Happy New Year!

Minnie, Saul, Foxy, Rose and Esme wish everyone a happy and healthy 2011!
This Christmas we made dog treats for all of our friends and the favorite was Pumpkin Cookies!
The Recipe is

• 2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup canned pumpkin
• 2 tablespoons peanut butter
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Whisk together the flour, eggs, pumpkin, peanut butter, salt, and cinnamon in a bowl. Add water as needed to help make the dough workable, but the dough should be dry and stiff. Roll the dough into a 1/2-inch-thick roll. Cut into 1/2-inch pieces.
3. Bake in preheated oven until hard, about 40 minutes.

I liked this recipe because the dough was very easy to work with. After cutting lots of shapes I ended up cutting the dough into strips with a pizza cutter and then twisted the strips before I put them on the baking sheet for interest.
Of all the cookies we made our Bichons loved these the best.
Because we made so many, we put extras in the Fridge so they would keep longer and they are still very crunchy and fresh 3 weeks after baking.

One word of warning, our dogs like the home baked treats so much they now are a little bit picky about eating store bought treats. They have even turned their noses up to I can't believe it's not bacon.

I feel very blessed to have my Bichons around me all year. My Bichons were a great comfort to me this fall as my Grandmother became very ill and then passed away in November. Although I spent a lot of time away from them while I helped care for my grandmother, they were always waiting for me and made sure to give me lots of love and kisses as soon as I returned home. I also should thank my husband and son who stayed at home and took extra good care of my girls while Saul and I were in Minnesota.

I have a feeling that one of our girls will be going into heat soon, I am not sure who, but we are looking forward to the pitter patter of little feet again. It has just been so gosh darn quiet in the house. We do have a waiting list started for 2011 spring and summer puppies but are always willing to add another family to our waiting list.
If you are interested send me an email at Lorettaspins@gmail.com

I hope you and your beloved pets have a safe and healthy 2011!
Happy New Year!

Getting Ready to go home!

We have had a very busy week. The puppies have learned to crawl up and down the stairs to get in and out of the house.
They will now follow us into the house or out into the yard.
This is a big time saver and a lot of fun!
We had a fabulous open house weekend and all of the puppies have found their forever families.

This is Claire.
Claire is looking forward to going home with her family Wednesday.

This is Lizzy(formerly Lady).
Lizzy is looking forward to finding out what a Minnesota is.

Pixie is looking forward to being a Corn Husker, out in Nebraska.

Dash(formerly known as Wash) is very excited to be going home to live with his older half brother Buddy.

Bella(formerly Libby) is looking forward to getting mom all to herself for a week before she finds out what a Minnesota Gopher is.
I did put up pictures of the puppies at 6 weeks old.
I hope to take more pictures of the puppies today, as the puppies are now 7 weeks old. This weekend was just to busy to get photos with the garden, Kim moving back to the dorms and Kim's 20th birthday party. The puppies had a lot of fun playing with the Soft E, Com Sci, Math and Entomology students that came to the party.

I guess We had better run, Sam starts school this week so the puppies and I will be really busy this week as well.
Ta for now,
Loretta

We went to the Park!

Yesterday the puppies were very busy. We went to the vet and had a check up and first set of shots. Then we went to Ames while Kim had glassblowing and tried to find a park that wasn't flooded to play in. It took about an hour to find a nice dry park to play.


This is Princess Libby. Libby is the only puppy from this litter still looking for her forever family.

Spike(formerly Wash), Pixie and Lady, look like Charlie's Angels!

Claire, Libby and Spike checking out the bubble.

Spike, Lady and Pixie playing at the park.
I uploaded about 100 pictures of the puppies playing at the park to our photo album. They are not labeled because it gets hard to tell them apart.

The puppies have been going out side for short periods of time because it is just soo hot, and we were only able to play at the park for about an hour because of the heat, so I thought it might be a good time to tell everybody a few tricks to help keep your puppy or dog cool.
My Favorite hot weather treat is a
soda bottle filled with water and then frozen.
Puppies and Dogs can lay next to or on top of the bottle to cool off, they sometimes will chew on the bottle as well.
A Frozen Damp or wet towel
By soaking a towel and then wringing it out and tossing it in the freezer (in a plastic bag or box) gives your pet a cooling blanket on the really hot days.
Iced Water
Some dogs just love to chew on Ice but others just like a really cold drink when it is super hot.

