Kimera — Mach-Speed Whippet pups at 10 Days Old

03/07/2013

Glenn Zen California, Dogs (General), Mach-Speed Whippets, Whippets, Whippets on the Net , , , Leave a comment

Here are the 6 pups at about 10 days old —  4 girls and 2 boys.  Whelped June 18th, 2013.  More infor at http://www.machspeedwhippets.com   and   http://www.machspeedwhippets.wordpress.com   and  facebook account:  mach-speed whippets

A Look at the Mach-Speed Pups in their New Homes

26/11/2012

Glenn Zen Dogs (General), Mach-Speed Whippets, Whippets , , , , , , 1 Comment

1.  Mach-Speed Lunar Lander (“Orbit”) – Now with the call-name “Loki”

Loki has a great home (in a young and active couple) in the Bay Area of Northern California.

Here is what they had to say about their Loki:

“We decided we wanted to name our first puppy after the Norse god of mischief and chaos — Loki. What we were seeking was a new best friend, a fun addition to our family and a highlight to our upcoming adventures. You see, when we came to Mach-Speed Whippets, we didn’t come for the normal, predictable pack of puppies. We knew this bunch would be special and we were looking for a sporty dog with a strong personality. The tremendous socialization from the start was a real winner for us — by the time we had met the first pup, he had already met people from every continent. When we met all the puppies we were torn, it was a hard decision to choose just one of those precious faces. They were all cuddly, playful and personable. After days of back and forth, we knew we had found our pup when Loki, then Orbit, nuzzled Sasha’s neck and fell asleep in Yannis’s arms.  That little boy with a candle flame blaze between his eyes, and with the dark mask to match, became for us, the ideal look.
As Loki grows up, he continues to impress us with his intelligence, curiosity, friendliness, and countless other positive traits. A few highlights:
-His first beach trip at 2.5 months old showed us that size would not deter him from his goal.  That little pup fetched back a frisbee that was taller than him! …and ate a lot more sand than we hoped!
-During the San Francisco Fleet Week, at less than 3 months young, Loki was more interested in the people and their food than the fighter jets flying only a few meters above our head.
-His best friends are a Newfoundland (who acts much like Nana from Peter Pan), a German Shephard, who Loki *loves* to steal toys from, and a Siamese/Burmese cat that he’s quickly outgrown but still loves to chase around.
-Loki continues to impress us with his intuition. It doesn’t take much for him to learn the rules and knows how to read whoever he plays with. He’s even learned the difference between pet rabbits, which he protects and regularly checks up on, and changing directions on a dime to chase those delicious-looking squirrels in the park. He knew how to signal bathroom-time the day after we brought him home and has mastered sit, down, wave, bark on command, and directed jumping onto an object.
-If he could be any animal, Loki would be a goat. He loves to munch on grass and is perfectly content grazing on tender grasses in the park. He will also steal the aforementioned rabbits’ hay (or carrots, lettuce, kale, cucumber..) if it pokes through their cage.
-In our most recent roadtrip to Los Angeles, he proved to be a great (read quiet) companion in two nonstop 6 hour car rides, adjusted instantly to our hotel room and even visibily conquered his fear of heights as we zoomed to the 28th floor on an outdoor glass elevator.
Joining us in nearly all of our activities, Loki has fit into our lives as much more than a pet. He has become the best companion we could have asked for and we have a hard time believing that our confident, mature pup still has so much growing up to do.”

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2.  Mach-Speed Sonic the Hedgehog (“Sonic”) – Now with the call-name “Teo”

Teo lives with a family with children in Mexico City, Mexico.  It’s amazing how much Teo has already lost his blue color!  It seems his fawn is a little darker than his father’s — yet still kind of peach.  I love his new color!  You can see in the profile pics of him standing on a desk at his home in Mexico.

  • Here is what Hernaldo had to tell us about Teo:
  • Teo is a self-confident puppy but with a light touch of submission, bright, sound, and outgoing. We have a profound mutual understanding.
  • In our garden we had an endemic mexican tree (a very young one), it has flowers that the ancient Aztecs used it for tripping out in mystical voyages (we didn’t know about it). The flowers are beautiful (yellow), like large thin bells and they blossom three to four times a year, its called “floripondio”. We didn’t know it has amazing hallucinogenic powers. One morning, I found Teo overdoing everything, excited, almost scary and very speedy.   I noticed that the area of this tree was covered with detritus from the flowers. I examined Teo’s tongue and it was yellow!! I did some research and found out about the special properties of these flowers. The vet came to see Teo, he suggested us not to do nothing but hydrate him a lot. Just after two days, our puppy pulled himself together.  We immediately took down the small tree of “floripondios”, now we have a beautiful two year old tree called “bugambilias”, so our Teo won’t be in a mystical trip anymore.

