The Rubydale Times

Christmas morning

2011-12-28T16:09:00.007+11:00

We had a simple Christmas this year. We are up at the beach house, which is different. We used to rent it out at this time of year before, but have decided to move up here permanently soon, so have it all to ourselves now!

We had already done prezzies with Megan and Marieke last week, but we still had a few more on the morning.
I am a master unwrapper...see the blur that is me, ripping the paper off this one.

Gracie tried to help, but I was fine doing it all myself.

What's this...?

I think it is... yes, it really is... a big Wobble that dispenses food everytime you knock it over! Yay! It took me about 5 seconds to work it out. I whacked it all over the living room getting treats with every swipe.

Kay said I had to give Gracie a chance too, but she was so slow at it - I couldn't watch. Anyway, while she played with the Wobble, I got the rock. It is very chewy and bounces in crazy ways...it's a challenge to work out which way it will go.

Unless Gracie gets it first, then it goes where she goes - and I chase her round the yard until she is too tired to get away from me.

We hope all you doggies in the blogosphere also had a fun day and got lot's of fun toys and all the best for a great new year!

cheers,

Ruby

update on the pupsters

2011-11-27T12:38:00.003+11:00

Sometimes we wonder what those puppies are up to in their new homes...
and then we received some photos from Miss Squiggle, now known as Chili.

Doesn't she look just like her big sister, Gracie!

What a cutie.

We also got a gorgeous pic of Elsa (was Purple ribbon) with her pal, Charlie.
She looks just like me! What a handsome girl she is.

They are about six months old now and certainly good looking examples of an Airedale. We've heard reports that the others are doing well too.

Some even auditioned for the Great Gatsby movie, but Baz ended up going with a Schnauzer puppy as our guys were a bit too big for what he had in mind.

Could have been a path to stardom, but it wasn't to be.

Gracie's first trial

2011-11-13T16:21:00.006+11:00

Gracie entered her first obedience trial on Saturday evening.

She did really well and got a qualifying score (and ribbon which she is modeling here).

She got a score of 94 out of 100.
The judge said the dog went really well, but it was Kay's sloppy
handling that lost most of the points - ha!

Two more of these certificates and Gracie will have her Community Companion Dog (CCD) title!

I, ahem, unfortunately bombed out of my class. The Open class is MUCH more difficult than the CCD ring and although I started out really well, I lost concentration after awhile :(

Lucky Gracie was there to bring home a win for Team Airedale.

dawn patrol

2011-11-07T17:12:00.006+11:00

5:07 am, Monday morning...

5:12 am, Monday morning...

5:20am, Monday morning...

(Accompanied with deep sighs and slight moaning)

5:25am, Monday morning....

6:00am, Monday morning...

Success!

at the beach again

2011-10-19T09:42:00.002+11:00

Here we are at the beach again. We just love it up here!

The seagrass was covered in magical star-shaped seed heads.
They blow around in the wind and we chase them.

We also fetch sticks.

And check out everything that anyone is doing.

Dive off the dunes.

And just enjoy the wonderful light on the water.

It's pretty good!

never take your eye off the ball

2011-10-09T18:14:00.004+11:00

Kay brought in two new balls from the car and put them down on her dresser. She didn't think about it, but in a few minutes, I had a bead on them. I sat and looked at them like this.

Ten minutes later, I was still looking at them like this. I don't think I even blinked.

Focused staring, it works every time. Eventually Kay couldn't resist me and she picked one up and threw it. Ha! The game was all on then.

The balls would ricochet down the hall and we kept missing as they rebounded. We played until our tongues were to the floor.

Because the hallway is scheduled to be repainted soon, it didn't matter so much about all the slobbery tennis ball marks all over the walls...

For the finale, we got to chew and chew on them to our hearts' content. They were wonderfully chewy and kind of just squished in your mouth, but you could never quite get a bite out of them. Kay brought them from America. We love them.

looks like such fun

2011-09-21T06:33:00.004+10:00

I just found the coolest Airedale blog from a young Dale in Germany. He is doing all the things I wish I could do - schutzhund and tracking. Real dog work! I would love to have a go.

Then I found out, he is only two years old - what a clever pup he is. His name is Exe vom Bismarkstein. Lucky that Google translates the German to English, but even without it, the photos are inspirational!

Now that Kay is back from overseas, we are hitting the training hard to try and get ready for some trials before the weather gets too hot. We have quite a way to go before we are as good as Exe.

birthday meet-up in the park

2011-08-28T09:56:00.004+10:00

We met up with Fozzie and Ringo last weekend to celebrate our birthday.

Ringo, Gracie, Ruby and Fozzie

It wasn't raining, but it had been through the night. There were some lovely big patches of mud.

Ringo really, really liked the mud. See it all the way up his legs.

The rest of us were a bit more dainty - we only have muddy socks. We had lots of fun and chased balls and each other.

Aren't my brothers handsome? I'm very proud of them, even if I did growl a lot and acted really tough. They don't call me 'savage sister' for nothing.

it's my birthday!

2011-08-19T08:45:00.005+10:00

Hi, it's Gracie here. Guess what? I'm turning two years old today!

Here I am with my mum... I'm only a few days old in this photo. Real puppy love!

I soon looked like this.

Then this (at my first show)

And then this when I was about a year old....

And now I'm as big as Ruby!

I am meeting up with Fozzie and Ringo tomorrow for a birthday party in the park... except it is forecast to be raining. I will post a picture of the three of us, if we manage to get one between the rain and the romping around.

training Miss Yellow

2011-08-13T04:43:00.002+10:00

Here is the final puppy training video. This is Miss Yellow puppy at 10 weeks. She has stayed with us a bit longer because she is flying to her new home in Brisbane today and needed to be that bit older before going on the plane.

Like all the puppies, she will do just about anything for a bit of hot dog. Here she shows what she has learned so far.

So now, Juliette and Tim... it's up to you guys to keep those hot dogs coming!

She is such a clever little girl.

puppy in a pot

2011-08-01T06:03:00.002+10:00

More puppy playing video. This was from our last day all together. Things sure have quieted down now that there are only four.

The last bit of this video is Pink trying to get into a flower pot.

puppies and Gracie playing

2011-07-31T06:48:00.003+10:00

This was the last day that we had all nine puppies together. Five have now gone off to their new homes. The last four go over the next week or so.

We sure hope they are not too lonely without all their brothers and sisters. Judging by the folks that picked them up, I think they are all going to be spoiled rotten, so I'm not worried at all!

I think Gracie is going to miss them more than me - I'm a bit over them by now. I want to go back to being the centre of attention!

She just loves playing with the little guys. Watch them here.

early morning, 5am

2011-07-30T07:22:00.002+10:00

Here's who's waiting every morning for someone to get up and let them out to play. They are so cute, it's hard to resist them!

puppy training

2011-07-29T09:54:00.003+10:00

Kay has been introducing all the pups to the basics of clicker training. The hardest part seems to be getting them to eat the tiny bits of hot dog from her hand. They don't know where that great smell is coming from!

Here is Purple ribbon puppy demonstrating how to follow the lure, sit, down and roll over. Puppies at this age can't really learn it all yet, but they are getting imprinted with the correct behaviours. At least we hope they are!

