And Then There Were 6

I'm as Pretty as my Sister!



Move Over Girl, I'm Pretty Too!



Look at Me, I have a Harly Davidson Collar, Dude!



Emily Likes Me Best!!



I've got the Looks and Muscle to Go with the Brains!

I started this one on Tues, but it's now Saturday, Aug 15th. This is going to be a long "letter" as a lot of activity has gone on since Sunday's visit. Our first pup "out of the nest" was a beautiful girl. She happily went with our buddy, Greg, and his bitch, Maude. They headed out for Rhode Island, with New Jersey as the second stop. She did "cry" at first, but Greg reported that she has won over all she meets and is doing beautifully! Next, the 9 other pups had their first vet visit- 3 on Tues, Aug 11th. and 6 on Thurs the 13th. The Tues group all did well on the drive down, even when we passed a roll-over on the interstate--the car was on fire (fully) and the police, ambulance and fire trucks- sirens on blast-were just arriving. That group took all the noise in stride, with only an occasional whine. At the vets, they seemed to be checking out the place, but no crying, no shaking, and some very big slurps for our vet, Dr. Furness. The weights were even (all in the 11.5-13 lb range), all heart sounds normal, all got that first "shot" without even seeming to notice a sting in the rear. Talk about proud parents!!! On the way home, they all urped up lunch, one even went so far as to do it in projectile form (clean up is so much more fun when you have to "find" it). It didn't seem to bother them as within one hour they were yelling for supper! Tues night, Alice took Kayla "home" and we waited to see if either Kayla or the pups had a problem with that. Well the answer was a resounding NO! All seems to accept the split and no one cried or fussed (except Alice and Me).
Wednesday saw the second pup leave, but this one was going by air to western Canada. He was joined by "Mary Katherine" his Swedish cousin. They were both "under the seat" passengers and Monica and Sylvia reported that everything went smoothly. I drove them up to northern VT, and a very dear friend, John Assid, took them across the boarder to Montreal. Remember I said it takes a village, well John and his wife, Lorraine, are a solid part of my village!
Thursday was a little cloudy, with occasional showers, but the pups played, and went to the vets for check-ups and shots. This group only had one upset stomach, and again everyone loved them and they loved everyone! One of the couples from Maine came and took their lovely girl. I'm not good at saying "goodbye", so I do tend to stay away when the owners come....I tend to get teary-eyed and want to snatch the "baby" back....it's so hard to let go!!!!!!!!
Friday, the 3rd girl went to PA with her new daddy. He drove the day before and had a 10 hour trip back to his home. I sent him with food, milk, dishes, etc. and written instructions etc. along with his "Puppy Packet". But true to form, I couldn't watch the girl go, so my husband and I took our Granddaughters out on a cruise off the coast of NH (Portsmouth to Isle of Shoals).
Friday also saw another couple come, just to pick out their boy...they are leaving him here until mid September, as they will be traveling and needed to "board" him if he went home with them. He will be having fun here in NH with his sister and brother, who are staying also. Then he will head to Maine along the ocean near Bar Harbour.
Monday will see another Boy head off to MA. And probably another boy will leave the next day. By the end of the week there should be 3 left as one other boy flies to CA. with his new dad.
When I think back to the week they were born, it seems as if time has flown. I went over my first "to experience" list for them and realized that they have done all that and more. They are happy, tail-wagging, face-licking, chewing on you loving pups and just as beautiful as we hoped for!
I will keep up the blog for a few more weeks, and then probably post any news about the babies when the owners let me know...in the begining it might take me a bit, but I will post pictures etc when they are sent.
I've enjoyed "chatting" with all of you....as you are now counted in my village!
Pam

Stacking Up

Mary Steps Out!



Alice Works The "Bird Dogs" with a Wing.



Greg Watches with Sylvia, Alice, Monica, Marion and Emily.



Am I Handsome or What ?!



Monica, Marion and Sylvia chat on the porch.


