Blogging with Barahwolfe .

Alice is a Natural

2012-01-25T12:12:00.000-08:00

Thirteen year old Alice is a natural with animals, but especially dogs. She has an interesting year ahead of her and many of her extra curricular activities includes dog training and dog themed stuff now. Out of five children, statistically one of my children was going to be as besotted with dogs as I am. I hope Amelia is as good with dogs as Alice, is. Only time will tell I guess.

Here is Alice with her new friend - a Japanese Spitz called Minty.

Barahwolfe Vanilj Flicka

2012-01-25T11:55:00.000-08:00

Paul and Sue from Auckland sent me yesterday a heap of photos of Flicka. Here is a small selection of those shots. Flicka is the litter sister of our precious Orchid, also Ned and Myah. You can see the beautiful blend of Tommy and Tango in her face.

From Sue:

"She is an absolutely beautiful dog and we love her to bits. She is so affectionate and loves lots of cuddles.
She loves the beach – but isn’t that convinced about the water yet (or her new life jacket for that matter) but doesn’t mind a bit of a paddle"

Brumby & the Dragon

2012-01-23T00:17:00.001-08:00

Brumby came out for the better part of the weekend, joining in with the Art Festival activities in Lawrence. A great time was had by all, especially Brumby who got to meet half a dozen doggy visitors.

WASH DAY

2012-01-12T18:11:00.001-08:00

Swedish Vallhunds are 'low odor'. With a 'teflon' coat, that mud doesn't stick to, unless they roll in something disgusting they rarely need bathing. Today however, was a bath day. My lovely boys and girls all got a bit of a clean up, and none of this hosing them down outside nonsense. You hose a car down, or maybe a horse. My precious pooches all got a warm bath.

Pepper

2012-01-10T00:15:00.000-08:00

Today we went to visit Pepper, or 'Barahwolfe Coffee Creme.' He lives with a couple and their other lovely dog, 'Carter'. In case there was any confusion.... the ball... is completely Peppers! This made us really laugh as it is typical Possum (Pepper's Mum) to hog the ball.

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This is Carter with my daughter Breezsha. Carter is 10 years old and is Pepper's best mate

BEAUTIFUL DOGS

2012-01-08T13:25:00.000-08:00

We are very proud of the dogs that we have sent out to the world.

Barahwolfe Blackberry Jazz resides as stud dog at Ausled Kennel, Australia.

Munroe's Gully

2012-01-07T11:30:00.000-08:00

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Contractors

2012-01-06T17:42:00.000-08:00

Wooo-Hoooo!

The fencing contractors arrived and put down all the posts for the two new enclosures. Now I just have to put up the meshing, and gates. These are dedicated dog spaces for when we go out and I need somewhere safe for the dogs and, when we have a bitch in season. They are used about 40% of the time (including sleeping) the other 60% of the dogs time is spent with us as a family or out and about in the car and on walks. Both enclosures have a Cherry Tree in the centre for shade and a kennel lined internally with 'pink bats'. These spaces are both cool in summer and warm and sheltered in winter. I have designed it so that the enclosures can be separate or opened

up as one space with a small internal gate.

Barahwolfe Vaniljglass (Vinny) & Pepper

2012-01-04T01:15:00.001-08:00

Thorn and Myah

2012-01-02T23:20:00.000-08:00

Today's offerings on the Barahwolfe Blog. Top two photos are of the very fine Barahwolfe Blackberry Thorn. From our first litter and almost four years of age. Thorn is the son of Valkrista Silver Possum and Valkrista Greg Murphy. The bottom two pictures are of the delightful show girl Barahwolfe Vanilla Myah, daughter of Akka Sassa Cessna and Candace Valkrista Voyager. Little Myah bounds through the long grass in the video taken by Rhys.

Many thanks to the good people who have given the Barahwolfe dogs the best homes.

Find Us on Facebook

2012-01-02T20:52:00.001-08:00

Possum at 8 weeks of age in 2003

2012-01-02T20:49:00.000-08:00

Every Day Adventures

2012-01-02T00:14:00.000-08:00

Possum, Brumby and Orchid away through the overgrown bush on a walk this morning. Cody and Tango got their walk, along a dusty country road in the afternoon. This video covers a small slice of one of our every day adventures.

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Happy New Year 2012

2011-12-31T12:20:00.000-08:00

In contrast to Xmas which was gloriously hot, New Year's day is over cast, and slightly humid. Yet all is well at the Barahwolfe property. Our second dog enclosure is going up this week, our four dogs, plus visiting Cody is creating a need for dedicated dog spaces. We also have two half grown and tethered lambs on the property, and two silver tabby cats. All we need now to be an official zoo is a goat and a guinea-pig.

This year is planned to be huge, firstly I am off to study full time at University. When I say 'off' about 75% of this study is done at home, via distance learning. I qualified as an NZ veterinary nurse the same way at the turn of the century. Back then however I was also working at a vet clinic in Marlborough and had very young children. Vet Nursing is a level 5 qualification, and anyone with half a brain and a little time on their hands can manage this study.

In 2012 I will be beginning the first year of a Bachelor of Education (Primary) studying to become a Primary School teacher. This is a level 7 qual', gained over 3 years of study soaking up 50 hours a week of my time. I am a little nervous about if I have enough 'intellectual grunt' to manage this. If I can keep pace with university it will only be possible because of my incredibly supportive husband, my best friend and champion. Pete is my reason for enjoying life as much as I do. I can follow my passions, indulge hobbies, be creative - be whoever I want to be and he is right there encouraging me and financially supporting me as I create the chapters of my life. For five years I home schooled our children and he didn't flinch and just went with the flow. On Christmas Day I left the family to meet Cody at the airport, and he just smiled and patted the new dog on the head when I returned. Pete is supportive, but not a weak man being the quintessential Southern Bloke and a truckie, as staunch and as mentally tough as they come.

Distance study, from home, will allow me to have my precious dogs at my feet.

Secondly I am planning a litter of Swedish Vallhund puppies all going well and advancing the Barahwolfe story on a number of fronts. For the last few years, along with loving my dogs I have poured time, resource and energy into other projects and now for the first time I am freed up from a lot of this. I invite followers of my blog to watch this space and enjoy 2012 as it unrolls, I am predicting an exciting future for the Swedish Vallhund's in Aotearoa.

4 Pack

2011-12-31T11:31:00.000-08:00

Cody

2011-12-30T23:55:00.000-08:00

Cody enjoys a tub of fresh and fruity

He started off licking the teaspoon, and abandoned this for slurping from the pottle.

