Ranger goes visiting

Ranger went to visit his sister Sage this weekend in Toronto. A good time was had by both puppies. There's a rumor that these puppies were plotting a hunting trip for later this year.

Off to New Homes

Everybody went to their new homes this weekend, which is bittersweet for us. Bitter because suddenly the house is very, very quiet...but sweet because everyone has such nice homes. Sage was the first to go on Thursday - she went to live with Paul and Lisa and Caitlin and Emily in Toronto. Duffy went to Beamsville with Pat and Nancy on their lovely vineyard. Jake went to Grove City Pennsylvania. We drove Jacks to Detroit where he flew to Oklahoma City to be picked up by Stan to go home to Kansas. Our last wee girl went with Meri and Ron to Mississauga. And our last puppy stayed...little Ranger is the boy Mark kept. He seems a bit lost without all the rest of the crew, but he's settling in nicely as you can see by his relaxed pose on the couch on Sunday night.

1st Water Session of 2010

Today was the last of our spring training classes and we celebrated by getting dogs in the water. You'll see Dave and Jocelyn's Lexi's first swim and water retrieve. It was a bit rainy out, but certainly warm enough for water training and all the dogs had a great time.

Adventures in the Field

The puppies came to training class today. They were very, very good, although you'll see here one puppy's opinion of having to stay in the ex-pen. Yes, she's one of the girls.

First Swim

The puppies had a very busy day. They spent the morning out on the deck and when Mark came home after work, they got loaded up in the truck with the big dogs and driven down to Paris. They had a big walk in the field and then they went swimming in the pond. They swam one at a time and everyone seemed to really like the water. After their swim, they had a second walk. When they got home, they were VERY tired.

Potty Training

Smart little babies. It's a mild, overcast day today so I've had the sliding door to the deck open for most of the day so the puppies can come and go. All the puppies have chosen to go outside to do their business - kitchen floor is clean. They come in to sleep in the kennel, then head outside to play.

Another new experience

And here's learning to be big, tough, huntin' dogs. The puppies got introduced to pigeons this week. Everybody appeared to be VERY interested in the whole bird thing.

Puppies - 5 weeks

This week the game is like that old "see how many people you can stuff in a volkswagen". See how many puppies and all their toys will fit in a big dog kennel. On the weekend all the puppies went for a ride in the truck down to Paris and had a big run in the field. We were going to take them swimming, but it was pretty cold so we'll wait until things warm up a bit. They also got introduced to pigeons this week, which they thought was very fun.

Hard to believe that, quicker than you can blink, they'll be too big to sit in their dishes and they'll fill that kennel!

HRC Test in Wisconsin

Here are some pictures from our recent trip to the Wisill/Fox River HRC test in Wisconsin. You'll see Mark committing the ultimate camo faux pas by mixing camo patterns, however it was COLD (hence the parka) and he was coming from the warmth of Kentucky. We met up with Steve Hart who's here with his young dog Chester with Mark and Drake's daughter Teya. The other photo has Destiny returning to Mark. Teya got 2 legs of her Started Hunting Retriever title at the test.

Happiness is a sleeping puppy

Here's today's very cute picture.

Learning to Play

Into week 4, puppies are really starting to play. Tails are starting to wag and they're starting to get the routine of waking up in the morning, going out on the deck to play, eating, then sleeping. Personalities are starting to emerge so it's interesting to see who's going to be who. Every single puppy retrieves when you throw something and they've learned to squeek the stuffies.

Puppies! Week 3

Early in the week, we found our VOICES. It's very funny to watch puppies learn to bark. When I went to look in the whelping box to see what all the fuss was about - they were just standing there barking at each other. Very funny.

Since then, we've had all kinds of excitement. We're getting weaned, so there's pablum to be had (which is really puppy food ground up in the blender, mixed with water). Now that there are teeth involved in feeding, Bree's not very happy about nursing, so that's coming to an end.

Puppies are learning to play with toys. They're experiencing all kinds of changes to their environment. They've been out on the slippery kitchen floor and have had their first adventures outdoors. They've had close encounters with the vacuum and the hose. I must say, these are very confident puppies - nobody has even flinched from new things so far.

Puppies!

Bree's babies arrived Good Friday - a bit earlier than we expected. We were out training in Paris and she had her first puppy in the back of the truck. That wee boy was followed in short order by 3 more in the truck on the drive home and 2 more when we got here. She is certainly an efficient whelper! Yesterday (on my birthday) they were 2 weeks old. Their little eyes are starting to open and they are starting to respond when I call "puppy, puppy, puppy". The larger, blonde boy taught himself to roll over yesterday and proceeded to roll himself all around the box. It was highly entertaining. Mark's keeping a boy from this litter, so he's excited to see how they're growing up.

Mark's in Kentucky at Cliff and Helen Romain's. He's enjoying the lovely weather and has been able to get the dogs in the water every day, so they're getting prepared for this season's hunt tests. Bree's home with me and the puppies. Autumn stayed behind so we could concentrate on her utility training. Drake's here too - he was waiting for a girl to arrive for a breeding. The breeding didn't pan out, but Drake doesn't seem to mind hanging out on the couch. A couple of Drake puppies went with Mark. Duncan & Julia's Decoy and Barbara and Katherine's Teya went sound on vacation and are having fun swimming and picking up ducks. Rowan and Destiny ran an HRC test last weekend. Row got his first Finished pass and Destiny picked up Finished points as well.