Due to high demand, I decided to post information on our dobe pups:
First off, please be aware that these are family owned. We are not professional breeders; we are just people who love dobes! Although both the sire and dam have champions in their bloodlines, we are selling them as pet quality. The reason for this is that we want to share family raised dobes with families.
The parents are well socialized and have been raised with small children, just as the pups will be exposed to prior to going home with their new parents. We keep our dobes in the house and have four children ranging from two months to 11 years old. We home educate out children and we are both stay at home parents. We live on a ranch and our days are filled with ranch-type activities.
The sire of this litter is Xzus and he is our pride and joy! Our red and rust four years old works cattle, helps to corral escaped chickens and runs with our children to protect them from snakes and other critters. He is an 85 pound gentle giant. Our two year old puts her blanket on him and rides him like a pony. He also responds to her commands and stands between her and any stranger to come around. He loves to run with us to check fences and pretty much goes anywhere we do.
The dam of this litter is three year old Athena and she is also gentle in nature. She is black and rust and weighs only 65 pounds. She was raised by other members of our family until they decided that it wasn't fair for her to live in the city. They gave her to us. She came to the ranch at around ten months and although she isn't as well trained as Xzus, she is extremely sweet and our boys love to play with her.
This is Xzus and Athena's second litter. The first litter yielded eight pups of black, red and fawn. One of the pups went through full genetic testing and everything was perfect. Because of no genetic defects, we feel confident in breeding this pair.
This litter has 9 pups of black, red, fawn and blue. They are as follows:
3 black and rust females
1 black and rust male
1 blue male
2 red males
2 fawn females
The blue and black males along with one black female are currently spoken for.
We screen potential homes for our dobes because we want the best for them. We are looking for families that are able to provide the best for these beloved creatures. This means they should be both nurtured and challenged. Being placed in a kennel with food and water doesn't cut it for us. These dogs need to have both companionship and a sense of duty. If you feel you can provide this and want a dobe that is child/family oriented then you are definitely looking at a wonderful litter full of potential.
I will post some updates if there is a lot of response to this. If you are interested in a pup, please leave some sort of contact information in the comments section. Thanks.
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Saturday, November 29, 2008
November
As promised, here is the update of ranch happenings for November. To begin with, we had our oldest son's 11th birthday party combined with a couple of others, next we had our oldest daughter's 2nd birthday, then we had Thanksgiving dinner at Granny and Pop's house.
Between these happenings, we began to prepare for the winter as the weather has just now turned cold. We made a trip to SA, plucked all the seeds we could from the garden, and we began construction on our master bath.
We are also finally having eggs. We are only getting about 5 a week, but that is better than nothing. Here is our first egg:
Finally, November blessed us with our second litter of Dobe pups:
Here they are just a few days old
and here they are now-much bigger with eyes and ears opened!
And that concludes a VERY full November!
Between these happenings, we began to prepare for the winter as the weather has just now turned cold. We made a trip to SA, plucked all the seeds we could from the garden, and we began construction on our master bath.
We are also finally having eggs. We are only getting about 5 a week, but that is better than nothing. Here is our first egg:
Finally, November blessed us with our second litter of Dobe pups:
Here they are just a few days old
and here they are now-much bigger with eyes and ears opened!
And that concludes a VERY full November!Saturday, November 22, 2008
September?
Where did September go? Oh yes, we added our second daughter to the clan! Sept. 23rd we welcomed Jaelynn Dora Cottle to our little family and due to the end of pregnancy woes and newborn bliss I failed to update the blog. Many apologies for this, but I will update now.
September marked the beginning of school for our two oldest boys and a new project for Dad. As most of our readers know, we have been in the long process of building our home here on the ranch. It has taken 3.5 years so far and we have yet to finish it. But, this year, as we paid off our outstanding debt on construction thus far, we began working on it again. Projects for Sept. included building our "school room".
Although it is already messy and well used, you can see we have the media corner, curriculum shelves, 2 desk areas, and a large work cabinet area. This project is half complete but I think you can see the wonderful work of my husband who has never made a cabinet in his life before now! The cedar is gorgeous and he did professional quality work in my opinion!
