Canine Learning Experience 2009 - Day 2

Sunday was day two of the Canine Learning Experience was a good day too. I wasn't there due to a conflicting wrestling meet Tyler was in, but reports are Rayne won her 3-6 month puppy class, along with Gina placing 3rd and Aurora placing 4th. This was a great day for my girls being they had very little ring training. Hopefully they'll continue with their winning ways. These pics were taken by Phasion Whippets, thanks Paul & Kim.

Canine Learning Experience 2009

I am so very proud of my puppies. At 2 days shy of 6 months, Otis...aka Eclipse Singin' The Blues won his 3-6 month puppy class at the Canine Learning Super Match tonight. His sister Aurora...aka Eclipse Rhythm & Blues, although she didn't place, she showed quite well for not being out and about much. She does need a bit more attitude though.

From the other litter, just shy of 6 months by a week, Rayne...aka Eclipse Secret Wish was 2nd in a big 3-6 month class and litter sister Gina...aka Eclipse Strike a Pose was 4th in the same class. I'm very proud of these kids, and look forward to more exciting things from them in 2009.

Hopefully I'll be able to get up some good pics of them from the match. I didn't take any, but I know someone who did.

Haley/Steeler & Paige/Collin Puppies

Well, while I was away in Canada on my two week vacation is when my bitches decided to whelp their puppies. The first litter of 10 (5 boys/5 girls) out of HaleyWhippt...aka Eclipse SF Let Freedom Ring by Steeler...aka Eclipse Down at the Blue Moon was born the day we left on July 26th. These puppies were a surprise litter, so I wasn't sure when HaleyWhippet was due, so on Thursday I took her to my friends Shelbi & Louise's house to possibly whelp. She stayed there for 2 days until my niece Melissa could go and pick them up. Saturday night around 7:00 pm she started whelping and delivered her 10 babies in 4 hours. Being mom HaleyWhippet did a bit of traveling while waiting to deliver, I named all the babies after cities. The boys are Salem, Baxter, Austin, Reno and Jackson (sold), and the girls are Cheyenne (sold), Seneca, Fargo, Aurora & Shayla, all in shades of blue fawn, blue brindle, fawn & fawn brindle.

The planned litter between Paige...aka Eclipse Wish Upon a Star and Collin...aka Ch. Eclipse SF Bold Chance was born a week later (actually 4 days before her due date) on Sunday August 3rd. We have 4 gorgeous white & fawn babies, 3 girls named River, Rayne & Lilly and 1 boy named Boulder. They have the nature names that Melissa gave them.

Right now the pups are 6 and 5 weeks old, and all are doing great.

Emily......4/26/98 - 4/24/08

I lost my princess Emily today. The past few days she hadn't been eating anything, but was drinking tons of water, and piddling on the floor (which is so unlike her). She had a vet appointment yesterday, but the vet called to cancel due to an emergency, so we rescheduled for today at 5:30. Emily's breathing had been quite rapid today, but her eyes followed me everywhere, and seemed alert. I carried her outside to go to the vet, put her down to piddle, and she fell over. I picked her up to put her in the van, and she died in my arms before I got into the garage.

Emily was a once in a lifetime dog. She went everywhere with me, hiking, fishing, boating, grocery store, the bank...etc. She was an unusual whippet as no matter where we were, she never needed to be leashed. She was totally trustworthy around home and never strayed off the property.

Here is a little story about Emily I wrote when she was voted Whippet Worlds Whippet of the Month in March 2005.

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Emily - Whippet of the Month March 2005
Eclipse Hearts Desire
better known as Emily, Emmers, Em, or The Princess
Owned and Loved by Diane Motzkus (WW id ZoeyWhippet)

Emily was sold as a 9 week old puppy to a lady who had Deerhounds but wanted something smaller to be her perfect pet. All was well, or so I thought, until I got a call from this lady 7 months later. She wanted me to take this horrible dog back, (which my contract explicitly states). I was told she screamed constantly in her crate, pooped and peed in her crate, and when she was put outside in her kennel, she jumped her 6' fence and would disappear for hours on end. The lady was at her wits end, this has been going on for 7 months!!! We agreed to meet and I got Emily back. She was in good condition, well fed, and just lying on this lady's front seat on a blanket like a royal princess.

