Thinking About ALL THINGS....

Pip-pip-pip-pip-PIPPIN!!!

On December 1st Wilson & Pippin's 3 beautiful puppies turned 8 weeks old and were more than ready to begin the first day of the rest of their life with the families who have been anxiously waiting. Eleta was the first to leave, followed by Bella (Kiba) and then Brooke (Amie).

Our friend, Dr. John Flood DVM of Island Veterinary Services made a house call a few days earlier for the well puppy examination and health certification process required by the State of Maine. Sometimes our kitchen is turned into a temporary animal hospital which is quite convenient.  (As breeders we're truly blessed with the support of many animal medical professionals including Dr. Amanda Rizner DVM as well as the staff at Broadview Animal Hospital. You may not realize it but not all veterinarians are breeder friendly!) We practice a very conservative vaccination schedule which our vets respect.  Each puppy passed their health exam with flying colors and a hearty thumbs up from Dr. Flood.  He and his wife Patti share their life with "Mojo" littermate to Wilson, the pups sire.  There is also a vet in Connecticut with a specialty in sporting dogs who owns one of our Brittanys too!

A favorite secular quote of mine is from Helen Keller who said: "The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched - they must be felt with the heart."  2014 has, for me, been a year to experience the full spectrum of emotions, especially in regards to the Brittanys we have been and continue to be responsible for bringing into the world.  I have both felt and seen unbelievably beautiful things this year!  I have also experienced things which are anything but beautiful. Some of those things have been shared here in blogs over the past 12 months. Often I have spoken open and candidly about things with family and friends.  Sometimes, I allude to things on Facebook, a place considered by some to be shallow and superficial.

I arrived at "ALL THINGS BRITTANY" as our own nickname quite simply. It comes from the beautiful hymn written by Cecil Alexander in 1848. James Herriot used the words in this hymn for the title of his books surrounding a veterinarian practice in 1930 in England, which later on became a television series.  I simply took the liberty to change things around a little bit by saying:

All Things Bright and Beautiful

All Creatures Great and Small

ALL THINGS BRITTANY

The Lord God, loves them all!!

I do believe it was our friend Stephanie S. who began to refer to us as ATB, and that also has stuck!

As far as "things" go, my choice is to think on those things that are "true, noble, right, pure, lovable and lovely, admirable and honorable, kind and winsome and gracious, and if there is any virtue and excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise." My choice is to "think on and weigh and take account of these things, to fix my mind on them"! (Philippians 4:8 Amplified Bible)

Recently we've also seen All THINGS Hoped For (Hebrews 11) as well as All THINGS are Possible, Only Believe (Mark 9:23), and Desire of the Heart (Psalm 37:4).  While we're having a mini-Bible study here our foundational message for ATB is Matthew 6:20 "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Treasure's name is derived from that Scripture.  Hemi was named from and for the "Magnificent Obsession" litter with Chevy and Pippin and that comes from a great song by Stephen Curtis Chapman of the same name. (Check out the lyrics, it will make sense.) Amen and amen!

God blessed me mightily in the final days before the 3 "Desire of the Heart"puppies left.  I saw beautiful 'things' which were indeed felt with my heart and seen with my eyes. I wish I had photographs of them all but to be honest I didn't take a lot of pictures the last week. The puppy cam streamed live though for 8 weeks and the puppy families saw a more private and intimate side including the midnight zoomies and paper shredding activity!!

The night before Eleta went home, I watched as Pippin gently enticed her over to the corner away from her littermates.  Ellie was not one to roll over submissively without persuasion but she immediately showed her little pink belly to her mother. Pippin lay her paw upon her daughters tummy, holding her down while 'talking' to her.  She leaned down and kissed Ellie who was obviously delighted and began licking Pippin back. Pip then lay on the floor and let Ellie climb all over her.

Every family brings one or two t-shirts with them on the day they visit. It's a t-shirt they've slept in, sealed in a plastic bag, and labeled with their name. On the night before a puppy goes home "their" blanket made by Aunt Julie and full of momma and littermates scent is taken from them and replaced with 'their' new owners t-shirt.  The blanket then sealed in the bag.  (They are washed gently throughout the 8 weeks by the way because yes, puppies will be pups!)

In a large litter the t-shirt introduction can be tricky! It was just fun to watch Ellie, Kiba, and Amie though. The first t-shirt was Ellies.  I lay it down in the middle of their sleeping area and watched as they sniffed, rolled, and delighted themselves with this new fabulous 'thing'!  

The next evening, Amie and Kiba were the only two here and both were going home the following morning. Like before, I removed the blankets and replaced them with "their" t-shirts.  It was interesting and very cool because each one was drawn to one particular t-shirt, and it was the one with their new owner's scent. That night when they cuddled up to sleep it was not next to each other, it was with the t-shirt that had their respective owner's scent on it. Also, by this time the girls were asking to go out to go to the bathroom, walking nicely on a leash, climbing up and down stairs, desensitized to loud noises, and taking naps in a crate. 

Each puppy had their own one on one time with Pippin.  It's not something we make happen. It simply happens.  I have seen this many times through the years. Long after weaning has been completed the dam may allow a pup to snack ever so briefly, right up until they go home.  But there are other times the interaction between pup and mother is simply that of pure love. They understand each other, they know each other, they love each other.  Never is this as obvious to me as it is on the day the pups go home and I watch as they enjoy an extended time of play with their mother.

Pippin & Kiba share a moment

I am a firm believer that mom's should have daily interaction with their pups right up until the time they go. The dam teaches her pups so much about respect, bite inhibition, and simply being a dog that I could never teach them.  We are a team for 8 weeks. Speaking about bite inhibition, our puppy packet includes excellent information on what is 'normal' regarding puppy biting as well as advice on the best way to handle dogs approaching your pup when other owners are not aware of the proper etiquette between two dogs. 

Amie and Kiba getting serious!

Because we strive for 100% upland game hunting families we always nurture the strong inherent basic instincts at an early age and are confident of the impact this has for the future. It was great this year because Brooke's family brought some frozen grouse wings to us which they had saved from their fall bird hunting season. Usually I'll toss a wing or two in with the pups when they are steady on their feet. It is a riot to see the reactions and pretty easy to confirm the depth of prey drive and even retrieving instincts.  These pups were outdoors with a wing on a pole as well but frankly they were more interest in the adventure of pouncing on leaves and the effects of the wind. When they finally figured it out it was amazing though. Pointing and honoring instincts showed up briefly. Then, on the day they went home however John got very serious with puppy retrieves in an enclosed area. They did not disappoint! Our personal expectations for our pups as bird dogs are very high and with good reason. While never straying from our breeding goals we have improved from one generation to the next.  I love the consistency that is right here from great-great grand dam Wish down to her great-great grand pups.  It's humbling to me when I realize we have now bred 4 generations of our own Brittanys.  Within the past 12 months we have seen the arrival of perhaps our strongest natural instinct Brittanys yet, including those precious 3 who just left. 

Although we are not planning to breed again until some time in 2016, several stud services with our boys are on the horizon for 2015. And as for the 2016 plans, a waiting list does exist. In the meantime I'm looking forward to getting ready to train Holly for her NAVHDA UT title, being in the field with John much more than I've been able to in the past, working with my daughter and granddaughter, seeing Zuko and Quincy in the ring together, and spending as much time as I can with our seniors in the coming year.  That's just for starters.

Christmas is just around the corner.  John and I wish you and yours a joyous celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ!  To those faithful ATB followers, friends, and family - thank you for making it real for us in so many ways.  God bless you always!!!! Much love, John, Ann, and All Things Brittany