New Puppy

Meet Gus!

Gus was born July 5, 2010. He is an Australian Cattle Dog, also called a Blue Heeler. These photos were taken the day we brought him home, August 26 and he weighed 5#. The car ride home was a real treat, he cried most of the way and pooped on Larry's lap (it was over an hour and we didn't realize some of his crying was because he REALLY had to GO). 1st Lesson learned.

When we lost Duke (which I have been unable to write about so far, but will eventually), the house became too quiet and empty, so to add some excitement, we brought Gus home. Looks innocent and sweet doesn't he? Wellllllllllllll......not so much!



The sweetness lasted about 2 days, then Satan arrived....along with a very small bladder. Yep every 15 minutes, Gus had better go outside and to give him credit he does his business every trip out, just don't forget. #2 lesson learned.

As for your shoes, they better be put away, in a closed closet . #3 lesson learned.

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Puppies need lots of water, but don't give them unlimited access . #4 lesson learned (should have learned this along with #2 lesson).

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Puppies need LOTS of chew toys available, scattered throughout the house, to distract them from wood, metal, fabric or even stone items that they should not chew on. #5 lesson learned.

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When the breeder tells you your puppy needs wormed again in two weeks, WORM YOUR PUPPY IN TWO WEEKS and not a day longer. #6 lesson learned.

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Innocent and sweet looking puppies have extremely sharp, wicked little teeth, that can do much damage, have triple antibiotic ointment and band aides available at all times. #7 lesson learned.

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When going outside, all new puppies should be on a leash until they learn the "come" command (not doing so can result in playing an unscheduled game of chase and/or hide and seek). #8 lesson learned.

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Not all new puppies are timid and playful when meeting new dogs, some can actually be quite aggressive and vicious, so be ready to protect your new little one with your life when meeting new dogs that don't appreciate this type of behavior. #9 lesson learned.

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And #10 lesson learned (though certainly not the last), Books titled "How to Properly Train Your New Puppy" are best purchased BEFORE you bring a new puppy home.

Joys 75th

Click here to view this photo book larger

In the above photo, Dutchess has spotted Pete (the peacock) for the first time, and as you can see, she is in hunting form. She was reprimanded immediately after the pic was taken, it's still a work in progress, luckily, Pete can spot her from quite a distance and heads for safety before she can get close.

Welome to our newest Family member

Welcome to Dutchess!!! Out newest family member, so we now have a Duke and Dutchess. We adopted her about 6 weeks ago from the Muskingum County Dog Pound, she was picked up as a stray and was a wee bit skinny but as you can see, she's gained some weight (about 60# now). They said she's a Rottweiler mix (I think more Rott than anything else). She is quite the hunter and we've had a few incidents with a couple of young deer that ventured too close to the house and also one that ended up in the barn. She is almost perfect, only one flaw really, but I have to admit it's been a challenge to deal with...she wants to hurt, maim, kill our barn cats. Kitties are all still flourishing though despite her best efforts, she is doing better since Larry has been teaching her the "leave it" command. Milo can now walk up to her and rub all over her, Daisy and Jewel aren't taking any chances and flee the moment she is spotted. I'll put up more pics later.

More Winter 2010

photos taken from our front yard

I know everyone complains about winter, but to me it's the most beautiful season when it snows.

Winter Storm 2010

I was lucky to snap these photos around 7:30 this morning, it seems anytime the snow flies, the horses start feeling frisky, especially the younger ones. In these photos, Finnegan (our 5 yr old great-grandson of On The Money Red) and Cooper (2 yr old with Firewater Flit and Frenchmans Guy breeding), were having a ball, it was still really putting the snow down and if I had gone any closer they would have quit playing, but hopefully the photos are good enough that you can see how much fun they are to watch when they play.

These two go at it all the time!

In these pics, we have about 8 inches of snow on the ground and it's still snowing and blowing like crazy.

In these two pics, Dooger makes an appearance.