A Little Light Reading

Actually, this is absolutely engrossing reading. This has to be one of the best books on puppy raising I've ever read and for those of you with puppies in your life - now or in the future - it's a must read. The Monks of New Skete are a monastic order located in upstate New York. Some orders make wine, some make cheese, these guys raise and train German Shepherd Dogs and this book, as well as their other title, How To Be Your Dog's Best Friend, give some of the best insight on dogs and their behaviors of any I've ever read. In The Art of Raising A Puppy, they discuss the stages of puppy development and how best to utilize those periods in training; preparing for your puppy's arrival; learning to "read" your dog; solutions to common puppy problems and, oh, so many more topics a dog lover will find fascinating. So, for those of you bringing home a baby next month you might want to consider acquiring a copy of this book - it will become your puppy-raising Bible. I don't think it's in print anymore but I know you can find it on sites like http://www.ebay/, http://www.half.com/ and http://www.amazon.com/ and for probably a fraction of its original purchase price.

Speaking of reading, I think I've finally made my way through that all important reading material that won't actually be used for reading - newspapers!!!! And once the babies start eating for real this weekend we will go through newspaper faster than you can even imagine. I told friends once who were having their first litter they would need TONS of newspaper and they came up with this pathetic little pile of papers maybe 6" high. Needless to say, they were raiding the local newspaper machines within a day or two of starting to use papers.

Anyway, I have a co-worker who saves all of his newspapers - even when he's out working or vacationing out of town - and he is my source for this OH SO important commodity. He recently donated FOURTEEN bags of newspaper to the cause. Unfortunately, not all of a newspaper is useable. Those slick sales fliers are too small and not very absorbent. So I've been sorting 14 bags of newspapers, pulling the useless stuff out and I finally finished last evening. Believe me you want it ready to go when you need it and don't want to be sorting the useless stuff out when you're trying to clean up puppies. So, we now have 3+ stacks of paper each about 3½ feet tall and I sure hope it's enough. and for those of you who are into the "green movement," don't worry. The useless stuff is going to the recycle bins outside one of the Martinsville schools - so it won't truly be useless.

I know the picture with this post is pretty boring since it's not a puppy picture but we'll work on that and get some current photos real soon.