Whelping box, A Fish Lamp & Zap 10 months!

Exciting day here....Bob set up the whelping box! We still have some finishing touches to do in the puppy room, but we are almost ready for the big event. Siena instantly jumped in the box and started rolling around on the soft fleece bedding. She seemed right at home.

Earlier this afternoon while I was in the basement finishing up some laundry I saw a box out of the corner of my eye. It was a box with a Tiffany fish lamp in it. The lamp belonged to my dad. It was his way to make it through the long winter months when he wasn't feeling well. The lamp represented a promise of warmer, better days ahead. While he lived with us he had it set up next to his favorite chair in the kitchen. The lamp is now in the puppy room. Sunny is on the small grooming table and will watch over Siena and her pups. So strange that I saw that lamp today. I hadn't noticed it since dad passed away.

On a totally different note Zap turned 10 months old today! Puppy hood is such a fleeting time and it's been a ton of fun with this boy!

Two weeks (give or take a couple days) until puppies!!!!

Whelping Box (thank you to my wonderful husband for building it for me! ;)
He is assembling the pig rail today!



Siena approves



Ahh...nice soft bedding! She kept rubbing her nose all over the fleece.




Sunny the Fish Lamp


Zap 10 months old (picture taken a couple of days ago)

Meet The Parents

I put together a photo album of Siena and Apollo today: http://picasaweb.google.com/truheartgold/MeetTheParents?authkey=Gv1sRgCPONr6-zu8utCg#

More pictures of Apollo can be seen on Kara's web site: http://sunkissedgoldens.com/apollo.html

I was hoping to show a little bit about who they are and what they enjoy doing ;)

3 Weeks to Go....

Until PUPPIES!!!!
So much to do yet, I feel a sense of calm at the same time....weird. Ordered some whelping supplies and a set of fleece pads for the bottom of the whelping box. We are setting the box up this week and then Bob will start building mini agility equipment for the pups to play on when they are old enough. I'm always thinking enrichment and keeping puppies occupied in the middle of winter ;-)

Siena is back to normal this morning. Last night she wouldn't settle, which is odd since she is an expert cuddler. She appeared to be uncomfortable and now I'm wondering if she snatched a piece of pepper jack cheese off the platter during the football game yesterday....hmm...that would certainly cause some digestive distress. I have noticed her appetite has increased and am adding a 3rd meal to her schedule. She also enjoys having a hard boiled egg with me in the morning. We've been working field training drills in the yard to keep fit and to satisfy that powerful retrieving gene she has!

According to my chart puppy organ formation is complete, the fetuses now look like dogs, displaying head and trunk differentiation, gender can be determined (COOL!), skin pigment develops, may be able to hear fetal heartbeat with stethoscope~that was all acually last weeks developments. The puppies bones begin to mineralize this week. Also, I've read that the puppies are easily felt through the abdominal wall at this stage....haven't done that yet. Siena should start to lose hair around the abdomen starting this week too. This is facinating!

Surprise.....Puppies!

Big News....we are expecting our first litter! Although surprised, we are over joyed with the news. The vet said there are at least 4 puppies!
Can. Ch SunKissed In Keeping Secrets CGC "Apollo" and U-CD Zeus' Sunrise On Siena CD RAE AX AXJ CGC CCA TDI "Siena" are the proud parents and I am beyond excited.
These are 2 very beautiful, talented dogs that I feel will produce outstanding working/show pups with extraordinary athleticism and attitude.
Puppy pedigree: http://k9data.com/pedigree.asp?ID=352529

The puppies are due around Nov.8th and we will be working hard to get everything prepared for their arrival. I plan on writing all about this litter from today forward. ;-)
I already have a couple puppies spoken for but will accept a few more applications:
http://sunkissedgoldens.com/TruHeartEmailApplication.doc
The application can be emailed to me at: lindaflora@comcast.net

Stay tuned for future updates!


Apollo


Siena


Puppies!!!

Lighthouses & Show News

First bit of news since my last entry is that we are not moving to Georgia. Not sure what the new plan is but I'm sure it will all work out!

Now onto our other adventures.....

