Kina Kabambe Rhodesian Ridgebacks
April 3, 2010 - 7.5 Weeks OId

"I Will Always LOVE You"

The “Puppy Loves” have turned into PUPPY LIONS – hear us roar!!!! We had an amazingly warm few weeks where the sun was out, the grass was growing, and the temperature made it up above 80!!!, so the Love Puppies got turned loose in the yard to explore and play. They have a BLAST following me around practicing their "Pied Piper" of puppies routine and experiencing LIFE around every bush, tree or building.

This last week was a big one for the Puppy Loves. They went to the vet for their final check up, got their first puppy shot, wormed for the 3rd time, another toenail trim, and microchipped (BIG OUCH!!).  All went well at the vets - no heart murmurs, no ear, eye or lung problems, no hernias, all testicles down sooooooo……A GREAT checkup and lots of attention and treats!!!

Sooooo… it is time to say our last goodbye to the Puppy Loves…..sigh. Their new families have been carefully selected for each puppy based on the right puppy, at the right time, for the right family!!!

I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU - Val, Lenny, Tine, Candy, Kisses & Dove - but it is time to turn you over to your new families for more LOVE, SWEET LOVE!!!

What the world needs now is love, sweet love
It's the only thing that there's just too little of
What the world needs now is love, sweet love,
No not just for some but for everyone.



7.5 Weeks Old

March 24, 2010 - 6 Weeks Old

"Love to Love You Baby"

What a fun week the Puppy LOVES have had!! They got to go OUTSIDE for the first time EVER in their lives. It was a little bit chilly yet with the snow still melting which meant cold wet noses and cold wet feet. Still it was fun for them to experience a whole NEW world!! What’s grass? Can I eat it? What are leaves – are they edible? What’s a rock? Ooowww …. hurts my teeth! I also moved the little darlings to the garage where they have WAY more room to run and play and well …poop! They are happy in their big whelping box under heat lamps, but still get to run around and get into EVERY thing!

AND.. they have figured out how to go up and down steps!!! Not so sure that is a good thing, but they are all brave and fearless and love to follow me around where ever I go. As always, I am teaching them to “come” when I call them by playing “Puppy Pied Piper” and going on walk abouts in the yard. For fun, I took them with me on one of my Therapy Dog visits this week and of course they were a big hit and got LOTS of hugs and kisses from new people which they adjusted to with ease.

All teeth have come in beautifully and they know how to use them! Hence, Phoenix does not nurse them at all anymore but LOVES to play with them. They got another worming and of course another toenail trim. They take both very well, even the toenail trim, with minimal struggling. They are too young yet to have come to the realization that BOTH are torture and should not be tolerated!!!  They have eating their puppy chow down to an art form now so not nearly so messy, but still a voracious melee! It will take a few weeks once you have them home for them to realize that they no longer have to compete for their meal and therefore eat like sharks!

What fun they are to watch develop into their own little selves! Lenny continues to be a little rascal, loves to play, and really likes to hang pretty close to me. Val is spunky and curious and enjoys venturing off on explorations. He is closely followed by Tine who doesn’t usually dream up the ideas, but is more than willing to participate. Candy is independent, likes to explore with the boys, and has an adventurous spirit but not a real brave one! Kisses is goofey, fun, and the first one to come running when I call. Dovey is just a little sweetheart with the most impish little streak in her that finds me wondering what she is into now!

6 Weeks Old

March 14, 2010 - 4.5 Weeks Old

"Can’t Help Falling In Love"

The Puppy Love litter has discovered a new LOVE – snorkeling!!! I call it “learning to eat from a bowl”, but it looks a lot like snorkeling!!! Apparently, learning at what level one needs to hold ones nose while lapping up milk and NOT get the milk UP the nose is a very fine line!!! The Loves don’t get it right all that often yet- hence the snorkeling. Thank goodness Phoenix is more than happy to clean them up – what a mess! She is very happy to have help keeping the tummies full on the little ones though – they have grown significantly again this week. AND I believe I can see a hint of teeth beginning to come in which means that Phoenix is not going to appreciate nursing them at ALL very much longer. OUCH!!! Their weekly toe nail trim didn’t even help much!

