dogs – Page 14 – Karla's Cottage

Happy 3 week birthday, Puppeesh!

By Karla Nathan / May 26, 2017

When pups hit 3 hits, it is time to start weaning them, to give the mom a break. Feeding those growing, always hungry, furballs can wear her down.

So, I mixed up some formula, dipped my finger into it, and offered some to one of the babies, thinking I'd need to coax them into learning out to drink from a bowl.

But no, these guys were all into the new experience, body and soul.

They, slurped, gobbled, and swam in the dish of deliciousness.

So much so, that they all needed washed off. After sitting each on the potty pad (which they all used!), they were ready for a bath and then to be tucked back into their box. At this point, they are still too little to climb in and out of it, so they need the bedding changed throughout the day. Soon, they will learn not to pee in their nest, and will venture outside of the box to potty. For now, they will use the pad if I set them on it right after they wake up or right after they eat.

I had a small bowl of warm, slightly sudsy water that I dipped a cloth into for a soft wiping off. I kept towels on a space heater nearby to wrap them in as I finished washing them. With six, wet babies, it was a bit of a struggle to get them all warm and dry, I was able to wash one at a time, with two in a towel on my lap to dry off. With their fat tummies all full, they aren't very wiggly, and are happy to curl up in a warmed towel.

As I'd finish, I'd kiss them on the top of the head and set them back into their newly freshened up bed.

Rinse, lather, repeat.

This is what my days will be looking like for a while, puppy feeding and cleaning (and snuggling) a few times a day. Not a bad life….

Puppeesh!

dogs

By Karla Nathan / May 10, 2017

The babies arrived 6 days early and gave us a big surprise. All did well, and in a week since, they seem to have doubled in size! Goldendoodles sure grow a lot faster and bigger than Yorkies do…

We thought we were ahead of the game, had the whelping box built, set up, had the puppy pads and birthing towels ready to go.

I had big plans all week for birthday celebrations and get togethers for myself, and figured the timing was perfect for the pups to arrive on their due date, 2 days after my birthday. But they had other plans.

On Tuesday, I'd been working in the studio till late and realized Honey was still out after dark. I called, and called, she didn't come!

Ryan and I went out to hunt for her, and she came running up, all wet and muddy. We put her in her kennel to keep the mud contained and she went berserk!

That made me realize she might have babies outside in the dark and cold, so we grabbed some flashlights and followed her out, of course, she went right to the big hole that she'd dug out under a shrub, in a fence corner. I reached in, after shining my flashlight down into the mud pit and seeing many little shapes and hearing squeaks.

Only to find a limp, wet, cold, dead thing.

ooooooh noooooo!

But then, realized, it was not a puppy, it was a stuffed toy. Honey had gathered every stuffed toy she owned, and filled the hole with them. Plus, had a couple pups too.

They, also were wet and cold.

But wriggling and alive.

We brought the two, icy babies in and warmed them up, getting them settled into the box with their mom, who seemed to be happy to be inside but still worried. She quickly had another one, but wouldn't calm down.

So I sent Ryan out with a flashlight to see if we'd missed any. Nope, no pups outside.

But she still fretted.

So, I went back out and gathered up the muddy, sodden, soaked toys.

Yep, that was what she wanted.

Once she counted and kissed all the toys, and tucked them underneath her, she went back to the job of having a few more pups.

3 girls, 3 boys total.

Honey has been a devoted mama, and I'm loving having a boxful of babies in the house. They will move out to the breezeway once they get big enough to climb in and out of that box, though!

I'm not enjoying the excess dog hair that is floating around my house at the moment. Apparently the stress of birth combined with warmer spring weather has sent Honey's fluffy fur into a full on, shedding attack. Oh my god, I'm sweeping every hour.

She reminds me of those cartoons of Pigpen and the dust that follows him like a cloud. Add on the fact that she has gone from part time to full time house dog and the amount of hair that she is producing is just outrageous.