Of course our adults just love the AC and only go outside for short periods of time. We keep lots of cold fresh water available at all times and have been giving the grown ups and puppies dry food soaked in water to give them just a little extra hydration during this really hot weather.
Thank Goodness it is supposed to cool off a little next week.
If you have any questions about our puppies, please feel free to send us an email at
Lorettaspins@gmail.com

Have a great week and stay cool!

Open House Weekend!

We are soo excited to be having our Last open house weekend of the year!

The puppies have been talking about it all week and are very excited to meet all the families that are coming to visit. The puppies are so excited to meet their new families and maybe get a new name.

This is our Prince Wash. Wash is a laid back little prince who loves to cuddle.

This is Princess Pixie.
Pixie is the smallest puppy of the litter but she doesn't let her size hold her back.

Princess Libby is a quiet laid back little girl. She doesn't stray too far from mom yet.

Princess Lady is our little super model, she loves to have her picture taken.
She also loves to be the center of attention.

This is Princess Claire (formerly Princess Scarlet). Claire has already picked out her family and is very excited to have a big family to go home with, maybe next year she will get to go on vacation to grandma's house too.
This week I took lots of pictures to share.
The puppies even posed for pictures with Dexter, our Pot Bellied Pig.

This weekend the puppies will have lots of firsts. The puppies will try on leashes and maybe some t-shirts. We will have lots of fun meeting new families and the puppies will taste all the shoe laces.
The puppies are looking forward to a busy weekend. We still have 2 puppies looking for their forever homes - please send me an email if you have any questions at
lorettaspins@gmail.com

Have a great weekend!
Loretta

Fawkes puppies are 3 weeks old.

Our little ones are growing up so quickly!
The puppies have started eating puppy gruel and really enjoy making a BIG mess. Fawkes is very thankful that Esme loves to play house and helps clean the puppies after each meal.

This is our little prince Wash. Wash loves to sleep on his back he is very cute.

Princess Pixie is our littlest puppy, she loves to check out what all her big siblings are into.

Princess Libby is almost the same size as Pixie, this week she was our little camera hound.

Princess Lady reminds me of Lady and the Tramp. Very cute.

Princess Scarlet is the largest female puppy, she loves to play and have a good time.

This week the puppies will be making lots of fun messes,they will have their first real bath and be micro chipped.
The puppies are starting to be more active in between naps and will be having short periods of playtime in the living room. Like all little babies they play for short periods of time and then take long naps.
For more pictures be sure to visit our photo album.

As of today we have 2 puppies that are still looking for homes. If you are interested in our puppies please send me an email at lorettaspins@gmail.com

We are all looking forward to our Open House weekend August 7-8th when we get to meet our future puppy owners and they get to select their new family members.
Watch for pictures of the puppies all groomed and pretty next week.

Ta For Now
Loretta

Fawkes puppies are 2 weeks old.

Fawkes and her little ones are doing great! They are starting to crawl and explore the world around them just a little bit, more than Momma wants them to anyway.
The puppies are starting to make cute little baby growls, that sound like a cat purring, and little puppy barks.
This week the puppies received their first collars and nicknames.
We think that nicknames are soo much nicer than calling the puppies numbers.
Fawkes puppies are all nicknamed after apple trees because they were conceived under the apple tree in our yard.

This is Fawkes little boy, his name is Wash. Wash is named after the Washington Apple tree.
My son Sam is also a huge Firefly fan, so he was very excited about using Wash as a nickname.

This week I took pictures of the girls in order of size.
This is the largest girl this week, her nickname is Scarlet.

This little girl is just starting to open her eyes.
Lady is nicknamed after the Pink Lady Apple.

This little cutie is Libby, nicknamed after the Liberty Apple. She is the second smallest puppy.

Pixie, nicknamed after the Pixie Crunch Apple, was the smallest puppy of the litter at birth. Pixie is very quickly gaining ground on Libby and may be not be the smallest puppy for long.

On Sunday, after their big siblings went home, the puppies were very happy to move into the big puppy play pen. Right now the play pen is rather small 24"x24" but in the next few days the playpen will expand to 24"x48." The crib bumper will stay on the playpen until the puppies are big enough that their little heads do not fit through the the slats, Mom really likes the soft bumper to lean up against as well ;-). The playpen will stay medium sized until the puppies are about 4 weeks old, then it will grow to it's largest size(48"x48") and we will add a potty park to one side.
This week I took way too many pictures of the puppies but I managed to cut it down to 50 or so for the photo album. I even took pictures of the puppies with soda cans so families can get an idea of how big the puppies are right now.