Lawrence

2011-12-29T16:30:00.000-08:00

Melee (Amelia), myself, the irrepressible Cody, sweet Tango and Alice walked a 2 km loop around passed the Lawrence cemetery today. Poor Melee complained her legs hurt, but when offered an ice-block from the dairy managed to pick up the pace.

Lawrence really is a lovely little country town, and I am thankful we found such a nice rural community.

In the heat of the day

2011-12-27T21:16:00.000-08:00

Today the heat was stupidly stifling. A friend drove down from Dunedin and together along with Alice we took Cody, Possum and Orchid around the Interpretive Track and Gabriel's Gully. Despite the heat it was a great day and we spent the major part of the afternoon sitting in deck chairs back at home on the back lawn watching the dogs. Four dogs is better than three and I have decided that Five dogs is definitely better than four.

Walking

2011-12-26T20:48:00.000-08:00

This morning started bright and early with me and Cody setting off on a 1 km jaunt along the State highway. I think he was quite impressed with the country scenery and dried cow pats along the dusty disused road that we turned into. We were home before 8 am.

Another scorcher of a day here in Otago. Late afternoon Alice and I took Brumby and Tango for a bush walk. The dogs are drinking plenty of water in this heat. They finished off their day with bones under the trees.

It is near 6pm and I have to go make coleslaw and crank up the barbie for the family. I wish summer lasted for longer, this is bliss. School holidays, and my hubby home is great. Pete got a fair bit of the garage exterior painted today - so a productive day all round.

2011-12-25T20:03:00.000-08:00

Alice - Boxing Day 2011

2011-12-25T17:26:00.000-08:00

It has been decided that if Alice wants to learn how to show dogs, the best thing for her is to learn with a dog that knows the ropes. So for now, Barahwolfe Caramel Velvet is back in Otago to teach Alice what to do. Thanks to Janette Schwass for her excellent dog training skills 'Cody' is super socialised, at ease with kids, adults, other dogs and most of all knows how to free stack and trot around a ring. Alice just has to practice lots now. Today is the first day practicing what she has been learning at her show training classes under the excellent tutorship of a dog behaviourlist and trainer.

I don't mind if this is a short term or long term interest for her. So long as she is having fun, enjoying the dogs that is all that matters. She has learned manners since babyhood and good sportsmanship through club netball and school sports, so I know she will behave well ringside and be a credit to her family and our kennel.

Happy New Year 2012

2011-12-24T23:49:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year 2012 from my great kids, whose initials make up the first part of my kennel name, B.A.R.A.H. wolfe. (Breezsha, Alice, Reuben, Amelia & Hazel)

Breezsha is 20

Alice is 13

Reuben is 17

Amelia is 7 and

Hazel is 23

Barahwolfe Branding

2011-12-22T18:10:00.000-08:00

HOW IT STARTED

Two or three years ago I stumbled upon a Finnish Blog detailing a pack of beautiful Swedish Vallhunds and stunning photography. At the time I had been searching for great images as I was making the banner for the international Swedish Vallhund database. I wrote to the blog owners and gained permission to use slices of their imagery for the pedigree database banner.

At the same time I noticed and was inspired by the beautiful flaming heart icon decorating their blogg

Much later when wanting to update my own website I went looking for something permanent to brand my kennel. My mind drifted to the flaming heart I remembered from the Finnish blog. I found and bought an i-stock image of a flaming heart to compliment the fiery flaming Viking Ship that I had already acquired, for the background of the website. By combining the Viking boat and the flaming heart I felt I had encaptured a little of the feeling and flavour of the Viking theme (although truthfully it was Viking farmers, not Viking Raiders connected to our wonderful dogs.) Viking Raiders it must be said are much more romantic and passionate than cow herding perhaps :)

I added in SCURLOCK font and suddenly the branding for my kennel was complete. A combination of dark looks, flaming passion, & Vikings..... All this to match the hardy Viking, dogs of Snowy Sweden and my heartfelt love for a breed I would go to war for if I had to.

So imagine my absolute delight today when finishing my Christmas shopping I went in search for a nice bottle of red to go with our Christmas barbeque and I stumbled upon Nelson based Redwood Cellar's Redwood Mulled wine!!! AND it was Featuring my 'heart of flames' splashed across the label. Now mulled wine is traditionally served in the icy cool of winter after being in the snow, and while sitting in front of a fire. While not ideal for the summer Christmas dinner on the beach traditional in NZ, it was absolutely perfect for my pack of snow dogs!

What an awesome way to finish off a fantastic year for Barahwolfe. A little sign from above perhaps that we are on the right track with all things. One of my best friends in the breed is a kennel from Finland. Finland's Vallhunds led me to the flame icon and here it is emblazoned upon a New Zealand wine for the snowy days.... which my Otago based dogs thrive in.

Everything kind of links up in a nice serendipitous way.

Peta.

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Barahwolfe Vanilla Myah

2011-12-22T00:38:00.001-08:00

This Christmas at her favourite swimming hole. Myah is co-owned between Barahwolfe and Sarskilda Swedish Vallhund Kennels in New Zealand.

four sleeps till Christmas

2011-12-21T01:05:00.001-08:00

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2011-12-20T12:00:00.000-08:00

Alice with Tonto as a Puppy

2011-12-20T11:58:00.000-08:00

From the Mistletoe litter, this lovely snapshot showing how gentle and considerate the children are towards our pups.

Murphy

2011-12-20T11:40:00.001-08:00

This is a short "blast from the past"
Murphy as a puppy in 2006. He was our second Vallhund and this is him meeting Possum after we collected him from the Dunedin airport.

Gabriel's Gully

2011-12-20T10:40:00.000-08:00

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Barahwolfe Vaniljglass

2011-12-19T20:50:00.000-08:00

Meet Vinny at home on the farm with his owner Lucy.

Barahwolfe Mr Vanilla Bean

2011-12-19T20:44:00.000-08:00

My muscles. This is a very young 'Ned', only 7 months of age here, looking like both his mum Akka Sassa Cessna and his Dad Candace Valkrista Voyager. Co owned with Mr Simon Cave, Ned, is an up and coming stud dog and superstar in his neighbourhood also best mate to young Connor.

Valkrista Viking Raider

2011-12-19T15:20:00.000-08:00

Wonderful, well trick trained, super little Swedish Vallhund stud boy for Barahwolfe Kennel. He may be used at stud some time in the future. An absolute credit to his owner, the late Rose Madsen, and also his breeder Mel Harris in the U.K.

Barahwolfe Vanilla Myah

2011-12-19T15:17:00.001-08:00

Sweet Myah plays gentley with German Shepherd puppies.

