Land-Ahoy, Captain Jack Sparrow!

Three beagles in the yard.

It was already a sight to see two white-tipped tails moving about the yard (Chuck and Beka's Tails), but seeing three white-tipped tails was something else.

Cunz's household called him Maxie. I thought we should call him something else. His eyes has this thick black lining around it, much like Johhny Depp in the movie series, Pirates of the Caribbean. So we started to call him Captain Jack Sparrow (Nate of Yellow Knight x Southsky's Aroma Therapy), yeah the longest name a dog has that i know of.

Chuck is kinda proud with his first born son. Their eyes share the same expression, though they do differ in color as Capt. Jack has black tricolor markings. The puppy seems to favor Chuck over Beka too. Not too surprising considering Beka is a little aggressive towards... other dogs.

The good news is, Chuck produced such healthy pups and Capt. Jack is proof of that. The bad news is, Ivy and I aren't prepared for another puppy and we are looking to have him adopted by a dog loving family.

Let's wish Capt. Jack Sparrow a good life!

Chuck Bass & Snoopy

LAST August 31, 2009, Chuck Bass was paired with another 13"er female black tricolored beagle named Snoopy (don't ask me why, but i'll try to google and see if Charlie Brown's Snoopy is really a male beagle).

We were relieved that Chuck and Snoopy didn't have a hard time with the pairing.

We are also excited as Snoopy is a legit 13" beagle, just what we always wanted.

Now here's crossing our fingers (again!) for a lemon-coated pup!

Visitation Day

Here I am, posting a new entry in this blog(at last!) after a couple of months in hiatus. I promise to keep you up to date on what's up with Lucas, Chuck Bass, Lexie Grey and Beka soon, but today i will post about our visitation day.

Just to give you a quick update, on July 21, 2009, four beagle puppies were born (Chuck Bass x Chubai). Unfortunately, only two of the pups made it. We still consider it a blessing though and we were so excited about Chuck's first offsprings.

Late this afternoon, Ivy and I went to Cunz's place to visit Chuck's pups and Chubai. It seems like Chubby didn't forget about us as she welcomed us with a lot of tail-wagging.

We were so excited to see the pups, and surprised to see how beautiful the two are. They are 6 weeks old now. This is the 1st born female beagle pup.

The 2nd born male. Both of them have Black Classic Tricolor markings. Tsk tsk, looks like none of them took Chuck's colors. Oh welps!

They were so playful and energetic! I really have to give my thumbs up to Cunz for taking care of the puppies well.

We can't wait to take one of these pups home in 3 weeks time. We still haven't chosen who we will pick among the two, we just wish we could take both home. We will also probably have the pup adopted to a new and caring home as having four dogs in our household is enough for now.

I'm sure Chubai will miss one of her pups. Sigh! Anyway, thanks to her for these pair of wonderful pups. The main man, Chuck Bass, is awfully proud!

Lexie Grey's Ear Tale Part II

It has been three weeks after Lexie had her ears cropped. I actually took off her ear-posts (to make the ear stand up) right after the first week and decided to let her wounds completely heal first before putting in proper ear posts, at least that's the way they do it as i've seen in the net. That would mean another two to three weeks of having her ears taped, but her wounds will be fully healed this time around and that will make it more comfortable for her.

She's been having a blast with her new do. The beagles can't bite on her ears anymore and she honestly looks good.

Beka and Lexie

Lexie Grey's Ear Tale

Sandra, Lexie Grey & Ivy

When Ivy and I decided to get an American Pitbull Terrier puppy, we already considered a lot of things that came with owning a dog of such breed. We know that it's going to be another large and powerful breed that we are adding to our pack, we are ready to answer people's misconceptions and myths surround the breed, we're already good on the time and training that we'll spend on another puppy, and among them all, we've decided to have the pitbull's ears cropped when the time comes.

Lexie & Mum

Last May 31, 2009, we brought Lexie (now 12 weeks old) to Dr. Bong Sepulveda's clinic to have her ears cropped. It was about an hour long procedure and Lexie was asleep the whole time and was given general anesthesia for the operation. The wounds will heal in about 7 days and she's taking antibiotics for it. She's going back on the 5th day to have her ears checked. 

asleep on the operating table

ears getting taped

She also had her ears braced and taped to take proper form, for around 3 weeks at the most. I had to put on an Elizabeth Collar on Lexie to prevent her from scratching her ears as it's going to itch like crazy for a few days.

just woke up at home, still groggy

donning her elizabeth collar

Lexie

It was painful for us to see her go through with it. We aren't proud about it, but it's something we've considered long before we got Lexie and we're just following through with our decision. If you ask me if I'm happy about Lexie's ear crop? Let me just say that I'm happy that it's over with and that she's back to her normal playful self. 

