Baby Luna Turns One!

On February 15th, 2012 our whole world changed. Jim and I patiently waited for 18 months for Bob Corsaro of Nobelle's Kennel to produce a repeat breeding of his female Tessie and Bob Gelder's male Nobelle's Dbl Trbl Maximus MH. This specific breeding had produced our other female, Cleo two years prior. In addition we were extra excited as we had pick female!

This time last year Tessie produced 8 males and one single female. I couldn't have been more excited but Jim was pretty bummed out the breeding only produced one female. So much for having pick! I could have cared less and told him it just meant that Luna was meant to be....she was ours from the moment she was born. It was destiny. He would eventually come to agree with me.

Luna looking to feed within minutes of being brought into the world. She was one of the first couple of pups born. She was so white and looking extra guinea piggish!! (The next three photos taken by Bob Corsaro)

Luna facing the camera a few days after being born. She was born with a white sash on her head (the sign of the devil) just like her big sis Cleo. It has since turned liver but the hell puppy attitude remains stoically in place.

Baby Lu at a couple of weeks old. Starting to get some color!

Here is a quick video of Luna in the whelping box the day we picked her up! 

Jim and I had an agreement that when we picked up Lu I would get to be the one who held her on the two hour ride home since he held Cleo two years before when we made the trip. She seemed so small...smelled awful and was perfect in every way. It was like holding a little piece of our soul in my arms. She was the sweetest puppy and cooed regularly and pushed back in your embrace as if cherishing it. 

Luna getting a hold of my sweatshirt string in the whelping box. I should have realized this was the first sign of trouble.

Once we got her home Cleo was excited and interested but after Luna spent the night Cleo wanted her gone. It took about 8 days for Cleo to get fully on board and love her the way we did. Below are some previously unshared videos of our first days together as a family. 

Day 3 or 4 I believe when Cleo first starting making an effort

I can barely stand to watch these videos as they pull on my heart strings so much

This video was taken on the day Cleo finally gave in (day 8) and started to Love our Lu.

Luna has completed our lives. She's the missing piece to our puzzle and there is not a second were not glad we waited for her. She's quirky, and funny and will happily destroy your shit or steal your things faster than you can catch her in the act. She cries like crazy when she sees her Sammy Lou and gives the best kisses ever....even better than Cleo. She has a nack for finding trouble and moles and prefers sleeping under the covers. She always has a wagging tail and loves to chew off Cleo's collars. We love her and couldn't live a minute of our lives without her.

Not such a little white guinea pig anymore. 

This past year has flown by and I just want to thank everyone for being along on the hell puppy ride with us. It's been awesome to share this adventure with so many cool people. I still can't believe my baby is getting so big. Here's to many many more years of Luna Shenanigans!!

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Super Dogs...Well sorta

While preparing a delicious dinner last night I watched out of the corner of my eye Cleo circling the kitchen like a shark. She intently observed my movements all the while taking note of the counter placement of all food and paper products. Her visibly moving nose giving insight to her plans. Being the grizzled veteran she is I watched her slyly check all the paths to flee before slowly shimmying towards the counter.

Meanwhile Luna sat quietly in the corner pretending to not watch the scene unfolding in front of her. Lies Luna....all lies. I took about three steps away and turned as the tension in the kitchen shifted and before Cleo could move another muscle I warned her spotted ass with spatula in hand:

Me: Don't do it Dogface.
Cleo: **Head tilt**
Me: You clearly have super powers with your nose. Use your powers for good Cleo...not evil.
Cleo: **Blinks Eyes**
Me: Who do you want to be Cleo!??! Lex Luther or Superman!?!
Cleo: **Sits down**
Me. My girl.

Satisfied with my quick come to Jesus speech with her I turned around as Cleo jumped like a ninja onto the counter stealing a wad of paper towels and taking off with her sidekick in tow. She clearly chose the Lex Luther route. As they wedged themselves under the dining room table to shred their bounty I knew somehow this would lead to me making superhero outfits for them because this how my brain works. For the record I immediately called Jim at work to tell him I needed a sewing machine which he totally didn't understand because this idea's level of awesomeness is just entirely too much for him.

