Mum, Rummy and I

Rummy and Mum

We love our human Mum Sheila

Hugs,
Kimi

Hard Tools and More Exploration

Steve brought over some hard tools and an air compressor for Rob to use for work. Rummy immediately jumped at the opportunity to check it out.

Mum was keeping a close eye on the baby boy, to make sure he didn't hurt himself or do anything stupid, but Rummy was just curious and he was very respectful of the human toys. He didn't try to chew on anything or grab anything with his mouth. I think he understands now that there are still some items on the floor that are off limits to us canines.

A little sniff here, and a little sniff there.... hmmm.... I wonder what this is for...

Rummy and his beautifully glued ears, doing some exploration

Hugs,
Kimi

Ear Gluing

Rummy's low ear set (pre-gluing)

Finally, the day came when Rummy got his ears glued. We had to rectify his low ear set, and as we've mentioned before, the lower tips of Rummy's ear leather fall below the eye level, and that is a bit too low. If we don't do anything about it, it will start looking like hound ears, and that is a fault in the show ring. The gluing is purely for vanity sake, and it is fairly common to have Terrier ears glued down.

So we went into the craft/grooming room, and on to the table Rummy was set. I knew what it was all about, since I had my ears glued by Mum several times, so I was there to give Rummy support. Come to think of it, I've been sticking close to Rummy whenever he is awake, and we keep each other company through everything. We've only been together 2 weeks now, but we are very close.

Mum took out her grooming box, and all her tools, to firstly clean Rummy's ears out, then shave off necessary fur, and keep some so that the glue had something to hold on to.

While Rummy chills out on the table, I lay quietly on the floor and watch

One of the best things that comes with being on the grooming table is that there are tonnes of treats to go around. Not only the 'victim' of grooming gets treats, whoever is canine in the grooming room gets treats too. That means me. Woo Hoo!

Rummy with ears set slightly higher (Post-gluing)

Notice how the lower tip of his ear leather is no longer an inch below his eye level. The ear leather closer to his skull is glued down to his face, but the part further out is left totally open so that he can still have air circulation to his ears. Immediately after gluing, Rummy gets a brand new bully stick, and a piece of pork hock, and all I got was a piece of pork hock.

I really felt like having a piece of bully stick too. Oh well..... such is life. We don't always get what we want. Mum says that when we don't always get what we want, it helps us to appreciate what we do have. It stops us from becoming too self-indulgent and spoilt. She applies this rationale to herself as well.

Rummy with his cross section of a pork hock. He loves eating raw food. With his ears freshly glued, Rummy gets distracted by new treats and it takes a long while to chew and eat this stuff, so Rummy gets distracted for a very long time while the glue sets and dries. He didn't even try to scratch it off. He doesn't seem to notice it.

Ok Rummy, you can have my pork hock treat too.

Chomping chomping through cartilage and a bit of knuckle bone

All done.

Hugs,
Kimi

Chilling When it is Raining

On rainy days when there is nowhere to go, and no work to do, we chill in Mum's study.

Rummy sleeps on the day mattress on the floor, with his own pillow, and I get the donut bed. We hang out quite comfortably and peacefully in the study. Sometimes we play bitey face here too, but most of the time, when it is wee early in the morning, we try not to make a ruckus.

In these two photos, you can see the vivid contrast in our coats. With the light, you are able to observe that Rummy still has a lot of his baby coat, it is soft, fluffy, and thick, very much like goose downs, or duckling downs or Airedale undercoat, but my coat is coarse, wiry, and even a bit crinkly and wavy as it grows out. This is my top coat, and it helps to repel water, wind and dirt. I also have some undercoat, but it is much less, and it helps to keep me warm in winter. My topcoat is also shinier than baby fuzz, and it is wiry to the touch. When Mum strips out my coat, she strips out both topcoat and undercoat, to give it a 'reset' so that it can start growing out all over again. It helps the follicles to grow out new hair roots which causes my color to be more vibrant and rich.