Auf Wiedersehen, Nala!

Last May 28, 2009, Mama and Tito Jim took Nala to the Wildberry Garden in Lorega. She will be staying with them from now on. The pack will surely miss her. Now that i think of it, her non-stop all-day barking wasn't that annoying at all. Now that i look back at the day she was here, her digging habit wasn't really that bad -- i can't say the same for those who tended the plants and flowers though. :)

We're pretty sure Nala's going to be fine with Mama. The weather there is cold and would really suit her. There's a fish pond there in case she's in the mood to get herself wet. Sheena (Mama's only remaining female mutt) is a pretty good mother figure whom i'm sure will welcome her with open arms (or paws).

Besides, we will visit her next sunday and we will bring Chuck Bass and Beka just to make sure Nala won't miss them too much. 

Shooting Chuck

Last May 18, 2009, Chuck was paid a visit by a female beagle in heat named Chubai. Chubai is owned by Cunz Acuna and we've agreed to pair his beagle with Chuck.

It was a firsts for both Chuck and Chubai, so to make it easier for both of them we had a Shooter help with the mating.

Shooter: someone who helps initiate the mating between the two dogs, and guides the dogs through the whole process.

Chuck was a little bit distracted with the new people around him and wouldn't even go near the female. Before the night was over though, the two beagles were able to mate successfully and hopefully Chubai will take.

Chuck Bass

Chubai

The couple with Epi the Shooter

Chuck and Chubai will meet two more times in the next 4 days to make sure the mating is successful. Here's hoping we get a lemon colored pup! 

Don't Bite Back

Most new puppy owners have a single similar question about the new member of their family, "why do puppies love to bite?" 

One of the puppy's most important social activity is play-biting. That's why it is essential not to take a puppy away from its litter at less than 8 weeks old as the puppy will develop most of its social traits within that span of time and the litter is a lot of help. Play-biting allows the puppy to gauge how hard it can bite without actually hurting someone else. Puppies will bite each other until one squeals in pain and stops playing their biting game, which would tell the other puppy that the bite did hurt and if that pup continues on like that, nobody will play with him anymore. This is essential as the pup will carry this learned lesson to adulthood, having gauged on how hard his jaw can bite to hurt or not to hurt someone else is a very good thing for the dog, other dogs and their humans.

Lexie and Nala are at it again

Play-biting may also be the reason why a puppy will bite on your table legs, chairs and most of your furniture, especially if the pup doesn't have someone else to play with. If your puppy starts to play-bite with you, don't push him or her off, just react in a productive way whenever his bite becomes painful by turning away from the pup and giving a high pitched squeal to indicate pain and make the pup learn its lesson. Taking your finger away and giving affection at the same time would only make them think you weren't hurt at all and that the bite the pup just gave was okay. 

these pups are full of energy and could play the whole day

If you have a dog in the house, introducing a new puppy could actually initiate play-biting between the two (which is good). Don't try to stop them even if it gets a little rough, that is ofcourse you have complete confidence that your dog will not hurt the puppy. Remember, settle the issue with you and your dog/pup by yourself, be dominant -- but let the other dogs settle their issues by themselves, this will create for a natural hierarchy in your pack without any confusion.

Chuck gets in the fray, pinning Nala to the count of 3

I read a story about this very docile adult dog who's never shown any aggression in all his life, but one day while this child was playing with the dog, he was accidentally hurt and bit the child as a reaction. The puncture wounds would indicate that the dog didn't actually know how to control his jaws and that could probably indicate the dog's lack of play-biting when he was still a puppy.

Remember that playful pups, play-biting or no biting at all, does not lead to aggressive dogs. It always depends on the owner.

Winter Nose

Most puppies are born with pink noses. At the norm, their nose should be pigmented from as early as 4 weeks to about 8 weeks. Although some puppies take more time for their nose to be fully pigmented, others really don't get pigmented at all, they spend their lives having a pink nose or a winter nose.

Nov. 18, 2008 photo

Our Chuck Bass and Lexie Grey have partially pigmented noses as of now. Lexie is still 10 weeks old and you can practically see the growth progression of the black pigment on her nose, no worries there. Interestingly, Chuck still has a partially pigmented nose and he's already 1 year and 3 months old. When we got him at 6 months old, we initially thought his partially-pink nose would be completely covered in liver color after while. But after 6 more months without a solid liver-colored nose, we've already accepted his partially pigmented nose as permanent and that it may stay that way for life... or so we thought. Last night, Ivy and I compared Chuck's nose photos at 6 months and his recent nose photos (yes, Chuck has a lot of nose photos in our archive. A liver colored nose also indicates that Chuck is a Red dog and will have no black pigmentation in his body at all). It was fascinating to find out that Chuck's nose has a slow but progressive growth of pigmentation. 

