Hipster J

Well, the time has finally come – I managed to wrestle Jasper into some plaid and an edgy cap and I think that maybe, just maybe, I might be able to pass him off as a hipster. My only regret is that he won’t fit into a sweater vest. Well, and that I lost our aviator sunglasses on a tragic hiking expedition…

In case you missed it, the blog Hipster Puppies has gotten a book deal and is looking for submissions.

I want Jasper in that book.

So, I present to you some of the shots that I took this weekend.

Are they exceptional?

No, not at all. But I’m hoping that one of them just might stand out enough to get him in the book!

What I need from YOU is to vote on your favourite! What picture do you think is most likely to make it into the book? Let me know in the comments!

(If you’re totally lost, stroll through a few pages of the Hipster Puppies blog to get a feel for how it works, and read through the submission guideline for what makes a good pupster pic. Don’t even know what a hipster is? Allow Wikipedia to teach you something new today!)

Thanks friends

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Now with a poll for your voting convenience!

 

Puppies, puppies everywhere…

Last month, my mom’s kennel welcomed not one, not two, but THREE litters of puppies to the world. 20 puppies all together and needless to day, we’re all pretty busy these days. I can sense a few raised eyebrows already but don’t worry; we aren’t running a mill here. No, we weren’t planning on three litters but rest assured, the pairings are all excellent the dogs have all passed their testing, and the puppies? Beautiful.

D'aww!

It all started with Lacey and Atreyu. Lacey was our family’s very first Shiloh – a solid white with a wonderful disposition. Wonderful, that is, until you tried to match her up with a suitor. This dog would NOT breed. Where other females in heat become the canine equivalent to teenagers at a co-ed summer camp, Lacey simply DID NOT WANT. We eventually gave up trying to get her to mate naturally. Fine, girl power, who needs men anyway, right?

Still, as our boy, Atreyu grew and we ran the numbers, we couldn’t help but think of what a beautiful pairing they would be. So, when Lacey came in to heat back in February, we decided that we’d let the two of them bunk together for a while. Y’know, just to see.

I was only a Valentine’s Day mini-vacation in Montreal when my mom called me, excited:

“Sara, you will not BELIEVE what Lacey and Atreyu are doing RIGHT NOW”

Yeah, I know, kind of ew, TMI. Still, when you breed dogs, this kind of thing is important. And this was LACEY, the ice queen. Little Miss YOU-GET-AWAY-FROM-MY-HOO-HA. It looked like she was just waiting for the right man to come along all that time.

But then, tragedy – Atreyu was taken to the vet for a daddy-check-up and we were told, sorry, this boy is shooting blanks. What do you mean? I mean there apparently was NOTHING THERE. No little swimmers, nothing. My mom was devastated but I wasn’t convinced. A low count is one thing but NONE? That just didn’t sound right.

Still, mom now had to sort out a new spring breeding. We took Sophia (yay, estrogen bubble!) to a big guy name Chucky from just outside of Toronto. The problem, however, was that Chucky, while a proven stud, doesn’t breed naturally so we had to have Sophie artificially inseminated (it’s EXACTLY what it sounds like). But lo, another concern – AI.litters, especially when it’s the female’s first one, are notoriously small. Add that to the fact that we worried that we may have missed Sophie’s ovulation (do you SEE what a complicated process this is?) and mom was anxious. We decided to take Marley (Jasper’s aunt!) to a glorious boy named Odin from New York state as a bit of an insurance policy.

Fast-forward to a week and a half ago and two things were very clear: 1) Mom was right to be concerned about Sophie – she only had two puppies (boys, both of them gorgrous, both of them fat and sassy), and 2) I was so totally right about Atreyu.

Lacey went on to delivery eight puppies. Yup, eight puppies from a sire that wasn’t supposed to be able to father a litter at all (thanks for that, vet office!). And Marley? THIRTEEN. We were only expecting ten as per the x-ray (same vet’s office…) but three were stillborn so we were right back where we started.

So, 20 puppies.

We never would have bred Sophie and Marley if we had thought for a second that Lacey had conceived. Still, we’re managing and the puppies are all amazing. They’re all healthy and adorable, but we thought we’d set the record straight.

Here are a couple more photos of puppy cuteness as a reward for reading my epic ramble:

Interested in one of our beautiful little bundles? Want to see the parents? You can check out my mom’s site and her blog for more pics and info!

 

To all of my fellow dog-moms out there…

This morning my partner sent out a tweet on Twitter wishing his favourite MILTs (“Moms I Like to Tweet”) a happy Mother’s Day and I was a little surprised to see that I was among the other legitimate mothers on the list. When I asked him about it I could pretty much picture him rolling his eyes along with his reply:

“You’re Jasper’s momma!”

