Somewhere Beyond the Sea

Piper is enjoying herself as she heads towards the Florida Keys on the ICH. This is her favorite window.



...and this is from the other side.

A Westie Christmas

We wish you and your family a Merry Christmas (or Holy Day) and a New Year filled with Blessings, Health, and Good Fortune!



Here are a few pictures or Ming's family and Santa:
As we know, many children fear Santa at the first meeting. This certainly was not the case with granny Madelynn. She loved him and while kissing him, Maddie accidently pulled his beard away from his face.

Santa was given fair warning if he wished to keep his beard intact, he must keep Madelynn from kissing him. You can see this Santa did not wish to "re-adjust" his beard, and he kept Madelynn's kissing face at a safe distance.

Madelynn & Katie (Ming's sister) behaving like well-bred Westies~~bribery treats do work well with our furry children


Here are some Christmas pictures of Casey and Julep:

Casey:



Julep:

Ah Preparing for Christmas

Audrey got stuck on the ornament boxes in her exuberance to assist us in trimming the tree.

Julep Ready for Christmas

Here's Julep getting ready for Christmas. She is seen here after a grooming. She looks GREAT! Julep looks just like Ming in the headshot.

Calli - Pink/Black

Calli is seen here with her new friend and housemate "Tucker". Calli also has a littermate named "Tucker". Calli likes to hangout with Tucker and they are seen here doing things together. We hear Calli is not partial to horses (too big perhaps).

Mrs. Claus!

We received this picture of little Julep this morning. Isn't she CUTE in her Mrs. Claus outfit? I understand that it's a snug fit and she mustn't hit the cookies until Christmas. :)

Julep at Home

We received some recent photos of Julep enjoying her time at home. Julep's caregiver writes: "Julep is doing just fine and is loving life looking at all the wild life that goes thru the yard."

Wow Is That a Sausage or a WESTIE?

If you are feeding your dog raw food, the recommended daily amount of food for your dog is as follows:

Puppies (Weaning—6 months) 5 - 7% of Body Weight
Adult Dogs (Over 6 months) 3—5 % of Body Weight
Inactive Adult Dogs 1-3% of Body Weight

Audrey weighs about 14 lbs. was starting to look like a little sausage. To our chagrin, we realized we have been overfeeding her. We have scaled back her food intake to about 4% of her body weight. Here is a chart:

For the puppies:
10 lbs - 4.80 ounces to 8.00 ounces per day
11 lbs - 5.28 ounces to 8.80 ounces per day
12 lbs - 5.76 ounces to 9.60 ounces per day
13 lbs - 6.24 ounces to 10.40 ounces per day
14 lbs - 6.72 ounces to 11.20 ounces per day

I feed them in the morning and in the evening with snacks in between if they look hungry. By snack, I mean green beans, cabbage, carrots, several pieces of dry dog food, etc.

Nosy Westies Continued

Back in this post we told of our Ming endlessly looking out for squirrels to ensure that they don't invade her turf. The nosy body, or as some people may favor a better term - guard dog character, gene seems to have passed down to Audrey. Here we see mother and daughter on the stairs making sure that neighborhood dogs, walkers, kids know that they are not welcomed in their turf. An occasional soft bark is our Westie's warning.






But what do they look out to? The small panes of the front door obviously suffices for the Westies to get the macro view.

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Audrey - Ms. Pink

Here are five pictures of Audrey, previously known as Pink. She is upbeat, playful, curious, and smart (similar to all her litter mates). Audrey likes her belly rubbed and likes to give kisses. She LOVES food and we have to resist the temptation to feed her all the time. She has learned to jump on the sofa and looked quite surprised that she was able to do it the first time she succeeded. We noticed that when the nine were around, Audrey was the one who negotiated the arguments. When we had puppies who returned for a visit and they were arguing with Ming, Audrey inevitably intervened and tried to negotiate. It was all very interesting to watch.

Molly - Ming's Grandmother

Here is a picture of Molly, Ming's grandmother, the puppies' great-grandmother.




Here is another picture with Molly and great-grandpuppies, Calli (Abbey) and Audrey.

Q: Why Are these Dogs so Well-Behaved?

A: There is food around.

Dog owners, how many times has this happened to you?

Audrey


Ming

Moped Anybody?

Julep's caregivers took this picture in Italy. This gentleman liked to shop with his Westie daily ....

Casey...in her Halloween Costume

Here's Casey! She looks so cute in her costume and so perfectly coifed after her grooming.

Julep...Just Enjoying the Fall

Here are two pictures of Julep just enjoying a Fall day and trying on her Halloween costume.

Another Tennis Clip

We had this other clip of a tennis court outing.

Outside Looking In

As the weather gets colder, the nippy air should be good for our dogs. Westies are 'hardy' creatures whose coat should provide sufficient warmth so that they can stay out for hours (or days?).

When the Westies get bored inside, they need some fresh air. Our deck is where they "hang out" to be nosy and to stalk the local squirrels. But the recent cool temperatures seem to disagree with the conventional wisdom that our Westies can stand the cold. They seem to be impatient in getting back to more comfortable environs.

We took these shots of our dogs in the outside looking in... You may be wondering why they have dirt on their muzzle. Let's just say they are just being Westies and have been digging.

Tennis Anyone?

We found a new exercise regimen for the Westies. This involves a tennis ball and a tennis court. Hopefully it has the same energy draining effect as the treadmill. So far, the dogs are taking to it well.

More Ming at 5 Months

OK - so we'll go one month back - we have a very inquisitive Ming outdoors figuring out her environs or perhaps looking for a squirrel?

Flashback - Ming in Younger Days at 6 Months

Audrey and her siblings are about 6 months. We were rummaging the hard drive when we found some good and cute shots of mother Ming when she was the same age! As Audrey grows, we try to compare her to some of these old Ming shots. We also compare temperament. While Ming was a mellow dog with a bird's appetite, Audrey is lively (sometimes too lively) with a voracious appetite. Wow we wonder - what different personalities!

Looking Ahead to Winter?

As the weather gets colder in the northern environs, people think of snow. A Westie and snow is an interesting combination. Our old Westie has many years in the Northeast and as we indexed through some YouTube videos, one captured our imagination and reminiscent of our life prior to moving to a more temperate climate. So, here it is- a Westie + snow + sledding. Does a Westie camouflage well in the white background - sure - better than a black lab.

Julep's Fall Wardrobe+

In keeping with getting updated pictures from the puppies, we have new ones of Julep.

So, Fall is here in the east coast and Julep has a sweater to complement her fur.

Oh she also has a nice huge bone toy.

Yet more nice crisp fall day shots.