May 14, 2009 photo

That's really good news for us all! Not only because of aesthetic reasons but mainly because pigmentation is crucial for dogs, as their nose, if without pigmentation, are very susceptible to sunburn and skin cancer. 

So if your dog has a winter nose, make sure you put a little sunblock on that cute nose before getting him or her under the sun for long periods of time. Be responsible!

Chocolate Tricolor

I remember this lady at the Dog Parade we attended last March telling me, "that's a nice beagle, i also have a beagle at home but his coat is better because he's a tricolor." Great, as much as i wanted to say something to her, i just smiled and nodded ok. Chuck is definitely a tricolored beagle, just one look at him would tell you that. Even his pedigree papers says he's brown, tan and white.

This recently came back to me as i have encountered a few beagle owners who thinks the only beagle color is the common tricolor black, brown and white. 

Well, we are proud to own the only Chocolate Tricolor coated Beagle i have seen so far in Davao. I would also like to own a Lemon coated Beagle in the future, though it's a little bit hard to find.

For more info on Coat Colors of Beagles, please click here.

Tags

Guess what the mailman brought in today! It was a three-week wait but it was well worth it. Dog Tags for everybody! Lucas gets the big blue bone. Chuck gets a red fire hydrant. Beka gets two tags, a gold heart and a gold star, the star shaped tag was free as they made a mistake making it but included it with our order anyways. And Lexie gets the purple star!

A Cold and Rainy Night

Some dogs huddle, other dogs cuddle.

It was cold and rainy last night. Thank goodness for the fairly tiring activities they had the whole day, the dogs decided to call it a night a little bit earlier than usual. 

Lexie and Nala sleeps outside the house. And though it breaks our hearts to leave them outside as they are too cute not to stay indoors with us, we know giving them boundaries will make it easier for us when the pups grow up. Though Ivy's potted plants do get most of the early-morning-puppy-energy-discharge, it seems like one plant disappears every morning, i do admire my wife's patience on the pups as i know how important the plants are to her. Nala usually sleeps on the cold (and damp, if available) concrete floor and Lexie always looks for the comforts of her soft bed. But the cold made them huddle and cuddle together last night, a very different gesture from the all-day play-biting sessions of the two.

Even our two indoor dogs didn't escape the mood of the night. Rarely do Chuck and Beka share the bed as Chuck prefers to sleep by his lonesome, he always leaves the bed to Beka as soon as she takes her space on it. But not last night. Last night was a cold and rainy night. Last night, the two beagles huddled and cuddled. 

Our dogs huddle, our dogs cuddle.

Domino Black Kennel

It's official! We are now Domino Black Kennel. 

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We just received our papers from the Philippine Canine Club, Inc. (PCCI) which includes my PCCI Associate Member's ID (my photo sucks!) and the transfer papers of Lucas and Chuck Bass.

Labsatian's He's D One (Lucas)

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Nate of Yellow Knight (Chuck Bass)

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And to answer your question -- No, we are not planning to go get more dogs for breeding purposes, nor will we be concentrating on breeding or selling dogs.  We just had to transfer our dog's papers to my name and that requires us getting a PCCI membership and a Kennel name. We are purely against puppy mills and irresponsible breeders.

Anyways, we're still waiting for Beka's papers and will have it transfered to us as soon as we get it. Lexie Grey and Nala aren't registered pups, but it really doesn't matter, they're part of our pack no matter what.

Home Coming

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We arrived home yesterday afternoon from Cavite City. Coming home with us are Lexie and Nala. Lexie Grey is a two-month old female American Pitbull Terrier, while Nala is a three-month old female yellow Labrador Retriever. Nala will be staying with us until June just to make sure she gets her necessary vaccines and rabies shots before she leaves and stays with our mother for good. 

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Nala was shy at first (the whole afternoon actually). She wasn't mingling with the others that much and she was obviously nervous (infact, she didn't eat that night). She was just beside Ivy most of the time, sitting down by her feet or getting herself wet, just like her daddy.

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Lexie became a member of the pack right from the moment she walked out of the vari-kennel to greet the other dogs. She is what we would call a people-person, or in their case, a dog-dog. She didn't hesitate to start play-biting (being the pup that she is) with Chuck and Beka -- even Lucas.  She was running, jumping and playing non stop.

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The dogs were great together, we didn't have a lot of trouble except for maybe Nala's wound on her tongue and Chuck's hormones. hahaha! It's going to be fun!

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