the sheltiechick blog

14 Week Family Photo

We missed our 13 week family photo – things simply got too crazy, juggling a baby puppy who likes to put everything in his mouth and also isn’t sure how to hold his bladder or his poop – but we did manage a 14 week one! This photo was easier than the last several, as Kane now definitely knows how to “sit” (and is pretty sure he knows what “down” means but maybe not) and is learning how to stay.


Valentine’s Day Snow

Valentine’s Day dawned with a threat of a big snowstorm. I left the house early to grocery shop before we got hit and almost bit it in the parking lot leaving the store. The roads got slick and dangerous quickly so I retreated back home to settle in.

We spent most of the day inside, working on how to be a nice, calm puppy and how to actually take a nap outside of your crate. These are things I never taught Payton and things I think he would have benefited from learning then rather than having to teach him at four years old how to settle outside of your crate… so I’m making a point of teaching Kaner now.

We did get a bit of outside playtime done. The snow ended up pretty unimpressive, but it was too cold for me to be able to stand it, so we didn’t stay out very long.


Payton likes it though, it turns him into a coyote or something.


Cute baby prancing through the snow.


Napping in a bed! It’s like a miracle.

I also pulled out the new backdrop I built and set it up to take our family photo. This was interesting as Kaner is still learning what “sit” means, nevermind “stay.” I used my 50mm lense to help get a good shot in the dark house, but this mean I was stuck having to be a certain distance away. So basically, set up the dogs, wrangle the puppy into the center, ask for a sit… wait until he figures out what I want… pop him a treat, then try to scoot back into position quickly but not TOO quickly or the baby is going to get up and follow you.
It was not an easy task, but we managed something that counts.


Nomming a cookie. Literally I shoved cookies in his mouth then started shooting and hoped for the best, ha!


Snowtime with Kaner

It snowed!! This is not Kane’s first snow, but it is his first snow with me, so outside we went for some snow playing.


He wasn’t totally certain about this white stuff falling from the sky though. Also it’s cold.


Pretty snow dusted Auggie. Auggie was trying to figure out how he can eat this snow, because there’s not a lot of it, but eating snow is one of his favourites.


Kane was more interested in playing with leaves and sticks than the snow, however.


THERE’S A LEAF UNDER HERE


WATCH ME PUPPY WHEEEEE


Trying to take a cute photo of his face… not workin’ out so well.


But when it DOES work out, oh my goodness.


He wasn’t sure how to respond when I tossed him a snowball. The snow is light and fluffy and couldn’t pack, so really it was more like throwing a handful of soft fluttery snowflakes in his face. I think it hurt his feelings. Oops.


Baby Dog Outside Games

Another day, and the sun is out for the dogs to play in the yard.


Watching the baby run around. Huh.


I’M A PUPPY WHEEEEE


Look at me I can run and jump and play!


RUN RUN RUN


MORE RUNNING


Payton says ARE WE RUNNING?? THAT’S MY FAVOURITE! Look how happy he is to have a puppy brother to play with. So. Happy.


Proinking around after his big brother.


He even ran some laps around the play cube.


Rarr, big brother!! Not at all phased by the fact that Payton is three times his size.


Happy Payton.


Yeah chasing!

Auggie sat on the deck and simply watched all this nonsense take place with a bit of disdain, which is a step up from his old tactics of running around barking as Official Fun Police, so that’s good.


Kaner’s First Bath

Little baby Kaner was a bit itchy after his round of puppy shots, so I got out my soothing oatmeal shampoo to try and help calm his skin and gave him a bath. Poor guy, not even home for four days and he already gets his first bath!


Don’t be fooled, he was an unholy terror and wouldn’t stop moving and a small puppy soaped up with shampoo is basically like trying to wrangle six greased pigs.


But there is absolutely zero chance I’m going to miss out on the chance to turn him into a Kanersaurus Rex.


He’s not actually holding on for dear life, I’m just trying to keep him in the tub. HA.


No dryers necessary for this little fuzzy baby, a towel is good enough to dry off.


All clean, and now less itchy!


New Baby, Day Two

Our second day with Kaner dawned rainy and gross! We did take some time to play outside, even in the dreary weather, but it wasn’t very fun getting all cold and wet.


Little guy trying to navigate the steps off the deck.


Payton came up on the deck and then bounded down off the deck like eight times, like IT’S TOTALLY NOT HARD COME ON WHEEE. You’re like three times Kaner’s size. Little bit different, P.


