Dottie Rose - Living the Life

Well, we've just heard from Dottie and the Reinard family in Ohio and I think we're going to have to change Dottie's name to Riley since that is apparently the life she is living these days.  Mom Jennifer reports she's a "wonderful" dog - but then again she's a Dalmatian so that's just a given. 

According to Jennifer, Dad Scott is her favorite but she adores her entire new family and as you can see from the pictures the feeling is mutual.  There's nothing we enjoy more than to get great puppy updates like these. 

Hopefully, everyone is enjoying them; and even if they're not, Alan and I are so please, everyone, keep them coming.

Clemente/Lyla Back Home Again in ARIZONA ???

It seems our little Globetrotter, Clemente, now Lyla, made the 2000 mile trip between Indiana and Arizona like a seasoned traveler.  She took to her sherpa - her travel bag - like the proverbial duck to water.  From what we hear she snoozed her way across the Rockies.  So it would have been much easier being next to the Eberts and Lyla with their baby than one of those crying human ones. LOL. 

Amanda and Tim report Lyla is settling in nicely and is trying to figure out her new sisters, the cats.   We don't have any of those at our house so they're a brand new experience for her - among so many others.

We hear too that she's Queen of the Household which is only appropriate since she is the daughter of "Jengis Kahn," lord of the Mongrel Horde in our house.  But being queen can be very tiring as evidenced by this picture on her new humongous dog bed (hard to believe she's going to grow into it all too soon).  Note the camo design of the pillow so appropriate for our military brat.

The Eberts report that Lyla is learning the ropes of how to live in the Great Southwest.  She stays in the shade during the heat of the day, only venturing out during the cooler morning and evening times. 

But when she does you'd better look out because she's living her life large and attacking every day of it.  If you're not on board with her you'd better get out of her way.  I LOVE this picture

DiMaggio/Bentley Checks In

We are getting reports of DiMaggio (now known as Bentley) sightings in Indiana - and even have the photos to back up our claims.  The Little Prince, Bentley, can be seen surveying his new kingdom in this photo.  Mom Nicole says she survived her first week with two Dalmatians and thinks everything is going fine.  She says Bentley is a curious little guy who's not afraid of anything (well, other than grass - in our experience).  He's been to a pool party at Nicole's mother's home and met folks from 1 to 81 and won them all over.  Yep, he's quite the charmer. 

It also appears he and Reagan are getting along famously and Reagan is quite pleased to have a baby brother around that she can play doggy games with.  This photo was taken during a hiatus of one of their play-fests.  Everyone assumes (incorrectly) that having TWO Dals is twice the work.  It's actually about half the work since they now can amuse each other don't require their humans to provide a100% of their fun and games.

And, as you can see by the last picture, this theory is working and Reagan has successfully worn the little man out - what a good and PATIENT big sister she is. 

A tired puppy is a good puppy! 

Riot Update

Well, the updates are starting to come in and we LOVE it.  Brandan and Jeri report Riot is quite taken to being an only dog and is thriving on their love and attention.  This is the main reason I don't feel too bad when puppies start to go home.  When they reach 6 weeks of age they are just screaming for one-on-one that is impossible for two people to dole out to ten puppies.  And, when you factor in, how long people have been waiting and counting the days until they get their puppy ... well, I just love a happy ending - although in these cases I would guess it's more of a happy beginning. 

In this picture the Kelters have shared, Riot seems to be putting his Golden friend in line with a little friendly "woofing."  Being an only puppy doesn't preclude one from having friends.  And leave it to a brownie to take charge of any given situation.  But it was all in fun and from what we hear, this Big Guy is Riot's new BFF - and you can't have too many of those in this life.

Riot also shows he's taken to the great outdoors and is getting down and dirty in the grass.  Looks kind of like he's doing his lion stalking game in this picture. 

Thanks to the Kelters for the updates.  I plan to keep this blog going with pix and updates of all the kids and things that are happening in the Matchless world.  Hope you'll all stick around and stay in touch.  One of the best parts of puppies is the new friends we make. 

