Tuesday, March 31, 2015

SEPARATE BEDROOOMS!

The Icelandic Sheepdog puppies are six weeks old and last night they woke me up at 3:30!! SIX! It was time for a separate bedroom so today they were moved out. I need my beauty sleep or I'm cranky all day!


Today we were supposed to go to Town and Country vets for shots and microchips; they called yesterday and postponed because the chips hadn't arrived yet. Thursday.

Here are some shots I took last night right after dinner.

 Kippa Jane
 Elisabeth, Bangsi, Gunnar
 Tully Lulu
 Kathleen
 Gunnar
 Elisabeth, Bangsi
 Elisabeth
 Playing?
 Elisabeth
 Kippa Jane, Tully Lulu
 Bangsi, Gunnar
After Dinner Fight Club

Saturday, March 28, 2015

Snow and Sleep

We had a surprise snow fall which has stuck around. That's normal for Michigan but disappointing.


 Kria, Kata
 
 Bear, Korpur
 
 Bangsi
 
 Kippa

 Gunnar (Edgar), Lizzie (Betty)
 
Lizzie (Betty) 

Tully Lulu, Kitty
 
I try to plan my naps to coincide with their naps. Sweet Dreams! They say you should try to take action shots and not sleep photos but it's so much easier to snap them while they are asleep now. I had an Icelandic friend who used to say, Trying to take photos of puppies is like trying to take photos of the wind!" I miss that nice lady. The truth is that now they spend very little time sleeping; mostly they play. They have several favorite toys which I try to rotate. So far (Saturday, March 28, 2015) I have received deposits holding Bangsi and Tully Lulu. Others have expressed interest in Elisabeth (Lizzie), Kathleen (Kitty), and Gunnar (Edgar).

Official registered names (probably): -
Vinlands Bangsi (I thought he was going to have short fur but about a week ago it started growing!!)
Vinlands Kathleen (call name: - Kit or Kitty)
Vinlands Tully Lulu
Vinlands Gunnar
Vinlands Kippa
Vinlands Elisabeth (call name: - Lizzie)
 

Thursday, March 26, 2015

Groceries and Errands

I keep telling myself that I really have to run some errands today but it is so much more fun just watching the puppies. They sleep in shifts so there are always puppies playing and puppies sleeping. It amazes me that they can sleep while others are growling, yipping, and roughhousing.

Sherwood Forests Gunnar (aka Edgar) lives in Washington state with Richard and Christine. Edgar is a gorgeous dog from some old North American families that have been here since about 1975.




The pup below was named after Edgar/Gunnar. His coloring is a bit different - what is black in the original Gunnar/Edgar is going to be brown in the puppy Gunnar/Edgar - but the markings are similar, check them out, and he is going to be a stunningly handsome adult like his namesake. Young Gunnar is sound, sound asleep and looking very uncomfortable (at least to me) in the first photo below. 


Young Gunnar is going to live with the Sigurðsson and Ragan family. In the 1980s there was a breeder of Icelandic Sheepdogs in North America named J. Sigurðsson. I know enough about Icelandic last names to know that those two families are probably not closely related and the current Gunnar is not directly descended from the dogs bred by J. Sigurðsson but those coincidences are interesting nevertheless, at least to me. Honestly, all of our dogs are related if you go back far enough!


Sunrises from the last two days: -



A few puppy photos and then I do really have to run to the stores.









Sunrises from the last two days: -


Monday, March 23, 2015

Un-Posed Photos

Posed stack shots, like yesterday's photos, are nice but play shots are so much fun. At this age they don't play for long before falling asleep.

I really want to keep them all. I am having serious puppy withdrawal symptoms. Should I keep any? One? Two? And if I do give in against common sense, which one? Totty is my last intact female and this is her last litter, sadly.

Next week they go for their first set of inoculations; they'll also get a microchip.

There's a monkey toy under Bangsi but the real draw is an empty paper towel roll under the puppy pile.

 There's the monkey!


 Could Bangsi be changing chameleon-like to cream color?
 

Puppy play is extremely important. If one puppy hurts another too much, the hurt one screams and play stops. That's how they learn how much pressure, how much play is OK and how much is too much. Do exactly the same when/if your puppy bites you - even if it's not hard, scream and say "Ow!" It is never OK to bite a person. You do not need to punish the pup. The scream and the "Ow!" will get it done. Really. Be consistent. Never! Bite! People! (Ow! - - Don't punish!!)


 The presence of mom almost always stops play. Is it lunch time?


 Yes, that's Bangsi sound asleep on the floor.
When they crash, they are sound asleep.



 It's hard to get good shots of Kippa;
she often hides in the shadows.

 Honest! Kit's wink is NOT photo-shopped.
How did she do that?