t'was a Merry Christmas

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Shhhhh, puppies asleep

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

puppy update

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

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

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

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...

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

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

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

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.

morning sickness

Things have been rather quiet around here lately. It is winter and it's cold and all I feel like doing is staying in my warm little bed most of the time.

Even though Kay has been making me all sorts of delicious meals with chicken necks and cottage cheese - stuff that I would usually love... I don't feel like eating much either.

Kay says it's probably morning sickness, but she's wrong because it's more like all day - not just in the morning. Oh dear... at least it's not swine flu.

Airedale fun day

Yesterday was the Airedale Terrier Association winter fun day... and I finally got to meet my blogging buddy, Noah!

He is a wonderful big, strong dale and it was great to see him.

Here he is looking very smart in his red scarf.

He wanted us to all know that he was the top dog - but I didn't mind, I was too busy chasing balls to worry about a small growl between friends.

We played some fun games - the craziest one was a combination of baseball and cricket. I never did quite work out what the rules were, but somehow our team won!

Here's me with my mate, Selby, he's a happy, relaxed dale and it's always good to catch up with him.

It was really warm and sunny, perfect for a winter day. We all sat around and had lunch and many cups of tea and cake. I even managed to lick some of the plates clean while Kay was busy talking.

I sure am hungry all the time these days. Lucky I won lots of treats as prizes - this was a whole bag full of yummy liver cookies and doggie chews. I wanted to scoff the lot, but Kay only let me have a few. Hmmmph.

I love catching up with all my Airedale friends - there were about eight of us there yesterday counting Griffin the new pup. I wish there were even more. If Noah brings his sisters next time, that will certainly boost the numbers!

The next fun day isn't until December... I can't wait. I'll have to work on a new costume for the fancy dress parade - if anyone has any good ideas, let me know.

my trip to Victoria

We took off last Saturday for Melbourne. I was so excited - but gosh it was a long, long drive to even get out of NSW. There was snow on the ground over the Great Divide and it was amazingly cold. But there were sheep everywhere you looked, so Kay wouldn't let me out of the car to play in it.

We finally crossed into Victoria and the weather warmed up and everything looked really green and lovely.
As we were so close, Neil agreed to drive me over to Romper's house for a quick visit. I couldn't wait. When we got there, his person, Keith brought him out and we finally got to meet in the flesh. He was wonderful! And even more handsome then in his photos.

He seemed really pleased to meet me and had the most interesting things to say and some really fun, new games to play. We had a great time.

I got to go back the next two days as we were staying down while Neil looked at the old bikes. He ended up getting two of them, along with a whole trailer full of bits. Finally it came time to say farewell to Rompie. We promised to keep in touch.

Afterwards, we headed south for a look at the famous Phillip Island where all the fairy penguins come ashore every night for the tourists to see. It's supposed to be really amazing, but you know what - they don't let dogs in to see it. So we just went and sniffed around a beach without penguins... whatever they are.

It was interesting and the water was decidely brisk. Brrrrr!

And then it was time to start the long, slow journey home. It also took forever - but I just slept and dreamed about my dear sweet Rompie.

Kay calls him my toy boy but I'm not sure why - he didn't have nearly as many toys as me.