Cottage Doodles

Tales (or tails?) from the road, part one

Our cross country adventure with four dogs unexpectedly turned into five dogs instead.

This guy needed to be picked up in Nebraska the night before we left for NY.  My husband was my hero, Rich sped off to get the Butterball on a moment’s notice after his new owners decided that his puppyness was a bit much for him.

I stayed behind to get this Sugar Baby sent off with his new family.

It looks like he is happy at his home with a forever best friend.

I’d also made an airport drop off for this baby to go to her mom who was arriving from California.

Plus, we were in the midst of a too short visit from Dewdrop and her daddy.  A drive to Nebraska wasn’t in our plans the night before we headed out on a cross country jaunt.

But- No Man Left Behind!  We were not leaving him where he was not wanted, so he hit the road with us.

Good thing that he came along, or he would have missed the joys of exploring a hotel room.  The puppies were completely mesmerized by the toilet.

They were actually pretty good in the rooms for the most part.  Their excitement of being out  of the car led to some noise control problems, but overall, they were well behaved.

 I am soooooooo happy I trained them to use potty pads as well as to go outside.  Being mostly housebroken really helped.

Our first stop was Indiana, where the pups could stretch their legs in Sissy’s pretty, custom fence.

We left Ryder there with Jo Jo.

Her name is after my Ryan, who is JoRenda’s cousin.  
Ryder has already had her first photo shoot, and she is a talented model.  That girl loves to show off her sitting up skills.

We missed her, but I have to admit that five dogs on a road trip is a lot.

On our first pit stop, I struggled to attach leashes on the waterfall of puppies pouring out of their crate, and thought I’d walk them all while Rich grabbed coffee.

It didn’t occur to me that five little babies together added up to over 70lbs and i was very quickly overwhelmed.  They wove their leashes in and out and around my legs, then drug me down into a ditch that I couldn’t escape from.  I had to holler for Rich to unwrap me and pull me up from the pit I’d been tugged into.

Did I mention there was a dead raccoon in the ditch that they desperately wanted to get to and I desperately wanted to keep them away from?

It’s been an adventure so far.

Baxter and Bella Training Discount

This is a really good dog training site, with tons of info. You can take live classes, or look through past video classes, ask questions of personal trainers, learn how to teach a puppy, or how to help an older dog unlearn some bad habits. Plus, it is all online, no worries about trying to convince your dog to wear a mask and social distance at the local trainers.

If you use the code: COTTAGEDOODLES you can get 25% off your lifetime classes. I set that up for my puppy families, but am happy to offer the discount to friends too. I am signing up myself, there is always more to learn about making life go more smoothly with your pets, right?

https://www.baxterandbella.com

Sugarbabies and Butterballs both are very polite for mealtimes and snacks.  
When they first wake up, or a new person enters, they go berserker on me.  I tell them that they get no attention until they have a seat.

Sometimes it takes a few minutes to calm down, but they get there.  The first round or two of spoonfuls is much more hectic than the last.  Once they each get a bite, and realize they are not going to be left out, they settle nicely and wait for a turn.

(you can see videos on Cottage Doodle’s Instagram page)

The Butterballs are leaving for new homes and meeting their new families. This is Teddy at his mom’s.

She says he did well on his flight.

Four have left our nest so far, two more go today.  This time with them has been too short, by Thanksgiving, they will all be gone.

I am working with the dogs who will be flying to get them ready for crates.  And the ones who we are driving East, to be comfortable in the playpen for hotel rooms.  So far, most have been fine with loose leash walking on short distances. 

My job is almost done.

Getting the Butterballs Ready to Go

These guys are leaving this week!

How can I bear not seeing these sweet faces every day?

Even Dorothy, who doesn’t typically like the puppies, seems to be getting attached.  We trade out which ones we bring in at night, so they have one on one lap time while we watch TV, and Dorothy shared her space with them.

This week, I have been concentrating a lot on the Butterballs since I only have a short time left with them.

But the Sugarbabies are not left out.  They are also working on manners.

Freddy, our recovering little guy, is the only one who knows his name.  Maybe Ruby, because I used to call her Pooh Bear.  Ruby and Pooh are similar sounds and she answers to both.  

Mostly they answer to Puppy or Buddy.

Yesterday, all had baths.  And there were no complaints at all.

Except maybe from me when I had to wash just about every towel in the house and mop up a sloshy bathroom after.  Those curls make good sponges, and really soak up the water, it took a couple towels each to soak it up.

That’s okay, I have gotten to be pretty good at keeping the washer and dryer running nonstop since the babies came.  I even wash a load of my own clothes here and there between all of the piles of pillows, toys, and blankets they need to have cleaned every day.

I get plenty of thank you snuggles in return!

 

 

A very good mama- but if you are squeamish, don't look

Sugar has proven to be an excellent mother.  Honey is all business and works hard with them while they are tiny, then helps clean both litters, and as they get bigger, wrestles and plays with them.

Sugar just snuggles and lays with them all and seems very loving with the babies.  When they were newborns, she would carefully wrap her body around them, and Honey would plop right down on hers.  I lost many nights of sleep from checking on Honey's litter and saving puppies she had laid on. 

Sugar has also dug a puppy sized hole for them to curl up in.

But this is a bit much. She carefully carried a vole that she'd dug up back to give to the pups.

With her golden retriever heritage, she was able to carry it gently without hurting it, to give to the pups as a toy to chase.

But we caught her in time, and I have to say that I was not as gentle as she was. I reached in her mouth and pulled the gross little varmit out and flung it over the fence.

It kinda looks happy there, doesn't it? Like it is cozy and enjoys being carried around? I doubt if it found the flight over the fence quite as much fun.