Jaffa and Family

Saphie Puppy Class Week 6 - 14 weeks old

2012-02-14T00:46:00.000-08:00

I dropped in to watch Saphie in her class today since Jaffa's obedience class was right after. They were working on making positive association to objects that pups may potentially become fearful of. This training school uses a no-reward system where dogs aren't scolded (not even a no) when an undesirable action is performed, instead, the action is not rewarded with treats. In the more advance classes, you actually remove what it is your dog wants from him. To give you an example, in Jaffa's class, if I tell him to SIT and he doesn't do it, or doesn't do it fast enough, "I" his mum gets removed from him for a while (I leave the room), then I go back to him and give the same command again. It is a new training method for me, and I have to admit, not saying NO to an Airedale is a little tough LOL. Afterall, we've always joked that Jaffa's full name is Jaffa-NO! It's actually very funny to watch the class, because it looks like owners are always being put in time outs.

Anyway, this was Saphie in her class. Helen is doing so well with her, and Saphie continues to have amazing attention span and focus. What a great little dale!

Jump Jump Class!

2012-02-12T01:53:00.000-08:00

Mummy said lets go to Good Good Boy Class ok ok? (mum: obedience class.) I said ok, Jaffaman is a good good boy!

Me listen to teacher talk talk, see,

Teacher said to mummy Jaffaman is good boy, he no no need good good boy class, he go to jump jump class ok ok? (mum: I had signed him up for intermediate obedience class because I wanted to work his emotional control on leash in presence of other dogs in close proximity. He usually gets too excited and playful. Well he showed up and acted perfectly. His sits, downs and stays had been perfect for a long time, so the instructor suggested that we switch to agility class instead. She thought it would be fun for him, and also a good practice for him to have to pay attention to me while being excited. I ultimately decided to stay in the obedience class, but also signed him up for agility. So he goes to class twice a week now. He's totally loving it!!)

See Jaffaman on my first day of jump jump class!!

(mum: Jaffa was AWESOME!! The jump and tire that he missed was completely my fault. I made the worst handlers' mistake; I had food in my right hand. It worked out ok while he was running on my right hand side, but when we switched to having him run on my left hand side, he kept cutting in front because he was trying to get to my "right hand" that was holding the treat!)

Saphie Puppy Class & Training - 12 weeks old (by mum)

2012-02-03T01:48:00.000-08:00

Here is a short video of Saphie at her puppy class. She's the youngest of them all, so big dogs (like the Rhodesian Ridgeback) still intimidates her a bit.

Helen is amazing! She doesn't speak/understand English very well, and yet week after week, there she is in puppy class with Saphie. After she gets home from the class, she takes out her dictionary, and goes through the handouts with her dictionary.

Look at all that she's managed to teach Saphie! Of course, Saphie is a pretty smart puppy with amazing focus and attention span. She reminds me a lot of Sunshade.....

All the training Helen and Saphie have done, has really helped them bond immensely. It is very obvious that Saphie loves her mom.

Sunshade wasn't feeling too well the other day (woke up nauseated), so Helen asked me to bring her over for her to do some Reiki on her. Since Sunshade was having a hard time settling down, we decided to treat her in the living room and left Saphie in the family room where her human brother Shawn and dad were both in there.

BUT, this was what happened.....

She wanted her mom!!

CNY - Saphie 11 weeks - by mum

2012-01-24T01:42:00.000-08:00

We were invited to Helen's place for CNY dinner. Helen had asked me to bring both Sunshade and Jaffa, the more the merrier she said. Unfortunately, Jaffa had to stay behind because he had a little play session with a skunk in the afternoon. I don't think I need to elaborate on that. Sunshade was in the yard too, but she knows to stay away from skunks. She had an encounter with one about 7 years ago, and learned her lesson then.

Sunshade assumed her seat beside me during dinner,

I took some pictures of Saphie. She is 11 weeks old now and oh sooooo cute!

The glue on her ears came off, so her ears are flapping now. I haven't had a chance to clip off the hair on her ears to really see how they look, but from what I can tell, they're both coming up a bit with one higher than the other.

Helen is totally smittened with her dogter. She called me last weekend, wondering if she should take Saphie to the emergency clinic because "she's sleeping a lot, and not biting me" said Helen! I assured her that puppies usually have two speeds; chewing/biting/into everything speed, and conked out sleeping speed!

Saphie is growing up SO fast! I see a difference if I don't see her for two days!

According to Helen, this is Saphie's favourite play item - an aluminum pan for the rice cooker.

This girl has amazing attention span for such a young puppy.

She can focus on whatever training it is that Helen is doing with her, and she will continue to focus, make eye contact until Helen stops. I've had to tell Helen to keep training sessions much shorter than the 30 min, few times a day that she was doing with Saphie!!

Saphie must have sat here for no less than 5 minutes because Helen kept telling her to "watch me" (command for eye contact) for guests to take pictures. Since she was such a cute puppy, people wanted to take lots of pictures of her!

In puppy class, they taught owners to put puppies in this position and start naming body parts as you touch them,

So we do EAR - PAW - FEET - TAIL - TUMMY - HEAD - COLLAR, etc

Like I said, Helen practices A LOT with Saphie, even on CNY!!

Saphie is very respectful around Sunshade,

Well, most of the time!!

Saphie did have a consult at Sunshade's vet clinic last week, and she was LOVED by all at the vet clinic. Many commented on how Saphie reminded them of her great Auntie Sunshade, the way she trotted into the clinic as if she owned it!

Saphie weighed 11.4 lbs @ 10 week and 2 days old.

I just looked back on Jaffa's record. He was 13.6 lbs @ 10 weeks and 4 days old. If you want to revisit Jaffa when he was a little man, click here!

Yummy Juicy Juice!

2012-01-20T01:37:00.001-08:00

Mummy said Juice no no nice, we eat him for breakie ok ok?

I said OK OK!!!

My Sunshade said WE NO NOOOOO EAT JUICE! See, she no no happy.....

Mummy said its ok ok to eat Juice, I said ok ok fank you!

Juicey Juice is yummy yummy, me like it!

My Sunshade no no eat Juice, she eat chicken only,

So me finished my Juicy Juice, and me eat eat my Sunshade's Juicy Juice too!

(Sunshade: You are beyond DISGUSTING!! If you would like to read my thoughts on this matter, please visit my bloggie.)

After me all done done, mummy said Juicy Juice is no no dead, he's still mean mean and fat fat, see,

Jaffaman ate wittle Juice, not Mean Juice,

I said to mummy, when we eat Mean Juice??? (Sunshade: OMG you are just SO gross!!)

Saphie Update - 9 weeks old (by mum)

2012-01-13T23:21:00.000-08:00

I got to see Saphie today when I brought Sunshade over for some Reiki treatment.

Little girl has grown!! I know it's hard to tell from pictures, but she really has!!

She's loving her raw diet. Here she was patiently awaiting her dinner to be prepared,

When it took a little longer than expected, her little brain got working and she put herself in a "SIT" thinking that it would make the food appear faster. She is a very smart puppy, capable of thought processing already at 9 weeks old.

Borderline freaking out face! Food still wasn't ready yet despite sitting there for ages!

Saphie doing "SIT", "Shake paw", "Shake other paw" on command for her audience. My friend Isabelle and her mom were also there to see the "baby Sunshade". (Sunshade: EXCUSE ME??? What did you just call IT??) Helen is still learning about dog training, so we're still working on not repeating the same command over and over again. However, she's doing a good job and Saphie is responding very well. She is such a fast learner.

Her name is Saphira or Saphie

2012-01-05T22:58:00.000-08:00

Little Girl Puppy made it to her home at last (last night). Her human brother, Shawn, named her "Saphira". He was very set on this name because his friend's Airedale was named Saphira too lol. Shawn is 15 yrs old, but a University student already.

Brother & sister photo,

Shawn couldn't wait to share pictures of Saphie on Facebook,

Saphie got used to the new environment rather quickly. The little tail of hers was up the whole time.

She quickly showed her new family how smart she was by doing her business beautifully in their yard, in the pouring rain.

During the four days that Saphie stayed with us, we had one accident only (if you count that as one...). Derek and I went out for about 4 hours, as soon as we got home, I asked Derek to get Saphie from her crate and to quickly carry her out to pee. Instead, he took her out of the crate and started cuddling her. I should also mention the way he was holding her pressed on her little bladder. So yup, she peed all over Derek!!! First the guinea pig, now the puppy...lol!

Anyway, after Saphie did her business in the yard, she came back in and showed off her perfect SIT!

Shawn reenforcing the SIT,

Helen very proud of her dogter. She already has a genius son, perhaps her dogter will be equally spectacular.

Saphie waiting patiently for a goodie from the goodie bag,

Shawn working very hard at getting the treat bag open while Helen couldn't keep her hands off Saphie,

Need a little help Shawn? Saphie still sitting very patiently waiting for her treat.

The long awaited bully stick!

Shawn had been studying an Airedale breed book where he read that it was good to touch the puppy while she's eating so she doesn't become food possessive.

He put that to practice immediately,

What language is that you're speaking mom?? (Helen talks to her in Mandarin sometimes)

During the time that I was over, Helen enrolled Saphie with Trupanion, an insurance company. We signed her up for a puppy class at Dogsmart (where Sam's mom teaches at), and we also registered her a city license. I think this little girl is set for life! Puppy classes start this Saturday, January 4th!

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The few days that Saphie was with me, she visited lots of friends. She, together with Sunshade have convinced another couple that an Airedale was what they wanted. Unfortunately my breeders won't be breeding again for a while, so our friends have their names down for a "curly hair" (that's what they put on the puppy questionnaire) female puppy from a local breeder. The puppies are suppose to be due end of this month, ready to go home end of March. Saphie might have a little playmate to play with soon!

Saphie also visited a relative, her Aunt Stella who is Jaffa's sister,

Stella was GREAT with Saphie! She really took to Saphie right from the start, unlike Jaffa! Stella's tail wagged non-stop.

Stella's mom, Maureen giving Saphie some reassuring pets while Maggie, the Cairn that they were babysitting got a few sniffs of Saphie,

Stella's beautiful sissy, Hannah!

Stella was just making sure that she was still Hannah's #1 Girrrrrl!

Stella making sure her breakfast was defrosting well on the counter,

Our gentle happy girrrrrl Stellie!

Saphie felt right at home, she's one confident girl!

