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Puppy Blog (scroll down for newest info)
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April 5, 2009
Obviously I am already quite behind in my puppy blogging! The Twig X Hawk puppies are all growing like
weeds, and from all reports doing very well. Last Sunday I got home from Saskatchewan, where I took
Onyx to be bred to Hawk. Yup - we liked our Twig puppies so much that we decided to try to get another
litter of similar little monsters! Since I was headed out that way anyway, I took Soleil and Maddie with me
(formerly known as Bunny) as they were both destined to live in Saskatoon. Kimber and Beretta
accompanied me as well, so it was a very furry, fun-filled adventure.
We arrived at Prairiestorm Kennel on the evening of Monday, the 23rd. The four Eromit puppies had a
great time playing with some Prairiestorm puppies of a similar age. Soleil stayed at Prairiestorm where
she will be trained for obedience and hunt tests and hopefully one day become a part of their breeding
program. Maddie will also be trained for obedience and hunt tests by a Lab-lover named Tracy. Kimber,
Beretta and I carried on and spent the next week visiting various family members of mine in
Saskatchewan. Surprisingly, the girls were very well behaved and quiet for the most part, which was a
big relief since we were always staying at someone else's house (and there was always someone who
had to work in the morning)! Both pups got to meet a lot of new people, dogs and cats, and got to see
many new things. The experience was an excellent tour in socialization and although it was tiring to have
the babies along on the trip, the work will pay off in the long run as they are going to be very accustomed
to all sort of new things and places.
While on our journey, Paisley's family began to question whether a puppy was the right fit for their family,
and after giving it much thought, we came to the conclusion that they are just too busy for a puppy at this
time. So, I took a little detour and picked Paisley up on the way home. So we've got three young blondies
at the moment!
Everyone is probably wondering where their puppies should be in terms of training, eating etc - all
puppies are individuals but I can give you an idea of where ours are at. We are currently feeding each
puppy two cups of dry dog food per day (6:30 am, 6:30 pm). Soaking the food is still okay -while we were
on the journey, I couldn't soak the food so they got used to eating dry kibble and I decided to stick with it
once we got home.
House-training is going very well. Each puppy has a tell-tale sign that they need to go out. Sometimes,
not every time, but sometimes the puppies will run to the door when they need to potty. This is very
helpful and I try to encourage them to 'ask out' in this manner with a lot of praise and by immediately
letting them outside to do their business. In the night time the puppies are crated, and they will whine
when they need to go. I've had a few nights where all puppies have slept through the night (about 7
hours) but for the most part, we need to get up at least a couple of times. With three puppies, we are
trying to co-ordinate the outings so that everybody is on the same routine but it's tough and it means that
lots of times two sleeping puppies are awakened by the one that needs to pee (and then of course, they
need to go out once they have woken up!)
Our puppies are all very good with the 'sit' command. We have moved to the 'nothing in life is free'
system, where they are required to sit before each meal, they need to sit before they get a bone, special
toy, etc. They are all very good with this system and now instead of barking and begging, they just 'sit' on
their own when they want something. We try to practice 'come' everyday and the puppies get to retrieve a
few marks several times each day - just very short, simple throws. The puppies have gotten quite good
at walking on a leash, and although I don't ask them to 'heel' at this age, they generally walk on a fairly
loose leash. This is an area that needs ongoing practice of course! I will try to get a couple videos of
them in action in the next few days and these videos will be posted here on the blog.
Puppy People: Please send in photos of your new puppy in action - I will keep updating each puppy's
individual webpage. Updates received already for Timber and Sable.
Obviously I am already quite behind in my puppy blogging! The Twig X Hawk puppies are all growing like
weeds, and from all reports doing very well. Last Sunday I got home from Saskatchewan, where I took
Onyx to be bred to Hawk. Yup - we liked our Twig puppies so much that we decided to try to get another
litter of similar little monsters! Since I was headed out that way anyway, I took Soleil and Maddie with me
(formerly known as Bunny) as they were both destined to live in Saskatoon. Kimber and Beretta
accompanied me as well, so it was a very furry, fun-filled adventure.
We arrived at Prairiestorm Kennel on the evening of Monday, the 23rd. The four Eromit puppies had a
great time playing with some Prairiestorm puppies of a similar age. Soleil stayed at Prairiestorm where
she will be trained for obedience and hunt tests and hopefully one day become a part of their breeding
program. Maddie will also be trained for obedience and hunt tests by a Lab-lover named Tracy. Kimber,
Beretta and I carried on and spent the next week visiting various family members of mine in
Saskatchewan. Surprisingly, the girls were very well behaved and quiet for the most part, which was a
big relief since we were always staying at someone else's house (and there was always someone who
had to work in the morning)! Both pups got to meet a lot of new people, dogs and cats, and got to see
many new things. The experience was an excellent tour in socialization and although it was tiring to have
the babies along on the trip, the work will pay off in the long run as they are going to be very accustomed
to all sort of new things and places.
While on our journey, Paisley's family began to question whether a puppy was the right fit for their family,
and after giving it much thought, we came to the conclusion that they are just too busy for a puppy at this
time. So, I took a little detour and picked Paisley up on the way home. So we've got three young blondies
at the moment!
Everyone is probably wondering where their puppies should be in terms of training, eating etc - all
puppies are individuals but I can give you an idea of where ours are at. We are currently feeding each
puppy two cups of dry dog food per day (6:30 am, 6:30 pm). Soaking the food is still okay -while we were
on the journey, I couldn't soak the food so they got used to eating dry kibble and I decided to stick with it
once we got home.
House-training is going very well. Each puppy has a tell-tale sign that they need to go out. Sometimes,
not every time, but sometimes the puppies will run to the door when they need to potty. This is very
helpful and I try to encourage them to 'ask out' in this manner with a lot of praise and by immediately
letting them outside to do their business. In the night time the puppies are crated, and they will whine
when they need to go. I've had a few nights where all puppies have slept through the night (about 7
hours) but for the most part, we need to get up at least a couple of times. With three puppies, we are
trying to co-ordinate the outings so that everybody is on the same routine but it's tough and it means that
lots of times two sleeping puppies are awakened by the one that needs to pee (and then of course, they
need to go out once they have woken up!)
Our puppies are all very good with the 'sit' command. We have moved to the 'nothing in life is free'
system, where they are required to sit before each meal, they need to sit before they get a bone, special
toy, etc. They are all very good with this system and now instead of barking and begging, they just 'sit' on
their own when they want something. We try to practice 'come' everyday and the puppies get to retrieve a
few marks several times each day - just very short, simple throws. The puppies have gotten quite good
at walking on a leash, and although I don't ask them to 'heel' at this age, they generally walk on a fairly
loose leash. This is an area that needs ongoing practice of course! I will try to get a couple videos of
them in action in the next few days and these videos will be posted here on the blog.
