Last updated: 2022-10-18

Puppies

heavily pregnant playing bounce

However cute the puppies may be, my number one is their mother, Lucy. She's got a tough job feeding 8 little puppies and keeping them clean too. She deserves all the support I can give her.

I don't want her to feel neglected, nor jealous for my attention. Thus I make ample time to play just with her. Each day I take her for several brisk walks round the block, so we won't be gone too long.

Alas there are truly malevolent assholes in society, and the authorities too, are worse than useless. Together they turned the experience of these cuddly little creatures to acrimony, but I will discus that sepatrately.

Update 2022-10-19: I learned that despite the weekly puppy classes, Ninja has being too agressive with the family's children and they are looking to rehome him. Experts said "his cup is just permanently full", and yes, these dogs are full on! I hope things go well for him and will try to report back when I hear good news.

Also Fuego has ended up in trouble because after he ran off chasing swallows at South Shore red zone and I couldn't chase after him with the other 3 dogs in tow, some do gooder must have caught him and handed him over to the pound before I could get back and find him. I will write about that separately as it reaks of foul play to me.

Here I now bring this puppy section to conclusion as they are growing up and most do have new homes.

New Homes

I do enjoy keeping an online diary, but on Facebook I wanted to just focus on a happy puppy blog. I was hoping it would help me find them good homes and provide information for anyone interested.

Unreasonably Facebook, booted me off. I did transfer some of my blogs here, but few people could find them, so I printed several hundred fliers and distributed those while out walking Lucy. That resulted in 3 new puppy homes close by.

I was quite proud of haing got them trained enough to go outside for doing poohs and pees by the time they were 6 weeks old and ready to be rehomed. All I wanted was for Lucy's offspring to have a happy futture, but to make sure that people were serious about owning a dog in the first place, I decided to charge $450 each. Financial gain in that for me, was non existant once deducting innoculation costs and their food, let alone the many hidden incidental expenses, e.g. escape proofing the garden and damage from them chewing things.

Fuego, the runt of the litter, had sustained an injury so I was planning to keep him and help him recover. I started a separate blog page about him.

I advertised the remaining pups on Trademe. Inexplicably their status was changed to "not compliant with animal welfare" there, even though I had all their vaxxination records up to date. They never told me why and I suspect malice from somewhere, but by then I had sold another 3 and so I didn't persue it.

The people who bought Tama also bought Aroha hoping they would keep each company. Tama turned out to be a bit of a problem dog and eventually they returned him to me. Aroha would come round for sleep overs and I also would take him for walks with us while his owners were at work. The puppies were growing fast. They would set each other off barking and tugging at the lead with enough force to really hurt my joints. I focussed on training them to stay near and not go off in different directions. Then I could take them where they could run free and burn off all that heading dog energy.

The rest of this page I now leave as the bits of blog that I salvaged from Facebook, or wrote subsequently here.

2022-07-06 Escaped

Like most mornings I let the puppies into the back yard. The sun was not up yet and I played bounce with Lucy in the living room without them upsetting the game... but it remained ominously quiet. I checked outside and saw the gate was wide open. The puppies were gone! I dashed back in, quickly got dressed and asked Lucy to help me go find the puppies. She gave me that knowing look then bolted out through the gate. I could already hear her and atleast one puppy barking before I even got to the end of the driveway. Sure enough there they all were at Lucy's traditional first waiting spot. Evidently they had come to associate it with the beginning of a walk and the puppies had been sitting there waiting for us!

First I caught Tama and just let him keep waiting while I tried to catch Fuego. Fuego was prancing around Lucy, barking his head off and not listening but in the end I lured him with a treat then immediately put him back in the house while I took Lucy and Tama for a more relaxed walk without him. He was very distressed at being left behind, but gets too agitated when he is with other dogs and I'm going to have to walk and train him separately. Finding the time for the necessary one on one training is going to be difficult for me.

2022-05-28 Aroha & Pebble

I've been taking Aroha for walks every day because his new owners have to work flat out trying to meet new mortgage interest rates. He climbed in the front seat of my car and just sat next to me watching me with nothing but love in his eyes as I was driving. Here is a video of him joing our walks for the first time. It won't be the last. Aroha is adorable, a pleasure to be with. He's totally responsive to me. Much more so than my own puppies and that's because he gets adequate one on one training by his new owners.

Aroha joins our little tribe

No sooner had we arrived back than Daisy (the one I had named Pebble) and her new owner, Elizabeth walked past. I went to say hello. Elizabeth said she had booked Daisy in to have her speyed next week. It did make me feel a bit sad as I think all puppies should reach maturity naturally, they need those hormones, but I do understand the reasons especially since City council puts all the onus on the owners of the females to keep them indoors when on heat.

A young girl was holding Daisy's lead and I learned she is helping walking her, but I didn't dare to say much to the child because of all the vile rumors haters spread about trans people lusting after children. It's just not true at all. For me the important thing is that the puppy is looking really healthy and happy.