Lastly, Jaffa warmed up to Saphie a little... sort of.. lol!

Loc Aire Airedales: Puppy Testing & Ear Gluing - by mum

2012-01-04T01:40:00.000-08:00

PUPPY TESTING

All of the puppies out of the Loc Aire Kennel (Jan Mell & Bonni Mell/Fisler) are puppy tested at 7 weeks of age. The purpose of the puppy testing is to ensure each puppy is matched with the best appropriate home possible (ie, you don't home a sound sensitive pup to a home with young kids, and then have things not work out and the dog is returned or given up). This means that puppy buyers don't get to choose their puppy. You do get to pick a sex.

When my dad and I were looking to get a puppy from Jan 12 years ago, she really wasn't too keen on letting us, first time dog owners have one of her puppies. It took a lot of convincing, puppy visits (we had to visit every week from 5-8 weeks) for Jan to agree to let us have one of her pups. When she finally made the decision, she mailed us FIVE books to study (told me to translate all of the books to my dad!). One of the books she sent us was - How to Raise a Puppy You Can Live With,

(pictured is the newer edition that came with the girl puppy this time. The one I was given was an older edition.)

Jan and Bonni use the Puppy Testing from this book to puppy test all of the Loc Aire pups before deciding who goes with whom.

Below are three sets of puppy tests. One for Sunshade, one for Jaffa/Stella, one for Girl Puppy. If you click on the pictures, and then right click to enlarge, you should be able to read them.

Sunshade's litter, she's #3.

Jaffa & Stella's litter. Jaffa is #2 (marked on the wither + tail), Stella is #7 (marked on R foot + wither).

Girl Puppy's litter. She's #5, the only girl in the litter.

I'm going to outline the puppy test from the book; how each testing is performed, the purpose of the test, and the scoring for each test. After that, you will see four different coloured numbers. The numbers (and possible notes) indicate what Sunshade, Jaffa, Stella & Girl Puppy scored on each test.

Sunshade
Jaffa
Stella
Girl Puppy

*Note: the test must be performed in a room/place where the puppies have never been to, and the tester must be someone they have not seen before.

COME (Social Attraction):

Place puppy in test area. From a few feet away, the tester coaxes the pup to come by clapping hands gently and kneeling down. Tester must coax in a direction away from the point where the puppy entered the testing area.

Purpose of this test is to determine the degree of social attraction, confidence or dependence.

1 - Came readily, tail up, jumped, barked, bit at hands.
2 - Came readily, tail up, pawed, licked at hands.
3 - Came readily, tail up.
4 - Came readily, tail down.
5 - Came hesitantly, or no come, fearful.
6 - Did not come at all. Wandered and sniffed.

3
3
3
3

FOLLOWING:

Tester stands up and walks away from the pup in a normal manner. Make sure the pup sees tester walk away.

Purpose of the test is to determine degree of following attraction. Not following indicates independence or fear.

1 - Followed readily, tail up, got underfoot, bit at feet.
2 - Followed readily, tail up, got underfoot.
3 - Followed readily, tail up.
4 - Followed readily, tail down.
5 - Huddled, wouldn't move.
6 - No follow, or went away.

3
3
3
3

RESTRAINT:

Tester is on hands and knees. Gently roll pup onto back and hold with one hand for a full 30 seconds.

Purpose of this test is to determine degree of dominant or submissive tendency. How puppy accepts stress when socially/physically dominated.

1 - Struggled fiercely, flailed, bit.
2 - Vigorously flailed, some eye contact.
3 - Settled, struggled, settled with good eye contact.
4 - Struggled, then settled with some eye contact.
5 - No struggle. Froze
6 - No struggle, strained to avoid eye contact.

3
3
4
3

FORGIVENESS (Social Dominance):

Tester is still kneeling. Sit pup across your front, slightly facing you. Give him a few seconds to settle down, then gently stroke him and lean down so face can be licked. Continue stroking until a recognizable behaviour is established.

The purpose of this test is to determine the degree of acceptance of social dominance. Pup may try to dominate by jumping and nipping, or may be independent and walk away.

1 - Jumped, pawed, bit, growled.
2 - Jumped, pawed.
3 - Cuddled up to tester, licked face.
4 - Squirmed, licked hands.
5 - Rolled over, huddled.
6 - Went away and stayed away.

3
4
3
2

ELEVATION DOMINANCE:

Tester is still kneeling. Pick up pup, cradle pup under his belly, fingers interlaced, palms up, and elevate pup to just off the ground. Hold there for 30 seconds.

Purpose of this test is to determine degree of accepting dominance while in a position of no control.

1 - Struggled, fiercely, bit, growled.
2 - Settled, then struggled.
3 - No struggle, relaxed.
4 - Struggled, then settled.
5 - No struggle, froze.
6 - No struggle, no eye contact.

3
3
3
3

RETRIEVING:

Kneel beside pup and attract his attention with crumpled paper. When pup shows interest and is watching, toss the object 3 feet in front of the pup.

The purpose of this test is to determine the degree of willingness to work with a human. High correlation between ability to retrieve and successful guide dogs, obedience dogs, and field trial dogs.

1 - Chased object, picked up, and ran away.
2 - Chased object, picked up, and did not return.
3 - Chased object, returned with it to tester.
4 - Chased object, and returned to tester without it.
5 - Stayed with tester, worried.
6 - Did not chase object.

3 (readily)
3 (slowly)
6 (stays, licks tester)
1 (ran off to play with object)

TOUCH SENSITIVITY:

Take webbing of a front foot between your finger and thumb. Press lightly then increase firmly until you get a response while you slowly count to 10. Stop as soon as puppy pulls away. Repeat with ear.

The purpose of this test is to determine the degree of sensitivity to touch.

Note # of counts before response:

Sunshade's litter did not get a number on this test. Perhaps it wasn't performed?
4
4
2-3

2ND SOCIAL DOMINANCE:

Continue holding pup in your arms until he either forgives by licking your cheek or struggles to get down.

The purpose of this test is to determine degree of forgiveness.

Circle one of the following responses:

* Pup quickly forgave and licked
* Pup snuggled, no kisses.
* Slow or no forgiving.

I don't think this test was in the older edition of the book as it wasn't on either Sunshade or Jaffa's test form. Girl puppy's form had it.

Girl puppy's result: No look for forgive of the tester.

SOUND SENSITIVITY:

Place pup in center of area. Strike pan with a large spoon a few feet behind the puppy. Repeat.

The purpose of the test is to determine degree of sensitivity to sound. May be a rudimentary test for deafness.

1 - Listened, located sound, walked toward it barking.
2 - Listened, located sound, showed curiosity, walked toward it.
3 - Listened, located sound.
4 - Listened, startled.
5 - Cringed, backed off, hid.
6 - Ignored sound, showed no curiosity.

3
3 (located, tail down walking....) I can't really read the writing lol
Stella's box was left blank. Perhaps she did something that wasn't any of the above. Very interesting as the reason Stella was let go at 6 months from the breeding program was because she was more sound sensitive for Jan's liking in a breeding bitch.
3

SIGHT SENSITIVITY:

Place pup in center of area. Jerk a towel, tied to a string, across the floor a few feet from pup.

The purpose of this test is to determine degree of intelligent response to a strange object.

1 - Looked, attacked, bit.
2 - Looked, grabbed, head shaking.
3 - Looked, became curious.
4 - Looked, tail tucked.
5 - Ran away, hid.
6 - Ignored it, no interest.

1 - My courageous girrrrrl lol!!!
3
3
3

ENERGY LEVEL:

Note how active pup is throughout the testing.

* Jumped up all the time (boing-boing)
* Bouncy
* Relaxed
* Slow, quiet
* Little participation (The observer)
* No interest

This must be a a newer test as it isn't on Sunshade/Jaffa/Stella's papers.

The result for the Girl Puppy was: Good energy. A bit of a snob!

General notes on Sunshade: Curious! (Spot on! True even at 12 years old!)

General notes on Jaffa: (blank)

General notes on Stella: Likes people!

General notes on the Girl Puppy: Aimee was the tester. She had her tail up most of the time. An independent air to her. Insulted by the Touch Sensitivity Test!! Not going to home with kids under age of 5 as she did not forgive. (But Bonni knew she was going to a home without young kids already.)

From pg.140 of the book, under Forgiveness (Social Dominance), it says,

As soon as the pup is on his feet, the tester sits him at a forty-five degree angle in front, using an arm or hand for a second to keep him in place. then the tester strokes from head to tail, leaning down so that his face is available to be licked. The tester can talk to the pup. The unforgiving puppy will turn his head away. This pup will mature into a dog that will hold a grudge or will refuse to respond if the owner does something he doesn't like. The forgiving pup will wash the face or gently lick or nuzzle the cheek with his nose. The independent pup will walk away. The aggressive pup will growl or nip the tester.

Out of her litter, Girl Puppy is the only one that didn't forgive. Sunshade, Jaffa & Stella all forgave too. You guys WATCH OUT!!! (Sunshade: put her beside me right now, and I'll make sure she grows up SuperFORGIVING! Towards me at least!)

Analysis of Puppy Test:

Mostly "5" responses - Shies away for no reason. Retest to verify. This pup needs a low-stress environment.

Mostly "4" responses - A submissive but not shy puppy. Needs confidence building. Very trainable if not rushed. Easy to live with.

Mostly "3" responses, with some "4s." - Will be a happy dog. Good with children. Good for the inexperienced trainer. A family companion.

(This was Jaffa and his sister Stella, and I have to say, it's very true.)

Mostly "3" responses, with some "2s." - Will fit in a family with older children. Very active and does best with obedience training.

(Sunshade was all 3, with one 1, so I'm not sure where she fits in. Thought 1 was closer to 2 than 4, so perhaps she belongs here? Girl Puppy also tested mainly 3s, with one 2, one 1. So this is probably her category too with no young kids.)

Mostly "2" responses, with some "3s." - Outgoing and eager to please but needs a firm hand or will make a pest of himself.

Mostly "2" responses - Learns quickly and needs firm, consistent training. Does best with a person who has had training experience.

Mostly "1" responses - Very dominant. Not good with children. Untrustworthy around strangers. Needs special training with very experienced, dominant trainer. Can easily become aggressive.

Mostly "6" responses - Three "6s" in the first five tests is a very independent puppy. Doesn't require a lot of human attention. Training requires much repetition and patience.