September also ended our daily garden gathering and veggie processing. We were wonderfully blessed and have a freezer full of veggies for the winter. We were also able to stock Granny and Pop's freezer and send veggies to other loved ones.
And that my friends covers September. Stay tuned for November and maybe it won't be a month late!
September marked the beginning of school for our two oldest boys and a new project for Dad. As most of our readers know, we have been in the long process of building our home here on the ranch. It has taken 3.5 years so far and we have yet to finish it. But, this year, as we paid off our outstanding debt on construction thus far, we began working on it again. Projects for Sept. included building our "school room".
Although it is already messy and well used, you can see we have the media corner, curriculum shelves, 2 desk areas, and a large work cabinet area. This project is half complete but I think you can see the wonderful work of my husband who has never made a cabinet in his life before now! The cedar is gorgeous and he did professional quality work in my opinion!
September also ended our daily garden gathering and veggie processing. We were wonderfully blessed and have a freezer full of veggies for the winter. We were also able to stock Granny and Pop's freezer and send veggies to other loved ones.
And that my friends covers September. Stay tuned for November and maybe it won't be a month late!
Friday, August 08, 2008
You know your in...
the last month of pregnancy when:
You can no longer see your cantaloupe sized ankles.
You can no longer give yourself a pedicure.
Shaving becomes, well more challenging.
You adopt a distinct waddle.
Complete strangers start asking you "how much longer?"
It becomes more difficult to get in and out of your van.
"quick stops" and "ins and outs" begin to take so much longer that your kids no longer want to wait in the car for you.
Getting in and out of the bathtub becomes a monumental event( tidal waves included).
Gardening becomes a thing of the past.
Sitting at the PC is no longer comfortable.
Sitting ANYWHERE is no longer comfortable for more than half an hour.
Your tummy, back and everything else is sore all the time from all the contractions.
You have to stop mid-sentence to catch your breath while contractions pass.
The bathroom is no longer your friend, but how you plan your outings.
You gain an obsession with lists and getting things re-organized.
Ahh the list could go on and on. These are just a few thoughts from the last week.
You can no longer see your cantaloupe sized ankles.
You can no longer give yourself a pedicure.
Shaving becomes, well more challenging.
You adopt a distinct waddle.
Complete strangers start asking you "how much longer?"
It becomes more difficult to get in and out of your van.
"quick stops" and "ins and outs" begin to take so much longer that your kids no longer want to wait in the car for you.
Getting in and out of the bathtub becomes a monumental event( tidal waves included).
Gardening becomes a thing of the past.
Sitting at the PC is no longer comfortable.
Sitting ANYWHERE is no longer comfortable for more than half an hour.
Your tummy, back and everything else is sore all the time from all the contractions.
You have to stop mid-sentence to catch your breath while contractions pass.
The bathroom is no longer your friend, but how you plan your outings.
You gain an obsession with lists and getting things re-organized.
Ahh the list could go on and on. These are just a few thoughts from the last week.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Wagon
Some of you may like the phrase "my cup runneth over", well around here we say "our wagon runneth over". When we harvest we take a little wagon out to the garden and fill it. This then takes me at least a day to process(shuck corn, split peas, shell beans, wash and cut anything else) and then it is time to go again. Even with the massive hail storm that took out 2/3rds of our garden, our wagon continues to run over and we now also head out with 5 gallon buckets, golf cart and the wagon. Below you can see what an average day brings in:
Now we have more of a variety coming in with green beans and black eyed peas but wagon is no where near large enough to bring in the harvest anymore.
Now we have more of a variety coming in with green beans and black eyed peas but wagon is no where near large enough to bring in the harvest anymore.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Production
My husband has been very productive this spring. Here is our updated garden. After studying Botany last summer with the boys and planting our first garden we have learned a lot! The first thing we learned was that a 12X12 garden is not near big enough for us, so we had to plant a second garden last year. This year, after watching the natural flow of water in our pasture, we uprooted the old garden and choose a location that is 75X50. We hope it is big enough.