Puppy People: Please send in photos of your new puppy in action - I will keep updating each puppy's
individual webpage. Updates received already for Timber and Sable.
April 7, 2009
Paisley has found her new home and will be leaving for Terrace, BC in a few days. We are going to miss
her but are happy that she has found such a great home!
Kimber and Beretta will be headed out on another road trip this week. We are brushing up on leash
walking skills and they will have a bath and a pedicure before we leave on Wednesday morning. We
have increased their food intake again as they are growing like weeds: up to 2 1/4 cups morning and
night.
When we get back from Vancouver I will be sure to post new photos and videos of the girls.
April 12, 2009
Our road trip to Vancouver went very well. Beretta and Kimber are getting really good at travelling and are
content to sleep in their crates while we drive. I took some pictures from their first two nights sleeping in
hotel rooms: they had a GREAT time exploring everything in the room (including the bathtub) and raiding
our suitcase for socks. We also practiced a new trick 'spin', and had plenty of occasions to walk on a
leash. The girls were able to meet many new people on the journey and also got to meet several new
dogs of a variety of breeds, which was really good for them.
Click on the pictures to see a larger version.
April 15, 2009
Some videos from our training session yesterday are now posted. Typically, I do one session of
retrieving each day, which consists of around 3 throws. Nothing fancy, just gets their enthusiasm going.
Several times a day we practice tricks.
Beretta's Video
Kimber's Video
April 19, 2009
We received an update from Paisley's family -she is doing well and her new photos are posted on her
page. Our girls are growing like little weeds - Kimber weighs in at 22 lbs and Beretta is slightly bigger at
23.5 lbs. Both are nice and lean and are really fetching well. They have been introduced to the agility
tunnel - I'll try to get videos of them in action once it stops raining. Both girls are now 'asking out' fairly
regularly - they will stand by the door. Occasionally Kimber will whine. They sleep through most nights
now, sometimes needing out around 1 am, but they are early risers and our daily routine starts around 6
am. I will work on getting the puppy photo dvd's out to the new families in the next while (I haven't started
yet, sorry!) When they are ready to go, I'll put an announcement on the blog so everyone will know to
watch their mailbox.
April 21, 2009
More updates- New Timber pictures are here. Timber currently weighs 23 pounds. I'm told that Maddie
is very lean, athletic and agile looking and weighs 20 pounds. Soleil is also right on track with the
others at around 23 pounds. New Kimber photos are posted on her page.
April 26, 2009
New Sable photos are posted on her page. As of April 22, she weighed 24 pounds. She's a real beauty!
Our girls are getting to be very sound sleepers at night. After spending most of the day outside (training,
playing, or just hanging out) they come in around 8pm and have about an hours worth of wild play with
the big dogs - Ruger is their best playmate but everybody joins in at some point. After 8 pm they are not
allowed water, and we tuck them into their individual crates sometime between 9 and 10. For at least the
last week, they have consistently been sleeping 9 hours at night. What a treat to be able to sleep all
through the night!
Generally, both pups are starting to settle down. They are even starting to develop some manners, such
as not jumping up, not hopping through doorways before they are told, and they are quite good now at
reading the adult dogs so they have become much less of a nuisance to them. Kimber consistently
runs to the door to be let out. Beretta is more subtle but generally when she stops playing she needs to
go. Both pups are doing very well in the retrieving department and are getting very good at the tunnel.
They have also now been introduced to tiny agility jumps and they think that is super fun. Their little
minds are much more advanced than their bodies are though, so even though they *think* they can take
on the world, we have to try to limit what they can do. Too much jumping, or jumping too high (even on
and off the couch) can result in injury while they are growing, so the rule here is safety first. We take daily
walks through the woods so that they can get used to climbing over and under logs, up and down hills,
and get used to unsure footing.
We like to practice their recall as often as we can. Tim and I each grab a handful of small treats and call
the puppy between us. They know this game well and because it is highly rewarding, both pups are
developing an excellent 'come'. Kimber will get distracted by the cats (who like to taunt her) but is almost
to the point where she can be called off of chasing them. Beretta is not bothered by distractions - she is
very focused on earning a reward!
April 29, 2009
We have been busy lately! The girls are learning to ride on the quad (while being securely held of
course) and their daily quad trips are now the highlight of their day. The puppies go on at a time and we
try to take them to a new area to explore on each trip.
On Beretta's first quad ride, we stopped along the river just past the edge of our yard. Immediately she
noticed a pair of ducks swimming there and her eyes were glued on them. I kept a tight hold to keep her
from jumping in. Once the ducks took off, we wandered the river edge and she had a fine time splashing
in and out of the quiet overflow areas, helping us find good sticks for chasing and of course rolling in the
mud. Her fun continued until we got home and it was bath time (yuck!)
We took Kim a little further down to a different spot along the river. She crossed a shallow part of the
stream and we began to explore a little island. Suddenly, her hair was upright and she stood glued in
one spot. We were a little worried as this is the same look Twig gets in the presence of wild animals like
bears. While we carefully examined the area to see what she was alerting on, we flushed up a momma
goose that had been downwind of where Kimber was pointing. As soon as the goose started to fly,
Kimber gave wild chase. We managed to call her back (with a reward for coming and cheers for her
interest in the bird of course) and instantly she began quartering the area and within seconds had found
the goose's nest! We scooped her up just as she was reaching for an egg, and quickly left the area so
as not to disturb momma goose any further.
Still curious as to what had got her ruffled earlier, we went back to the spot that she had indicated, and
soon found a large moose leg bone that had recently been chewed on. Was she alerting on the smell of
the carcass, or the smell of what was eating it? We don't know but it will be interesting to watch her
reactions in the future to figure it out. In any case, it is extremely useful to have a canine companion that
will give signals when something is amiss, particularly in our area with all the bears, moose, cougars,
wolves etc.
As we headed back to the quad to leave the area, Kimber began quartering again. She has a hot little
nose for sure! Soon, she had found another nest - this time of a songbird - and flushed the momma up.
We packed her up and headed home before she found anyone else to disturb, but we are very proud of
her natural birdiness for sure!
It's not all fun and games at our house. Every now and then, all the dogs are sleeping at once (rare but
true!) Last night was just such an episode. Here are a few pics. (Also new Kimber photos)
Paisley has found her new home and will be leaving for Terrace, BC in a few days. We are going to miss
her but are happy that she has found such a great home!
Kimber and Beretta will be headed out on another road trip this week. We are brushing up on leash
walking skills and they will have a bath and a pedicure before we leave on Wednesday morning. We
have increased their food intake again as they are growing like weeds: up to 2 1/4 cups morning and
night.
When we get back from Vancouver I will be sure to post new photos and videos of the girls.