All the puppies are doing the training and all are very good at it. These are some smart dogs, my pups.

asleep

2011-07-28T07:37:00.006+10:00

It gets so quiet when the pups finally fall asleep! After a riotous play period this morning, they finally dropped in their tracks.

Except for some, who like their mother, always keep an eye on what's happening.

puppies in the straw

2011-07-26T18:12:00.006+10:00

Well, it's like a barnyard around here now. Kay and Neil went out and got a bale of straw today and covered the entire backyard. It was pretty muddy and awful before.

The pupsters think it is great and played in it for the longest time. Then they settled down and chewed on it for a while longer

Squiggle

Green

Yellow with Aqua

Pink (chewing on a piece of straw)

puppies in the sandbox

2011-07-23T10:50:00.004+10:00

We have had torrential rain here for the last 3-4 days. Everything is muddy. Kay is losing her mind trying to keep up with 44 muddy paws everywhere.

Yesterday the rain stopped for a brief time and the pups headed out to the sandbox for playtime.

Neil and the pups

2011-07-22T06:44:00.005+10:00

The puppies had staged a raid on the recycling bin. They found all sorts of fun toys, like milk bottles and yoghurt containers. You can see the evidence in the background of this video.

Neil went to check out what they were up to and they were delighted to see him.

Gracie loves the puppies

2011-07-19T18:49:00.009+10:00

Gracie likes to keep an eye on all the pupsters. She spends hours with them, quite happily playing and wrestling. This was yesterday morning's play time (6am).

With Yellow ribbon girl.

With Pink ribbon girl.

Bitey-face with Purple ribbon girl.

Mobbed by all of them.

Here she is romping with them in the very small yard.

Gracie and the pups

2011-07-18T09:29:00.002+10:00

The puppies are six weeks old now - just another two weeks to go and my life can get back to normal! Lucky I've got Gracie around to do some of the babysitting duties.

She actually seems to like them... a lot!

Here is a video of this morning's after-breakfast play session. Sorry it is a bit dark, but breakfast happens at 6am and the sun is only just coming up about then. I guess it's all orange because of the inside lights.

We have put it on You Tube, so you can bigify it to see a bit better. Tomorrow, Kay will have to get the proper video camera out and see if it does better than this.

Still, they are all very cute.

meet the pups

2011-07-10T18:49:00.008+10:00

We finally got outside on a sunny day and snapped some portraits of the puppies at five weeks. We haven't given them names other than the colour of their ribbons.

So, may we introduce...

Green boy

Squiggle girl

White boy

Turquoise boy

Blue plaid boy

Yellow girl

Purple girl

Red girl

Pink girl

They quickly took to the grass and loved the larger space to stretch out and run.

Yellow zoomed back and forth - she couldn't stop!

puppies outside

2011-07-08T20:38:00.002+10:00

We had a cold but sunny day yesterday and the pups got to spend a few hours outside in their new play area. They soon got the hang of exploring this larger space and seemed to enjoy it.

puppies all over the place

2011-07-06T06:59:00.004+10:00

The puppies are getting way too big for the office these days. Imagine having nine young Airedales in such a small space! However, it is a bit too cold for them to spend the nights outside... so for the moment they are staying put.

They are having fun with some of my old toys now. I'm not keen at all to have to nurse them - those teeth are sharp. I do like to come in and steal their chicken necks though... very tasty.

just puppies

2011-07-02T16:04:00.008+10:00

look at us now

2011-06-30T06:48:00.005+10:00

late for dinner

2011-06-28T07:48:00.003+10:00

The pups are getting very big now. This week they started getting some solid food in addition to suckling. There is no stopping these guys now.

Here is a video of Purple ribbon, who slept through the dinner bell and was a late arrival at the milk bar.

Of course, I've only got eight teats and with nine pups, someone is going to get pushed out when big Purple arrives!

playtime

2011-06-21T06:24:00.007+10:00

The puppies are starting to play now. Instead of going straight to sleep after a meal, they stagger about and interact with each other now.

The first game is the all time favourite, bitey face.

And look at this - shiny new eyes! Very cute now.

Here is little blue plaid puppy getting his daily weigh-in. He is the smallest, but he is gaining weight every day. I don't think he will catch up anytime soon with purple ribbon puppy though - she is huge and has a big head start.

Not only are their eyes open now, but those Airedale noses are in top working order - here is a slow-motion mobbing of Marieke to get to the bottle.

puppy duties

2011-06-17T07:37:00.009+10:00

There is a lot of laundry in our daily routine these days - lots and lots of towels to wash and hang out. Lucky for me, dogs don't have to do this chore.

I also don't have to worry with trying to clip 180 toenails each week - but I'm sure glad that Kay does it. Saves on painful scratches. It has to be done when they are sound asleep, otherwise it's impossible to hold them still!

And then there are the daily cuddles - we have called in help for this task too - here is Megan sharing puppy cuddling duty.

The pups are still getting a bottle as a top-up a couple of times per day. They think it's great.

Here is Marieke helping out with the feeds.

They are growing up fast. They can all get up on their legs and stagger about the box now. Next big event will be opening their eyes, that should be soon!

call for back-up

2011-06-14T08:21:00.007+10:00

These pups have just about sucked me dry! Nine hungry mouths is a lot to feed.

I had to order some supplementary back-up. And gosh, did the little guys love it. They took to a bottle with no hesitations.

They started sucking on everything...

And then they get their tummies rubbed...

And then... out like a light.

Sweet dreams puppy girl!

puppy pics

2011-06-09T20:06:00.003+10:00

Here are some of the puppies and their first photos.

And this is Pink ribbon, not so impressed with having her toes tickled as part of the bio-sensor conditioning.

feeding the pups

2011-06-08T14:45:00.003+10:00

Life revolves around feeding the pups nowadays. They are always hungry! I barely finish one feeding session, get a quick bite to eat and it's time to start all over again.

Had to get ribbons on them quick smart so we could tell who was who. All are gaining weight and seem strong and healthy.

puppies!

2011-06-04T12:00:00.006+10:00

The puppies have arrived! All through the night it went and when we were finished there were nine of the little darlings.

They are just gorgeous and all strong and healthy. There are five girls and four boys. Perfect little Airedales.

Kay and Neil were especially impressed because I licked them all and did a proper job of caring for them. Something I evidently failed to do last time. How was I to know?? - I had never seen a puppy before, back then.
But this time around, I think they are rather cute and I like them a lot. They have to suckle in shifts because there are so many of them.

Stay tuned for more puppy photos over the next few months!

last day of work

2011-05-30T17:52:00.012+10:00

Neil, Gracie and I are now officially retired from working. Hooray!

Not that I minded working, we always got to see and meet a lot of interesting folks along the way. We've been working on Fozzie's house for the last few months.

He lives in a neighbourhood that has tiny, tiny backyards - so us dogs didn't get too much room. There is even less in the front garden where we are here. As you can see, the play yard is a bit cramped.

So finding a quiet place for an afternoon nap wasn't always easy.