I had to laugh but I thought it was a really cute gesture. I don’t have kids (they’re not even in my 5-year plan) and Jasper is more than enough for me.

So, to all of my fellow dog-moms out there, happy Mother’s Day!

 

Picking up what they’re putting down

No, I’m not talking about poop-scooping.

We may not communicate in a way that is always easy to decipher, but I like to think I’ve gotten pretty good at picking up on the things that Jasper is trying to convey to me. There are the easy ones like “I’m hungry/thirsty” (there are subtle differences between the two. The desire to feed elicits more excitement whereas thirst tends to be accompanied by audible desperation. Not that water’s ever in short supply. New nickname: Never-Ending-Bladder OH MY GOD), “Let me out, I gotta go!”, “Play? Play!” and even “This is my alone time, bugger off”. Dogs are good at the basics, and we (for the most part. I hope.), tend to be pretty good at figuring out said basics.

It’s also usually easy to tell how a dog is feeling. Content, frightened, dangerous – they tend to wear their great big hearts on their furry little sleeves. That having been said of course, I’ve often seen people completely misread the signs too. A wagging tail does NOT always mean the dog is happy to see you. Also, humping? It’s not really a sexual thing; they’re just trying to establish dominance (Oh god, still awkward. But anyway…).

The more time I spend with Jasper and the rest of the pack, the better I’m getting at reading how they’re feeling and figuring out what they’re trying to tell me. One of the big ones (and definitely most endearing) is concern. I’m sure it probably stems from those natural protective instincts, but it’s still kind of amazing to witness.

Jasper seems to be hyper-aware of my well being at the best of times. There was a period of time where I had a horrible chest infection that had me in constant fits of coughing for months. Even if he was outside when it happened, my coughing would catch Jasper’s attention. If he was near by, he would run to me, watching me with this anxious look on his face. To this day, every time I cough, he checks to make sure I’m not dying.

I bring all of this up because last week while we were hiking, Jasper suddenly stopped, stood rigid and at attention, staring off into the woods. Ever since the coyote incident, I’ve learned to pay attention when he acts this way. I like to think that it’s gotten me out of a few sticky situations too.

Like this one time when were exploring my parent’s property and I, having discovered a pasture I didn’t know about that sloped down into the woods, was hell-bent on seeing what was in those trees. That is, until I got half-way down the hill and realized that Jasper wasn’t at my side anymore. I turned to see him atop the hill, stone-still and staring past me into the woods. I tried to call to him but he wasn’t having it. I started to get anxious and when he started to growl, I took the hint. I didn’t know that I could run that fast up hill, and he stayed his position until I was a safe enough distance away. I have no idea what was out there that day, but I think it’s safe to say that’s a good thing.

Anyway, back to last week: There he was again, assuming the position. I followed his line of sight, trying to see what he was seeing. This time I spotted it – some kind of animal was scooting itself up a tree. I walked closer trying to figure out what it was. It didn’t move like a raccoon and wasn’t the right colour to be a fisher (creepy things). Then, without warning, Jasper placed himself like a wall in front of my knees and pressed back firmly in a way that quite clearly said, “No, you’re not going any further.”

I won’t lie, I got a little pouty. I squinted up at the tree and suddenly realized what I was looking at. It was a porcupine! So cool! I’d never seen one in the wild before! But Jasper pushed again and I wasn’t going to defy him – that thorny beast was flicking its tail at us and was none too pleased with our company. Jasper finally gave me a good shove as if to say, “Okay, we’re done now. MOVE ALONG” and I listened. I have no desire to have to pluck quills from either my person or my dog’s muzzle.

As a dog owner, I think it’s a good lesson to learn. A lot of dogs tend to sound the alarm at just about everything (“Mail’s here!” BARK “Car on the road!” BARK “Someone flushed the toilet!” BARK “OMG A LEAF!” BARK BARK BARK) but not all of them are false. Learn to read your dog’s mannerism and energy – you never know when you’re really going to need to know what they’re trying to tell you.

 

Spring Awakening

Jasper, snooping under some apple blossoms. Sneaky, sneaky, sweet

There are two seasons that suit Jasper and I really well: spring and fall. In both, the earth is still very much alive and full of things to experience without having to deal with either extremely hot or cold temperatures (I hate being cold and hot weather makes Jasper uncomfortable, what with the permanent parka and all that jazz). Spring and fall are like Baby Bear’s belongings in the Little Red Riding Hood story – just right. That having been said, I tend to favour spring knowing that once it has run its course we’ll still have two more season of great weather ahead (although I’m sure that if he could express an opinion, Jasper would pick fall, what with him being winter’s biggest fan and all. But I digress).