Barahwolfe Mistletoe Tonto

2011-12-19T15:08:00.000-08:00

From America, come pictures of Barahwolfe Mistletoe Tonto. Assessed early by dog experts as a lovely young dog, and look how well he has turned out! Sire Murivall Antarre, Dam Valkrista Silver Possum.

Congratulations to Hamish and Maggie on the impending arrival of their baby. It is lovely to know that Tonto is going to share his life with a child. These guys make such superb family companions.

2011-12-19T15:02:00.000-08:00

My favourite song at the moment.

SAIL, by AWOLNATION.

Back to Blogging

2011-12-17T21:20:00.000-08:00

After a prolonged period away, Barahwolfe will be blogging again.

CLUB WEBSITES

2010-11-11T23:46:00.000-08:00

Barahwolfe Supports the Efforts of the

Västgötaspets Australia

If you visit my blog I encourage you to visit both the NZ Club and Official Australian websites.

Smudge

2010-11-11T21:34:00.000-08:00

Today I went to see Smudge, 2 and half. Smudgie is from my first litter, and an absolute delight to her mum, Julia. I was so excited to see the little girl I sent on a plane to Wellington. Unfortunately my camera failed and so all that we were able to get pictures with was a cell phone. Smudge was very confident and a nice wee girl playing in the surf and chasing a HUGE stick.

My son Reuben

2010-11-11T13:45:00.000-08:00

The Rose Litter

2010-10-24T13:09:00.000-07:00

All puppies are settled into their new homes. Families are delighted with their new charges. Barahwolfe is proud and delighted to have assisted in the setting up of FOUR new Swedish Vallhund Kennels in New Zealand. The new breeders have all turned to the South Island to bring home their second Swedish Vallhund having aquired their first (Stud or Bitch) from Rose Madsen. Now they are creatively coming up with new kennel names to register with the NZKC.

I flew to accompany two pups to their new homes and enjoyed my 4 days away in the North Island.

Puppies with owners.

We start off with a litter that is given pet names that we give them here to be known as for the first 8 weeks of their life. Then are also registered with pedigree names... and then finally are given their home name that they will be known as for their life with their forever homes.

Pet Name	Pedigree Name	Home Name
Milly	Barahwolfe Lemon Cheesecake	Jess
Molly	Barahwolfe Cherry Ripe	Rose
Meg	Barahwolfe Hazelnut Whirl	Meg
Bella	Barahwolfe Peppermint Creme	Valla
Bjorn	Barahwolfe Coffee Cream	Pepper
Cody	Barahwolfe Caramel Velvet	Cody

Cody has been especially named after the soft toy dog I made for Rose. As the only puppy in this litter that had a tail (like the toy) it was obvious he would be nicknamed Cody. Much to our delight here his new show home where he is off to be a foundation stud dog his owner, also a friend of Rose's had decided to keep his name Cody. How pleased we all were that he proved the top boy of the litter.....

Cody the toy at Rose's home (above)

The real "Cody" - son of Candace Valkrista Voyager, (Tommy)

Tommy Tango and Possum do well, as does Fudge. All are looking forward to summer, with no puppies here though it is less busy. Possum is due to be booked in for her speying soon. We are retiring our foundation bitch and she can enjoy the second half of her life her without coming into season or raising puppies. She has well earned her retirement.

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Tommy and Tango

2010-10-24T13:04:00.001-07:00

This was taken a couple of days ago. Tango and Tommy on the back of the ute.

six weeks

2010-09-17T23:23:00.000-07:00

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Meg, Molly, Millie, Bella, Bjorn and Cody.

Five Weeks

2010-09-12T02:57:00.001-07:00

Almost 4 weeks

2010-09-03T20:01:00.000-07:00

The puppies are almost four weeks. I have noticed that they all do not like their neck touched much, which is unusual and we will spend some time desensitising them to touch. Also I note that two seem quite timid in comparison to the rest of the litter. At four weeks this may just be delayed development and it will pass. However if there is an issue we will be on to it early to remedy.

Meaty Milkshake

2010-09-03T04:53:00.000-07:00

The Rose litter has been introduced to solids. Very sloppy meat milkshake really and they think it OH so YUMMY!

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Three Weeks Old Today

2010-08-28T20:10:00.001-07:00

Kennel names for now:
Meg, Molly, Bjorn, Cody, Bella and Milkshake.

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TWO WEEKS OLD

2010-08-21T20:50:00.000-07:00

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Roses

2010-08-18T21:10:00.000-07:00

What difference a week makes.

The same day our precious little puppies were born, Rose Madsen passed away. Rose owned the sire to this litter and also bred the bitch. She was patron of the Swedish Vallhund Club, the most experienced Swedish Vallhund breeder in New Zealand, and creditted with the establishment of the breed in Aotearoa.

In honour of Rose, the litter that was to be the wolf cub pack is going to instead be named after Rose. So the Roses litter is now eleven days old. They are all doing very well gaining weight. There is a size difference between the small 2 and the biggest sister.

Posed (shamelessly) with a Roses Chocolate box are our special, long waited for litter of pups.

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Little Bitch Pup

Miss Mega Sister

Box of Roses Chocolates!

Wolf Cub Pack

2010-08-08T01:01:00.000-07:00

The little wolf cub pack at 2 hours old!

Welcome to the world Barahwolfe Cubs!

Six bonny wee pups

sexes to be confirmed - a quick glance at each at birth looked like 4 girls and 2 boys.

2 tails & 4 bobtails.

heaviest 265 grams

lightest 167 grams - the rest around 250 gram mark.

Expressions of interest for these puppies may be made to Peta Dowle

wolfcubs@vallhund.co.nz

Pups will be assessed at 8 weeks to identify showing/breeding candidates

We are hopeful that there are one or two GREAT dogs

in this combination of pedigrees and type.

We are very confident that all cubs will have the

sought after Barahwolfe Temperament.

Swedish Vallhunds for the Family

* reliable

* confident

* trainable

* smart

Suitable as working farm dogs, and family companions.

The Wolfcub Litter

2010-08-06T22:02:00.000-07:00

We are back to the blog for Valkrista Silver Possum's final litter.

She is due any day and the puppies have been sired by Candace Valkrista Voyager.

Check back soon for updates.

Puppy Puzzle

2010-02-12T01:35:00.000-08:00

Well what a big day it was today. All eight puppies were puppy puzzled by a breeder who travelled down from Christchurch. It was very interesting to watch and I learned a lot. The assessments sprung up a few surprises and I was pleased to see that some of what I thought was mirrored by the assessor.

A couple of actually quite nice pups in the mix, one girl and one boy. And the one thing that stood out was how well temperamented the whole litter was. The assessments were video'd and of course written down on score sheets.

