All Is Well

Fulton, resting on my foot.

Pups are coming along well and starting to get cute now.  So far I am able to check on them in the morning and at noon, then wait until evening to crawl in the box for an hour.  That won't be possible in a few more days, are they will be TOO cute, and my life will be put on hold for awhile.

I LOVE three week old pups as they start to greet me with wagging tails, explore their world and turn into little dogs.  It's the absolute best age, and starting this weekend not much else will get done around here for awhile.

It's fun to watch the spotting come in and that changes from day to day now as their spots clear and become more distinct.  Trim is moving nicely, and Surly has complete nose trim now.  Everyone was born with complete eye trim which is always a relief, and all pups have the heavy thick eye rims that add so much to Dalmatian expressions.  Like so many livers, Fulton's nose is a bit slower to fill, but is only missing some trim along the bottom, and dots of color are filling in the open spaces, so it should be finished soon.

My favorite pup for personality right now is Jack Pine who is very mobile, always alert, and so easy to cuddle.  He's determined to climb in my pants leg though, so I have to be careful when I sit in the box - I've had to shake him out once already.  The girls Summit and Schell(y) are both similar to Jack Pine and I still have trouble telling them apart because they are so similar in appearance at this age.  Surly and Fulton are the chubbiest and sleepiest of the puppies, but can really motor around the box when they are looking for mom! 

It's a very quiet content litter, and Nena is an excellent mother although I sometimes have to remind her that the pups could use a bit of cleaning.  When I sit in the box with the pups, Nena goes upstairs to the family room to hang out with Ron and the other dogs, and she's perfectly content to do so.

Whew!

Always nice to get hearing testing out of the way.  Yesterday I finally got positive responses from all the pups, right on schedule.  Some of them may be unis (hearing in only one ear), but as long as they hear in at least one ear we're always so relieved.  I'll start home testing for bi/uni status in a couple of weeks, and confirm the results with BAER testing at about 7 weeks.

From left to right the pups are Jack Pine, Summit, Surly, Schell(y) and Fulton, all named after Minnesota Breweries.

Now I need to go through my reservation list.  I've gotten emails from some of the people who are waiting, volunteering to fly in to pick up their pups.  That's normally a good option, but unfortunately the pups will be 8 weeks at Christmas.  Eight weeks is the earliest puppies can fly, and there's only a very short window during which they are small enough to fly as carry on.  And flying over the holidays poses potential problems. 

There's also the fact that we will probably be moving my mother into assisted living at about the same time so things are likely to be pretty crazy here over the holidays.  My brain tells me to place the puppies locally if possible, but that seems unfair to the people who have been waiting for so long. However, I always remind myself that I did this litter for ME, and where the puppies end up is MY decision.  It also depends on whether they are show potential or slated to go as companions.  I've normally given priority to people who have previously owned Paisleys dogs, and those who want to do performance work with their dog.

We do expect to breed Amery next year, so there will be another litter coming along.  It just requires more waiting.

Henry's owner and his breeder will be coming to see the pups at 6 weeks, and are hoping a black-spotted boy looks promising.  This pedigree will be very useful for many of us, and I'd like to see that happen.  Jack Pine looks really nice so far. . .  Fingers crossed that all the right things happen.  Hopefully he has dark eyes, beautiful spotting, bilateral hearing, sound movement, good breed type, two testicles, a good bite, an outgoing disposition, good tail carriage, and all the other things that we need for the show ring!

I have several people hoping for show potential girls, and so far both girls look nice.  Show potential girls are always in demand.

And then there is little Fulton the liver boy.  My head tells me that I do not need him, but my heart says that I really want him.  We'll see how he turns out . . .