Now that spring is here, Jasper and I are jumping at every chance to get outside and make the most of all the beautiful weather. Between my love of exploration and his disregard for trespassing laws, we’re always finding and looking for new places to visit. In fact, as I was originally writing this, we were wandering up an old country road for a while before we got back to the trails and headed home for dinner (but as it turns out, the WordPress app for my Blackberry has opted to be a wanker and doesn’t submit posts anymore. Wanker).

I didn’t get to spend nearly enough time with Jasper in the warmer season last year. This time, I want to make the most of it – I’ve already started looking for great camping spots and pet-friendly hotels in areas I’d like to visit. If you have any suggestions for some good dog-friendly places to visit in Ontario, Quebec or the bordering US states, I’d love to hear them! (I’d also love to hear any recommendations for bug repellants that would be safe for both of us! The mosquitoes are already awful!)

Jasper discovers trails where there weren't trails before. His eyes also glow ominously in most photos taken on my Blackberry.

 

Jasper: closet hipster? Here’s hopin’!

Yesterday I discovered some incredibly exciting news.

One of the blogs that I follow, Hipster Puppies, has been granted a book deal and is accepting photo submissions of people’s pups dressed as hipsters to be a part of it!

You know what this means, don’t you?

We may not be part of the hipster masses (is that even a legitimate thing to say? Aren’t hipsters anti-masses of any kind? Oh geeze, I might have my work cut out for me), but Jasper must get in that book!

I’ve been doing an open call out to everyone to try and get ideas for the perfect hipster outfit for Jasper. Any and all suggestions are welcome!

Once I have some pics taken, I’m going to post them here for feedback. The best pic will be submitted along with the desperate hope of it being good enough to make the final cut. I mean, obviously Jasper deserves to be immortalized in a book, hipster related or not. We just need to prove it to the powers that be!

Are you as excited as I am?

This is going to be brilliant.

 

A birthday, perfectly ordinary

So, I know I said that I was going to post pictures from Jasper’s 2nd birthday celebrations. Truth be told, the whole I’m-gonna-bake-my-dog-a-birthday-cake-that-he-can-eat-to-celebrate-his-big-day thing kind of fell through. Not for lack of planning of course (I still have the recipe saved on my phone for ingredient shopping purposes). As it was, his birthday was on a Thursday, which means I couldn’t really do anything for him that day because I had work and then a client meeting and then had to drive all the way to Kingston to get my little brother, leaving me very little time for Jasper-related shenanigans.

“I’ll do something special for him on the weekend.” I said as we headed into four days off.

And what a weekend it was! The sun shone all four days and it was gorgeous out. I brought Jasper in to get him all brushed off and looking spiffy and he was SO EXCITED just to be with me and smothered in love and it dawned on me that he didn’t need or want a cake (that he probably wouldn’t eat anyway) or some goofy human ritual – He just needed me.

So he hung out with me practically all weekend, ate like a king and slept in my room (normally he just chills in the kennels). He was like a kid at Christmas and I let him wake me up early every day so we could go out for long hikes before it got too hot out (Saturday morning we were out for 2 1/2 hours and covered just under 20 kms in distance. Go us!). My brother and I took him to the lake and he got to explore and sniff weird new smells and was a happy, happy dog.

I only took two pictures of him all weekend. Both were on my Blackberry and both were in this same moment. I didn’t bother bringing my camera with me at all because, really, sometimes you just need to savour the moments.

So, happy second birthday, Jazz-a-roo! Here’s to many more wonderful years of pheasant chasing, puddle jumping, bed bounding good times!

 

Guess what today iiiiiiis….

It’s Jasper’s birthday!

Happy 2nd birthday, Crazy-Face McGee!

You better believe there will be celebratory photos coming in the next few days.

 

Coyote concerns

I could hear them before I even left the house. Coyotes, a small pack that treks about our land, yipping and howling away at the night somewhere in the long grass at the south-east corner of our property. I was walking Jasper out to the kennel for the night and save for a few barks back in reply, he was more focused on playing with me than the visitors lurking in the darkness.

“That’s enough, you guys!” I yelled out in their general direction.“Git!.” There was some rustling and then silence. They were gone.

Coyotes. They’re a fact of life on the farm. I think they’re attracted to the horses but they don’t dare come too close because of the dogs. The joke’s on them though, those horses wouldn’t stand for their nonsense any more than they put up with the dogs. I understand why people worry about them – they’re wild predators. Any time I go hiking in the back woods I’m reminded to take Jasper with me (Not that I ever go without him anyway) just to be on the safe side.