As of this morning Wash and 2 of the little girls are still looking for their forever homes. Please feel free to email me with any questions that you might have, my email address is lorettaspins@gmail.com
Ta For Now
Loretta

Rose's Gems went home.

The puppies and I went to the park Tuesday where we met our friend Wendy.
We had lots of fun!

All of Rose's puppies went home July 17th. It was a lot of fun to touch base with all of the families before the puppies went home.
Today it is very quiet at our house. Rose has been busy napping on the bed and has enjoyed being pampered. Rose has been very quiet as well, I think that she really enjoyed being able to say good by to her puppies as each one went home with their new families.
To keep busy we have been getting all the puppy gear washed and ready for the new litter of puppies that has just opened their eyes. We washed all the bowles, crates and potty parks with the power washer this morning. I am on my 3rd load of laundry, the first two loads were blankets and towels and now we are washing all the toys.
When it is all dry we will pack all the big puppy toys away for just a few weeks, then it will be time to play again

Jasper has found his forever Family!

Today Jasper met his forever family and showed them off to his brothers and sisters.
Jasper is soo excited that he will get to meet Grace in 10 days!

Have a Great Week!
Ta For Now,
Loretta

Rose's Little Gems are 6 weeks old!

It is hard to believe the puppies are 6 weeks old already!
This week the puppies had their first car ride, even if it was just to the vet. The puppies had a full health check and their first shots.
The puppies are looking forward to a trip to the park if the weather is nice this week. If it is icky, I told them we would just have to make a trip to Petsmart and buy some chew toys.

Jasper is the only puppy from this litter still looking for his forever home.
Jasper is a great puppy that loves to explore and play. After playing he likes snuggle up to my feet and take a nap.

This work of art is the puppy formerly known as Diamond, she has picked out her family and has her forever name, Lily.
Lily is very excited to find out a pediatrician is, she wants to know if they love kisses.

This is the puppy formerly known as Opal, her new forever name is Lily Bear.
Lily Bear says it is really funny that I always called her and her sister by the same name and now they have very similar names. Lily Bear is very excited to learn all about softball, and wants to know what High School is.

Moka(formerly Ruby) is looking forward to learning all there is to know about doll clothes and coffee.

Chipper was known as Topaz. Chipper is looking forward to walks in the park and meeting lots of new friends.

Prince Beau is looking forward to meeting is half sister Belle. Beau loves to charm everybody and is very excited about learning what a Minnesota is.

This week the puppies have been exploring more and finally were able to meet the ducks. I am not sure if the puppies just wanted to give the ducks kisses or if they were trying to herd them somewhere but it sure was funny.
The ducks let the puppies get really close up before they would scatter.
Of course then we had to find some yummy treats for the ducks because they played so nice.

This week I took over 300 shots of the puppies but I managed to cut it down to just over 170 pictures.
I want to warn you, they are really getting good at stealing hearts!

Have a great week,
Loretta

Fourth of July Puppies!

Boy did Fawkes keep us on our toes. She really wanted her puppies to have a special birthday that nobody could possibly forget.
Fawkes temperature dropped to 98.3 on Saturday July 3rd and she followed me everywhere I went, so I ended up staying in the living room most of the day. The whole family stayed up until midnight and then the guys went to bed. I ended up putting blankets and pillows down on the floor and laying next to Fawkes. Fawkes and I watched Monk then Stargate Atlantis and some show that was really bad that reminded me of Dungeons and Dragons.
At 3 am the infomercials started, I guess Fawkes thought they were boring because just after 3 am her first puppy arrived.

It was a beautiful little girl. Fawkes had about an hours rest before the next little girl arrived.
The last three puppies arrived 35 minutes apart. Fawkes was soo tired but very happy to finally have the puppies she has been waiting for.

Fawkes and her little ones are doing great. Fawkes had 4 little girls and 1 handsome little boy.
We started a photo album for Fawkes Puppies too!

I also made an album for a few shots of the puppies older brothers and sisters!

The puppies are this big!

We have 4 puppies still avalible from this litter, if you are interested please send me an email and I will send you a copy of our puppy contract.

Have a great week,
Loretta

Open House Weekend!

Open house weekend has finally arrived!
We have been having a lot of fun this weekend playing the families that have reserved puppies from this litter.

Jasper is still looking for his forever home.
Jasper is a fun loving puppy that loves to explore, when he finally tires out he loves napping by my feet.

All of our female puppies from this litter have been reserved, but they are waiting to meet Amanda before we know where they will live.
This is Princess Opal. Princess Opal is a very out going puppy who loves to explore. Princess Opal also likes to take her naps in Dad and Esme's beds.