According to Bonni, they like their puppies to be mainly 3's because that would mean the pup would probably do well in any family/situation.

I have to say that out of the four, Girl Puppy tested most dominant, and she also seems more confident and brave than the rest at 8 weeks. As we all know, Jaffa and Stella are both very laid-back, happy-go-lucky, easy-going Airedales. Sunshade and the Girl Puppy are both more confident. While Sunshade can be quite dominant towards dogs in certain situations, she isn't actually dominant (never aggressive unless warranted) towards humans. While she may not always listen to people outside of her pack, she has always listened to me, and put up with whatever situation I put her in. I hope the Girl Puppy will turn out to be the same, and not like what the book says, "The unforgiving pup will mature into a dog that will hold a grudge or will refuse to respond if the owner does something he doesn't like."

I will make sure to help Helen to work on the Girl Puppy lots. She will be starting puppy classes soon, that should help put her on the right track. She really is a wonderful little pup, and SO smart at this young age. She's probably smarter/braver than Sunshade at this age (and that says A LOT)... although I must admit, Sunshade spent most of her days alone.... because I was at school... So it wasn't like I was there to see when she was being "smart".... Sigh... every time I think about Sunshade's early days, I get so upset... Arrrghhh! Ok, it's about the Girl Puppy right now!

That's about it on puppy testing. I will keep you posted on Girl Puppy's progress. I can't wait until I can stop calling her "Girl Puppy"!!! She needs a name!

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EAR GLUING

I want to talk a little bit about ear gluing. A few people have asked about why we glue the ears of our Airedale pups. Well, the honest answer is that it is mainly for cosmetic reasons, or to conform with what the breed standard calls for,

"V-shaped with a side carriage, small but not out of proportion to size of dog. Top line of folded ear slightly above level of skull. Pendulous ears or ears set too high undesirable."

Please note that gluing ears does not involve cutting or cropping of the ears. The puppy doesn't need to be put under anesthesia to go through "cosmetic surgery". Usually the puppy only notices it the first day because it feels different. After the first day, they don't even realize their ears are glued. At least that has been my experience with Sunshade/Jaffa/Stella and Girl Puppy. I understand others may have had a different experience from mine, and I would agree that if it bothers the puppy too much, then it is not worth it.

The window of opportunity for ear gluing is anywhere from 8 weeks to when the pup is done teething. Once the puppy is finished teething, the cartilage in the ears harden and the ear is set for life. More gluing and taping after that won't make any different in the positioning.

Without ear gluing, you can sometimes get the following earsets:

Houndy ears - where the tips of the ears hang far below the eye line, and the flaps are large(houndy) and sit on the head without any carriage,

Ears that fly half way up,

Uneven ears; one high one low,

Stand-up ears!!!

(The picture above is of Faye, picture below is of Taj. They are both my grooming dogs. I must admit, I wasn't a big fan of the stand-up ears in the beginning, but after getting to know the these two lovely dales, those stand-up ears have really grown on me. I think they add such character!!)

I knew absolutely nothing about ear gluing when we went to pick up Sunshade 12 years ago. Before leaving, Jan glued her ears and told us to take them off after a few weeks. That was exactly what I did, I took them off, and never re-evaluated them. Luckily, her ears turned out perfect. Baby Sunshade did wonderful with her ears being glued, no complaints, no problems at all, so when I went to get Jaffa, I was happy to have his ears glued too. His had to be re-glued a couple of times, but they eventually turned out quite well.

This was Sunshade on the day we picked her up. She was groomed by Jan (or Bonni). Her ears actually had pretty good carriage (not sitting on top of the head), but hung a little low. Anyway, this was taken just before her ears got glued.

Jaffa's ears were glued at 8 weeks as well. However, they went all wonky when I took them off at around 11 weeks (picture below). So they had to be re-glued then for a few more weeks.

Perfect earsets!

If you would like to share your life with a Loc Aire Airedale, please contact:

Bonni Fisler (Mell)
locaireairedales@gmail.com
(360) 452-1099

Trip wif mummy

2012-01-02T01:50:00.000-08:00

Mummy said to Jaffaman, let's go on a short trip trip ok? She said my Sunshade and DD-Guy no no come wif us. I said ok ok!

Me met a big big friend at the water car station, see see, (mum: we were at the ferry terminal in Victoria, BC.)

(mum: Jaffa is 25.5 inches at the wither, plus 2 inches of extra coat, so looking at him, he's about 28 inches at the wither. He could walk under this dane without ducking or bending. I think the dane's owner said he was only about 3 inches shorter than the world's tallest dog, which is also a Great Dane. This guy is just two years old, which is not considered full grown for the breed.)

My friend's name is Tonka!!

Me tried to play play, but me no no know how to play wif him... me hit aire all the time...

(mum: Jaffa and Tonka were trying to play, but every time Jaffa tried to body slam Tonka, he would either completely miss or just fall through between Tonka's front legs. Jaffa was a little bit frustrated and started spinning lol. He gave up on playing soon after.)

Tonka said he play play wif his leash, he's still a baby!! Me used to do that too!

Then the water car stopped and we came to this place,

Me saw weird wittle fings,

Me no no know what wittle fings are... me no no like their smell....

(mum: Thank you Jaffaman for the introduction, but I will be posting for the rest of this post.

I know I know, you're all wondering about THE big question....

And the answer is NO! I'm not getting a third dale.

Can't/won't do that to Sunshade who is 12 and is definitely NOT fond of puppies, especially little black and tan ones! I also can't afford to have a third dog should they all get sick at the same time. I always need to know that I am able to afford to give them the BEST medical care should they all get sick at the same time. The limit is two for me.

SO, you must be wondering what I was doing there. Well, some of you may remember a little over a year ago, I took a beginners/intermediate Reiki class (held by a Taiwanese organization) back in October 2010. The classes were offered free of charge, and I took Sunshade to classes with me. Since then I have completed the Advance set of classes, as well as volunteered for another set of beginners class. Sunshade attended all of those classes with me as well. There were volunteers there that would come and treat Sunshade whenever they had free time. One of the volunteers, Helen, LOVED Sunshade the moment she saw her over a year ago. Helen herself is a pharmacist, her husband is a surgeon, and they've both practiced Reiki for over 15 years. Because Helen liked Sunshade so much, after the first set of classes, she would call me whenever she had time and ask me to bring Sunshade over to her house (15 mins away) for her to treat Sunshade. She treated Sunshade a lot after Sunshade's cancer/dirty margin surgery.

Photos below were taken in December 2010,

Helen then heard about Jaffa, and she started asking me to bring him along whenever Sunshade was going over for treatment. She quickly fell in love with Jaffa too despite the personality difference between the two of them. It was then that Helen told me she had been wanting to get a dog for a long time, but she never knew what breed to get. She had seen many dogs, many breeds, her neighbours all had dogs, and yet nothing really "popped" at her... until she met Sunshade.

So, Helen decided that she wanted an Airedale, and one that came from the same breeder as Sunshade and Jaffa. She didn't want to take any chances since she loved both Sunshade and Jaffa a lot. So, Helen was on the wait list for a pup in August. Unfortunately, the August litter produced only ONE pup, and the pup was kept by the breeder.

Anyways, a litter of seven was born November 6th, 2011 (yes, another November baby!). There were 6 boys and 1 girl. The little girl was going to be Helen's. Helen and her family had planned a short trip during the x-mas/New Years period, so I volunteered to go pick up the pup for her. I had wanted to visit my wonderful breeders, Jan Mell/Bonni Fisler of Loc Aire anyway. Jan was having some health issues, so this was the perfect opportunity for me to visit her and the new litter!!

Since her health issues, Jan has only been pairing up the breeding pairs (pedigree expert!) while her daughter, Bonni whelps and raises the litters at her home with her boys. Bonni was very involved in showing and breeding of their Airedales, so she does a wonderful job raising and evaluating the pups. She owns a home boarding/grooming/training business so is home most of the time.

Due to the ridiculous ferry schedule, by the time I got to Port Angeles, WA, four out of seven pups had already gone home.... I had really hoped to see the entire litter, but the ferry schedule totally messed it up for me! There were only two boys, and the girl left.

Anyway, here are the loveballs!

This is the boy that Bonni will be keeping for show/breeding. He's apparently built very nicely. Of course, to me, they all look so adorably cute!!

This is the smallest boy with the BIGGEST personality. While I was there, he was always the one in the dominant position (ie, paws on top of other pups), and always "doing something". Whenever you hear a puppy scrap, it's always him! He also has the cutest ears ever! Bonni joked and said that it almost looked like a Welsh sneaked in there with the dam, and this was the product LOL. She said he was the only true pet quality (conformation wise) pup from the litter, and yet EVERYBODY wanted to keep him! Her kids named him "Blitzen", very appropriate I thought.

Blitzen will be staying for a couple more weeks until his owner drives from Arizona to come pick him up. He'll be her #4 Loc Aire Airedale, probably one that requires most experience!

Lastly, there was our girl!!

Bonni called her The Princess because she honestly acted like she was too good for her brothers. If her brothers were chewing and wrestling with each other, or piling on top of one another to sleep, she would get up, remove herself from them and go to sleep on the big bed.

I had brought the red collar Helen had got for her, so she was wearing it.

Have you seen anything cuter than this??? (Sunshade: YES, ME!!) (Jaffaman: me too too!)

Bonni's boys were wonderful with the pups,

They helped with socialization right from the start,

When Jaffa was brought in, his reaction to the pups surprised me. I totally expected him to be his goofy-self trying to play, but he was NOT AT ALL excited. In fact, he kept trying to get away from them as if they were something "gross" (like dog poo!). He totally reminded me of Sunshade's reaction towards him when he first came; why he became "STINKY"!

These pups are related to Sunshade/Jaffa, but not as directly as S/J are. Sunshade's dam is Jaffa's grandma, and one of the great grandmas (a half sibling to Jaffa's sire/Sunshade brother) to this litter.

Bonni also had Jaffa's dam, Gwenevire as well as Kate, dam of these pups living with her. We put the pups in one of the rooms, and let the girls out from the other room. The craziness soon begun!

Jaffa was SUPER excited, turned into the usual goofball! I must say, there is a certain way that Jaffa acts around Airedales. Bonni had a couple of very nice Retriever boarders while we were there. Jaffa met them, but instead of being goofy and playful. He stood tall, tail wasn't really wagging, and just generally giving them the big boy look. I have concluded that the breed that Jaffa REALLY loves is the Airedale, and I guess the pups just didn't look very Airedale like to him (yet!).