I took Emily home and crated her for the night, and not one peep from her all night. In the morning I awoke to pee and poop all over her crate. Washed all her bedding and we made the crate 1/2 as big (just enough for her to stand up and turn around), crated her the following night, not a peep from her all night, but awoke to the messy crate again. Washed all the bedding again and put it away. We then made the crate just big enough that we could put her in sideways, and all she could do was stand up or lay down (not even curl up, NO blankets either). All this in an attempt to find the crate size that Emily wouldn't want to mess in. After two days of crating like this Emily decided that it was not fun to be crated, so we no longer crated her and had no more 'messy' problems.

The next thing to tackle was the kennel fence jumping. I put her in my covered run, and no attempts were made to jump at all. So I put her in the uncovered run, and no attempts were made there either. Next thing was the leash thing, as all my dogs are trustworthy off lead (although not all at once). My hubby decided to take her up to the coal strippings where he likes to hunt, that way there would be no roads (except dirt roads) within about 25 miles. He said Emily NEVER left his side. So I decided to try it here at home (I live in a VERY rural area), and she stayed right here.

Emily has been the constant house dog. She is the best dog I ever had, never needs a leash, comes when called, and is just the perfect princess here. She will be 7 years old in April.

Emily goes EVERYWHERE with us. To the grocery store, bank, taking Tyler to preschool, fishing, hiking, shooting. She'd rather be with us than with the other dogs. She is such a princess, it's ridiculous. She is a small dog, about 19 inches, and is just the best.
She is never crated or leashed, and never kenneled (as a Princess is not to spend time with the common dogs), god forbid she has to step foot inside the kennel (except for mealtimes)...LOL.

I love to show my dogs, but although Emily has never seen the inside of the show ring (ewww, other dogs walk there), she will continue to be the Royal Princess here at Eclipse.

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April has been a very bad month for losing our beloved dogs. Good friends Steve & Gloria called to tell me they lost their precious Bailey (bichon mix), my Zoey's mom Penny passed away last week, and my Vanna's daddy Pungo died this past Monday, and now Emily. I sure hope this is the end of it for a VERY long time.

Godspeed to my sweet Princess. I love and miss you and I'll see you soon.

Love,

Mom

Zane's New Home

Well today the last of the available Sorrie/Lilo puppies went to his new home in Cincinnati, Ohio. I was very sad to see him go, as he is just the sweetest thing. He loved to sit on the couch and watch the others play. He oversaw what everyone else was doing, and he loved to lay under the covers and watch TV.

I will miss Zane, as I do his sisters ZaZa, Zora and brother Zeke.....aka Tyson, but I still have sister Zaria and brother Zachary. Zaria is also very sweet and usually ends up in my lap as soon as I sit down, and Zachary, well he is the wild child. He will be one that has never met a stranger, is very outgoing, and will be a handful in the show ring. But Zaria & Zachary are two Whippets I am looking forward to showing in the future.

Resting dogs

As I sit here typing on my computer I look over to see some of my fur kids sound asleep on their beds. They all have their favorite spot, the princess of the house Emily, likes her worn bean bag chair bed, Vanna & Lilo love the cozy cave bed, and Paco tries to lay where it's cool (she's the longhair mutt). They are so content in their own space, but they also love to snuggle with each other.

At bedtime, Paco sleeps with his boy, my son Tyler, Emily sleeps in her worn bean bag chair bed that gets drug upstairs into the bedroom and Vanna sleeps in bed under the covers until she gets hot, then out, then in, then out, then in.....well you get the picture. I love the look of contentment on their faces when they sleep, and it gives me a feeling that I'm doing right by them.

Typical Eclipse Whippets

Here are Jaycie & Cinder, two very typical whippets you will find here at Eclipse. They are loving and playful, as puppies should be. They are from different litters, but both were born in October 2005 only 2 days apart. What a cute pair!!!