Daisy totally recognized me. She rolled over for a tummy tickle and was extremely affectionate even though we haven't met for ages. Deep down I felt the loss of no longer having her in my life. Finding them homes is not because I don't want them, nor love them, it's the only practical solution. I'm beginning to think dogs may bind for life with their first owners and I certainly did with all of these. I must try get a picture of her next time. She does her new owner credit!

2022-05-06 Nocturnal cuddles

The two puppies (Tama and Fuego) have completely shredded the nice soft dog beds I had bought them and then they destroyed Lucy's bed as well, so now they've been sleeping on my bed. It's quite a good arrangement as they can peer out the window thru the venetian blinds. Thus they alerted me last night to shadow figures with dark hoodies sneaking around under cloak of darkness in the foggy early hours. My dogs all started barking. The hoodies stopped loitering in front of my house and silently moved on. They weren't actually on my property so it was probably innocuous, but I did feel safer with my dogs there. I rolled over and went back to sleep.

Lucy lies on the other pillow that is next to mine, but sadly she does not like being hugged or even stroked and I'm not sure why. Sometimes I listen to her subliminal snore that is a restful sound luling me to sleep. Fuego usualy at the foot end of my bed and often lies on my feet keeping them nice and warm whereas Tama climbs on my chest and clamps the duvet in his mouth reminiscent of drinking from his mom as a puppy. I have become very emotionally attached to all three of them even though three dogs won't be easy to handle until they are all as obedient as Lucy.

2022-03-19 Lucy's Dad

American kennel club does not recognize the New Zealand heading dog as a genuine breed, but the farmer who bred Lucy had more litters since. He lives West of Dunedin and sent me this recent picture of Lucy's dad. Isn't that just a most handsome dog?

Notice, no collar, no lead, no restraints. These are highly intelligent bred with purpose as working dogs. The heading dog is stealthy and silent while the Huntaway is loud and runs straight at the sheep and they complement each other herding.

Farmers control them by voice command and whistles. Yes, it does take training - and a lot of it - but that is what they respond to. There is no way one will ever fully exercise a NZ heading dog on a lead as they have 3x the energy to burn of a top Olympic athlete!

Cedric (the farmer) also confided that some of his female pups became very emotionally attached after their 8th week, just like Zoe (Now Rhea) and Shadow (now Rosie) and I so hope both of them have managed to fully transfer that bond to their new owners.

2022-03-16 Aroha, Tama, Fuego and Max

I just heard from Max's new family. They got him a seat belt and other useful things, that mean he is going places with them like a family member rather than stuck at home like an ornament. It sounds like he's well cared for and happy. Dog seatbelts can be a life saver, not just to prevent injury in the event of an emergency stop, but also to stop them climbing on you while driving and more recently I learned also esential to stop them chewing the controls should you leave them in the car unattended for even just half a minute.

I gather that Paddington (the cat) had an uneasy truce with Tama, but it's worked out really well with Aroha. The puppinalities of the puppies are so radically different. Tama's exuberance is full of joy and playfulness, but I can imagine it's a bit too much for a cat. Aroha means love, and right from the start he was much more docile and affection seeking.

Meanwhile Tama has settled back in with me and keeps the house a lively hive of activity. He's just so bouncy! I had left the car door open and the next thing I knew Tama was standing with his paws on the weel as if to say I'll do the driving today!. By the time I got the camera he must have realized he didn't have the key in the ignition. 😉

I bought a squeaky toy for Fuego who absolutely loves it and they take turns running off with it squeaking as the other gives chase. Even Lucy started joining in and I think just having one between them makes it more of a game than if they had one each.

2022-03-12 Zoom lens

Cell phone is handy for taking pictures, but I wanted to use a telephoto lens so I could get down low and have the sea behind my puppies.

Thus the very next day I took my Sony ILCE-6300 with a zoom lens to the beach, a bit worried about sand and salt water, but no point having the thing if I don't dare to use it.

I snapped pictures in "raw" mode so that all the data is available. For best effect it needs to be processed once you get it on a computer. Here are two examples.

Tama is such a handsome pup. He's a naturally photogenic and I've decided fate had a hand in bringing him back to me 😎

2022-03-11 Sun Sand and Sea

With two puppies on the beach there is a danger one could run off with other dogs and get separated from us. I put long ribbon leads on both the puppies so I might grab hold. I know there is a danger that can cause injury if it snags on something but with just sand and the surf and no kind of handle on the ribbon, that wasn't a big risk. In the end the puppies were content to just chase after Lucy. Soon they were so tired they were happy to let me catch them.

They really enjoyed it and when we got home they were exhausted and fell fast asleep making happy little dreaming sounds. I took them again later in the evening as it's best when the tide is out and the sand is hard and wet. Click the thumbnail to open a page that shows the tides round Christchurch.