But it did allow one to beg shamelessly over the fence. That's a yummy looking pig's ear, Anthony!

At the end of the last day, all the tradies had a beer with Neil and farewelled us off into retirement.

It was always lots of fun working with Anthony and the crew.

But even if we hadn't retired, I am off on maternity leave for the next few months.

I thought I was putting on weight with all that yummy food... seems like the problem started back when we went to visit Romper!

I can hardly lug this tummy around anymore - I have definitely lost the spring in my step and certainly can't jump into the car at all.

I'll be glad when the little nippers finally arrive!

food, glorious food

2011-05-14T09:11:00.008+10:00

Gee whiz, I'm hungry all the time these days. Might be the cold weather, I guess.

Kay is being very obliging and giving me all sorts of extra yummy food. I even get breakfast now - which is a welcome change.

Here is a tray of fresh liver that is going in the freezer - I get one slab a day, quite delish.

And here is the raw vegie mix that Kay makes up for us. She says it has all sorts of good ingredients in it. Don't know about that part, but it is pretty tasty as well.

Here we are licking the bowl. It's a flurry of Airedales!

After all this extra eating, I get pretty tired and like to sleep a lot too. Neil says that I am getting fat - he might be right, I do seem to have put on a few extra kilos.

Nevermind, it's nearly time for morning tea... I've gotta go hang around the kitchen!

nearly famous

2011-05-01T20:37:00.005+10:00

Who are those good looking Dales in the latest Freedom Furniture catalog? Why, it's us!

We are nearly famous now, I would think.

It is just a tiny photo - about the size of a postage stamp. We were supposed to be on the cover as well, but I guess we were left on the cutting room floor.

Anyway, we spent a whole day at a posh house in the Southern Highlands, waiting for our photo shoot. It was an interesting day watching the arty types at work. Neil said the renumeration was worth it. Not too sure what that means, but he was pretty pleased with it.

See the nice brown leather couch? We bought one just about the same recently. Kay says it is in dirt colour... something about having too many Airedales rubbing up against our old white ones. I'm not fussed what colour a couch is, as long as I can dry off on it.

swimming merit badge

2011-04-27T20:30:00.005+10:00

This is to certify that

Doubledaire Trust Me (Gracie)

has earned her Airedale Terrier swimming merit badge.

She successfully passed the stated criteria of

plunging in and swimming to the target (Neil).

We knew you could do it, Gracie! Congratulations!! An Airedale really should be able to swim, I reckon. She even got the hang of jumping over the waves to get to the sticks - but she didn't often get there before me! I love swimming and I am sooo fast.

Here's Gracie demonstrating her new found talent (with her Auntie Megan).

a word from Gracie

2011-04-02T15:07:00.007+11:00

Hi - it's me, Gracie. We've had a bit of an adventure and Ruby isn't here to tell you about it. So I'm going to.

First, Neil found another old motorbike to buy. It's a 1930 BSA and it looks like this:

Except it really looks like this:

We had to drive all the way to Victoria to get it last weekend. Neil was very happy about it. But even better, the motorbike lived right in the same area as my Dad - Romper Stomper.

I had never actually met him, so I was really excited that we were going to go visit. Ruby was excited too. It has been ages since she has seen him.

They were so happy to see each other after all this time. He was big and shaggy and very handsome. We played chase around the paddock while everyone else had a cuppa tea. He is great fun.

Then, when it was time to go... Ruby decided to stay longer. Something about they wanted a little 'together time' or something.

Neil and Kay and I came back to Sydney that night - and gosh, that was a long drive - 16 hours by my calculation. We were in the car forever and hardly ever stopped. I complained loudly from the backseat...quite a lot. So boring.

I've been an only dog ever since. At first I didn't like it, but then I realised that I get all the attention, I get all the petting, I get all the balls -now I think it's pretty good.

Ruby is coming home sometime next week - she's flying back from Melbourne (1.5hr flight). Smart dog.

Callan Park revisited

2011-03-05T12:35:00.006+11:00

Gee, it's been a long time since we updated our blog. Our lives are generally not that exciting, just the same old, same old most of the time, so it doesn't seem that newsworthy or someone has forgotten the camera...

But this morning was lovely and cool, so we headed off for a romp in our favourite Callan Park.

It was a hospital grounds many years ago and there are wonderful old trees, garden features and stone walls still there to investigate.

And some great stuff to sniff too.

We played hide and seek with Neil and Kay. They are always amazed that we find them so quickly, but honestly, how easy is it to sniff out your human??

And lastly, here is a recent tongue-shot for Anna's Spectacular Tongue-Tacular contest. This was on a warmer day and our tongues were lolling.

dance of the Airedale

2011-02-10T10:56:00.010+11:00

Kay and I have a new training method these days. It's called 'training in drive' and I love it. So far, it involves me trying to catch a tug toy and then I hang on and do NOT let go...even when I'm supposed to. We are still working on that bit. I just can't bring myself to give it up once I've locked onto it with my jaws of steel.

It's a great workout for both of us. Kay says I am getting stronger and she can barely keep hold of the tug... that of course is my plan. This is the best kind of training we've tried so far - right down a terrier's alley!

She's back

2011-01-20T13:44:00.006+11:00

Kay finally got back from the USA and true to her word, she brought us lots of prezzies for a belated Christmas party.

I love getting presents!

There were the usual rubbery-squeaky things that this Airedale can demolish in seconds flat. And then there were some very interesting stuffies that honked and squeaked. Gracie and I particularly liked this one, shaped like a duck.

I tried to sneak it off the bed without Gracie seeing, but she was right there in a flash to grab it by the head. He was my favourite, until Kay unpacked the other birdies.

I don't have a picture of them, but maybe you know the ones I mean... they are round like fluff balls and look like a cardinal or a mockingbird - and they have the most captivating tweeting sound. Supposedly it sounds just like the real birds do - I love them. I love them so much that I go quite berserk and can't think of anything else when they are around. And then, when I finally get one in my mouth and they tweet and tweet... it's just heavenly.

But after the fun of the birdies and the other new toys, we both had to have a bath. And then we had to get clippered all over - which wasn't any fun at all (but it does feel lovely be rid of all that hot hair).

It's great to have Kay back and now both our people are home and that's how it should be.

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-25T05:34:00.005+11:00

Well, it's Christmas morning here - but there are no presents for dogs. Kay had to jet off to America to visit her Mom and has left us with Neil. He is very good for walkies and runs on the beach, but not so good for presents.

Neil's presents have been hidden around the house - Kay is going to send clues on where they are, but I bet we can help him find them with just our superior noses. We have been promised our prezzies when she gets back. We can wait, no worries.

Here's the kind of fun we have with Neil, we're not supposed to use the kids play equipment, but when no one is looking we have a bit of fun!

To all our blogging friends, we want to wish you a very happy holiday season and a wonderful new year.

All the best, Ruby and Gracie (and Neil).

Airedale fun day

2010-12-16T14:10:00.010+11:00

We had our end-of-year Airedale fun day a few weeks ago. It was held at the Nuringingy Reserve - a nice private, bush area near Blacktown.
We met a new Dale - Finn. He's come all the way from America - that's him at the front. He was a very handsome fellow (That's Gracie and Teddy at the back).