Even with the mountains of hair that are covering the floor, it has been a wonderful time with the newborns. All of the grandfairies are smitten, so we get extra visits from them, which is a nice bonus.

They would all like to keep one, and Sugarwings is doing everything she can to prove that she can be a good puppy caretaker to get the option of having one stay with us. But even though these guys won't shed like their mom does, 5 dogs might be too much for me.

For now, I'm staying strong. Of course, none of them have opened their eyes yet. Those big, brown puppy eyes can be hard to resist when they stare into your soul!

Framing solution

cottage, dogs, paintings

By Karla Nathan / April 29, 2017

When I was in Florida, I painted these watercolors of our view of the beach from our condo. But when I got home, I wasn't sure what to do with them. They were not a standard size, to pop into a ready made frame, and not that great that I wanted to spend money on a custom frame for them. Plus, they looked better up close, they were not paintings that showed much from across a room, so wouldn't display well on a big wall.

These floating glass frames were on sale at Hobby Lobby, and didn't have to fit exactly like a matted frame would have. (although they do fit better than they look like they do in this photo, it is shot from an angle)

Cheap, easy, and I like the way the sandy colored wall shows through from behind the glass. That would have been a good mat color!

Hanging them on this narrow wall at the bottom of the stairs was a good solution too. All viewing of them is from close up, the way they show the best.

And walking through here to go to my studio is a nice reminder of a wonderful trip.

A card for the guncles

dogs, guncles

By Karla Nathan / March 28, 2017

Guncle Randy aways sends the best hand made cards. For every holiday, and sometimes, just because. So, I wanted to make one to send to the guys for Valentine's Day.

And I had this funny picture of Randy, jumping up (holding his cell phone over his head), and I wanted to change it into him holding own of his dogs.

The cover is one of myhand colored Valentine pages, it is glued to floral card stock. I cut hearts out of more floral paper and scattered them around the inside of the card, then I attempted to make a pop up of Randy holding Perry Clayton over his head in place of the cell phone in the photo.

I'd offer a step by step how-to on making a pop up card, but you do NOT want directions from me.

I just went for it and had no idea what I was doing. The back of the photo looks like Frankenstein's monster, there are so many trusses, and mistakes, and covered up bits attached to it. Seriously, if you want to make a pop up card, google it first. If you follow directions, they aren't hard. But if you can't remember how to do it, don't try to wing it yourself!!!

The guys love their dogs. Or should I say, their babies? So, I know that they will forgive the messy attempt I made at creating this, since it features their tiniest boy. They will look at the poodle and smile.

Recently, Randy has started his own business, and it is in pet care. It is called "Randy the Pet Butler" and he will be giving his loving care to Jacksonville, FL area animals whose humans need helping out. You can hire him for pet sitting, walking, feeding, and other care.

Check out his website here.

(I drew the butler at the top of the page for him)

Poodle Portrait

dogs, guncles, paintings

By Karla Nathan / January 7, 2017

As you read this, I am visiting the GUNCLES!!!!

Yay, me!

Since I knew I'd be seeing them right after the holidays, I didn't mail their gift, instead I'm packing it in my carry on to bring down. They are fantastic, loving, doggie dads, so I painted one of their babies for them. This is Oliver, and he is pretty dang sweet.

no words needed

dogs, Sugarwings

By Karla Nathan / October 14, 2016

A dog cottage for Honey

cottage, dogs

By Karla Nathan / August 13, 2016

My son built this cottage for Honey, Sugarwings picked out the colors, pink for the walls because it is her favorite and Honey colored shingles for the roof to match the dog. I thought of adding the pickets after we took out part of the fence to add the new addition to our house.

My boy designed it, from some vague, rambling descriptions I told him.

Thanks, Adam, it is cute as can be!!

In the breezeway

cottage, dogs

By Karla Nathan / July 19, 2016

The breezeway of our home connects the main (old) house to the addition with my studio, my husband's office, and our son's apartment. It is the room that every one sees, the central entrance to all areas of the house.