April 12, 2009
Our road trip to Vancouver went very well. Beretta and Kimber are getting really good at travelling and are
content to sleep in their crates while we drive. I took some pictures from their first two nights sleeping in
hotel rooms: they had a GREAT time exploring everything in the room (including the bathtub) and raiding
our suitcase for socks. We also practiced a new trick 'spin', and had plenty of occasions to walk on a
leash. The girls were able to meet many new people on the journey and also got to meet several new
dogs of a variety of breeds, which was really good for them.
Click on the pictures to see a larger version.
April 15, 2009
Some videos from our training session yesterday are now posted. Typically, I do one session of
retrieving each day, which consists of around 3 throws. Nothing fancy, just gets their enthusiasm going.
Several times a day we practice tricks.
Beretta's Video
Kimber's Video
April 19, 2009
We received an update from Paisley's family -she is doing well and her new photos are posted on her
page. Our girls are growing like little weeds - Kimber weighs in at 22 lbs and Beretta is slightly bigger at
23.5 lbs. Both are nice and lean and are really fetching well. They have been introduced to the agility
tunnel - I'll try to get videos of them in action once it stops raining. Both girls are now 'asking out' fairly
regularly - they will stand by the door. Occasionally Kimber will whine. They sleep through most nights
now, sometimes needing out around 1 am, but they are early risers and our daily routine starts around 6
am. I will work on getting the puppy photo dvd's out to the new families in the next while (I haven't started
yet, sorry!) When they are ready to go, I'll put an announcement on the blog so everyone will know to
watch their mailbox.
April 21, 2009
More updates- New Timber pictures are here. Timber currently weighs 23 pounds. I'm told that Maddie
is very lean, athletic and agile looking and weighs 20 pounds. Soleil is also right on track with the
others at around 23 pounds. New Kimber photos are posted on her page.
April 26, 2009
New Sable photos are posted on her page. As of April 22, she weighed 24 pounds. She's a real beauty!
Our girls are getting to be very sound sleepers at night. After spending most of the day outside (training,
playing, or just hanging out) they come in around 8pm and have about an hours worth of wild play with
the big dogs - Ruger is their best playmate but everybody joins in at some point. After 8 pm they are not
allowed water, and we tuck them into their individual crates sometime between 9 and 10. For at least the
last week, they have consistently been sleeping 9 hours at night. What a treat to be able to sleep all
through the night!
Generally, both pups are starting to settle down. They are even starting to develop some manners, such
as not jumping up, not hopping through doorways before they are told, and they are quite good now at
reading the adult dogs so they have become much less of a nuisance to them. Kimber consistently
runs to the door to be let out. Beretta is more subtle but generally when she stops playing she needs to
go. Both pups are doing very well in the retrieving department and are getting very good at the tunnel.
They have also now been introduced to tiny agility jumps and they think that is super fun. Their little
minds are much more advanced than their bodies are though, so even though they *think* they can take
on the world, we have to try to limit what they can do. Too much jumping, or jumping too high (even on
and off the couch) can result in injury while they are growing, so the rule here is safety first. We take daily
walks through the woods so that they can get used to climbing over and under logs, up and down hills,
and get used to unsure footing.
We like to practice their recall as often as we can. Tim and I each grab a handful of small treats and call
the puppy between us. They know this game well and because it is highly rewarding, both pups are
developing an excellent 'come'. Kimber will get distracted by the cats (who like to taunt her) but is almost
to the point where she can be called off of chasing them. Beretta is not bothered by distractions - she is
very focused on earning a reward!
April 29, 2009
We have been busy lately! The girls are learning to ride on the quad (while being securely held of
course) and their daily quad trips are now the highlight of their day. The puppies go on at a time and we
try to take them to a new area to explore on each trip.
On Beretta's first quad ride, we stopped along the river just past the edge of our yard. Immediately she
noticed a pair of ducks swimming there and her eyes were glued on them. I kept a tight hold to keep her
from jumping in. Once the ducks took off, we wandered the river edge and she had a fine time splashing
in and out of the quiet overflow areas, helping us find good sticks for chasing and of course rolling in the
mud. Her fun continued until we got home and it was bath time (yuck!)
We took Kim a little further down to a different spot along the river. She crossed a shallow part of the
stream and we began to explore a little island. Suddenly, her hair was upright and she stood glued in
one spot. We were a little worried as this is the same look Twig gets in the presence of wild animals like
bears. While we carefully examined the area to see what she was alerting on, we flushed up a momma
goose that had been downwind of where Kimber was pointing. As soon as the goose started to fly,
Kimber gave wild chase. We managed to call her back (with a reward for coming and cheers for her
interest in the bird of course) and instantly she began quartering the area and within seconds had found
the goose's nest! We scooped her up just as she was reaching for an egg, and quickly left the area so
as not to disturb momma goose any further.
Still curious as to what had got her ruffled earlier, we went back to the spot that she had indicated, and
soon found a large moose leg bone that had recently been chewed on. Was she alerting on the smell of
the carcass, or the smell of what was eating it? We don't know but it will be interesting to watch her
reactions in the future to figure it out. In any case, it is extremely useful to have a canine companion that
will give signals when something is amiss, particularly in our area with all the bears, moose, cougars,
wolves etc.
As we headed back to the quad to leave the area, Kimber began quartering again. She has a hot little
nose for sure! Soon, she had found another nest - this time of a songbird - and flushed the momma up.
We packed her up and headed home before she found anyone else to disturb, but we are very proud of
her natural birdiness for sure!
It's not all fun and games at our house. Every now and then, all the dogs are sleeping at once (rare but
true!) Last night was just such an episode. Here are a few pics. (Also new Kimber photos)
Top three pics: Kimber and Beretta - we couldn't get them all in one shot but they are posed exactly the same! Very cute.
Bottom row: Onyx, Nestle, and Ruger (sleeping upside down in his kennel as usual but this time he managed to tuck the blanket
up over top of himself).
May 4, 2009
New photos of Thor are available at the bottom of his page. He now weighs 30 lbs. I weighed Beretta - she is at 32 pounds and
Kimber rings in at 28. They are both incredibly birdy pups. We took Beretta out to a new area of the riverbank and she discovered
another pair of geese (and of course another nest!). She is not afraid of those big birds at all and immediately puts the run on
them. Kimber's new hobby is scoping the yard for dead songbirds- our cats are terrible creatures who kill anything that moves
and then just leave the body lying around. Well, Kim has figured out that it is very rewarding to find birds and return them to mom!
She's got a great nose and when it starts twitching, that's my cue that a feathered corpse is nearby. Looks like these two are
going to make a pair of fine hunting dogs!
On that note, I want to let all my faithful readers know that we will be hosting a gun dog training seminar on the weekend of June
13/14. The seminar will be taught by Doug Grant, who has recently retired from his profession as a retriever trainer. The seminar
is open to all breeds and mixes. Pups from our Twig X Hawk litter are welcome to attend as this is an introductory seminar and
will provide an excellent start to your dog's hunting career! More information can be found here.
Also, new Beretta pictures are up (finally!)
