:Sunday morning…and where’s she been!

Good Sunday morning! Whoops! Make that Good Sunday afternoon! My gosh! Where does time go?! I’ve missed writing an almost daily post, sipping a cup of java, connecting with you in that odd way cyberspace provides. Lots to catch up on, so I’m just going to do one of the those here and there, hear and there, bits and pieces, no rhyme or reason posts.

First the great news. Chandra is pregnant with at least four – did you read that?! – four puppies. Here they are..

As with Nagpo, they still have a ways to go before arrival, but we’re over a major hurdle. All puppies will be DNA profiled to determine the sire of each puppy. Keeper? Khamma? I should have a good idea though as they’re born. If the puppy has an indication of tan point, then it is most likely sired by Khamma. Keeper appears not to carry tan point, as none of his puppies from Nagpo were tan point. Keeper comes from a line that hasn’t show tan point in years and years, so it’s improbable that he carries this gene. Tan point is very common in the Gompa gene pool, which is why the legs and face often appear cream.

Vickie arrived Thursday evening and stayed through Saturday afternoon. Thursday night after dinner – hey! I cooked that dinner! – we retired to the library, like two old men in smoking jackets retiring to have a cigar in the study. I always thought that was a cool vision, so I threw it in here. We didn’t have smoking jackets. We didn’t have cigars. Shockingly, we had a glass of wine. I know. Pull yourself up from fainting. Bringing a rocking chair into the library, we turned the reading chair and the rocking chair a bit to face the computer screens. Now this doesn’t sound relaxing or old school, does it… This doesn’t sound like old men smoking cigars. But it was. The lights were dimmed over the bookshelves. The lights were out over the desk and computers. The ambiance was relaxing as we quietly – okay, okay, it probably wasn’t so quiet! – as we watched the slide shows on both computers. Both Rick and I have our screen savers set up as slide shows. His always shows family photos. Mine is currently set up to show all the photos we all took in Seward. There’s a lot more than I put in the slide show on the blog. That thing loads up, buffers long enough!

As the hours went by, sipping wine, catching up, the slide shows played in the dim light. What I started to notice, especially in light of recently looking at lots of movement photos, was how the dog, no matter the dog, mimicked the action of the handler’s feet. Wow. There it was right before our eyes. No matter the shot. Here’s my favorite…

Friday the powwow started right after the dogs were fed and caffeine was running through our systems. Wow. From morning until well into the afternoon, we worked as Directors of the Gompa Lhasa Apso Preservation Program…which, of course, we are. For nearly a year and half, the focus has been acquiring 501(c)3 status and getting puppies on the ground. The Program was granted 501(c)3 status in February. And, we’ve got puppies on the ground and puppies on the way. Next, we’ll be focusing on updating the Program’s Registry, utilizing different software that will allow for fairly intricate viewing of each dog’s relatives, along with in-depth details on each dog. We also planned A Gathering of the Tibetans, to be held Saturday night, September 6th, in Greeley. We’ll present an update on the Gompa dogs, complete with actual puppies and parents. Siku. Whisper. Echo. Keeper. Nagpo. Hoping not to jinx Chandra’s litter…her puppies are due June 16 – 18, so will be old enough to make a brief visit. So, hopefully Chandra, her puppies and their fathers – Keeper and Khamma – will be there too.

After a brief respite to make some lunch, we came back to the table wearing different hats, planning a fun get-together for Vickie’s rescue people and owners of the FleetFireTimbers dogs.

Changing hats, once again, we went over the details of the upcoming LACCC Specialty show. Right after the Specialty at Island Grove Park in Greeley, we’re holding another potluck picnic we’re calling Lhasas on the Green. Why? Because the showsite has lots and lots of trees and green grass. And, we’re holding Lhasa Races! Sorry, real Apsos won’t be racing but tons of fun anyway. Saturday night The Gompa Lhasa Apso Preservation Program is hosting A Gathering of the Tibetans. The format will be An Update on the Gompa dogs, including the Challenges of Small Population Genetics. Or How to Get Puppies on the Ground! Everyone is invited to both events.  Fanciers. Pet owners. Exhibitors. Breeders.  Both events are intended to be fun!

Late Friday afternoon – or was it early Friday evening – we took off all our hats and kicked back for a well-deserved drink and dinner. The following morning, again after caring for the dogs, and pouring a cup of coffee, we were back at the table. I really, truly thought we had maybe a half hour of work. Not so. We finished up around 2 in the afternoon. Talk about a marathon!

In the meantime, my ever-overflowing inbox of email nearly tipped over. The number hit 100! So, here’s some one-liners trying to catch up.

Alma, Roadie’s slide show will get done… My thoughts are with you and your upcoming tests about your ear.

