Stubbylee Blog

The pups are now ready to start feeding from a bowl instead of just Adarka. So now we have the fun of watching them try and learn how to drink properly. Firstly there’s the paddling in the bowl and bathing in milk then there’s trying to work out how far in you need to put your head (up to the ears is probably too much). So you have two puppies with a decidedly milky appearance who decide they can start licking each other before insisting you must cuddle them and getting covered in milk as well.

So the show season has started again with Manchester Ch Show, sorry Boston but as there’s no breed classes (lets hope there are soon) then Manchester is our first big show of the year. Usually I miss the show as I’m in America for work but this year I stopped at home baby sitting so Elizabeth went with Kirsty (Sanderson) taking Rush & Diva.

Both were entered in Junior winning their classes and then into Junior stakes. As Elizabeth was handling Diva in the challenge in the breed ring it was over to Kirsty to handle Rush. Apparently he went like a dream for her and won 3rd - not bad for the first time she’d handled him. Diva also did reallyu well in the stakes winning 4th so they came home with £25 prize money - not bad !!

One thing that spolit the day was the benching arrangements, the benches were away from the ring with hoardes of yapping finnish Spitz benched opposite barking and snapping at the Borzoi as they went past. I know people look at Borzoi and think they are a big hunting dog but they are quite sensitive and can be really wound up by such things. We’ve supported Manchester over a lot of years through all sorts of venues from Belle Vue to the present - including a couple of mud baths - and sympathise with their difficulty in finding venues but please can something be done about the layout at Stafford.

 Afterward it was a diversion to visit Shadow, one of Rush & Diva’s brothers near Stafford, and the people he allows to look after him. It sounds like everyone was delighted to see each other (dogs and humans), eventually Elizabeth finally arrived home about 7:30 after a long long day.

Today’s rather depressing not just because of the depressing weather but because today’s the first day of Lotusphere AND I’M UNABLE TO BE THERE THIS YEAR!!!

For those of you who are wondering what the heck Lotusphere is, its about the best computer conference there is with the added bonus of being held at Walt Disney World in Orlando. At around the time I’m typing this I’d be having breakfast about to set out for the first session of a very long, very instructive and very enjoyable 5 days that leaves you totally buzzing about Lotus products and with so much learnt and to share with people back at work. It’s a pity I’m missing out as we hope to be doing so much with Notes 8, Quickr & Websphere this year.

I really didn’t expect to be missing not being there as I am all the emails I’m receiving about the ‘Sphere and the blogs don’t help. Last year was the best one I’d been to but with the buzz around this one it sounds like it will surpass ‘07.

So to cheer myself up lets think about past highlights:

Best Opening Session speaker - I’m split between Neil Armstrong for who he is and  his place in history and John Cleese just for being very funny

Best Session - Bill Buchan & Paul Mooney’s Worst Practices informative and entertaining

Best Product launched - Has to be Notes 8

Best Closing Session - I know pretty well everyone will disagree but Ronan Tynan, I even bought his autobiography and CD’s

Best Party Venue - Islands of Adventure

Oh well hopefully there’s always 2009

At three weeks old Adarka has settled into her routine with the puppies feeding them, topping and tailing and just generally being a mother. She’s relaxed enough to leave them to spend time with us and the other dogs. She will tolerate the other dogs peering at the puppies and now doesn’t mind us taking them off her to weigh and inspect.

When other people come she’s guarded at first with the occasional cautionary growl but then when she realises that they’ve come to admire her and her babies - well that’s fine then - why didn’t they say so in the first place. Adarka’s always been pretty easy going its nice to see that she’s not change. I suppose with Jazz’s attitude to life the puppies should have a pretty good temperament.

Nigel

Most of today has been spent reorganising our dog accommodation with the help of our friend Mike who brought his borzoi Glen & Jamie with him.

We were outside working when the dogs in the house started to sing. Elizabeth went inside to see who was leading the singing before calling us in whilst desperately trying not to laugh too much. There was the little bitch sat up in the middle of the bed, head up yodeling away with the others. She wasn’t in any distress - just joining in with the others.

I suppose there’s just one problem if she’s like this now what will she be like when she gets older.

Nigel Dawson

Now that they can see where they are going its now time for the puppies to try their first few faltering attempts at walking.

Firstly its the struggle to raise themselves up on all four legs and stand there working out what to do next before eventually moving a front paw. Then its a competition between the Laws of physics can they keep the momentum to move forward or will gravity pull them back on to the bed. After a few steps gravity wins but you know now that each day they’ll improve until the time we can look forward to being terrorised as they run around the whelping box and try to climb out the sides.

What a trying 2 weeks it has been since the birth of Adarka’s puppies on Christmas Day. For the first week Elizabeth slept next to the whelping box to help Adarka with the feeding of the puppies. As it was the Christmas holidays I was able to  help during the day allowing Elizabeth some sleep in a proper bed. Unfortunately from the start the brindle & white dog puppy was struggling and despite nursing and feeding he faded away after 1 day. Over the next week we kept worrying as the other dog puppy and one of the bitches weren’t gaining weight as we hoped. We carried on helping Adarka with the feeding and keeping the puppies warm but after a week we lost the little bitch.

It really is a terrible way to start a New Year by burying a puppy!

Now the pups are two weeks old and steadily putting on weight, the bitch  is growing well; there again she should as she seems to spend all day sucking on a teat, determined to be in the prime position. Their eyes are now open, to me this always seems to be the first step on the path to their independence. When you look at them they peer back at you with a confused, quizzical expression, wondering what this strange thing is thats staring at them. 

So far its been a hard path for Adarka and her puppies we just keep hoping that they continue to grow.

For the start of a new year there’s a new blog