May 9, 2009
The tooth fairy is in town! We just received a Sable update with new pictures, and her family has noticed that she has lost
several of her baby teeth. I checked our pups and sure enough, they are missing a few also. The puppies are all starting to look
like young dogs now -they grow so fast! Here is my favorite new Sable picture:
Onyx puppies are due in about 3 weeks - she is getting a big belly. For those of you that are interested in following the progress
of her litter, a page is available here (complete with videos of her ultrasound). We will be updating individual puppy pages daily
as we did with this litter and it will be fun to see how the two litters compare.
May 10, 2009
We just received a whole pile of new Soleil pictures. What a good looking gal! Here's a great one of her in action - when she
runs she reminds me a lot of momma Twig!
May 18, 2009
We've had a busy week - new pictures of Beretta and Kimber are posted on their puppy pages. Yesterday Kimber had her first
boat ride - it wasn't terribly exciting for her and she slept through most of the fun, but she was definitely well-behaved and a
delightful fishing companion. Both girls are teething quite hard now and are hot and cold with retrieving (and chewing everything
in sight) so we are not spending much time on fetching right now. This is prime time for learning some silly dog tricks. Both
pups have perfected shake-a-paw in the last few days and are now starting to learn to spin in the opposite direction (which we
call 'around'). They are quick to learn and will do anything for a cookie! On one of our daily hikes this past week Beretta came
across a grouse in the bush - she noticed the bird well before we did and flushed him up - it flew a few feet and settled again,
where she promptly pointed him! This is the first time we've seen pointing action from any pup in this litter, although Twig and all
her siblings pointed as puppies. This trait comes from Nestle's side of the family, where there are many state Pheasant
championship dogs and pointing Labs in the background. I would appreciate hearing about any other pups in this litter that have
shown this tendancy to date.
May 24
First time swimming! Twig and Beretta are twins (can you tell which is which)? ----->
M
May 28 - New updates from Paisley's family are on her page here. We have been quite busy with the dogs the past few days, as
our Onyx babies arrived on Saturday. Our Twig puppies are 4 months old now - I think this is my favorite puppy stage. They are
SO quick to learn new things - brave, curious, and even starting to settle down a bit. Chewing is ongoing as they are teething but
as long as they have a bone to work on, things are good. Both puppies are able to relax in there down time, and are prone to
taking naps in the afternoon after a vigorous play. Humans need naps too, especially after a long night of babysitting newborn
puppies:
June 1
How time flies! It has been reported that our eastern-most puppies from this litter (Soleil and Maddie) have had their first swims
out at the Saskatoon Retriever Club. We are having beautiful weather here and are hoping to get out for some more water work
this week with our pups. In the meantime, they are enjoying the kiddie pool that is set up outside for them. Beretta in particular is
a big fan of soaking in the pool - it's not uncommon to find both her and Twig in the pool at the same time.
We have switched all of our dogs over to Purina Pro Plan dog food. Although Nutro had done us well for quite a while, we have
been having some consistency issues with their products lately. The dogs are doing quite well on the Pro Plan formula, which is
the high-end version of Purina's products and can be found at any specialty pet supply store. Beretta and Kimber are eating 2
cups twice a day of the Large Breed Puppy Formula and have very healthy looking coats, a nice lean body condition and fewer
stools than before. I will be recommending this food in the future to our puppy families and would encourage any of our current
puppy people to try it out (unless your puppy is already doing very well on the their current brand of food). For more information
about Pro Plan products, click the logo below:
Since I am doing some free advertising today, I want to tell you all about the miracle of miracles- the most amazing dog brush
ever! You probably have not experienced it yet with your young dogs, but as they grow, you will begin to find out just how much
Labs shed. The time will come when you spend too much time sweeping and not enough time doing other fun things, and you
will remember that I told you about the Pet Perfect deshedding tool. We have 6 dogs in the house full time at the moment, and
the cats... prior to buying this brush, I had to sweep at least twice a day just to keep the fur under control, let alone try and keep
things really sparkling clean. But after using the Pet Perfect brush on each dog and cat, sweeping up fur is no longer my full time
job. It removes an INCREDIBLE amount of dead undercoat in just one brushing, and if you do a thorough job, you will not have to
re-brush them for 3-4 weeks at the earliest. Now, I do not get any proceeds from the sales of these brushes (although if I could
sell them retail I would, they are that good)- but you can purchase them online here. A large Pet Perfect brush runs about $40 but
now that I have one and love it so much I can say it is easy worth twice that for the amount of work it saves you. I have not been
able to find these brushes in local petstores, but our puppy people in bigger centres may have better luck finding one.
June 4
The Dog Days of Summer are upon us. It has been a very hot week and we have spent most of it in the river trying to keep cool.
The girls are becoming excellent swimmers and are getting quite good at water retrieves also. New pictures of both Kimber and
Beretta are on their pages, and there are new photos of most of the other dogs too. Both girls have recently gone through a
growth spurt which has seemed to slow now, and they are gradually starting to get control of their bodies. They still have clumsy
moments though! Our first agility trial of the season is this weekend and the puppies will come with us to watch Grandma
Nestle in action and to learn how to behave during the excitement of competition. Unfortunately Twig has come into season and
won't be able to participate but she should be back in action in a couple of weeks at the next trial. Stay tuned for photos and
videos of our fun and games this weekend!
Below: Yup, that's Beretta catching some 'big air' while keeping a close eye on the tennis ball in Tim's hand.
June 7
This weekend was our first agility trial of the year. Nestle was entered (Twig came into season and coudn't go) and we took one
puppy each day. Being at the trial was a good way for the puppies to get used to the excitement - lots of people, dogs, and
noises to get used to. However, they are fairly well-travelled already and did not pay much attention to all of the excitement,
although they certainly didn't mind all of the attention! While Nestle and I were busy doing our agility thing, Tim spent time with
each puppy. On Saturday I came back from one of Nestle's first runs and Tim told me that he had taught Kimber a new trick -
High 5. Wow - that didn't take long! Tim is turning out to be a master trick trainer. On Sunday, it was Beretta's turn to come with,
and the story is similar but better - this time Tim taught 2 new tricks. So not only did the puppies get a chance to learn to relax
and be calm in a new environment, they also got a little one-on-one time with their Daddy to increase their repertoire of tricks. All
of the puppies should be done with their puppy vaccinations so it is a good time to crank up your socialization efforts - avoid
areas where you know that sick dogs have been but other than that, get them out into the world experiencing new things while
their minds are young and fresh! Here are a couple photos from our agility weekend.
June 18
The puppies are getting so big - really starting to look like adult dogs now. Both girls are in the 35 pound range, and Sherri has
reported that Sable is also at 35 pounds. This past weekend we attended a retriever training seminar by Doug Grant. Ruger and
Beretta were our lucky companions. While the work was generally a little too advanced for Beretta, she did manage to
demonstrate her 'heel' and auto-sit. She spent most of the time quietly watching the other dogs. What an unusually good girl!