Leavin' On a Jet Plane

Today, Clemente's new mom and dad swooped in to take her home.  And when we say "swooped" we mean SWOOPED as Tim and Amanda Ebert flew in from Arizona to pick up their new little brownie.  Clemente, now to be officially known as Matchless The Great One and "Lyla" to friends and family, was all happy wiggles when Mom and Dad showed up this morning and took her into their arms and hearts. The Eberts are thrilled to have their 2-year wait for a puppy FINALLY over - see, good things DO come to those who wait!  Although she was already a "brat," Lyla will now be a MILITARY Brat as Dad Tim has been in the Marines for 6 years (oh, to make it a career or not to make it a career, that is the question!) and Mom Amanda grew up in a military family.  So, while she may start in Arizona, who knows where our globetrotting little Lyla will be deployed when she gets her new orders.  Thanks to the Eberts for their loving home and their patience.  We hope she was worth the wait.  And, DO let us know how Miss Lyla handles the in-cabin flight home!

Maris - Our Louisville Slugger

Maris is now living life with the Whyte family in Kentucky.  In addition to mom and dad, Maris - now to be called "Maddie", Matchless Lady Madilyn Theia - has two big brothers that she'll have to keep in line.  As we all know brownies have a way of taking charge so we're sure Maddie/Maris will have those boys ship shape in no time - especially if she's anything like her mama, Jenga.  From early reports we've gotten she has definitely moved right in and settled right down.  I loved Dad's comment when he said yesterday that he finally had his daughter.  Aaaawwwww. 

Hmmm I just noticed as I posted this picture - I wonder if the Whytes specifically wanted a liver girl so she could pass as one of them - just another redhead in the bunch. 

And Rizzuto Makes Three

Our brown boy Rizzuto also found his way to his new mom and dad, Brandan and Jeri Kelter, and is the other puppy who will keep his Indiana roots.  The Kelters were on board with the baseball theme and Rizzuto will now be known as "Riot" in honor of Jeri's favorite ball player Ryan Theriot.  I did warn them though about being careful what you name your puppy as they have a way of living up to it.  Hmm, Riot ... this could prove interesting. 

Rizzuto/Riot is also a wedding gift to themselves as the Kelters are newlyweds, having just tied the knot in March.  So the family has now increased with the addition of their new baby boy.  Thanks Kelters for taking Rizzuto into your hearts and home. 

DiMaggio Scores a New Family

DiMaggio also packed up and moved out yesterday but he's not going to miss his siblings at all because his big sister Reagan from our Brighton x Jada litter of December 2008, was waiting for him.  Mom Nicole Turner has been in on the process of this litter from literally Day One when we discovered Jenga in season at the February dog shows at the Indiana State Fairground.  So she's been through all the highs and lows - breeding accomplished, pregnancy confirmed, puppies born, hearing tests passed and FINALLY the day she got to take her baby boy home. 

Not only does DiMaggio have a new Big Sis but he's also sporting a new name, Matchless Who's On First, and will be known as "Bentley" to family and friends. We were playing with baseball names and realized his registered name had to be "Who's On First" since Reagan's registered name is Matchless First Lady.  Had to stay with the First Theme. 

DiMaggio/Bentley is one of only two puppies who will be staying in Indiana.  Nicole got us some pictures of the homecoming and it looks like this Brother/Sister team was meant to be.  No strike outs with this choice - a home run all the way.   

Off To Wisconsin

Our pretty Mays also took off yesterday and she has two new sisters just like Dottie Rose.  She is now the baby of the Grzesiak family in Wisconsin.  This family  has a love of the Hawaiian islands and Mays is now officially known as Matchless Mauna Lani and will be answering to "Lani."  She has a big Dalmatian sister too who goes by the name of "Kona" (gotta keep that Hawaiian theme going!)

Mom Beth tells me Kona loves it when they go boating and that Lani will get her sealegs by studying big sister, Kona.  So if you're ever in Wisconsin and see a Dalmatian riding like the figurehead of a ship, with the breeze blowing through her ears, stop and say hello to Lani Mays.

