Pups in pairs please?

I would really like to place the pups in pairs. They are 11 weeks old and have bonded with one another. I think it would sad to see them go to homes alone and be without the other best friend and pack member.

Ranger and Lefty are very good friends. They are both mellow and laid back. They love napping next to each other when play time is over. When I feed the pack, I place three bowls of food down and these boys can be found eating together. They have a wonderful bond.

Ranger and Lefty

Priscella and George are always playing with each other. They are more active than Ranger and Lefty. When they are in the back yard playing, Priscella is always the first pup to hear when I walk into the kitchen. She will run (FAST) through the doggie dog and George is always right behind her. Right now the pups are sleeping and Priscella is resting her head on George. They have also bonded together.

Priscella and George

Ranger is so cool

Ranger is the only pup who is mostly white with the ticking that Australian Cattle dogs get. We think Hazel is half German Shepherd and half Australian Cattle dog (Red Heeler). Priscella and Odie have shown some of this "ticking" too but not as much as Ranger has.


Don't you just want to take him home?

The Camera broke!

I would like to post the pictures of the resort that Aggie and Hercules are living at but our camera broke. It will not hold a charge so we think the battery has gone bad. I will post the pics as soon as I can.

Hazel plays with George

It's so cute to see Hazel play with her pups. Here she is playing with George.

George



Hercules

Priscella

I think we have the worlds smartest puppies. They can all "SIT" when we ask! Jon taught them all this trick when they were 8 weeks old. I have posted videos so you can see the brilliant pups in action. They will "SIT" when we ask and will do it even if we do not have treats to give them.

Ranger and George can "SIT"

Lefty and Priscella can "SIT"

Lefty

Lefty is growing a dark area around his back in the shape of a saddle. His tale is getting darker too.

Lefty is such a sweet boy. So handsome too!

Two left paws that are white.

Lefty, Ranger, George and Priscella still need homes

Lefty, Ranger, George and Priscella still need homes. Aggie and Hercules have found a home at a resort and will be moving this weekend some time.

Link to pics of the pups that need homes:

http://picasaweb.google.com/brigettelowe/LeftyRangerGeorgeAndPriscellaStillNeedHomes

We would love to place them in pairs so that they could have each other to play and cuddle with.

Living at a resort

GREAT NEWS!

Aggie and Hercules have been adopted and will be living at a resort. The resort sits on 10 acres surrounded by a deer fence. The pups will be protecting chickens, playing with resort guests and sleeping comfortably inside at night. I will be delivering them to the resort tomorrow. Look for pictures of the new place in the next few days. I am so happy they are going to live in such a great place!

Ranger, Priscilla, George and Lefty still need good homes. It would be great to place them in pairs like the last two adoptions. We have been so lucky this far to have the pups go to live together in pairs.

New pictures -- you know you want a puppy

We've been posting all over the Internet (mtn. climbing, telemarking, hiking forums), fighting people flagging us at craigslist (removing the post because they think we are breeders), dealing with people who have puppy love, and still have pups to unload.

To reaffirm how cute these pups are, I took a bunch of new pictures.

From super-cute

From super-cute

Did I mention they are house-broken?

The pups are (or have been for a week or two) house-broken. It's not "proofed" yet in one or two of them, but most of them are doing well.

They also "sit!" now. If I time it just right, I can get all of them to sit in unison -- that's pretty funny, first step to a dog circus team or something. It's definitely a dog circus around here -- you know you want one....

Well adapted pups

The pups have learned to go up and down the stairs quite easily and have recently softened their bite or stopped altogether (deciding to lick instead) during chew play. We are still reinforcing the bite inhibition with a quick "ouch" and pulling the hand away if they bite too hard. Seems like a pretty logical reaction, so it's not like we are undertaking some behavior program to do this.

Overall our plan is to just ignore or gently correct things we don't want, and praise, reinforce things we do want. At this point, that really just amounts to not eating/chewing certain things.

Here's another interesting quote from a dog behaviorist:

In wild dogs the bitch doesn't make any big deal about thunder by comforting pups, she
simply ignores it- and who ever heard of a wolf or coyote or any wild dog being afraid of thunder
or lightning? They are not afraid because they learned not to be as pups during the same 3 to 6
week period. Comforting an apparently frightened pup when fear has not yet developed is
reinforcing the startle response so on the next noise the response will be more exaggerated. The
breeder must encourage the startle response and must let the pup return to normal behavior on its
own which is the normal thing for any developing nervous system. It is what the dog will need to
do as an adult. Deprived of the sudden noises followed by the low level startle response and the
quick return to normal will mean an over reaction to noises followed by a prolonged fearfulness
when the pup passes the 7 to 8 week milestone when fear is escalating. And this is the stuff gun shy
dogs are made of. But again, the exposure to the sudden loud sounds must be during the 3 to 6 week
window when fear has not yet developed.

Seems we've done well so far handling the pups, giving individual attention, exposing to other dogs (that they live with) making noise in the house, etc.

The full article that includes that quote is here:

PRODUCING BEHAVIORALLY SOUND DOGS: Dr. Ed Bailey

Hazel and Odie's new home

Hazel and Odie have moved to Doggie Heaven! Click the link bellow for the pictures.

http://picasaweb.google.com/brigettelowe/NewHomeForHazelAndOdie

Two Pups Go to the Sierra

We brought two of the pups to their new in Grass Valley, CA today. Grass Valley is an old mining town right near Rough and Ready, CA (love that name, probably some wild history at that place). The new owner was very happy and the pups seemed very happy to have space, grass, a small creek, pond, etc. to explore.


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The puppies got the DHLPP immunization yesterday. With the help of my brother Mike, I loaded up the puppies and Hazel into the back of my car and took them to the Oakland SPCA for their first set of immunization injections. What a ride that was! Both the pups and Hazel were very calm during the ride, no cries or barks. They seemed to be fine with the short drive. Hercules, Lefty and Little Hazel stood up and watched out the front window holding on to Mikes arm. It was so cute.
The Oakland SPCA is great! The Vet Tech offered to come out to the car and immunize the puppies so that I would not have to bring each one inside one at a time. She was very accommodating and gave each of the pups the shots on the hood of my car. Mike sat inside the car and waited with the pups while I held each of them for the Vet Tech. I was relived to see that they did not seem to care about the needle. After we got home, they had nice long naps.

Tomorrow we will be driving to Grass Valley, Ca to deliver Little Hazel and Odie. I am very sad right now but know that they could never be happy living in my small back yard. I know they will be in good hands with lots of love and 5 acres of land to roam on with ducks and chickens. he new owner works on a ranch so when they grow up, they will get to go to the ranch to play and maybe learn to herd. I am very happy to know that they will be able to sleep inside at night and that they will have each other to cuddle with.
Jon and I made a little stepping stone with each of the pups paw prints on it and Hazels too. We will find a nice space inside to remind us of one of the best experiences that we have shared together and the 10 doggies that we had the honor of spending the last few months with.