Ahhhh.... 

The journey has ended & a new one waits to begin. Rainbow, now Daisy has found her wonderful, forever home. She now has three beautiful girls to play with and another Ridgeback named Kali. She is going to love her new giant backyard & home. I'm so happy for her!  

Black boy, now Bronco has also made his way home last week. He was always their boy starting at what, 5 weeks old but we had to wait until they found their perfect house. The house has been found & he is fully adored by several truly amazing people. He couldn't be happier!

Now the time to start following these sweet puppies will keep me on my toes. I'm so excited

My little traveler made it safe! 

Arena(light pink) left for Puerto Rico on Friday morning. She had about a 9 hour flight. I will admit that sending her on a plane, alone was the hardest thing I have ever done. I don't think I've ever cried that much in my life. I cried two days prior to her leaving & of course when I dropped her off. The nice man at the cargo drop off handed me tons of kleenex & told me I could hold her as long as I needed too. Walking away was truly awful. Rossanna called me as soon as Arena arrived. I was waiting on pins & needles let me tell you! Arena did wonderful. Just peed a little but that was it. She has been loved since the minute she arrived. Her new family adores her, which is the most important thing ever. She is also going to become that rare ridgeback that likes water. Her new family are big time surfers, so she's going to learn to enjoy it as well. I need to get a picture of her in a puppy life jacket!

My little sweet puppy, so far away. I cherish the pictures big time  New pictures here  

Bittersweet.... 

It was much harder than I imagined & I imagined it to be hard! Letting go of these puppies was like letting go of a child, a piece of me. You know they need to grow & will do so well with their new familes with new adventures, but oh my heart.  Thank goodness for the continuous updates...thank you to my families for those! Click for pictures & here

Here is a list of the names of the new pups...

Kadin (blue collar) - Regiment's Spell Worked Like A Charm - Show boy
Cinder (peach collar) - Regiment's Light Em' Up - Show girl
Uhuru (yellow) - Regiment's Bless Her Heart - Wonderful girl
Swayo (green collar) - Regiement's Wandering Warrior - Show boy
Kitte (socks, teal collar) - Regiment's Perfect Fit - Service girl 
Selous (my girl & dark pink collar) - Regiment's Crossing the Rubicon - Show girl
Rainbow collar)- 
Akena (red girl) - Show girl
Arena (light pink collar) - Regiment's Island Knockout - Show girl
Bronco (black boy) - Not in yet -
Awesome boy

To be continued! 


Vet check 

What an ordeal it is getting 10 puppies to the vet! Thank goodness for my mom & brother's help. All the pups passed with flying colors  My vet checked hearts, looking for any murmurs, eyes, teeth, ears, hips, which were all tight & knees. They all got their first set of shots. None even whimpered. So far, none have had any reactions to the shots local or otherwise.  What good babies! My vet commented on what a nice, healthy looking bunch they all are. He even admired their nice straight toplines. He's been taking care of my dogs for a long time now, so it was a nice compliment  Pups are ready to go to their new homes!

8 weeks today 

Wow! I can't believe my puppies are already 8 weeks old. It has been an amazing journey with many bumps but mainly pure joy. These puppies still melt my heart every moment. They really have their own personalities now too. Let me speak about each one. 

Kadin(blue) - My big boy. He is a true love. He is very clumsy, sometimes a goof. He loves to sit in a lap. It's his comfort  zone. His owners Carol & KW will have some numb legs in the very near future. He will have plenty of play time ahead as they have a sweet ridgeback Kamilli that they rescued from our local rescue. They also have two Basenji's Kali & Kip. He is going to a home that has been waiting for him for a long time. We also are going to give showing a try. Can't wait to see him in the ring!  

Swayo(green) - Nick name is Kermit. He is a jumper & hopper. He loves to be in the mix but he's not a bully. He loves to sit in my lap also. I got pictures from his owners Jeremy & Jennifer of him chasing the lure coursing pole. I think we might have a boy to follow in his dads coursing steps. That I would love! His new family has two pretty little girls that will give him 100% attention and he deserves every minute. He also will give the show ring a try with his brother Kadin. We are in for some fun.

Uhuru(yellow) - She is fiesty. She is one of the first to jump on my leg wanting to be held. When I do hold her, she nibbles on my ears right away lol. She was the one who had the dermoid, so she's been brave & strong from the get go. Her lovely owners Barry, Angel, Brandon & Hailey are in for some exciting times. She will fit into their family like a glove. She has the cutest wrinkly face with big round eyes. Angel is also going to give training a try. She is willing to help me show, so even though Uhuru cannot be shown due to the dermoid, she can still practice. Angel has become a wonderful friend.    

Socks(teal) - She is a spit fire! Must be that white foot that gives her all that attitude : ) She is quite the adventurer. She is the one who climbs the little gate to get in the house from the backyard. She figures if she can do it, she will. I'll be in the kitchen or on the computer, look up & there she is, just hanging out lol. She also has one amazing ridge. Wow. My husband & son are very fond of her. Wade calls her mittens & Kellan calls her stars & moon.

Black boy - He is my mini Gane. He's just mellow & calm. Easy going boy. Nice square head like Gane also. He was born with the blackest hairs in his coat, but that has been changing to a lighter blond. We might call him Blondie like in the Good, the Bad & the Ugly, great movie by the way. He used to be my escape artist. He would get out of the ex-pen in seconds. He's been a good boy lately & hasn't escaped in quite awhile. He has a lazy crown. Some days that crown is there, some days not. Either way, he's a cool dog. His new owners are new to Colorado but they are going to be smitten by this boy in seconds!