This is Kate, she's the dam to these pups!

Kate is 4 years old, but acts like a total puppy (very Jaffaman like!). Hard to imagine she's a mom! According to Bonni, she was great with the pups until they got teeth, then she didn't want to have anything to do with them!

Kate actually came from the litter we visited back in 2007. She is one of the female pups, probably the best built one.

This is her sire, Koby (Ch. Loc Aire's Scherzo), winning California Specialty.

Now, this is Jaffa's dam, Gwenevire!! You see where Jaffa's happy go lucky personality came from??

OK, here are a couple of better pictures.

Gwen is almost 10 years old now. She was retired from breeding after Jaffa's litter.

She now enjoys life being spoiled by Bonni and her family!

Mother and son begging team!

Whole family of beggers!! I was also eating a waffle cone but nobody begged with me for some reason.

Another mother and son shot. Note the spotted tongue? It runs in the family! Jaffa has a couple further back in his tongue, and Sunshade has major spotting going on LOL!

After our little snack, Bonni put Kate away so she could bring out our little girl puppy (no name yet). She didn't want the puppy to see her mom and then have to leave mom again.

Gwen was over the moon when she saw the girl pup. According to Bonni, Gwen was a VERY good mom, very maternal and protective to her pups. She's missed having puppies!

I REALLY liked Gwen, she was just so sweet, so happy, so playful, and she really didn't act like a dog that was almost 10!! I also saw a lot of Stella, Jaffa's sister in her. Her coat is faded now from clipping, but when I first saw her back in 2007, she was as dark as Jaffa/Stella.

Crazy puppy face!!

Jaffa seemed more willing to get close to the puppies after seeing the way Gwen was with them. Gwen did snap at Jaffa once when he was bouncing around the pup. She was protecting the girl puppy.

It was getting late, so we said goodbye and headed to our hotel. Due to the ferry schedule, there was no way this trip could have been done in a day. There are only two sails a day. I went to the ferry terminal at 8am for the 10:30am sailing, and it was FULL! I had no choice but to wait for the next, and only other sailing at 4pm.

We started the new diet right away - The BARF diet!

Jaffa had already eaten his portion, and he really wanted puppy girl's. He does respect another dog's eating space and doesn't get too close (trained well by Sunshade lol). When the girl puppy was done with her wings, Jaffa ran over to get them, but as soon as he got close, he made that disgusted face and left. That was EXACTLY what Sunshade did when Jaffa first came! Maybe it's the puppy breath/slobber smell?

Girl puppy loves raw carrots!!

I had help taking a shower,

What an adorable girl.....

I love this picture...

She slept great in her crate over night. Didn't soil her crate and went pee outside like a champ next morning.

NEXT DAY - DECEMBER 31ST, 2011

Next morning, I decided to take girl puppy back to Bonni's house to have her ears glued. Bonni and I had talked about gluing ears the night before. Bonni thought it might be too much for a young puppy to have her ears glued and going to a new environment all at the same time. I have to admit that I agree with her, which was why I left without having her ears glue. However, I kept thinking about it during the night. Yes, I slept for a total of 3 hours, was just too excited! Anyway, I didn't think there was a local breeder within driving distance that I could get to glue ears. I also didn't think they would appreciate that I didn't get a puppy from them. So I decided to just have Bonni glue them. Afterall, both Sunshade and Jaffa's ears were glued when they left at 8 weeks and they did ok (ears turned out perfect).

Last few shots of the cute, un-glued puppy ears,

Girl puppy was NOT happy after her ears were glued. She did not lick us anymore, nor did she look at us. A puppy test was performed on all the pups at 7 weeks of age, and out of the 7, she was the only one that didn't "forgive" on the forgiving test. Bonni said that meant out of the 7, girl puppy was the only one she would not place in a home with children under the age of 5. This is why puppy testing is so helpful to pair up puppies with homes best suited for them. Jan and Bonni almost NEVER get dogs returned to them unless the owner had lost his home and couldn't find a place that would allow dogs. I will touch on the puppy testing in another post. Would be interesting to compare Sunshade/Jaffa/Stella/Girl Puppy's tests.

I headed over to Jan's place afterwards for a short visit. Like I had mentioned before, due to some health issues, Jan doesn't have a lot of strength and stamina to keep up with litters of puppies anymore. She, however, was and still is the mastermind behind these wonderful, beautiful dogs. Her love and dedication for the breed and her line are really shown through the type of dogs she produces.

Jan's husband Rick wanted to keep the singleton puppy from the last litter. Meet Daisy! She's one happy pup!!

She's your usual crazy Airedale pup!

Jan put Daisy in her pen because she was worried she may be too much for girl puppy. Daisy did her PLEEEEEEEASE face.....

We caved of course!

Daisy showing girl puppy her oven,

Daisy says "see, I was a good girl!!"

Unfortunately, due to the ferry schedule, my visit with Jan was cut short..... I hope to be able to visit her again soon!

Poor girl puppy slept like this on the ferry....

No fun having your ears glued to your head I guess...

She woke up and I put down a piece of pee pad on the car deck. She did exactly what she was suppose to do! Such a smart puppy!

Are we home yet??? (Sunshade: OMdoG!!! MY DaleMOBILE! MY bed!!! EWWWWW...)

The big introduction - it went as well as I had imagined....

Sunshade was, of course, less than amused (Sunshade: that's an UNDERSTATEMENT!), but at least I didn't have a flat puppy on my hands.

The goofy uncle wasn't too pleased either.....

Jaffa was SO happy to see his Sunshade, but really wanted to have nothing to do with girl puppy. I made him stay on the bed to take some pictures... otherwise, he would have left.

Raw ground turkey with organs and bones! Since Helen is going to feed girl puppy the same diet as Sunshade/Jaffa's, I thought I would just put her on it. From my experience with Jaffa, I decided to just put her on it instead of the slow switch with half kibble half raw.

She actually sits whenever she wants something! She would come sit beside you if she wanted attention from you. Bonni probably had been working with the pups.

It's hard work eating raw!!

That's about it for now. Girl puppy will stay with me for a few days until Helen and her family gets back. Hopefully by then she will be on a regular bathroom schedule, and well underway to be a healthy BARF pup! She is such a beautiful girl and she follows me everywhere. I'm so happy I live close enough to watch her grow up!

I've said this before when I first posted about Jaffa, and I'm going to say it again. I have so much respect for Jan and Bonni for the 40 years of love and sweat they have put into this line of dogs. They are all so beautiful; so special in their own ways. I am so thankful to share my life with two of their dogs, and have two others (Stella/Girl puppy) close by me. For a while, it looked like the Loc Aire line of Airedales was going to end as Jan just couldn't possibly keep up with the pups anymore. Fortunately, Bonni loves this line just as much and she is just as knowledgeable as her mom, Jan. So with her help, this wonderful line of Airedales will continue!!

I can tell this little girl will be a very smart girl. I see her thinking and using her brain all the time. She didn't like being in the crate, so the treat I left inside the crate with her was not touched. However, after she was let out of the crate 3 hours later (we went out to have lunch), I of course, took her out for a pee first, and as soon as she came in, she ran to the crate, went inside, and took out the treat that I had given her 3 hours ago. She brought it onto one of the dog beds to enjoy. I find that pretty amazing for a puppy this age (I didn't even remember the treat after 3 hours!!!). She also seems more.... developed (not sure if that's the right word) than Sunshade/Jaffa at this age. She is doing stairs no problem (although I do try to get her to use the ramp). She seems to know how to read dog body language already. I mean, Sunshade sends out pretty clear signals and dogs rarely miss them. So when puppy girl reacted appropriately to Sunshade's "looks", I didn't think much of it. Later on, I saw her reading Jaffa's body language as he was eating. She went walking up to him while he was eating, and I saw his ears go back and he went a bit stiff. No noise was made. Girl puppy saw it and backed away immediately. It was actually quite surprising for me to see Jaffa reacting as he had NEVER guarded his food with people or dogs prior to girl puppy's arrival. Dogs can usually go up to him and take food from his bowl without him doing anything. Not the puppies I guess! I didn't correct him because he's such an easy-going, gentle boy, I think it is ok for him to stand up for himself once in a while.

Lastly, I want to leave you with three pictures...

Sunshade at 7.5 weeks old with her ears glued (stupid ferry was going into maintenance for a month, so we picked her up a few days early). She got clipped before leaving because she was SO fluffy due to being sheepcoated,

Jaffa at 8 weeks,

Girl puppy at 8 weeks,

Happy New Year everyone!!
May 2012 bring you health, happiness, love and peace!

My cute cute friend

2011-12-23T01:08:00.000-08:00

Jaffaman and Juice said hi hi to our black cute cute friend,

See see, Sesame and Jaffaman lie on bed bed together,

Juice said Sesame no no fun, he no no want to stay...

Juice is brave brave, he go close to my Sunshade. Jaffaman no no go that close to my Sunshade, she no no like!

I said me play wif Sesame!

Jaffaman good good boy, me gentle wif Sesame, me no no want to hurt him,

My Sunshade cuddle wif Sesame like this,

Jaffaman said me do the same ok ok?

Me careful wif my leggie, see see, me no no want to put heavy leggie on Sesame,

(mum: I don't know how or why but Jaffa too is naturally very gentle with the critters at home. Sometimes he gets excited and hops around them, but he doesn't make contact then. Neither Sunshade nor Jaffa was raised with small animals; they do chase and kill (Sunshade has) critters they find outside, and yet here they are with rabbit/quinea pigs.)

My Sunshade is always watching.....

She watch Jaffaman and Sesame....

Fun fun store!

2011-12-19T00:36:00.000-08:00

Jaffaman and my Sunshade came to a fun fun place on my Sunshade's happy day!! (Sunshade: happy day = MY 12th Birfday!)

My Sunshade said you sniff everywhere ok ok?

I said ok ok, me follow what you do. See see, me using my nosie too! (mum: the way Jaffa reads and takes hints from Sunshade's body language is just amazing!)

Then my Sunshade said come come here, I said ok Jaffaman coming!!

She said somefing is in there,

See, my Sunshade was rite rite,

Mousie poo poo in there, so mousie in there too??

