Moby's First Haircut

This is 4 month old Moby after his first haircut. His
owner will probably be able to do his subsequent
grooming after a lesson at my house on how to trim.
I get so tired of seeing the terrible hair cuts local
groomers do on my dogs. New owners soon learn
that it is both expensive and disappointing to hope
for a nice groom at their local PetSmart. I encourage
owners to learn how to groom and I'm happy to get
them started by providing the first hair cut. Doesn't
Moby look precious?

Yaya to be bred to Apolo for Thanksgiving Puppies

Six month ago Yaya (Blue Run's Joyous Yaya) was bred
to Apolo (CH Classea's to the Moon and Back) but DNA
testing revealed that all 5 puppies were sired by Yaya's
favorite paramour, CH Blue Run's Willing to Serve (Bacchus).
It can be very hard to prevent a breeding when two intact
dogs share the same home and both parties are willing.
Next week, Yaya will be bred to Apolo again and this time,
we hope Bacchus won't be part of the equation because
I really want some Apolo puppies! (Bacchus has been
banished to another state for the duration of Yaya's heat cycle.)

Puppies should be born Thanksgiving Day and be going
to their new homes at the end of January. (Why do dogs
always whelp on a holiday??) As both Yaya and
Apolo are black wavy dogs, I expect these dogs will have
very little if any white and most, if not all, will be wavy.

Juliet

Having a singleton has been a new experience for me as a breeder.
This little beauty is all on her own. Sometimes, I have trouble
telling if a dog is going to be curly or wavy. There isn't much debate
about Juliet who is very curly. Like all young PWD puppies, her eyes
are blue and will turn brown by 3 months of age.

How NOT to buy a puppy

In Canada they have a program called Market Place where I
came across this video about puppy mill purchases.
http://www.cbc.ca/marketplace/episodes/2009-episodes/
how-not-to-buy-a-puppy
 In the USA, the new puppy mill sites are on the web. Very
few pet stores are left that sell cats or dogs in the USA. But
this video applies to how many animals (available on line
for sale) are actually raised. It's quite deplorable.
Increasingly, there are on line scams where you send the
money and no dog ever comes!
Hobby breeders raise their dogs in their homes. They don't
ship dogs to people sight unseen.  Blue Run dogs are placed
locally (Washington D.C. area) almost exclusively. A face to
face interview at my home is required and all family members
need to show up. If you find a breeder who will sell you a
puppy without interviewing you, you may be dealing with a
puppy mill or a "backyard breeder" who does no health testing
or follow up.
 I always tell impulse shoppers, "Buy in haste;
repent at leisure."  Waiting for a puppy from a good local
breeder is your best assurance of getting a healthy dog. Visit
the breeder and meet their dogs. See how their dogs are housed
and what kind of temperament the animals have. It is an expensive
and long term commitment. Do at least as much research as you
would do if you were buying a new car.