Oh Yeah, You Blend

…in which the author learns about dog shows and doesn’t get why HSUS is opposed to them.

So…Loki-formerly-Diziet is sleeping her last night in her crate here. I’ve had a good cry. I will miss her terribly. I hope, hope, hope that I’ve made the right decision. She was my first pick after all, until I fell in love with Tish, with her funny little ways and her insistence on becoming part of our family. I guess I know in my heart that this is the right way around, but my goodness…she is a beautiful dog, and so sweet and loving, and it is breaking my heart to see her go. I know her new family will love her and give her the life she deserves, and I know there is no way I could raise two of them and do both justice. I hope she will be happy and bring happiness to her new family.  But…this one really hurts.  I am placing what may well be the best dog of the litter, conformation-wise, because she doesn’t have the temperament I want.  My dogs are pets first, agility dogs second, and show/breeding dogs last, and Tish seems to fit that bill better…so I know my choice might not be someone else’s…but Diziet is so sweet, and so gorgeous, and I love her so much, I can’t believe I’m letting her go, even though I know it’s the right thing to do.  I don’t know if you get used to this or not.

Jack’s family kindly sent some wonderful pictures of him.  Doesn’t he look great?

Jack A Month Ago

Happy Jack

The decision has been made.  Tish is staying.  Diziet will be going in a week and a half to a lovely family in Ottawa.  I get weepy just thinking about her leaving, but keeping both wouldn’t be fair to them.  She is a beautiful girl with a sweet, loving temperament, and I hope she will be very happy with her new family, and that they will be happy with her.  What it came down to in the end was temperament – Tish has this bold-as-brass sparkle to her that I really think screams “agility dog!”.  I have no doubt that Diziet would be a great agility dog too, but she is a bit more laid back and retiring, and will probably be a wonderful family pet.  Diziet is definitely the nicer dog conformationally, which gives me that “what if she’s the best dog I ever breed and I’m placing her!” panic.  But Tish is the one my heart wants.

Riley went to his new home this morning.  We miss him already.  But we love his new family and are just thrilled with the fit, they suit each other!  Hope he’s settling in well.

I expected seeing the puppies off to their new lives would be emotional, but it’s been fascinating.  Worry worry worry…will they scratch his ears that way he likes?  Will they understand that bark means she wants to go out and that other bark means she’s just sounding off?  Will they love them and cuddle them enough?  Did I make the right decision?  I have to say that we’ve been very lucky so far, we’ve been so fortunate to have such wonderful people who wanted puppies from us.  But this business is not easy, nor is it cheap, nor is it without a lot of attendant angst and heartache, even when things go swimmingly.

Riley is the last to go until Girl-We-Don’t-Keep leaves at the end of June.  I am very close to a decision (maybe 75% there), just waiting for next weekend when we visit Ulla and she tells me now is not a good age for me to ask her opinion of them and I whine and say I know THAT but what do you think of them and she says it’s hard to say because they’re at an age when they look funny and I say I know THAT but please please PLEASE tell me what to do…  I love Ulla, she is such a wonderful friend and so very sensible and Swedish.  I need her to help me make clean sharp sense of things, so I don’t second-guess myself for the next decade.  And THEN I worry about GWDK…what if she’s not the right dog for the wonderful home waiting so patiently for her?  What if they’re disappointed with her?  What if…??!  I tell ya, you can drive yourself crazy…short trip though it may be for some of us…

So, stealing an idea from Sarah Keth, Riley went for a sleepover at Renee’s house last night.  Riley will be going to his new home soon and has never spent a night away from here, so to help him ease into moving away, yesterday he went home with Renee and spent the afternoon walking and meeting people in the park, and the evening playing with her two children and her two dogs.  He will come back home later this morning.  The girls will have sleepovers too, I hope, as long as Riley didn’t destroy Renee’s house!

So, as some of you know, against my rational mind’s advice, I decided a few weeks ago that I would allow the two tailed girls to grow up a bit before I decided which to keep.  If I were some kind of mad scientist with access to a castle complete with built in bijou dungeonette and lab, I would combine the two into one mega-Vallhund; this one’s head on that one’s body, this one’s temperament, that one’s rear, this one’s front.  Failing that, I will just have to wait and see.  It is very difficult to choose, they are both wonderful in their own right.

Caring for two is much harder than caring for one (Riley-formerly-Triangle-Boy is still here, so there are three to get out and about for now, but he will be going to his new home any day now).  They are both in puppy preschool (thanks to Jim, who volunteered to handle one while I handled the other), and I take them out separately into the world on a regular basis.  I am taking them up to visit Ulla soon in the hopes that she will help me decide with her evaluations (even though they are not at a good age for that, it should help me see them with new eyes at least a bit).

It is a very, very tough decision.

Here is Austin (cell phone camera picture, more to follow), using his new brother as a pillow (he looks pretty comfy, no?):

Austin and Hobbes

Here are more pictures of Mikko and his handsome brother Schatzie:

Mutual Leg Biting!

Mikko and Schatzie

Mikko

Mikko and Schatzie

Here are some pictures from Demi’s new dad:

Zooming Demi

Demi

Demi Carrying Her Flexi

Demi With Her New Sister and Brother