Tuesday, March 14, 2017

It's a girl!

But we don't know her name yet. Our new Sheltie puppy was born on Februrary 23 (which is one day after Callie's birthday) and we'll bring her home around April 20. Now we have to come up with a name. The year 2017 is an "N" year for dogs, so the name (at least the official name) must begin with "N." We're looking for a name that works both in French and in English.

Isn't she cute? She'll be 4 weeks old on Thursday. Her nose will lengthen considerably in the coming weeks.

There were two puppies in the litter. One is a male, tan and white (sable) in color like a classic collie. The female, ours, is tricolor, meaning she is mostly black, with white and tan accents. She's a Shetland Sheepdog, so she will be about half the size of Callie when she's full grown. Her mother (whose name I've already forgotten) is a sable color, fauve in French. Her father is a tricolor.

This is the mother of our new pup.

The breeder's facility was nice, out in the countryside between Azay-le-Rideau and Chinon (both famous Loire Valley châteaux), a little over an hour's drive from here. There were many dogs on the property, and a good number of older puppies from previous litters, all bounding with energy. Ken took a bunch of photos, but the dogs were hopping around so much that most of them came out blurry. When we bring our new one home, she will already be "chipped" for identification (a microchip implant under her skin), like Callie is, vaccinated, and registered with the official French dog registry. Now we have to think about puppy stuff, like a collar and a harness (I may have a small one from when Collette was a puppy), bowls, chew toys, and a bed. Oh yeah, and a name!

27 comments:

  1. Congratulations...! What about Nina or Nana?

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    1. Like in elle est gironde ta nana !

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    2. Bonjour cousin

      Trop drôle :-) How is the snow storm of the century in your area? Here we are expecting up to 30 cms overnight and between 50-60 cms further east towards Québec city

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    3. Bonjour Cousine,
      We've got a little snow, but nothing to write home about. The temperstures are below freezing, so it will last for a few days.

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  2. Nicolette: Nicki for short!

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  3. Aaaah, what a little beauty! I do hope that Callie will bond with her.
    I saw a list of suggestions of names beginning with 'N' - they included Nescafé, Nobody, Nutella, and Nissan - how awful! Nina is a name that works well in both languages, though it's quite plain for such a pretty little pup.
    Hope you're all getting some extra sleep - especially Callie. I still remember what it was like after we brought our eight-week old Lab home!

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  4. She looks nice and how excited you must be about a new addition to your family. I like Nina, but I really like Nicki. I think Nicki is a legitimate name in France.

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  5. How about Nyah, meaning of the word "purpose"

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  6. Nancy would work both in French and in English. If you've never been to Nancy, la place Stanislas is worth a detour. For an instant I thought the puppy's mother was Collette!

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  7. What a beautiful girl. I don't think I've ever seen a Sheltie with black markings like that. As for a name, how about Nanette. There was a Broadway musical, "No, no Nanette," which is something you both will be saying quite frequently for a while.

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  8. Congratulations! She is a adorable. Can't wait to see what Callie thinks.

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  9. BEAUTIFUL Pup!!! I'm sure she has fallen on her paws with the two xx three of you to be her family. It would not be illegal to call her with a name that does not begin with N so choose away.

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    1. I think the LOF (Livre des Origines Français), which is the organization that certifies dogs as pedigreed and keeps the geneology records, requires that you give the dog a name that starts with the letter for the year of birth (N for 2017) for the registration documents. But then you are of course free to call the dog by any name you want to. We named Callie because her birth year, 2007, was a C year for the LOF, and we've always called her Callie.

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  10. I love tricolors! Good for you--your adventure is about to begin! Very happy for you. I hope Callie will be, too!

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  11. a new puppy! OH MY! what will callie and bertie think?

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  12. How exciting! Congratulations.

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  13. Oh, how fun! I like the Nicolette/Nicki suggestion someone offered...reminiscent of Colette, a little :), but with an N.

    Can't wait to hear what you decide... and, I'll get to meet her in June! I was already so excited to meet Callie and Bert!

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  14. She is so cute . May be Nova or Naya could be a suggestion.

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  15. Non non Nanette, as Sheila suggested gets my vote!

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  16. My favourites would be Nadine, Nicolette, or Noelle.

    Nadine From Nada Variant of Nadia.
    Nan Variant of Anne favor: grace.
    Nancy Variant of Anne favor: grace.
    Nanette Favor: grace. Variant of Anne.
    Nanine Favor: grace. Variant of Anne.
    Nann Variant of Anne favor: grace.
    Nannette Favor: grace. Variant of Anne.
    Nanon Grace
    Natalie Born at Christmas
    Nathalia Birthday: especially the birthday of Christ.
    Natuche Born at Christmas
    Nayomi Pleasant
    Nicola People's victory
    Nicole Victory of the People.
    Nicolette People's victory
    Ninette Grace Girl French
    Ninon Grace
    Noelle Birthday. Feminine of Noel. Commonly refers to Christ's birth and Christmas festival.
    Noemie Variant of Hebrew Naomi Pleasantness.
    Nycole Same as Nicole or Nichole
    Nynette Variant of Anne prayer. Ninon de Lenclos - seventeenth-century aristocrat famous for her wit and beauty.

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  17. Nancy gets my vote. You can do so much with Nancy. When she's putting on aires she's a Fancy Nancy, and when she's happy to see you a prancing Nancy, or a dancing Nancy.

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  18. What is Callie's official name?

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  19. Ninon or Noel are nice....You will come up with something that is perfect to fit this lovely little lady who has so wisely chosen the perfect family. Doesn't she look intelligent!

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  20. Wow! This post got a lot of comments, at least for this blog! Thanks for the suggestions; we are considering some of them already.

    As for Callie's official name, it's Callie. She was born in a "C" year (2007).

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    1. Callie's "full" name is Callie du Berger de la Vallée des Géants, which translates to Callie of the Shepherd of the Valley of Giants.

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  21. Whatever name you choose - she'll still be a beautiful little girl !
    Our last but one dog, was a retired breeding Lab. from a kennels near Geneva. She had such a long name - "All Things Bright and Beautiful of Tintagel Winds Labradors ! We stuck with Petite-Chose, which was her pet name, and even that was rather a mouthful. The shorter the name the better, and our current dog, also a retired breeding Labrador, and is Spanish, is called Inca.

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