Rose, Have you yet resolved Tango’s ability to leap tall buildings in a single bound?

Kathy, I miss you.

Katy, I guess it’s best to send the paintings, rather than drive down and get them. :::sigh::: I’ll send the balance this week.

Christa and Ginny, a grooming get-together will need to be postponed or scheduled one weekday evening.

Josh, I am embarrassed your email has been sitting so long. I am going to address your question about grooming Tomu on the blog separately. Later. It’s been so long, you’ve probably come up with a solution! And I haven’t forgotten the request about a dog for your mom. Also! Congrats on you and Crystal’s exciting plans!

Sondra, I loved the questionnaire.

Last, but certainly not least! Fernando is #1 Lhasa Apso in the USA in Breed Standings and #2 Lhasa Apso in the USA in all-breed standings. I am so proud of him and Julie! 

:Susan wants a discussion on flea and tick control..

I am the wrong person to ask about the various flea and tick products. Rarely do I see either on my grooming clients. Tick season isn’t very long. Fleas usually don’t do well in Colorado’s dry climate. Add the altitude I’m at and…well, it’s just ‘bug friendly’. So, those of you in Minnesota, what do you do for flea and tick control? Or heartworms? Rick and Sharlee asked me about heartworm preventative, which they gave to their previous Apso, Jenny.

Here’s Susan’s post:

On Friday all four dogs went to the groomer.  I was pleased that Kathy
felt that both Sammy and Raji were no longer overweight.  She cautioned
me not to let Rinchen get any thinner, which surprised me a bit, because
he hasn’t actually been on any diet;  in retrospect, though, although I
give him more food than I give the other three, he has definitely gotten
less treats than he once did, so maybe he really has gotten thinner. 
Anyway, I’m giving him a few more bits of kibble with his evening meal
and slipping him a treat or two when no one else is watching.

That was the good news.  The bad news was that Raji had a tick over her
eye;  looked like it had been there for about a day.  Now, my dogs don’t
go anywhere except on my own property anymore, so I had been having them
on Advantage only.  Advantage kills fleas but not ticks.  Kathy seemed
to think that our tick season here was about to be over and that I could
chance sticking with Advantage for the next 6 months or so, then switch
to Advantix in November.  Sounded fine to me.  BUT Saturday morning I
went to remove a bit of debris on Rinchen’s face, and  — it was a
tick.  Yuckerooo!!!!!!  Anyway, I dashed off to the vet’s office and
spent $135.00 for two months worth of Advantix for the four dogs.

But the whole issue of fleas and ticks and seasons and toxicity still
has me tormented.  Kathy says we have seasons for both;  the vet says
they are both here year round; last year I almost lost all four dogs to
what was suspected to be a “bad” or “bootleg” dosage of Frontline.

So, what’s a girl to do?  Advantage, Advantix, Frontline, Revolution
have all been suggested and/or are used by folks I know.  What else can
you tell me?

:Spamalot…Spamanot

My own Word Play on this very silly theatrical production.

Spam. Spamanot. Shirley’s post was not spam. Yet, there it sat since April 24. The spam filter for the blog does an amazing job…usually. Browsing through my own version of Spamalot (which isn’t very silly at all), I discovered Shirley’s comment on ‘:A first…’ having to do with Chandra and her (keep your fingers crossed!!) dual sired litter. My heart did a flip flop. Shirley had been to the blog! Cool! Drat! Her comment didn’t show up! So here it is, along with my apologies for not visiting my own Spamalot more often. Sorry Shirley! Please come back now and again!

Hmmm a dual sired litter. There was a time (and probably still with many) when that would not be news you would share. Some would register the litter from the male they thought ‘most likely’, or not registered at all. But it is a tantalizing concept–double breeding. If sperm from both males take, you get an idea of variations in the offspring due to the different sires. And if there should be a large litter with good representation from each sire, what knowledge to be gained with just the one pregnancy. I must say it does intrigue me. I do wonder, though, even with DNA testing to sort out the kids, what our governing canine orgs might say/do with a breeder that clearly repeated this dilemma. After all, accidents happen, and the DNA is a great tool for ascertaining the “guilty” party, but to purposely double breed a bitch with the hope of getting offspring from both might be a concept the CKC and/or AKC have trouble accepting.

:California..the new animal rights batttleground

Vickie forwarded this link. It is worth a read. I particularly like the closing paragraph, especially the last sentence!

It’s possible to be a decent human being without signing a save-the-chickens petition. And kindness to animals – actual flesh-and-blood creatures – is a good thing. Volunteer at your local shelter. Adopt a cat. Get your dog spayed or neutered. Feed your fish. But recognize that extending human “rights” to animals is a truly crazy notion. It’s possible to be so open-minded that your brain falls out.