2022-03-09 Tama Comes Home

Tama was everyone's favourite right from the start, but extremely energetic, clumsy and destructive too. He's the kind of dog that craves many hours of physical exercise every day. His new owners too found him a bit of a hand full, so they took on Aroha to keep each other occupied, but it was too much and so Tama has come home now. A bit of initial rivalry, but Lucy and Fuego soon accepted him again and they were all playing nicely.

It's not my imagination. Even in this out of focus snapshot, Tama is looking at the camera. He is always focussed on me... just wondering what I will do with him next.

We will be a 3 dog home for now, but I will probably have to find a new home for either Tama or Fuego soon.

Road Safe

A family with children who live out in the country wanted a puppy and the mom asked at what age puppies stop running off. Well I'm not sure about how things are when you have lots of land but the reality is that dogs are not like cats and even if they were, many a time Lucy and I have found dead cats by the side of the road. If you can't provide a fenced in puppy proof area you are going to have to train them to be road safe. So here is me with Lucy. We did this kind of traing for 6 months with a lead on her until I knew the lead was utterly redundant.

road safe?

Note: The dog control act just says they must be under effective control, but at the time I didn't realize city council has a by law that demands all dogs to be on leads regardless unless it's a designated leash free area.

Puppy play

While some play is instinctive, with puppies it won't naturally develop beyond biting, chasing and chewing. Just like children, they need the guidance of experience. Mature dogs in turn need to learn how to play nicely with a fragile little puppy. Fuego missed out on a lot of play due to his leg injury. Here Lucy is helping me introduce him to tug-of-war.

tug of war

I play with my dogs regularly, often just as quick diversion in my daily routines so they never loose capacity for sponaneous joyful play.

2022-03-08 New pictures of Max

This is just typical Max... excited about everything.

Some of the other puppies would cower away when I got the hoover out and lucy would slink off with her tail between her legs, but not Max!

Well, IDK I think you said you wanted an alpha-male dog? You've certainly got one now 😉! It's Max to the max.

I added the new photos to his gallery... just have to change my script to show the new ones first (reverse order). It's on my TODO list!

2022-03-06 Night Walk

When Lucy was a puppy I used to take her out late at night to teach her about crossing the road and traffic lights when there was little danger of traffic. Within 6 months she was so good at it that I could walk her all the way to City center through busy traffic without a lead, or any adverse event. Lucy came to love the nocturnal activity.

Lately she's been frustrated as we have puppies in tow. I do take just her out for a long run on the beach every day as well, but tonight she was restless and so we went out about 2:30am. We did all the traffic lights on the route. Police in a vehicle observed, but didn't question me about the absence of a dog lead.

We saw several high speed emergency vehicles racing through red lights. In the distance we could hear hoons burning rubber in more than one direction. These are dangers that motivated me to train Lucy to stop and wait on command, but we didn't need it this time.

I also saw a shadowy figure sneaking across a lawn. When she saw me she hunched down and started rummaging in her bag, so I couldn't see her face. Suspicious, I though, but I would just be inviting trouble if I got involved.

Suddenly Lucy started trotting up a long gravel driveway to some houses on a rear section. I realized it was the one where Tama and now also Aroha are living. Although she's been there on foot only once (and twice in the car) I'm convinced she either recognized it, or more likely she can smell them and wanted to go visit. She does the same when we walk past the side street where Brew, the puppy's father lives!

2022-03-05 Photo Galleries

By far he most photogenic is Tama... he's a photographer's dream come true. He's always looking at the camera and a born talent as photo model. Click the thumbnail to see what I uploaded for him.

Intending to develop my own free speech commenting system I had created web domain "howl.zone" and was adding photo gallery facilties for public use. However, I don't fancy spending my time moderating troll posts and inappropriate images so I changed my mind and have gone back to Disqus for commenting. If you have a Disqus account you are welcome to join in the discussion and can also post your own pictures and videos in the comments there.

The new owners of Max sent me some pictures so I've uploaded those with their permission. I've also done one for our puppy parties and hope to be adding many more soon!

It may be worth eliminate failed images and maybe enhancing others. At the moment you can also search the galleries as files. With some I uploaded the raw image data so people can download and do their own post processing if they wish. I sall be exploring what works and what does not.

2022-02-28 Zoe has a new home

They wanted to try her out and see how she gets on with their older dog and cat, but I just knew she would be no problem.

She is the sweetest little creature one could ever cuddle and even more submissive than Shadow (now called Rosie). Zoe's new name is Rhea. The name that I had gave her, Zoe, is also of Greek origin and which means “life”. Not that different to Rhea, Gaia's daughter, I thought!

The new owners are delighted with her and will be keeping her... so all those people on TradeMe that left it 'till the last minute... well they missed the boat!

The new owners might send me some pictures that I can use here and it's just another happy puppy chapter!

