Spirit & Rufus 2009 Litter

Mina has a new home!

2011-08-02T19:58:00.000-07:00

Congrats to Kira on her newest buddy Mina. I will post pics when we sign papers and all that jazz!

Dreams do come true!!

2011-05-22T22:14:00.000-07:00

I has taken close to 15 years of selectively breeding and showing my dogs. In those 15 years there has been a lot of heartache and a ton of happiness ..... but nothing compares to the feeling of having bred your first Canadian Champion!!

And then to go onto having your baby boy go out as a Specials and win 4 group placements!! 3 group 2nd (Kristen Francis, Ole Neilsen & William Gunn) and 1 group 3rd (Mary White)

Thank you Jaime Bolduc for finishing Bishop and making my dreams come true!! An a special thank you to Jacqueline Pike for stepping in when tragedy stuck Jaime's family and showing Bishop for us!!

Spring has sprung?

2011-04-25T22:04:00.000-07:00

It has been awhile since I updated the blog. Nothing much new, just day to day life. Bishop is heading out to some shows with his handler (I can not attend the shows, too far) and hopefully will pick up his last point.

Mina is still here and is available to the perfect home. She is a really sweet girl who just adores everything you do with her. She is excellent with kids and would do well in a home that will keep her active.

And then of course there is my 3 generations just laying around in the sun on our deck. They love to lay there!

And play there too!

Hope You had a Happy Birthday

2010-12-06T16:57:00.000-08:00

I am still amazed with all of you. Hope you had a wonderful Birthday Sohan, Huxley, Pandarus, Eclipse, Mina, Bishop & Baron!! I know that my crew had a wonderful day romping in the snow and playing with their Grandma and Mom!

This is how I love to remember you guys!!

<3 Gramma Sherri

Such a proud "Gramma"!

2010-11-14T14:32:00.000-08:00

I recieved this note today from Chloe who owns Sohan ..........

"Just giving you a heads up on how Sohan is doing. We went the Moncton Kennel Club show this weekend and had a really great time! He made alot of new friends and saw some old friends... and he now has his first leg in Rally-O and passed his CGN test for the SECOND time!!!
Our first trial we got a score of 86. We did have a ten point deduction due to a handler error but he did well considering it was his first show! The second day again was my fault. I messed our Rally time and had to rush into the ring... and didn't have time to time to take outside to do his business... and he did it in the ring!
When it came to the CGN testing, all the dog were tired but he still did amazing! He rocked at the supervised isolation and the Sit/Stay & Sit/Stay come!!!
But all in all, he and I had ALOT of fun and can't wait to get at it again next year :D! Thank you so much for this amazing boy, I can't see myself without him! "

What we've been up to

2010-11-12T10:47:00.000-08:00

With the coming colder months ahead we have decided to sign up for Rally classes with Bishop, Mina, Baron & Bliss. Once those are done we will also try and pursue agility with a few of the crew too!!

Devlin finally got to show Honor in the peewee ring. They had a blast!! I cry at a lot of things but watching my two "babies" go around that ring had the tears flowing. Grandma Honor is 11 years young and still acts like she is a young pup. Devlin's sole concern was to tell the judge he won't be moving her fast "cuz she is as old as dirt!" LOL

Baron has only been to a few shows and of course has blown his coat and is going through a lanky stage where his legs are longer than a super model's .... well you get the idea.

Bishop cut his front left foot on the pastern and I had to pull him from his last show. Doesn't help he has dropped all his coat as well. Come one colder temps!!

Now for a bit of sad news ...... Karma has passed away. I am told "It wasnt parvo, it was a new strain of canine influenza that multiple dogs at that show wound up with. The number one Gordon Setter almost died from it as well." "The news came down the pike from the handlers about how many dogs that were there got sick and either died or came close to it." I am heart broken as are her owners. She was sitting on 6 points and well on he way to finishing her Canadian Championship. I am thankful I got to spend a lot of time with Karmy and know she was adored by not only her "family" but all those who met her.

