7 weeks!

I can't believe how quickly time flies.  Boys are only a day or two from heading to their new homes.

They are fun and busy.

Mr Orange, like any good Miikka offspring, likes to sleep on his back.

And yes, they are 100% paper trained.  They are pretty clean little pups.

The boys spend a lot of their time playing outside (i.e. dirty noses) and playing in the kitchen where they crash on their dog bed at the end of a long day.  Note: the Angry Bird toy made it's way inside the house, earless.

Can you see it now?

Peanut thinks she's doing a wonderful job burying her bone.

Weird.

Indoor play

Puppies were very busy this evening!

Tired

Sorry for the lack of posts and PUPPY pics lately.  We've been busy trialing and on the road.  I'll be better this week.

Pups are doing great!!  They weather was so nice in Missouri that they spent the better part of each day running around and having fun while we trained.
They also had their first shots and second deworming while there and they came away with a bill of excellent health!!

The trial this past week-end went well.  Darbi and Libby were the Green Queens.  Darbi Jam'd the Open and Libby Jam'd the Derby.
Libby had 7 pins and one hook (again....) and I was really proud of her work. The last series especially.  It was a nice water double with the short bird up on the hill and the long bird across the whole pond, with the gun out of sight while the dogs swam.  All the handlers were a little stunned when they shot the test short, then long.  This order of throws threw a number of the dogs off.

Libby, as only her mother would do, primary selected on her own after the birds went down and I let her.  She smacked the test.  The whole situation made me smile as she reminds me more of her mother every day.  We don't train on primary selection, largely because of the flyer influence down here in the states, but some dogs do it on their own and it worked in this scenario.

Darbi worked her butt off in a tough Open and had a handle on the short retired (a hen pheasant) in the last series Quad.  A number of the early dogs handled or had giant hunts and then that bird seemed to get easier as the day went on.  That's the breaks of running early.

That was our last trial of the year...so now for some rest!

Hard Lesson Learned

I'm still learning this game.  I suspect I always will be.

It's hard.  Very hard.

When my dogs let me down, I get a little frustrated but move on.  When I let them down I can't shake it and dwell and dwell.

First series of the Open in Missouri this week-end was a very hard quad.  The two middle birds were giving everyone fits.  The short bird was retired and thrown angle back against a tree line straight towards a stand out gun.  The birds couldn't have been more then 30 yards apart (I was out there to pick up the blind station later and was stunned at how tight they were).  Dogs were just NOT getting the short retired.

When I ran Darbs I tried to get that bird second, and expected to run past it as most everyone else was doing.  She PINNED that bird.  Absolutely knew where it was and face planted it.  Then the wheels fell off...

Judges said only one other dog had done that...blah blah blah...I started talking to them...made a joke or two...

I still had two more birds to pick up but I thought I had it in the bag.  There was a fairly straight forward retired gun off to the right and then the stand up gun just deep of the retired.

She came back to heel and I thought I was all that and a bag of chips.  Loosey goosey, look at me.  I took the bird and sent her for the right retired.  Sent her WAY fast, didn't bear down and she left weird and nervous and we ended up handling.  Out.

Kenny left me alone for about an hour and then we had the "talk".  EVERY bird matters.  EVERY send is important.  QUIT yakking, bear down and run your dog.

He's right.  I let my dog down and it really hurt.  Hard lesson to learn and I believe I wouldn't have learned it any other way.  I needed to pin the impossible bird to get that one through my thick skull.

Libby ran an amazing Derby.  First three tests were a little light for such a big field.  The third series water marks were kind of puppy markish, but we all had to run them just the same.  They had a 30 yard go bird across a tiny corner of water and Libby hunted that dumb little bird...a lot.  Then they set up a giant 4th series as they had too many dogs clean and knew it.  Not many dogs did it, but Miss Libby did it better then anyone else.  She made the big swim with the gun out of sight the whole way past the short bird.

Pin, pin.

7 flat out pins and a stupid hunt.  That is green and no other color these days.

She makes her debut in the Qualifying this upcoming week-end.  Qual debut and last Derby as we won't run any more after this.  She ages out two months from today.

She's really coming on and I highly doubt I'll be doing any training on 30 yard birds in the future to clean that up...but one never knows.