Ruger had a blast and Tim & I learned a lot about how to progress with the more advanced training. This upcoming weekend
we will be attending another agility trial in Prince George. Nestle and Twig are both entered.
There are new Sable photos on her page. Here is my favorite one.
July 1st - We spent the day enjoying the great weather, swimming, and playing! Chester is keeping the girls busy as he loves to
play, and I am very impressed with how gentle they are.
July 14th - Visit Sable's page for updated photos. This little gal is being taught to ride in the sidecar of a scooter! Yes, safety is a
consideration so she wears doggles. I can't imagine how much fun she has with the wind blowing in her ears.
The Onyx puppies have started to leave for their new homes. Miley was the first to leave us. We have gotten reports back already
and it sounds like she is doing very well and is sleeping for most of the night. She goes in her crate all on her own for naps. KD
and Molly left us today. Hopefully we will get some reports back on these two blonde beauties soon. All of the puppies from this
litter have such beautiful temperaments and they are very smart. Everybody has already learned to sit!
Beretta had an exciting day today. During our afternoon hike, she managed to catch a live bird! She brought it back to me
unharmed. The poor little thing had quite the fright though as he had been riding completely in her mouth. Both Beretta and
Kimber have been progressing through some beginning agility training and are doing lightning fast tunnels. I will attempt to get
a video of them in action in the next while as it is quite the sight to see!
July 19
We are starting to get updates from the Onyx babies who have gone to their new homes over the past week. "Bella", formerly
known as KD, is already sitting for her meals. Her new parents have an excellent training program lined up and she is sure to
become a fantastic hunting dog! Morgan made the long journey home to Port Alberni and has some photos of his journey
posted on his page. Miley is doing great in 100 Mile House and tucks herself in for naps. She is having a good time with her new
family and has pictures up. Maya's family reports that she was super quiet and well-behaved on the long drive up to Dawson
Creek and as of their update today, still hadn't had any accidents. What a good girl! "XL" will now be known as Lyric and there are
photos of her also up here. Molly is living the good life, playing with her girls and hanging out on the couch. We are hoping to
hear from Ginny's family soon. Sabre and Shadow will depart via airplane for their new homes this week, and Jake will be
picked up on Sunday. So far the conscensus is that the Onyx puppies are being quite quiet, cooperative, more or less accident
free and fun!
July 22
Shadow flew to Vancouver this morning. Her family reports that she landed safe and sound and is already busy playing in their
baby pool! The remaining boys - Jake & Sabre (and Chester of course) and I had a swim in the river - some photos posted
below as well as on their pages. Morgan is doing well and is retrieving like a fool. Lyric has already experienced many new
things and sounds like a real little smartie pants. Molly's family reports that she is having a great time playing with the girls and
hanging out at the cabin during our hot summer weather. Ginny's page is updated with a link to a newsletter update.
Timber, from our Twig X Hawk litter, is apparently a swimming machine, just like his sisters. Today when Beretta and I were
down on the river for our walk, we were busy playing stick fetch when I noticed another family down their with their dog. Our
beach is a very popular hang-out area in the summer, but I try the busiest areas because there seems to be a lot of unfriendly
pet dogs out and about. friendly. Beretta was happily carrying her stick and we were taking a wide berth around the other family
from around 50 yards back or so. All of sudden, the other dog saw us, and stopped what he was doing. He was staring right at
us. Beretta saw him and stood near me, wagging her tail. Then out of nowhere the dog charged at us full speed. I grabbed the
big stick out of Beretta's mouth and grabbed her by the scruff, putting myself (and my big stick) between her and the strange dog.
I hollered and waved the stick at him and he stopped just shy of us, but was very forward and aggressively looking at Beretta. Of
course, by now she had realized that he was not a long lost buddy and was trying to put herself between me and the dog. I
finally managed to scare him off (where was his family? still playing and not even realizing that their dog was trying to attack
another dog!) and we went on our way. Beretta didn't seem overly bothered by the incident, but I wanted to mention it because
now is the time of year when everyone is out and about with their dog, and what we experienced today with this bullmastiff is not
an uncommon occurrence although still frightening and irritating that the owner's didn't even notice the near disaster, let alone
attempt to prevent it. Please, do not let your dog off-leash unless you know he or she will stick near by where you can protect
them. If Beretta had been straying far from me, I would not have been able to grab her and she likely would have run out to make
friends with this big angry dog. Puppies, in particular, are not great at reading other dogs and can get themselves in trouble so
be sure you are always aware of your surroundings and treat all strange dogs as potential threats. Even dogs who are not
particularly aggressive are sometimes unfriendly with a bubbly puppy so it is a good idea to teach your puppy to ignore other
dogs unless released to play with them.
August 6th
Attention puppy people! We have started a webgroup for families with an Eromit Lab puppy (and those who are waiting for their
puppy to be born). The purpose of the group is so that our puppy people can get to know each other and so that we have a
common place to discuss training, behavior and general puppy issues. It's a great place to ask questions and to find out what
the other puppies are upt to. Please email me to sign up for the group.
Updates from the Onyx X Hawk litter are rolling in. There is a new Ginny newsletter on her page, Molly's family reports that she is
the most loveable creature ever, and we have new Shadow photos up. Bella's family loves her to bits and will be sending some
new pictures soon.
There are several new Thor pictures on his site and I have put up some new Kimber and Beretta pictures. We also have a video
clip of Kimber doing agility and will soon have one of Beretta posted also.
In training news, I have heard a lot of good things about the puppies lately. It sounds like Thor is a retrieving machine! Timber
swims like a fish as does Sable. The Onyx puppy reports have been very positive also - several of them know multiple tricks
already and most of them have retrieving down to an art already. Right on! Kimber and Beretta are doing multiple agility
obstacles now, including small jumps. Both were introduced to a remote bird launcher this week - and loved it! Beretta is very
close to being ready for a junior hunt test while Kimber needs to mature a bit and practice more obedience first - her desire to
retrieve is overwhelming for her sometimes. We have had nothing but super hot weather here for the past 3 weeks so
swimming is a valuable skill and both of these girls rock!
Chester has started his agility training and gets quite excited while he waits his turn in the training line-up every morning. He is a
bit lonely for his little Onyx-baby friends but has found that Pip the border collie makes a good substitute. Because Chester is
just a little bit older than the Onyx puppies, we have used him as demonstration dog in some of the videos posted on the
webgroup. Our next video will feature Chester's introduction to clicker training... this is a great way to teach your puppy new skills
and really gets them using their brain!
Twig, Nestle and I will be competing in an agility trial in Prince George this weekend, and then it's time to settle down and get
ready for our Lee X Ruger puppies.
Aug 15th
No Lee babies as of 8 am.... I've gotten several updates from the Onyx and Twig litters though and the photos are now up! Visit
each puppy's page for new pics: Sable, Thor, Sabre, Lyric, Molly, Miley, Beretta, Morgan.
