6 weeks and a day

The puppies turned 6 weeks old yesterday. John and I were both busy most of the day with annual vet visits with the 4 big kids, BG, Whoopi, Jack and Molly. Then there were other errands so the day just got away from us and so no photos were taken.

Today I can see some changes going on with the puppies. I tried using something to focus their attention on. (They really like peanut butter!). Their rears seem to be solidifying a bit and the pups are standing fairly straight as can be seen from behind.

                                      

Looking good here...^

A bit too widely spread but still nice and straight...^

Although Nod is leaning, his rear is still fairly straight...^

Fronts, however are a different story. Right now the pups are still unsure of what is happening although they did like the bait. But are still trying to hang on to the towel underneath them and thereby making their fronts appear quite easty/westy. Which would not be totally unheard of at this age but it is not as bad as it looks. For obvious reasons those photos are not shown here.

Faces are of course still cute and the pups are carrying their ears well for the most part.

Blynken looks a bit like Whoopi, who is shown in the background trying to steal some cheese!

Trying to stack we are still having some degree of difficulty but here are those pics.

It is interesting to see the puppies change from week to week. Last week I was really liking the pics of Nod. He just seemed to show the best top line at that time. This week I am really liking Wynken best as her pic shows a better top line and tail set than last week.

I think my overall fav is still Blynken. Her pics do not do her justice as she stands solid on all 4 legs when standing on her own. She has a nice, clean pretty neck. I like her forechest and the way she stands solid on her front, with her feet underneath her shoulders as they should be.

All three pups have their attributes and I expect to see more change as we go into the next 2 - 3 weeks. Next week is the BAER hearing test and I am looking forward to that. All 3 pups do hear but an official confirmation of that fact is always welcome!

More news and pics next week. Hope to see you then!

5 weeks and changing!

Well the puppies are now 5 weeks old and alot has changed. They are curious about mom and her food...

 Wynken checks for leftovers...

They are learning about toys... Blynken checks out the squirrel...

Nod is interested in the rubber duckie..

Here are 5 week pics...

Nod was a bit more cooperative than the girls...

Two more weeks and we head to Boise, ID for BAER hearing tests. Everyone hears but we want to make it official!

Three weeks and counting!

Wynken, Blynken and Nod turned 3 weeks yesterday and they have changed SO much! No longer little white rats with no spots. No more eyes closed, navigating by trial and error around the puppy pen. They now have spots, eyes are open and they are toddling around the puppy pen like little pros.

We took pictures of them today since yesterday was busy with human appointments and errands. Disclaimer, they are by no means show stackers yet so top lines are not indicative of what they actually are or will be in the weeks to come. At this point our goal was to show how the spotting is coming along and of course show off the cute faces!

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, here they are!

Wynken is our bigger girl. She was the first to be delivered and was very mellow and is just now discovering who she is. She is not fond of having her nails done or of venturing outside the puppy pen. Our goal with this girl is to have her "participate" in those activities more often.

Blynken is our smaller but more adventurous girl. One of my friends has nick named her Margarita as she is a bit feisty and has an opinion about everything! Blynken, when not eating or sleeping, can be found telling her brother and sister that she is in charge and struts around the play pen making sure they are doing whatever she wants them to do.

Nod is the only boy and he likes it that way too! He was the only one in his horn of his mother's uterus so he had over two months of having a room all to himself. He is about as big as Wynken in size and weight but is willing, most of the time, to let little sister Blynken push him around. Nod is very mellow and is pretty amenable to whatever we want to do with him.

Well there they are, the three CH Jack x Star puppies. Im sure there will be many changes by our next post. See you next week!

Wynken, Blynken and Nod

Wynken, Blynken, and Nod one night

Sailed off in a wooden shoe —

Sailed on a river of crystal light,

Into a sea of dew.

"Where are you going, and what do you wish?"

The old moon asked the three.

"We have come to fish for the herring fish

That live in this beautiful sea;

Nets of silver and gold have we!"

Said Wynken, Blynken, and Nod.

 Wynken

Blynken 

Nod

The old moon laughed and sang a song,

As they rocked in the wooden shoe,

And the wind that sped them all night long

Ruffled the waves of dew.

The little stars were the herring fish

That lived in that beautiful sea —

"Now cast your nets wherever you wish —

Never afeard are we";

So cried the stars to the fishermen three:

Wynken, Blynken, and Nod.

All night long their nets they threw

To the stars in the twinkling foam —

Then down from the skies came the wooden shoe,

Bringing the fishermen home;

'Twas all so pretty a sail it seemed

As if it could not be,

And some folks thought 'twas a dream they'd dreamed

Of sailing that beautiful sea —

But I shall name you the fishermen three:

Wynken, Blynken, and Nod.

