May 30, 2022 – Almost all of Hazel and Barkley’s puppies are home now, and we’re hearing great reports! We’ll post pictures and a final blog post soon.
May 25, 2022 – The puppies are getting ready for home! We want to post a little information on anything we are seeing in any personality traits that are starting to surface, in order to help families choose their pups this week. I need to explain that personalities are just starting to come out at seven weeks old. Experts say that personalities will develop much more over the upcoming months and will be influenced by their new families, their environments, and the energy and training style and personalities of their new pack leaders. But we put our heads together, observed, and made notes on anything we’re seeing at this young age. Please know that each and every pup is showing to be so similar in temperament and all of the conditioning we did worked and each one is exactly where we want them to be at this point: smart, affectionate, adaptable, socialized and very loving. They LOVE their humans and ALL love to be held above all else.
All the pups did great at the vet. Totally quiet with no car sickness and vet commented how incredibly calm they are. Please see their weights from the vet, added to their pictures below. Please note that the smaller pups, like Scoop and Parfait, will probably be closer to 40 lbs., like Barkley. The largest pups are expected to be around mama’s size: 50-55 lbs. The others in the middle will be more like 45 lbs. full grown.
Scoop seems to be a little more quiet and subdued. Hard to tell if it’s shyness or just a quieter demeanor. He is very sweet, very affectionate with us humans and does love to play, but less playful and interactive with the other pups. (They play a little rough at times and not sure he likes that.) He is doing great on going up and down stairs already.
Fudge loves to explore, is playful but also settles down sooner than the other pups. He plays hard then wears himself out quickly. He is also sweet and loving, like everyone of the other pups!
Gelato is extremely playful, yet extremely cuddly too! Not as brave with climbing the stairs yet, but will get there (probably before he goes home!)
Butterscotch is much like Gelato. Hard to point to personality details yet, but very playful yet very cuddly. Loves to wrestle, then loves to give kisses.
Yummy is probably the most playful! She loves playing with the the other pups, chasing and wrestling and loves trying to climb on us humans for more interaction. She will keep up with an active family and probably the more adventure, the better (hiking, swimming, etc!) She is affectionate and can be a little more sensitive too. She doesn’t like being apart from her humans or her litter but getting better at that every day. I guess we see more distinct personality in Yummy and makes it easier to say more. She seems to be the pack leader of the group. Confident is her middle name.
Parfait will romp and chase, but enjoys time with her toys alone too. Affectionate. Not quite as adventurous yet. Doesn’t like leash training on the stairs yet. She is not the leader, more of a follower and perhaps just not quite as confident yet. They’re all developing in various stages, as they always do.
Sprinkles loves to play and chase, loves to explore. Perhaps slightly more confident than her sister Parfait. Slightly more energetic too. A little like Yummy in the “Bring it on!” attitude.
Sherbet is very curious. Loves to explore and check things out. Her intelligence shows as she seems to be trying to figure things out. All the pups tested equal in temperament testing, but her wheels are turning as she seems to be thinking things through!
May 22, 2022 – We are in the home stretch for Hazel and Barkley’s puppies! They are doing very well at leash and crate training, and their temperaments are all solid. They love people and being held, and are showing the confidence as well, to go on and become excellent family members. After a bath and blow dry, these are the pictures we took of them this weekend. You can see that they posed very nicely for their final pictures. We’ll post weights after their vet appointment and some personality info will be posted soon. Here they are at seven weeks old!
May 14, 2022 – Hazel and Barkley’s puppies are doing very well! They are using their litter box very well, started on crate training, eating mush and desensitized to scary sounds. They love humans and are tracking us and bonding well – all great signs. They are calm and relaxed when we hold them and walk around with them. All signs that all the conditioning is working. They’re becoming more active and this week we’ll start posting videos of them so you can see them live. Here they are after a bath and blow dry. (They did great with the blow dryer and are so accustomed to baths at this point!)
The Boys
The Girls
May 6, 2022 – Hazel’s pups are growing up! We wanted to put names to each pup so we did another photo shoot today – after they had a bath and blow dry for good conditioning. They did great! Today we started them on mushy kibble and they loved it! Now that they are eating some solid stuff, they’ll start putting more weight on and give mama a break for some of their meals. They’re doing great at using their litter box. They seem completely chill now to “scary” sounds like fireworks, storms and traffic, after listening to that stuff loudly for over a week. They still sleep a LOT and aren’t really playing with toys or each other yet, but when they do, we’ll start bringing them out for play time in the puppy romp area. The beautiful reds in this litter are always impressive. Here they are heading toward five weeks old, our Everything Ice Cream Litter!
May 1, 2022 – Hazel and Barkley’s puppies are almost four weeks old now and doing very well! They are here, still sleeping a lot and staying in a puppy pile (as you can see below.) They are well on their way to sound conditioning and they’ve completed their bio-sensor steps. Still, they seem to mostly eat and sleep, but it won’t be long before they are moving around the pen more and playing. We took pictures of them and next week, we’ll post individual pictures of each pup with names, so you can track who’s who. Here they are!
April 23, 2022 – Here are some photos we took of the pups during week two! As you can see, their eyes have just opened and some are starting to get the strength to try and stand. Still, mostly just sleeping and eating. They will be hearing soon and are all doing very well. Mama is great. Mama Hazel and the litter are all at Hazel’s guardian home, being carefully cared for. Hazel’s guardians have helped us whelp and raise pups for some time now, and it lets Hazel deliver and stay in the comfort of her home during the earliest phase of puppy life. They’ll be coming here next weekend where we will continue with all the next steps of conditioning. We’ll take individual photos in about a week and name each one, so that you can see who’s who. Here they are! Not doing a lot yet, but it won’t be long.
April 11, 2022 – Hazel’s final litter has arrived! As usual, she is a great mama and has produced beautiful pups. The pups are all gaining weight and appear very healthy. The pups are now one week old, born on April 5. We’ve started them on the bio-sensor program, which canine behaviorists say is the MOST important step to conditioning pups. Since they can’t see or hear yet, touch is our way to connect with them and help develop and condition them neurologically. Human touch begins with lots of massaging and five basic steps each day to begin the process toward excellent temperaments. We have five girls and three boys and we have themed this litter our Ice Cream Litter. We welcome to our world: Fudge, Gelato and Scoop (the boys) and Sprinkles, Parfait, Butterscotch, Sherbet, and Yummy (the girls). Here they are at one week old!
