Well Gretchen is already 9 months old and she sure keeps me busy. She has her first AKC title and that is her canine good citizen title. She is going to become a therapy dog and I am looking forward to that.

   I am offering for sale to a very special home Gretchen's half sister Vixon. She is as smart as  her big sister and I will only let her go to a competition home. She is capable of many kinds of titles and will be easy to train. She is a sweet and lovable girl and has great confirmation. At nine weeks old Vixon is housebroken and has learned all the basic obedience. I  am asking $1500.00 for her and that is firm. Vixon will bring much joy to her new owners.

    I had some sadness this year as I lost 3 of my beloved pets.  Zippy was fourteen and a half years and Tango was only twelve but had cancer. Viva at only ten was killed in a hunting accident. Thank goodness for my precious Gretchen to keep me busy. I also am fostering two dogs that needed help badly. Olivia is a Pointer with diabetes and was skin and bones when she came here. Arther is a Whippet with a broken leg. I am glad I can help these two wonderful dogs. Time to get to work. There are dogs to be walked. I don't have much free time.

 

Well, it sure is soggy here at Three Oaks.  The dogs are all getting a lot of rest. Finally today it may clear up. I can hardly wait to see the sun again. I have 2 Whippets in the house that only get leash walks and trips to the dog park with 2 of the Shorthairs. We have really missed our excersize.
   Life with my pup Gretchen is fun. I have put some pics that show how some of our time is spent. We also go to puppy kindergarten classes where Gretchen is the star. At just 3 months old she does the entire obedience routine. At home she sits and stays while we go in and out the door. She will wait until we tell her okay before she comes out the door. She also will wait until told okay before she eats her meals. She is very advanced for her age. I know she will be a wonderful companion to me when she grows up but she is a hard pup to raise. She is always thinking and gets into much trouble. My daughter and 2 grandsons help entertain her daily and assist with her training. Shawn takes her out every morning before her breakfast and plays frissbee with her. Her energy is endless. She also loves playing on agility equiptment at school. She does the tunnel and A frame and dog walk. Gretchen is so advanced for her 12 weeks of age I wonder what we are going to learn next. Only time will tell.

Foxie is happily back in the kennel with her dam Calypso.  Gretchen misses Heidi who went to her new home on Sat. Gretchen is a handful. She is very inteligent and requires a lot of entertaining. She will play with her many toys but then barks to go out. She loves long walks and has already walked a half mile with me. At just seven weeks old she is totally housebroken. She has already learned the commands sit and down. Now if she would just stop biting. She chews on everything and keeps forgetting she isn't supposed to put her teeth on my skin. I will just have to be more stern with her.
I have a boarder for a few weeks. His name is Chad and he is brother to Dinah. He is beautiful and it is nice to have him as he lived with me until he was five yrs old. He misses his mom and dad but eats well. Well, got to go because Gretchen is calling me. I do love the pup.

Click on each image to open a larger version in a new window.
Hover your mouse over each picture to see who's who.

    

   

   

   Gretchen and Heidi are both eating dog food like its going out of style.  They have been weened on canned duck with sweet potatoes and carrots and other veggies. They sure love that. Hope to get them on some puppy kibble this week. They are both playing so cute and Gretchen keeps climbing over the barricade in front of her crate to get out and walk around kitchen. Of course this is only when I am there watching her. Puppies are such fun.

Well, Little Heidi was not interested in eating dog food out Foxie's dish but she sure enjoyed some chicken breast out of my daughter Lisa's hands. Oh my, spoiled already and only a couple weeks old. Thats life at Three Oaks. Yesterday Foxie was barking a lot and I didn't know why. Finally I discovered she was barking at voices on the tv. She thought strangers were in the living room that might hurt her babies. She sure is a loving Mom.

I will soon post some new pics of Foxie and the kids. Gretchen and Heidi are fat and healthy. Today as I looked in on them I was surprised to find Gretchen with her head in her  Moms dish munching on dog food. She doesn't even have teeth yet. I tried to get that pic but found a dead battery in my camera. Darn. I took Foxie for a very long walk down the dirt road I live on and got some good pics of her. She is the sweetest dog. Her walks are such fun as she is hunting all the time. One day she found a box turtle, another day a cat, once it was a neighbors duck. It all makes Foxies day.

Click on the pictures below to open larger versions in a new window:

 

Well, the girls had their tails docked today. They are doing well. The pups took it in stride but their Mom Foxie got very upset about me taking her babies away from her for about an hour. Gretchen and Heidi are so fat. Foxie looks good in spite of being a  pain to feed. She had rice and cheese for breakfast and chicken livers for supper.