Jolene had her babies - 7-6-10

Little Miss Jolene had a great pregnancy, but a difficult delivery. After the first pup was born out of the sac and breech at home, it was two hours of contractions later that we gave up and went to the vet for a c-section. On the way to the vet, I was watching her and driving straight, but the road curved, and we had an auto accident that totalled the car out on a country road. A very caring farmer came to our aid, though, and finished rushing her to the vet where she had one more puppy naturally, one that didn't make it, and the final one being delivered via c-section. Her litter goes down as the most expensive litter EVER, at least in my books. But the good news is that she's fine, I'm fine, and we have 3 beautiful babies who are eating, sleeping and snorting their way into the world with much gusto!

I've mentioned on my facebook page how often the pugs use my phone. Every time I turn around, they're buying ringtones, or doing something sneaky. Well, I finally captured them on film. Miss Jolene is so proud of her pups that she was texting all her friends! See for yourself!

Mariah was not pregnant

For those of you who have been watching to see if we had a litter of frenchies, Mariah is not pregnant. She had a patch above her tail with a skin issue and I wanted to be sure it was all cleared up before stressing her body with a pregnancy. Just wanted to let anyone know who was waiting that there are no puppies this time around. Maybe on the next heat cycle with clear skin and the vet's thumbs up :)

Using Plants as a Natural Flea Repellant

My friend, Paula, lives in the country in middle-America, and is a long-time dog show breeder and trainer. One of her friends told her about these plants, and at first she dismissed it, but then when her friend gave her starts of the plants, what did she have to lose? Turns out that the plants with built-in insect repellants provide an excellent barrier for your home, as well. Once she planted these around the perimeter of her property, she hasn't had any more problems with fleas. And, she points out, that if you plant especially the mints where the dogs can roll in them, then they will self-treat when necessary!

Here are some of the plants she recommends:

artemesia
perilla
mums
marigolds
bergamot
all types of mint (lemon, chocolate, apple, peppermint, catnip)

Artemisia (wormwood):
Artemisia absinthium
Botanical info on different varieties


Perilla:
Wild basil


Mums:


Marigolds:


Bergamot (bee balm):
wild bergamot
how to propogate


Catnip:


Peppermint:


The fleas have become progressively worse the past 3 years and this year I had to break down and use chemicals on the lawn. So I'm clearing out some areas to plant some of these plants next year and I can't wait to see how well they do!