What a wonderful day. Not only did the weather cooperate, but the pups were surrounded by our "evaluators". Marion, Alice and I were joined by Greg Siner from New Jersey, Emily Pikul and her mom, Kathleen, from Massachusettes, of course, Connie, Monica and Sylvia. The day started (after breakfast)with a bath for each pup. I didn't get those pictures, but we all got plenty of the crew being stacked and evaluated. I'm posting a few, but will get more from Emily and Alice and put them up this week. I hate to tell you how many total years of evaluating Irish Water Spaniels was sitting in the back yard today looking at each pup, going over confirmation, movement, coat and personality. It took over 5 hours to really review each dog and his or her strong points and weak points. Greg left around 5 p.m. happy with his choices. Alice and I left around 6 p.m. followed closely by Emily and Kathleen. I did call to let Connie know about the timing for her return to Logan Airport tomorrow. She flys out to NYC at 1 p.m. and from NYC to Amsterdam later in the afternoon. She will be traveling for around 20 hours to get back to Denmark and her home. I am posting a few of the pictures, but am going to sleep within the next hour as I'm spent.
I will post the rest during the week.
Pam

"Mary" made it here!

First of all, I'm sorry but I forgot my camera today, so no pictures until tomorrow! Monica and I picked Connie up at Logan Airport (Boston, MA) last evening at 6:10 p.m. She came in from Sweden. (Her home is Denmark, but she was doing her friend, Suzanne, a favor, bringing one of Suzanne's pups to the USA) Her plane was early and luckily, so were we (we expected her to arrive at 6:40 p.m.) As we approached Connie- we had spotted her right away- we saw a carrying case at her feet with this adorable brown curly dog poking her head out, just surveying the crowd. Kind of like a princess looking out over her subjects! She was so relaxed, just taking in the sites. She climbed into her new mommy's (Monica)arms without a fuss, accepting the oohhss and aahhss as people passed along. It seemed as if it happened every day. We were "in love" with her from the get go! This pup's name is Mary Katherine (a good Irish name) and she is a pistol. Last night she slept with Monica. Today she played with the Mallyree Crew and had a ball!!!!! She is just a few weeks older so was a welcomed playmate. She also is just enough older so that she is "the boss" of the group. The boys are in love with her, the girls follow her lead. It was so educational to watch the interactions and reactions. Interestingly enough Kayla wasn't thrilled with the little cutie. It seemed to stress her out. There was a stranger among "her" babies and everyone else seemed OK with it, but she didn't seem sure. Kind of like "Stranger Danger" stuff. We will see how things pan out, as Mary will be here until the 12th when Monica and Sylvia and a boy pup leave for home.
There is always the question of when is the best time to separate the pups from Mom, so this will be discussed and reviewed daily, as we are sure she still has a few pearls of wisdom to impart to her children. I'll let you know what the decision is as soon as we decide.
Look for a bunch of pictures tomorrow night. Greg is coming for his pup, Alice will be up, as well as Emily, and then there are the "rest of us".
I do want to thank Sylvia, Monica and Connie for taking over the feeding and daily care of the pups. Connie was up at 4 a.m. today, so when I got there at 6:30 a.m. she pitched right in and the pups were fed and their "bedroom" all cleaned, including mopping the floor, by 7:30 a.m. Connie even had coffee made!! I was able to go home and spend some quality time with my vacuum, washer and dryer, not to mention my husband and dogs.
I'll be back tomorrow night with a great bunch of photos!
Pam

Hail, Hail the Gang's All Here!

Monica and Marion getting the drinks ready!



Now This is a Ball!



Kisses and Hugs



I'm Just Too Cute!