Puppies are starting to head out to their new lives now, beginning tomorrow. My job is done and Tyko and Santa head away first thing in the morning. Little Tyko is going to live just south of Dunedin, and Santa is going up to Christchurch. I am going to miss them, but they have super families waiting for their arrival.

No photos today... But if you want to see pictures of Swedish Vallhunds, grab a copy of the new Fetch magazine in stores now. It has a dog on the front cover holding a pink ball in it's mouth. this issue has a feature on Swedish Vallhunds!!

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Boots Worth Licking.

2010-02-09T23:21:00.000-08:00

Normally I dubb over our chatter with music. But I havent this time. Hubby came home with smelling boots. He is a stockie (hauls stock from farms to the works - and between farms etc)

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Vet Visit

2010-02-09T14:11:00.000-08:00

All eight puppies have been microchipped today, all have had health examinations and passed with flying colours... and all have had their innoculation shot.

Tyko lines up for his microchip. Its quite a large needle and not too comfortable. And Vancy braves her vaccination needle in these photos.

Tom Henderson works out of the back of a store front in Lawrence. It might be humble for a vet clinic, but Tom is a very good vet and we are lucky to have him in a rural practice.

Stacked Puppies EIGHT WEEKS TODAY.

2010-02-09T13:53:00.000-08:00

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Trampoline Puppies

2010-02-07T00:16:00.000-08:00

The puppies had a chance to run about the trampoline today and feel the surface bounce a beneath their feet. It takes a little while to get used to an uncertain and unstable ground LOL.

The Carpet Court Guy comes tomorrow to measure the kitchen and dining room for new lino... Another person to meet. Oh the social life of a pup!

Two Boys

2010-02-06T23:45:00.000-08:00

Well a busy day here with little puppies that are now under my feet. Walking down the back ramp and to the washing line can be quite a mission. Here is a wee video of the last two boys. There has been a bot of a shuffle about and it turns out that Mopsen and Puffin are the last boys to find homes. Both are very sweet. Mopsen is easy going and prefers to stand back and observe whats going on and Puffin is more dive in first think later kind of a guy. Mopsen has no tail at all and Puffin has a little stump of a tail (bobtailed)

This is a video of them

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Not Just Puppies

2010-02-04T16:40:00.000-08:00

Despite this blog currently being heavily loaded in our beautiful puppies we actually (believe it or not) have more dogs here than them. Here is a little footage of U.K. Imported Candace Valkrista Voyager, (Tommy). Tommy is on loan from Rose Madsen. Rose owns Valkrista kennel based in Northland. She imported Tommy from Candace Kennel and we have been fortunate indeed to have this lovely boy spend the last 7 months with us.

We have just had the carpets steam cleaned and Tommy couldn't keep his nose off the ground investigating the fresh new smell.

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The School Trip

2010-02-03T20:19:00.000-08:00

Wow the school trip went brilliantly. Special thanks to Mrs Jay's junior class!!!!

The puppies loved the kids and the kids loved the puppies. We only had one dropped puppy. It's pretty hard not to drop a wriggling furry bundle and no damage was done. These little puppies have had so much contact with children, they will still need guidence in behaviour (i.e. corrected with they mouth/nip, and stopped if biting at kid's flapping trouser legs etc) But their basic acclimatisation to children is pretty good.

I am a phone call away from anyone having any issues later on with training your pup on. But if the effort is put into these wee dogs they will be bombproof and very reliable dogs with everyone as adult dogs.

Ok.... a selection of photos. Please excuse the blurred faces, it had to be done as they are not my kiddies and this is the internet after all (sad old world that it is).

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The Carpet Man

2010-02-03T01:50:00.000-08:00

Well guess who mobbed the guy that came to steam clean the carpets. He was very impressed with the furry little creatures wanting to be his new best friend. I was very cautious and gathered them all up and secured them away before the guy was allowed to start his truck up.

They all have coloured collars now and look as cute as with them on. I should have nice photos for you all tomorrow as we have a school visit.

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Meaty Bones

2010-02-02T01:43:00.000-08:00

Well eight little puppies today got a chance to attack bones. What excitement... it was a chance for little sharp teeth to gnaw away at the meat on the bones and they loved it. Funny to hear the growls and hums as they tried to warn each other away. Sharing tucker is not high on the priority list of a small pup.

Tomorrow is a busy day, but I will fit little coloured collars tomorrow. And on Thursday the local primary school has given me permission to take them all down for the junior class to interact with. So I shall of course take the camera for this as well.

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Star struck

2010-02-01T02:34:00.000-08:00

No photos today sorry folks... I have had a flat out day that started when a friend phoned at 7 am to ask for some help as she had just broken her ankle.... This sent me flying out the door on a rescue mission and the day didn't slow down.

Puppies are crusing along, they are more mobile and bravely venturing further around the section. Two of the boys in particular are a bit star struck by the older stud dogs here. I found all four, (stud boys and little puppy boys) lounging around in the sun on the front porch. It was funny to see these tykes stretched out copying the other dogs and acting like they always hang with the guys doing guy stuff (only in miniature).

I will take pics tomorrow.

Peta

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The Beach

2010-01-31T02:08:00.000-08:00

Today we took the Mistletoe litter of Swedish Vallhund pups off to the beach. Toko Mouth is about 40 minutes away so it was a good car trip for them there and back. I really reccommend the Voyager travel crates available from all pet stores and most vets. They are really handy and lightweight.

It takes two crates to transport the eight pups now.

The sand and sea didn't disappoint. All puppies had a try eating the sand and staring at the ocean. So many sniffs and smells. They are very trusting of the children and you can see this when the litter follow and crowd around my kids. They gravitate towards people where it feels safe. They have an inbuilt survival mechanism at this age to follow when they are somewhere unfamiliar. A pack on the move is one that has to be followed.

So far the puppies have met or been exposed to

Chickens, Cows, Goats and Sheep

Other Dogs,

They have been daily well handled by Adult men, Adult women and children.

They have paddled in water several times, been on car rides,

acclimatised to vaccum cleaners, washing machines, loud bangs and sudden noises.

The pups have been to the beach, some have been to the river,

all are about to go to the vet.

We are on the count down now..... over the next 2 to 3 weeks they will all be fully weaned and ready to bond with their new owners and start their real lives in their real homes.