2022-02-27 Puppy Party

Both Tama and Ninja found new homes at 8 weeks. Their daily rough and tumble with their siblings ceased abruptly as they moved in with humans and cats, yet these early weeks are important for a dog's socialization. We got together to have a puppy party. Tama had seen us the week before at his place, but Ninja was a bit reserved at first as he adjusted to the full on pandemonium of half a dozen siblings around him again. Then he was making up for lost time with a vengeance. I think he loved ever minute of it and even challenged his mom.

Puppy parties are a good way to socialize not just for essential puppy social skills, but for the owners too as we discuss our experiences with the little creatures and chat about other things too.

2022-02-26 Max: Home in the Country

New owners moving house and they want Max to move in with them the same day. It's out in the country and they enjoy out door activities like horse riding. It's a few minutes to the beach and once Max learns a few commands he's going to have a great time. Click the thumbnail to see their first pictures of Max in their new home.

2022-02-25 A walk with Max

Such an enthusiastic little creature, a walk with Max is totally different to the one with Shadow.

NZ heading dog puppies are ready, willing and able, to learn anything you want them to. If you just want a lap dog. Don't get one of these.

2020-02-25 Shadow finds new home

A mom and her young lad came specially to see Shadow. While all the other puppies were clamouring for attention, timid little Shadow slinked off and hid under a chair in the puppy room. She was so frightened when I handed her over to hold that she peed a bit on the ladies top and was trembling in the boys hands, but she soon realized it was safe. She didn't struggle at all. I think she will warm to them soon. When she starts making her love growl for her new owners they will know for sure she loves them and has been waiting for them to appear.

I've recently been told this shyness is quite comon for the girl pups of heading dogs even though they are confident when dealing with their siblings and familiar surroundings. None the less I'm anxious to know how her first night went away from the home she knows. I did lend them Lucy's old bed which will have familiar smells. If Shadow is happy in it she can keep it, but if it's no use to them, Lucy is still attached to it even though it's far too small for her now and Fuego likes it too.

Rosie

Update: Shadow has settled in nicely. She has been given the cheerful new name "Rosie" and made friends with their cat already! Here are some pictures they sent me. Click one to see it full size.

Crate Training

Farmers keep their dogs safe on the back of their UTE in crate, so they won't jump off and cause havoc in traffic. Introduced properly the dogs actually like the crates. I discovered this entirely by accident as injured Fuego had to be kept away from rough and tumble, so every time things got a bit too rough I was putting him in the crate.

All the other puppies picked up on this. Now I can leave the crate wide open and they go in there deliberately when they want a time-out. It's not something I taught them on purpose! They just feel it's a protected territory. The Māori word "tapu" - a sacred space!

Even if you don't have other dogs, you might consider giving your pup a safe space... he/she can go in there and you will respect his/her peace and quiet. The bonus is you can shut the crate when you want some peace and quiet yourself. 😉 Natural symbiosis with the working dog.

2020-02-24 Max finds new home

A young couple moving to a place out in the country, where they ride horses and a short drive from the beach. They have their heart set on Max. I think it's a good choice and he's a sensible pup who will become horse savvy. They plan to come pick him up after the move, probably Sunday but could be today even and I will miss him like crazy! I took him for several walks to make the most of it before he goes, but he still needs to be taught some lead discipline and is too unpredictable with the "here" command to let him run free even in the park.

Max seems to sense something is up and he managed to scale the temporary partion I put up to keep the puppies out and came and lay on my chest in the bed and I stroked him. I think he picks up on subltle subconscious signals from me like he did last time. Heading dogs are absoluetly awesome at reading body language and probably know what sheep are thinking before the sheep do.

However he got up 3 times in the night to rescale the puppy barrier so he could go do toilet. He's definitely toilet trained, but this was unusal. Then I noticed his burps smelled of coconuts and I discovered my hand cream had been chewed. That might be giving him the runs. I hope it clears up before he moves home. Despite tummy trouble he's very active and playing games with Lucy. He gets under the bed where Lucy is constrained. Thus he has the upper ~~hand~~ mouth. He's thinking - strategy! I think these dogs actually need an intellectual challenge.

2020-02-22 Shadow's Love Growl

Growl of Love

I had been out for several hours and when I get home, timid little Shadow rush towards me and greets me with her unique love-growl.

2020-02-20 Shadow's first Walk

defect

Accidentally rendered at 1080x720 instead of 1280x720 - hence the padding bars top and bottom!

Attempting to walk Shadow is in stark contrast to walking Max who was eager to run and kept bounding ahead to the end of his leash.

2020-02-17 Daisy staying over

Pebble is now called Daisy and she is back for a couple of weeks while her new owner is on holiday. Having been away a few days she was a bit uncertain about her status and the others were picking on her, but she stood up for herself and was soon joining in the rough and tumble with a vengeance.

Lucy has been awesome and plays games with them. She soon was playing again with Daisy too.