As far as I’m concerned, there are far worse predators out there to be worried about than coyotes (People being my number one concern, followed by the possibility of running into mama black bear. Living in the Rockies taught me not to underestimate Winnie the Pooh). I remember a couple of young coyotes jumping out of the grass at me a year ago. Standing maybe 5 feet away I was pretty much at a loss of what to do. They didn’t seem to know what they were doing either because for a few seemingly eternal moments we all stood there unmoving. This, of course, was also the first time that Jasper proved to me that he was not, in fact, the big sissy dog everyone accused him of being. Hackles up, ears back and a few well-executed snarls and those coyotes were gone before I finished blinking. I laugh to remember it now because even though I know he can handle himself I still worry more about him than myself when we’re out exploring the wilderness.

I know they’re there but I rarely think too much about them. You just know they’re a part of life and you co-exist accordingly. These wild dogs are, as recent public discourse has come to highlight, exceptionally common and now apparently becoming increasingly problematic out in the rural (and sometimes urban) areas of Hastings County. So the municipalities are considering a bounty, $100 per dog, to help control the “burgeoning” populations. Farmers are said to be concerned about their livestock (Although I’ve heard some conflicting reports on this one). People in more populated areas are worried that their pets will become prey to the wild dogs as natural game become scarce and human populations continue to encroach on their territory, pushing them to find alternatives.

I get why people are concerned, but this bounty is a terrible idea.

Maybe it’s because I’m big on harmonious cohabitation. Maybe it’s because coyotes are a species of animal that easily adapts to the restrictions placed on them by human populations. Maybe it’s because people have proven, given the opportunity, that they will push the limits in situations like this (I’m sorry, does anyone else remember the Minnie the Deer incident?)

I’m worried about our dogs. I can’t count how many times people have mistaken our Shilohs for something wild. Imagine if you didn’t know any better:

One of our girls, Matheja

A wolf

A coyote

See what I’m getting at? When they’re darting about the woods, they really don’t look that different.

There are geographical restrictions on the bounty but I don’t believe for a moment that the prospect of an easy $100 is going to stop someone from opening fire outside of those boundaries. Do I have to worry about walking my dogs off-lead along the trails now? Do I have to be worried about them running loose on our property (Between the Minnie the Deer incident and the fact that we’re no strangers to trespassers as is, I’m going to say yes).

I do not doubt that there is a problem here but I feel as though the bounty is a rushed and sloppy response. If local councils feel they must do something then at the very least I would appreciate them taking a more holistic approach to the issue. This article from the Belleville Intelligencer, written by Jason Miller, does an excellent job of outlining why I feel the way I do about all of this. It’s a far deeper issue than a simple bounty can address.

What do you think? Even if you don’t live in the Hastings/PEC area, what are your thoughts on dealing with coyote populations? Do you think the bounty is a good idea or would you opt for a more holistic solution? I’d love to hear your opinion on the matter

 

A Jasper by any other name…

One of the interesting things I learned from our trainer back when Jasper was in puppy kindergarten (Yes, it”s as adorable as it sounds) was to not use a dog’s name unless you mean it. Using a dog’s name excessively (You know like when you’re trying SO HARD to get them to pay attention or come to you or drop that shoe…) takes away from it and lessens the impact it has. Their name need to be special so that they know that when you say it, it must be important and they know that you’re talking to them.

So she suggested that we use nicknames so that we can save the real name for when it’s actually important.

Well, let me tell you – I love nicknames. Everyone gets nicknames from me (whether they know it or not) and the more, the better. Why? Heck if I know. But what I do know is using Jasper’s name ad nauseum has not been a problem for me (Unless I’m talking to you about him, at which point you’re probably so sick of hearing it that you probably wish I’d switch it up once in a while with you too. I’m sorry for that. Sort of.)

I’m pretty proud of Jasper’s list-o-nicknames. So proud, in fact, that I saw it fit to share said list with you all. Enjoy:

- Jay (He responds to this one now, sometimes more often than Jasper. Curious.)
- J-Doodle
- Doodle
- Boo
- Boopie
- Poopie (A leftover from his puppy-hood. He’s past this phase now. Thankfully…)
- Yasper
- Yaspuh (But only when said with a very specific, very special voice. This is important.)
- Yas
- Sassy
- Jazz
- Jazzman
- Jeepers
- Jamma
- Jasperino
- Jasperoni
- Wiener
- Juicebar (I have no idea, truly.)

There are probably more that have slipped my mind, and goodness knows they’re just going to keep coming. He doesn’t care…

… He just rocks ‘em like a champ.

What about you? Do you have nicknames for your dogs? If so, what are they? Bonus points if you share a picture of your own “J-Doodle”