or to keep the Hawklet occupied! Hawklet loves big sis Darby. But shouldn't he have at least a little bit of fear or hesitation before he launches himself up the Aframe???

I guess he does have a good role model.

I think Darby might not be so pleased about Hawklet learning her special trick so quickly.

And now, just to give the Princess her due time, I present Baby Show Dog herownself, now 9 months old and loving retirement ...

"Have I ever told you how pretty I am?" (said in a Southern drawl, name that movie)

Perched in her favorite place on top of the Aframe.

Livewire!

Yes, it's blurry, if that's any indication of the speed of Vallhund Puppy Play. In a word, Darby is "EXHAUSTED!"

Baby Hawklet walked right in the door and acts like he's lived here forever. Above all, I'm so pleased to see Hawk's stellar temperament shine through in this puppy. Baby Frankie was the same way, and I was hoping it wasn't just a fluke! The puppy is already trying to wrestle with the cat, he's in love with Big Nick (what a puppy magnet the big dog is!), and he's gathered up all the toys in the house. Oh boy, I think Darby may have met her match! I hope he wants to sleep tonight!

News From The Road

From Kathy last night:
"Mr. Puppy is a three ring circus. He's curious about his surroundings, doesn't display any exaggerated startle response. He found his reflection in the floor length mirror on the outside of the bathroom door. He seemed to think that puppy in the glass was quite interesting - oh and he found his tail. Molly has tried to herd him or something. She follows him around the room like she needs to make sure he doesn't do something wrong. He nearly toppled the bathroom trash can, put his front paws up on the edge of the bathtub, grabbed a rawhide chewie that Margaret's Badger had left out and drug it halfway across the room. He got some attention from a couple of Millie's clients who came to pick up their dogs this afternoon. Hesitant to come out of the crate, but once out excited and happy with his surroundings.
That's tonight's update....have to get to bed so we can leave in the morning. More from wherever we stop for the night.
Kathy
PS He's so darn cute."

And a short note this morning, titled "A Climber Too:"

"I had my back turned to pack some things a few minutes ago and when I turned back Mr. Puppy was nearly on top of his own crate!
At The Picnic, each dog was given a goody bag with lots of toys, treats, bandanas, etc. So, I pulled out a couple of the smaller toys and puppy is having a ball with a little vinyl sheep, a yellow plush snail and another toy-canvas on one side, fleece on the other.
Pictures tonight.
Kathy"

He's getting closer...

Hawk Junior has changed hands, and is one step closer to Kansas City. His breeder handed him off to Kathy this morning, and she'll be playing with him today. His itenerary includes a very special visit to "Kallista" Pembrokes, where he will have a fun time in a big puppy yard while Kathy visits with Millie and crew.

Tomorrow, it's Wagons West for the crew, heading back toward Missouri. I believe the puppy will arrive on Thursday.

Kathy's report is that he came right out of his crate wagging and giving kisses, with no apparent fear of his new surroundings. whew! That was great news to start off the morning.

And I think I could just squeeze that fat back leg sticking out to the side in the first picture, it's so cute .

I can't wait to meet the little guy. I might be imagining, but for some reason, he reminds me a bit of his dad in these photos. I'm sure Darby will have lots of information to share with him while she shows him the ropes around the house! Kathy snapped a few candid shots of Baby Boy Vallhund this morning at the hotel (accompanied by the lovely Molly).

A Special Hawklet

is heading this way. Kathy (Corgi Committee Diaries- http://corgisandme.blogspot.com/) is on another road trip adventure with her Pems, Rhys and Molly. She'll be providing expert transport for a special delivery.