Bluestem Kennels

A week from today, the puppies will be going to their new homes!  I know I have some excited new owners out there, so I thought I had better get an update on for today.

This week we were able to work on pair crate conditioning.  This is where I take two of the puppies and place them into a crate, then take them for a ride in the car for a half hour or so.  Once we get home, they then spend an hour in the crate.  Everyone did fine, there was no car sickness or excessive crying.  Today we start on individual crate conditioning, where one puppy takes a ride with the people, but by themselves in the crate.  Then they spend two hours in the crate by themselves.  My final step in this process is once everyone has had their individual conditioning session of 2 1/2 hours, at the end of the 7th week they do 6 hours in the crate.  They are provided with food and water during the 6 hour session, but potty breaks are only before and after.  It is a stressful process for all of us, but very important in starting out a traveling hunting companion.

I was going to pick up my chukar today, but we had a big rain yesterday and didn’t think I’d get out to working to pups on it until after things dried out, so I’m heading out to the bird farm on Sunday instead.

The pups have thoroughly mastered getting around the property with mom, so next week I plan on getting them out for a run away from the property and without mom.  I was going to do it this week, but they weren’t quite aggressive enough yet on running my area with mom and I wanted to get their confidence built up before I took the next step.  Here is the video that I made this afternoon of the puppies running wild in the forest: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQGzhjcS0Pk

The final countdown begins to their new lives and we’re working hard to get them ready!

The older the pups get, the busier things are around here.  This week was the beginning of individual conditioning, which consisted of four steps.  The first step was to take the pup out of the kennel by himself/herself and place a collar on.  I then carried the puppy to the back of the property and had him/her follow me back to the house.  Next, the puppy and I went out to the front yard, where I placed a leash on the collar and had them drag it around, just to get used to the feeling of the leash.  Lastly, we went into the house where I did some housework while the puppy stayed with me.

In addition to the individual conditioning, we are also getting out as a litter 2-3 times a day.  Yesterday evening, I was finally able to get the whole litter to walk from the kennel out to the back hill with me and then back to the kennel without having to carry anyone to goad them along.  I will manage to get this on film before they go home, but in the beginning, just working the dogs is difficult enough.  Charles has been contributing to the puppy conditioning by firing off a children’s cap gun while we are sitting around on the back patio.  It is near enough to the kennel that the puppies can hear it, but far enough away that it is just another noise to them.

There are a few videos that I took this week.  The first one is just of the puppies getting out of the kennel and playing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_au1MH33HI There are a couple of videos of pups showing off their natural retrieving abilities: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-79m48wvndk http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8FQGO8XQ5QY.  There’s also a crazy video of all of my dogs, the puppies and my kids on the loose (which consists mostly of me getting after a kid or a dog, but may be amusing) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMPoValFiCM

Here are some photos from our individual time outside:

Barb at six weeks

Bart at six weeks

Ben at six weeks

Bess at six weeks

Betty at six weeks

Buster at six weeks

All of the puppies are doing things the way that I want them to at this point and are all creeping up on the 10 pound mark.  This week we will be beginning crate conditioning and will try to take our first adventure away from mom and the home turf.  I’m also going to be getting in touch with local game bird breeders to see if they have any immature birds that we can work with.

For those of you shopping for a puppy, all of these have homes that they are going to, but it isn’t too early to get a reservation for next year.  I will be taking six reservations for the 2012 litter and have already taken two firm reservations with deposits, along with several seriously interested parties.  If you would like to complete an application for puppy placement of our 2012 litter, e-mail us bluestemkennels@cox.net.

The puppies are getting very active and ready to begin the initial conditioning processes.  One of the most important first exposures to a future hunting companion is new terrains and environments.  Even though that by the time they leave my house, running the entire property will be easy and familiar, this is a video of their first visit to the “back hill”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbc_Hi5cYWw Giving them practice with new environments attempts to eliminate nervousness when exposed to different places such as their new homes and the variety experienced in a hunting season.

The weather on Saturday also gave us a taste of something new and different, here is a video of the puppies eating breakfast in the snow: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tn8-uX18vyU

For my future puppy owners, the pups are currently eating Diamond Puppy kibble (in the purple bag).  Most puppy buyers wish to continue the puppy food that they are eating here, but I’m sure the puppy will eat any high quality puppy kibble without hesitation from day one.  To locate a Diamond dealer near you, the website offers a search: http://www.diamondpet.com/dealer_locator/

The puppies are also having daily socialization with myself and my children, both indoors and outdoors.  This important activity has been ongoing with my older children since birth, but now that the puppies are “tough” enough to deal with handling from even my youngest family member, we are working/playing with them more.  Here are some photos of the puppies “hanging out” on the floor of the utility room with my two-year old son Caleb and I.  Bonding with humans is absolutely the most important part of starting with a puppy.  The human-dog bond is what begins the process of obedience.  Without emotional bonds, dogs have no desire to please humans.

Snuggling with "human mom"

Caleb takes a turn snuggling

Caleb "hugs" a puppy

More hugs and snuggling!

We love puppies!

This week, the puppies will begin individual work with me, away from the litter and their mother.  Being away from the litter and mother for the first time is stressful, but it is extremely important in beginning the process of separation from the litter and gaining the confidence to be independent from them.  I’m looking forward to spending individual time with the puppies and get a better idea of their individual personalities.