His dad, Jon, took some great pictures on the day...many of them were of us!

Look how good we look.

Gracie and me.

Me.
Gracie.

But enough posing, it was time for the games to begin.

Here I am waiting for my turn at the obstacle course relay. Kay thought she had designed a really easy course that anyone could do...but not so.

From the Dales that slipped their collars and ran away when asked to go through the hula hoops, to Billy who couldn't leave the tennis balls in the bucket (he had to carry one back to the finish line), it was Airedale chaos!

Luckily we had three latecomers arrive just about the time we were filming, so we regrouped and ran the event again.

It went a bit better the second time around, although Legend remained adamant she wasn't doing the hula hoop second time or any time.

We had a fancy dress parade, but didn't manage to get any photos. It was a fun day out, not too hot and always great to see our Airedale friends.

sculpture by the sea

2010-11-27T20:56:00.015+11:00

The other day we took our early morning walkies over near Bondi beach. They have a sculpture by the sea exhibition each year - and we went to have a look.

Bondi beach

Look George, our step photo - better late, than never?

It was a lovely morning, enjoying the sea views and the artworks.

more motorcycle maintenance

2010-11-12T16:00:00.010+11:00

Neil's been working on his motorbike... a lot.

Nothing much else for the Airedale to do, but hang out in the old sand pit.

It's strategically placed to watch out for any signs of action.

Oooh, maybe we are going to the park...?

Hmmm, not yet I guess.

Look how cute we are, Neil - you should take us to the park!
How can you resist??

Street fair

2010-10-28T14:39:00.005+11:00

We went to the Summer Hill breakfast bazaar last weekend, there were lots of people and lots of food!
There was a middle eastern theme, here is Neil trying out the ful medames - beans by any other name. He didn't share any - said beans were bad for dogs. I'm not too sure about that, but he was adamant.

Kay was a bit more forthcoming with bits of ricotta cannoli - very yummy and definitely good for dogs!

Wolli Creek walkies

2010-10-16T15:53:00.009+11:00

We went somewhere new for our walk today, it's called Wolli Creek and it runs off of the Cook River,here in Sydney. It was a bush walk.

Look out, Airedales about!

About half way along the track you come to this row of little cottages that were built in the 1920's - the're in an old quarry and have a very secluded position overlooking Wolli Creek.
It was all very interesting.

Gracie can do it too!

2010-09-30T14:18:00.003+10:00

Gracie got a chance to strut her stuff for the camera when we at Callan Park as well. She's not nearly as good as me, but not bad for a big fluffy pup.

Kay has a chunk of hot dog in her mouth (which is why I never take my eyes off her face - you never know when some might fall out!). That's what she is giving Gracie for rewards in the video - maybe not elegant, but quite handy.

Callan Park

2010-09-29T17:28:00.007+10:00

Last Saturday we went for a walk in beautiful Callan Park. It is an old bit of Sydney that was last used as a psychiatric hospital, but is now preserved as a park right on the shores of the harbour.

There are some wonderful old sandstone buildings dotted around the extensive grounds.

And sure enough, there was a lot of heeling practice too. Kay has tried to think of all sorts of things to improve my heeling - hot dogs and my orbee ball are my favourites so far.

Here's a video of us practicing - you can see that I really do know how to do it...

We love Callan Park.

Obedience outing

2010-09-18T17:31:00.007+10:00

I went to another obedience trial this morning. It was so boring. We had to wait for hours and hours until our turn. By that point, I didn't much care.

Kay tried to get me revved up, but to tell the truth, I wasn't feeling all that great.

I think I might have picked up something toxic last week when Gracie pushed me into the Cooks River. It's so polluted that you aren't supposed to eat the fish from it - and you sure aren't supposed to be swimming in it.

I was just sniffing around the edge, as I always do, when a bouncing Gracie careened into me and knocked me over the edge. It was a long drop down, lucky the tide was in so I splashed in the water instead of smashing into the mud.

Neil had to climb down a ladder and try to haul me six feet back up to the bank, while not falling in himself. Thanks a lot, Gracie.

Anyway, the point was that I didn't do very well in the ring - we actually failed big time evidently. Kay was not very impressed. I guess it's back to the practice ring for me.

swimming lesson

2010-09-05T15:40:00.002+10:00

While we were up at the beach, Kay decided Gracie need a bit more encouragement to learn to swim. Even though the water was pretty chilly, we were hot from running around. So... time for a dunking!

I don't think Gracie was too impressed, but I'm sure she won't be let off until she's swimming happily...whether she likes it or not.

down by the riverside

2010-08-31T21:51:00.012+10:00

We were out in the country last weekend and stopped by this fun little spot.
It's the Sherwood Rd bridge over the Macleay River, just west of Kempsey.

Very interesting with all these smooth stones.

The water was lovely and cold - it sure was flowing briskly too.

But that didn't stop me. I did a lot of fetching of sticks.

Gracie wouldn't swim, she just paddled at the edges
- she's going to have to learn how to swim soon, to be a proper Airedale.

She would steal my sticks as soon as I brought them to shore.

What a pest!

And off she'd bolt...

Kay always says Gracie runs like a jackrabbit - look at the Airedale bunny.

Very pleased with herself here - that was a very good stick.

I went back to exploring the riverbanks... very interesting smells... could even be RATS!
...or something very like them.

Gracie, the gannet

2010-08-20T10:00:00.009+10:00

Have I ever mentioned that Gracie is a total guts and gobbles down any food she can find? Neil always calls her a gannet (those seabirds that swallow big fish down in one gulp) because she does the same with all her food.

So, I guess it wasn't such a surprise to see her in action with her birthday 'cake' (really a lot of smaller pieces of yummy liver cake).

Kay set up a table full of fabulous new toys for her - I was well and truly envious, I can tell you. But did Gracie go for the new chewber or the wonderful soft, chewy squirrel or the little bird toy that cheeps just like a real bird...?

No, as soon as that Airedale nose detected liver cake, she was into it.

She tried to eat it all in one gulp. Kay had to intervene, but it was too late. Luckily the video cuts out before showing Gracie going off and choking and vomiting it all back up. I won't even mention what came next.... but it was all cleaned up pretty quickly.

Happy birthday puppies!

2010-08-19T10:32:00.002+10:00

Gracie and her brothers are a year old today! Happy birthday to them all.

How cute they were then.

That's Bossley, Fozzie, Ringo, Wendell, Gracie and Diesel. What a lot of fun they were... until they ate us out of house and home, drove me crazy and had to leave quick smart to their new families.

Ahh, the joy of puppies!

Gracie doesn't know, but she is having a surprise party this afternoon and meeting up with Fozzie and Ringo for a playdate on Saturday.

agility practice

2010-08-05T06:19:00.002+10:00

Gracie and I are practicing our agility skills these days. Kay is trying to teach Gracie how to run weave poles using the channel technique. I get to have a go as well (even though I really do know how to do them)

It's so easy. You just run straight through and get the stuffie toy and have a little game of tug.