They have gotten noisy!!! Lots of whining and crying when they are hungry followed by lots of barking and growling when their tummies are full and they are ready to play!!! I have moved them into a larger plan pen so that they have more room to play. Additionally, the litter box training has begun so that I can keep them as clean as possible AND begin to teach them that there is an appropriate place to go to the bathroom. Hopefully, this will help you finish the housetraining later. I use the lid from an under the bed storage container and compressed sawdust pellets that absorb a lot and smell like cedar!!! The downside of beginning the puppy mush phase of weaning the Loves, is that they begin pooing puppy mush as well! SIGH!

They are becoming their own unique little selves:

Val is big, golden red with a black mask, 2 short little socks on the front and a 3 crown ridge which makes him a pet. He was the first to figure out how to get out of the short sided whelping box, so I think he will be an adventurer.


Lenny is a deep dark red with a very dark black mask, 1 tall stocking on the front and a 3 crown ridge - both of which make him a pet. He is goofey and funny and sooo full of himself.

Tine is very dark red with a black mask, the least amount of white of the males and a gorgeous ridge. Perfect in every way. He is sweet and gentle and loves to be snuggled but has his spurts of SPUNK too.

Candy is a big, very dark red girl with a very dark black mask and very very little white on her anywhere. She has a gorgeous ridge, perfect in every way. She is curious, outgoing, and willing to engage in “escape” plots with Val.

Kisses is a big girl, medium red with a black mask, one white sock, a big spot on her chest, and a beautiful ridge. She is a snuggler too and likes to be held like a baby for a tummy rub.

Dove is the smallest pup, a golden red with a black mask, big spot on her chest, and a 3 crown ridge which makes her a pet. She is sassy and spunky and takes no guff from any of her big brothers!



4.5 Weeks Old

March 3, 2010 - 3 weeks Old

Pick Me, Be Mine, I'm Yours

The Puppy Love litter has begun to outgrow the sweet hugs and gentle kisses. They have turned into wild things who are hopping, skipping, jumping, rolling, and love to PLAY!  Ears and tails are fair game for pulling and biting – even on Momma!

They started out the week ‘trilling’, but that has now turned into pathetic little attempts at barking and even a few growls.  Problem is they can’t figure out where those new noises are coming from!

This week was their first worming – yuk!!!  Actually they seem to kind of like it – tastes like bananas!  Don’t ask me how I know that – but I can safely say I am worm free and I will never have Rabies or Distemper for that matter!!  Once again Momma Phoenix sure appreciated their weekly toe nail trim!  Still no teeth which I’m sure Phoenix is not looking forward to either.

They have grown by half again this week which means Momma is starting to have a little trouble keeping up with them.  I will begin feeding them milk replacer soon to help her.  I like to delay that as long as possible as their tummies are not quite ready to handle milk replacer.  Additionally, puppies snorkeling thru their puppy mush is SUCH a mess!!!  Fortunately, Momma likes giving them tongue baths!!

The Valentine Puppy Love litter have names!!!

The boys are: Val, Lenny and Tine (hope you get that)
The girls are: Candy, Kisses and Dove

Val has a 3 crown ridge, Lenny has that big white sock, and Dove has a 3 crown ridge too, so they are all pets.  Candy, Kisses and Tine are flawless still.  Time will tell, but we have teeth, hearts, lungs, testicles and personalities to get thru yet.   Glad there are no dermoids for sure!!!



3 Weeks Old

February 24, 2010 - 2 Weeks Old

Can You Feel the Love ?

If LOVE is truly linked to a full tummy, then these little guys can REALLY feel the love!!! They have almost tripled in size in only two weeks! Despite their rather hefty little tummies, and walrus like demeanor, they are starting to attempt the “GI Joe” crawl which probably is a little hard on those fat little tummies! Their eyes are fully open, still pretty blue, but they are getting better at focusing them and they can see and follow movement. Their ears are open as well, and are flipped down into correct ear position most of the time.