Wow, the puppies sure have changed and grown in the last week!  Right after I shot the video last week, they began escaping their “sandbox” in the laundry room and were running amok.  Luckily, mother nature worked in my favor and made it nice enough to move them back outside.  Initially, they remained in the dog house with the door flap closed, but the kids and I brought them out to play for the almost 70 degree weather yesterday and they’ve decided that outside is where it is at!

I’ve constructed a rock ramp for them to get in and out of the dog house and have opened the door.  Naturally, in the event of a weather change, I will hustle them back into the dog house and close the flap so they aren’t going in and out (unless they are so motivated that they push the door open).

They have started to eat mush consisting of Iams puppy food watered down with puppy milk replacer.  Today (Friday 03/18), I was able to get a video of them eating http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zm4XDosBbA.  I was also getting a little disgusted at the resolution of my YouTube videos, so I’m hoping that these new settings on the camera and software improve things!

Here are their face shots this week, too cute!!

Bluestem Barb

Bluestem Bart

Bluestem Ben

Bluestem Bess

Bluestem Betty

Bluestem Buster

With the lovely weather and the active puppies, I was able to shoot a nice long video (taken Thursday, 03/17), so I’ll let you take a look at that in place of body shots:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVTq_dZSJ1U They are all weighing in at right around 5 pounds and are just a joy to be around for my entire family!  We are half way to getting them to their new homes and we’re planning on enjoying our time playing with and conditioning them!

I’ve had a bit of a non-profit collision (Girl Scout cookie money collection and Pheasants Forever banquet) and haven’t had time to take individual pictures of the puppies this week, sorry!  They have started to move around on all fours, so I’m not sure if they would hold still enough for me to take photos anyway!

Here’s the video that I took on their three-week birthday on Friday: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5aAyZQslqQ

All of their eyes are open and we’ll start to try solid food (puppy food watered down with puppy milk formula) this week.

Once the snow started flying last weekend, we moved Sue and the puppies inside, as it appears that the temperature is going to continue to fluctuate substantially and it is easier for me to check on them this way.  They are very uniform, all weighing in right around 3 pounds.  We had a checkup with the veterinarian this week and he stated that these are very robust puppies, even for the Wirehaired Pointing Griffon breed.  He prescribed Sue some additional vitamin supplements in order to help her support a very demanding litter.  Sue seems to be holding up well and is doing her job.

It was exciting to pick up the puppies this morning to see that half of the litter has their eyes open!  I shot this video a couple of days ago: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_mVlP9iMno

Here are their individual snapshots:

Bluestem Bart

Bluestem Bart's Face - eyes beginning to open

Bluestem Bess

Bluestem Bess's Face - eyes opening

Bluestem Ben

Bluestem Ben - eyes open

Bluestem Buster

Bluestem Buster's Face - eyes open

Bluestem Betty

Bluestem Betty's Face - eyes beginning to open

Bluestem Barb

Bluestem Barb's Face - eyes open

We received some exciting news yesterday, in that our new female puppy has been born in Quebec!  So a couple of weeks after these little ones go home, I will get to travel to Canada to pick her up!

The litter in the outdoor dog house/whelping box, with the top off

Announcing the Bluestem Kennels YouTube Channel!  You can either follow this link to the channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/bluestemkennels or simply type bluestemkennels (as all one word) into the search field.  I have uploaded a little video that I took of the puppies on Wednesday (while it was still warm out), along with a hunting video of Sue and a “first hunt” video from one of last year’s puppies.

The puppies have grown and changed so much already in a week, it is amazing how fast things happen.  Speaking of quick changes, we’ve been on a weather rollercoaster here, going from the highs of the 50’s and 60’s then to the 20’s today.  That’s February in Nebraska for you!

For any casual readers looking for a puppy, this litter is all spoken for, but please let me know if you are interested in a pup from next year’s litter.

For my reserved buyers, please do not ask to make a pick at this time or start getting attached to any particular puppy based on these photos.  They are for informational purposes only.  The distances and perspectives are not the same on the individual photos, so size will not be distinguishable.  I am weighing and measuring the puppies, but will only release weights, measures and litter rank during the final selection process, which will be at 5-6 weeks of age.

Sue and the litter in our indoor dog studio (aka the laundry room)

The puppies will be coming home to you at 8 weeks of age, which falls on the weekend of April 16-17, so if you are planning on traveling to us to pick up the puppy you now have that information.  If the puppy is being shipped air cargo, it will go out Monday or Tuesday of the following week.

Time for some individual introductions of the puppies:

Male: Bluestem Bart

Bluestem Bart’s face

Female: Bluestem Bess

Bluestem Bess’s face

Male: Bluestem Ben

Bluestem Ben’s face

Male: Bluestem Buster

I didn’t get a face shot of Buster, but in my notes it says that he has an all-brown face with a white spot above his nose.

Female: Bluestem Betty

Bluestem Betty’s face

Female: Bluestem Barb

Bluestem Barb’s face

Like a good mother, Sue gets very upset when one of the puppies is away from the litter to be photographed, so taking the individual pictures is only a once a week event.  I look forward to sharing the amazing changes that will happen to these puppies over the next seven weeks, now in both video and still photos!

The puppies have spent the last few days nursing and establishing their pecking order.  Whereas they were of all uniform size on day 1,  slight size and movement differences were noticeable today.

Growing babies

The pup closest to the front decides to push itself up on its front paws

Sue unwillingly took a day off from exercise the day of the whelping and is excited to be back out in the forest unburdened by a large belly.

Sue is feeling like her old self

Sue took a food and water break, so I stuck my head in the dog house/whelping box to check the pups out.

The brood

Snuggle bunch