Mummy said mousie poo poo no good, so we no no sniff them. I said ok ok, but me firsty..... (Sunshade: the genius tried to jump "into" the fish pond....)

(mum: He didn't really tried to jump into the pond per se. Derek asked him to put his paws up by saying "up up", which was his command or jumping up. He couldn't see that there was over the ledge, so he tried to jump all the way up LOL. I think he thought it was just a platform. As soon as he saw water, he pulled out mid-aire and didn't clear the jump thankfully!)

Then we went to see cute cute friends,

I said HI, me is Jaffaman!!

Me like these friends too,

They run run fast on the wheel, Jaffaman run run fast too,

My Sunshade said she want the guinea piggie in there, (Sunshade: but I still didn't get a guinea piggie on MY birfday....)

Jaffaman said me want THIS!!!

Mummy's Happy Day!

2011-11-16T22:14:00.000-08:00

DD-Guy say to Jaffaman, today is mummy's happy day, you make her happy happy ok?

I said ok ok, me is good good boy, me make mummy happy even if I no no happy...

Mummy laugh laugh when she see Jaffaman and my Sunshade. She said smile smile! I said ok ok, but my Sunshade no no want to smile,

Jaffaman and my new friend friend,

(mum: Today was my birthday, and I came home to this surprise after work!! "Airedale" decorations. They actually sat and stayed as I walked in. I was instructed to text before coming home lol! They are such GOOD pups, they put up with anything for me.)

Jaffaman is 1,2,3,4,FIVE years old!!!

2011-11-16T02:05:00.000-08:00

Mummy said today is her happy day because Jaffaman came 1,2,3,4,FIVE years ago!!

Mummy said you be happy happy ok? I said no problemo, Jaffaman always happy!

Me is a good good boy, me got somefing for DD-Guy,

See see,

D-Guy likes to drink black juice in the morning, me got him some! (Sunshade: black juice = coffee...)

(Sunshade: and yes, he is still a full time garbage picker.)

Jaffaman found a stickie in the aire,

Me love love stickies!

My teefies love stickies too, see see,

I roll roll like this wif my stickie,

Jaffaman happy happy!!

DD-Guy said he bored bored, so he did this,

Me said to mummy, what do we do, Jaffaman worry about DD-Guy.... See my worry worry face? (Sunshade: errr... I think I was the worried one?)

Mummy said Jaffaman is brave brave, so me go help D-Guy. I said ok ok, me think think how....

I asked my Sunshade what to do, she is smart smart,

My Sunshade said we get what we want when we sit sit, so she said we SIT-SIT like this! I said ok ok!

But it no no work, DD-Guy still up up.....

My Sunshade said she get what she wants if she yell yell. I said ok ok, you yell yell, Jaffaman no no like to yell,

It still no no work.... so Jaffaman think think more,

Me got a good idea!!!

Wait for Jaffaman ok DD-guy?

DD-Guy almost safe now!!!

Jaffaman is a HEROOOOOOOOO!!! Me saved DD-Guy!!

I said to my Sunshade, we CELEBRATE ok ok?

See, me celebrating!!

(Sunshade: yes, I REALLY wanted to celebrate with you ......)

DD-Guy said fank you fank you for saving my life! He took me to this place, (Sunshade: while the perfect ME was left in the DaleMOBILE.....)

He said we get yummy from here for Jaffaman's happy day,

See see, one for Jaffaman, one for my Sunshade!! (Sunshade: we got PASTAAAAAAS!!!!!)

(Mum: the gluten-free ones were theirs. Sunshade is supposed to be allergic to wheat (but doesn't seem to be anymore?), so I try to give them as little wheat as possible.)

Time to eat eat!!!

But mummy said we got to wait wait.....

She said we take pictures ok ok?

I said ok but hurry hurry ok mummy?

Jaffaman is hungry hungry!

Then my Sunshade look look at my yummy.....

(Mum: it takes a lot of guts to sit next to Miss Crocodale when there's food around, hence the lovely face on Jaffa. Sunshade wasn't doing anything, but the fear still lingered around... LOL!)

Then mummy said OK OK, go eat eat!!

Jaffaman said fank you fank you!

It was yummy yummy,

Then mummy said me and my Sunshade change, see, me got red red one now,

Me love red red noodles!!

My Sunshade eat eat like this, hehe hehe....

Jaffaman ALL DONE!

My Sunshade was nice nice, she help me clean my plate plate,

I said fank you, but it's ok ok, Jaffaman clean my own plate ok ok?

Watch Jaffaman and my Sunshade eat eat!! (Sunshade: we waited for SOOOO long that we couldn't believe it when we were ACTUALLY released to EAT....)

Happy birfday to my sister Stellie!!! (Sunshade: that's STINKY #2)

Happy birfday to my brother Winston!!

(mum: Winston on the left, he lives with a Welsh. According to the owner, Winston is very laid back, easy going, and happy go lucky. Very much like Jaffa. The Welsh runs the show at home.)

Happy Birfday to my brother Watson.... in heaven....

(mum: Watson passed away last year due to a vet's incompetence after a simple, routine surgical procedure. His family is devastated and misses him a lot. They said he was an AWESOME dog, the BEST. Their description of Watson sounded very similar to that of Jaffa and Winston. Rest in peace little man....)

Happy Birfday to my wittlest brother Rusty!!!

(mum: Rusty is the Navigator for his dad's whale watching boat. He has a sheepcoat like Sunshade! We were fortunate enough to be invited to go whale watching with them back when the boys were just one year old.)

(mum: there were 4 boys and 3 girls in Jaffa's litter. I have been able to connect with owners of all of the boys. Not so much luck with the girls other than Princess Stella who lives nearby.)

Me is SUPERSTAR!!

2011-11-04T00:36:00.000-07:00

Mummy said Jaffaman has a lot lot of energy. So me do this now wif a nice guy,

Me good good at it!!

(Mum: Now that Sunshade is almost 12, our walks are a lot slower. Jaffa needs more exercise than the slow walks we go on with Sunshade. At the same time, Sunshade can't keep up with Jaffa's speed. So on top of his regular walks, I've gotten Mike from Leader Of The Pack dog walking services to bike him three times a week for 1.5 hrs to 2 hours at a time.

I do not trust people easily with my dogs. I first met Mike about two years ago while I was walking Jaffa. Jaffa was acting like a big goof pulling me, spinning around, barking excitedly when he saw Mike rode by with 2 dogs along side his bike. Mike stopped, and came over. He handed me his business card, and told me - a good dog does not walk like that on leash. I can't remember what I said to him exactly, but I remember I was feeling a bit offended because I was naturally protective of my dogs. He told me then that he had two Airedales before, how much he loved them, and how wonderful he thought the breed was. I remember thinking yeah right, you just want my business! Needless to say, I threw the business card away.

A few months passed by and I saw him again near another park while I was walking Sunshade (only) with me. He again rode by with dogs along his side. Sunshade was off-leash, and I told her to "leave them" and she ignored the dogs. Mike saw it, and he again stopped his bike to come over to talk to me. This time, he said - I see you've done a lot of work with your dog. Good for you! With our last encounter still fresh in my mind, I thanked him but didn't bother to tell him that this was not the same dog as the one he met last time.

We continued to run into each other in various spots in the Westend over the next 18 months. Rain or shine, he would be out there biking the dogs, one group after another. I've watched him stop to let the dogs have a break, corrected dogs that were acting up, talked to people who were intrigued with what he was doing. He did finally see me with BOTH Sunshade and Jaffa, and the light bulb went on LOL!

Anyways, fast forward, couple weeks ago, I finally decided to let Jaffa have a tryout with Mike. I knew Jaffa was in good hands as I'd witnessed how well Mike is able to achieve calm energy amongst the pack, but I was still a little worried... (Sunshade: a little mum??? You AMBUSHED Mike on his route!!)

Ok, so maybe I have trust issues when it comes to Sunshade and Jaffa....!

Anyway, yes, since I knew Mike's route quite well from having ran into him numerous times, I decided to *ahem* wait for him on route. He had picked Jaffa up first, and I knew he was going to pick up other dogs before starting his route. So I sort of umm... waited for him? So I could take pictures! Yea that's it!

The point is, I was very happy with what I saw. Jaffa was doing GREAT, and obviously loving the bike run. Mike told me after the first week that Jaffa was becoming one of his "superstars" of all times because of his bubbly personality and athleticism. He said Jaffa was probably the best all around Airedale he's ever met. He liked Jaffa so much that he told me he would ride him for free because that was how much he enjoyed having him. Of course I couldn't take advantage of his kind heart so I do pay him, but at a much discounted rate per his insistence. He bikes dogs from 8am to 6pm, with a two hour lunch break in between.

Another reason I wanted to have Mike bike Jaffa was because Jaffa boy can become overly excited when he meets a dog while he's on leash. So I wanted him to be in close range with other dogs while remain controlled and calm. Biking as a pack, with a pack leader achieves that.

If you look at the picture below, Mike had stopped to talk to me, and Jaffa just stood around, not doing anything to the other dogs. Normally, he would be doing play bows, spinning, and basically just in your face if he were to meet dogs while on leash.

Jaffa is the only dog that wears a halter because he has a tendency to want to run faster than the bike! Mike said he was still high stepping even after a 2 hour bike ride, that's how great this boy's stamina is! Often times, Mike would bike Jaffa for more than the quoted time if he felt Jaffa still had a lot of energy after 2 hours.)

Watch Jaffaman the SUPERSTAR! (Mum: this video was taken after about an hour of biking already.)

When me get home, I said nite nite, Jaffaman rest here ok ok?

Sometimes, I wake up to go pee pee, see see, like this, (Sunshade: omg, you STINK up MY yard and you PEE on MY balls!!!!! That's Juice's pen btw.)

Then me go back to the same spot, and say nite nite mummy, nite nite Sunshade...

Another M&M !

2011-11-03T02:43:00.000-07:00

Jaffaman and my Sunshade have good good friends M&M, (Sunshade: Maggie & Mitch, my bestest friends!)

Today, mummy bring another M&M to see Jaffaman, see see,

My new friend friend Marley and Monty!

Me like gurrrlies, see see, Jaffaman and pretty Marley, (Sunshade: You like boys just as much btw.)

This is Monty, me like him too,

We wait wait for yummies, see see,

Look, Monty wants to eat eat!!

Then mummy said she got to cut cut haire, Marley said she go first!

See see, pretty Marley look weird now....

