One Dirty Dog!

Unfortunately I didn't get a picture of Max after his frolicking in 5 inches or so of snow, then the muddy mess it became after the melt.  However, I can tell you that he was one dirty, smelly dog.  He actually looked like his coat was a sickly yellow-brown color - yuck!  Then we discovered the greatest service in the world!  Petco has a self service dog wash where you take your dog into one of their special wash tubs and you can use their spray nozzles, doggie shampoo and conditioner and a super blow dryer that only blows tepid air.  It was fabulous!  No trying to wait for a warm(ish) day to give him a bath at home or having a bathroom trashed after a dog wash session in the house.  And the greatest thing is that the whole she-bang cost $10.  Best ten bucks I've spent in  a while.  Now Maxie is clean and bright again.  For a few minutes at least ;)!

Snow!

First snow at the farm - 5 inches of fluffy snow.  At first Maxie was a bit flummoxed but soon was romping around!  He enjoyed eating it and running around.  The back porch was covered and he slid around quite a bit!  A fabulous day for Maxie!

Happy Birthday!

Dear Max,
I'm so happy to have you as part of our little family!  It's hard to believe you are a whole year old!  For your birthday you got a pretty new bed.  After all, a year old - not a little puppy any longer - surely your days of destroying cushy beds are long past.  I hope it was comfy and cozy for the two nights you slept on it before you ate it.  We certainly enjoyed watching TV for the same two nights before you dug up the freshly laid satellite cable in the back yard.  More toys than a nursery school and alas....  Here's to a new year, new beds, new cables and a new puppy-friend for you!  Please don't teach her your tricks.
Love,
Mom

OK, Not Dog....

But still a fab pic of the new farm logo.  This is my niece M, rocking a onesie with the Sugar Pea Farm logo.  Ain't she cute?  I'll do a good dog post later since I've now posted my wellies and my niece.  At least it's a well rounded blog.....

Please rain....

I really want to wear these boots.  Maybe not in another month or so, but for now......  I'm ready to take Max for a walk around the farm in these!

Farm Living Is the Life For Me

My, what a lovely pup!  Max (aka Rufnit Ulysses and Maxie) enjoys his own special sofa on the back porch of our new home, Sugar Pea Farm.  After a long remodel, the farmhouse is close to ready - close enough for us to move in, finally!  A Tennessee girl all my life (except one odd year spent in Macon, GA) I feel like this is home!  The next question is, how will Maxie handle the chickens? And goats?  Dear Readers, I will keep you posted...

A Simple Message

LET. ME. IN.

The official logo of the new farm. The three of us cannot wait to get settled in! Hopefully it is just around the corner! We've met lots of our new neighbors are are ready to settle in to a rural lifestyle.

In the Doghouse

Max (Rufnit Ulysses) tries out his new kennel and doghouse at the new farm. Designed and constructed by husband P, this doghouse is quite the feat of engineering! Made from sawmill lumber reclaimed in home renovations, this doghouse even has a angled, shingled roof complete with hasp for easy cleanouts. Since Max still enjoys making mincemeat of any and all fabric, including 1680 denier nylon, we are using hay from our pastures as bedding insulation. The barn red paint matches the goat/ horse barns - though the green lettering was my own special touch. Somehow, I don't think Max or P really thinks the personalization adds much - but I think it's lovely!

9 months

http://www.youtube.com/keysa71#p/a/u/0/5oBwey38Dw0

Blogspot was having video upload troubles so click the link above for the latest video until I get it posted correctly....

Max is enjoying having fun outside in his new home. This isn't the highest quality video since it was taken on a cell phone but you get the idea! Max loves having lots of space to run, roam, and explore. Some unplanned explorations have led to a seriously smelly dog - but dogs will be dogs! He is also learning to use his nose like a bird dog - he sniffs out wild turkeys that live close by and loves flushing butterflies! Many new people are in and out of the house on the remodel projects so he has many new human friends!

Crickets in my blog!

Loyal Readers,

It's been quite the month remodeling a home on our new farm, but Maxie is in heaven! I promise to try to get some great pics of him tomorrow to share! If it lets you know how things are going, Maxie accidentally got a snootfull of drywall mud yesterday. I was terrified but he licked it up and went back for more - needless to say that did not happen, but boy is he a rambunctious fella! Bear with me and I'll post loads of pics!! If this is just a hint of where we are in the process, here is the master bathroom as of today.

Max Attacks!

I love my retractable leash. Really, I do. I recognize the inherent dangers and am a responsible leash user. Really, I am. I know a less than 30 pound dog is easily managed and I scoff at those who cannot manage their smallish dogs. Really, I did. I stand, slightly hunched over to one side with loads of large bandaids, corrected. A vast right side conspiracy, I call it. As in the right side of my body from tip to toe is scratched, bruised, lacerated or otherwise maimed by the lovely small dog. I'd post a picture but I'm far too embarrassed.