Mina is still here and looking fo her forever home. But while she is here Trynity has taken it upon herself to do a lot of training. Tryn & Mina recently were entered in a show, even though they didn't place in their large Junior Novice class, they had fun!

I am always looking for stories on your pups so send them my way.

some pics of how the pups are doing

2010-09-28T08:33:00.000-07:00

Karma's first 4 points!!

My stepson's first time ever in the ring and he shows Bishop to a third in Juniors

Devlin & Mina rockin it in the peewee ring

Sohan looking all so handsome in NB

Wordless Wednesday

2010-09-08T06:58:00.000-07:00

West Kootaney Kennel Club show - Aug 20-22, 2010

2010-08-23T15:35:00.000-07:00

WOW what a weekend!! First off a big THANK YOU to the WKKC club for hosting a fabulous show. This was the first year I have been and will definitely be back next year. Keara, Lochlan and I took Bishop, Spirit & Bliss to the show to have some fun and we sure did. Arriving around noon on the Thursday we set up camp and waited for our friends to arrive with their dogs, including Karma!!! This was a limited entry show so there was 2 shows per day for a total of 6 sets of points to be potentially won. There was a large entry for Aussies, 2 class males, 6 class females and a specials female (already attained a Canadian Championship).

Class males were Bishop and Risk'N Hope's Rocketman (Elton). Class females were Karma (Edanas Sunset Legacy At Debern), Buff Cap Sugarland "Capri" (owned by Theresa Casselman), a lovely blue girl Sterling You Belong To Me "Taylor" and Glory (Casselcreek Do You Believe) girl all in Jr Puppy, Spirit (Edana's One More Day HIC) in Cdn Bred and Casselcreek Rock My World "Brooke" in the open class. The specials girl did not make the trip but was Ch Buff Cap Belle Bottom Blues CGN "Belle" (owned by Theresa Casselman).

On Friday morning Elton beat Bishop for WM and Capri won her class as well as WF, BOW, BOBp & BOB. Karma placed 3rd in her class as she thought bouncing off legs was a riot!!

Friday afternoon Bishop won WM for another point (now on 4 pts) and Capri repeated her win from the morning.

Saturday Capri was moved to Specials. In the morning Elton won WM, Brooke won WF (& I think BOW) and Capri won Breed and BOBp. Karma won her class as she found her groove.

Saturday afternoon Capri won Breed and BOBp again. Bishop won WM and Brooke won WF & BOW and Karma won her class. Brooke finished her CH.

Sunday Brooke was moved to Specials and since Elton finished I guess they pulled him for whatever reason. But the break in points for males and BOW didn't much matter as Bishop won WM & BOW in both shows for 2 point wins. He is now sitting on 9 points in only two weekends of showing!! The judges all had wonderful comments about him, his movement was outstanding and nothing wasted. But to top it all off Karma won both WF for her first 4 points!

So all in all we had a fabulous weekend. I had a 3 generation photo done of the blue girls (Honor, Spirit & Karma) and will post that as well as Karma's pic as soon as I get them!!

Another Minimal Monday

2010-07-26T20:15:00.000-07:00

Mina & Trynity first time on sheep. Don't know who had more fun!!

What a Weekend!!!

2010-07-05T23:18:00.000-07:00

I couldn't be prouder of the boys!! Both boys beat their mom this past weekend in Vernon for Breed and a nice 2 point win. As soon as pictures come I will post them. So in summary Spirit is sitting on 6 points, Bishop is sitting on 3 points and Baron on 2 points.

Our First Title!!!

2010-05-29T21:17:00.000-07:00

Edana's Take It Or Leave It CGN

Sohan and his momma, Chloe, had the opportunity to try for the CGN title today and passed with flying colors. I hear that Sohan has beautiful heel work and was enamoured with the evaluator when it came time for the brushing. I am so proud of you both!!! Keep up the good work!

CGN stands for Canine Good Neighbor. This is a test through the CKC for dogs to go through various steps in proving they have what it takes to be a good neighbor in the community. Some of the tests include being brushed/groomed by a friendly stranger, walking through a noisy crowd, being left for 2 min with a stranger in a stay/wait. This test may seem easy but there has to be a good foundation to start.