Gracie needed guidance and didn't even want the stuffie - unbelieveable! What is wrong with that grrrl?? I guess she's still a youngster

Fetch the paper

2010-07-17T13:09:00.004+10:00

Although Kay and Neil read the news online most of the time, they do get the Saturday papers delivered to our door. I think they do this for me mostly, as I love to race down the hall and fetch them.

Unfortunately, now I have to share the fun with Gracie. Luckily the paper comes in two parts.

She doesn't even know what she's doing and slows me down big time. But she just has to be part of it. Have I mentioned what a pest she is?

Anyway, here is the video of this morning's excitement. Kay is not impressed that we have footage of her in pajamas and robe... but hey, not my fault - that's what she looks like early in the morning.

We get lots of yummy liver bits with this game...
and Kay and Neil get a slobbery newspaper, delivered to hand.

Fun day

2010-07-09T06:16:00.007+10:00

Last Sunday we went to the Airedale fun day. It turned out to be a lovely day - lots of Airedale friends and wonderful sunny weather.

Kay and Neil set up a small agility course for us all to play on. Many of the Dales had not seen a any agility equipment before, so we gave them lots of time to practice before we had a race.

Little Gracie and Kay were the fastest of all! It should have been me, but Neil is new to agility and he was just so slow. Hmmph.

Best of all was Major, an older Dale who is nearly totally blind - but he did the whole course, over jumps, up the A frame, through the tunnel and weave poles - he was amazing. We gave him a special prize. He just trusts his Janine so much, he follows her voice anywhere.

We also played a soccer relay in honour of the World Cup. I thought all the kicking was just silly, so I picked the ball up and carried it to the finish line, but even then, our team didn't win. I did win the Recall race however, so that was something.

Unfortunately, not many photos were taken on the day (Kay and Neil were too busy organising the games, I guess). You will have to go over to Noah's blog for more photos.

But we did get some pics of Fozzie and Diesel - Gracie's brothers. They are looking very handsome and it was great to see them together. What lovely boys they are.

Diesel (was Purple ribbon puppy)

Fozzie (was Blue ribbon puppy) and Diesel at the back.

backyard fun

2010-06-25T21:10:00.006+10:00

We have a nice big backyard up at Arakoon - great for running off excess energy.

See us go zoomies as I try to catch that little pest, Gracie.
She sure is fast. She's always the one in front.

See that big burn mark on the grass? That's where Neil set the lawn mower on fire. He got really excited and burnt up several towels and rags trying to put it out. Kay finally brought out the fire extinguisher and that did the trick. Exciting stuff.

Here are some stills taken from the zoomie movie.

Look at us, Airedales in full flight!

at the beach again

2010-06-11T07:43:00.011+10:00

We have spent all week at our beach house - it's been great (if a bit cold). There have been long walks on the beach every day and lots of gorgeous smelly fish and such to find in the dunes.

Gracie runs and runs and although she is braver now about going into the water - she still won't swim out to fetch a stick. So all the sticks are mine...

where is it?

you"ve got to look out for those waves

there it is

But when I get back to shore, she attacks and tries to wrestles it away.

And then the chase is on!
Gosh she is fast - I can't catch her once she is in full flight
- and so quick on the turns.
We love the beach!

pizza night

2010-05-31T21:11:00.009+10:00

For something totally out of the usual, Neil and Kay made home-made pizzas last night. I couldn't believe it - there in our very own kitchen was pizza - just like Maggie and Mitch get
(or used to).

I have never actually had any pizza before - but it sure looked good. We also never usually get fed anything from the dinner table... but tonight was different.

Look Gracie, PIZZA

Gosh that smells really good

Could it be... he's cutting a piece for us!

OMG, yumm, yummm - fabulous!

We'll even do silly tricks, just keep that pizza coming.

Excellent snacking!

Ratty's close call

2010-05-19T14:28:00.003+10:00

We had such an exciting morning. Let me tell you, I got SOOO close to catching that pesky rat that comes into our backyard every now and again. SOOO close!

I had him out in the open and running for his little furry life. We were just coming down the side of the house, when Neil opened the back door. Ratty bolted through the door, over Neil's foot and into the laundry.

I nearly had him, but having Neil in the way slowed me down somewhat and when Ratso did a sudden u-turn, he was quicker than me.

We bolted out the door again, past Neil (again) at which point Gracie joined the chase. The three of us continued at top speed down the side alley, where lucky Mr Rat squeezed under the front gate and got away. Gosh we were excited. So excited! I have never gotten that close before.

Sadly, there were no photos taken of any of this, but I am eagerly awaiting a rematch - I watch the hole under the fence all the time now. I'm sure he'll be back and I am determined to get that pesky varmit next time.

I know us Airedales are famous for being ratters - I am a bit surprised how tricky it is to actually catch the little critters - they don't seem to want to play the same game that we do.

I shall prevail one day.

ball thief

2010-05-09T17:27:00.006+10:00

A little while back, I got this amazing new ball. It's an Orbee tennis ball. It's my favourite. It looks like a tennis ball, but it's nice chewy rubber that bounces really high and tastes great.

It also has holes at each end. The holes make a kind of whistling sound when it's thrown - this makes it very exciting.

But guess who is always trying to get it away from me? That constant pest, Gracie, that's who.

Watch how she torments me... first she steals it and then runs off teasing me. Give it to me, Gracie - it's mine, Kay says you have to give it to me... oooh, not fair.

When I finally do get it, she grabs my leg so I can't go play with it. And if it's not my leg, it's my ear or my tail.

That grrrl has no respect for her elders.

somewhere different

2010-04-24T20:39:00.013+10:00

Life has been pretty quiet around here as of late. We have a pleasant little routine of morning romps in the park and afternoon training sessions. On Saturday mornings, all of us go and we go "somewhere different" than normal.

Today it was the Tempe Reserve. The kid's soccer was on and we went and had a look.

Gracie used to be scared of noisy little children, but this time, she didn't mind them at all.

After a while, we were off to the dog's part of the park and played ball and ran around a lot. I love playing ball - I get it and bring it back...over and over and over.

I never take my eye off the ball - never.
I never let Gracie get the ball...ever.

On the way home, Neil stopped at the shops and we had to wait in the car. Sooo boring.

Where is he?

Finally, he came back and we went home and settled down with some yummy bones that we chewed all afternoon. Quite a good day.

perfect ears

2010-04-18T18:05:00.003+10:00

I know that I haven't got your standard Airedale ears...
but look at this great shot that Sylvia took of me at the show.

Nearly perfect, I'd say.

Great Joint Terrier show

2010-04-05T09:24:00.008+10:00

For weeks now, Kay has been stripping and plucking BOTH of us for the Airedale Speciality Show. I've had a tonne of fluffy hair pulled out so that I will look all sleek and showy. Here we are getting ready for the final assault on legs, face and tummy.

Gracie had to put up with even more than me, cause she is such a fluffy puppy. We were both quite over it by the day the show arrived.

But it was all worth it, because we looked very smart and respectable. It was my first show and Gracie's second and we did very well. Here's me trotting around to win Best Australian Bred Bitch - okay, I was the only one in the class! But still, I'm looking pretty good.