The Three Amigos came to Missouri with us and they're having a blast!  They stay in the trailer with us at night in their box, but come with us all day and spend lots of time outside in the x-pen meeting new people, and some time in a hole on the truck having naps.

Puppies have already been touched by greatness.

L to R: Dave Rorem, Bill Eckett and the Greatness that is my hubby.

Angry Birds!

Pups are having fun in the yard several times a day.

Miikka was more into her Angry Bird toy.

As you can see, Miikka is still wearing her brace.  The foot portion has been removed and it is being used as a "sports" brace now.  Her partial tear of her achilles is 95% healed and one can't even tell by looking at her that she was ever injured.  

Weaning

Weaning is always fun.

I wait until Momma tells me it's time and then we dive in.

As you can see, pups are still tubby little guys, so the food I put down for them was ignored the first couple of days.

Mr. Blue actually fell asleep on the food dish last night.

They started to show interest today.  

As you can see from the dirty little nose, I've been taking them outside a few times a day now.  They are having a blast discovering the great outdoors.

And they were hungry after their evening romp outside!  The kibble here hardly had time to moisten as I didn't think they'd want to eat tonight, but when Miikka walked away from them I quickly moistened up another round.  It was the first time they dug in to their food!

I let Miikka clean up any leftovers and there wasn't any tonight!

Three amigos walking!

Well, kinda.  Staggering maybe.

And yes, Miikka can sleep through anything.

Home again!

Back home from Kansas.

We're tired.

Darbi ran a great Open and was dropped after the water blind.  I thought it might be good enough, but alas, it wasn't.  They went into the water blind with 30+ dogs, so we all knew some would be pencilled.  Darbi is never going to run a 3 whistle water blind...that's just not who she is.  She runs workman (or lady) like water blinds.

Libby had her marking shoes on...mostly.  The last series was a tight, tight land double and I saw dogs hunt the old fall and switch, and do everything in between, and knew I might be in trouble.  Libby went a little deep of the go bird and looked over and saw the memory bird gunner almost right beside her...she made a couple jumps towards him and I was quick to hit the whistle. As I've mentioned before, I'm a big believer that no green ribbon is worth letting them get away with bad things, especially at her age.  Miss Libby has a bright future ahead of her if I keep her on the straight and narrow.

Can't complain...ran a very hard trying Darbi to the third series of the Open and a fantastic marking Libby to the fourth series of the Derby.

Puppies are big and happy.  Pics to come soon!!!  And a video or two!

3 Weeks

Pups sure growing fast!

3 weeks and 1 day old today.

We had a friend bring their granddaughter over the other day.  The puppies and her shared many cuddles.

Mommy Miikka cuddling with her boys.

Head rest.

They are really starting to interact with one another...including some play fighting.

Fun in Nebraska

Elmingo had a great week-end in Nebraska!!

Turq (Backwater's Smokin Turq) finished the Open with a Reserve JAM.
His Momma Darbi finished the Open with a JAM.

They both ran a great trial.

Zink (Elmingo's Little Man) and my Libby (Elmingo's Flip Your Lid) got 2nd and 4th in the Derby respectively.  Zink now has 30 Derby points and Libby has 19.

I've heard that Zink is now the highest point Shaq pup in Derbies to date.  Makes me pretty proud of Momma Miikka and her pups.

Puppies are doing wonderful.  Their eyes and ears are now open.  I'll get some pics up soon!

Feed me...

These are BIG puppies.  Enormous.

I've never had such fat little puppies before.

It's an easy explanation...there's only three of them.  No fighting at the buffet and no jostling for a meal.

This does not mean that they will be big dogs, nor bigger then they should be...they will drop all the baby fat they're putting on once I wean them.

But right now, these boys are a solid 3 1/2 to 4 pounds each!

Mr. Orange looking for momma.

Mr. Red trying to teeter on wobbly legs.

And Mr. Blue looks like a beached whale.  He has no trouble finding his way to the food trough.

They have finished their Early Neurological Stimulation exercises and will be opening their eyes very soon.

FINALIST!

Way to go Turq!!!

He was a finalist in the Canadian National at only 2 years old.

Momma Darbi and I are so proud!!

Poopy...and puppies!

Well, poopy.

Lost Darbi in the first series of the Canadian National today.  Hard to explain, but she had some bad luck and not ideal wind conditions.  It was a very wind dependent test and dogs with bad wind either ended up not finding birds, or going to birds they weren't sent for.