Minimal Monday

2010-05-10T10:07:00.001-07:00

Baron attempts to fly after watching the ducks do it!!

Some snaps of the crew

2010-05-07T12:01:00.000-07:00

"Hey Momma!!"

"I'm gonna getcha Gramma!!!"

Great Uncle Colt

"MOM!! You know I hate pictures!!"

Scandal loves Colt's dog house, she is always there trying to get him to play with her!

The B boyz and their girlz

2010-04-12T20:18:00.000-07:00

In todays mail I recieved a wonderful surprise. The pictures were taken at the Red Deer dog show by Cathy French who always does a wonderful job.

Keara, Bishop & Cathy McAra

Trynity, Baron & stand in ribbon holder/judge Me

Wordless Wednesday

2010-04-07T15:07:00.000-07:00

Minimal Monday

2010-04-05T18:24:00.000-07:00

Keara and Bishop in the Peewee class 2010 Spring RDKC show

They had a blast

2010-04-04T15:20:00.000-07:00

Here I am thinking that the puppies are totally leashed trained. NOT!! Well they are for me at least but definately not the girls. They did great though, the boys loved all the attention they got and when two of the CKC All breed judges commented "WOW those are some really nice Aussie pups" my heart soared!!

Keara showed Bishop in Peewees (he is a tad bit more laid back than his brother) and they did great. Bishop wanted to visit with everyone especially the toy poodle in front of them!!

Barona dn Trynity did qute well. Trynity placed 4th again. We definately are working on some ring procedure. She is to into what everyone else is doing and not what she should be doing. Baron stacked well and I can't wait to see their picture.

On Saturday Pandarus went to his new home. I am so happy for my special guy, his parents promised to send updates!!

Mina made the trip with us as well and all three pups are pros at riding loose in the van.

Minimal Monday

2010-03-29T21:07:00.001-07:00

OMG so excited for this weekend!!! DOG SHOW with Bishop and Baron (& Bliss too!!)

Bishop & Baron Update

2010-03-11T21:22:00.000-08:00

Well the boys ar growing! And growing .... and growing. Here I am thinking that one morning I will wake up to find gangly legs, but every morning as I go to let them out of their crates I find perfectly proportioned pups. They are not getting to the gangly stage just yet. I am hoping it happens before their first show LOL!!

Their personalites are so different as well. Bishop is such a cuddle bum. If given the chance he would sleep on my lap everytime I sit down. In fac he is sleeping by my feet as I type this. Bishop is doing great on walks. He meets everyone face on and loves to get loves from people, especially kids. Standing for exam and showing his bite are going just as great. Though I am sure he would love to jump and kiss the examiner!!

Baron is the yappy boy in the house. He loves to be the center of attention. Which of course makes i even more fun to show him off. He exudes confidence and I am super excited to see him in the ring!! Baron would rather be strutting his stuff throughout the house, yard, on walks, where ever than standing still, but we are working on it!

and then there was one

2010-03-08T19:14:00.000-08:00

I was totally prepared to keep as many puppies as necessary until they found their perfect homes. It's just one of those things that is required of breeders. At 3 months old I must admit my floor space was starting to shrink!! lol but house training the crew has been a breeze.
My floor space has begun opening up again. Only one puppy left looking for his perfect family! Pandarus is available to the right home. But until then he is enjoying the walks and the social outtings!!

Two down ......

2010-02-12T16:31:00.000-08:00

Ok, finally downloaded the pictures off of my camera. A week ago Huxley went to his new home, he is close by and I am sure I will get to see him lots.

And then this past Tuesday Sohan left on a flight with his new mom in NB. They had a safe flight and I am already receiving reports of adventures through the woods!!

HAVE FUN!!!

WOW!!

2010-02-09T13:07:00.000-08:00

This past Saturday the Eurasier Club of Canada held a Sanction Match following BIS at the Alberta Kennel Club show. I took Karma, Sohan (and his mom) as well as Bishop to the match. There were two other aussies entered, a red merle 9 month old girl and the puppies father, Rufus.

