4/6/21 - Sometime between right now and Friday, we are expecting the American Beauty litter.  Bonnie's little whelping area is ready to go! her box and accomodations will be in the house this time. Our weather has been so up and down lately, I decided this is probably easier than heating the barn whelp area.   We prepare the puppy records and health check lists, scales for birth weights and snips of colored wool for their collars.

In the next few days, we welcome puppies - once all are resting and eating/breathing well I will send an email announcing the litter, number and sexes.  I will send a few pics but most will be posted after day three.

On day three we do a basic temperament evaluation, weights and trim their little nails. Take individual pictures and assign their collar colors and names.

Notes and scores will be posted a day or so after that on the pup's individual pages. We'll start their photo journal and take an ink stamp of their little paws.

Viewing for this litter's people is open after three weeks. General public may view after 5 weeks.  Please touch base and let me know when you'd like to come visit!

4/11/21 - Almost past the critical point of 3 days. It has been a little...too...easy.   Like that saying...quiet is good, unless you have a puppy....then quiet is VERY suspicious.  But in our case quiet is excellent. In my experience, the two white pups are  more demanding.  All of them are HOLY COW STRONG. They can flip themselves right out of my hand without much exertion.  I'm just gonna put this out there real quick that I am disappointed at the number of puppies, but I have to let nature do what's best for the dog. Bonnie's first litter - she's young and although we've done a bang-up job with nutrition and veterinary care, I'm so glad she wasn't overwhelmed with 8 or more.   The silver lining for those of us that didn't get a puppy this time (yes thats right, I don't get mine either)...we get to see what this first litter will produce, and will know what to expect later this year.   She dotes on these three and takes only minimal breaks away from the box.  We're gonna be very happy with her work.  I just wish she would eat more. She's become selective in her eating habits. She'll eat kibble food out of my hand, only.  She's had eggs and cheese, her regular vitamin supplements one carrot and half an apple.   I'm going to start scouting around the pet supply stores for something consistent for her. It's hard to monitor her nutritional intake when it's sporadic like this.  In just a few minutes I will start the pups individual pages, their photo journals, names, notes and such. I will NOT be using collar colors this time as they are pretty easy to tell apart.  The three colors to code for future reference are Blue, black and turquoise.   Blue means all-round pick of the litter, black means pick pet. Turquoise are service or therapy dog potentials.   Once we perform our temperament tests tomorrow, we'll know who gets what color.

4/12/21 - Temperament tests today were so fun. I gave a silent prayer of gratitude to the universe for providing me with the full range of neo-pup personalities that I I was expecting.   The score numbers are NOT a tell-tale of quality, nor does it determine the adult behavior of the dog.  Pups are scored on a parameter of behaviors.  Higher scored behave in a certain way and lower score behave in a different way to the same stimulus.  I stress this - one is not necessarily "better" than another. They just require different socialization, conditioning and training techniques, to reach their fullest potential as adult dogs. The scores tell me which direction I'm going to go.   I look for things like how they tolerate my big clumsy touch with my weird fingers.   I gauge their ability to cope with being put into a vulnerable position

Each pup from this litter behaved a little differently. A range of responses and coping mechanisms presented within a parameter that securely fit into a companion dog's temperament.  The tests reveal that "Rain" will need lots of exposure and confidence building.  He will receive more time with the home-schoolers that cpcome by for socialization.  "Friend" doesn't need much and we need to make sure not much happens around him so we can maintain the nice easy balance he seems to be exhibiting.  "Fly" is pretty laid back, but it won't take much to build self rewarding bad habits in him.  He doesn't mind touch and may even enjoy it somewhat as long as he doesn't have to be chilly. He seems to like to warm side of the whelping box than the others.

Bonnie is eating so much better today. Of course after i went out and got her special sardines and high end canned food. She has a bolstered interest in her kibble, as long as I watch her eat.   Of course cheese of all kinds is always a delicacy for her so I can be sure she's getting a good dose of calcium.   

4/16/21 - A whole week has gone by already with a little sleep here and there. Bonnie's appetite has picked up and she likes to be fed by hand while she nurses.  I'll humor her for now because she really does chow down when that method is employed.  These little puppies are fat!!  Even so they are scooting around the box and lifting themselves up to wobble back and forth until flopping with a thud on their bellies. between.  

Today, we started Early Neurological Stimulation, also known as the "Super Dog Program." Rigorously standard exercises are performed on days old puppies to improve their stress coping mechanisms.  Read all about it here:  Early Neurological Stimulation | Breeding Better Dogs.  The program lasts approx. 10 days, and I will pu up notes on the results and observations when the pups turn 3 weeks old.

4/24/2021 - WOW. A whole two weeks since they made their appearance on this planet. All six eyes are open, but Box is behind the rest. He sleeps alot and is not developing as quickly as the other two. Friend was the first to open his eyes, first to turn into my voice, first to wag his tail, recognizing human presence.  Next was Fly, and Box hasn't had the opportunity to get his full wag on yet, but it's there. Bonnie is spending more and more away from her nest, right on cue. She keeps an incredibly clean nest.  Leaves the sheets and towels alone and cleans her puppies ritualisticly. Yummy.  

4/30/21-What a week it's been! Little barks, growls, wagging and even a little howl out of Box.  Our temperament tests went well.  I'll attempt to explain their structure by referring Volhard's standardized tests. Volhard doesn't fully apply as pups should be at least 49 days old to truly score them correctly using Volhard. However, there is enough basic information to gain from the "turn-over", the "dangle" and the "cuddle-up".  Here is a link for the  run-down of Volhard Temperament Tests:

Choosing Your Puppy (PAT) | Volhard Dog Nutrition

Nothing much has been changed from our initial 3 day tests. Crazy how that works. Box is still taking his time, easy but a bit shy. Flyer likes drama, is expressive and vocal. Friend is right in the middle and is could probably be influenced either way.   Auggie poked his head into the whelp area yesterday. It was so funny to see his face. He looked at them with wonder and of course I'm guilty as anyone with putting words in my dog's mouth...But I think he said "Wow....those are mine? Their beautiful!!". Then the moment was over and he left for the nearest treat.