Monica and Sylvia arrived safely in Manchester,NH last night from Vancouver at 6:30 p.m. It was so good to see them. We immediately headed to the NH Liquor Store and then to Bradford (there are some really important things in life). We got to Marion's about 8 p.m. and toasted the litter. Then we fed them, played with them until all of us were sleepy and ready for bed.
This morning I came and fed the babies then set up a second run so as they get larger, we can give them the space needed to be comfortable.
I realized that I had not given you the full/correct address to see all of Jeremy's pictures...here is the correct address:
www.kezer.net/etc2009/2009-08-02-KaylaPuppies
Today is "meat day" and "goat milk day". We order in large quantities (need to save $$ whenever we can) and use the freezer to the max!
This weekend will be full of people stopping by to visit. I realized that the pups have experienced so many things, different textures, different foods, different people...they and we have been working on the "potty training", and they are setting a reasonable schedule for feeding, sleeping and playing. The only thing that we haven't done is the ride in the car, so this weekend we will drive around the "loop"--that's down the road to the main street, around the "block" (that's a country block of course)and back up the road through the covered bridge to home. I'll try to get some pictures of this.
Talk to you over the weekend.
Pam

Some wonderful Puppy Pictures

Instead of my downloading and trying to import pictures I'd like you all to visit Jeremy's site at;
www.kezer.net/etc2009/2009-08-02/KaylaPuppies
This should lead you to 50 fun pictures of the group!
I'll post a more complete blog later tonight, as I'm on my way to pick up Monica and Sylvia from western Canada.
Pam

Summer Is Finally Here For Good!

See Kids, It can be used for more than swimming!




Mom said this is "not a toy", so what is it?


Oh what a wonderful past 4 days--the weather is as beautiful as it gets! The pups are enjoying the outside and we all have climbed out of the "rainy day dumps". Yesterday was our hospital's Golf Tournament, and I volunteer each year. It is so much fun to see all my "old friends" (lol) I went up to Marion's in the morning and gave the crew breakfast, put them out in the run with toys and their Mom, and cleaned up the sleeping area. Then I spent about an hour just playing with them. They are so cute...they make eye contact and then launch themselves at you, trying to get to the top of the mountain of other pups all barking, licking, and of course chewing on what ever is available (toes, leg, arm, "bottom" etc). Today I'm off with grandchildren to a local amusement park, so I played with the crew this a.m. and Alice and her husband, Paul, will do the afternoon honors.
Thanks to Alice for the pictures on the blog today. (taken Sunday). As soon as I get the link to Jeremy's site, I'll post it and you can see many more pictures.
We have friends flying in from western Canada on Thursday and another friend is flying in from Sweden on Friday, so the pups lives will be full of IWS loving, puppy loving people for the next week.
Talk to you tomorrow.
Pam

Sunday with Friends

Friends Gather



Jeremy at Work



Hail, Hail, The Gangs All Here

What a nice day today was. Seven friends came by (along with their IWS) to play with the puppies! Kim, Jeremy, Mindy, Grace, Judy, Susan and Alice spent a few hours out back in the yard, talking, taking pictures, and enjoying the pups, who put on quite a show. They bounced around, played with each other, played with toys, chewed toes and shoes, and "kissed up" to the visitors! They had their "lunch" out in the yard, and like any youngster, they wore a lot of it. They are eating a mixture of milk, grain and meat and yes, it's sticky....but they wolf it down. We had Kayla out with her brood, and she enjoyed the company as much as anyone. My two, Rosa and Ranger, were there, as well as Susan's two, and Judy's. So it was a true Irish Water Spaniel get-together. Jeremy took a bunch of action shots of the pups. I thought you all would get a kick out of the pictures I took of the people. Jeremy will have some great shots, but I'll have to get them from him this week. I'm sure they are wonderful, as he is a very gifted photographer. The pups are 6 weeks old and are as friendly and outgoing as you could want. They all seem healthy and happy. They truly are well fed and they get plenty of exercise. Plus they are well socialized. This has been one enjoyable litter, and I find myself sitting with them for an hour, petting them and telling them that I'll make sure they go to not just good homes, but great homes. I know I'll have a hard time as each go. I've been known to cry and carry on, so it will be hard to write about their departures, but maybe it will be helpful, as I'll be "talking to" friends.
I'll post any photos that Jeremy wants me to.
Talk with you tomorrow.
Pam