Two previous National champions and one of the top pointed dogs in the US this year also went out in the first series, so at least we were in good company.

It was a downer for sure, but she's still my bestest dog.  She has some good trials left in her aging body and she still wants to work hard, so we'll keep moving forward.

But time for puppy pictures!!!

My Three Amigos.

Miikka, as usual, is a wonderful mother.

The little guys are doing very, very well and getting their daily Early Neurological Stimulation exercises. 

18 and counting...

Libby stayed behind in Colorado when we travelled north for the Canadian National.

I just got word that she WON the Derby at the Rocky Mountain trial in Colorado with our client, Kathy, running her. Kathy had only run her once in training, ever, and it did not go well. But it seems Libby left her run around in the training field and ran a great trial for Kathy!

This puts Libby at 18 points and counting. She has 4 more derbies to run before she ages out.

I told my friend to give Momma Miikka an extra cookie tonight.

Speaking of Peanut...her and the pups are doing great! The little guys are thriving and growing like weeds.

Canadian National starts tomorrow morning. We've worked hard all week and we're as ready as we'll ever be.

Keep fingers crossed for Darbi, her son Turq and the rest of the Horsetooth gang!!!

All clear

A quick note as I have horrible cell here and no Internet. We're moving tomorrow, so hopefully the reception is better and I can get online on my computer, instead of just my phone.

Preliminary autopsy results surprised us. Seems the little boy pup had a similar birth defect as his sister, except there were no external signs like she had. His digestive system wasn't functioning properly and never would as it was mostly undeveloped. Nothing could have saved him.

The vet checked out the three amigos today and said they were in great health and showed no digestive issues at all. It seems we're out of the woods.

I'm ready to move forward.

The "boys" had their dew claws removed today as well and are now back at home nursing and sleeping.

I can't wait to meet them.

Another angel

And another devastating loss.

One of the little boys died today.

He was doing well first thing in the morning, and a couple of hours it all changed.

My friend called to say he was off by himself and seemed lethargic. I told her to make sure the little guy was warm and try to get him to nurse. In 20 minutes he wasn't improving, and we made the decision to rush him to the vet.

My friend put them all on a heating pad in the back seat of truck, and took Miikka along for good measure.

The poor little guy passed in the 20 minute drive to the vet. My wonderful vet suspected that he had aspirated some milk, but we're doing an autopsy to be sure.

What a nightmare.

The rest of the pups and mom are doing great and he sent them back home with a bill of good health.

I have pics, but won't post them yet. The little guy is in them and I can't bring myself to do it.

It's a coincidence that one had a congenital defect and one most likely aspirated, but it just doesn't seem fair.

Many breeders have experienced similar pain, and some have horrifying stories of loss. Breeding is not for the faint of heart, and we do it for the love of our breed and the dogs itself.

Keep the rest of the pups in your prayers.

4 boys and an angel

Tears of sadness and tears of joy.

Miikka went into labor only a few hours after we left for the Canadian National yesterday.

She did great and had capable hands with her.

I was in constant contact with the girl who was whelping her and the labor was progressing nicely.

When the first pup came out, we all knew it was not good. The little girl was 6 oz. (normal weight for my pups is 13-16 oz). And the pup had a wound on her abdomen. I told my friend to stop the bleeding and immediately called my friend, Mark Edwards, who is a pro trainer and was staying down the road.

Miikka cleaned the little girl up and she was trying to nurse, but struggling. Mark arrived and grabbed the little puppy and rushed her to the vet. Miikka was not at all concerned when she was taken, so that was a telling sign for me.

I spoke to the vet a short while later and she said the little pup had a birth defect and would likely not survive on her own. I told her to put her to sleep and end her suffering.

In short order, Miikka had 4 big, healthy males, all weighing 16 oz or more.

Those little guys have a big sister that will watch over them forever.

It's the first pup I've ever lost, and I'm sad I wasn't there, but me being there wouldn't have changed a thing.

I'm sad for the loss, but happy that she's not in pain. The boys are thriving and all have gained 2 oz already.

Miikka, as usual, is being a great mom and is very content.

I'll post up a couple pics later as we're still driving.

4 boys and an angel.

Sunset Swimming

We get some gorgeous sunsets at our place.

Ahti tries to keep us with Momma D and Auntie Miikka.  Those two have been at it for years though.