The last weekend in August we took at trip out to Rochester, NY to visit family. Siena came along for the ride while the rest of the gang stayed behind at Kara's place and with the wonderful folks at American K9 Country. Siena got a lot of swim time since my sister's house is right on the lake! We all took a ride to see the Charlotte Genesse lighthouse together. Fun family weekend was just what I needed!

Some dog show news~ Apollo was out with Diana Mason PHA this past weekend at the Cape Cod shows. He took Reserve Winner's Dog 2 out of the 4 days! I just can't contain my excitement about this boy! With very little coat and looking a bit immature compared to the other open dogs he did fantastic. Diana did an amazing job showing him and he loves her already. We have decided to keep him home for the winter to mature and hopefully grow that gorgeous coat back. Hoping to have him back out for some spring specialty shows. After watching Apollo show one of the days Bob and I decided to visit the Nobska Lighthouse (not far from the show site). There is something about lighthouses that captivates us!

We had a visitor for a couple of days after the Cape Cod shows. Sorbet, SunKissed Berried Treasure, fit in wonderfully with our golden family and we all miss her! Zap is particularly sad she had to go back home.

We have some upcoming agility & rally trials in October/November. Possibly heading back up to Canada with Zap.




Siena waiting patiently to swim in the lake!

Beautiful house in a beautiful location

Charlotte Genesee Lighthouse (me, Pat, Sharon & Jamie)


Nobska Lighthouse (Bob)

Nobska Lighthouse

Zap and new best friend Sorbet

Zap & Sorbet sharing

New picture

Zap's first show photo arrived in the mail today!

New Updates!

As August quickly slips by I am astonished how fast the summer has gone. Erik is back at school soon to start his senior year at college. Bob and I are 4 weeks away from moving to Georgia and there is so much to do. On the topic of dogs we have been busy too. Siena finished up her Agility Excellent Standard (AX) title with a 1st place (& 19 seconds under standard course time) at the GMGRC trial in Vermont the end of July!! A celebratory cheesecake was enjoyed by our classmates and instructor extraordinaire the following Wednesday at AK9C! Siena is now U-CD Zeus' Sunrise on Siena CD RAE AX AXJ CGC TDI. Hoping some double Q's are in our future ;-) Following that wonderful weekend we took a vacation across Lake Champlain. We had a glorious week with family, beach time and our water loving goldens. Well let me restate that, since it was Zap's first swimming experience he was less than thrilled with the size of the waves the first few days. Eventually the lake calmed down and he followed Siena and Truly's lead and finally took the plunge!

The first weekend in August Apollo took RWD at the Pioneer Valley KC show in Greenfield, MA (shown by Kara ;) http://www.sunkissedgoldens.com/apollo.html
The next day at the Cheshire KC show in Keene, NH ~ SunKissed Emerald Lyric was RWB shown by her owner Donna Proudfoot! http://k9data.com/pedigree.asp?ID=256802
Congratulations to Donna and Lyric....great job! Also, this was Diva's first weekend out as a special and she took BOB both days! WAHOO!!

A week later Kara and I headed up to Canada to show Zap, Diva and Eclipse. I showed Zap in one class then quickly turned the lead over to Kara....conformation is not my thing! Zap ended up with 2 Best Puppy in Breeds, 1 Best Puppy in Group and 2 Reserve Winner's Dog! Not bad for a 7 month old pup his first time in the show ring....thank you Kara!!!! Diva finished her Canadian Championship and showed beautifully! Congratulations to Am/Can CH SunKissed in the Spotlight CGC! http://sunkissedgoldens.com/diva.html
Not to be overshadowed by beautiful Diva, Eclipse came away with 6 points towards his Can CH that weekend! http://sunkissedgoldens.com/eclipse.html
I will post Zap's professional show picture when it arrives. The same weekend we were in Canada back in the States SunKissed Emerald City "Casa" went WD at the Southern Adirondack Dog Club in Saratoga, NY! http://k9data.com/pedigree.asp?ID=240324
Congratulations to Casa's owners Duane and Jean (Kara's parents)!!!

This weekend is the FUN-damentals Agility & Obedience Camp at American K9 Country. Siena and I will be going both days and I signed up Bob and Zap for 1 day of agility with Julie! Can't wait!!

Whew! I think that's all the news for now.



This way to the water dad....HURRY!!


Big Lake makes Zap look small

Proud Puppy Retriever