With the change in season now, Mum is deciding if she should strip me now, or wait till Jan. She is trying to time it right, because it takes about 6 - 8 weeks for my hair to grow out perfect. In between the different stages of stripping, I look really odd and naked in different parts. She said she'd like for me to look great during the Christmas holidays, and to do so, she'll have to strip me now. But at the same time, the weather is getting colder as we speak, and perhaps she should let me grow out my woolly coat and look silly like an overgrown Ewok. We shall see how long she is able to endure letting me look so bushy. Mum doesn't like it when I look bushy, she says I look so untidy.

Hugs,
Kimi

A Walk in Our Woods

Mum is training Rummy to sit by the door, and only exit when the release word is said. We can only step out when we are 'freed'. Mum, look, we're both really ready to go out in the woods to explore and play. This will be Rummy's first time walking in our woods.

We have 4 acres of woods on our property, and we've also created some trails in there when it was still summer. This is the first time that Rummy has ever been in our woods. I'm taking him to explore the smells and sights of walking on the trails. It is so nice.

So many things to smell, this root here, that leaf there, there are so many things to explore, and so much to experience. The evening sun is not going to be around too much longer. Got to do so much while we can.

We even have our very own firepit to make fires and have picnics.

Rummy likes our woods. We'll have to come here more often. He doesn't seem afraid of anything. He is such a curious exploratory puppy, and he has a healthy interest in everything new.

Rummy

Hugs,
Kimi

Steve's Visit

Steve and Rummy

Steve is Rob's younger brother. He lives close by so it is nice when we have extended family over. But he didn't bring Japhy with him, Japhy is getting older and older, so he is having more difficulty getting into the truck.

Steve came over to visit and cuddle Rummy. It was really good because Rummy needs to have more and more interaction with other people from outside our pack.

Let's play tickle. Hee hee hee.....

Steve getting love from both Rummy and Kimi

Hugs,
Kimi

Rummy's 12 Week Old photos

Rummy at 12 weeks of age

His face changes week by week. It is quite amazing to see how he is growing. He's starting to look more and more like a grown up adult. Rummy is starting to sprout out more and more wiry coarse hair. 1/3 of his tail is already covered with wiry hair. His front and back legs are getting lankier and lankier, and his coordination is getting so much better.

Hugs,
Kimi

The First Grooming

"You know, I'm not so sure about being on this high table" Rummy says.

"Hi Mum, do I really need to be on the grooming table? You're going to pull hair out? It won't hurt? Ok I believe you. Oh? I get lots of treats while I'm up here. Ok"

Look at all the fuzzy hair that needs to be pulled out (handstripped).

Rummy, pre groom

Getting introduced to the pumice stone, Rummy tried tasting it, and he didn't like it too much

Hmm... which should I choose? Pumice stone, or dried beef?

It is so much easier to be trained early on the grooming table. The earlier, the better. A lot of dedication and hard work from both humans and canines will have to go into training Rummy to endure long hours on the table as we go along. Especially if he may be a show dog in the future. But for a start, we will work, little by little, and supply Rummy with tonnes and tonnes of treats. That way, he will associate the table with treats, affection, attention, love and good fun.

Hugs,
Kimi

Rummy's Visit to the Vet

The time came for Rummy to see Dr Siegler, our holistic vet. I've been going to see Siegler since I was 8 weeks old, so it was no surprise to me that Rummy went to see him too. He's a cool dude, and he always gives me treats. He supports the rawfeeding attitude as well, which is really nice, because he doesn't grill Mum for it, and he doesn't subscribe to the over-vaccination mentality, which is crucial.

Rummy on the examination table

A lot of vets insist on dogs getting annual boosters, and are against feeding raw, only because they don't know any better, and were brainwashed by the major pet food corporations while they were still in Vet School. Of course, if dogs like me go in more often to get shots, then the vets get more income too, so I'm really glad that Siegler isn't the usual vet off the mill.

"Hey Siegler, that's my brother, isn't he being good for you?" Siegler said that Rummy is one mellow fellow. And yes, he isn't the first other human to mention that about Rummy.

And after the visit and the jabs, we got to wait at the main counter and sniff in all the good treats for sale. We didn't get any though. Mum said we've got tonnes at home.

The vet clinic is also another good place for bitey face rough playing. Rummy and I are always up for bitey face, anytime, anywhere.

Hugs,
Kimi