This month we saw the first fruits of our labor. Our corn was sprouting well. Shortly after, many other rows began to show their precious fragile growths. 
We also planted indoors to test which method proved more fruitful.
Another avenue that we have ventured due to the massive rise in our grocery bill has been the production of our own eggs and poultry. We are just starting on this also so we have lots to learn this year as these sweet baby chicks grow.
That about raps it up for what we did this spring. Well, not exactly. We had a massive hail storm the other night that demolished the entire garden. I will post pics of the hail when I can find them lol. Had to use my old camera.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Funny
Ok this is the funniest thing I have seen in a while. If you love cats, you will truely enjoy this:
Engineers guide to cats
Engineers guide to cats
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
I am A Christian
by Maya Angelou
"A woman's heart should be so hidden in Christ
that a man should have to seek Him first to find her."
When I say... "I am a Christian" I'm not shouting "I'm clean livin'"
I'm whispering "I was lost, Now I'm found and forgiven."
When I say... "I am a Christian" I don't speak of this with pride.
I'm confessing that I stumble and need Christ to be my guide.
When I say... "I am a Christian" I'm not trying to be strong.
I'm professing that I'm weak and need His strength to carry on.
When I say... "I am a Christian" I'm not bragging of success.
I'm admitting I have failed and need God to clean my mess.
When I say... "I am a Christian" I'm not claiming to be perfect,
My flaws are far too visible but, God believes I am worth it.
When I say... "I am a Christian" I still feel the sting of pain..
I have my share of heartaches, so I call upon His name.
When I say... "I am a Christian" I'm not holier than thou,
I'm just a simple sinner Who received God's good grace, somehow!
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Cycle
And so the cycle of life comes around once again. Here is our first calf of the year.
Momma and baby did great. Since this photo was taken, we have had 7 more calves born without complications and haven't lost any. This is really good considering we have some first time mommas this year. We added 7 new mommas total, but 5 will not have babies till the fall. So, at the moment we have 4 black, 3 red, and one charcoal colored babies. The new bull is throwing smaller calves so this will make a big difference for the new moms.
On the homefront, things have been about the same. We are expecting our first litter of puppies in a couple of months. Here is the proud Daddy:
He has no care in the world. As you can see he is chillin' and figures his work is done. He will leave the hard part to the female.
I will have to post pictures of the garden later now that I have figured out how to use my new camera I got for Christmas.
Momma and baby did great. Since this photo was taken, we have had 7 more calves born without complications and haven't lost any. This is really good considering we have some first time mommas this year. We added 7 new mommas total, but 5 will not have babies till the fall. So, at the moment we have 4 black, 3 red, and one charcoal colored babies. The new bull is throwing smaller calves so this will make a big difference for the new moms.
On the homefront, things have been about the same. We are expecting our first litter of puppies in a couple of months. Here is the proud Daddy:
He has no care in the world. As you can see he is chillin' and figures his work is done. He will leave the hard part to the female.
I will have to post pictures of the garden later now that I have figured out how to use my new camera I got for Christmas.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Reflections
As I was reading through my emails, I came across one that struck me. It is geared toward mothers and puts an interesting twist to our calling. So, for all the mothers out there, enjoy:
I'm Invisible
It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the
room while I'm on the phone and ask to be taken to the store. Inside I'm thinking, 'Can't you see I'm on the phone?' Obviously not; no one can see if I'm on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all. I'm invisible. The invisible Mom.
Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more: Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this?
Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being. I'm a clock to ask, 'What time is it?' I'm a satellite guide to answer, 'What number is the Disney Channel?' I'm a car to order, 'Right around 5:30, please.'
I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history and the mind that graduated summa cum laude - but now they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again. She's going, she's going, she's gone!
One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England. Janice had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in. I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well. It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself as I looked down at my out-of-style dress; it was the only thing I could find that was clean. My unwashed hair was pulled up in a hair clip and I was afraid I could actually smell peanut butter in it. I was feeling pretty pathetic, when Janice turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, 'I brought you this.' It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe. I wasn't exactly sure why she'd given it to me until I read her inscription: 'To Charlotte, with admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees.'