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3 Mach-Speed Q*Bert (“Q*Bert”) – Now with the call-name “Dasher”

Dasher lives with his new family (that has a son and a daughter) in the Bay Area in Northern California.

The family even remodeled their backyard and put in turf for their little Dasher!  I wonder if dasher will have a reindeer costume for Christmas this year!  With a name like “Dasher”, it would be fitting!  🙂

<maybe Dasher’s family will give me some info to add here in this blog later>

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4 Mach-Speed Super Mario Bros. (“Mario”)

Mario lives in San Francisco with a young couple that are presently finishing their senior years of college.  I am sure Mario’s life is exciting! — Just like young Whippets like it!

<maybe Mario’s family will give me some info to add here in this blog later>

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5 Mach-Speed Asteroids (“Comet”)

Comet is still with us here in Atherton, California.  We are considering homing him, if the home is serious about showing and/or dog-sport — preferably to a home nearby.  It looks more and more like he may stay with us.  He was the biggest trouble-maker in the litter back when there were multiple pups here.  But when he was the last pup left,  he became such a sweetie.  He got house-trained in record time, doesn’t really bark much, and jumps really high.  Pretty much the only trouble he gets into is related to the fact that he knows he is a good jumper!

I will add some photos to the gallery here soon… or in a separate entry.

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6 Mach-Speed Galaxian (“Laser”) – Now with the call-name “Dashiell”

Dashiell lives with a family in Hollister, California.  On their grounds, they have a large plant nursery (trees, bushes, shrubs, etc)

Here is what Claire, Dashiell’s owner, has to say about her little boy:

Dash is getting to be quite the thief – I should have called him Bandit.  I have to be careful to put away the dirty laundry because his favorite thing is to snatch something from it and run away into the nursery to show his prize to everyone.  He was running around with my bra in his mouth the other day and my employees that work in the nursery got quite a laugh from his antics.
 
Dashiell is my entertainment when I’m working, I tend to focus so much on my work that I forget about “living in the now” which is the key to happiness which many people believe.  He helps me get out of my head and enjoy a little humour while I’m getting my business done.  Besides that he is a very sweet boy that I’ve fallen in love with and can’t imagine living without now.
 
What I love about whippets is their ability to relax and lounge around sleeping and be satisfied with that for most of the day, but are ready to play and exercise wholeheartedly when it’s the right time for that.  At least Dashiell is that way, and the only other 2 whippets I’ve known were like that.   He rides around in my truck with me all day when I go make sales calls, and meets everyone and is very sociable.  He’s more popular with my clients than I am – they all say “did you bring Dash with you?”  instead of “hello Claire”.

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7 Mach-Speed Pacman (“Pacman”) – Now with the call-name “Fino”

Fino  lives in Pasadena, California with a married couple that is originally from Spain.

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8 Mach-Speed Moon Patrol (“Luna”)

Luna lives in Richlands, North Carolina with a married couple.   Luna is in training as a therapy dog and they are planning to probably show her if things go as planned.

<maybe Luna’s family will give me some info to add here in this blog later>

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And there were 3…

25/09/2012

Glenn Zen Dogs (General), Mach-Speed Whippets , Leave a comment

last 3 pups from the litter of 8….

a week ago, Sonic flew to Mexico.  Since then, we are down to 3 pups.  of them, 2 are still available — Pacman ans Comet.

that’s:   Mach-Speed Pacman and Mach-Speed Asteroids.

from left to right: Mario, Pacman, & Comet

Our Arcade Pups at 6.5 Weeks Playing in the Yard

05/08/2012

Glenn Zen California, Dogs (General), Mach-Speed Whippets, Whippets 1 Comment

Here are most of the pups running around the yard at 6.5weeks.  The puppy at the very beginning is Comet.

Whippet Litters Around the World : June/July 2012

09/06/2012

Glenn Zen Dogs (General), Mach-Speed Whippets, Whippets, Whippets on the Net , , , 1 Comment

A lot of late Spring/early Summer litters coming up!  Here are just a few.  If you know of others, please tell me and I will try to add them to this entry.  One of the main reasons I made this blog entry is because Laika will not mother enough puppies to home with everyone who contacts us.  If you tell a potential Whippet-Owner “you live so far away, consider a breeder closer to home”, or  that “we don’t have any brindles in this litter”, or something like this…  They often respond with the question “Who else has puppies right now?”  So, I made this list so that I can send this link to those people.  You will find the list of upcoming litters below.  We will, perhaps not surprisingly, start the list with our breeding here at Mach-Speed.  🙂

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Rocket & Lajka — Mach-Speed Whippets

California, USA

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Devereux Whippets — Tennessee, USA

??? & Bebe

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Iberia’s Pride — Sofia, Bulgaria

Litter 1: James & Daira
Litter 2: Spencer & Lacey

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Entroncamento, Portugal

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Windsong Whippets — West Virginia, USA

??? & ???