Bishop and Sohan were in the class together and I truly thought Sohan would get it, he had confidence and actually was moving more than my boy. When the judge told me I took 1st in the class I was thrilled. Next up was Rufus and as he was the only one in his class we both went in for Winner's Dog. Bishop was encouraged to "follow daddy" and when we were finally placed the judge asked us what we were saying ..... "Well in my opinion you have done something right, the puppy is better than his father. He is my winner's male." OMG I was extatic!! Next up Karma and the other girl were in seperate classes so both went on for Winner's Female, Karma won and then I was called back into the ring with Bishop. We went around, were judged again and ............. Bishop won Best of Breed and of course Best of Breed Puppy. Since the Aussies were the only herding breed entered I also recieved Herding Group 1st and Best Puppy in Herding Group!!

By now Bishop was getting tired and in the Best in Show ring we tried our hardest but the award was given to the Otterhound. Congrats Bev on the win, your puppy is outstanding!

So Bishop's first show was a success .... hopefull he will continue in his winning ways!
(no pics as of yet)

I am not going to cry ......

2010-02-03T13:09:00.000-08:00

I am NOT going to cry!!! ok maybe just a little. Raising this litter has been exciting and fun. I am so thankful to Richelle for allowing me to use Rufus and to the new friends I have made. Yesterday while I was cleaning up the yard I left the door open to allow the puppies to come out and play for a bit. I turned around and saw this ..............

and then bawled. I am sure going to miss them!! So if you think I am rushing you out the door ..... it's because I am going to break down and bawl like a baby!!

So Who is going to end up where???

2010-01-31T23:40:00.000-08:00

With puppy eye checks and evals done all that is left is for their first set of core vaccines and their identification. I have been attempting to get ahold of the lady who does my tattoos on the dogs for me. She did Spirit's tattoo when she was a pup and it is still ledgible, the others not so much. Finger's crossed. If not I will contact CKC and have them express ship me microchips. Every purebred dog registered with CKC MUST be identified before leaing the breeders home. So either way they will have identification.

Have you all thought about registered names? I would like three suggestions for each pup just in case the name is not allowable with the CKC. But so far here is what we have and who is going where.

BMM #1 - Pandarus: Available to a Pet/Performance home, he could also be shown if you do not mind a dilute patch. He is very correct and would do well in anything you wish. I am registering him as Edana's Return From Obscurity

BTF #1 - Mina: This little princess has found her family here in AB. She will be on the smaller end of the scale, probably closer to the 18" mark. Her registered name will be Edana's Second Hope

BMM #2 - Sohan: This stunning boy will be going to live with Chloe Basque in NB. His registered name will be Edana's Take It Or Leave It

BMM #3 - Baron: This handsome baby will be staying HERE!! He is so much like his Grandma it is hard to picture him elsewhere. Baron's registered name will be Edana's Kiss My Assets

BTM #1 - Bishop: WOW I love this boy to bits, he reminds me of his Grandpa Ty in markings and his daddy in temperment. His registered name is Edana's Millennium of Aftermath

BTF #2 - Eclipse: She is now loving the country life on her very own farm in central AB (but she does have to share with big brother Willy, a couple cats and the horses!). Her registered name will be Edana's Lunar Eclipse

BTM #2 - Huxley: This handsome fellow will be staying in Calgary and moving into Kyla Low's life, watch out Rob, he is a heart stealer!!! His registered name will be Edana's Not This Time Gadget (Inspector Gadget)

BMF - Karma: This little princess will be going to live with her new parents who intend on showing her to Canadian Championship!!! Karma's registered name will be Edanas Sunset Legacy at Debern

Thank you to all our new family members. I will be adding family photos as the pups leave to their new lives. Remember I LOVE UPDATES! lol so send them along so I can post them here to the blog!!

Puppy Evaluations!!

2010-01-31T17:04:00.000-08:00

First off I would like to thank Kathy & Damien Bhana for coming out to evaluate the litter. THANK YOU!!! The puppies were awake when they began and everyone is still going strong ... cue headache lol

A dog with mostly 3's as a score: This dog accepts human leaders easily. Is the best prospect for the average owner, adapts well to new situations and generally good with children and elderly, although it may be inclined to be active. Makes a good obedience prospect and usually has a common sense approach to life.