In the days ahead I would read - no, devour - the book. And I would discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work. No one can say who built the great cathedrals - we have no record of their names. These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished. They made great sacrifices and expected no credit. The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything.
A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, 'Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof? No one will ever see it.' And the workman replied, 'Because God sees.'
I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place. It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, 'I see you, Charlotte. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does. No act of kindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn on, no cupcake you've baked, is too small for me to notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can't see right now what it will become.'
At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction. But it is not a disease that is erasing my life. It is the cure for the disease of my own self-centeredness. It is the antidote to my strong, stubborn pride. I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on. The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree.
When I really think about it, I don't want my son to tell the friend he's bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, 'My Mom gets up at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a turkey for three hours and presses all the linens for the table.' That would mean I'd built a shrine or a monument to myself. I just want him to want to come home. And then, if there is anything more to say to his friend, to add, 'You're gonna love it there.'
As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we're doing it right. And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible women.
It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the
room while I'm on the phone and ask to be taken to the store. Inside I'm thinking, 'Can't you see I'm on the phone?' Obviously not; no one can see if I'm on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all. I'm invisible. The invisible Mom.
Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more: Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this?
Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being. I'm a clock to ask, 'What time is it?' I'm a satellite guide to answer, 'What number is the Disney Channel?' I'm a car to order, 'Right around 5:30, please.'
I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history and the mind that graduated summa cum laude - but now they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again. She's going, she's going, she's gone!
One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England. Janice had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in. I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well. It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself as I looked down at my out-of-style dress; it was the only thing I could find that was clean. My unwashed hair was pulled up in a hair clip and I was afraid I could actually smell peanut butter in it. I was feeling pretty pathetic, when Janice turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, 'I brought you this.' It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe. I wasn't exactly sure why she'd given it to me until I read her inscription: 'To Charlotte, with admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees.'
In the days ahead I would read - no, devour - the book. And I would discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work. No one can say who built the great cathedrals - we have no record of their names. These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished. They made great sacrifices and expected no credit. The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything.
A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, 'Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof? No one will ever see it.' And the workman replied, 'Because God sees.'
I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place. It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, 'I see you, Charlotte. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does. No act of kindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn on, no cupcake you've baked, is too small for me to notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can't see right now what it will become.'
At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction. But it is not a disease that is erasing my life. It is the cure for the disease of my own self-centeredness. It is the antidote to my strong, stubborn pride. I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on. The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree.
When I really think about it, I don't want my son to tell the friend he's bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, 'My Mom gets up at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a turkey for three hours and presses all the linens for the table.' That would mean I'd built a shrine or a monument to myself. I just want him to want to come home. And then, if there is anything more to say to his friend, to add, 'You're gonna love it there.'
As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we're doing it right. And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible women.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Beef
Today we brought home 2 calves from the butcher and let me tell you it is a LOT of beef! I believe the calves dressed out at over 450 and 375 pds. We filled 2 deep freezers with these boys this year. Thankfully, we had cleaned out all the older meat and actually gone without beef for a couple of months. We are so glad that we have beef again. There is just no substitute for good old fashioned Cottle beef!
Another beef note, it is time to replenish the herd. We have recently separated the heifer calves to let them get big enough to replace some of our older mommas. We lost one mama this year and had to sell another that could no longer keep her babies alive cause her teets were too big. By this time next year we will have a total of 7 new mommas assuming we don't lose any with their first babies. This year we will also be investing in a few more cattle of our own to add to Pop's herd. This will be a new adventure similar to our garden last summer. Ranch life is good!
Another beef note, it is time to replenish the herd. We have recently separated the heifer calves to let them get big enough to replace some of our older mommas. We lost one mama this year and had to sell another that could no longer keep her babies alive cause her teets were too big. By this time next year we will have a total of 7 new mommas assuming we don't lose any with their first babies. This year we will also be investing in a few more cattle of our own to add to Pop's herd. This will be a new adventure similar to our garden last summer. Ranch life is good!
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