(Mum: these were Squaire Dog Grooming dales. I had just done the rough clip here before bathing.)

Break break for Marley. Monty's turn turn on the table now,

Then Monty take a break break too, and Jaffaman say we play play ok?? (Mum: This was a play break before the bath!)

(Mum: the one mounting was actually the girl Marley! It was just dominance. The male, Monty was very mellow, and nervous at times. He's Jaffa's age, the female is about 7-8.)

Pretty Marley all done done!! She say am I pretty pretty?

Handsome Monty all done done too,

M&M all done done!!

(Mum: there are more pictures on the Squaire Dog Grooming Facebook Page.)

Happy Monkey Day!

2011-11-01T02:31:00.000-07:00

Mummy said today is Happy Monkey day, so me look like a monkey! (Sunshade: it's Howl-loween..)

My Sunshade was a piggy, see see,

(Sunshade: I was NOT a pig. I just had a pig on my back!)

Monkey Jaffaman and Piggy Sunshade,

And then me run run like this,

And me no no know what happened, but everyfing turn black black...

Jaffaman brave brave, me no no scared,

Me used my nosie and found mummy,

I said to mummy, Jaffaman needs glasses so me can see ok ok?

Good good mummy said me no no need glasses, and she's RIGHT!! Jaffaman can see now!

Hope all my friends had a Happy Monkey Day like Jaffaman and my Sunshade did!!

See see more piggie Sunshade here ok ok?

Me love Auntie Lydia

2011-08-01T13:53:00.000-07:00

A nice lady came to see Jaffaman today. I no no know her, but I love love love her!!!

My Sunshade said she no no know who the nice lady is, so she no no want to say hi....

(mum: polar opposites here. One is aloof until proven worthy (in her mind), the other is just oozing with love to anyone and everyone!)

Mummy said the nice lady is Auntie Lydia. She got a doggie that look handsome handsome like Jaffaman, his name is Daveman,

Nice Auntie Lydia got me fing fings. Mummy said this bag is for Jaffaman, but me no no see my name on it?

My Sunshade said the baggie is for her, see see,

She took yummy fing fing out, and she no no let Jaffaman see it,

Good good mummy said Sunshade bad bad. She took yummy bag away from my Sunshade.

Nice Auntie Lydia said one kookie for piggie Sunshade, one kookie for handsome Jaffaman,

My Sunshade said she want more, and no more for Jaffaman. I said ok ok, me no piggie!

Good good mummy and Auntie Lydia said we go outside and Jaffaman get more ok ok? I said ok, me be good boy!

Yummy yummy, fank you fank you!!

Me said to Auntie Lydia, fank you fank you for making yummy kookies for Jaffaman (Sunshade: they were for ME!), me love love you!!

I said to Auntie Lydia, me sit sit on you ok?

But mummy use scawie voice and said Jaffaman OFFFFFF....... (mum: he thinks he's a 68 lb lap dog!)

Then everybuddy eat eat lunch. After we eat eat, Jaffaman said can I play wif my fing fings mummy? Mummy said yes yes!

See see, me got a new red ball ball and flying fings! (Sunshade: flying fings = Frisbees)

You throw ball ball mummy, me is ready!

Jaffaman good at playing ball ball,

See see,

Mummy said you ready ready for the flying fing? I said but me no no know how to play it...

Jaffaman said I pull pull wif D-Guy ok? But DD-Guy got mad mad at me... he said me breaking flying fing.....

Then mummy said learn from my friend Daveman, see see, this is what Daveman do wif flying fings,

I said ok ok, me can do that no problemo!

Daveman walk like this,

Jaffaman walk like this too!

Super Dave fly fly like this after flying fing, see see,

Jaffaman said WOWIE!! Me try try too!

Me hope me get as good good at playing flying fing as good as Daveman!!

Mummy said Daveman sleeps wif toy in his mouf like this,

I said ME TOOOOOO!!! (Sunshade: he needs a pacifier to fall asleep.....)

Jaffaman said ok ok, me no no want to play anymore, me want some kookies ok ok?

My Sunshade is nice nice, she said she go get get for Jaffaman, see see,

She got got the kookies, see see!!

I said fank you fank you Sunshade, you come out now ok?

I said to mummy, you open door for my Sunshade ok? She got kookies for Jaffaman!

Mummy said ok ok!

My Sunshade was nice nice, she said she bring kookies down the ramp for me, so me no no cawwy heavy fings. I said fank you fank you Sunshade!

My nice Sunshade said she open plastic baggie for me so me no no eat the plastic,

Then my Sunshade said she try try kookies to make sure we no no get tummy ache. I said ok ok, I love my Sunshade, she so brave brave!!

Then my Sunshade yelled her tummy hurt hurt!!!!!

She said the kookies were bad bad, so Jaffaman no no eat them, so me no no get tummy ache too.

I said ok ok, me no no want to get tummy ache..... Me worry about my brave Sunshade... I said your tummy hurt a lot a lot Sunshade?

See see, my brave Sunshade protect me from bad bad kookies!!

(Sunshade: it's so annoying when he just stares at me or at what I want!!! ARGHHH!)

Then me no no why, but mummy said Jaffaman eat eat bad kookie..... She said no no listen to my Sunshade.... I said ok ok, but me scawered to get tummy ache....

But me no no get tummy ache after!!! Jaffaman is lucky boy!

Jaffaman looked over at my Sunshade, (mum: I just finished stripping him the day before, so he's bald in certain areas. He'll look gorgeous in about 2 weeks time once the dark wire haire comes in. Right now all he has is a thin layer of lighter coloured undercoat.)

And me see my poor Sunshade lying there because her big big tummy hurt..... She saved Jaffaman from many many bad kookies. My brave brave Sunshade. Me love love my Sunshade!!

You can see more of my brave brave Sunshade on her bloggie ok?

(mum: I don't think I need to explain anything here.... let's just say the cookies were perfectly fine. The only thing they were guilty of was perhaps being a little too delicious. Thank you Lydia!!)

Two J's

2011-06-26T19:50:00.000-07:00

Jaffaman sleep in my eating cage yesterday because mummy said no eating Juicy Juice.....

(mum: The x-pen we have set up was from way back when he ate the Advils. Now he just goes in to eat because he has a tendency to wonder off to play if you don't keep him in one spot. Not a good eater.)

Good good mummy let me out, and I said me go see Juicy Juice ok ok?

But me no no see Juicy Juice.....

Mummy said my Sunshade got Juicy Juice outside,

She guard guard him, see see,

Me want to see Juicy Juice toooooooo!! Mummy made me sit and wait wait, Jaffaman good boy, me listened,

Then mummy said OK, GOOOOO!

So Jaffaman run to see Juicy Juice, and then me no no know what happened but my Sunshade jump jump on top of me and her big mouf was on my neckie and head head and she yell loud loud...... Then she did it again when me got up to see Juicy Juice.....

I said to my Sunshade - okay okay, me no no think Juice is Juicy ok? Me just want to be friends and play.

My Sunshade said ok ok, and she let me be friend friend with Juice!!

(mum: This part is just a copy and paste from Sunshade's blog, feel free to skip it.

it was very interesting to watch this whole thing with Juice unfold. The previous night when we first brought Juice home, I wasn't really sure what to expect from Jaffa. Since he had only spent a very brief time with our late rabbit when he was about 10 weeks old, I wasn't sure if that meant he was socialized with rabbits. So he slept in the x-pen last night. This morning, I decided to have the rabbit in an x-pen out in the yard and let Jaffa "free". I wanted to see what his body language was around the rabbit, so I could get a better idea.

Sunshade watched as Jaffa approached the pen in top speed, but in a stalking motion. Tail hanging half way, head low, eyes focused, mouth closed. I thought to myself ah-oh, I think he might want to kill...... As I was thinking that, out of no where, Sunshade went up to Jaffa and grabbed him by the scuff and pinned him. He cowarded, and she let him go. He got up but proceeded to do the same stalking motion again while circling the pen. Sunshade saw it, and right away got on his back and pinned him down again. I think Sunshade perceived his actions as being threatening too.

After that, Jaffa's body language totally changed. His tail went up, not held in a stiff position, and whenever he sniffed Juice, his tail would wag. His mouth was now open, he panted like a normal dog. The times that Juice went right up against the x-pen, Jaffa gave him a few licks. After a while, Jaffa laid down (in a more submissive position) beside the pen. I knew then there was no kill in Jaffa. Funny enough, the moment I could tell that Jaffa was just "excited" but did not want to harm Juice in anyway, was the moment that Sunshade took her eyes off Jaffa and did not care anymore what he was doing to Juice.

I find it very interesting to watch how Jaffa learned from his mistakes, how Sunshade read his body language the way I had interpreted and acted accordingly. If I had walked Jaffa to the pen in a controlled manner (which we are doing now), Sunshade would not have pinned him. She felt she needed to control him because I wasn't doing a good job being an alpha, and did not have him under control. The reason I let Jaffa approach the rabbit however he wanted do was because I really wanted to get a good read on what his intentions were towards Juice. Can't get a true reading (IMO) if I tried to have him controlled. Now that I know he doesn't want to harm Juice, we are working on the initial excitement when he first sees Juice in the yard. Everything is so much easier when you know you they are not in it to kill :-)

Jaffaman and my new friend, Juice,

We are 1,2 J's!!

I told my Sunshade she rest rest, me guard guard. She said ok.

See, Jaffaman guarding Juice,

Then Juice came back home,

Jaffaman and my Sunshade came home too, see see,

Juice like corn pops,

My Sunshade's Georgie like corn pops too!!

(Sunshade: MY Georgie was so much cuter and friendlier. He never yanked the corn pops out of mum's hand like mean Juice does!)

Me no no care, me like Juice the way he is,

Me watch him clean clean himself,

And me no no want to leave his side,

See see, me just sit by Juice,

Because Jaffaman and Juicyman are friend friends!!

(Sunshade: as always, you can read my version on my SuperBLOG!)

Me want to SEEEEEEE

2011-06-22T01:19:00.000-07:00

Mummy got somefing today, but she no no let Jaffaman see,

My Sunshade got to see see, (Sunshade: you can read the details on my bloggy.)

Mummy said she no no know if Jaffaman is good good wif big ear friend, but she said my Sunshade is good good with big ear friend, see, this was Georgie and my Sunshade,

But I said look, Jaffaman good good wif Georgie too!!

