ATB: Bullet & Treasure Pups at 6 Weeks

An informal, candid photo collage of 11

very tired and exhausted puppies at the end of the day!

(Weight included in the photo itself)

The minutes have turned into hours which quickly turn into another day, and before I know it yet another week has gone by.  There is so much I still aspire to do with each one of these pups.  Every encounter with them now must count. Each puppy needs to be recognized, pet, called out, played with and held.  Above all one on one direct eye contact is vital. Approaching this litter of pups is likened to a rock star going on stage before their faithful fans.  I am greeting with 11 wagging tails, sweet barky/woofy voices, and attempts to leap from the ground into my arms. Anyone with low self confidence or self esteem would be cured instantly by this reaction to their very presence.  In all the world I know that I am the person for whom the sun rises and sets for these little 6 week old puppies. With that solemn awareness my sense of responsibility continues to increase. Treasure continues to enjoy time with them although they are nearly completely weaned. She will allow a brief snack from them and I would imagine that is more to appease her discomfort.  I am back to feeding Treasure twice a day instead of letting her graze at will because it is time for her body to respond to the decreased nursing from her puppies. Some breeders will intentionally with hold all food and water for 24 hours in an attempt to dry their girls up. Sorry. Not for me.  Treasure has educated them in no uncertain terms that their little puppy teeth are NOT for biting while they nurse. I believe that despite any one's best efforts and experience in early puppy development (including mine!) the mother dog is the very best teacher. From her they do learn early on about respect in regards to mouthing, biting and other lessons.  I've seen a big difference in young puppies that are completely removed from their mother at 6 weeks of age and those who are given ample opportunity for interaction and especially play.  What is funny sort of, kind of, is that Treasure will not destuff or destroy toys (yet?!) that are in with the puppies.  This is unusual as Treasure is a master destuffer of toys.  I  have watched her jump in and out of the puppy play pen with a toy in her mouth, trying to engage in play with her babies.  She's an amazing mother and has mastered the art of laying flat on her belly so they cannot reach her underside to nurse. Instead she loves to have them crawl all over and nudge them with her head, kissing them, and sometimes even reaching for them with her paw.

You know we have a very serious predator problem here in regards to hawks.  With a small litter of pups it is a little easier to manage our outings into the great outdoors.  Not so much with a litter of 11 !  John and I are working at an efficient 'system' to safely shuttle pups back and forth from their indoor puppy play pen to an outdoor one.  Yesterday I tried to set up the typical x-pen but it just wasn't working out and then we had a downpour just about the time I had all 11 pups outside!  They discovered what it was like to get rained on. Of course this meant that I got soaked!  Later in the afternoon John set up an actual small, outdoor chain link kennel in the front yard.  They are not quite ready to be introduced to the regular kennel although being kenneled next to the big dogs is also part of their experiences.  We have one kennel run which we use for pups and that is where we usually will put the culvert tunnel so they can have fun romping in there.  Pups will continue to be exposed to various sleeping arrangements in the next two weeks including but not limited to crates in various locations, naps outdoors on the grass, sleeping on a blanket in the x-pen we put in the kitchen, laps, shoulders, the kennel, etc.

Yesterday it was great because there was a lot of road construction going on nearby. Air brakes and loud engines were frequent sounds. I observe closely for any sense of fear.  A typical reaction of pups to new sounds is to run away from the sound, or to huddle together.  Sometimes they will actually screech if it really freaks them out.  All of those reactions are normal. However it is what happens afterwards that needs to be noted.  If they withdraw and do not draw close or come to check out the source of the sound some people will reach for the pup and assure them right away that everything is alright. This is called coddling and all it does is reinforce for the pups that a behavior like that results in affection. Instead we find it is best to let the pup work through it on their own accord which most of the time they will.  Development that concerns sound sensitivity is important for all puppies but especially so for these little up and coming puppy bird dogs!  Sounds are to be introduced gradually and intelligently.  I have heard nightmare stories of people walking up behind a young pup and firing a blank gun suddenly.  Good grief. We do use the sound effects library a lot and have that play in the background when pups are playing, eating, and even sleeping.  John is a great one to make a lot of noises with their feeding dishes clanging them together before feeding.  We've discovered the more noise while eating the better. They associate eating with pleasure and the sounds are tuned out for the most part. Of course all of this is always done while keeping a close watch on the reaction of each and every pup because they are all different.

Speaking of different though, there is quite a nice consistency here in all the pups which we were hoping to see due to this being our own line breeding.  Their noses are already turned on to the scent of birds. They were introduced to and played with a chukar wing and now they have also been exposed to live quail. In the next two weeks we'll be focusing more on that early introduction and I'm sure getting a lot of help from momma Treasure.

At this juncture it appears there may be 1 or 2 pups left and most likely males.  I am screening inquiries still and waiting to hear from two individuals in particular. But if you're interested in one of the remaining pups please do not hesitate.  If someone does not get back to us we consider they are no longer interested.  I'm humbled that the list is growing for those who would like a J&A's Brittany pup in the future.

Puppy evals (PAT) will be conducted this coming Monday (Memorial Day).  At that time we can begin to talk about picking pups and selecting certain puppies for the families waiting.  We already have a good idea of what to expect from the evals but they are always a good idea because it confirms for the breeder what they have known all along. Having two people the pups are not familiar with do the test and share their observations with us while we watch is very assuring. Our puppy families are advised to get two books, Monks of New Skete and also Tarrant Trains Gun Dogs (for hunting families).  The PAT eval system is clearly explained in the Monks book. I expect to see an overall average PAT score of 3 from this entire litter. There will be a couple of variances and I know where to look for them.  I always look forward to that.  The way my week is going this may very well be the last post until after the test but never hesitate to contact us, we are always readily available. John - by phone. Me - by email or Face book.

Time to get on with the day.  I am looking forward to our visitors from the Bangor Maine area today!  Take care and God bless you and yours always,  John, Ann, Treasure, puppies and All Things Brittany