Yet, it has gone to the dogs and cats. We feed the cats in there, up on top of a cabinet so that the dogs can't eat their goodies. And we leave the window open a few inches, with the screen removed so the kitties have easy access to the room. We learned the hard way to leave that screen out, those cats are insistent about being let in, if there is a screen barring their way, they rip it apart.

The little dogs hop in and out of the window too, but Honey is too large. Although that doesn't stop her from trying. Whenever I walk through the room and see her poking her head through the gap, I always say, "Hello, Mr. Ed". (Remember the palomino who had his head through the top half of the barn door to talk? ooh, I've really dated myself with that reference)

This is also the room where the muddy shoes, rakes, tools, and toys end up. Along with wheelbarrows of firewood in the winter. It has become more of a mudroom than the breezy patio room that I had envisioned. Too many items pile up, as people go in and out of the house.

But, in the last year, I smartened up and placed a couple of cabinets out there to hide at least a percentage of the clutter. And recently, I finally got around to painting this large wardrobe. It's wood stain stood out too much in this space.

Much better! (You can see a before in this post)

Look who is back!

dogs, Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), yorkies

By Karla Nathan / July 9, 2016

Dorothy Rosebud left us months ago, due to her phobias of the momma cat and Honey's playful puppyhood, that both left her trembling in fear. And crying out. Sometimes, she would get a glimpse of Honey and start shrieking. That squeaky toy noise got Honey's attention and she would run right at the tiny, little girl. Then, poor Dorothy would hide in her cubby hole under the stairs for 8-10 hours, not coming out even to potty.

She was terrified of life on the farm.

My pal, Beth offered to take her in and love her. Beth and Jeff did love her, but due to a problem that developed with her brother Button, one of Beth's other dogs, little Dorothy Rosebud had to leave their home.

At first, I was afraid I was in for more heartbreak. That Dorothy would be too scared to be here with us. I made a call to another friend who could care for her.

But while this little girl was away, she developed some confidence. Honey grew up, and is more under control. The momma cat's kittens no longer needed her protection. Things felt a tad bit safer here for a tiny dog. No one was picking on her.

She's been back in my arms for a week now and I am thrilled that we kept her. And grateful that Beth kept her safe til it was time to come home.

Looking for Luck, 4 leaf clovers in the grass

cottage, dogs, Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers)

By Karla Nathan / May 24, 2016

When I was a kid, finding a 4 leaf clover and learning how to do a back flip into the pool were two driving forces in my life. I'd sit in the yard for hours, fruitlessly searching through the patches of green, desperate to find my own lucky charm.

And as for the flip? I'd put on a heavy sweatshirt, to deaden the pain of slapping the water with my back, and relentlessly, toss myself off the diving board, trying to learn that trick. It was a good thing I had the sweatshirt, because my back got a lot of slaps, I never once made it all the way around into the turn to land feet first in the water.

I gave up on ever learning the flip when I was in my thirties, but never gave up on my hope of finding a 4 leaf miracle.

When I saw my friend, Angie, and Dewdrop's gypsy mama both gathering handfuls of 4 leaf clovers in a matter of moments, I doubled my efforts with some hints from them both.

What I discovered is that discovering one is kind of like those magic pictures that were so popular in the 90s. It's a way of looking at it, not simply searching. They are out there, if you can focus your eyes in the right way to see them.

Happily, I can now find one anytime I feel the need for a piece of luck to hold in my hand. But mostly, I just let them grow, and not pick one unless necessary. It is nice to know that the grass around my cottage is filled with Luck.

I've been known to scratch at the grass with a rake, and sprinkle clover seeds all around the yard. These plants are so much more interesting than typical turf. And the hope of a flock of four leafers spreading through the lawn, is a nice thing to think about.

Hmmm, now that I've learned the clover trick from two experts, maybe I should tap the knowledge of my circus performer family and finally master the backflip???

Somehow I doubt that I'll do that… but if I do give it a try, I'd better fill my sweatshirt pockets with as many lucky clovers as I can find!!