Tibetan Mastiff Info, 2015 Calendar

A few months ago, I entered a photo contest.

I learned that one of my photos had been selected a couple of months ago and yesterday our calendars arrived.

Gunnar and Miles are featured in April.  :-)

This calendar is a fundraiser for TibetanMastiffInfo.com which is a tremendous resource for TM Fanciers of all types.  Specifically ancestry on any litters, planned breeding or dogs is available for a free membership... an invaluable resource, in my opinion.

Please consider supporting this great organization.

Thanks!

Ready(?) for Puppies

Noodle is due next week.

Her radiographs and health checkup went well last weekend. 

She is happy, healthy and getting bigger every day.

Her Whelping Box is ready.

A carpenter we know built it for us one afternoon, using roughly these plans.  She seems to like it, and has started to go in it on her own.

There are two or three little things we'd like to do still, but in reality (I think) we are ready for the puppies to make their arrival.

There are a few reservations available, if you find that you need a Tibetan Mastiff in your life. ;-)

Dog Show: Buckhorn Valley Kennel Club, 2014

It's been an exciting couple of months for the Big Man.... he opened a bank account (if you know what I mean), is expecting puppies, we qualified for the National Owner-Handler Series Finals at the AKC National Championship in Orlando in December.... and the Gunnar-man finished his AKC Championship at the end of October.

We have not yet received the official paperwork, but the CH is reflected on the AKC site as of last week.  So, please say Hello to Champion Timberline's Colorado Gunnison!

Of course, Gunnar's favorite part of the Buckhorn Valley Kennel Club show was seeing his breeder and brother, Timberline's Ferdinand...

... and of course soliciting belly rubs from his fans.  ;-)

Time Flies

So it's been a month since I posted last.

It's also been about that long since I've had yarn and needles in my hands.  Even longer since I've made a FAF post.

Gunnar finished his AKC Championship at the end of October and had a photo shoot with a professional photographer.  I have a nearly completed posts about both... maybe I'll get them up in a few days.  ;-)

I put up a huge amount of apples.  I have a bunch of photos but haven't even started to draft a post about that.

One of my photos was selected for the Tibetan Mastiff Info Calendar.

My new Day Job is going well.

Noodle had a vet check up today.  She is absolutely pregnant with "more than a few" puppies.  We will have radiographs in a couple of weeks to confirm how many.  In the meantime here's a photo from today's ultrasound.  :-)

Litter Announcement: Noodle + Gunnar

This time we are really doing it!  Noodle and Gunnar have been shacking up, if you know what I mean.  ;-)

We are expecting our first litter of Tibetan Mastiff puppies.  They should be arriving in mid-December.

If you are a regular reader here, you know that Noodle is one of our first girls, is a great protector of our alpacas and a very funny, very important member of our family.

Gunnar is the star, show dog, livestock guardian and my big boy.

Tibetan Mastiffs are working dogs that do best by also having a lot of family interaction.  These are extremely intelligent, social and athletic dogs that have added an immeasurable joy to our lives.

The formal announcement is below.  Please wish us luck and of course, if you're interested in taking one of these incredible pups home, please let me know.  :-)

Dam:

KayaKyi Bala (Noodle)

DOB: 12/22/2010

PennHIP: 0.41, 0.41 (70^th Percentile)

Elbows: Normal

Thyroid: Normal

Her Parents: CH Ayyangadoo Guyuk Khan (Bentley) x Kesang Camp’s China Doll (China)

Noodle is a big girl that carries herself very tall.  She is extremely athletic and an enthusiastic guardian of our alpacas. She is friendly off property, willing make friends with the dogs and people she meets.  However, when she’s working, she is working.

Sire:

Timberline’s Colorado Gunnison (Gunnar)

DOB :: 02/12/2013

OFA: Good, PennHIP: 0.44, 0.43 (60^th Percentile)

Elbows: Normal

Thyroid: Normal

His Parents: CH Timberline Barni Drakyi (Barnes)  x CH Timberline’s Calamity Jane (Janey)

Gunnar is a very social and large-boned boy.  His red-gold coat and ever-present smile make quite an impression.  He loves to meet people and other dogs.  He is a natural guardian of our alpacas with an easy-going attitude.  With limited showing, he is just 2-points shy of his AKC Conformation Championship, having won Best of Breed over the current #1 Tibetan Mastiff at 12 months of age.

Both Noodle and Gunnar are an important part of our family.

Litter:

We expect this pairing to provide good-sized puppies with the confidence and aptitude for family and livestock protection.  As such, the puppies will be started with alpacas and socialized with people.

All puppies will be AKC registered with the prefix, Colorado.

Deposits are now being accepted as the litter is expected to be born in mid-December 2014.

Litter's Pedigree

COI = 8.9%

Both parents reside at our home.  We are happy to answer questions about the puppies and parents.

alpacamundo (at) g mail (dot) com

Putting Up Pears

My neighbor's pear tree was prolific this year.

She offered me some a couple of weeks ago.  To which, I excitedly accepted, thinking there might be enough for a small batch of butter.  But by the end of the afternoon, she and the kids had picked 6 grocery sacks and brought them over.

I'm really glad that we kept our peach boxes, as they were just enough to hold the bounty of pears.

I hadn't put up pears before, but they need to be picked while still firm and then allowed to ripen on the counter.  So these guys rested on the kitchen counter for a week.

I processed about 1/3 of them last weekend, as the remainder were still too hard to do anything with.

But after another week on the counter, most had crossed over to too ripe.  :-(

These pears were pretty small, so the yield was also quite small for the amount of work involved.  However, I did make one small batch each of butter and jam.  They are delicious.

I'll be getting started on our apples later today.  What a wonderful harvest season we're having this year.  :-)

Fiber Arts Friday: Skirt Guard

Sometimes you come across something that you know someone needs.  It's so appropriate that they don't even know they need it.

This is one of those things and I thought immediately of my SIL. (Yes, she is knit-worthy... or in this case, crochet-worthy)  :-)

While I can execute crochet stitches reasonably well, I have been having trouble reading the pattern... so my summer of rip-it-out-so-I-can-restart-itis continues.  :-P

It's been ripped out 3 times... The last one looked like this...

... pretty, but not the correct pattern.

I'm almost afraid to say it, since I've said it at least once already.. but, I think I'm on my way now...

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!