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Rusalka Whippets – Iowa, USA

??? & ???

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Jetstream Whippets — Ontario, Canada

Chesney & Tango

  • Due approx Aug 3rd.
  • ….
  • Test Mating:
  • More Info: click on “puppies” on their website
  • Webpage:  www.jetstreamwhippets.com

Mach-Speed — Spring-Summer 2012 — the Retro Arcade Litter

30/05/2012

Glenn Zen California, Dogs (General), Mach-Speed Whippets, Whippets , , , , 3 Comments

Downhill Cycling with Dogs

26/05/2012

Glenn Zen Dog Sports & Racing, Dogs (General) , , , 1 Comment

Check out this downhill cyclist with his Vizsla!  Great dog!  Imagine this sport with a sighthound!

Here is their YouTube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/user/norcorider2005

The Mach-Speed Lajka Litter Prediction Contest

23/05/2012

Glenn Zen California, Dogs (General), Mach-Speed Whippets, Polls & Surveys, Sighthounds, Whippets , , , 5 Comments

Well, Lajka’s all pregnant n’ stuff…

               so it’s time to have some fun!

Yep, European Imports Lajka and Rocket have expressed their love for one-another in the form of a pregnancy here in California.  Let’s have a contest to see who can guess the number of pups!  (Hint: My dear Vet did a little check early on when she stopped by to see the Whippies (without USGs or Xrays) and she seems to have felt about 5 of what I like to call “puppy-bumps”).  So guessing below 4 would be quite a gamble indeed, but I suppose it’s not an impossible result.

Surely more than one contestant will get that right, so the 1st tie-breaker question will be the gender breakdown.  Most likely, a few people will get this right too, so the 3rd question will be a second tie-breaker — the date of birth/whelping.  Background info:  average length of pregnancy is around 61-63 days and the matings were from the 22nd to the 26th of April.

The 4th question is the final tie-breaker.  Here you can write anything you want to predict about the litter  —  coat colors especially… maybe also time of day.

Now you probably want to know about the prizes!  Well, here you go.

Firstly, the first place winner gets to pick TWO prizes from the following choices:

  1. A blog or website :  set up for them by me on WordPress plus a half a year of assistance with maintenance.  The initial size of this site is to be within reason (let’s say. not larger than my average blog)
  2. 1-2 songs recorded in my studio :  produced of co-produced by me.  If this is with live instruments, this would be of good demo quality.  If this is with line and sampled instruments, it should be of studio quality.  You would need to provide your own transport to Atherton, CA.
  3. I record my vocal to the instrumental version of the song “Whip it Good” by Devo.  Where you can change the words to fit your wants, needs, and whims.  I can help you change the lyrics as much as you need.  You might be able to convince me to do another track if I like the track enough.  NO!  NO LADY GAGA!!  😉  If you don’t have Whippets, it could be a Snoop Dog song, or “Who Let the Dog’s Out” or something like that.  Remember, we would change the words to fit your reality. 😉
  4. Four hours of frisbee/sighthound disc sport training for you and/or your sighthound (or other breed for that matter) plus additional help over the net.  You would need to transport yourself to me, or catch me here or there when I travel (which isn’t too often.) 
  5. A semi-pro video edit of your short films ; or slide-show of your photos.
  6. For pre-screened potential owners, a “significant discount” in the fees that are required to become “owned” by a Mach-Speed Whippet.
The winner can pass along any of these prizes to a direct family member or close friend or dog-breeding/dog-world partner.  I reserve the right to ask for proof of the relationship.  Sorry, “facebook friends for 2 years” doesn’t count!…. especially for prize choice nr.6.  Many of these pries could take a while to come to fruition, given that we all have busy lives,  the distances between us, etc.  Nevertheless, you can count on me to follow through with the 2 prizes that the winner chooses.  I will also make a blog entry with the results of the top contestants — maybe a top 10?  If the 1st place contestant doesn’t want any prizes or “dissapears”, then the 2nd place contestant will pick their two prizes.  Be sure to include your email at the bottom of the survey if you want to win.
You might cleverly mix your 2 prizes.  For example, the song “Whip it Good” with lyrics about your kennel or your dogs, and then a music video to that song with pics or films of your dogs.  😉
To take part in the contest, press the button at the bottom of this blog entry.  
Consider getting background info about the parents and the pedigree from this blog and from www.machspeedwhippets.com .  Send the link to this blog to your friends so that they can take part too!
Questions about the litter and pup availability: glennskii@gmail.com
Take Our Survey!

Sighthounds of Note

18/05/2012

imogenre Dogs (General), Sighthounds , , , , , , 11 Comments

Sighthounds have always attracted notable owners. Here we take a look at some of the great Sighthound owners and their dogs.