A dog with mostly 4's as a score: This dog is submissive and will adapt to most households. May be slightly less outgoing and active than a dog scoring mostly 3's. Gets along well with children in general and trains well.

Please keep in mind that this only a guideline and is not a guarantee.

Mostly 3's: Pandarus, Mina, Baron, Bishop, Eclipse & Karma
Mostly 4's: Huxley (Roman) & Sohan (Moose)

8 Week Stacked Part 2

2010-01-30T16:03:00.000-08:00

Today we went to conformation handling classes and brought Baron & Bishop along for the ride. They had a blast being spoiled by the kids and adults there. I am missing pictures of Moose (Sohan).

Bishop (BTM 1) - Staying here!!

Baron (BMM 3) - Saying here!

Mina (BTF 1)

Some outtakes!!

I LOVE hotdogs!!

Me TOO!!!!

Tomorrow they all go for their Volhard PATs!

8 Weeks Old - Stacked Part One

2010-01-29T23:15:00.000-08:00

WOW the babies are 8 weeks old already. I am so excited with this litter. I honestly think that I accomplished everything I hoped for with this cross. The puppies have medium bone, rich colors, a mix of outgoing and laid back pups with brains!!

I have split the crew in two for their pictures......

Roman (BTM #2)

Eclipse (BTF 2)

Pandarus (BMM 1)

Karma (BMF)

Part two of stacked pictures will come tomorrow, they just didn't turn out tonight. With over 100 shots of the pups I think I may have gotten 3-4 LOL

Eye Exams

2010-01-27T11:41:00.000-08:00

This morning we loaded all 8 puppies, Spirit, Bliss, Keara, Lochlan and myself into the van. We met Richelle. her kidlets, Rufus & Kahlua and headed off to the CARE Centre for eye exams. Arriving before our scheduled time we unloaded and began filling out paperwork. Once I recieve all the registration numbers for the puppies the centre will then send the results.

And now the news everyone has been waiting for .................

All the puppies are CLEAR
Mina has a notation that she has an iris to iris PPM but everyone else has no notations!! (click for write up on PPM) At 6 months of age Mina will be seen again, just to make sure that the PPM is gone (as hypothosized by the Dr. S).

YAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
(oh and Spirit, Bliss, Rufus & Kahlua are clear as well)

7 weeks stacked pics

2010-01-24T22:16:00.000-08:00

Pandarus

Pet/Performance Prospect

Mina

Show/Performance Prospect

Moose (Sohan)

Show/Performance Prospect

Baron

Show/Performance Prospect

Bishop

Show/Performance Prospect

Eclipse

Show/Performance Prospect

Roman

Show/Performance Prospect

Karma

Show/Performance Prospect

Well there they all are. With a busy week coming up I am anticipating lots of new pictures. As you can tell they were not very co operative for pictures, but what outgoing puppy is!! lol

7 weeks old!!

2010-01-22T12:03:00.000-08:00

Wow, where has the time gone?!? This coming week the puppies will be going to the Calgary CARE Centre to see Dr B Skorobohach/Dr R Christmas to have their eyes looked at. They will then provide me with a letter stating if there were any problems with any of the pups. Once I have registration numbers for each or the pup I will call them into the clinic and they will send me the forms for CERF at that time I will send each of you the copy for you to send to CERF. Remember it is your responsibility to have the pups eyes examined every year. Not only is this helpful for my breeding program but also is an awesome tool to ensure your puppies eyes are healthy.

After the eye exams we will be doing the Volhard Puppy Apptitude tests. At this time I will then know who is going to which home. I have a good idea on who will match with whom but a third party evaluation is always best. They don't pick favorites!!