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Gardening

2010-01-30T00:15:00.000-08:00

Dad had some helpers

gardening today

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Barbeque

2010-01-28T22:09:00.000-08:00

This morning a girlfriend called me saying it was a lovely day and inviting the kids and I around to her place as she was firing up the barbeque for lunch. It was another glorious hot day in Otago. I told her I was coming with kids and eight puppies! We arrived and the pups piled out and made themselves at home under the picnic table and busied themselves with hooning and chewing pine cones etc. A great opportunity for them to meet new people, and see somewhere else with new scent, different kids etc. I took a bottle of cold milk with me and gave them a drink at Jenny's place too. The puppies will be switched over to water in the next week. The started off with eggnogg styled milk and been reduced to milk and next watered down milk and then water. They dont actually need milk now so the little fuss pots can learn that water is good for them.

Speaking of which, after the little children had had their 'swim' in the paddling pool I popped each puppy into the water for another experience of being immersed in the wet stuff. A good chance to cool them off too. Then in the later afternoon they were put into the travel crates for the second car ride of the day home. All good things for puppy brains. When we got home their was an aerial top dressing plane zooming ever so close over the roof of our house. The ginormous great winged thing roaring away over head as it swooped by had the puppies scattered on its first dash past. By the time it ripped over head for the fourth run they had all calmed and were staring up at it. And then decided to ignore the 'car in the sky'.

I really, really encourage the new puppy owners to keep up the experiences, socialisation and introduction to 'weird stuff' in a safe and controlled way. It is really important to keep it up through to them being 16 weeks old... and then onto puppy kindy. These cute little bundles of Swedish Vallhund are well on their way to being rounded and bomb proof family pets.

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Monkees

2010-01-28T03:18:00.000-08:00

The Mistletoe litter were introduced to water today. Cold water :) And it was the right day to do this...... it was HOT in Otago... melting kind of heat. None were too sure about water as I sprinkled the hose over them one by one soaking their coats and splashing water up onto little tummies. We made a bit of a pool/puddle and popped them in the water. So while water is funny stuff the cool off was good. This water splash play will happen a few more times over the next week.

Another small car ride today up and down the drive way. And back to the flapping plastic bags and random loud noises.

Important dates coming up.
9th February Vaccinations
10th February Eight week old stacked photos
12th February Puppy Puzzle Assessments

Here is a wee video we took of the little mob today....

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

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Weaning

2010-01-26T23:50:00.000-08:00

Possum is only feeding them maybe once or twise a day. They are keen to keep nursing, but it is clear she is weaning them now. They have very sharp teeth and are not gentle. The pups are 6 weeks old exactly today.

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Lake Waihola

2010-01-26T23:07:00.000-08:00

Little Puffin is fine. Thank goodness.

I had to go up to Dunedin today. I took three puppies up with me and called in to see a family who are considering having a Swedish Vallhund puppy. The pups were hot and had a significant drink of milk that was cheerfully provided for them.

It was good for the pups to go for a longer car drive and on our way home we stopped at Lake Waihola. The girls took the pups onto the foreshore, and we encouraged them to paddle in the waters edge.

Ghastly Afternoon

2010-01-26T03:11:00.000-08:00

This afternoon while outside with all eight puppies I was walking away from them and they were chasing after me, one got caught under my feet and I tripped forward, he rolled under my foot and while on his back my full weight planted across his fat little abdomen. It was dreadfull, and he was in pain.... I collected Puffin up and gave him 15 minutes to settle, hoping he was ok....but very worried he wasn't. Puffin was arching his back and looked lopsided and wasn't keen to walk.

We are very lucky, living so rural to have a top notch vet just 7 minutes away from us. I dashed with Puffin into Lawrence to meet the vet. Shortly after we found that he was just very bruised. I was concerned he might have ended up with a diaphragmatic hernia, or internal injury. He was fairly crushed. Tom (the vet) gave him an anti inflamatory injection and right now it is midnight and Puffin is inside tucked up in a box with Banjo for company. I shall check him in the night and will phone Tom at 9 am tomorrow to report in how Puffin is.

Poor squashed boy. I am always reminding the children to take care, be gentle and realise that little puppies can be hurt easily... and I stood on a pup! I am quietly confident he will be fine in a few days. But I shall report back here anyhow.

No photos today....

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Eight Little Pupies Inside

2010-01-25T19:27:00.000-08:00

Eight little hoons racing about my living room. Quite a long video, but a little bit funny.

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

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Farm Animals

2010-01-22T13:38:00.000-08:00

DOUBLE CLICK IMAGE FOR BIGGER VIEW

This morning we were up early. The puppies need to move out of the laundry and I need to set up the puppy shed for them. They are just too big and active for a small space. It is also easier to hose down concrete floors than it is rolling up newspaper and bleaching the laundry floor every day. Plus... and dont ask me why, but the pups seem to think chewing and trying to eat wet newspaper is a good idea. I dont want puppies choking on wads of newspaper. I woke up at 3 am to a little coughing and gagging sound. I bolted to the laundry thinking a puppy might be eating newspaper and decided to remove it all and let them just be on lino over night. So I was half awake and puppies decided to chew my toes an ambush my legs as I was clearing away newspaper. I then thought I'd give them a wee drink of milk..... which just got tummies working and so there was a fair mess to sort in the morning.

Breeders wont tell you how much work there is to raising a litter. Its like full time cleaning up and tending to babies. There is an un-glam side to it all no matter how rewarding it is. Crawling about on a laundry floor at 3 am with puppies attached to your toes is not my idea of fun.

Anyhow. After breakfast in groups of 1 and 2's Alice and I took them all to meet sheep and cows. Cows are curious creatures and if they are not afraid of people will wander right up to have a sniff and check things out. The puppies just as eager and interested in what a cow is. We also hand raised a couple of pet lambs this year. PK and Dixon are always keen to pop their heads through the fence for a scratch so willingly oblidge in meeting pups.

Later today we do the short car rides. I will from here on take pups with me on short journeys, just in small groups so that they are used to the sound and smell of being in a car, and hopefully avoid travel illness. Some young dogs are prone to motion sickness when travelling, but it can often be avoided altogether if they are acclimatised to it early.

Catch you all later

Peta

348

Hello Puppy Watchers

2010-01-20T19:58:00.000-08:00

Hi All,

It is hosing down outside. We have had lightening and thunder for the last hour. The big inground water tanks we have are almost over flowing. You can not tell now, but this morning it was lovely and fine. Nice enough to take the Mistletoe pack outside for breakfast.

Here you can see Garfield. We all love Garfy - but his main job here is to teach puppies that cats are for being nice to, are not to be chased and are regular 'things' to have at a house. Dear Garfield tolerates pups and tells them off if they get too boistrous. The pay off for being Cat-Tutor to little puppy brains is he gets to lick the spoon and clean up after puppy breakfast.