Last weekend's agility trial went very well. Twig earned the final leg needed for her Starters Games Dog of Canada title, and is
now known as "Bit of Shine Engl SGDC". Nestle was handled by her new friend Alyssa and they did very well as a team - big
thanks to Alyssa for helping me out! I am hoping that Alyssa will handle Nestle again at the next trial and I'll try to get some
pictures of them in action.
Aug 17th
The puppies arrived yesterday morning... I was up all night expecting babies at any time, but Lee graciously waited for daylight to
give birth to 6 beautiful little blackies. She is proving to be an excellent mom and with a lot of milk, these youngsters are going to
grow like crazy! Be sure to check out each puppy's webpage for current photos... I am trying to come up with some good
(temporary) names for them and would love to hear some suggestions!
Aug 24th
Lee's puppies are growing at an incredible rate. It makes a huge difference having only 6 babies as compared to 10! They are
getting around fairly well now but it will still be a few days before their eyes open.
Some updates have been received for Molly, Miley, and Lyric. They are growing up to be very beautiful dogs. Be sure to visit each
puppy's page to see the new photos.
In training news, we are working on steadying Beretta and Kimber for retrieves. They learn so quickly it's amazing. We have also
begun to teach them the table for agility, so they have an obstacle repertoire of jumps, tunnels and the table. Kimber
occasionally does the A-frame of her own accord but I try not to encourage her to do it yet as we are not at that stage and I don't
like her to practice wrong. I For those of you who are interested in agility, be sure to consider using Susan Garrett's 2x2 weave
pole training method for training the weaves. I bought the 2 DVD set and have used it to teach Ruger to weave. In just a couple
weeks he is accurately weaving 4 poles from ANY angle entry. I have also used the system to sharpen up Twig's weave pole
performance and I couldn't be happier. Visit www.clickerdogs.com for information about Susan Garrett and her training supplies.
Sept 10th
For those of you on the webgroup, stay tuned for the next two training videos which will guide you through 'shaping' a new
behavior and also through the 'choose to heel' exercise. We have been doing more sequencing work with Kimber and Chester
is now up to doing several small jumps and tunnels in a row with various crosses between. Ruger has got a kick-butt 'down' off
the contact obstacles and is doing 2 sets of 4 weave poles, however we have been working more on his retriever training lately.
He has been started on three handed casting and will be doing some pattern blinds this week. Both Ruger and Beretta have
been out grouse-hunting with us but we have not seen any birds yet - typically October is a better month for this in our area but
there is no harm in trying. Both dogs are getting quite good about walking calmly through the bush and are quartering well.
Our last outdoor agility trial for the season will be this weekend. Twig and Nestle are entered. Wish us luck!
Bottom row: Onyx, Nestle, and Ruger (sleeping upside down in his kennel as usual but this time he managed to tuck the blanket
up over top of himself).
May 4, 2009
New photos of Thor are available at the bottom of his page. He now weighs 30 lbs. I weighed Beretta - she is at 32 pounds and
Kimber rings in at 28. They are both incredibly birdy pups. We took Beretta out to a new area of the riverbank and she discovered
another pair of geese (and of course another nest!). She is not afraid of those big birds at all and immediately puts the run on
them. Kimber's new hobby is scoping the yard for dead songbirds- our cats are terrible creatures who kill anything that moves
and then just leave the body lying around. Well, Kim has figured out that it is very rewarding to find birds and return them to mom!
She's got a great nose and when it starts twitching, that's my cue that a feathered corpse is nearby. Looks like these two are
going to make a pair of fine hunting dogs!
On that note, I want to let all my faithful readers know that we will be hosting a gun dog training seminar on the weekend of June
13/14. The seminar will be taught by Doug Grant, who has recently retired from his profession as a retriever trainer. The seminar
is open to all breeds and mixes. Pups from our Twig X Hawk litter are welcome to attend as this is an introductory seminar and
will provide an excellent start to your dog's hunting career! More information can be found here.
Also, new Beretta pictures are up (finally!)
May 9, 2009
The tooth fairy is in town! We just received a Sable update with new pictures, and her family has noticed that she has lost
several of her baby teeth. I checked our pups and sure enough, they are missing a few also. The puppies are all starting to look
like young dogs now -they grow so fast! Here is my favorite new Sable picture:
Onyx puppies are due in about 3 weeks - she is getting a big belly. For those of you that are interested in following the progress
of her litter, a page is available here (complete with videos of her ultrasound). We will be updating individual puppy pages daily
as we did with this litter and it will be fun to see how the two litters compare.
May 10, 2009
We just received a whole pile of new Soleil pictures. What a good looking gal! Here's a great one of her in action - when she
runs she reminds me a lot of momma Twig!
May 18, 2009
We've had a busy week - new pictures of Beretta and Kimber are posted on their puppy pages. Yesterday Kimber had her first
boat ride - it wasn't terribly exciting for her and she slept through most of the fun, but she was definitely well-behaved and a
delightful fishing companion. Both girls are teething quite hard now and are hot and cold with retrieving (and chewing everything
in sight) so we are not spending much time on fetching right now. This is prime time for learning some silly dog tricks. Both
pups have perfected shake-a-paw in the last few days and are now starting to learn to spin in the opposite direction (which we
call 'around'). They are quick to learn and will do anything for a cookie! On one of our daily hikes this past week Beretta came
across a grouse in the bush - she noticed the bird well before we did and flushed him up - it flew a few feet and settled again,
where she promptly pointed him! This is the first time we've seen pointing action from any pup in this litter, although Twig and all
her siblings pointed as puppies. This trait comes from Nestle's side of the family, where there are many state Pheasant
championship dogs and pointing Labs in the background. I would appreciate hearing about any other pups in this litter that have
shown this tendancy to date.
May 24
First time swimming! Twig and Beretta are twins (can you tell which is which)? ----->
M
May 28 - New updates from Paisley's family are on her page here. We have been quite busy with the dogs the past few days, as
our Onyx babies arrived on Saturday. Our Twig puppies are 4 months old now - I think this is my favorite puppy stage. They are
SO quick to learn new things - brave, curious, and even starting to settle down a bit. Chewing is ongoing as they are teething but
as long as they have a bone to work on, things are good. Both puppies are able to relax in there down time, and are prone to
taking naps in the afternoon after a vigorous play. Humans need naps too, especially after a long night of babysitting newborn
puppies:
June 1
How time flies! It has been reported that our eastern-most puppies from this litter (Soleil and Maddie) have had their first swims
out at the Saskatoon Retriever Club. We are having beautiful weather here and are hoping to get out for some more water work
this week with our pups. In the meantime, they are enjoying the kiddie pool that is set up outside for them. Beretta in particular is
a big fan of soaking in the pool - it's not uncommon to find both her and Twig in the pool at the same time.