Here's Gracie easily winning her best Puppy in Show class... yep, the only one in her class too!

Gracie did go on to win Best Bitch in the Parade - she actually beat a couple of older champion girls to win that - so we were all impressed. I got runner-up to Gracie - I even beat two others. Amazing!

Gracie went on to win Best Gaited and together we won best Parent and Progeny.

People raved about Gracie and what a lovely puppy she was and how well she moved and how well trained and calm she was. She just took everything in her stride.

Kay was very happy with our results and how well we both behaved. Neil secretly wished he was home playing with his motorcycles... fair enough, I would have rather been having a good run in the park.

He had to take me into the ring when both of us had to go in - it was his first time too. We did good for a couple of newbies who would rather be elsewhere!

All in all, it was a great day and lots of fun to catch up with all our Airedale pals.

fun at the beach

2010-03-19T20:52:00.005+11:00

We have a beach house at Arakoon - a little place just near South West Rocks (north of Port Maquarie and south of Coffs). It's got a big backyard and is only about five minutes walk to Trial Bay beach.

On the way, there is a steep sand dune to climb up and gallop down. Here we are, hurdling down the hill as fast as we can go. You can't really tell it's a hill, but it is.

Later, we were up on the headland, when Neil said "Where's Kay?" We were off like a shot to find her...and we did. I guess we were a far way away from the camera, because we look like two little specks... but at least you can get the idea of how clever we are.

at the beach

2010-03-14T16:32:00.020+11:00

We've just come back from two weeks holiday at the beach!

We had a great time - long walks on the beach at least once a day - rain or shine.

We had a few gorgeous days like this one - and quite a few cool, rainy ones too.

Now that summer is over, the tourists have gone home and left the beach to us. Pretty good!

Here's Gracie with Neil, relaxing in the dunes.

She loves the beach as much as me, I think. Although she isn't much of a swimmer yet - she's slowly finding her way with the waves.

There are massive rocks on the headlands, we scrambled all up and over them - I felt just like Rin Tin Tin.

The mid-north coast is just sooo beautiful - and lots of fun for dogs.

fun in the park

2010-02-28T07:48:00.004+11:00

Here's some photos and video of Gracie and me playing around at our favourite park.

It runs along the Cooks River and is very green and lush. Kay says that it almost looks European... no idea what she is talking about.

But there are lots of great smells and plenty of room to run. Gracie has even more fun than me - stealing my ball, tripping me up and chasing all the little dogs she meets.

We do this most days.

the art of motorcycle maintenance

2010-02-18T14:00:00.010+11:00

We've been helping Neil work on his old motorbikes - he has so many now (five!) that he can't fix them all on his own. We spend hours in the garage, helping him work out what needs to be done next.

Gracie is showing a keen interest in how things work...

Hold on guys, I'll get the gasket cement...

Here's the screwdriver you're looking for, Neil ...

Gracie delivering the spare gear thingie you asked for...

What would he do without us?

walk in the park

2010-02-13T10:20:00.011+11:00

We finally had a bit of cool weather this morning, still very humid, but much cooler. We went for a walk along the Cooks River. I finally got Kay to take a few pictures of ME for a change.

Here we are, ready to go. You can see that Neil was pretty keen to go too.

We found a kid's playground and had a bit of fun.

Jumping over stuff...

Getting in stuff... I did get in this, but I was out so fast, Kay didn't get the picture - it was too slippery inside.

Sitting on stuff. Gracie wasn't too sure when Neil started rocking back and forth,but she stayed on, with some encouragement.

I had to stay on leash the whole time because this little guy was following us. He was very interested in me and Kay did not think that Foxy x Airedale puppies were a good idea.

I suppose not. You're out of luck this time, Mr Foxy.

Gracie's debut

2010-02-06T22:17:00.006+11:00

We went to Gracie's first show this evening. It was raining a fair bit and we all got pretty wet - lucky we Airedales don't mind that kind of thing.

Kay has been stripping Gracie everyday for weeks - finally she was ready... enough. This is how she looked just before going into the ring.

There were only two Airedales, Gracie and an already champion 3 year old girl. She won. But Gracie did really well for a first time, so we were all happy for her.

It was all over in no time and then we got to eat junk food from the food van. Here we are staring at the chips that Neil is eating. I'm pleased to report that one or two of them did come our way. So good.

stilt-training

2010-01-30T20:46:00.007+11:00

Well, Kay's finally back from her ten day buddhist retreat and I must say she's looking pretty calm. Gracie and I have been hanging out with Neil, taking it easy.

Gracie's coat had grown quite a lot in ten days, much to Kay's dismay. They are entered in their first show next weekend, so a lot of 'plucking' has been required. And more needed still.

Gracie doesn't know how to stand and stay like a proper show dog, so she has to do a lot of training. Kay read about this thing called stilt-training on the internet and thought we'd give it a go. The real stilts cost a lot to order, so we just used tins of beetroot stuck to a board.

Here's how they work.

Pretty neat, eh? After they can do this, it's supposed to transfer to doing it on the ground. Time will tell how well it works.

copycat

2010-01-12T20:49:00.011+11:00

That Gracie, she is such a copycat.
Everything I do, she has to do, just the same.
No matter if we are just sitting, waiting for a treat...

or tracking down some enticing smell at the park...

or finding a really good stick to play with... grrrr, this is MY stick, kiddo!

She is my constant shadow.

I guess I'm her role model and she's my little mate.

Fozzie's blog

2010-01-05T19:16:00.008+11:00

My Fozzie has just started his own blog! He was always a clever boy.

He's had a very eventful start to his New Year - he's broken his leg, it's all bandaged up, the whole thing.

Poor pup - he can't run or play for weeks and weeks until his leg is better.

Go over and see his blog at http://fozziefurbaby.blogspot.com. Make sure you leave him some consoling comments.

For us, we're back at work and trying to get back in shape. I'm going to start doing some trials at Open level in February.

Kay says we still have some work to do until we're ready, so we've been down at the park practicing.

We've also been jogging to get our fitness levels up - phew, on and on we go, past so many good smells.

Gracie is supposed to be learning how to stand up properly for a show dog - she isn't too impressed so far!

She has also been having her coat "stripped" - you know, the proper Airedale way. Also not so impressed.

I got my whole back done - they actually pull your hairs out!

Who thought that was a good idea, I wonder?
It's supposed to grow in looking really good - I'll keep you posted.

t'was a Merry Christmas

2009-12-26T10:27:00.008+11:00

Well, we had a great Christmas morning with lots of prezzies to unwrap and chew. Here we are waiting for santa Neil to hand out the goodies.

He's wearing his new 'cool' hat - you get it wet and it keeps your head cool - just like my doggie cool coat... but my coat looks better than his funny hat, I think!

Finally, santa Neil had to surrender the whole bag so we could choose our own gifts. I was straight into it as I've done this before. Gracie didn't stand a chance.

We got a lovely selection of squeaky, chewable stuff and we were pretty pleased.

After breakfast and a bit of a clean up - we headed out to the park. It wasn't too hot as there were a lot of clouds around, but it was still warm. I headed for the duck pond, ignoring the 'No dogs' sign ( and Kay yelling at me to not to even think of going in the water - hah!) and had a lovely little dip. Gracie just enjoyed the mud on the edge while admiring my swimming prowess.