The puppies will have their core vaccines done just shortly before heading to their new homes. Puppies that are going to "show" homes please remember that the litter is nominated for the 2010 CNASA Breeder Futurity. The futurity is held the first weekend in September in Saskatoon, SK. There are at least 4 puppies in the litter that I would like to come to the futurity. They must be intact to be shown. It is the responsibility of each owner to enter available shows in at least their area. The cost for just the futurity is $100 and the pup must be entered in one of the regular classes too (between $24-$30/class). If you can not make it to the Nationals please let me know, I do not charge my puppy owners to show dogs that I have bred, but do ask that you contribute to lodging and gas.

The puppies will be having their photo shoot tomorrow. They are growing like weeds!!! Thank you again to all of you who have helped socialize the puppies so far.

2 More Weeks to go!!!!

3 weeks old

"Well your the one that laid on the floor!"

2010-01-19T18:20:00.000-08:00

It was his idea to lay on the floor. Though Carl has done this with the previous two litters.

Beware that the video takes a few minutes to load.

Just some cute pics ....

2010-01-18T05:50:00.000-08:00

Dirty face Bishop "What?!?"

Mina, Baron & Karma

Baby Carnivores!! RAWR

Shoelaces are fun (for the puppies!!!)

Roman - Looking all innocent!

6 week Photos - Part one

2010-01-18T05:47:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we had one of our new parents come to visit and play with the pups. They are definately in the chew on everything stage, they have destroyed 3 stuffy toys so off to the store to get some ball and rope toys. Then of course we had our photo shoot. Only stacked photos as they were waking up and then it becomes very hard to get them to sit still!! So here we go .......

Karma - just holding her face and baiting her she walked into this self stack!! Nice!

Miss Mina - Beautiful head and expression!

Pandarus - very handsome!! He loves to play with us and his siblings!!

Eclipse - a little straight in her front, though by 8 weeks this may change, very nice girl!

Moose - WOW, he is very biddable and allowed me to manipulate his legs and stack him, he is just is just starting to pull back a tad here but still a very nice outline!

Roman - He is so sweet! A little more difficult to stack but not too bad.

Baron - He is super nice!! When awake he is go go go go, just pulling back in the photo, he as a nice shoulder and beautiful head

Bishop - He is pulling his head down here and making his topline a little wonky but you can still see his angulation.

Well that is it for now. This is where I will be updating pictures for you guys to see. I am super pleased with the progress of the pups. They are growing nicely accept new people and new situations with ease.

Just to remind you all that I nominated this litter for the 2010 CNASA National Breeders Futurity to be held this September. It is the responsibility of the new owners to send in their cheques and forms at 10 weeks, 12 weeks and the final payment (including a copy of the pups registration papers) at 16 weeks. I am very excited!! I will be keeping the two top picks here with me and my family. At 8 weeks I have two long time breeders helping Richelle and I evaluate the litters structure. At this time they will also go through their Volhard Puppy Apptitude Test, which will help us place the proper temperment and energy level with their new family.

Stay tuned for some more pictures........................

Important Links to Remember

2010-01-16T09:24:00.000-08:00

I am constantly trying to remember what site I read such and such on, or what site that gave me that information. So for ease and comfort here are some good websites to remember........

http://www.edana.ca/ - Edana Kennels
http://www.ckc.ca/ - The Canadian Kennel Club
http://www.canuckdogs.com/ - The most comprehensive Canadian doggy site on the web
http://www.doglogic.com/vaccination.htm - Dr W. Jean Dodds Vaccination info
http://www.iodogs.com/ - What I use for shampoo, conditioner and some supplements
http://www.petcurean.com/index.php?page_id=195 - What the puppies were raised on
http://www.needsndesires.com/ - Where I get the majority of my show stuff on-line
http://www.copperhollow.com/ - Where I get other shampoo and supplements - Karin is awesome!!

Of course as I remember there will be more added to the list ..... but for now, here ya go!!!

6 Weeks Old

2010-01-15T18:32:00.000-08:00

The puppies are growing like weeds. We are planning a photo shoot here in the next day or two. This past week has been hard. On Monday, Mina got hurt. She was screaming so I rushed her to the vet. Spirit had been playing with her pups and came down on Mina's rear left leg. After examining the xrays the vet determined that she just has some badly bruised bones. THANK GOD!!!!! So Mina was on crate rest (and still sort of is) with pain killers and an anti inflammatory. 7 days of meds. The good news is that I watched her motor across the kitchen today with ease. Hardly a limp to be seen.

