Puppied To The Max

Rex, Jordyn & Chris - Magic was already in his new home.

Whew, what a weekend!  Puppied to the max!

Patti & Grace WERE able to bring the pups down from Canada. No problem at Customs, roads were adequate despite the storms, and they had a dog-friendly hotel to spend Friday night.  All were walking on leashes by then, so Patti stopped a few times along the way to exercise the pups, and everything went smoothly.  The pups were mugged each time they stopped, and many of the people asked, "Are they for sale?"  Yeah right, these carefully raised babies were going to be sold to total strangers from the back of a car in a McDonald's parking lot.

We left early the next morning for the pups BAER testing in Rochester.   Patti had suspected one of the liver boys was a uni (a dog with hearing in one ear rather than both), because one of the boys had trouble figuring out the source of a sound - he could not key into the location of the person calling him.  He could hear them perfectly well, just could not tell which person was calling him or where they were standing.  Uni pups quickly learn to pick up on visual keys, so if the person moves, leans forward or claps their hands, the pup notices that and goes to the right person.  Observant breeders can generally identify uni puppies, but we go in for BAER testing to confirm our suspicions.  Patti was correct (I knew she would be) and Captain Rex tested as a uni.  No problem.

Jess came over later for a photo session and we got great pictures of all four pups.  We all agreed that Jordyn was the star of the litter, and Captain Rex was the best of the liver boys.  Jordyn was going home with Patti & Grace, Magic was spoken for and his new mom picked him up that afternoon, and people were flying in from Oregon to look at Christopher.  I was quite taken with Rex and planned to keep him until the right local home came along for him.

The pups were perfect on Saturday night.  Because they were exhausted from all their adventures and were already accustomed to sleeping in a crate at night, they didn't make a peep.  I set up a crate in the family room so we could get them out the door quickly, and we had no accidents either.

The folks from Oregon had lost their beloved Dal boy about six months before, and were finally ready for a new pup.  They wanted a liver boy, one who had been heavily socialized, from a line with exceptional temperaments, because they planned to do Therapy Dog work with the puppy.  Although they had come to see Christopher who is as sweet and cuddley as can be, it was Rex to sold himself.  I had not planned to let Rex go so soon, but I feel very strongly that we owe our dogs the very best homes we can find for them, and this was a super home.  Even though I had only known Rex for two days, I shed a few tears over the decision and let him go.  Rex's new family had flown in to see the pups, but rented a car to take him home, a 30 hour trip. What an adventure!

So Christopher stayed behind and is looking for a home.  Pictures tomorrow.  A beautifully marked liver boy with a happy friendly personality, heath checked, BAER bilateral, first shots, socialized to the max, crate trained, leash trained, great in the car, and well on his way to housetrained.  He fits in well here, plays nicely with the big dogs, and Pauli has volunteered to adopt him if he needs a "family".  Wouldn't he look funny sitting with her 2-week old pups?