Merry Christmas Henri and Bella!

What a wonderful Christmas... This is from Henri's owner Ella Selfridge.

Christmas was quite unusual around here with all the snow. Henri and Bella got LOTS of toys from Santa. Bella tried to teach Henri how to unwrap the gifts but Henri thought the wrapped gifts were the new toys. Bella found it frustrating to try to unwrap gifts while Henri ran around with them. Eventually, Bella prevailed and all the gifts were unwrapped. I am not sure Henri figured out the unwrapping thing yet though. Oh well, Bella's birthday is in January maybe he will figure things out then.We tried to get lots of photos but only managed to snag a few good ones.

Cheers,Ella and The Pack

Bottle feeder

A live shot of me feeding Gracie! The red staining on her muzzle is from feeding on her mother Madison. As you might imagine there is a fair amount of moisture involved...

Gracie is up to 9.2 ounces tonight which is fantastic. I caught her up on her two front legs crawling around the box tonight while her Mother was outside. She can drink her fill in no time flat as you can see here.

The day after Christmas...

Although it may look like Madison has seen better hair days, if you were in a whelping box with a baby caring for her and cleaning her 24/7 you might look like this too.... It's not true, this is "bead head". Madison gets out regularly to run through the snow and the house playing as much as she will allow herself. Madison is a dedicated mother and after a short romp around the house she wants right back in with her puppy. As you can see here she keeps a very close eye on her little one.

Madison's puppy is doing very well. She has gained 3oz in the last three days so she is starting to catch up now. Gracie is a real fighter when it comes to feeding time. I have discovered she really enjoys goat's milk mixed in with her esbelac (nutritional supplement) and it shows in her weight gaining. She is also a real mover around the box crawling quite rapidly from one side to another for a little extra exercise. Keep up the great work Gracie!!

Tess (formerly known as Jade) settles in with the Dawson's

Tess appears to be settling into her new routine with Pamela Dawson and her family. As you can see she is well loved. Pam says Tess follows her everywhere... She is so darn cute, I miss her very much, what a complete lap dog she was here. You could place on the couch and unless you moved she would stay by your side until you had to get up.. I do have to admit that is a picture of her with my slipper. She is so addicted to that slipper I had to let Pam take it home with her when she came for Tess... I have since replaced the slippers as they are part of my normal routine around the house and wouldn't you know it my Westie puppy Katie has taken a very strong liking to them, especially the leather laces...

Spoiled rotten is how every family member should be and Tess is no exception...

Henri Bella and Ella.

It's only fare to share picture and updates in the United States as well as Canada. Here you will find Molly and Dino's puppy Henri being held by his owner Ella, playing with his big sister Ella and just being very cute!

I love all the pictures I get from my clients and try really hard to get them all posted. I want to thank all my clients and blog viewers who write and tell me how much they love following my posts...

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

First REAL snow of 2008..

Yes, we did have a little snow before last night but now we have alot of snow at least for the great Columbia Basin anyway... I would say we received 6-8 inches of snow last night, at least in most areas of the yard. The pictures you see here are of my home AFTER I dug out the pathway to the street so I could stand in far enough away to get a good picture. The temperatures are still in the teens so the snow will be with us for some time to come. We are well know though for strong Chinook winds which would be a warm wind that comes through and melts most of our snow when we receive it or really makes a mess by melting our snow just enough to make a mess! I remember in my younger days of driving in the slushfest... try to get my tires up on the slush to where I could spray cars coming the opposite direction. Trust me... I was not the only driver working on this! Ahhh winter fun in the Tri-Cities.

Madison's little girl is a week old..

It's actually been 8 days since Madison had her litter but as the Season seems to be getting busier and closer to Christmas with all the weather and shopping left to do we have overlooked Gracie's week old birthday. Gracie seems to be getting on pretty well now. She practically refuses the supplemental feeding I have been doing and loves to be on her mother till she falls asleep... she has plenty of energy right up till nappy time.. She will have plenty of pigment as you can see here with a dark nose and all dark pads already, Gracie is very cute indeed!

Peacock family grooming session.

