If you've been following the development of Treasure and Gibsons new Brittany puppies then you'll remember that I said there would come a point where updates, photos, and videos would not be quite as frequent. Well, that time is NOW!
Days have turned into weeks have turned in a month here at ATB. When I mentioned how tired I was to our vet he joking said 'you brought this on yourself!' And, he is right. This is not complaining by a long shot, for it is a labor of love to care for our Brittanys - especially these very precious now 6 week old pups. Another breeder told me she loves to have winter puppies; for one thing it makes the winter pass by a lot faster and for another thing, it's also the time when many bird hunters are looking for their new hunting companion.
This is a time for me to really appreciate how awesome a mother Treasure is. From the time her puppies were born up until the time came to wean them she kept them immaculate and she also kept their 'nest' spotless. Such is the maternal instinct of not only Treasure, but of her mother Wish. Remember the posts of thos early weeks of being in the quietness of the puppy cave, reflecting and meditating to my heart's delight, having time to write about every little detail of pups development? Those days are also GONE! Treasure has passed the baton to John and I, entrusted us now to continue to care for her puppies in the most excellent manner according to the standard she set before us. No kidding.
These are the days of repeated little puppy baths (thank God for bath in a bottle products and puppy wipes). These are the days of constantly cleaning up for as we all know - what goes in one end, must come out the other. Layers and layers of unprinted newspaper are laid on the floor for the pups only to be replaced within a few hours. Even so, our puppies are doing well using the framed litter area John created. Filled with shavings most of the times they will actually trek across the floor to eliminate. Notice I said 'most of the time'. There are no guarantees here friends! We also have a crate inside their puppy pen and it's cute how some of them will pig pile inside, fighting for supremacy in the crate.
Weaning is complete but Treasure still does interact with them. She has a little milk left and sometimes she will allow them to nurse briefly. The rest of the time she clearly communicates in no uncertain terms "NO WAY". What I love to see her do is play with her puppies with their toys. Treasure will take a tug toy and drag it across them, to get their attention and then get her pups to chase her. She lays down and lets them climb all over her. She's no pushover though - Treasure won't put up any disrespect from them. This is when we can learn better ways to correct, discipline, and train older puppies by observing mother dogs techniques. She'll take them by the scruff of their neck and literally shake them briefly to make her point. Then she loves on them and vice versa.
All pups have explored our house, outside, the garage and a little bit of snow. There's still time for all of that. They have enjoyed multiple visits from family, friends and their new owners to be. I am having fun with clicker training the litter which simply is to get them to look up at me when I bring their food in, and to sit down and wait for me to pat them. Again, not 100% compliance however they are getting this, they are grasping the relationship between praise/treat/click. I love it!
As I type we await another visit from a family getting a boy puppy. I'm excited for this visit for they are bringing along their older Brittany which they got from us several years ago!
NOTE:
We're moving along in meeting goals for our 2011 breeding program as some of you already know ;o) and you also know I'm always cautious about sharing particulars until a pregnancy is confirmed. There's been a couple of changes and we are still screening all of our applications although our future waiting lists are clearly full. But suffice to say... I am VERY excited. Please know too, if you've been waiting with ATB for awhile and there appears to be no availability there will be two additional litters this spring within our line via other Brittany breeders. We do have a good size list here for 2012 which amazes me but we also realize people do not always like to wait. Even though the demand for close working gundogs is great, we only have pups available at certain times and many of you know that we are more than happy to refer you to experienced breeders who have been proven to produce what you look for in a Brittany. Speaking of which - this weekend is the PAT evals and we are happy to announce that Pam and Julie will be here to help us again! I am awaiting word regarding our final conformation evaluation as well.
Take care and God bless and look for photos soon! John, Ann and our canine crew
PAT resulted in few surprises and a very balanced litter, confident, well structured, great temperaments. 8 out of 8 pups chased and then retrieved an object to tester. 8 out of 8 pups demonstrated puppy points with quail wing with 4 of those pups bringing the quail wing to the tester, in addition to the normal retrieve evaluation. (Click on thumbnail to the left for a full size photo.) All accepted social dominance without issue. Personalities are clear at this point and we'll be sending out our recommendations which in reality is not much different than the selections of the owners first choice in most cases. As in last years litter, the majority are going to experienced Brittany owners who want a close working gun dog. 2 - 4 pups will be NAVHDA trained/tested, 1 pup will go to a dual home (show and field interests) and ALL are going to QUALITY pet homes with responsible dog owners. It was work today but it was so much fun. Thank you to our ATB seasoned, veteran PAT evaluators - Pam Jackson & Julie Harris! Vet visits for health certificates and puppy shots will occur next week. Pups begin the first day of their life starting on March 9, 2011. Scheduling puppy take home day will coincide with order of pick. The rest of the crew is doing great, Treasure is enjoying time with her pups as playmate and disciplinarian all wrapped up into one. I'm working on a really cool video taken of the pups playing/interacting as the sound effects library plays. OH - someone here at ATB has a birthday this Thursday, March 3rd... Let's just say it is the TRUE ALPHA MALE in all of our lives!!!! Take care and God Bless, g'night all! John, Ann and All Things Brittany. 