2020-02-14 Best age for new puppy homes

They no longer need mother's milk, have had their first innoculation and I've taught them to value human interaction. All the puppies are comfortable in the car and have shown no signs of motion sickness, but I haven't done any long trips with them yet. Now is the best time for them to be bonding with their owners and focus on training them for their role in life. There are 4 puppies still available and I am putting them on TradeMe hoping to place them all in loving caring homes. I will list their weights that the vet recorded at 8 weeks when they were innoculated as I don't have accurate scales myself.

~~You can also find me blogging about the puppies on Facebook, and I'm just wondering if I should create a group where other Lucy puppy owners can post their experiences.~~ ... actually no, I've deleted my Facbook account. I found it to be a nasty toxic environment and the FB moderators are every bit as nasty as the trolls, but that's for a different blog.

2020-02-13 Tama hosts a puppy party

Tama's new owners don't want him to miss out on puppy play and they invited Lucy, me and all the puppy's over for a lazy Sunday afternoon. They were thrilled to see him again and oh I missed that puppy! I'm gunna miss them all when they've gone.

Lucy was playing a bit too rough I thought, but I've seen her do that also with the others recently. Maybe it's just how canines toughen up their offspring ready for the big wide world. I don't think she actually hurts them and they certainly yelp more often and louder when playing with each other.

Puppy parties seem like a good idea and maybe more intensive than puppy training classes. It's a great opportunity to talk about our pets and a photo session with the little star that I've been missing. I was just thinking Lucy-puppy new owners would also be welcome to drop their puppy off for some play rather than leave them alone in the house when they want to go out for the day.

Max ♂

Weight: 6.58kg

Named because he was the biggest at birth. He's alpha male material, but a big softy at heart. He protected Fuego from the others when Fuego was injured and also just like his mom, tells them to cool it when they get too rough with each other.

Very affectionate and wants a quick cuddle every time I come in the door. Does't bite, just a gentle nibble, but he does like to sniff out and dig up things in the garden and still likes to chew on things that I would rather he left alone. I put tea-tree oil on electrical cables as deterrent.

I suspect this is a one owner dog and will be a loyal companion for someone who likes nature walks. He is energetic, attentive and eager to please.

Zoe ♀

Weight 5.58kg

Zoe sticks up for herself but doesn't initaite the rough and tumble. She is less adventurous than her brothers and a bit timid. She loves cuddles and to snuggle up with me at night.

This puppy would probably suit a family with children, but beware of the washing line as she has been known to play tug of war with the clothes on the line too.

Aroha ♂

Weight: 5.49kg

Ever since he could crawl the moment he knew I was there he would squeal with delight and make his way towards me even before his eyes were open! He jumps up at me excitedly which I haven't managed to teach him not to do yet, but he doesn't bite or scratch. Just a very gentle nibble of affection. He's hard to photograph as he always gets so close to the camera and tries to lick the lens.

He would be a good family dog, but will need more exercise than his sisters. He may suit somone who works from home, or is retired, but hates being left alone for hours on end, when all the others just curl up together and go to sleep.

Shadow ♀

Weight: 5.42kg

Shadow has always been quiet and reserved, she loves to chew old shoes, so it's best keep new ones out of her reach. Like Zoe, she too loves to snuggle up with me at night and sleeps like a baby making contented little grunting sounds as she dreams. She also loves attention and can start tugging your clothes to get it. Tug of war is her favourite game. Just make ouch sounds as if it hurts to get her to stop then tickle her tummy and she rolls over and is happy again.

Take charge of your family dog

TL;DR - making the puppy wait for it's food until YOU say it's OK is the first step to asserting dominance and it's natural to the canine pack. This is how I taught Lucy "wait" and "OK" command and gives me control when she is off the lea

The NZ Heading dog is bred to be focussed on his or her owner. This was so obvious with Tama... point a camera at the puppies and if Tama is in the frame he is looking at you! He's an attentive pupil and will be easy to train.

However Tama has already found a loving new home, so I shall now progress to tell you more about the ones that are still available. Each has his or her own character and will be predisposed to suit a different lifestyle although they are still highly maleable at this stage.

Puppy Harness

When Lucy was a puppy I put her on a lead using a collar, but she was so energetic and pulled so hard that she injured her little puppy trachea. Although they will grow out of it rapidly it is best they wear a harness at a young age and the Warehouse has them in their size for just $7, so it's not a big loss to move on to the next size up. Here it is on Fuego.

NZ Heading Dog as a pet

Tama is mostly Huntaway character, and Ninja mostly Headingdog. What is the difference? Heading dog is all about stealth, silently sneaking up on the sheep, manoevering into the right position waiting for the moment and at your command. The huntaway OTOH is bold energetic straight forward. Keep the sheep together, bark at them chase them, deliver them whereever you want them.

Both are highly intelligent and need mental challenge as well as a physical one. In their prime these dogs can burn three times as much oxygen as an Olympic athlete in peak performance. on the lead is not exercise to a NZ heading dog or huntaway. Lucy's puppies are 1/8th Huntaway and 7/8ths NZ heading dog pure!