When it's too cold to go outside to play what better way of spend an afternoon that learning to groom your new puppy! As you can see we have two willing subjects wanting to spend a little quality time with there new puppy.. There mother Corrine says it best...

Chris,

Okay, at some point this will become annoying, but I could not help but send these photos of Tess and Lexi. This was completely Tess' idea. I had their travel trays on the toy mat (they are for in the car) and Tess asked where Lexi's brush was, she found it and this is what happened next. I could not believe how patient Lexi was and how gentle Tess was. Ava also got in on the action! They make a great team. Tess has now added "groomer" to her list of future careers, veterinarian is also at the top of her list! Thanks for putting up with me!!!

Corrine

Henri goes outside....

Looks like there is plenty of winter to go around the Northern Hemisphere. Henri resides in Western Washington State which is not well known for snow but here is Henri obviously enjoying himself out in the yard. I do have to say I could not have imagined I would find such completely wonderful homes for my puppies. The pictures I receive and stories to go with them as they grow up are fantastic, like they had never left. I know Ella is all over teaching Henri everything he needs to know and some of the things he doesn't... like messing with his sister Bella and learning the hard way about when to stop.

I have found that each one of the puppies have some similar habits like touching you with there paws if they are going to lick you, talking out loud and .... out of turn but the most common habit is "not coming when called". If you have a Westie you will know this habit and laugh along with me. Personally I use treats like a morsel of there pet food and speak the magic word all puppies like to hear, I think it's also an international word for happiness "TREAT" and my Katie comes running! We are working on self stacking but first have to get her to stand on all 4 feet at once... No hurry here, she is still very young. Thank you Ella for the great pictures...

Katie after her first grooming...

I have been promising some pictures to my clients who have Katie's litter mates of a "post grooming" session. Well here she is! Katie was actually really good on the grooming table. She stood pretty still but I think what lead up to this was making sure she was already plenty tired from running around the house before her session. I think the funniest part of having Katie here watching her try to tempt my 12 year old Norwich house girl Peanut into playing with her... so funny. Katie is very lively around the house when I am home, we are still working on her potty habits but for the most part she goes to the kitchen and pees on the floor which is easily wiped up. Heck, with the weather were having right now I don't even want to go outside... On a side note I did brave the cold for 1.5hrs yesterday protesting a new pet store we have locally called Petland. They sell puppy mill (puppies raised in unthinkable conditions) animals purchased from Midwestern brokers who have terrible documented practices of caring for there animals that we have discovered from reports posted by the USDA who is the governing body in this particular area. We hope to end this practice and ask them to help place homeless pets from our local SPCA.

Madison's puppy at day 4... well 4.5.

Under a little resistance I was able to get Madison's puppy girl to stop wiggling long enough to pose for her first of many pictures to come. All is well here today but I am a little tired from getting up every few hours to supplement this little girl as she is going through a slightly weak nursing stage but is doing very well now working Mom with all her energy after her supplemental bottle feeding until she tires and falls asleep still attached to Madison.

The weather here is very cold outside with blowing snow but it is supposed to subside later today and none to soon. I have tried to get the dogs out to relieve themselves for a short period of time and trust me they like the snow for the most part coming running back inside covered in packed snow hanging from there bodies.. Now they are all snuggled up in there warm beds watching TV for the day, quite a life all my "kids" lead here...

Henri and Bella!

Ella wrote today....Henri is such a goofball....he barks at his food bowl when he want more and the water bowl if it is empty. Bella would just suffer is silence. It is funny how different these kids are. Henri has taken to sleeping under his mattress pad in his crate....it looks hilarious. I will try to get a photo. He is also very eager to learn. He already sits and downs with no problem....he will be the star of puppy class.

Lexi loves the Canadian Winter!

The Canadian winter is treating Lexi like the princess she is... Lexi absolutely loves the snow. Corrine says they have to keep a sweater on her to better help locate her in the yard and it's pretty cold outside as well. She comes in full of snow and making a mess on the kitchen floor but some things we just have to put up with...

Madison is a earrrrrly morning Mother!