Royalty

Sighthounds of various breeds have long been favourites of Royalty, not least because of their superb hunting skills. In 1210 the future King John of England sent an Irish hound to Llewellyn, Prince of Wales as a gift. King John of Poland was an avid collector, by all accounts. In fact, so popular did Irish wolfhounds become as a status symbol during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries that their export from Ireland was banned by Declaration in 1652 for fear of their extinction from their country of origin. Llewellyn the Great, Prince of Wales, Henry VII King of England, Queen Elizabeth I of England and Elisabeth, Empress of Austria all owned Wolfhounds. Wolfhounds were not the only Royal breed however.

Richard II and the Royal Greyhound

Richard II had a well-known and beloved greyhound called Mathe, who is pictured below.

Henry IV’s Saluki

Henry IV had what is thought to be a Saluki in this famous portrait, painted in 1514 by Lucas Cranach the Elder. Salukis, thought to be the oldest breed in existence, returned with the Crusaders from the Middle East as proof of their expeditions. The scallop shell was the badge of the pilgrim, and can be seen on the dog’s collar. There are records of Salukis in carvings from the Sumerian Empire dating back as far as 7000-6000 BC. It was also a royal dog during the Egyptian civilisation, when Pharaohs would have their favourite dogs mummified.

Military & Politics

John F Kennedy and Wolf

John F Kennedy had a huge menagerie of pets, from a rabbit called Zsa Zsa to a pony called Macaroni. But his favourite pets were certainly his dogs. The Kennedys owned a large number of dogs, as can be seen in this family portrait. He would certainly have needed cheap dog insurance to cover the vet bills. John F was slightly allergic to fur, but was not remotely deterred from dog ownership. His Sighthound of choice was the Irish Wolfhound – imaginatively named ‘Wolf’. John F Kennedy was the first President to insist that his dogs come to greet him from the presidential helicopter when he returned to the White House from trips.

General George Custer

General Custer was a great lover of Sighthounds. He owned an English Greyhound, called Byron, but the majority of his dogs were Scottish Staghounds, with which he hunted frequently. Unfortunately he managed to shoot his favourite dog, Lee, on one hunting expedition, when he was riding at full tilt after a buffalo and attempting to shoot it at the same time. Custis Lee, his horse, held steady but the General describes the terrible following moments:

“I drew my pistol, intending to use both hands in controlling the horse, when, just as my hand was raised to the reins, my finger accidentally and in the excitement of the moment, pressed the trigger and discharged the weapon, the ball entering Lee’s neck near the top of his head and penetrating his brain. Both horse and buffalo had been at full speed. The shot produced instant death.”

You can read more about Custer’s extraordinary adventures with his dogs here.

Image : Custer with Wolfhounds

Celebrity

Rudolph Valentino and Centaur Pendragon

Somewhat grandly named Centaur Pendragon was the adored companion of Rudolph Valentino, and he appeared in many photos, and even on stage. Here is an early photo of the devoted pair. Centaur used to guard Valentino’s dozens of suitcases when he travelled.

Picasso, Kasbec and Kabul and Sauterelle

Many people only know of Picasso’s beloved Dachshund, Lump. But he also owned three Afghan hounds during his lifetime. His first was Kasbec, the second was Kabul and his last one was Sauterelle. Strangely, none of them appeared in his paintings.

Picasso with Kasbec, photographed by Man Ray in 1935

Picasso with Kabul, photographed by David Douglas Duncan, 1959

Lucien Freud

The great artist Lucien Freud, who died recently, was a whippet owner. He had several dogs, which he adored and often included in his portraits.

Choice of whippet paintings

Freud, Double Portrait

Weaver’s IG

Sigourney Weaver is a great Italian Greyhound fan, but took her love of her own, Petals, to extremes in 2003 when she held a wedding ceremony for her and their neighbour’s dog Jimmy, from whom they intended to breed. Her daughter, clearly a traditionalist, suggested that the two dogs should marry before having babies, and Sigourney got behind the idea. The bride wore a faux Vera Wang gown, complete with veil and pearl accessories. The union was successful and Petals produced three puppies. Rumours circulated that Jimmy and Petals now no longer talk, prompting speculation about a divorce, but so far they are just gossip. Only in Hollywood…

For more examples of famous people with sighthounds, read below those that were added in the comments by our readers:

Whippet Ingenuity (film)

06/05/2012

Glenn Zen California, Dogs (General), Mach-Speed Whippets, Sighthounds, Whippets, Whippets on the Net , , , , 3 Comments

Astro gets stuff done.

0:04 astro jumps in the pool
0:08 retrieves blue disc
0:17 starts bulldozing yellow disc with blue disc
0:20 yellow disc gets away
0:27 snags yellow disc without losing blue disc
0:33 gives discs to rocket and lajka at the steps
0:37 rocket takes the yellow disc
0:40 astro returns for unclaimed blue disc

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