Progress report

[Al Hansen]

Here is the latest on what the kennel addition looks like. Yesterday I took the Mule down to the arroyo behind the kennel and shoveled in two huge loads of gravel for fill.

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When that was done I had just enough cement to mix for the step into this new addition. Today I will run to town and buy one more sack of cement to complete pouring the footings and I'll be done with that portion.

Bev came up with an idea that is working quite well for us. At first we thought that Cayenne and Pepper were about 80 to 90% beaver/lab hybrids. Everything in the kennel they enjoyed chewing until we began mixing Chile powder in the paint. As I was taking this picture I happened to see Pepper in the background and I told her what was going to happen to her the next time she decided to eat one of those boards.

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I then decided to take a close up of the package and paint. That is when I saw Pepper taking a drink of water. Maybe she knows! You can see what the two dogs did to that one board that is just above the paint can in the background. I did not use Chili powder in the mixture. As soon as I finish with the addition, I'll replace it and then do some touch up painting with the sprayer.

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As you can see, Cayenne is getting to look a lot larger. Her pups should be born around June 10th. We will look forward to what her litter looks like. Last year when we had Cayenne and Chaco together, they produced 6 chocolates and 3 blacks. Three of her pups have already been spoken for.

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I really enjoy this time of the year when the flowers are blooming so profusely. It won't be too much longer until the heat from the sun takes its toll on them. That could be starting in the middle of the week when the temps will be in the high 90s.

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This morning Bev and I go to Albuquerque for her 6 weeks check up since she had her hip replaced. She is doing remarkably well and is down to 2 pain killer per 24 hour period. 'She is a lot tougher than I am---no doubt! I told her yesterday that I thought I had done more loads of wash in this period of time than I did in the 8 years that I lived in Alaska.
Al

 

[Mark W]

So how much chili pepper do you have to add? Does this really work? Love the creativity.

Mark

 

[Neal Haarberg]

I added chili powder when I painted my wood dog crate for my last dog. You could see where she took about two bites into it and then never again. I got the idea from my dad. At the time he had a couple horses and one would eat through the top rail of his fence. An old rancher told him to try the chili powder and worked so I thought why not try it on dog box. That was about 13 years ago and I have no idea how much powder I added.

 

[TimJ]

Al,
That is a very clean well planned kennel.
I've tried hot pepper on plants to keep rabbits from eating them and it works well until it rains once. Painting them is not much of an option.

btw My pond building may have crashed to a halt this evening. I guess I'm not as young as I thought I was. Rock 1 - My Back 0.
The last *#$@ rock I needed to move too.

Tim

 

[Doug Bowman]

Al

Kennels are looking real nice.

Cayenne is starting to look like a little brown bear LOL.
Hope she gives you a nice litter.

 

[Al Hansen]

So how much chili pepper do you have to add? Does this really work? Love the creativity.

Mark

Mark, I checked the package and it looks like I used about 2 ounces of the 6 oz. package. I just stirred the powder in. By the way, it does give the paint a tint of pink because of the red chili powder. The good news is that it works.
The last time that we did this we bought the powder locally and it was XXX HOT! Now that might make a huge difference. We'll see. All I can say is that I am happy that Bev thought of doing this.
Al

 

[Al Hansen]

I added chili powder when I painted my wood dog crate for my last dog. You could see where she took about two bites into it and then never again. I got the idea from my dad. At the time he had a couple horses and one would eat through the top rail of his fence. An old rancher told him to try the chili powder and worked so I thought why not try it on dog box. That was about 13 years ago and I have no idea how much powder I added.

Funny how simple things like this can make such a big difference. Thanks so much, Neal, for your input.
Al

 

[Al Hansen]

Al,
That is a very clean well planned kennel.
I've tried hot pepper on plants to keep rabbits from eating them and it works well until it rains once. Painting them is not much of an option.

btw My pond building may have crashed to a halt this evening. I guess I'm not as young as I thought I was. Rock 1 - My Back 0.
The last *#$@ rock I needed to move too.

Tim

Hey Tim, I was thinking that on September 14th in 2012, I could have applied the chili powder to the plants around here and it wouldn't have been washed off until May 10th, less than two weeks ago, when it rained for the first time.

Sorry to hear of the rock winning the battle on the first attempt. Since I have L3 and L4 out of commission---both herniated, I know what you are talking about. Good luck!
Al

 

[Al Hansen]

Al

Kennels are looking real nice.

Cayenne is starting to look like a little brown bear LOL.
Hope she gives you a nice litter.