We have switched all of our dogs over to Purina Pro Plan dog food. Although Nutro had done us well for quite a while, we have
been having some consistency issues with their products lately. The dogs are doing quite well on the Pro Plan formula, which is
the high-end version of Purina's products and can be found at any specialty pet supply store. Beretta and Kimber are eating 2
cups twice a day of the Large Breed Puppy Formula and have very healthy looking coats, a nice lean body condition and fewer
stools than before. I will be recommending this food in the future to our puppy families and would encourage any of our current
puppy people to try it out (unless your puppy is already doing very well on the their current brand of food). For more information
about Pro Plan products, click the logo below:
Since I am doing some free advertising today, I want to tell you all about the miracle of miracles- the most amazing dog brush
ever! You probably have not experienced it yet with your young dogs, but as they grow, you will begin to find out just how much
Labs shed. The time will come when you spend too much time sweeping and not enough time doing other fun things, and you
will remember that I told you about the Pet Perfect deshedding tool. We have 6 dogs in the house full time at the moment, and
the cats... prior to buying this brush, I had to sweep at least twice a day just to keep the fur under control, let alone try and keep
things really sparkling clean. But after using the Pet Perfect brush on each dog and cat, sweeping up fur is no longer my full time
job. It removes an INCREDIBLE amount of dead undercoat in just one brushing, and if you do a thorough job, you will not have to
re-brush them for 3-4 weeks at the earliest. Now, I do not get any proceeds from the sales of these brushes (although if I could
sell them retail I would, they are that good)- but you can purchase them online here. A large Pet Perfect brush runs about $40 but
now that I have one and love it so much I can say it is easy worth twice that for the amount of work it saves you. I have not been
able to find these brushes in local petstores, but our puppy people in bigger centres may have better luck finding one.
June 4
The Dog Days of Summer are upon us. It has been a very hot week and we have spent most of it in the river trying to keep cool.
The girls are becoming excellent swimmers and are getting quite good at water retrieves also. New pictures of both Kimber and
Beretta are on their pages, and there are new photos of most of the other dogs too. Both girls have recently gone through a
growth spurt which has seemed to slow now, and they are gradually starting to get control of their bodies. They still have clumsy
moments though! Our first agility trial of the season is this weekend and the puppies will come with us to watch Grandma
Nestle in action and to learn how to behave during the excitement of competition. Unfortunately Twig has come into season and
won't be able to participate but she should be back in action in a couple of weeks at the next trial. Stay tuned for photos and
videos of our fun and games this weekend!
Below: Yup, that's Beretta catching some 'big air' while keeping a close eye on the tennis ball in Tim's hand.
June 7
This weekend was our first agility trial of the year. Nestle was entered (Twig came into season and coudn't go) and we took one
puppy each day. Being at the trial was a good way for the puppies to get used to the excitement - lots of people, dogs, and
noises to get used to. However, they are fairly well-travelled already and did not pay much attention to all of the excitement,
although they certainly didn't mind all of the attention! While Nestle and I were busy doing our agility thing, Tim spent time with
each puppy. On Saturday I came back from one of Nestle's first runs and Tim told me that he had taught Kimber a new trick -
High 5. Wow - that didn't take long! Tim is turning out to be a master trick trainer. On Sunday, it was Beretta's turn to come with,
and the story is similar but better - this time Tim taught 2 new tricks. So not only did the puppies get a chance to learn to relax
and be calm in a new environment, they also got a little one-on-one time with their Daddy to increase their repertoire of tricks. All
of the puppies should be done with their puppy vaccinations so it is a good time to crank up your socialization efforts - avoid
areas where you know that sick dogs have been but other than that, get them out into the world experiencing new things while
their minds are young and fresh! Here are a couple photos from our agility weekend.
June 18
The puppies are getting so big - really starting to look like adult dogs now. Both girls are in the 35 pound range, and Sherri has
reported that Sable is also at 35 pounds. This past weekend we attended a retriever training seminar by Doug Grant. Ruger and
Beretta were our lucky companions. While the work was generally a little too advanced for Beretta, she did manage to
demonstrate her 'heel' and auto-sit. She spent most of the time quietly watching the other dogs. What an unusually good girl!
Ruger had a blast and Tim & I learned a lot about how to progress with the more advanced training. This upcoming weekend
we will be attending another agility trial in Prince George. Nestle and Twig are both entered.
There are new Sable photos on her page. Here is my favorite one.
July 1st - We spent the day enjoying the great weather, swimming, and playing! Chester is keeping the girls busy as he loves to
play, and I am very impressed with how gentle they are.
July 14th - Visit Sable's page for updated photos. This little gal is being taught to ride in the sidecar of a scooter! Yes, safety is a
consideration so she wears doggles. I can't imagine how much fun she has with the wind blowing in her ears.
The Onyx puppies have started to leave for their new homes. Miley was the first to leave us. We have gotten reports back already
and it sounds like she is doing very well and is sleeping for most of the night. She goes in her crate all on her own for naps. KD
and Molly left us today. Hopefully we will get some reports back on these two blonde beauties soon. All of the puppies from this
litter have such beautiful temperaments and they are very smart. Everybody has already learned to sit!
Beretta had an exciting day today. During our afternoon hike, she managed to catch a live bird! She brought it back to me
unharmed. The poor little thing had quite the fright though as he had been riding completely in her mouth. Both Beretta and
Kimber have been progressing through some beginning agility training and are doing lightning fast tunnels. I will attempt to get
a video of them in action in the next while as it is quite the sight to see!
July 19
We are starting to get updates from the Onyx babies who have gone to their new homes over the past week. "Bella", formerly
known as KD, is already sitting for her meals. Her new parents have an excellent training program lined up and she is sure to
become a fantastic hunting dog! Morgan made the long journey home to Port Alberni and has some photos of his journey
posted on his page. Miley is doing great in 100 Mile House and tucks herself in for naps. She is having a good time with her new
family and has pictures up. Maya's family reports that she was super quiet and well-behaved on the long drive up to Dawson
Creek and as of their update today, still hadn't had any accidents. What a good girl! "XL" will now be known as Lyric and there are
photos of her also up here. Molly is living the good life, playing with her girls and hanging out on the couch. We are hoping to
hear from Ginny's family soon. Sabre and Shadow will depart via airplane for their new homes this week, and Jake will be
picked up on Sunday. So far the conscensus is that the Onyx puppies are being quite quiet, cooperative, more or less accident
free and fun!
July 22
Shadow flew to Vancouver this morning. Her family reports that she landed safe and sound and is already busy playing in their
baby pool! The remaining boys - Jake & Sabre (and Chester of course) and I had a swim in the river - some photos posted
below as well as on their pages. Morgan is doing well and is retrieving like a fool. Lyric has already experienced many new
things and sounds like a real little smartie pants. Molly's family reports that she is having a great time playing with the girls and
hanging out at the cabin during our hot summer weather. Ginny's page is updated with a link to a newsletter update.