Miikka swims pretty good in her brace.

A new member of the pack!  Loki tries to keep up to the big dogs.

Heaven.

Miikka is very big...but not so big that I think there are more then 6 or 7 in there.

We set up her whelping room tonight and it's hard to believe she's due in only a few days.

A friend of mine is moving into the house tomorrow while we're gone to the Canadian National to whelp her.  She'll also get started on the Early Neurological Stimulation and be Miikka's best buddy while we're gone.  I hate leaving Miikka AGAIN to whelp, I just hate it.  Thankfully she's an easy whelper and I've lined up oodles of help in case my friend is in need.

So, we're off to Manitoba tomorrow and will pre-National for a few days in Brandon before heading over to Winnipeg.

Darbi looks great right now.  Balanced, marking well and high on life.  My goal is to get further then I did last year, which was my first ever National.  I made it seven series last year...here's hoping for eight (or more!).

Swim-By in the Rain

A video of one of the young dogs doing swim-by.

Unfortunately my fingers were over the microphone on the camera...so you can't hear my dialog.

Wyoming Trial

Had a long, hard week-end in Wyoming.

It was a PRTA Trial, and Kenny and I essentially put it on.  

Here's a pic of me running test dog on the water blind with the Luckiest Guy In The World (AKA Kenny) standing behind me.

Yes, I was running test dog.  Darbi went out on the land blind after I couldn't get her close enough to the flier crates and poison bird.  She knows where "trouble" is and there was no way she was going over THERE.

Handlers watching the greatness that is Darbi.

Kenny running Boomer.

What a neat pic.

Libby ran a great Derby to finish 4th.  It was a tight race for sure.  She hunted one bird.

I'm getting more and more excited about her.

Favorite photos - Part 1

I have some favorite pictures of the "girls" over the years.

Some are great and some are of poor quality, but I still love them none the less.

Darbi and me.  My bestest girl.

Darbi and Miikka: The Bridges of Madison County - one of their many adventures.

Darbi and me awaiting our turn at a field trial many years ago.  I love this pic because it shows how much she loves doing this with me.

This one always makes me smile.  Little Miikka hopping in the fresh snow.  Peanut was just a baby here.

The infamous party hat photo shoot.  Miikka was bored with the whole affair.

Miikka always got the stick, and loved to laugh about it.  She is so athletic.

Darbi dock jumping in British Columbia.

The typical Miikka expression.  "Look at me...I'm cute...aren't I cute?"

Best friends

Loki and Ahti are best friends.

Unfortunately for Ahti, and even more unfortunate for me, is that she will be heading out to be a kennel dog in the next few days.  Time for her to grow up a little and learn that working is the most important part of her day.

She is great during her obedience lessons, and we started with "hold" today.  She marks gangbusters and runs back as hard as she runs out.

I'm going to shed a few tears as we walk the 50 steps to the kennel building, but it's best for both of us.  She's been spending lots of time in there as of late, so the first day will be more of a shock to my system then to hers.

Congrats Eider!

Congrats to NMH Elmingo's Pacific Eider*** MH WCX for finishing the Canadian National Master Hunt Test!!!

I remember this pup well (I remember them all well, but he sticks out in my mind) as I flew him out of Calgary as a wee babe on Boxing Day.

He is from the Shaq x Miikka litter of 2007 and turns 4 later this year.

Eider and John are having lots of fun together in hunt tests and field trials.

Way to go!!!

Cheater, cheater pumpkin eater.

Had a fun time at the Cheyenne field trial this week-end.

Darbi ran a great Open and finished with a RJAM.  She didn't have any bad birds and was super fun to run.  And NO CREEPING or breaking.  The honor was in the fourth series and she watched the birds a little too closely, but didn't move.  :-)

Unfortunately I had to pick up Libby in the third series of the derby.  It's hard to describe the bird, but she was not getting out "early", but getting out way wrong and cheating the water no matter which way you looked at it.

No green ribbon is worth letting her get away with a water cheat.

Funny thing is that her brother Zink did the exact same thing which left Kenny and I scratching our heads as to why these two very solid water dogs did what they did.  They must have saw something that flummoxed them as usually they take too much water.

Whatever it was, we'll never know.

I wish dogs could talk...oh wait...no I don't...or Libby would never shut up.