Wynken and Blynken are two little eyes,

And Nod is a little head,

And the wooden shoe that sailed the skies

Is a wee one's trundle-bed.

So shut your eyes while mother sings

Of wonderful sights that be,

And you shall see the beautiful things

As you rock in the misty sea,

Where the old shoe rocked the fishermen three:

Wynken, Blynken, and Nod.

 Wynken and Blynken

Nod

Going home

Well it has been a busy couple of weeks since my last post. And all but two of the pups have gone to their new homes with new people to get to know and new lives to begin together!

I have some photos of most of the pups with their new people and I would like to share them with you. I do not have a pic of Shermy with Jessica yet or Charlie with Debbie but as soon as I have them I will share them as well.

First to leave the nest was Snoopy.

Snoopy will be staying in the Hanford, CA area so I can watch him grow up. I am SO happy about that!

The next to go home were Lucy and Violet.

They are now sharing the same home in New Mexico.

Next was Frieda.

Frieda will be living in the Los Angeles, CA area and will be making her debut in the conformation show ring hopefully this summer!

Then Patty was the next pup to go home.

Patty, now Pepsi, is living in Henderson, NV and has a little girl to call her own!

Next I took a trip up north with three of the boys, Linus, Schroeder and Shermy.

Linus got on an airplane bound for San Antonio, TX

Where he will be trained as a service dog.

Schroeder and Shermy were both transported to the Pacific North West.

Here they are ready for their trip.

Here is Schroeder with his new person.

And his new friends!

The last piece of the puzzle

It has been a wonderful, event filled almost eight weeks. Breeding a quality litter of Dalmatian puppies and finding the right one to continue a breeding program, is like putting a jigsaw puzzle together. You know how the end result is supposed to look, but the picture is not complete until all of the pieces are in place.

The first piece of course is deciding what two dogs to put together. What does the future dam of the pups have to offer? What is she lacking or needing improvement on? Who is the right dog who will be able to add to her good qualities and hopefully improve her not so good ones?

OK so we have chosen our future parents and we do the breeding and we wait. If all goes well we have a healthy litter of puppies. But then, we wait some more. Spotting, eye color, hearing, temperament and personality are all pieces of the puzzle and they each are put into place as we go along.

Finally, you have a final structural evaluation. You stack each puppy on the table and look at them through a critical eye. Yes they are all cute, but looks are not all there is when looking for that show prospect or pup to add to a breeding program. You have to be able to see each pups good qualities but also each ones flaws. You have to remember why you did this breeding and ask yourself if you accomplished your goal.

You take pictures, lots of pictures as you have each pup on the table. You will later study these to see if you might have missed something during the live evaluation. Once all of these puzzle pieces fall into their respective spots they form a picture. That picture is of the whole puppy. Not just each part of it, but the whole dog. This is when you must make your decisions based on everything you now know about each puppy.

Which have the potential for conformation? For obedience or performance? For other tasks such as service or therapy dog? Which pups will be best suited for a family dog? For a single person? For a couple, young or older? For a family with children?

All of the pieces help to make those decisions and when you have made them, you pray. Pray that each puppy goes into the right home or situation. And you pray that you have done everything you can do to ensure that when each puppy goes out into the world, it is a reflection on your job as a responsible breeder. That all of the other decisions you have made up to this point have been the right ones and that this generation is even better than the one that came before. That, after all, is the goal of a responsible breeder. To make better puppies, with each new litter.

And it isn't easy. It is often heartbreaking and disappointing, but when a plan really comes together and you know that you have done something truly wonderful, it is the best feeling in the world! To have a goal, a plan on how to reach it, the right tools and knowledge to put it all together. And then you achieve that goal or even surpass it. Then you can stand back as a breeder and watch each of those puppies go to their new homes and feel proud of what you have done.

I chose to put Jack and Whoopi together. I did my homework and as you can by these photos, it has paid off by giving me a litter I can be proud of.

CHARLIE BROWN 

 FRIEDA

 

 LINUS

 

 LUCY

 

PATTY

 

 

 

 

 SALLY

 

 SCHROEDER

 

 SHERMY

 

 SNOOPY

 

 VIOLET

 

 

Sally will be staying here and final details are being worked out for the rest of the pups. I will be posting a follow up with pics of each pup with their new owners once they have all gone to their new homes.

 

This has been a great experience and I am thankful to all the new owners as well as those of you who have been following the blog. Stay tuned for coming attractions as I will hopefully be blogging about the pups adventures.