At the moment the pups are on pureed fish, beef, egg and a quality dried food. Its all mushed together in a mini food processor called 'the magic bullet'. The kids scraped the last of the mush out with a spoon much to the delight of the pups and Garfield.

Your puppy will be well on the way to being socialised and tolerant of lots of things when he/she arrives at your place. They will be very used to children and will know what a cat is. Tomorrow we add flapping plastic bags to the regime. Daily they still have thumping, banging, and whistling noises to desensitise them. They also are about ready for a short car ride.

Pups were wormed today also. They dont think much of worming paste, I dont think it tastes very nice.

~ Peta

294

A bunch of pics

2010-01-19T23:35:00.001-08:00

These pictures were taken this afternoon and are of Uncle Onny and three of the pups. Little Santa, Vancy and Rosie played on the grass. The pups are five weeks old today.

262

Sound Condtioning

2010-01-15T23:31:00.000-08:00

We have started sound conditioning now... Puppies are daily sujected to loud bangs, machine noises, high pitch and low pitch, all manner of sounds to remove the startle reflex for sudden loud sound. Pups are not given sudden loud noises when they are looking at me or coming towards me. Random loud sounds when the are eating, sleeping and playing are important. They learn in the next two week period that roaring vaccum cleaners, hair dryers, washing machines, etc are normal and ignorable.

The day was sunny and fine. Almost an oddity as Otago has been in pretend winter the last few weeks. Cold enough to light the fire and rug up. But today was nice and all the pups were outside. The chance to meet the other adult dogs was utilised. Onny and Tango were facinated with the small dogs. It was quite funny.

Natalie Morgan from Vanaheim is coming over Monday to see the puppies. I am looking forward to this visit, getting down on the floor with the puppies and having a chin wag with another breeder.

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Eating Alfresco

2010-01-13T19:22:00.000-08:00

CLICK ON ANY PICTURE TO ENLARGE.

We ate alfresco today, 2 tables for four. Well, two plates of meaty puppy mush for four. First time puppies have been on the grass without a blanket under them. Got their little minds ticking along and then tentatively have a wee walk about. In a weeks time they will be dashing about over the same grass ambushing each other.

Photos....

150

Puppies

2010-01-12T21:00:00.001-08:00

Four weeks old tomorrow.... The little Baraholfe puppy pack... all eating solids and starting to trot and stumble about getting the hang of walking and attacking siblings.

081

Flat Batteries

2010-01-12T01:14:00.000-08:00

I need new batteries for the camera. This is the main reason I have not been updating the blog, as I have no pictures to post. Plus I have been getting my head around being targetted by a scammers determined to get their hands on a puppy to ship over to the US. Fortunately we twigged to what was going on in time. I have had a several odd phone calls since then and hang ups and it has not been pleasant. Another breeder in NZ works for the police force and is married to a cop so I have been running it all past them and getting some advice.

This aside, the pups are well and healthy. They are on solids now and enjoying food. I shall get batteries tomorrow hopefully and show off new pictures. :)

042

It is nearly midnight

2010-01-08T02:50:00.001-08:00

It is late and I have had a huge day... Tomorrow I shall update the blog with photos of introducing puppies to solid food. When I say solid.... it will be pretty liquid, but the next step in growing up. See you all mid dayish tomorrow

977

Day 21 - away for a walk

2010-01-05T20:50:00.000-08:00

Well we got here... Day 21. All puppies healthy and well. They still sleep lots, but are so much more active and noticing each other. Awake periods involve peering out of the nest lots.

My 18 year old daughter is home from Christchurch. She is away studying at College and flew home for a few days, going back Friday. We all clambered into the car and took all four dogs off for a walk up to Tigger's seat at Gabriel's Gully. Tigger, passed away earlier this year and some of her ashes are scattered up beside a bench where she often walked with us.

This is us arriving....

Melee running with Tango

My four daughters

Melee, Alice, Breezsha and Hazel

Tango, Onyx, Tommy and Possum at

Tigger's Seat.

This is the view of the gully from Tigger's seat

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Funny little growls

2010-01-04T19:38:00.000-08:00

It is so funny to hear them practicing growls and yips. Puppies thriving and doing so well. Pete (hubby) is enjoying them too. I know we have to enjoy them as much as we can, for they will not be here long. All puppies will be heading off to their homes between the 17th and 24th of February. That isn't very far away.

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Note of interest

2010-01-03T13:28:00.000-08:00

Peak Lactation for Possum is when the puppies are three weeks old. Currently she is putting away (every day) a kilo of raw beef and lamb, 4 or 5 eggs whisked up with 200 mls of full cream milk, & 500 grams of quality dry food to keep up with the milk demands of her puppies and maintain her own body weight and condition.

Name changes -

2010-01-03T12:58:00.000-08:00

To give you an idea of how many are likely to have name changes here is what we started with from our last litter (the Blackberry litter) and what they became known as

Jazz Sax

Skye Skye

Kiss Abbey

Thorn Thorn

Smoke Smokie

Gold Oskar

Pearl Smudge

But back to the Mistletoe litter - We are on day 19 heading towards Wednesday, day 21, This is the day their conscious mind awakens properly and they have the capacity of awareness that previously they haven't. The process for some starts on day 20 and I shall be watching closely to see which male and which female awaken first. I have my suspicions that it will be Peaches and Santa.

As their conscious mind wakes up a little spark occurs that we can see in their faces... we have seen these puppy faces a dozen times before but on this day they react to our presence and are actually looking at us for the first time.

So for today we maintain the twise daily touch conditioning and I start organising the puppy room. For now they have been inside, in their nest (whelping box) which is in a quiet end, carpetted, bedroom. Very, very soon this will be unsuitable. Day 24 I introduce solids and Possum will stop cleaning up their little messes..... So off to the puppy room they go. The puppy room is located outside in an outdoor building and has a hosable floor. It is insulated and safe. I set it up so there is a warm nest on one side and puppies will start coming and going from their nest and back again of their own accord.

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Naming the Puppies

2010-01-02T17:32:00.000-08:00

These are working names.... Names for us to use at home, because we need to call the puppies something. But also so you can follow who is who and not have to read 'large boy with tail' and 'small stub tailed girl' in descriptions on this blog.

These names are not likely to end up on pedigree papers being too like dogs registered in the past with the NZKC. Also most people like to name their own dogs (understandabley). .... here though for now is what the Mistletoe litter have been labelled ~

Girls:

Peaches The littlest tailed girl

Rosie Small chest blazed stub-tailed girl

Krista Large chest blazed stub-tailed girl

Vancy The lightest coloured girl with a tail

Boys

Puffin The next smallest puppy stub-tailed boy

Mopsen The very dark coloured no-tail boy

Santa The largest strong boy with a tail

Banjo Large chest blazed stub-tailed boy

Rosie and Krista are so alike as to be like twin girls. Only the size of their chest blaze is able to distinguish the two! Vancy is the very lightest in colouring and really stands out from the rest. Santa is strong and developing faster. He was the puppy first out of the nest and standing in the centre of the room one morning, he will be a puppy to watch.