Perhaps a pic later today, Max frolicking about in his new digs. Much more fun!

More tasties!

Yummy in Maxie's Tummy! Doggie Cookies
3	Sm. Jars baby food meat variety	2 1/2 oz. Size
1/4	C	Powdered Milk
1/4	C	Wheat Germ
Combine ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Roll into small balls and place on well-greased cookie sheet. Flatten slightly with a fork. Bake in preheated 350 oven for 15 minutes or until brown. Cool on wire racks and store in refrigerator, also may be frozen. Critical tip: if meat baby food grosses you out.... pick another recipe!

Rufnit Ulysses aka Max

Well, it seems that we will soon be moving to our little farm in East/ Middle TN. And Maxie LOVES it - I'm just hoping that it isn't the goose and chicken poo that he loves...

Maxie will have a nice sized, very safe backyard to run and romp and play, as well as being allowed inside plenty. I suppose the good thing about having no human kiddos means that we can spoil Max and the other animals to come!

So then, goats and chickens, perhaps cows/ bulls? Email me and let me know if you have sage words for me. Oh, wait... not Sage flyrods - we have those handled....

Scooby Snacks! Cheddar Dog Treats!

A very easy recipe for homemade puppy treats - Max goes wild for them. They last about a month in a sealed container at room temp - will last for two months if you keep in the fridge.

1 cup all purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

2 tbsp butter

3/4 cup milk

Grated Parm for topping

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Put flours and cheese in food processor. Pulse to mix. Add butter and milk. Mix well. Turn out on to floured surface and roll out to 1/4 to 1/2 inch thickness. Poke with tines of fork and sprinkle Parm. Cut dough with cookie cutter. Place on baking sheet covered with greased or non stick foil. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on wire rack. Your dog will love you.

For those Ertsgaards, Haugens, and other Norwegian/ Scandinavian types: use the lefse rolling pin for these treats. The dough rolls quickly and the texture of the pin allows the treats to bake quite nicely and makes a crispy scooby snack.

Next post will be the pupsicle recipe - a COLD summer treat!

Maxwell's a Silver Hammer

Ain't he sweet? He has no idea what is in store for him as we move to a small farm with loads of animals, especially birds, to chase! While only about 7 months, he seems to have reached his "terrible twos" with two dog beds destroyed in as many nights. We're consulting with BIL Ed who has had several dogs to see what are options are. I can't stand letting him sleep without a nice cozy bed! Maybe chain mail?

In the meantime, I've bought him a baby pool, thinking he would welcome it in these 95 degree days. So far he's gotten two paws in and then looked at me like I was crazy! Now what's really crazy is that I got in the pool with him to show him how it's done. Not a pretty sight I'll tell you. On the home front, we are going back with to Doyle for hopefully our last signing off on the removal of the restriction that Paul can run a business from home and that no neighbor will be allowed to place a junkyard on their property. Believe me, this is a community that does not need restrictions on gunfire, but restrictions on junkyards. Home sweet home! Maybe as soon as the next week or two.

Traveling with Maxi!

Last week we went to Greensboro, NC for P and a few other pro/ sponsored shooters to put on an exhibition/ gun range experience for a business called IonBond. IonBond coats gun parts with diamond like carbon using physical vapor deposition (someone correct me if I'm wrong on that!) - as well as many other enterprises.

IonBond has plants all over the world and this week their "big-wigs" came to Greensboro for a several day meeting. We were the entertainment since some IonBond staff don't know exactly how or why the product is such a niche market for precision firearms. Many staff were from Asia, Scandinavian areas, Italy and many other accents I just couldn't place!

The many of these fellas (one girl, but she was 8 months pregnant) had never touched a firearm before. With my gimp foot, I decided I would be the safety officer and keep a watchful eye on these folks with no firearms experience, etc. Everyone did well and had a great time. It was much fun and I hope we have the opportunity to more things like that in the future.

Now, Max. He came with us to G-boro and stayed at a La Quinta (pets stay free!). However, on the shooting day we boarded him at Lucky's Day Spa since he's not quite old enough to be exposed to AR-15's and the like. I admit I was jealous of his spa day until I got a big whiff of the kennel!

A great time was had by all! Thanks, IonBond - let's do it again when I'm not hobbled and let's get some girl shooters. In my opinion, girls learn better from girls - see Babes With Bulllets camp which I attended in 2006. A slumber party! With bullets and gun butter! Who could ask for more.

And Then Like Any Good Dog Parent

..... I drove away from home the said favorite new toy on the top of my car. I even tracked back to see if the ring could be found. Alas, poor dog ring. We knew him well.

At least I still have a giftcard for PetSmart.