(Sunshade: That was when STINKY was 11 weeks old. Mum sneaked him down to see MY Georgie, because she knew I wouldn't allow it. After that, STINKY was landsharking a lot, and whenever he got near MY Georgie, I would *ahem* eat him = STINKY. So he was forever banned from meeting MY Georgie!)

See see, Jaffaman just want to see see okay?

And then my Sunshade eat eat me.....

(mum: Sunshade was reading Jaffa, and all that excitement or unbalanced energy wasn't OK with her even though she really didn't care much for the rabbit. So she pinned him a couple of times to get him to settle. It was getting late so I kept them separated until I could get a better idea at Jaffa's intention in the morning.

To Be Continued....... Don't worry, rabbit is alive.)

I got cool fing and I make white white fings!!

2011-06-14T11:57:00.000-07:00

My pretty wittle friend Lola (not my Wifey), and her mommy said handsome Jaffaman wear a handsome banana ok ok?

(Sunshade: banana = bandanna. Our Facebook friends sent us pressies, you can read more and see my pressie on my SuperBLOG!!)

See see, it has my name on it!

They put a picture of handsome Jaffaman on it, see see,

(Sunshade: that is an embroidered image of a REGAL looking Airedale, emphasizing on REGALLLLLL!!)

Jaffaman is regal regal too, see see, (Sunshade: you obviously don't know what regal means....)

More regal regal!!!

(Sunshade: They should put a new definition in the dictionary for the word regal - opposite of a Jaffa is regal.)

Then mummy had to go groom groom today, so Jaffaman went to play wif my friend Simba,

Simba love ball ball, so me love love ball ball too!!

(Sunshade: The ONLY time STINKY really cares about tennis balls is when he is with Simba as Simba's #1 priority in life is tennis balls, being a Golden Retriever X Poodle. So whenever STINKY is with him, STINKY becomes a reliable retriever that he never once was. STNKY would also carry the tennis ball with him wherever he goes.

Not to mention, he gnaws on it until it becomes disgustingly FOAMMMMMMMY!!! Of course, his tennis ball obsession lasts only as long as he's with Simba.)

(mum: I think Jaffa becomes a tennis ball manic when he's with Simba because there is competition. Something somebody else wants and loves, so he must have it too. So typical of an Airedale!)

Watch cool Jaffaman jump jump ok???

My nosie hit the ball ball and it flew far far away, see,

(Sunshade: this is his Just-Got-Punch-In-The-Face, face!!)

Simba said to Jaffaman, wow wow, how do you fly fly like that???

I said me show you ok ok?

Simba said he no no try, because its too hard hard, but he wait wait to steal it from Jaffaman....

I said NO WAY Simba, me me is MUFASAAAAA!!! See my big mouf??

(Sunshade: err... what does the Simba's dad, Mufasa, from the Lion King have anything to do with this you weirdo? (mum: Sunshade, it's his blog, he can write whatever he wants.) And look at your disgusting foamy/slobber!!!! OmdoG, how is it possible that I am even remotely related to him, not to mention, closely related?)

See me make magic white string? The white white string hold the ball ball up in aire from the floooooor!

(mum: we caught the ball bouncing, or at least trying to with all that extra coating on LOL! He never foams up at home either, only at Simba's house when he's THAT into tennis balls.)

More white white fings made in Jaffaland!

ps. me miss miss you Wifey Lola..... my haire long long now cause nobuddy bite bite them off like you did.... me want you to bite bite my ears, my leggies, my bellie, and my tail again!!!

New friends Jayce & Jensen

2011-05-27T23:45:00.000-07:00

Mummy said to Jaffaman, do you want more new friends?? I said me no no want wittle new friends, but big big new friends are good good!

See see, my new friends Jayce and Jensen!

(mum: Jayce and Jensen are new Squaire Dog clients. They are 5 & 6 years old Airedales.)

Jayce & Jaffaman!

(mum: don't let this picture fool you, but Jayce on the left is a whooping 100+ lb Airedale! Jaffa on the right is 70 lbs, with a lot of hair right now.)

I said fank you fank you mummy for new friends! Me is happy happy!

Mummy gave Jayce a chicken treat treat, I said its ok ok, Jaffaman is good at sharing,

Jayce want my rawhide ball ball, I said ok ok you can play wif it too!

Mummy gave Jensen chicken treat treat too, but Jensen saw scawie camera, she no no want chicken treat anymore.....

(mum: Jensen was very camera shy. She would be sitting there happily begging for the chicken jerky, but as soon as the camera came in sight, she bolted. Same thing with the phone too! Silly girl!)

Mummy think think how to get BIG Jayce on table, me help mummy think too,

Jayce is up up, and mummy back no no break!!

(mum: it was quite a work out getting all that 100 lb of dale up onto the table!! Don't ask me how I did it because I don't remember. Rush of adrenaline perhaps? Because I love grooming that much... LOL!)

Jayce watch me and Jensen run run around the table,

Me said said to Jayce, you no no come down, we play play later ok?

Jayce good good, see, mummy cut cut his haire,

Good boy get treat treats, Jaffaman and Jensen got treat treats too!

Break break time for Jayce,

1,2,3 J's play played together!

Jayce and Jaffaman happy, see see,

Jensen's turn on the table,

Pretty Jensen all pretty, see see,

Jayce before mummy cut cut his haire,

Handsome Jayce after mummy cut cut his haire,

(mum: they were shaved by their last groomer, so it's going to take some time for the leg furnishings to come back.)

They wait wait for their mommy to come,

Mummy said who wants treat treat? Me me and Jayce said we dooooo! But Jensen no no want any wif the scawie camera.....

Jayce said he sleep sleep until his mommy come ok?

More friends!!

2011-05-01T14:27:00.000-07:00

Mummy, my Sunshade and DD-Guy went to fun fun place, but me no no go..... But nice mummy came home and said lets go see friends Jaffaman!!

We no no got lots of pictures because mummy need bof hands to hold strong Jaffaman. (Sunshade: you can see more pictures on my SuperBLOG!!)

See see, Jaffaman and my new friend Murphy, he is a wittle bit older than me,

(Sunshade: Murphy is so un-stinky-like if you know what I mean. Hope you learned something from him.)

Mummy talk a lot wif Murphy's mom and Jill's mom. Jill's mom said Jaffaman is very good good looking.

(mum: Maureen Scott and Margaret Glass were there representing AireCanada Rescue. Maureen is the rescue coordinator for western Canada. She has done an excellent job with all the rescue Airedales in need of new homes. Margaret Glass is a retired Airedale breeder. I first met her 8-9 years ago at a dog show. She knows of the nice breedings done by Sunshade/Jaffa's breeder, but it was her first time seeing her dogs in person. She couldn't stop saying all the nice things about Jaffa!! Maureen likes Sunshade a lot and have seen her from time to time over the years. She first met Sunshade 10 years ago, where Sunshade made a very strong impression by doing a perfect sit-stay at the curb at the age of a year old. It was Maureen's first time meeting Jaffa, and she too couldn't stop admiring the handsome goofball.)

This is Jill, Murphy, and Jaffaman. Jill is 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11 years old, Murphy is 1-2-3-4-5 years old,

(mum: can you believe it? He did a Sit-Stay instead of taking off to play with all the dogs!!)

It's ok, me no no need new friend....

2011-04-13T22:55:00.001-07:00

Look, Jaffaman and mini Jaffaman!!

Mummy said she got a new friend for Jaffaman to play today, his name is Atticus.

(mum: Atticus is a new Squaire Dog client, and the first Welsh Terrier officially groomed at Squaire Dog. He is only 10 months old.)

Mummy said we cute cute together,

See, Atticus look cute cute here right?

But Jaffaman say.... he is NO NO CUTE!!!

(Sunshade: OMdoG, I can't believe you let that happen to you, and on the grooming table too!! This would never happen if I were there!)

Me like like Atticus a lot in the beginning, but he ride ride me lots, and then Jaffaman say fank you mummy, but me no no need new friend ok?

(Sunshade: okay... for the first time.... I actually feel bad for you STINKY! I would have helped you if I were there, and I'm sure he would have stopped after just ONE lesson from me.)

(mum: Jaffa literally came and hid between my legs, looking for help towards the end. He's way too gentle for Atticus to take him seriously.

Grooming Atticus was quite an eye opener for me. It showed me just how much spunk and determination you could pack into one little body! If he didn't like something I was doing, he made sure he let me know LOL. Take that dryer scene for example, all of the Airedales I have ever used the dryer on have always given me that sad, pleading look. They usually back up to a corner with their tails down (not curl under) and basically just puts up with it without a complaint. I also use the lowest setting with most of the Airedales as I just can't stand seeing those sad faces.. Mr. Atticus on the other hand had his tail way up in the aire and was biting and attacking the dryer at high setting. Every once in a while, if he's had enough, he would make a run at me in an attempt to get me to stop!! I also caught him mid aire a few times while he flew out of the bathtub repeatedly. The entire bathroom was quite flooded upon completion of the bath.

I had expected the grooming time for a Welsh would be considerably less than that of an Airedale. However, I soon realize it was not going to be the case once the grooming process started. It actually took me longer to groom Atticus than an average Airedale, LOTS of bribery were needed to complete the job. Talk about a sense of accomplishment, now I feel like an expert animal wrangler!!! I love challenges, and I look forward to the next one!)

Atticus all finished!

Jaffaman said to mummy, you take lots pictures ok? And no no put him down on the ground ok??

Good good mummy said ok, she take more pictures!

More please!! Fank you fank you mummy!

Peeple say Atticus look handsome. My hair grow long long now, so me no no look handsome now... But mummy say Jaffaman always handsome! See see, I was handsome 1,2 monf ago!

(mum: pictures taken on 02-03-11, last time he was stripped.)

White White Day!

2011-03-15T10:19:00.000-07:00

We got lots of white white cold fings on the ground today!! (Sunshade: "white white fings" = snow .....)

See white white fings on Jaffaman's face??

Mummy said lets go to her old obedience school to to play play ok? (mum: yes... University of British Columbia was my advance obedience school LOL. This was at the UBC Golf Course.)

I said OK OK, but me no no want to have line line, me want to be like my Sunshade ok? (Sunshade: "line line" = leash)

Good mummy took my line line off! Jaffaman happy happy,

And fast fast!!!