Photos tomorrow.

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Surprise this morning

2010-01-01T11:08:00.000-08:00

I was surprised this morning by a single puppy out of the nest box, standing (STANDING) on all four little legs in the middle of the room. I surprised him too and he paddled towards me when he heard me come into the room. I took note of which puppy he was and popped him back into the box with his sleeping siblings. It is all going to get very interesting and busy around here soon with 8 little puppies growing up, becoming moblie and get around everywhere.

I had a grotty migraine yesterday afternoon which landed me in bed, and today I am slightly lightheaded with it threatening to come back so I am going to try and take things easy today as much as possible with four kids at home in the middle of the school holidays and a litter of puppies, plus four dogs that need some attention.

Some of you may know that I am also a New Zealand Wildlife artist and I am suppose to be painting at the moment for a commission (deadline mid January). So I may not post for the next couple of days....

It was sunny today

2009-12-31T23:21:00.000-08:00

CLICK ON THE PICTURE

Everything is on track. It was sunny today (& a little windy) and the puppies went outside on a blanket for a few minutes. Literally a few minutes. They are too small to do much with, but fresh air and changed environment creates mild stress which strangely is very good for little puppy brains.

Touch conditioning is in place now as detailed earlier. This is still very minor handling, they spend 96% of their time asleep in the nest or feeding off Possum. All is as it should be.

780

Day 14

2009-12-29T15:02:00.000-08:00

Well we are here.... And all puppies have open eyes :) Their ear canals are starting to open, but hearing conditioning isnt possible until they conscious mind awakens. They are a week away from true awakening (day 21). For the first 20 days of a puppies life they do not have a true consciousness.

However we can still condition reflexes that are managed via the spinal cord. We want to eliminate the pannus reflex. You may have noticed a dogs startle response where the cutaneous muscle over the whole body under the skin twitches? This needs to become inactive and desensitised to human touch. It is important to ensure that both men and women are involved in this process. Dogs that shy away from or are reluctant to be touched or handled by either men or women (whichever was missed out on in puppyhood) still have a fully fuctioning pannus reflex. No amount of training and work later in life will fully eliminate their aversion to being touched. It has to be dealt with under 16 weeks of age and the window of opportunity occurs between day 14 and day 28.

So today all puppies were taken outside on a blanket for approx five minutes to be iin the fresh air and sunshine. They are subjected to mild stress (different surfaces and temperatures, i.e indoor temp and outdoor temp)

Puppies are taken out in a wee case to the blanket in the sunshine.

Each puppy is handled individually for about two minutes each first by me, and then by hubby. They are touched (stroked) on their backs, bellies, each paw is handled gentley, each ear... and tail (if they have one LOL) and muzzle touched. Puppies are held gentley on their front and rolled onto their back and held a moment and placed back in the nest. This happens once today, once tomorrow and then twise a day till day 28.

Their teeth will start errupting from tomorrow, day 15.

All this may sound excessive and over the top. But truely the results of stable, bomb proof, little dogs that are confident, easily trained and people orientated is so worth the effort now. It is one of the reasons why we have advanced orders for Barahwolfe puppies. We are dedicated to and proud of the programme we run here.

737

Nearly Midnight

2009-12-29T01:51:00.000-08:00

It is nearly midnight and I am about to go to bed, I should have gone earlier. But thought I would upload a little bit of video of the little puppy having supplement formula. She refuses to suckle from a rubber/latex teat and so I have fed her with an eye dropper. Possum is mostly feeding her now, so hopefully I wil be able to drop the supplementing tomorrow. If she stays hydrated over night today will have been her last top up from me.

Studies of puppy electrical brain waves show that at this age there is no difference between their waking and sleeping state with brain activity, but this is about to change quite quickly. Touch conditioning starts tomorrow and I am looking forward to starting to make a difference.

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

732

Two Weeks Old Tomorrow

2009-12-28T12:42:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow the Mistletoe litter will be two weeks old.

This is the start of the Barahwolfe puppy raising programme. Sourced from experts and the advanced study of puppy brain development we take from here to the 16 week mark of a puppy's life very seriously. Puppies that have been through an intensive programme such as what these guys will be going through means that they will go onto to fullfill their individual character/temperament potential. With follow on input, effort and training from their new owners these guys will make wonderful family pets.

The raw material was to start with pups from parents that have good temperament and then shape this with socialisation and habituation.

The dam, Possum is a brave and courageous girl with a big heart. She is very loyal, alert and inteligent. She is ball orientated and needs people company. She seeks out cuddles and affection.

The sire, Kindle is a very confident boy that handles new situations outside his comfort zone very well. He is steady, predictable, reliable and easy going. Both Possum and Kindle are very good with children.

As a side note Kindle is also quite intuative which was recently seen with Possum's cancer. Possum has cancer of one of her mammary glands recently and when Kindle came to visit he nosed straight for the cancer and kep going back to sniff the area of the lump. I have oft read about dogs sensing cancer. But I have seen it with my own eyes now.

But I digress.... back to what I was saying. Kindle and Possum have a relatively high inbreeding coeffiiency rating. That is to say that they have 21% of their geneology shared on the pedigrees. However neither have health faults, both have clear eye certification and good hip scores. Natalie from Vanaheim kennel (owner of Kindle) and myself poured over their pedigrees and were very pleased to see that if we created a litter from these two that the highest contributing dog to their pedigree is Wallaby (Leesway man About Town). You can not do much better in creating a litter that expresses Wallaby in the puppies. This combined with the type of dogs Possum and Kindle are we knew we would have a very nice litter on our hands. Neither of us expected thirteen puppies however!! Eight is much more managable for the bitch and for me.

The raw material alone is not enough... If I was to pop these puppies with the dam into a cardboard box under the house or back shed and ignore them many of them would be fearful of people and end up with behavioural issues. Any breed or cross breed of dog would as dog development does not vary breed to breed. We do not need fearful, timid, Swedish Vallhunds in New Zealand. Problem dogs occur for one of four reasons:

1) Inherited traits (temperament type). This is like our personalities, being naturally shy, or naturally outgoing.

2) Lack of socialisation (early conditioning to humans and our lives). Dogs are still 99% wolf. Devoid of socialisation and you will see more undesirable wolf type behaviours than domesticated dog type behaviours.

