September 4, 2026 – The pups were temperament tested yesterday and we had an outside tester come in to evaluate them, as well as a professional trainer on FaceTime video to observe and give input. The pups did wonderfully and all are exactly what we wanted to see. Each is confident, yet submissive and eager to please. Each pup is affectionate and intelligent and good at tracking and following. Very small differences are shown in each; differences are more personality quirks and differences, not in temperament. Keep in mind that our temperament testing doesn’t determine their final temperaments as adults, but it assures us that we haven’t missed anything and that each pup has been given an outstanding foundation. Their temperaments are solid! We agree here that each pup is suited to go on to become a therapy or service dog based on their temperaments at this point. Their personalities are just beginning to show, and their home environments going forward, along with their new humans will help influence who they ultimately will become. Although, often, we see the pups as they grow up, tend to still show some of the personality traits we already saw at six or seven weeks of age. 🙂
All of the pups are doing excellent in the crate and on leash and will bond easily to humans. They will follow and want to always stay close to their people. This is exactly what their genetics and conditioning has created in them.
Asher is still usually the first to sit, though his sisters follow quickly. He is so eager to get human affection and is extremely people focused. He has a gentle, somber howl when he sees his humans and feels impatient about not being picked up. He seems to be maybe a little more “soulful” and if he were human, I’d say he’s a feeler for sure.
Adeline is spunky and fun. She’s slightly more energetic than the other two pups, but we’d still consider her low to medium energy level. She’s is so eager to go or do whatever’s next. “Let’s go!” seems to be her attitude. As confident as Adeline is, she showed more sensitivity to scary sudden sounds. She perhaps has more sensitive hearing. She’s fine with sounds of fireworks and thunderstorms etc. but does not like any sudden unexpected noises. (I guess, who does?) She listens eagerly, looks to us humans for direction. She settles easily in our arms and can stay close and snuggle or keep up with whatever activity is going on.
Amber has gained so much confidence in the past two weeks and we’re so happy to see that. She’s still a little more cautious than her sister, and will observe a bit before diving in. Adeline seems to be a bit more of the leader, and Amber is more of a follower. Amber, just like her siblings, love to be held, live for human affection and will be eager to please.
September 2, 2026 – Ally and Nelson’s puppies are almost ready for home! A little over a week to go and we are working hard at leash training, crate training, sound conditioning and socialization. All of the pups are doing very well. They’re each exactly where we want them to be. They track us, follow us, and are very bonded to humans. They also settle easily in our arms when picked up. They’ve been doing so well at sitting for attention! Getting better and better at it each day. They are now entirely on solid food, not relying on mama any longer to eat. Tomorrow a temperament tester is coming in to meet the pups and test each one. And Saturday is their thorough vet exams. They’ll get their first set of vaccinations, and be microchipped. We’ll post their official weights from the vet with their pictures below, once we have them. We’ll post more on personalities and temperaments later this week. Here are the pictures we took of them yesterday.
August 24, 2026 – Ally and Nelson’s puppies are growing up! Today they are five weeks old and they are experiencing a lot of changes quickly now. They started eating mushy kibble today; not real fond of it yet. They still prefer mama and this weaning phase takes some time. They love finding a crate (a den) to fall asleep. Soon we will get them to take short naps in the crate, alone, with the door closed. We expect lots of crying but the adjustment is necessary and we do it in small doses gradually, until they are walking into a crate by themselves and resting nicely with the door closed.
Today they had baths and they were all blown out with our small shop vac. It’s loud and powerful, much like the blow drying they may experience at a groomer. They were ready for it, and they all did great. They are growing in confidence everyday! They are playing and chasing more, yet they still settle in our arms immediately when we pick them up. This is all a reflection of the conditioning they’ve had so far. Here are the photos we took of them today.
August 17, 2026 – Ally and Nelson’s puppies are four weeks old today! They are hearing now and we are well on to our way with their sound conditioning. Daily we are playing sounds of thunderstorms, fireworks and more, and we vacuum around them to get them accustomed to “scary” things. They are getting more and more used to blow dryers too now. They are recognizing us humans now and when we come near, they wag their tails and come right over to us. We love to see that they are already bonding with humans, exactly what we want at this age. Here are some photos we took of them today!
August 11, 2026 – Ally and Nelson’s puppies are three weeks old! We don’t think they can hear yet, but we started sound conditioning today because we know they will start to hear any time now. Today we’ve been playing sounds of fireworks and thunderstorms in the comfort of mama and their litter, conditioning them to be nonreactive and comfortable with “scary” sounds. Our goal is always the same: anxiety-free pups for life.
We finished the biosensor steps, and they’re right where we want them to be at this stage. They are very comfortable with human hands and calmly relax every time we pick them up. There are many conditioning steps being learned through the biosensor steps, but calmness with human touch is a big part of it.
Today, we introduced them to the litter box, now that they are walking and moving about the pen a little bit more. Soon we hope to have them litter box trained, as they learn to respect their sleep and play area and learn that there is a specific place to do their potty business. Here are the pictures we took of them today after a massage and a warm bath. 🙂 (Amber was a little drowsy at the time we took photos, so she wasn’t much interested in sitting up.)
August 4, 2026 – Ally and Nelson’s puppies continue to be healthy and are growing fast. They still mostly look the same, but they’re bigger and their eyes are opening! They still can’t hear (one more week) and they mostly sleep all day long at this young age. They hardly have to move to be fed. No fighting to get to mama with this small litter. I think it makes the litter extra peaceful and calm. They just get to feast all day, it seems. We continue to do the biosensor steps with them daily. Here are the pictures we took of them at two weeks old, after their daily baths and massage time.
July 30, 2026 – Ally and Nelson’s puppies are doing great! They’ve nearly doubled their weight since birth and they are happy, chunky little pups. Just like we like to see! They look like litter hamsters still, and mostly, all they do is eat and sleep. We rouse them several times a day to massage them, give them a warm rinse, do the biosensor steps, and weigh them.
Mama has become peaceful with allowing us to continually take the pups from her so that we can do what we need to do. At this point, they still can’t see and they won’t hear until about three weeks old. Touch is our way to connect with them at this young age as we begin their temperament conditioning in this earliest stage. The biosensor steps are one of the most important things a breeder can do at this very young age.
Ally is super attentive, and she only will leave their side to quickly run outside to do her business, then immediately runs back to her litter to continue to monitor their every move. She’s a wonderful mama that will retire after this, her third and last litter.
Here are some photos we took of them over the past day or so.
July 23, 2026 – We are excited to announce that Ally and Nelson’s puppies are here! Mama was two days late and it took patience on our part, checking heartbeats regularly and waiting for the pups to be ready to come out! We have three healthy, pups: two girls and one boy, born on July 20. All of the pups are thriving and gaining weight. Ally is a wonderful mama, as she was with her first two litters. (This is Ally’s final litter.) Being a smaller litter, the pups are sure to get extra attention from all of us, including their mama. Here are a few pictures of the pups and mama, only hours old. Note: we won’t put any bedding in the pen until the litter is a week old. This is to ensure their safety. Pups can get caught under bedding and suffocate when they’re so young. We welcome to our world, Ally and Nelson’s A Litter: Adeline, Amber and Asher!
