PUPPIES!!!!!!

Zoey & her pups
Lots of spots!!

Zoey had her pups 2 days early on Friday night. She had 8 total, which was a surprise because she wasn't that big. There are 5 girls, and 3 boys. All have spots except one is all white. We are trying to decide on the names. We think we are still naming them after UFC (Ultimate Fighting) fighters, even though we have more girls than boys.

Nice weekendOn Friday we went on our nightly 5 mile bike ride. We had a garage sale a few weeks ago and raised $302, so we FINALLY broke down and bought some bikes for us. It is so fun and a great workout! Ana LOVES it! On Saturday my parents had Ana stay over so we went out to dinner, then bowling, then went back to our house and played board games with friends. It was so much fun and VERY nice to get out and do something!! My parents had quite a night with Ana. She woke up crying at 2:30 am, then went back to bed. Then, at 3:30 am my parents awoke to their alarm system going off!! Well, Ana had gotten out of her room and climbed down the stairs to the first floor and made the alarm go off!! I had no idea she could navigate stairs so well in the dark! THEN, Sunday morning she got into my dad's office and pulled the computer monitor ontop of her! So....they had an exciting night!

Windows sleeping

Odessa resting

Zoey in her puppy pen

On Sunday we did some much needed work around the house and kennel. We replaced some VERY worn chains and snaps and moved Zoey to the pen by the house so we can keep a closer eye on her. She is due July 1st, so we don't have much longer. You can see above that she has definetly gotten fatter.

Father's Day

Larry napping and Ana watching "toons"

Ana sick with a cold watching "toons"

We had a relaxing father's day. It was Larry's day to do nothing like I got to do for Mother's day. We went and picked up 600 pounds of Redpaw from Merlin, went and walked around Lowe's so Larry can decide what to spend his gift card on (he STILL hasn't bought anything besides a grinder), then we went to Walmart to get a few things. I made Larry his favorite Shrimp Alfredo Pasta for dinner while he and Ana layed around and napped. We are also only 11 days away from Zoey having her pups. I can't stand it any longer!! I want to see what she has!!

2007 BelmontRags to Riches in the stretch with Curlin the 07 Preakness winner
Rags to Riches beating Curlin in the Belmont by a head. I know this isn't dog racing, but we have been following horse racing for the last few years. Alot of the same training techniques apply to racing and training dogs. It is a very exciting sport to follow. Rags to Riches is the first filly in 102 years to win the Belmont! It was an awesome race! In fact, all of the triple crown races: The Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont were all very exciting this year. Street Sense, the 2006 2 year old Breeders Cup winner came back in 07 to win the Derby. The 2 year old Breeders Cup winner has NEVER come back as a 3 year old to win the Derby, so history was made this year when Street Sense won. He also came out of 19th place along the rail to pass all 18 horses for the win! In the Preakness, it was Curlin (3rd place in the Derby) beating Street Sense by a nose. Sucks that another year will go by without a triple crown winner, but the races have been great!! And of course, history was made again last weekend when Rags to Riches won. There are so many great horses out there!! If you don't currently follow horse racing, check it out.

Thought I'd also post some pics of Ana in her "cool". That is what she calls it. It has been HOT here!! I can't wait for fall already!!

Ana & WindowsAna & Zoey. Zoey is a blur since she never stands still, even with only 3 weeks to go before she has her pups.
Ana & Ranger
Ana & Koyuk

Ana & Odessa

It was a beautiful weekend!! Yesterday we went downstate for my cousin's graduation to see my relatives. It was so nice to see everyone. The food was awesome!! Ana played in the kiddie pool with Maddie and played on my Aunt Sherry & Uncle Fred's really cool swing set. She did NOT want to leave!!

We also went to visit Jerry Papke's kennel while we were there. We wanted to see his Prairie Bilt sled and his Mike Lee pups. Mike Lee is a brother to our Zoey. They were very nice looking dogs, really leggy. Jerry just got done telling us how he wasn't going to have another litter this summer, when his dogs had other plans. He had some young dogs loose in the female play pen and.....you can guess what happened next!! Well, looks like he will have some more pups coming in about 62 days!!

Today we just hung around the yard and kennel in the nice weather. Ana is so good about going near the dogs. They are very good with her. It is almost as if they know to be gentle. She is getting really good at knowing most of the dog's names also. I hope you like her dog yard "get up". She has to wear the hat because she likes to use her shovel and put dirt in her hair. I was getting tired of giving her a bath EVERY time we went outside to feed dogs.

"Bone Day"

This is the most Memphis EVER sits still!!Odessa

Lilly

Jersey hiding behind her house with her bone

Boston & Gibson

Every Wednesday is "bone day" in the kennel. The whole kennel gets a rawhide dental chew. It is good for their teeth and also keeps them busy for awhile. Some like to hide in or behind their house while they chew their bone. Cowboy and Cowgirl (not pictured) NEVER chew theirs, it just gets buried in their spot. I have no idea why I still give them one.

Past Puppy Pics

Duelly & Otter out of our 2004 litter of puppies. They are now 3 years old and both are very good sled dogs.

Tak, one of our 2006 pups out of Odessa/Elrond. Harness broke and doing very well.

Love this picture of Taylor and Peavey (2006 pups) and the other pup's butt sticking out from the steps.

Makenzie (my niece) and Jackson. 2006 pup out of Odessa. He is also doing very well so far in training.

Koyuk & Tak 2006. Koyuk is so good with all our pups. He LOVES them and lets them bite and climb all over him.

We have been getting a TON of rain here for the past 3 days!! Sucks, cause it gets muddy out by the dogs. We have to dig little trenches so the water drains from the dog's spots. The dogs run around their spots and create a berm of dirt, so when it rains, the water collects there and can't go anywhere. So...that is where the trenches come in. It is fun watching the river of water flow away. Hope it dries up soon, Ana can't stand being inside for too many days!! She loves to come out and help me with the dogs. She has her own shovel and rake and told me the other day that she was "poop scoopin". We poop scoop twice a day, so she will be a great help in the future!!

Nothing exciting has been going on here. We are about a month away from Zoey having puppies. Thought I'd post a few fall training pictures from previous years.

September 2006 training from home. This valley is one of my favorite trails to run the dogs.

October 2005 training at Bob & Jan's in the U.P.


December 2006 training out of my dad's "Bear Camp" in McMillan, in the U.P. My family and Jerry Papke went up there for about 4 days last year and ran the dogs on some great trails.



December 2006 at "Bear Camp". This is one of my favorite action shots training with Jerry Papke's team.