A Busy Weekend

Pups had a busy weekend!  Lots of company and lots of handling.  The more people the puppies meet, the better!  Temperaments are just delightful, and all pups are outgoing and super friendly.  Schell(y) went through the "don't hold me or breathe on me" stage for a couple of days but is now the pushiest, most friendly pup - which is really saying something with this sociable group.

They continue to look very promising, although a couple of tails are carried higher than I would like to see at this age.  Faces, spotting and structure look really good.  Although Surly was one of the first to respond to sounds, his responses are less consistent now, and by the time they are old enough for BAER testing he will probably be functionally deaf.  Most deaf Dals never respond to sound, but some have some residual hearing at 2-3 weeks.  We've had a couple of these over the years.  Always a chance you take with a litter of Dals.  The last four Paisley litters have been all hearing, but our luck seems to have run out.  Fingers crossed that I am wrong, but . . .

Still not sure that I have any pups for pet homes, though I may place Fulton the liver boy locally on a co-ownership in a pet home.  Then I can show him, but he'll have a home of his own.  We've finished many dogs out of co-ownership home.  The owners get a quality dog, and we have one less resident dog to deal with.  Gemma who was Best Of Winners at the National last year lives in a co-ownership home, as does handsome Charlie Brown who we finished several years ago.  The co-owners just raise a well socialized pet dog, and we take care of the show training and all show-related expenses.

Weaning is going smoothly and pups are eating well from a bowl, although they still want Nena who continues to produce vast quantities of milk.  Needless to say, this is a chubby group!  Tomorrow they will be 5 weeks old and their horizons will expand as they come up into the family room for awhile every evening.  So far they have just been exploring the basement, but they are definitely ready for a new playground.  All the adults have been down to meet the pups except for Watson who can't manage the stairs anymore.  Watty will NOT be impressed with the pups as he has very little patience with them now, although he delighted in playing with them when he was younger.