Bone Soup

bone soup in the pot, in the bowl ... oops... too late it's gone before I could take the picture! Grass fed beef bones roasted in fan forced oven at 150 °C, then stewed in the soup for 6 hours with fresh vegetables. It's full of Calcium and other minerals. Lucy likes it, puppies love it and so do I.

2022-02-03 Food and Medicine

All the puppies got their certified first vaccination record stamped and can now meet other dogs without too much risk. I didn't have them wormed or pay for flea treatment as I have seen nothing to suggest they would have any. The woof book also gives their current weight and on the food it says how much to give a dog with that weight, but I give them almost double that, because they are growing puppies rather than small adult dogs.

I was told they need high calcium diet and to get food specifically created for puppies, but they often had the runs and maybe it was just too rich. They seemed to prefer the food I was giving to Lucy. In the end I relented and let them have that too. Their stools returned to looking solid and healthy.

Pam's Turkey flavoured casserole is $3.06 for a big tin from Pak'n Save. The Tasti Dinner rolls are $3.99 so neither of them expensive. I do buy high quality dry food that is specially for puppies.

Alas, fresh bones attracted flies and when I found one with magots in the house I stopped doing them. I give them dry roasted bones to chew as they exercize their razor sharp teeth. I also use bones to make soup and that is then rich in the calcium they need.

I'm now feeding them 3 meals a day. 6am 12:30pm and 7pm. I feed them outside so they can all do their toileting before coming back in. They can mostly go in and out as they please and there are few accidents. Only little Fuego is confined to a crate to avoid rough and tumble play as he recovers from an injury, but he too avoids messing his nest. He calls me with frantic squeeking when he needs to go, but if I don't come soon he can't hold it long. It's cuteness overload as they all come running when I call "puppy food" 🥰️

2022-02-02 Gimme Attention!

Some of the puppies started really biting, to the extent they drew blood! At first I was affraid it might indicate a vicious streak, but then it dawned on me it was often the ones I had not been giving any cuddles. In particular it was Shadow, who was normally quiet and unobtrusive and so I was neglecting her. I found all that was needed was to tickle her tummy. Then the biting would subside to gentle nibbles. I started giving her more spontaneous cuddles, but it's hard when there are 7 other little creatures vying for attention.

Here it's Tama really giving my dress a good tug. With him too, all it took was a tummy tickle and he rolls over contentedly. OTOH I don't want to teach them that they should attack people to get what they want, and so I need to make the effort to intiate the affection before they start demanding it.

2022-02-01 Tama's future

I think the heading dog character is strong in Tama. He's looking for signals from his owner and wants to do something active. He responds immediately when I call him and is looking for my approval. Tama has the potential to be a true and loyal friend for life, but what he doesn't need is an elderly owner like me, nor a family with kids. He needs a young person, someone into hiking and out doors activities that he can take part in.

Yesterday a young man came to see Lucy's puppies. I was careful not to push my opinion, but both Tama and him gravitated towards each other. I just hope it works out!

In the night something was going on between Lucy and Tama. The pup was asserting himself and Lucy was teaching him something, but IDK what. This went on for quite some time then eventually they were both lying together in Lucy's new bed. Each chewing a bone. Lucy hasn't let any of the other pups in her bed yet, not even for milky drink!

I went to get the camera, but by the time I found the flash unit and got back to take a picture Lucy had gone out on the driveway... So here is Tama just looking up at me in the dark as the flash fires. It may just be my imagination but I feel something has changed on a spiritual level for him. 😘

2022-01-27 a diversion from the puppies

Today, as always, Lucy waited patiently for the traffic lights to change. I've trained her to understand city traffic, to wait at lights and to cross on my command. The lights changed, then I said "over and left" and she raced across doing exactly as I had said. By the time I myself got to the other side of the crossing a woman was shouting abuse at me from her car about Lucy "needing" to be on a lead. She was using foul language, totally inappropriate for the young child in the car with her to hear. I responded that my dog was under control, doing what I had told her and that she wasn't bothering anyone.

Yesterday I was distributing leaflets advertizing Lucy's puppies and a neighbor shouted abuse from his car "Keep that f#cking thing on a lead!". Lucy was trotting along by my side... what is it with this lead obsession I wondered? The law just says that a dog must be under effective control. Lucy doesn't run up to other dogs she's friendly and I've trained her not to jump up at kids or even chase a cat when I tell her to leave it.

During level 4 amd 3 lockdown I was told city council bylaws dictate dogs have to be on a lead even in a dog park, no matter what, but Lucy is a high energy breed and she needs a lot more exercise than I could ever give her on a lead. The situation become UNTENABLE for both of us as the weeks dragged on and so I stopped abiding by this arbitrary bylaw. At the time I didn't even realize CCC has another bylaw mandating dog leads on footpaths and roads regardless everywhere.