Light Pink - She is a sweet, sweet girl. Very confident about whatever she is doing. She has a very clean, pretty face & what I call a milk belly. Lots of little white spots, which is too cute! She loves to be held & carried around. She was the first to bite my toe & make me bleed but I still adore her. She is one of the smallest but has a huge personality!

Dark Pink - She is another little Gane. Mellow & calm. Never in too much of a hurry unless she is eating but that's all of them. She is a nice red wheaten & self stacks beautifully. I think she is adorable.

Peach - She was the smallest at birth, we called her Tiny Tina but is now in the top three of the girls for the  biggest. She & Dark Pink are very similar. Peach loves to be held. She has a white spot on her chest that looks to me like a tooth. She is more reserved but more than willing to explore when she can. Her face reminds me of Sparta.

Red - Again, my second sweet, sweet girl. She loves to be held & I love to hold her. She is very gentle & will lightly hold my face & lick me. So sweet. She also is a self stacker & will make for a good show girl. She is pretty fearless for such a tiny package. She & light pink are the two smallest of the girls. Adore her.

Rainbow - She is on the go type of girl. She's ok being alone & exploring. She loves to chase that lure pole also, which I'm hoping means a future lure courser. She has huge beautiful eyes & such a clean pretty face.      

All of my puppies have been loved by so many & it warms my heart. We have had a ton of visitors to help play with & socialize these pups. They have been welcomed into this world with open hearts & for that, I am forever grateful. They are well rounded & happy! Once I know who is getting who, I will post an update. One of my girls is going to be a constant companion as a service dog to her wonderful owner named Miles. I am also very excited to say that two of these amazing girls are going to be little travelers. One going to beautiful Canada & one going to far away Puerto Rico on the beach. Guess I better get my passport. Never had a reason to before, but I sure do now 

               

Micro-chip day 

All the puppies got their micro-chips today. Not a big production by any means! Ridgeback breeder & friend Susan Ralston,DVM came to the house to chip the pups. Huge thank you to Susan for that!! She applied a topical numbing cream on the area prior to chipping but they hardly made a noise & we only had two that bled a little. Not bad! They had some treats to distract them like cheese, hot dogs, dog ice cream & cream cheese. Funny how each one liked something different & sock girl tried eagerly to inhale the entire hot dog...food motivated lol? 

I purchased the HomeAgain Iso chip for them all. I felt much better having this done before they leave home, plus why add that price to the puppy people at the vets when it gives me  a HUGE piece of mind. I put myself as the back up person in case they were to roam. Prayers said that will not ever happen. All are fine today. No swelling or any trace of yesterdays event.
  

Busy weekend! 

The puppies have had lots of new adventures this weekend. They are now officially eating hard kibble. No more mush & they love it. They are ridgebacks after all so that is no surprise   They also had the courage to head into the far side of the yard where the bushes are. Most came out of the area very proud of the sticks that had found. It was too funny watching them prance around. We took the door off the whelping box & put a crate inside. I put blankets in there hoping they would rest in the crate. Well some did, others think it makes a great bathroom spot! I'll keep it in there anyway & cross my fingers they get it. Mary Lynne came over for their first stacking experience on the table. We do have to remind them that they are future stars   Most were pretty tired from being outside during the day & didn't want to play our game. I will keep working with them on the table.

Sparta is nursing them a few times a day but she is much better at staying away from them for longer periods of time. The little sock girl just cries horribly anytime she sees Sparta. Poor baby misses her mom. Gane is getting better at staying in the yard with the pups but he is still being super aloof & pretends he can't see or hear them. They get as close as they can, tails wagging but he's not falling for it.

Kellan has been the biggest help I could ever have! He watches his puppies & keeps them from anything dangerous. He also will babysit while I get a two hour nap. Thank goodness for that since that is about all I get between pups & working. My brother brought me more papers towels after getting my frantic call that I was out. I've never dreamed of using so many rolls. Again, this is a huge labor of love. I'm tired beyond words but what a beautiful & heart warming joy this is! 

Angel, Hailey, Jeremy, Jennifer, Hayden, Sofia, Miles, Courtney, Nathan & future owner of the black collar boy Robby came to visit. I've been putting most of them to work, so a huge shout out of thanks for all the help with the puppies!   

Full moon or the 6 week mark... 

Turned my sweet puppies into little monsters! They were crazy today  The black boy is a natural escape artist. He is getting out of the pen numerous times a day now. My gentle light pink girl bit my foot this morning & drew blood. I didn't think she'd be the first one to do that! Carol(Kadin's owner) & I tried taking some pictures this afternoon...lost  cause. They turned into major wiggle worms. I'll see if we got any good ones tonight when I get home IF they have turned back into my angels  They also are major pooping machines. I'm still shocked how much & often they poop.Yuck.

I also took several of them, one at a time to another room last night to see how they would react. They were a little timid at first but once they got to exploring, they had a blast. Peach girl loved going under the chairs, dark pink girl chewed on a bone & black boy did his thing which was explore all over the place. Gane stayed in the room with us but would bolt the minute one would brush against him. Bratty dad!