Face through the railings! I have this photo of Auggie and Payton so was sure to snag one of Kaner, too.


Trying to figure out how to get off the deck is hard.


Auggie isn’t really sure what the trouble is, either. I built this deck just so Auggie could safely navigate down into the yard, as the old concrete porch was unsafe and he kept falling. But this one is super safe and there’s really no trouble. You know, so long as you don’t have tiny little baby puppy legs.


Smellin’ brother P.


Just in case you think he’s all cuteness and sweetness, Kaner actually has a very powerful set of lungs on him and enjoys putting everything and anything in his mouth to chomp. Just so you know.


I mean, but he is pretty cute.


I think all of my puppies are cute because if they weren’t nobody would like them at all ever.


Look how cuuuuute I am not naughty at allllll


AND I WILL FIGURE OUT THESE STEPS. ONE DAY.


One thing I want to do is try to take a “family photo” every week. We just don’t know with Auggie’s CHF how long we have left, so as morbid as it sounds, I don’t want to miss out on getting a photo of all of my dogs together as Kaner continues to grow. It’s also kind of a fun project to see how much the puppy grows and changes every week. This is what counts for Kaner’s first week, what with the baby not knowing how to sit or stay… this is as good as it gets, folks. Don’t worry, I promise it will get better.


Then I made him wear these puppy jammies and it was adorable.


Meet Baby Kaner

It’s only a small secret I’ve been looking for my next dog for a little while. Payton is nearly five, and although there are six years between Payton and Auggie, I wanted fewer years between my next two dogs. The search had intensified recently, especially with Auggie’s CHF.  First of all, Auggie wasn’t playing with Payton much anymore, and poor Payton is pretty sad without a canine brother to play with. Secondly, I knew if I lost Auggie, I was going to be so devastated I wouldn’t be in the mood to add a puppy – possibly for a very long time. Hinging off the first problem, I knew it wouldn’t be fair for Payton to be an only child because of my own grief. With no way of knowing how long I have left with Auggie, I decided if it was going to happen, it needed to be… basically right now.
I also had a little hope that Auggie would be encouraged to play with a puppy. I’m sure we all know stories about old dogs with old dog diseases who get a new spring in their step when a puppy comes along. I had no idea if a puppy would actually help Auggie feel young and live longer, but I filed the hope away in my back pocket. After being assured by Auggie’s cardiologist that, if Auggie’s heart disease is controlled (and he believed at that moment that it was), additional stress from a new puppy would not kill my dog… enter Kane.

Kane (or Kaner, as he is mostly called) came from a breeder who is very close to the breeder of my other dogs, though his lines aren’t the same. It was a pretty big change for me to diverge from the lines I have loved in my other dogs, but I was ready for new blood (which isn’t as creepy as it sounds, I promise.) Similar to Payton, he was a beautifully built puppy who was unfortunately looking to go too big for the show ring, but he was obnoxious and active and loved to play. My kind of dog, most importantly – and the right kind of dog for the agility ring.
I drove up with my sister to check him out and make sure he was what I wanted.

Then, five weeks later, after bleaching all of my floors, picking everything I owned up and out of puppy-teeth range, and rearranging crates to make space for the small little puppy crate – I drove up to pick up my new baby dog.
Oh boy.



Auggie came out to meet him first and gave me a slightly withering look that seemed to say “Are you sure? Another one? If you’re sure…” Unlike Payton, who he took to immediately and began playing with right away, I had a feeling it would take Auggie a little while to come around and playing with Kane. After all, Georgie is his niece, and it took her some time to grow on him. I took his quiet acceptance and a general ignoring of the puppy as a good sign.
Then I let out Payton, who at that point in time was approximately three times Kane’s size.
This was no obstacle to either of them and they were immediate friends. Kane made it his business to jump and try to climb on top of Payton, and Payton made it his business to run as fast as he could with the little puppy trailing behind, short little legs churning in an attempt to keep up.
Payton was delighted.
So was I.
It was dark and late when we got home, but we did get a bit of playtime done inside and I managed a few (poorly lit) photos!

Checking out big Payton.

Being checked out by big Payton!

Now being checked out by both brothers.

He slept on the drive back home, and was happy to poke around and explore, but I could tell he was still pretty tired. He even started throwing a temper tantrum because he was overly tired. NO NO NO NOT TIRED NO NO

We did, however, get him tucked away in his crate and ready to go to bed. Sleep well, tiny guy!
Welcome to the family, little Kaner!