A cyber troll who doesn't even live in my area, dobbed me in with CCC dog control and I got a stroppy phone call from them. Now I've seen many other people with no lead on their dog. Some owners might even be riding a bicycle and a lead could cause a nasty accident if the dog were to go the wrong side of a lamp post, but in the following video I restage what happened with me and Lucy.

I've been targeted by haters for decades. Various authorities and criminals too, were used to make my life a misery while the malcreants guffaw in glee at the distress they caused me. Animal Control being used to harass me now with malice has been the final straw: I have decided to defy these civil service bureaucrats. I will not acknowledge them as my overlords. Note: I may be asking for people willing to sign a petition to testify to Lucy's trustworthiness when it comes to court. Either way I will be documenting what goes down on this website.

2022-01-26 Pebble chooses

Was taking pictures when little Pebble came running up to me with the tug of war toy in her mouth. I was flattered that she had chosen me to play with. 😊

Note: My website uses reduced resolution images to speed up page loading, but you can see the full size original simply by clicking on it.

2022-01-25 Zoe's determination

Zoe doesn't give up. I'm confident she will soon be leaping over this barrier that's meant to keep the puppies out of the rest of the house.

2022-01-25 Tama dreams of tomorrow

You know you're alive when you are dreaming of tomorrow. Rapid eye movements and excited little squeals: Something we lose as we get older?

2022-01-14 Fuego has an accident

I thought all the puppies were in the puppy room, or out in the garden. I started playing "bounce" with Lucy in the living room when suddenly little Fuego comes galloping up while Lucy comes crashing down upon him with the ball in her mouth.

Poor little Fuego goes screaming off in pain and I can tell immediately his leg is sticking out at a funny angle. I phone the Animal and Bird hospital. It is within easy walking distance and yes they can fit in an emergency appointment!

Alas their x-ray team has finished for the day and I have to make another appointment. Eventually it's confirmed that the growth plates on Fuego's tibia have been displaced. It's not a simple break. For an extra $200 They can get me an expert opinion and I say "yes please".

I shall start a separate page just for Fuego and am not currently looking to find a home for him. The adjacent picture is of him on the road to recovery after surgery.

2022-01-12 Play fight with mommy

The last few days Lucy has been play-fighting with her puppies. I think it started when she told Max off for being a bully to Pebble and he's been a much less agressive puppy ever since, but still likes to play fight. Here they are at it again.

2022-01-11 Cuteness overload!

I was tidying up the puppy poohs in the grass when little shadow went trotting past, proud as punch, her tail straight up and her head high holding an old trainer of mine in her mouth. It's about as big as she is and I was impressed. I haven't actually seen any carry something yet.

She took it into their garden tent and was happily chewing on it. (Yes, aspiring puppy owners, make sure you keep all your old shoes... your new shoes will thank you for it!)

Later with the camera in hand I tried to restage the event, but one of her siblings wanted to play too and the moment just wasn't the same, but here is a picture anyway.

2022-01-10 Ninja Adopted

Ninja has found a loving new home with 3 children and 3 cats to grow up together with. He can move in with them as soon as he's had his first innoculation. Just a few weeks to go! I feel confident it will be just perfect.

2022-01-09 Camping in the Garden

Remember camping in the garden as a kid? It's a new adventure for the puppies. A discarded pallet upside down, raised a bit at an angle and they have a climbing frame. An old bed sheet provides shade, yet lets the air circulate. The puppies are enjoying the garden and Pebble insisted on staying out all night there. She was all on her own, but since Lucy got me to evict the ferocious hedgehog I thought it would be safe enough, and so let her.

Pebble takes towl to bed

Pushing herself to the limit, little Pebble manouevers a clean towl from the washing basket and drags it to her bed. It's just like Lucy does with my wooly jumpers when I leave her alone at home. Then she snuggles up on it and goes fast asleep.

Pebble takes towl to bed

Puppy eyes give the impression of being blue, but a close up picture, I'm not so sure. The color is a tint that the cornea reflects, not that of the Iris. I suspect it will change.

Since my really expensive Sony macro lens was stolen I used an old manual Pentax lens with an adaptor, but it's really hard to get manual focus on something close up and moving erratically especially since all the clever Sony "manual focus assist" technology ONLY work on their own auto focus lenses and not where you actually need them - on an old manual lens.

I think it's a big scam to force people to buy expensive new Sony lenses for their Sony camera, rather than use interesting antiques from previous cameras.

Shame on you Sony! It's why I switched to Olympus. 😜

Not my fault says Shadow

I changed to a "better" food brand, yet Shadow's expression says it all: "This brand has given me the runs!" and several of her siblings agree.

2022-01-06 4 weeks old today

Their eyes have been open for about a week, and they started walking rather than crawling. It was ever so cute to see Lucy join in playing mouthing games with them, but by the time I got the camera, the moment was gone, so here just a video of them all.