Thanks, Doug. As for Cayenne, I have to admit that she is starting to look like that Kodiak Brownie I took back in 73. She still has to go until around June 10th. Bev and I were talking about her yesterday and wondering what it , the litter, will be like this year. Last year it was 6 chocolates and 3 blacks. We'll just have to wait and see.
Al

 

[Steve Seibel]

Hope Bev is recovered by the time those pups arrive, Al, or you're gonna be one tired puppy!

 

[art]

Al,

Glad to hear that Bev is on the "short" road to being able to have you "chase" her around! My work on the flooring is complete, and now the "guru" will take over and install the 3/4" white oak T&G. The carpeting and padding removal was not bad, but pulling up the 5/8" underlayment was horrible. He gave me a real "high price" if I put down the 5/8" plywood and nail and screw it, as he hate that part of the job, and never figured I would tackle it! Well it's down and my knees and legs are killing me. Never underestimate a 70 year old "tightwad"!!

Beautiful dogs and great workmanship on the kennel. Say Hi to Bev, and will talk soon.

Art

 

[Al Hansen]

Hope Bev is recovered by the time those pups arrive, Al, or you're gonna be one tired puppy!

I already know that I am going to be tired, Steve. She is leaving for Wisconsin on the 1st and is coming back on the day that Cayenne is due to deliver. So I guess I'll have to get a puppy sitter while I run up to the airport and get her. Glad it is only 80 miles to get there.
Al

 

[Al Hansen]

Al,

Glad to hear that Bev is on the "short" road to being able to have you "chase" her around! My work on the flooring is complete, and now the "guru" will take over and install the 3/4" white oak T&G. The carpeting and padding removal was not bad, but pulling up the 5/8" underlayment was horrible. He gave me a real "high price" if I put down the 5/8" plywood and nail and screw it, as he hate that part of the job, and never figured I would tackle it! Well it's down and my knees and legs are killing me. Never underestimate a 70 year old "tightwad"!!

Beautiful dogs and great workmanship on the kennel. Say Hi to Bev, and will talk soon.

Art

Thank you, Art, for the well wishes for Bev. I'll pass them on. Sounds to me like you got that job done. I understand about being on your knees and what it can do to you. You have to be glad it is over.

I took this picture this afternoon when the thermometer read 93F. I made the decision to stop what I was doing. Oh by the way, have you ever been in 93F temps outside with the humidity rate at 7%? Tomorrow morning, Art, I will attempt to put the entrance door together and then hope my measurements were correct. It is almost done!
Al

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[Al Hansen]

After cleaning up from yesterday's work and getting to the house, I found out why I enjoyed the cool air inside it. It was 93F. We hit a high of 97 yesterday.

This morning I will get the shade cloth put on. I plan to start by 6AM to take advantage of the cool air while it lasts.

The next project will be to install the water dishes. Each will be out front to make giving them fresh water very easy to do.

Once that is done, then I need to haul in fill for the east side and some in front. All I have to do is go down into the arroyo with the Mule and a shovel and haul as many loads as is necessary. With that done all that is remaining to do is to go get a huge load of pea rock. I have a spot about 20 miles south of the house where I know there still is some. I'll need a rake and shovel for that project.
Al

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[Paul Meisenheimer]

Looks great Al! I am in Ontario for the weekend and we had frost last night. Some of that warmth might be nice up here.

How many dogs is this built to house?

 

[Al Hansen]

Looks great Al! I am in Ontario for the weekend and we had frost last night. Some of that warmth might be nice up here.

How many dogs is this built to house?

Hi Paul,
I noticed that you said "some of the warmth"---we have a forecast high of 95F today so just let me know how much of it you want sent up there. The last few days have been really dry. Humidity rates have been at 6 to 7%.

As for the dog kennel, it will hold 9 dogs. At the present time we have 2 males and 4 females that we are using. Some time this year we also are hoping to get that yellow male with the phenomenal pedigree background in retrieving---that is if there is a yellow male in the litter. The sire is black and the mother is yellow. Also on our list is another Missouri female where Habi came from. Maybe the same sire but a different female.
This is Pepper's last year and hopefully we'll find a home for her where there is someone who just enjoys petting dogs and scratching behind the ears because she loves it so much.
Al

Yesterday we put Pepper in with Chance. We have had great success with these two paired up. This is going to be her last litter. They are now in the new addition that I finally completed. Well, I do have two things left to do. The first thing is hauling in some fill to put around the south and east sides of the addition and secondly I need to go get a load of pea rock for inside the two runs. Here are two pics that I took last evening.

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