Sleeping on the couch beside me .... ok just a tad spoiled!!

The first weeks

2010-01-15T18:24:00.000-08:00

Well the pups are now 6 weeks old. I have decided to start the blog now as the first couple of weeks go by in a blur, but here is a run down .......

The Joyus Day .... um ... er ..... I mean Night
Spirit started laboring late in the evening. There was a slight temperature drop at 6pm but nothing too notable. So here I am thinking she will actaully deliver pups the next day. Then at 11:26pm here comes a blue boy!!! OMG, so I am about to call Richelle (I am home with just kids!) and at 11:36pm there a black girl!! "Richelle we are having puppies!" "Um yeah, you mean right now??" "Yes!" "I am on my way!"

I swear she may have broken some speed limits as Richelle showed up before the next puppies were born. Yep .. puppies as in 2 ... Spirit had twins. They were born in the same sac with only one placenta. They were blue merle girls very similarily marked. One was not breathing at birth so Richelle worked for over an hour to get her going. Unfortunately we lost both girls within 24 hours. They were extremely small and I believe their lungs were not completely formed. As hard as I tried to save them I believe that they would not have lived normal happy lives. So letting go was a little easier.

Labor went on .... and on ..... and on. The twins were born at 11:59pm with the next puppy stalling out labor for over an hour. He was a HUGE blue boy born at 1:18am. He was quickly followed by another blue boy born at 11:29am. 49 minutes later another black tri girl was born (2:18 am) and followed by our first black tri male at 2:27am. At this point we think Spirit is done, take her out for a quick pee and clean the whelping box. Richelle says goodbye and heads home. At 2:56am I call saying there is a blue girl and then quickly at 3:06am the fianl puppy, another black tri boy, was born.

Spirit is a really good mom. She is attentive to the pups and allows people she knows and trusts around her pups. Gives others a warning but will allow them to handle her pups with supervision. She will leave to whelping box to go do her business and cleans up her puppies like a pro!!

Week 1 - Getting to know you!!

The puppies have all (but one) doubled, and even tripled, their birth weights. They came through the docking/dewclaw day like pros. They motor around the whelping box looking for comfort or their momma and even attempt the "drunken sailor" walk. I began on day three with neurological stimulation, also called the Super Puppy treatment! So besides their daily cuddle time I am subjecting them to mild stimulation, this is to help them learn to recover from stress as older pups/adults easier and is also supposed to help with their immune system. This is the first time I have done this so we will see.

Week 2 - Aww puppy eyes!!

All the puppies eyes are opening. This is always a fun time, they are now seeing their littermates, their momma, their human momma and siblings for the first time. They are also vocalizing more. Little yips and growls. The pups are very mobile now. I wish I would have written more comprensive notes on my previous 2 litters. I swear these pups are more advanced..... well next time.

Week 3 & 4 - Growing pains ..... oops I mean.... we're sooo cute!!

Our first visitors are coming. Starting with the big fat man in a red suit. He was super nice and cuddled us all!! We also got to meet one of our new owners. And gramma Richelle came with our daddy and one of her girls. Our daily routine consists of ..... wake up, nurse, run around and bark ..... sleep, eat, nurse, run around and yip and play .... sleep .... um ok don;t watch ..... sleep ...... eat again. Well you get the idea. Starting to see more distinct personailties shining through the cuteness. Have my favorites but not going to tell who!!

Week 5 - Road Trip!!

This week we went to visit our daddy and his human family. We went for a quick van ride and met Kahlua and Leo as well as Alexus, we had already met Desitinee. William was sleeping. We also had our weekly shoot. The puppies had a blast racing around the garage (it is a clean one!! and puppy proofed) and playing with the kids. They enjoyed their naps and then back into the crate to go home. These babies are awesome!! I have not heard one peep on any of their van rides or crate time. Next week we will be seperating them from Spirit and they will be working towards being crated seperately for 15 mins.