The Nest Is Emptying

Yesterday was a bittersweet day for us.  Our babies are now becoming other people's babies.  The first to leave the nest was little Rose who is now living in Ohio with the Reinard family.  Dad Scott made the 6 hour trek yesterday and was here by about 9:30 - this family really wanted this puppy.  You do the math and see what time he had to leave to be here as early as he was.  Rose's new "official" name is Matchless Wrigley Ivy, (thanks to the Reinards for continuing the baseball theme) and will be affectionately known as "Dottie."  Dottie joins her two new sisters and it looks like a match made in Heaven.  We took a picture of Scott as he left with Dottie Rose for the blog but this one he sent from home was too cute not to too.  I think if these were my three girls, this would be my new computer wallpaper. 

Best wishes to the Reinards and Dottie and we thank them from the bottom of our hearts for giving her such a wonderful, loving home.

The Test Results Are In

Well, the kids went for their Excellent Adventure and while it wasn't totally excellent it was still pretty darned good.  Of the ten puppies tested, we had 6 bi's (as in bilateral hearing), 4 uni's (as in unilateral hearing) and ZERO bilaterally deaf.  YAY!  All perfectly fine hearing Dalmatians.  Everyone was bilateral with the exception of Rose, Gehrig, Koufax and Rizzuto who have one good ear each. 

While we wish we could have had 20 good ears you have to realize that if you're going to have Dalmatians, you're going to have deafness.  Yes, there are things we can do to reduce the number of bilaterally deaf dogs but we'll never totally eliminate it.  Hearing is tied to color and the whiter the animal the more likely there is to be deafness.  Dals have the highest incidence of congenital deafness but other breeds are not immune:  Boston Terriers, English Setters, Jack Russell Terriers, Whippets, Australian Cattle Dogs (who have Dalmatians in their make-up) are all breeds who can produce deaf dogs. 

Blue eyes are also statistically linked to deafness which is why I won't incorporate a blue-eyed dog in my breeding program.  Some breeders say, "don't throw the baby out with the bathwater," and use uni's and blue-eyed dogs but in my opinion Dals have a large enough gene pool that you can eliminate those dogs from a breeding program without sacrificing quality or compromising the breed standard. 

For those of you not familiar with how BAER (Brainstem Auditory Evoked Response) testing is performed, it's process virtually identical with how babies and children who can't communicate yet are tested.  The dogs are hooked up to in essence an electroencepholograph machine and their brain waves are monitored to see if the sound is reaching the brain.  Each ear is tested individually and you can tell by looking at the printouts which ears are transmitting sound to the brain.  Peaks and valleys on the tracings = good; flat lines = BAD. 

But the dogs who are deaf in one ear have so totally compensated for it that we didn't even know they could be deaf in one ear until we started BAER testing in the late 80's.  We always figured it was all or nothing. 

So we took 10 puppies for testing and brought 10 puppies home and now they're waiting for YOU to come take them to their forever homes.

A Case of Mistaken Identity

Just a short post tonight but the picture was just too good not to share with everyone.  Jenga is pretty much done with the puppies as nurturer and provider.  She still plays with them, teaching them all those important puppy lessons but Alan and I are now the food providers.  And just when you think they're getting all "grown up" they find a way to show you they're still babies.  And I think it speaks volumes to the temperament of other breed, Margo the Boston Terrier.  She was playing with the babies and she's only a little larger than they are themselves so it didn't prove too difficult got them to convince her to step in as babysitter.  We looked over and there was Margo letting the puppies nurse off of her.  They didn't even seem to mind the fact that they were at a "dry well" because we literally had to pull them off of poor Margo.  So while they weren't getting any official nourishment Margo provided them with the emotional support of a pacifer.  Good girl Margo.

Rub A Dub Dub ...

10 puppies in the tub.  Yep.  They all took the plunge and had their first bath this weekend.  None of them were too thrilled about the experience.  Wait, I take that back - Maris actually stood while I was rinsing her and seemed to enjoy the sensation of warm water running off her back.  Here she is all wrapped up like a little papoose. 

Rose, on the other hand, was less than pleased with the entire notion of this nasty thing called a "bath."  It's a good thing looks can't kill because, well Alan would have been cashing in the insurance policy about now.  The only upside to being one of the first ones in the tub was she got to gloat at the rest of her siblings did their bathing beauty routines. 

Poor Aaron, forced to endure the indignities of being zapped with the water spout as if he were little more than a dirty dish.  But they all survived and came out smelling, well maybe not like roses (and a little more like wet dogs) but certainly a lot fresher than they were before the Big Dunk.