Puppy love

In the skinny little dark hours of March 6, my husband and I groggily awoke to the sound of someone in distress. It was a cross between a wail and a howl, truly panicked. Ryan stumbled out of bed. That is how we divide up roles in this family: he takes care of things at night, I keep the covers warm. He found all the kids quiet, and came back to me to whisper, “Honey, I think it’s your dog.”

Then I leaped.

(Just a side note in case you are wondering: I do love my kids more than my dog. But I trust my husband more with my kids than with my dog, if that makes sense. Not that he’s not capable with dogs. Not at all. Just saying some of us can and some of us can’t.)

I didn’t expect the birthday quite this soon, but Skye was due within days and everything was ready. We hustled down the stairs and found her in her bed. When we called, she came to us willingly enough, agile and wagging. I gave Ryan my best stare, the one I save for being-called-out-of-my-bed-for-no-reason (see also: besides-you-are-dead-wrong). “You thought it was HER making that noise?”

And then right at my feet – “Yeeeeeeoooooowwwwwww!”

It was her all right, and ten minutes later, we helped her first puppy into the world.

(Ryan admitted to feeling slightly vindicated.)

These four cuties represent a whole lot of dreaming and hard work for me. They’re my project, from brainstorming to funding, which is a big deal when one spends most of one’s work hours uncompensated.

I am so happy. And they are the darlingest!

Our dog Skye is purebred Shih Tzu, and the sire we found is purebred Toy Poodle, which makes these guys ShihPoos. Sometimes they’re called Shihdoodles, or just Teddy Bear Dogs.

In the next weeks, I’ll be regularly sharing pictures and video of our puppies on their website, Skye House Puppies, as well as on Instagram and Facebook. I’d love to have you follow me there if you’re interested in doggies! The website has a lot of info and photos of the puppies – the stories of their names and distinctives – and a blog as well.

We will be looking for homes for them in a few weeks. ShihPoos are not cheap dogs; I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing; but for our part, we truly love the Shih Tzu breed, and Skye has been well worth what we spent for her. She’s been amazingly gentle, responsive, and family-friendly. Adding the Poodle part makes grooming a little simpler, genetics a lot stronger, and cuteness over the moon.

I’m not planning to mix my little dog-raising habit into this blog in ongoing ways (or decrease my interest here, I promise!) but I did want to hat-tip my other hobby going on and give you a chance to watch the process if you’d like to.

Cheers!
– Shari

Credit to Mr. Zook of Zook Computer for his amazing setup of the Skye House website. I think I might be falling in love with him just a little bit but shhh.

I’d love to hear what kind of dog breed you love best, and why. I was just getting started on all I like about Shih Tzu.