Puppy update

The pupsters are now a bit over six weeks old and turning into real little doggies! They had their first vet appointment today, for vaccinations, de-worming, and a general check-up, and did fairly well. No major upsets, though our little chicken-dog, Peridot, did get a bit shivery with fright.

They’re all between 1500g and 2kg now – hard to believe that a mere six weeks ago they were so small they could in my hand, whereas now they’re getting so you have to hoist a bit to pick them up in one hand and they are very, very wiggly! They are mostly weaned now, eating puppy chow two to three times a day, though they still attack Mama’s teats when they get a chance and are hungry. And attack it probably seems to Lovely, seeing as their teeth are growing in so that when they bite down you can really feel it!!





And their personalities are starting to show through:

• Diamond is the big boisterous boy of the litter. The first-born and first at everything else: size, stamina, energy level, eagerness to play… He is the one to pounce on his litter-mates and start chewing ears and tails, at least until they pounce back or squeal at him to stop. Always hungry, he is first at the food dish and has been known to sneak into Mama’s food when he gets a chance.

• Peridot was second-born and she is about as opposite to Diamond as opposite can be! Shy and quiet, she’s the one to hide away in the crate when the others get to rowdy, though we have caught her giving a few pounces of her own from time to time. She was born the smallest and has remained so ever since, truly earning her nickname, Petite Princes Peridot. Shy at the food dish, I often give her a dish of her own so she doesn’t have to compete with her rowdy brothers and sister. She is always ready to give you a snuggle and a kiss!

Opal, our black boy, is fairly lively though not so much as Diamond. Boy, does that pup love to run! Out on the lawn, down the street he’ll go if given half the chance. Or scoot from puppy corner to front door if we so much as crack open the gate to let him out. He loves to chew on the puppy teething ring I picked up a few weeks ago.

• Garnet is the last-born. She is very much what I imagine her mother was like at that age- sleek fur just beginning to develop some soft waves, very snugly but not lacking in energy, sociable and active. She gives her brothers the run for their money in the pouncing department! She had a short stint as fattest dog of the pack, but Diamond figured that would never do (beat by a girl?!!?) and has out-eaten her ever since. Still, she’s growing well, as evidenced by her round little tummy!

You can read about the breed, Australian Labradoodles, on my breeder website: www.dragonramdoodles.com.

P.S. Anybody want to buy a puppy? Diamond and Opal are available.

Holiday #1 - Sandbanks

Well, I thought I’d post a bit about what we’ve doing this summer (other than school-learning related activities!!)

This summer we stayed pretty close to home. Our first holiday, which began two days before school was out (owing to my work holiday schedule) was five days at Sandbanks Provincial Park. This is a very VERY popular park, and when I made the reservation back in late February, there were only about 3 or 4 sites available (and I had to modify out travelling dates by one day to get a site).














The kids and I, along with Lovely, drove down in our little PT Cruiser, but this time we didn’t have to pack along much of anything except our clothes, swimming gear, and a few books and toys, since Laolao and Laoye were driving from out west with their camper bus and we’d arranged for them to meet us at the campground.

We got there around 8:45pm, as dusk was settling. Laolao and Laoye had arrived a few hours earlier and were already set up in the campsite, a nice spot not too far from the beach. Although seeing as the closest beach wasn’t open to dogs, we ended up driving out to the dog beach most days.









I can see why this is a very popular place! Not only is it fairly close to a number of major cities, but more importantly it has great amenities and the beaches are fantastic. Being on a VERY large lake, we had almost ocean-like waved coming in to shore, and the shallow water extended way, way out into the lake, so the kids & dog could ride the waves and walk far far out before the water even reached their chests. The sand is magnificent, and one section of the beach has large dunes, small mountains practically, that we climbed up and down and explored. It was handy to have the car along with the bus, so we could drive to the far-away dog beach and the sand dunes, without having to move the big bus around.

The weather was quite good. Not particularly hot (not like one might expect in late June), and we had some rain, but the rain mostly fell at night and being in the bus, it didn’t affect us much at all.









The bus has sleeping capacity for 4, so one of the kids (and Lovely!) slept on the floor while the other slept with me (they took turns!). Given that it was a bit crowded inside, we mostly ate outside, and rigged up a bit of a tarp to keep the picnic table dry.

About all we did was play on the beach, sleep, eat, play some more, have ice cream, swim and play and sleep. It was great!!!

















On the way home, we parked the bus at a church parking lot in a small town a few hours’ drive from home, and all climbed into the car for the rest of the trip, because in just five days we’d be coming back this way for our second summer jaunt.

At the Fair

Every year the fair comes to our town during the last two weeks of August. The main attraction is the midway, with lots of rides for all ages. There are also concerts and other performances, and displays of animals that harken back to its agricultural roots. Last year, after our adventures out west (and since we’d attended a fair there), we didn’t go, so this year’s visit was Button’s first in our hometown.

We had planned to go the last Saturday of the holidays, but that was a cool and rainy, blustery day. So when Sunday dawned warmish and not too cloudy, we decided that would be day (or we'd miss our chance, as it was the last day to go!) We arrived a bit after noon, shortly after it opened, and immediately headed down to the midway. I had a coupon for one discounted “ride-all-day” bracelet and bought two more. The first few rides we went on were kiddie rides, but still lots of fun. Then we tried a few for bigger kids, and enjoyed them too. Both Mustang and – somewhat surprisingly – Button were not keen on the wilder rides like where you go upside down, but things like the ferris wheel and the house of mirrors and giant slide were favourites.



In the middle of the afternoon – during a bit of a squall – we went into the Agricultural Centre building and enjoyed seeing the animals there, then picked up some ice cream and fries for a snack.



At 5:30 Laoye picked us up after a fun-filled day and we headed home for a movie and bed.