Well... after a very long and earrrrrly morning Madison and Jack have produced a beautiful little Westie girl who at 6.0oz already has darkening of the pads and a veracious appetite! Being the unfortunate only surviving puppy has a few perks like "all you can eat!" Madison free whelped this little girl in about 3hrs. without issue, at least that was my take on on the delivery, Madison might have a different angle on the story... Now we get to watch her grow up!

Jade meets her new owner Pam Dawson!

Pam Dawson is a wonderful dog loving woman who has happened into a gold mind... Jade was everything I wanted in a show dog, the only issue I had was that her tail would not come up all the way and as you may or may not understand that is a deal breaker in AKC conformation... Jade is a very loving and loyal girl who will provide many wonderful years of entertainment for Pam and her husband.

Jade's new neighbor will be her good old brother Bart, so it will be just a short dash across the neighborhood to be with her best friend again... Look for pictures of the "family reunion in the near future.

Henri's Hideout!

Chris,

As you can see, Henri is very comfortable and happy at his new home. He has mastered climbing on top of his crate where he likes the new view. He is a busy boy, he unloads the toybox several times a day, often falling alseep in it. These photos are great. Bella is playing more with him each day and he is learning to respect her boundaries. Things are going very well.The photos of Lexi and her new family are priceless.

Best Wishes

Ella, Bella, and Baby Henri

The Peacock family finally welcomes Lexi.

The Peacock family is now complete. I took Lexi up to Kelowna Canada over the weekend. I had never been there before but even in the winter realized the beauty of the city.... Brent and his wife Corrine were fantastic hosts picking me up from the airport, introducing me to there children and home then providing a weekend of wonderful comfort and entertainment! Talk about great hosts... I was able to stay in beautiful condo they own downtown over the top of there Wine bar that hosted over 280 different types of wine from all over the world and oh.. did I forget to mention a fantastic selection of gourmet food as well. If your looking for a fantastic location for vacation, Kelowna Canada is it. Summer activities galore on a huge lake and fantastic winter skiing as well according to a few people I met on the plane ride home.... back to the Peacock family and Lexi. Lexi took to her new family very easily learning much of what she needed to know in no time, settling right in. SPOILED would be the easiest word to describe this placement.

I want to thank the entire Peacock family for there hospitality and look forward to returning to Kelowna BC for vacation in the summer!

Lexi arrives home....

We arrived Friday evening at the Kelowna BC airport, both pretty tired but greeted by a very happy Corrine Peacock. The following is a direct quote from Corrine Peacock the first night with there new Westie puppy Lexi...

Hi Chris, Sorry, I just could not help myself, I had to send you a few of the photos I took tonight! We are over the moon with Lexi and she seems quite comfortable with us. She read stories with us tonight and fell asleep in my lap, too cute for words! She goes in and out of her kennel and seems to be okay with it. She did have a little accident of the #2 kind on the girls toy mat, no harm done and I did not want to disturb her after the big day and all. She is currently lounging on the couch with Brent watching the "Twilight Zone" and seems quite interested! I hope you had a good dinner and enjoy a night of peace at the loft. We will chat with you tomorrow. Please feel free to call should you have any questions or inquiries! It was great to finally meet you and we greatly appreciate that you would travel here and for all the time and effort that you have given to Lexi. It is very evident that she is well socialized. We are just so excited and happy. I was responding to some e-mails with her on my lap and cannot believe that she is on this side of the computer! Have a nice evening and we will chat tomorrow. Thanks again for everything! Corrine

Brent, Corrine and there two daughters are wonderful people! It's meeting such people in all corners of the world that make placing puppies much easier. You can only imagine what it's like for me to have to part with a puppy that I helped deliver and have grown so attached to.. Thank you Corrine and family for providing a "dream home" for Lexi! New friends for life...

Henri and Bella growing up together...

Here is our update on Henri and Bella the therapy dog. Looks to me like everything is going pretty well. Bella still has not quite figured out Henri needs to go outside alone to learn to potty instead of play but she is working on it. It's easy to see they will be best of friends for a life time to come...