Because they can now see and hear at least some, they have also begun to be aware of each other as something to play with rather than something to fight with over a dinner faucet!! They mouth each other some, maybe do a rollover onto the back ploy, sometimes a plow over the top trick, but those efforts are very tiring and they are quickly back to sleeping again! Just in the last day or two, a couple have figured out how to get up on their front legs and sort of sit, which is quickly followed by tipping over, but they are trying!

We are just a few days shy of finishing up their daily ‘neurological stimulation’ which they have become quite tolerant of. They seem to enjoy the hanging right side up part and the laying on their back getting their tummies tickled part, but they are not so fond of the hanging upside down part or the being left alone on a cold floor part! I enjoy all of it, as it gives me another excuse to have to play with them!!! It’s a dirty job, but somebody’s got to do it!!

Another toenail trim kept Phoenix from being scratched by 48 little enthusiastic daggers. Belly buttons look healed closed nicely and the dewclaws are close to being completely healed as well.

Their fuzziness is just starting to go away so another week and I will really be able to look at those ridges and see what we have for sure. Right now, I know I have a pet male due to his big white foot, and another pet male due to what looks to be a 3 crown ridge. Working on names for next week!!!


2 Weeks Old

February 17, 2010 - 1 Week Old

LOVE Will Keep Us Together !

Together is the word ! The little Sweat Hearts lifestyle is still eat and sleep and SNUGGLE in one big pile! The on going challenge is to be on the BOTTOM of the puppy pile where it is nice and warm!

This week has a surprising number of FIRSTS for such little guys. At 3 days old, they had their first ride in the car, their first check up by their vet, and their first and ONLY, thankfully, dew claw removal. All of the pups had only front dew claws which makes it a little less torturous for ALL of us, but still it is a VERY necessary evil. Thankfully, it is over fast, they heal quickly, the scar will be only a little line where their ‘thumb’ used to be, and it is MUCH easier on them at this age than later. Momma Phoenix has to be left in the car however or she would be hysterical from the crying. When it was safe to bring her in, she had her check up and passed with flying colors as well.

At four days, another first – we started the pups on their 19 days of exercises that stimulate their neurological system and presumably help them to become Super Achievers!!! You can read all about it at http://www.breedingbetterdogs.com/achiever.html It is just another one of those things we like to do as it causes no harm and may actually help to make your puppy a smarter, more well adjusted adult. Plus it just gives us another reason to hold and hug on the puppies!!!

And their final FIRST of the week – a toenail trim!!! This is a weekly event that is MUCH appreciated by Mothers! All those little daggers being dulled makes feeding the pups much less painful!

All eyes and ears are still tightly sealed so our little sweeties are pretty much blind and deaf. Next week their ears will start to flop down and open and their eyes will start to crack open too. Names are next to see who wants to be LOVE BUG or BE MINE !!!

1 Week Old

February 10, 2010 - Birth Day

and they called it PUPPY LOVE !!!

Just in time for Valentines Day, Phoenix delivered us with 6 little “hugs & kisses” – 3 boys and 3 girls. The delivery was a little challenging due to it being Phoenix’s first time, but all of our little darlings arrived safely starting at 8:00 pm and ending at 6:30 am. Glad I had the next day off!!!

They are chubby little cherubs weighing between 12 & 16 oz each. All are dark red with black noses and black masks. One male has a big white sock and lots of white on his chest. One female has almost no white anywhere. All are ridged, but a couple look like they might have an extra crown/colic or have off set crowns. They get “fuzzy” almost right away so it will be a few weeks before they slick down again and their ridges will be easy to see again. No cleft palates, no white tipped tails, belly buttons look good already and no dermoid sinus so far, but I check for them frequently and rarely have one.

Phoenix was struck immediately with PUPPY LOVE!! She is a very, very good momma and is taking terrific care of her little hearts and flowers. They have settled into a sweet life of eat and sleep, eat and sleep and being surrounded by love, lots of kisses, hugs and somewhat annoying tongue baths from their momma.

Birth Day

Parents: Walley & Phoenix