We then ran and played (with our muddy paws) and had a great time.

I hope all you blogging friends had a wonderful holiday (all you lucky dogs in the North with all your snow would have had such fun) and best wishes for a happy, carefree new year too!

sock foot

2009-12-18T06:55:00.004+11:00

That Gracie is just so cute these days. She is looking like a proper little Airedale now. But with her fluffy coat and big feet, everyone pays all their attention to her - instead of ME.

I had to come up with a really sore foot to get Neil and Kay to pay attention. I limped around on three legs until they got the idea.

Then I just ended up with this sock on my foot and had to go rest in my bed, while they played with Gracie. Hmmph. It's hard to compete with a puppy.

PS. My foot is better now - I did get some nice treats and other delicacies to ease my pain. So it worked out pretty well.

Christmas Dales

2009-12-07T21:21:00.012+11:00

We had the best fun at the Airedale fun day/christmas party yesterday.

There were so many Airedales, it was great to see them all. We played some games and I got the fastest time on the obstacle course with Neil. Noah was an impressive second place.

The bobbing for hot dogs was soooo easy, once you figured it out - I snatched lots of hot dogs while Gracie was still looking for her first one. Delicious.

Check out this photo of Noah! What a cool dude he is, He was the very deserving winner of the fancy dress parade. He was the 'Hung over, Morning after' santa. And such a good looking guy.

You will see that I however, had to wear a full santa suit, complete with pathetic beard and pompoms. Lucky that I am such a patient soul... I put up with it all. Even Gracie managed to not chew the bells off her elf's costume, although she really wanted to. Pretty good considering all the stuff Kay draped on us.

Actually all the Dales were very good. Here's my boy, Fozzie with his Sarah. In the back is Teddy with Maisie and Abby. Teddy is from Oldiron kennels, just like me. He's my nephew or cousin, I think.

Look at this lineup - it's over 30 degrees... and we're wearing christmas costumes and tinsel. Makes you wonder... we must all be mad.

Make sure you go over to visit Noah's blog - he has lots more pictures of the day.

working dogs

2009-12-02T05:36:00.006+11:00

Gosh that Gracie is growing up fast. Kay was away for two weeks and Gracie must have grown two inches in that time. She is also very fluffy and has the biggest feet!

She has been going off to work with Neil and I every day and is adapting to the life of a first year carperter's apprentice quite well. First year apprentices just lie around a lot and chew bones - a bit similar to a third year apprentice like myself.

Here's me having a nice kip in the pile of old insulation. Very cosy, if a bit itchy.

When we're not working, we're playing. She is getting pretty quick - the camera could barely stop the action of her snapping jaws. Lucky I've got quick reactions or I could be in trouble with this young shark around.

play date

2009-11-09T21:06:00.007+11:00

Last Sunday we went to a play date for Gracie, Fozzie and Ringo. They live nearby and we thought it would be fun to all get together.

We met at Ringo's house - he has a big backyard, good for lot's of play.

Those little guys had no respect for me, their own mother. They literally attacked - all trying to play bitey face at once.

I growled, Gracie growled.. better not mess with the girls...

That didn't put them off one bit. They just kept on and on. Such terrors.

They played and played until everyone was worn out.

Fozzie has had a smart, new haircut. It made him look very grown up. Ringo and Gracie were still curly, but not for that much longer. Summer is on the way!

It was lovely catching up with the boys and seeing how well they are going.

Thanks Ringo, for having us over - it sure was fun.

Next time, when everyone is all vaccinated, we'll have to go to Callan Park and paddle in the bay! Always good for a hot day.

fun at the beach

2009-10-29T11:56:00.002+11:00

We had a lovely week at the beach recently. I needed some holiday time to recover from motherhood.

It was also a great opportunity to introduce young Gracie/Widget to the joys of running on the beach and digging endless holes in the sand.

She sure has short legs... can't keep up with me at all. And she can't even swim!

But she seems to be pretty good at the digging. See us digging mother and daughter holes.

my puppy pal

2009-10-23T06:07:00.002+11:00

Well, it has been a nearly a week since the other puppies went to their homes. I wanted to play with Red, but she's been asleep most of the time. She slept for 14 hours straight one day!

When she finally woke up, she had grown about 2 inches - so I guess that was what she was doing all that time.

We are starting to have some good games, but I can beat her everytime.

Throw a ball? I'll run her down to make sure I get it first. Put some bones out? I can eat them all before she gets a chance... or bury them to hide them from her.

Here we are having a game of tug. Ha! She's so little I can just pull her around.

We still haven't come up with a name for her. Neil and Kay are calling her Widget at the moment, but I don't know if that will stick. I guess she'll always be Red to me.

and then there were three

2009-10-16T17:50:00.010+11:00

Gosh, life is a lot calmer with only three of the little terrors around! They are still full of energy, but just not so much as six puppies.

They're so fast these days, that the camera can't keep up - they are just a blur of Airedale. And it seems that chewing on the tunnel Neil made them is as much fun as playing IN it.

Green and Purple are off to their new homes tomorrow and then it will be down to one puppy... the little, curly girl.

She is registered as 'Doubledaire Trump the Lot' - but we haven't been able to come up with a call name that we all like. So she's still Red for the moment (altho Kay's been calling her Gracie).

She is very fluffy and she doesn't look much like an Airedale. She had her face trimmed a tiny bit to square it up, as she was looking a bit like a pomeranian or spaniel puppy. Now she just looks a bit funny.

last afternoon all together

2009-10-13T21:36:00.002+11:00

Well, we had our last day all together today. Three of the puppies are off to their new homes tomorrow and the other two on Saturday. One of them is staying though... the only little girl, Red.

We love them all dearly, but it is time for them to head out to their new lives.

You can see how active they are - they're mad! Our backyard is way too small for all these guys to scoot around. The big world beckons and they're ready to go.

what's that

2009-10-11T19:20:00.002+11:00

Look at these little terrors. Neil was using a compressed air nozzle and as soon as the pups heard it, they were straight over to see what it was. No shyness here!

See them checking out the funny new toy.

wobble board

2009-10-08T20:38:00.003+11:00

Gosh, the pups are seven weeks old now. One more week and they will be off to their own homes. Life will return to normal!

But it's hard to think that they will be gone so soon - they've been so wonderful and quite dear.

Neil made them some educational play equipment recently. One was a wobble board to help them develop their balance. It inspired a long romp where they all tried to get on it as much as possible. None of them was fazed by the wobbly board - it just seemed to make everything more fun!

Apologies to those who are tired of endless puppy videos... but there is an audience of new owners, grandparents and Marieke, the puppy nurse (who is back in China) who are hanging out to see more of their puppies.

puppies in the garden

2009-10-05T14:08:00.002+11:00

The puppies are really getting into the fine art of landscaping these days. Here they are doing some trimming (and squashing). This is only a small part of how Kay's garden has been remodeled.