Princess Diamond is a one of a kind work of art.
Princess Diamond likes to take her time and smell the roses, well actually she is very curious about everything.

Prince Topaz picked out his forever family this weekend and is very excited to meet his new playmates.

Princess Ruby found her forever family this weekend and is now.....
Princess Moka!
Moka is soo excited to have 2 big sisters to play with.

Prince Beau is the life of the party. He is always ready to play with his siblings. Then he wants to cuddle. Prince Beau has charmed all the ladies that have come to visit.

Esme has been busy playing house with all the puppies. She makes sure they are clean and don't wrestle too hard. She reminds me of all the adults that used to tell me to settle down.
Esme's new hair cut is very short because she has taken to swimming with the Ducks and now needs LOTS of baths. If I ever stop laughing long enough I might have to scold her.
I managed to bring the photo count from over 300 pictures to just 212. Please feel free to look at all the fun pictures of the puppies.

This is a very busy week for the puppies. Tonight they will start sleeping separate from mom, Rose will still be in Eye Shot. Momma Rose is looking forward to a full nights rest!
The puppies will also start playing with leashes tomorrow. They will play Tug of War, and make May Poles of anything that gets in thier way for a while. As a reward for learning about leashes we will make a trip to the park later in the week.
Wednesday they will meet Bea at their first vet visit. We love going to the vet because Bea always spoils the puppies. And after the vet we can go on car rides, and the park.

Fawkes is do to deliver her Puppies on July 2nd, so we are giving her extra love and attention. She is as big as a house, well maybe not that big but she does have the pregnancy waddle.

Looks like we will have a busy week ahead of us.
Please feel free to send me an email with any questions that you might have, my email address is
lorettaspins@gmail.com

Ta for now,
Loretta

Spa Day!

This week the puppies started to become more active and very hungry. So the puppies moved into a larger play pen and had their first helping of puppy gruel. Very Tasty!

After playing in the puppy gruel for a while the puppies needed to have a bath. So we had a spa day! Each puppy had a foot massage, manicure(mom was very thankful), a bath, a cuddle with video games and then brush and blow dry. This week the puppies also received their first collars and there microchip identification.

The Beautiful Princesses!
All of the pictures were taken on a piece of grass carpet as the puppies are still too young to be exposed to all the germs outside.

This is Princess Diamond.
She has beautiful Beige markings. As her coat grows out they will fade some, but they may still be noticible as an adult. Diamond is most defiantly one of a kind.

This is Princess Opal.
Opal is a beautiful little girl and she knows it too. She did not like having a bath today, but she didn't whine or cry, she growled. The cutest little growl, it sounds a lot like purring, too cute!

Here we have Princess Ruby.
Ruby is the smallest of the girls. Ruby is a quiet little tyke,
most of the time.

And here we have our Rowdy Princes!
They are really well behaved, most of the time anyway.
But Rowdy sounds soo much more masculine ;)

This is Prince Topaz.
Topaz is the most squirmy this week. He was very quiet during his bath but he kept trying to wiggle his way out of my hands.
Topaz also wanted to taste everything. He might be a great kisser as an adult, we will have to wait and see.

Here is Jasper.
Jasper was the most laid back puppy this week. He was very well behaved and curious about all the new things he experienced.

And our Prince Beau, he may be the smallest in size but he makes up for it in bravery. Beau was very well behaved in the bath, but he thought the blow dryer was a dragon and barked and growled until the mean dragon stopped blowing hot breath on him.

This week the puppies will be eating mostly gruel but will have kibble and a small dish of water avalible at all times. The puppies don't have any teeth yet, but they enjoy mouthing kibble and making a mess. Later in the week we will be moving the puppies into a larger play pen with a potty patch.
We started using the Potty Patch last year and I just love it. The puppies love going to the bathroom on the fake grass and it is soo much cleaner than anything else we have tried.

I will NEVER EVER subject my puppies to living on wire. I believe having puppies or dogs on wire is inhumane and cruel.

personal thoughts aside, I uploaded 135 pictures of the puppies to our online photo album.
I also added a album of adult Bichon Pictures this album has pictures of our adults at different ages,with different hair cuts and pictures of them when they are not groomed. I also added a few pictures of other dogs that have helped shape our lives and descriptions of them as well.

We still have 1 Princess and 2 Princes looking for homes, if you are interested in adding a Bichon to your family please send me an email.

Ta For Now,
Loretta