Mummy said she want to play wif me too! See see my Sunshade, she yell yell and said NO NO PLAY WIF JAFFAMAN!! (Sunshade: I said "STINKY")

Then mummy said we rest rest and take pictures. But me no no want to rest, me want to play play, see,

But my Sunshade no no want to play wif Jaffaman... (mum: Sunshade, of course, was totally oblivious to his many play bows. Actually, she was just oblivious of "him" period LOL..)

Maybe DD-Guy want to play play?

Good good D-Guy said ok, lets catch white white fings!! I said ok, me READY READY!

Jaffaman jump very very high, see see,

DD-Guy got another big white fing for me and my Sunshade,

We READY READY!

We SET SET!

We GOOOOOO!!! Jaffaman got it!!!

(Sunshade: He BROKE MY NECK!!!)

Then my Sunshade got pine cones off a tree tree, and me took those pine cones, and .... and.... me love love my Sunshade!!!

(Sunshade: I don't know if that's "love", and even if it is, its very one-sided. I was lying there with the ONE pine cone that wasn't destroyed by the stoopid, and he just wouldn't leave me alone. How is it that world's most ANNOYING stoopid lives with The Perfect ME???)

Mummy said ok enough enough, picture time. Good good Jaffaman and my Sunshade!

Handsome Jaffaman, me love love YOU!!

Then me no no what happened, mummy die-died.... My Sunshade worry worry, see see,

But DD-Guy said you no no worry Jaffaman, so I said ok ok, me no no worry! by-by!

(Sunshade: It just shows.... I'm the only one mum can count on because I'm forever her best gurrrrrrl! You can read my version of the adventure on my blog!)

I luv my Sunshade, my Sunshade luv me!!

2011-02-15T17:07:00.000-08:00

Jaffaman and my Sunshade luv luv each other, see see, (Sunshade: obviously, he doesn't read body language and emotions very well.)

(mum: Jaffa is stronger than Sunshade now. He can easily take over the top dog status, or retaliate if he wanted to. While I have seen him stand up for himself against other mature dogs, he still has yet to try to elevate his status with Sunshade. In fact, he loves her so much that any chance he gets, he still tries so desperately to get any kind of affection from Sunshade in return.)

D-Guy say lets go to the U-S-A!!

2011-01-03T09:55:00.000-08:00

Nice D-Guy said lets go to a nice place in the U-S-A ok?

I said ok ok, but what nice place?

THIS nice place!!!!

It has yummy bowl bowls just for Jaffaman and my Sunshade, see see,

Nice place has bed beds too for me and my Sunshade,

(mum: Derek's X-mas present to us were a trip down to Seattle for the New Years. He had booked a hotel that catered to dog guests especially. They even had complementary daily walks if you choose to!! I'm a worry wart, so we did all the walks ourselves.)

Mummy and DD-Guy hungry, so they got yummies. Jaffaman and my Sunshade hungry hungry too..... My Sunshade talk talk a lot and she hit hit the table and D-Guy's leggie with her big paw paw. Jaffaman no no talk, me just watch,

(mum: Sunshade is still being effected by Cushings unfortunately, so food still brightens her day like no other... LOL. Jaffa isn't a food hound, its actually hard to get him to eat. So he doesn't really care much during meal time. He just wants to be where the crowd is!)

Mummy and D-Guy no no hungry anymore, and D-Guy said he go play play wif his toy ok ok? I said can Jaffaman play too???

My Sunshade and I got KOOKIES from nice place!!

Jaffaman got to eat 1,2 KOOKIES cause mummy no no let my Sunshade eat hers,

(mum: Sunshade has wheat allergies, so Jaffa scored both!)

Jaffaman ate all my KOOKIES (Sunshade: after 28 minutes, he finally finished.) and came to this place. Mummy said lots of friend friends live here,

Jaffaman happy to see more friend friends!!

Me walk DD-Guy and my Sunshade to look for new friends,

Jaffaman ready for my new friend friends!! (Sunshade: they should have an exhibit at the Zoo just for you!)

But mummy said new friends might eat eat Jaffaman... so I said ok ok, me no no want to see new friends.

Mummy said we go to a park ok?

DD-Guy say come come Jaffaman, play play with Sunshade's stickie! I said no no fanks, me play with my own stickie ok? Me no no want my Sunshade to get mad mad,

But D-Guy said no no you come and take it!! So me listen and try try....

My Sunshade gave me scawie look, so I said ok ok, me get my own stickie ok? (Sunshade: D-Guy was forcing us to play..... geezus!)

Me got a stickie, my Sunshade got a stickie too, we bof happy happy. Me want to lie lie next to my Sunshade, see see,

(mum: Sunshade had taken her stick and moved away from Derek and Jaffa. But Jaffa just wanted to be close to his Sunshade, so he followed her. He laid down next to her, close enough to feel like he was close to her, while far enough to give her the space she liked having.)

We walk to see more of the park park,

Me found a BIG cone cone. I hit it with my strong paw paw!!

Mummy and my Sunshade sit sit, so me and DD-Guy went to do boy fings, see see,

D-Guy said you jump jump on there brave Jaffaman ok ok? I said no fanks, it moves, D-Guy try try. He no no brave either, so he no no try it....

D-Guy found no no move fing and said Jaffaman come up ok? I said ok let me try first ok?

See see, brave Jaffaman up here. Me could see everyfing!!!

My Sunshade went to guarding place too, she looked at me and DD-Guy from far far away. She said we are trubble trubble....

Me saw funny looking square fings, see see,

They all got funny doggies on them. One got cut into free pieces!! (Sunshade: "three" pieces, and its because it's a Dachshund!)

I saw my Sunshade play wif mummy at the slide. See, she catch pine cones!

I said me want to play too ok ok? But my Sunshade no no want to play wif me.... she took her pine cone cone away....

(mum: as soon as Jaffa showed up, Sunshade decided the game was ending!)

My Sunshade walked up the fun fun fing, so I said me do do it too!! See see, brave Jaffaman and my Sunshade!!

Then DD-Guy said he got sexy frozen face, so he no no want to stay out anymore,

I said ok ok, lets go back to nice place to get warm warm ok D-Guy?

HAPPY NEW NEW YEAR!!!

2011-01-01T03:31:00.000-08:00

Jaffaman say say HAPPY NEW YEAR to my wifey Lola (me miss u...), and all my girliefriends and friends!!

We saw bright bright sky,

And loud loud lights.....

Me no no like loud loud lights... so me stayed next to mummy so loud loud lights won't come down to hurt Jaffaman....

Wishing good good fings happen to my friends in the New Year, and no more loud loud lights!!!

Jaffaman will write more later ok ok?

Pretty Faye Faye

2010-12-25T19:21:00.000-08:00

Mummy took me and my pretty girliefriend Faye Faye for a walkie on Kissmas Day!! We no no got pictures cause mummy said her hand hands got tangled a lot....

Then mummy took us to this place, (Sunshade: That's D-Guy's apartment, being used as grooming room!)

Mummy said Jaffaman and Faye Faye got too much haire, so she take haire off.

Faye no no happy on the table... but she was good good, she listened to mummy,

She said she want to sleep, see see. My funny girliefriend!

Faye wait wait patiently for mummy to get cut cut fings ready, (Sunshade: cut cut fings = clippers....)

Good good Jaffaman stayed wif my girliefriend,

Me love love to be wif pretty girlies... hehe...

(Sunshade: actually, he just likes to be with any dog. You don't really have a choice to get away from him anyway.)

Faye's body got cut short short, Jaffaman still got long long haire, see see,

Then Faye Faye alllllll done!

Her pretty pretty face, see see,

Faye is happy mummy's done done!!

Jaffaman and my pretty girliefriend!!

Mummy no no groom Jaffaman today because DD-Guy said he pull pull my hair like a boy!

(mum: Derek told me he wanted to "groom" Jaffa, so I've been telling him "ok you can strip the black part for now". If you look at the pictures carefully, Jaffa is missing quite a bit of coat on his jacket from Derek's grooming LOL!)

Merry Kissmas from Jaffaman

2010-12-25T01:01:00.000-08:00

To my nice friends!!!!

Mummy put funny fing on Jaffaman, see see,

(mum: okay, I know, he really needs to be groomed!!! I strip him soon so you can see his lovely eyes.)

Mummy did the same to my Sunshade, see see,

Then mummy said good good boy Jaffa, go sit beside Sunshade ok ok? I said umm.... no no ok mummy??

(Sunshade: My SuperPOWER!!! I don't even have to do anything and he KNOWS to respect my pawsonal space!)

I said ok ok, Jaffaman sit sit like this ok mummy?

(mum: Jaffa has been taught at an early age that Sunshade does NOT like to have her personal space invaded (by dogs). So he respects that boundary. Here he was trying to obey me by sitting and staying, but at the same time not get in Sunshade's space. I made it a bit more scary for him I guess by waving treats in one hand. Sunshade has a tendency to get quite possessive around food (with dogs).)

Mummy move my bum bum closer and closer to my Sunshade's bum bum..... me was a wittle worried...

Mummy said no no worry Jaffaman, Sunshade only want food food, she no no see you! I said WHEWWWW....

My Sunshade sing sing for mummy, but me no no know how to sing....

But I learn from my Sunshade. See, Jaffaman sing sing too!

Mummy said we sing sing good, so Santa bring us lots of foodies!!!

My Sunshade is happy about yummies,

Then my Sunshade lie down down on me, (Sunshade: see his constipated face??)

I got wittle bit scawed.....

I no no want to move. If Jaffaman move move and touch my Sunshade, she get mad mad....

Mummy said said no no get scawed, and she gave me yummies.... but me no no want to move to get yummies.... My Sunshade said she get yummies for Jaffaman ok ok?

And then no more yummies....

Good good mummy put more yummies inside Jaffaman's mouf, so my Sunshade no no get it!

(mum: Sunshade doesn't like to have dogs in her personal space, nevermind having them "touch" her. She will not tolerate another dog putting a paw on her or touching her. I think its because "touching" is a sign of dominance to her. Jaffa of course, would never think of dominating his Sunshade. He weighs a lean, muscular 70 lbs, and could easily take over the top dog statues if he wanted to. Yet Sunshade can do no wrong in his eyes, and he adores her no matter what. At the same time, I think Sunshade pretty much knows that Jaffa is never going to challenge her, so she in turn has been quite lenient towards what is acceptable from him.

Merry Christmas and Happy Howlidays everyone!)