I'm a sheepdog, not a Garden Gnome!

I'm a sheepdog, not a Garden Gnome!

(Get me my agent!)

At six weeks, the pups had their first day out; first to Jacqui's for a photoshoot with a decent camera for a change (pity that they were so determined NOT to be photographed today...) and a second trip to the vet for a health check (passed with flying colours) and their six-week C4 Vaccination shots.

The pups have just passed Gemma's mass now. Together, they add up to 17.5kg, and Gemma has dropped down to her usual 16.8 or so. They were right on schedule, and crossed the line this weekend as predicted. That's an awful lot of nutrition that passed through poor Gemma's system! She's lost five kilos since giving birth, too. Luckily for Gemma, they have developed a real taste for mince now, so she'll be off the hook and able to escape the hundreds of biting, nibbling teeth!

The rest of the pictures are now up on the WeeBlog. Still not full resolution, but a compromise for most users.

The litter is now registered with the ANKC via DogsACT, and the names and id numbers below are now official. The database has been pre-seeded with the Microchip numbers too, so all the owners will have to do is register with their state bodies, transfer ownership, and send in the barcoded prepaid microchip registration form. All the hard work has already been done.

Bandit has found a home a short walk from here and Clanheath, and will likely be known as Tiara (Tia for short)..

Melody and Zoe are off to work the land in "the south island," Tasmania. Names updated when known.

Sooty is off to Melbourne, not far from his father (in Geelong), possibly keeping Sooty but perhaps Jet.

Shadow will be staying with Gemma and myself for now, but I will entertain enquiries from suitable homes - she is a special girl that will require extra attention to turn her potential into competition success. She'll need time, a firm but fair hand, and (of course) a lot of loving to fully bloom. The pictures here don't really do her justice, because she's as camera-shy as I am! She's a live-wire, too smart for my own good, and incredibly curious. She should do very well indeed at Obedience, Agility and Jumping - and may even end up doing well in the show ring if we have the time. What I'm saying here is that she's no ordinary 'family pet.'