We have an official name for Leo

Ok, so it's exciting to me that I didn't have to come up with another cool name (ok, so I think it's cool and you might not-- that's ok with me).
Leo's official name is Amawalk's Beam Me Up A Faerytail. If you're scratching your head on that one, let me help you out a little. Leo has two kennel names because his mother has two co-owners. Amawalk's and Faerytails are both kennel names. Leo's dad's name is Scotty. If you've ever watched the old Star Trek with William Shatner you know where this is going. If not, here you go. There is a famous line from that show and it's "Beam me up, Scotty". Since his dad's name is Scotty and I was looking for something "Scott-ish", I figured you couldn't get a better tribute to a really cool dad (granted, mom is way cool too-- but I had to have this name). I'm hoping to enter Leo in his first puppy match in 2 weeks and then in his first show in April.
If you've been wondering what's been going on with Cosmo, I can tell you that a picture is a thousand words and how I wish my batteries weren't dead. Both boys are out on the deck enjoying the almost 70 degree weather we're enjoying today. Mind you, they are totally minding their own business and not bothering anyone. I'm in the kitchen and I hear Cosmo make "the noise". I look out the window and there must be 50 robins taunting both him and Leo on the other side of the deck. I'm sure he was thinking "if only I could suck it in a teeny bit more and squeeze through the railings...." Oh well... another day. We're set to start back to agility classes in about 2 1/2 wks. And that is something to really look forward to!

And the verdict is.............

Leo is an official family member! I am SO happy and relieved! His bite looks to have corrected itself (and I hope it stays corrected!) and overall he looks nice. Betty gave him a nice mini groom so he looks like an official representative of his breed and not a mini-alpaca! I got to see his litter sister, Kit, again and WOW do they share a strong resemblence! It was hard to tell them apart at a distance unless you looked really really hard. His niece with no name yet, was mighty cute and spunky. The three of them had a good time playing together in the x-pen and in the hotel room. In this picture, Leo is the one standing on the left.

And this picture is of Leo standing nicely (thanks Betty for stacking him) and with his nice new hair-do! This was Leo's first experience at a show site, and he did fairly well. I had to cover the back side of the crate with my jacket to block him seeing me and the other visual stuff that was overwhelming to him so he'd stop howling. I found a nice show lead for him and can't wait to use it this week in class. I did remember to bring home some new chewies/goodies for Cosmo so he wouldn't be too bent out of shape. I think he enjoyed the break and was really happy to see us when we got back home.

This is sleeping Leo. He got tired of the primping. He laid down and took a quick c@t nap!

Still waiting

Leo's appointment was moved up to this past Tuesday because, he was throwing up massive amounts of baby wipes! Apparently my two leggers took some outside and the rest I don't know how he found to injest them. Soooo.... my friend at the vet's office said, let's move him up a day and make sure that there is not a blockage. Thankfully, there was not. I'm so glad that they didn't go through his entire digestive track (unlike Cosmo who had them go all the way through). So, I dropped Leo off and got a call about 2 hrs later. They did an xray to confirm that the teeth he was to get pulled were baby teeth, and it turns out they were not. He's got something called a Gemini tooth (it's a tooth that forms a seam down the middle to look like two teeth instead of one). It's not a genetic issue, just an odd thing that happens, although not too common. So, I'm taking his xrays with us to Greenville next weekend when we go to the specialty show for someone who is more experienced than I in doggie orthodontics to take a peek in his mouth and tell us what he thinks. On a more positive note, handling class on Thursday night went really well. The both of us have gaiting and the front feet placement down pat, but we're still working on the rear feet placement and how to stay still on the table and focus. He can't help it, he's only 18 wks old and still a baby. But, there has been much improvement since we first started. I'll make him stay awake for Westminster this coming Monday and Tuesday night =)

Cosmo is not very happy with me right now. He gets so po'd at me when I take Leo to class and leave him home. Then it takes what seems like days for him to get over it. When I come home he'll sniff me and smell all the other dogs that I've been around (mainly obnoxious pugs and silky terrors--YUCK!). Then he turns around, walks off, and ignores me. He's even stopped sleeping in our room, and prefers to go get in bed with one of the kids. Last night he and Leo were playing with a tug and Cosmo went over the top and out of the blue let go of the tug and jumped poor Leo, who had no idea what the heck was going on. I stopped Cosmo and crated both of them separately for some time out. When I let them out after a cooling off period, Cosmo jumped up on the sofa, balled up, and turned his back to me. Oh well... maybe I can woo him back from the dark side with some cupid treats.

Today, they're outside sunning together on the deck and playing with each other like "brothers" do. When it warms up a little more for me, I'm going to go out there and wear them both out until they're so tired they can't stand it anymore. Tired cockers are happy cockers!

Goin' to the river...

We decided to take the family out to the river walk this morning because it was absolutely gorgeous today. Perfect weather for going out for a stroll. It's the first time Leo has been on a leash for actual walking, other than in the practice ring. He did pretty good for his first time out at 4 mos old. Cosmo on the other hand.... is a handful. He does much better in his new harness by Premiere that stops the pulling. However, he can make you wish you had ear plugs when he sees all of that H2O! The daddy and the kids went out on some of the big rocks, and Cosmo couldn't get to them. Good grief! He was shaking he wanted to go out there so badly. Didn't help that a couple of birds flew by. I took him and Leo out a little ways on the rocks, and Cosmo jumped in. I said the weather was gorgeous, and it was, but the water was c.o.l.d. Leo must have thought he was nuts, because he stuck got his feet wet and came right back out and stood on the rocks just staring at Cosmo. Both boys were nice and tired for the ride back home.
I did discover today that it appears that Cosmo ate a Ziploc baggie-- where is that yikes smilie face when you need it??? I'm guessing it was him because I fed the boys before we left this morning and put them out to do their business before we headed out. I found the Ziploc'd poop and while on the trail, Cosmo had to go and it wasn't pretty at all. He's acting normal, eating normal and all that, so I'm just keeping an eye on him to make sure nothing more is going to come of this.
I did talk to some fellow breeders/judges/handlers at my handling class on Thurs night and they all unanimously agreed that those dreaded retained baby teeth need to come out. So, Leo has an appointment for Wednesday morning to have them removed. I'll be glad when it's done and over and he's back home. He's so little to be undergoing general anesthesia and I'm going to worry about him nonstop til I can pick him up. I've worked in a vet's office in my previous life before college, marriage, and kids so I know he's in good hands and that I shouldn't worry, but I still do.
Off to watch the Eukanuba show with a huge bag of popcorn, my boys, and my two favorite little people in the world.