6 Months

We've signed up for a companion for Max for hopefully in the fall. Rufnit Kennels has a new litter of beautiful fawn puppies with a female we really liked as a possible companion for Max. However we talked with Shari of Rufnit Kennels abut the timing and how that might affect Max, especially since we'll be moving soon - about the time the new puppy would be ready to arrive. Shari wisely said it would be a lot of upheaval for Max so we are going to wait for another litter - maybe X or Y. Can't wait to see the names for the X and Y pups!

Max is right about 6 months old. He does really well off leash - whistle trained pretty well, but he has a stubborn streak! He continues to start sniffing birds in the air. Hopefully we'll have a few coveys of quail soon to see what he does! He stands about 20 inches and about 30 pounds. And what a face he has! Such a beautiful little fellow! I can't get upset with him when he misbehaves since he is such a cutie, but train him (nicely) we must. I strongly recommend two books - one is called How to Help Gun Dogs Train Themselves by Joan Bailey and the other is The Dog Whisperer: A Compassionate, Nonviolent Approach to Dog Training by Paul Owens and Norma Eckroate.

The new house has loads of space for him to romp and play - most cross fenced for horses or cattle but I have a strong feeling that will not contain dear Maxie. I spy digging under fencing in the future! He has an amazing ability to find snakes so we've begun the rattlesnake vaccine process. We'll be fencing in the back yard area so Max has free rein out there. He can romp in the pasture and gun range under supervision!

Who knew I'd come to love this little fellow so much? Superdog! I made one video with the theme to Hong Kong Phooey but can't post it here because of copyright issues, but here is another fun video - enjoy!


For some reason this supposed HD video came out terribly and took me four days to get it to embed. Go to my youtube channel at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xP8RgCe0c1Q for a better quality vid..... Or wait another day or two while I figure it out!

Running Dog!

Max at play in the pasture! He starting to sniff those birds!

Leash play! Max loves to carry his leash in his mouth - go figure!

5 month run

At 5 months! He's a galloping fool off leash! Looks a bit like a rabbit when he runs - back feet together but he is a fast little thing. Little is a but of a euphemism! He is stronger than me - hence the broken foot!

4 months

Captain Longlegs

Here is Max at 5 months of age. He stands about 18 inches tall at the withers and weighs about 25-27 pounds. A few more inches taller and much room to gain weight - he should be somewhat barrel-chested and he is strong as an ox already - as witnessed by a fracture in my foot! More pics to follow!

Curiosity! At least we don't have porcupine! But we do have loads of snakes. I highly recommend the rattlesnake vaccine for those in snake country.....

Such a little one still!

Max still curls up so small on his dog beds. And what momma could resist that face? He looks so much like his Rufnit Kennels parentage. I remembered being annoyed by cat hair but Maxie's hair somehow doesn't bother me. Yay for short haired dogs. Max is a snorer and he can be quite loud! I haven't been able to catch it on video "tape" yet but you, Dear Readers, will be the first to catch him snoring away!

A Beautiful Sunday

Nice and breezy, we spent that day on our ATV's and giving them a long overdue washing. Oh, and Max? We played with him a lot as well. He's growing up so fast - both P and I *usually) can manage him without the leash in familiar territory.

P began whistle training a few days ago and as would be expected from Wonderdog, he's taken to it beautifully.



A log pile on the far side of the property has become the new jungle gym! Long but so cute and funny!



And after some run and play, a drink from the hose is great!

No tell motel in Waynesboro

P and I traveled to Waynesboro TN with Max (of course) to look at a variety of properties and farms. Waynesboro only has two, um, overnight accommodations, and only one accepts pets. When we first drove by I said that I might consider sleeping in the truck as the majority of this 1950"s era motel has only 3-4 rooms that aren't rented by the week or month. However, we've stayed at sketchy fish camps when flyfishing and at the NRA Whittenton Center in New Mexico. I decided if it was clean with no bugs visible I could stay. After all, Max was staying...

I called the motel a little before we checked in to see if they had wifi so I could go over the properties we were to see. The woman who answered said "what's that?". I said "you know, internet access". She said "hole'on" and then yelled (without covering the phone) to the handyman and said "this lady wants to know somethin' about the internet". The handyman came to the phone and said while the motel did not, the business across the street did, but that he shut it down at midnight. Ah, ok, I'll be asleep by then. We had dinner and checked in. The business across the street with the unsecured wifi? The flea market. I kid you not. And it was FAST!

Max learns a new lesson!

P is working with Max on a new lesson - staying outside the kennel without running about. He responds to Paul but when I make a sound he goes crazy! It's a quiet night on my part!

Lobster Fun

Finally, here it is!

Am I a sucker or what?

Can you tell I love my dog?  I did have to ask P if it was alright for me to call Maxie my best friend rather than he.  He agreed.  A good man.

Now almost 5 months....

And boy is he coming into his own! He basically drags me around the land now! If we're not careful we can wind his way around our legs and we have to step lively from being tripped!

