August 22, 2023 – Gretel and Watson’s puppies are home with their forever families and we’re hearing good reports. We’re thankful for all of the families that chose us for their new family member! Because of these families, and Gretel and Watson of course, we were able to donate $1,500.00 to Operation Underground to rescue children out of some dire situations. Here are the families that chose us. Thank you all!
August 12, 2023 – Puppy selection is this Monday afternoon! Time is flying. The pups are doing great o leash, and quietly (mostly!) take two naps a day in a crate. They’re doing well and have come so far. They all did well on their vet visits and had their first vaccinations and were microchipped yesterday.
We completed temperament testing and the pups all scored very similarly, as expected, and we could see that every one of them has a great temperament and are ready for their forever homes. If families follow through on raising them right, building on the foundation we laid here, each will go on to become amazingly, wonderful dogs for life! Here are some notes on personalities and temperaments that we see. Please know that we’ve conditioned for great temperaments, but personalities are just beginning to show and their home environments and new humans will play a lot more into their developing personalities as they mature.
Temperament scoring showed all pups to be equally intelligent, equally submissive and all showed low sensitivity to “scary” sights and sounds. All are equally tracking and following us humans. They all have that therapy-line, human bonding and wanting to stay close to their humans. We saw only slight differences in their sensitivities and three pups are already retrieving: Graham, Griffin and Grant. They are all showing they are ready to become great companions, ready to take on what’s next!
Grace – Loves cuddling. She loves to play with her brothers, but is often content to sit back and watch. When held, she has plenty of kisses to offer. Very affectionate. She’s the smallest in the litter and our guess is she’ll be about 25 lbs. fully grown. Her coat is more curly and will require a little more brushing to avoid mats.
Griffin – He loves to chill. He is the biggest of the bunch and has swagger to match his size. He is well balanced in his playing and resting time. It is likely that he will go with the flow and adapt to almost any environment. Rambunctious kids probably won’t intimidate this pup (but still, families need to supervise and protect puppies from stress and trauma!) Griffin, as the largest boy, may reach 35 lbs. His being more confident and the leader, probably is attributed to his size in the pack.
Graham – Well rounded. He will most likely be very adaptable. He faces new challenges with confidence and he was the first pup to show the desire to be readily obedient and please us humans. He seems adventurous. He likes to explore and when practicing the leash training on steps, he decided to leap and skip the last step and launch himself to the bottom. Nothing timid about him.
Grant – Friendly. He is usually the first to come when called and wants to crawl up on is human’s lap whenever possible and he’s very affectionate. He is slightly more energetic than the other pups and may require a little more play time or exercise before he’s ready for a nap.
Garret – Sweet pup! Garret seems to be a little cautious at times, but readily jumps into play more often than not. He may always be slightly more shy, wanting to stay close and observe for a moment before jumping in. He loves to cuddle and is affectionate with all of us.
August 9, 2023 – Gretel and Watson’s puppies are doing well and getting ready for their forever homes! It’s hard to believe, as time here is going so fast! The pups are fully socialized and conditioned and even finally turned a corner, and are taking their naps during the day quietly in their crates, alone, with no whining. They might cry for a minute or two, but they settle right down. This Friday is their vet exam, along with vaccines and microchips, and we’ll post more on them this weekend, regarding their temperament testing and weights. We’re not seeing any timidity in any of them and they are loving us humans here! They get fairly regular trips out to the patio area to be comfortable on leash around the house and on the cement. They are great on leash at this point! They’re almost ready for home.
Here are the pictures we took of them this week.
August 1, 2023 – Gretel and Watson’s puppies are almost six weeks old now and are all doing very well. They have got their litter box training down, they are now conditioned to all kinds of “scary” sounds, and are eating mushy kibble three times a day to give mama Gretel a break. They’re totally used to baths and blow dryers and have been exposed to vacuums and blenders. They are now learning to separate from mama, though she still loves to stand outside their pen and watch them, and jump in to say “hi” whenever she feels like it. Mostly though, because their teeth are coming in, she doesn’t like hanging out as much with them. Here are the pictures we took of them.
July 26, 2023 – Gretel and Watson’s puppies are changing fast. They are becoming less sleepy, although we do have to say that they are a well-fed, lazy pups right now! Mama continues to not require anything of them and they are happy and chunky. They are doing very well with using the litter box now and their pen stays nice and clean. They’re pretty relaxed with the bath and blow drying, totally non-reactive to almost anything we challenge them with. They are right where we want them to be! We get them out of their pen once or twice a day to play in the play area, and they enjoy the exploring and the freedom to romp a bit. They are calm, gentle and a very quiet bunch. Each has a unique look, but we see Gretel and Watson in each of them. They are adorable and mama Gretel has continued to enjoy them and help us with all their care. Here they are at almost five weeks old!
July 18, 2023 – Gretel and Watson’s puppies are doing very well. We started them on litter box training today, they chill out in our arms and are starting to bond to us humans. They are wonderful, calm pups. Still sleep a LOT, as mama continues to dote on their every need. There’s no need to move, ha ha. They can fully hear now, and so we’ve been conditioning them to “scary” sounds all week. They are now nonreactive to thunderstorms, fireworks, blow dryers, vacuum sounds, blenders, and more. They sat nicely for their photos today, even though, as usual, they were sleepy. We had fun taking some group shots as well. Here they are at almost four weeks old!
July 11, 2023 – Gretel and Watson’s puppies have opened their eyes! They’re still really sleepy. In fact, it took a bit of effort to get them to stay awake for their pictures today. They weren’t very interested in sitting up either. LOL. They are chunky, lazy, sweet pups. Mama feeds them continuously, it seems, and they are doing very well. We bathe them once or twice a day for conditioning (and to keep bacteria at bay) and we massage them and walk around with them on their backs often (also conditioning.) They are very accustomed to the bio-sensor program steps that are still being done daily, and we will move on to the next phase of conditioning as soon as they can hear (won’t be too long now.) As you can see, the pigmentation in their noses is turning black. Some pups take longer than others. Gretel had a spotty nose for quite a while before it turned completely black. Here they are at almost three weeks old!
July 4, 2023 – Happy Fourth of July, everyone! The pups are doing great, and mama is just wonderful. She’s serious about her babies and her mama responsibility. The puppies eyes haven’t opened yet, but soon! We wanted to post a picture of each so that you can see who’s who and get a better glimpse of them. So far, they had baths daily (they love the warm, running water), they’ve been going through the bio-sensor steps with us daily (the most critical step for a breeder and can only be effective in those earliest days/weeks) and they are massaged daily. Touch is the primary way we can condition them at this point because they can’t see or hear yet. Here they are!
June 27, 2023 – Gretel’s puppies arrived the evening of June 23 and all five pups are thriving and doing well! Gretel is a great mama, staying close by and she’s a seasoned mama, this being her fourth and final litter. She loves her babies and is very attentive to their every need. Gretel and Watson brought us four boys and one girl, that will grow to be about 30 lbs. We’ll update their pictures here as they grow, with individual pictures every week or two. Here’s the newborn litter at only a few days old. You can see how happy mama is! The pups are mostly red, with one boy that is lighter, more cream or apricot-looking, at this point. The pups are beautiful and healthy!