She's delighted, of course. It's Spring, I tell her - it will all regrow...eventually.

tug-of-war

2009-10-01T08:53:00.004+10:00

We have been having all sorts of fun around here now that the pups are so big and playful. Kay got out all MY toys for them to play with today.
I had to try and get them all back, but it wasn't easy.
These guys don't give up when they have their teeth into something

You will notice that I am wearing a t-shirt - not my normal garb, but this works wonders to keep the pups from suckling every moment. I'm fast recovering my pre-pup sporting figure.

Here's another tug-of-war between two of the pupsters.

playtime

2009-09-28T13:58:00.002+10:00

Those pups sure are so cute these days, you just want to eat one... joking!

Here we all are messing around out the back. They are very persistent trying to suckle. Kay says I'm not supposed to allow it as I should be "drying up". Hmmph, try telling them that.

king of the castle

2009-09-22T06:50:00.003+10:00

The pups are having a great time playing on my old trampoline bed. I loved it when I was a pup too.

See Mr Yellow defend the high ground from all comers.

Starting to look like a real terrier, isn't he?

finally...solid food

2009-09-22T06:31:00.002+10:00

The pupsters have finally started chowing down on solid food - and not a moment too soon.
Those sharp little teeth were getting unbearable.

See them try to work out how to eat from a dish.

puppies on the loose

2009-09-15T15:44:00.005+10:00

Well, things are getting lively around here nowadays. The pups are getting so big - they can even climb out of their box in between feeds and come looking for me.

I can hardly keep track of them - they scoot around in seven different directions at once!

And yes, that one seems to have four white paws... I'm sure that's not quite standard Airedale...

They'll be moving outside soon, cause they have well and truly outgrown the whelping box.

let the games begin

2009-09-12T06:17:00.003+10:00

I think the first game an Airedale learns is the classic, bitey face.
Watch three week old puppies practice their technique.

Shhhhh, puppies asleep

2009-09-08T09:31:00.012+10:00

Look how big they are now - three weeks old today.
Kay says they can start eating solid food soon. Yay!

puppy update

2009-09-03T13:12:00.007+10:00

Well all is much the same in my world as last time I did a post... it's all about feeding those puppies. Luckily, we've moved from two hourly feeds to four hourly.

I can at least get a bit of rest or even a trip to the park in between now.

We all still have to do a couple of middle of the night feeds - Kay and Neil won't stop going on about how tired they are. What about moi?! I have no sympathy - this was all their idea.

Here's a photo of the little guys in action - look at those ears swept back, they are really working to get that milk out fast.

Kay had to cut everybody's toenails the other day - they were so sharp - I could hardly stand it when they started pumping. It's much better now. Phew.

Look how they are nearly filling the basket nowadays - will definitely have to get something bigger soon.

Their eyes are just starting to open.

Won't be long before they are up and into everything.

Doubledaire

2009-08-30T10:51:00.004+10:00

I've just got my new kennel name. Seems all these little pups are going to be a new line of Doubledaire airedales.

It wasn't my first choice, but it does have a nice, edgy sound to it. Dare ya, dare ya, doubledare ya... Probably quite appropriate for terriers.

There's even a new Doubledaire website all about your's truly and a photo gallery of me and the pups as they grow.

And boy are they growing fast! They are twelve days old and hopefully their eyes will open this week. That should be cute.

one week old

2009-08-26T08:39:00.006+10:00

The puppies are one week old today! I can't believe it has only been a week
- seems like much, much longer!

They have suckling down to a fine art now.

I jump in the box and they attack.
In less than ten minutes I'm empty and they are very, very full.

They sleep the rest of the time, snuffling and squeaking.

But they are very cute.

new puppies

2009-08-21T14:41:00.005+10:00

I see that Kay has shared the news of the long awaited arrival of the puppies.

Did she mention that it was a hell of a lot of hard work? It took from midnight till dawn to get them all out. I was exhausted.

And you know, they look a lot like little black rats... so I've been a wee bit confused about what you're supposed to do with them.

They were pretty clear what they wanted though... seems that I am now the local milk bar.

I've had a bit of a rest now and something to eat and I'm starting to warm to the little tackers. They snuffle around a lot and are actually quite endearing.

I've been off my food since the big event and Kay has been working overtime to find something that I will eat.

She finally had a brainwave and rushed off to Macca's for a couple of cheeseburgers, hold the pickles. They were scrumptious and I ate them in a flash!

I also polished off a block of cheese and several arrowroot biscuits. So all in all, not doing too badly here.

breaking news...

2009-08-19T05:42:00.003+10:00

Ruby has finally had her puppies! We've been up all night, with puppies coming about every 45 minutes. Seven so far and that might be about all. Ruby is exhausted by the effort and a bit bemused by all the snuffling pups. We'll wait and see if anymore arrive, but she is looking rather empty now.

Stay tuned for photos soon!

waiting game

2009-08-14T10:15:00.006+10:00

Well, here I am at home on maternity leave, while Neil goes off to work without me.

This would normally be unbearable, but I'm so big and heavy that I don't really care as much AND my big sister Marieke has come home from China to babysit me!

She's lots of fun. I like to wake her up at 6:00 am every morning... just to say hi with a big wet kiss. She makes such funny noises when I do that!
I've been a bit off my food a bit the last few days, so she tempts me with tasty morsels and hand feeds me chicken necks, which is very nice of her.

But all in all, I think I've had enough of this pregnancy game - must be time to bring on the puppies very soon.

Kay says it might even be tonight... and if not, then surely tomorrow.

maternity leave

2009-08-04T14:09:00.006+10:00

Here's a picture of me at work. I'm guarding things. This is at a very small house with no front yard, so I'm on the footpath.

I do get to do a lot socialising with all the folks that walk down the street. They pet me and say I'm gorgeous, etc, which is nice.

I also have to supervise to make sure the guys keep working and do things right. No slip shod work allowed around here.
This is a good part of the day... smoko. I'd already eaten mine while the humans were still unpacking theirs. That's Morgan and Anthony (in the red shirt).

I started working with Anthony from my very first day and it's been three years now - we're great mates. Hi Anthony!

I'll have to negotiate some maternity leave soon - this might be my last week at work for a while. I need to do some nesting and get a spot ready for these pups. I think under the house is my preference, but Neil has made a special box for the big event. I'm not so sure... we'll just have to see.

barefoot and pregnant

2009-07-26T20:05:00.008+10:00

You know how everyone had been commenting about puppies and all? I did wonder where these puppies were supposed to be coming from. Now I know.... it's me!

I've just had my tummy shaved and a gooey ultrasound done. I'm pregnant for sure, it seems. Puppies are due in around two and a half weeks!

This is a big surprise for me, as I didn't have a clue.

Kay has put me on a super diet - all raw chickens, bones and vegies. It's great - I absolutely love chicken.

I've had to slow down a lot on my agility work and Neil says I can't chase balls and frisbees anymore.

But I did get to be a demo dog at obedience class today. That was really good - you get a lot of treats doing that. "Show the class how clicker training works Ruby"... click, treat, click, treat, munch, munch....yes, ma'am.

Well, it's back to bed for me now, it's all just eat and sleep pretty much these days. Now I know why.