Timber, from our Twig X Hawk litter, is apparently a swimming machine, just like his sisters. Today when Beretta and I were
down on the river for our walk, we were busy playing stick fetch when I noticed another family down their with their dog. Our
beach is a very popular hang-out area in the summer, but I try the busiest areas because there seems to be a lot of unfriendly
pet dogs out and about. friendly. Beretta was happily carrying her stick and we were taking a wide berth around the other family
from around 50 yards back or so. All of sudden, the other dog saw us, and stopped what he was doing. He was staring right at
us. Beretta saw him and stood near me, wagging her tail. Then out of nowhere the dog charged at us full speed. I grabbed the
big stick out of Beretta's mouth and grabbed her by the scruff, putting myself (and my big stick) between her and the strange dog.
I hollered and waved the stick at him and he stopped just shy of us, but was very forward and aggressively looking at Beretta. Of
course, by now she had realized that he was not a long lost buddy and was trying to put herself between me and the dog. I
finally managed to scare him off (where was his family? still playing and not even realizing that their dog was trying to attack
another dog!) and we went on our way. Beretta didn't seem overly bothered by the incident, but I wanted to mention it because
now is the time of year when everyone is out and about with their dog, and what we experienced today with this bullmastiff is not
an uncommon occurrence although still frightening and irritating that the owner's didn't even notice the near disaster, let alone
attempt to prevent it. Please, do not let your dog off-leash unless you know he or she will stick near by where you can protect
them. If Beretta had been straying far from me, I would not have been able to grab her and she likely would have run out to make
friends with this big angry dog. Puppies, in particular, are not great at reading other dogs and can get themselves in trouble so
be sure you are always aware of your surroundings and treat all strange dogs as potential threats. Even dogs who are not
particularly aggressive are sometimes unfriendly with a bubbly puppy so it is a good idea to teach your puppy to ignore other
dogs unless released to play with them.
August 6th
Attention puppy people! We have started a webgroup for families with an Eromit Lab puppy (and those who are waiting for their
puppy to be born). The purpose of the group is so that our puppy people can get to know each other and so that we have a
common place to discuss training, behavior and general puppy issues. It's a great place to ask questions and to find out what
the other puppies are upt to. Please email me to sign up for the group.
Updates from the Onyx X Hawk litter are rolling in. There is a new Ginny newsletter on her page, Molly's family reports that she is
the most loveable creature ever, and we have new Shadow photos up. Bella's family loves her to bits and will be sending some
new pictures soon.
There are several new Thor pictures on his site and I have put up some new Kimber and Beretta pictures. We also have a video
clip of Kimber doing agility and will soon have one of Beretta posted also.
In training news, I have heard a lot of good things about the puppies lately. It sounds like Thor is a retrieving machine! Timber
swims like a fish as does Sable. The Onyx puppy reports have been very positive also - several of them know multiple tricks
already and most of them have retrieving down to an art already. Right on! Kimber and Beretta are doing multiple agility
obstacles now, including small jumps. Both were introduced to a remote bird launcher this week - and loved it! Beretta is very
close to being ready for a junior hunt test while Kimber needs to mature a bit and practice more obedience first - her desire to
retrieve is overwhelming for her sometimes. We have had nothing but super hot weather here for the past 3 weeks so
swimming is a valuable skill and both of these girls rock!
Chester has started his agility training and gets quite excited while he waits his turn in the training line-up every morning. He is a
bit lonely for his little Onyx-baby friends but has found that Pip the border collie makes a good substitute. Because Chester is
just a little bit older than the Onyx puppies, we have used him as demonstration dog in some of the videos posted on the
webgroup. Our next video will feature Chester's introduction to clicker training... this is a great way to teach your puppy new skills
and really gets them using their brain!
Twig, Nestle and I will be competing in an agility trial in Prince George this weekend, and then it's time to settle down and get
ready for our Lee X Ruger puppies.
Aug 15th
No Lee babies as of 8 am.... I've gotten several updates from the Onyx and Twig litters though and the photos are now up! Visit
each puppy's page for new pics: Sable, Thor, Sabre, Lyric, Molly, Miley, Beretta, Morgan.
Last weekend's agility trial went very well. Twig earned the final leg needed for her Starters Games Dog of Canada title, and is
now known as "Bit of Shine Engl SGDC". Nestle was handled by her new friend Alyssa and they did very well as a team - big
thanks to Alyssa for helping me out! I am hoping that Alyssa will handle Nestle again at the next trial and I'll try to get some
pictures of them in action.
Aug 17th
The puppies arrived yesterday morning... I was up all night expecting babies at any time, but Lee graciously waited for daylight to
give birth to 6 beautiful little blackies. She is proving to be an excellent mom and with a lot of milk, these youngsters are going to
grow like crazy! Be sure to check out each puppy's webpage for current photos... I am trying to come up with some good
(temporary) names for them and would love to hear some suggestions!
Aug 24th
Lee's puppies are growing at an incredible rate. It makes a huge difference having only 6 babies as compared to 10! They are
getting around fairly well now but it will still be a few days before their eyes open.
Some updates have been received for Molly, Miley, and Lyric. They are growing up to be very beautiful dogs. Be sure to visit each
puppy's page to see the new photos.
In training news, we are working on steadying Beretta and Kimber for retrieves. They learn so quickly it's amazing. We have also
begun to teach them the table for agility, so they have an obstacle repertoire of jumps, tunnels and the table. Kimber
occasionally does the A-frame of her own accord but I try not to encourage her to do it yet as we are not at that stage and I don't
like her to practice wrong. I For those of you who are interested in agility, be sure to consider using Susan Garrett's 2x2 weave
pole training method for training the weaves. I bought the 2 DVD set and have used it to teach Ruger to weave. In just a couple
weeks he is accurately weaving 4 poles from ANY angle entry. I have also used the system to sharpen up Twig's weave pole
performance and I couldn't be happier. Visit www.clickerdogs.com for information about Susan Garrett and her training supplies.
Sept 10th
For those of you on the webgroup, stay tuned for the next two training videos which will guide you through 'shaping' a new
behavior and also through the 'choose to heel' exercise. We have been doing more sequencing work with Kimber and Chester
is now up to doing several small jumps and tunnels in a row with various crosses between. Ruger has got a kick-butt 'down' off
the contact obstacles and is doing 2 sets of 4 weave poles, however we have been working more on his retriever training lately.
He has been started on three handed casting and will be doing some pattern blinds this week. Both Ruger and Beretta have
been out grouse-hunting with us but we have not seen any birds yet - typically October is a better month for this in our area but
there is no harm in trying. Both dogs are getting quite good about walking calmly through the bush and are quartering well.
Our last outdoor agility trial for the season will be this weekend. Twig and Nestle are entered. Wish us luck!