All the puppies seem healthy. They now have sharp little teeth coming thru and feeding them can be painful for Lucy, so I'm weaning them onto regular puppy food with just occasional mother's milk as a treat afterwards. Which is more relaxing on their mum, than the usual mad famished scrum.

2022-01-05 photos

Tama communicates: "It's puppy feeding time!" This little one seems totally aware, alert, inquisitive and intelligent. You need sheep herding? I'm ready, let's get started!

Aroha trundles towards me the moment he sees me. Here he grabs onto my jeans so I won't walk away again. I give him a loving cuddle and whisper sweet nothings in his ear. He curls up and goes to sleep in my arms.

They playfight with each other and sometimes there will be a yelp as they let the other know they went too far. This is how they learn to socialize. Lucy recognizes when they are actually being vicious and she puts her nose between them and separates them.

2021-12-09 Lucy has 8 healthy puppies

Lucy has been a good mother although she was not well after giving birth and had a fever 41.9 °C. The vet did an inspection and a blood test. She had NO deficiencies but a high count of white blood cells. She had the runs and it just wouldn't clear up. She could not handle feeding all 8 at once. Could it be mastitis, I wondered. The puppies wouldn't take formula milk, but I found that by cooling her breasts with a cold wet flanel and keeping her company, she could do up to 4 at a time. One night I fell a sleep there on the floor and the next morning I woke to Tama licking my eye. His had opened for the first time that morning and he decided to go explore what this strange creature next to his mom was. Ever so cute and affectionate!

When things got deperate I managed to make a pap of puppy food or steamed sardines to keep the little famished ones from crying. They would lick that off my finger and later a plate. The next night I made a huge pot of bone soup. I shall make a video about the recipee soon, but they absolutely lapped it up. I wasn't sure how to explain not to stand in the soup while they eat, but it didn't matter because they soon licked themselves, the bowl and each other clean, from every angler

All the puppies have become socialized with me and will enjoy a human stroking them cuddling them, picking them up and even just talking to them. Relating to humans is an important step in a puppies life. I have given them all "puppy names" that represent their early character and they are listed below.

257g, male, Fuego

The "runt of the litter" but my goodness... he has a firey nature and pushes his way in to get his fair share. Hence the name "Fuego" which is Spanish for Fire. Also I think the white pattern on his nose looks like a flame.

282g, male, Ninja

Ninja is a stealth fighter. In the scrum for a feed, he sneaks in underneath his siblings for one of the teats on the lower side. He has white marks, left and right thighs and I thought they look a bit like Samurai swords.

285g, female, Pebble

She's clumsy and keeps tumbling over, although that's got a lot better since. I thought she's like a little "rolling stone" and the black circle on her forhead looks like a pebble to me.

285g, male, Aroha

Beautiful black with symetrical white patch over his shoulders. He would squeal with delight when he saw Lucy and while he was feeding. Aroha means ‘love, compassion and empathy’, but I didn't realize it's supposed to be a girls name when I gave it to him.

331g, female, Shadow

Dark and silent with just a tiny bit of white. She's very affectionate, but unobtrusive and I have to remind myself to include her, or she would just be like a shadow on the wall.

369g, male, Tama

Tama means "son" in te Reo. He is just so laid back! Nothing disturbs him and he leaves the others, to come cuddle up to me when he's had his fill. He has readily taken to eating mashed up puppy food even though his teeth have not come through yet.

407g, female, Zoe

Zoe has a cute white fleck on her right thigh. It means "life" in ancient Greek and she has potential to be a wonderful mom herself one day, as she is very tolerant of all her siblings even though she is bigger and stronger.

417g, male, Max

So named because he was the bigest at birth. The first to open his eyes and the first thing he then did, was come explore that strange creature who had fallen asleep calming his mom on the floor that night... I woke up to him licking my closed eyes.

2021-10-07 Nolonger a Virgin

The father of her puppies is also a farm dog, but far more placid. He's a cross between a huntaway and a heading dog that was not up to herding sheep and more like a family dog than a working dog. I had hoped to cross Lucy with the other dog the owner has, which is pure heading dog, but she had him neutered a week before. Apparently they can still sure pups for another two weeks, but we were concerned about the stiches.

Pure heading dog can be a bit too high strung for life in the city and certainly Lucy keeps me very active, so it's probably for the best. This one is slightly bigger than Lucy, here they are together when the puppies were conceived.

Just a puppy herself

Lucy and I have had many adventures and her favourite activity was learning how to negotiate busy city traffic. I have no reservations about walking her off the lead and trust her completely. I have some videos of just me and Lucy enjoying each other's company out and about and I might add them here too.

Lucy loves children and she would run up to them wagging her tail. I had to teach her not to do that as some are afraid of dogs, but with Lucy there is absolutely no reason to worry. The father dog was also excellent with children and I think these puppies will be great fun for a family.