It's a bird! It's a plane! It's an ill behaved shorthair!

I can not stop laughing at this photo. 

In reality I should have made super villain costumes for them as they clearly chose the dark side but villain costumes are never as cool as super hero costumes. Check us out and like our madness on facebook: Adventures of a German Shorthaired Pointer.

The Second Dog Conundrum

It's a big question and it eventually comes up. Should you or shouldn't you get a second dog? Clearly Jim and I have two dogs....two very sassy and spirited german shorthair pointers. So obviously we grappled with the second dog conundrum ourselves. Our original motivations were we wanted a playmate for Cleo and another hunting dog in the field and for some unexplainable reason it just felt like it was time. That's not to say that the idea didn't scare the living hell out of me. I was comfortable with how life was. We had a routine and I knew each day what to expect in our little family dynamic and we were all happy. Getting a second dog meant things were going to change and I had limited control of all the factors. There where so many what if's.

**** I just reread those last three lines like four times and realized that they made me sound like a legit control freak. Put that in your pipe and smoke it Freud.****

When we made the decision to get Luna we decided to get a puppy. Not to say by any means that that is the only choice. Rescues....especially breed specific rescues do a great job of placing the right dogs in the right home.  There is always the option of purchasing a started dog as well. But regardless if you choose to get a puppy, a rescue or a started dog make sure you get breeds that are compatible in energy level. Getting a bassest hound as a playmate for Cleo would have been a disaster....just saying.

One of the things I remember us battling with was whether we should get a male or a female pup. We choose to go with a female after quite a bit of flip flopping. The main reason being Cleo is not fixed which is very common in the hunting / testing / trialing world. We logistically didn't have a way to keep a male separated from her for the duration of two 30 day heat cycles a year. We were also pretty turned off by how much unfixed males mark. So for us the choice ended up being rather easy. As far as choosing a male or female you need to pick what fits your life and family the best. If you have a territorial male you might want to get a female. If you have an older calmer dog you may want to rescue a senior dog as opposed to getting a puppy. Examine your lifestyle and current dog and the answer might be easy.

Getting Luna ended up making our life so much easier...well not at first actually. Cleo went through some phases over about an 8 day span. The first night she was interested and excited about Luna but by morning when she was still in the house she was benevolently wounded. Then she became jealous, then indignant, then slowly she became accepting and then finally on the 8th day Cleo fell in love with her and I stopped binge drinking from all the stress of it. Life has for the most part been happily ever after. That is accept for the 6,000 moles Luna has killed and all my hats and jade plants she has destroyed. Then there was the getting stuck under the deck incident...but I digress.

Some of the benefits of getting a second dog for us has been that they enjoy being with each other and playing with each other. They absolutely occupy each others time. They play tug of war, zoom around the yard after each other, hunt for moles together, dig big holes in the mud, roll each other through bushes and chew on each others faces. There are times when they snuggle up on the couch or cram themselves into their dog cave together and clean each others ears that it just pulls on my heart strings. They for all intensive purposes love each other. Over the holidays we sent Luna to Bob Gelder's house for two weeks to finish getting her forced fetched and Cleo was legitimately depressed. In the field they have become a solid team.  Watching them work together and honor each others points has become like poetry in motion. Hunting has never been so much fun.

Although getting a second dog ended up not being anymore work for us than having one keep in mind that it's twice the food bill, twice the vet bill, double the heartworm and flea meds, double the daycare costs and when you go on vacation its double the fee for kenneling. It means more birds or ducks for training and if you pay for help from a pro trainer it can double your training bill. But in my opinion its a small price to pay for the richness they bring our life.  We'll never have just one dog again. I will say tho that we were very glad we waited till Cleo was two and half years old before we got Luna as she was fully trained making it extraordinarily easy to train Luna both in and out of the field. I am now not worried about ever adding another pup to our pack and we most likely will in 2014.

So if your considering adding a second pup to your pack its totally normal to be a little nervous or unsure about it. It's a pretty big commitment. Do your research, talk to experienced breeders or people who have had to make this same decision as you and make sure you can handle the extra financial commitment. Once you start doing your research you will most likely know pretty quick if it's the right decision.

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