That said, he usually a real sweetheart - little barking of whining with the occasional fit of pique. I'll try to get a face close up as his markings are excellent!

I think I mentioned that the breed was almost extinct after WW1 and 2 after looking about pets vied with humans for food source., which is my understanding. A French man by the name of Michel Comte revived the breed in the 60's, 70's and 80's, much to my (and Paul's delight). There are just a few breeders in the US so we felt fortunate to get Max. The breeder we used was Rufnit Kennels and their level of professionalism is to be strongly commended. In fact I have been in touch with said Mr. Compte and plan to correspond and send photos as Max grows and develops. Such a small, small world!

The Jug Run

Max, despite having a plethora of indoor and outdoor toys, has discovered his favorite - an empty jug of vinegar with a few rocks in....

I'm so proud!

My four month old Bourbonnais pup is amazing, like most dog owners think. However, my dog poops on command! Four months! On command! I do recognize that this isn't the most pleasant post but WOW! My hubbs told me his old bird dogs pooped on command. I wasn't 100% sure I believed him. Like maybe 50% because heck, HUMANS can't! But my Maxie can! Max ROCKS!

Needlepoint?

I found a great Braque du Bourbonnais print on eBay and am trying to find a way to get it printed on canvas so I can needlepoint it for a pillow or wall hanging. Any tips?

Weigh in at the Vet

Max topped 20 pounds today! 17-18 inches tall and growing like a weed. I'm so pleased at how well his puppy training is going. Proud Momma, I am!

Rufnit Kennels

A quick link to dear Max's breeder. We have nothing but high praise for this breeder and hope to get a girl pup in fall or spring.

http://www.rufnitkennels.com/

This is our Braque du Bourbonnais from Rufnit Kennels "U" litter in Nebraska. We picked him up at the Atlanta airport on 1/25/10, after his DOB in late November 2009. Originally named Ulysses, we decided to call him Max.

From Wikipedia, the Braque du Bourbonnais:

Description

[edit]Appearance

[edit]Head

Rounded in every direction, with lateral sides rounded, with parietal bones and zygomatic arches well developed. The axes of the skull and muzzle are parallel, or slightly divergent towards the front.

[edit]Coat

Two coat colors exist in the Bourbonnais, each of them having specific name because the color is specific to the breed:
-Liver, also called « wine dregs » or « faded lilac ».
-Fawn, also called « peach blossom ».
Big spots are tolerated on the body if they are not bigger than the palm of a hand. On the head, the two eyes must not be inside the same spot.

liver sire

liver bitch

fawn sire

fawn bitch

[edit]Differences sire/bitch

The bitches are generally thinner, more elegant and longer than the sires (see pictures above).

[edit]Short tail

In the past called "short-tail pointer", the braque du Bourbonnais is sometimes born with a short tail (brachyury) or no tail at all (anury). The gene responsible for this characteristic has been identified as being the same as the brittany spaniel one, of autosomal dominant type.

[edit]Head position

High or prolonging the shoulder.

[edit]Temperament

He has a good temper and can be a good agreement dog. But it is mostly a hunter. It is a continental dog, and must be judged as such.

[edit]Allure and style

He shows a lot of activity, even if he doesn't go very far. His natural pace is gallop, but under cover he can use trot. He can change direction quickly, like polo.

Michel Comte faisant couler son Bourbonnais

[edit]Pointing

He must point with authority, in a classical position.

[edit]History

[edit]Origins

Pointer of Bourbonnais circa 1915

It had been described for the first time during the Renaissance (Natural History from Aldrovandi, Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris). In danger of disappearing, it thrived again after World War I with the creation of the first club, in 1925.

[edit]Disappearance

After World War II, the number of births decreased and the club became less active until it ceased to function. From 1963 to 1973, there were no dogs registered in the LOF (French studbook). The reason for this is probably a selection on secondary characteristics (color of the coat, sort tail) instead of the hunting capabilities and general construction of the dog; this led to have a Bourbonnais less suitable for hunting than other breeds.

[edit]Recreation

In 1970, Michel Comte decided to look for the last dog that had some Bourbonnais blood. He found only mixed breed dogs, which had some characteristics of the Braque du Bourbonnais (size, shape of the head, short tail). After some more or less inbred litters, he registered his first Bourbonnais on the LOF (under Titre Initial procedure) in 1973, 1974, and 1975; from then, several breeders joined him, who, from those dogs, created their own lines, and the number of births increased.

In 1981, the Club du Braque du Bourbonnais was recreated, Michel Comte was its president until 2001. From this moment, the successes of the Bourbonnais in field trials made the breed thrive.

In 1988, the first Bourbonnais was introduced in the USA, and since then the breed has been growing in this country, which became the second producer of Bourbonnais pointers after France.

But for us, we just love our Maxie.