3) Lack of training. You can take a nice well socialised puppy and ignore his needs for a pack leader, not train him, and provide a boring life and you will end up with an attention seeking problem that wants to lead the household.

4) Traumatic experience. A puppy that has been dropped, attacked, hurt or terrified in the 'fear imprinting' stage of his develpment, may never get over the experience and carry behaviours relating to this.

I am aware that there are other breeders interested in what we do here and in the spirit of sharing I will not be just informing and showing the puppies new families what we are doing, but will detail every step on the blog here. Take notes, email me, ask about what we are doing and why and I will attempt to explain it all. This is useful information for anyone raising up any litter of pups. We start very small as you will see and build up to the significant stuff. All which will be detailed and posted up here as photos and videos.

Tomorrow we start 'touch conditioning' - which I will write more about this tomorrow.

~ Peta

706

Big and Little

2009-12-26T23:43:00.001-08:00

This is quite a dark photograph.

I hope you can make the image out.

It is of the littlest puppy, with the biggest puppy.

LINK TO TRADEME ADVERT

Eleven Days Old

2009-12-26T23:27:00.000-08:00

One puppy has one little eye slightly open. A tad early, and consequently a bit of a surprise. Their time is devided between sleeping and drinking. My children, who have been raised to be good with animals are allowed, supervised, to be involved with the puppies.

Amelia had a chance today to sit in the whelping box and touch puppies and pat Possum. It lasted all of about 5 minutes, but she was stoked to be allowed.

The kids are not allowed to pick the puppies up yet. A wiggley puppy can escape a child's hold very easily and a fall potentially fatal. So it is just stroking and looking for now. :)

The Orange Tent

2009-12-24T20:28:00.000-08:00

The Old Orange Tent

Tommy, assists Alice in what to write in her diary.

You would be forgiven for thinking there were no other dogs at Barahwolfe for all the focus on the Mistletoe litter! But in fact there are four pooches over and above puppies that occupy our lives right now.Christmas Eve the old orange tent went up. Always a hit with the children. The dogs thought it an interesting occurrence too.

Christmas morning and Alice thought she would set up some deck chairs in the tent and write in her new diary, a present she had really wanted.

Lovely Tommy, the Imported English stud dog - just over 12 months and currently on loan from Valkrista kennel is a real sweetie boy. A total smooch who loves nothing better than hanging with the kids and being the centre of cuddles and attention

Then there is Onyx... or Onny as he is known (as well as Onny-bum, and Onny-Onny). Is new friend for Tango. Onyx is visiting from Vanaheim kennel, and is son of the gorjus Valkrista Paddy's Rune stone. Whom I have long admired. Onyx is 8 months old and a mischief we are all enjoying. He has a quirky sense of humour and a funny boy. Picture here is Onny and Tango on the left. Tango is our Australian import, smart, sharp as a whip and speedy. She enjoys Onny's company lots. Double trouble!!!

After Tango and Onny joined Tommy outside with Alice, it wasnt long before the Matriach herself arrived to inspect goings on and ensure we were all doing as we should. She didn't visit long though after a grizzle or two she scurried off to find her puppies inside. It is interesting to watch her behaviour. She likes and is tolerant of the boys outside but if they dare put their heads inside she gets very grumbley with them. Mrs Mama is very protective of her puppies.

While all four were in the tent I snapped these pictures:

Top left ~ Tango

Top right ~ Onyx

Bottom left ~ Tommy

Bottom right ~ Possum.

Merry Xmas...

2009-12-23T21:18:00.000-08:00

We hope you all have a lovely day tomorrow.

One Week Old Today

2009-12-22T12:47:00.000-08:00

The Mistletoe Litter are a week old today. YAY!

The little puppy is doing well, but I am not assuming she will definately make it at this stage. But today we have eight puppies and are celebrating this! I am now getting up to the little girl three hourly so I feel a lot more human. LOL. I have to go to Dunedin today for the grocery shop and Xmas shopping. I am leaving a teenager here to let Possum in and out of the house and mind her with her puppies.

But Peaches has to come with us... which means a hot water bottle comes too and formula supplies etc. Should be an interesting day taking an infant puppy with us. Not ideal, but she can not be left behind.

Photos later today...

P.S. My very, very, home sick daughter (18) phoned last night in a bit of a mess. She wasn't going to be coming home this Christmas, and work through the period instead. But she had hit rock bottom and I picked up some air tickets for her late last night. She flys in on the 28th and goes back 5 days later - I haven't seen her since August so I can't wait.

The Mistletoe Litter

2009-12-21T21:32:00.000-08:00

We have also named this litter the Mistletoe litter for obvious reasons.

Today little Peaches has done pretty well. She weighs in at 175 grams now!! Not bad for a starting weight of 112 grams. She is being fed 10 mls of formula every 90 minutes and I do not know how I am still functioning... LOL.... At the end of her feeds she is popped on to Possum for a little 'real milk'. All her brothers and sisters are around the 325 - 350 gram mark.

I took a wee video today of them all - just so you can see how fatty they are getting. The first two photos though are of Peaches on her own having a wee drink. The video if of the Mistletoe pack and at the very end we pop Peaches in with them, as you will see. You can see she is little but quite strong and a bit of a fighter. It is this tenacity that I hope gets her through.

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Zombie

2009-12-21T12:55:00.000-08:00

I am a walking Zombie... LOL. Having slept in one and a half hour slots and gotten up in between to boil a jug and make formula for a puppy called Peaches, who by the way is still with us! She even....(and I am being graphic here sorry), pooped this morning. She had not all day yesterday and I started to think she had a malformed or blocked bowel. In which case she could not survive. However today she oblidged. With food going in and waste going out - maybe she has a chance. She has also put on a little bit of weight.

The other puppies are all fine as far as I can tell. I am barely involved with them now. I have backed right off as they are all able to get on teats and compete for and knock each other off teats with equal ability. Possum is capable handling it all.

I honestly knew I would be tired for the first couple of days, but had no clues that 6 days in I would be still this shattered nursing a wee puppy.

Photos later if I am not comatosed somewhere.

Peaches

2009-12-21T03:41:00.000-08:00

Its nearly 1 a.m. Peaches is alive, and has fed well. Alarm set for 2.30 a.m.

Fifth Evening

2009-12-21T01:21:00.000-08:00

As we go into the fifth evening the littliest puppy is still here. I have been feeding her regularly but she doesnt seem to be doing well. It will be a long night and I don't expect her to be alive this time tomorrow. In fact chances are she will pass away tonight. :(

The fatty puppies are happy in a heap with their Mama.

Last little puppy...

2009-12-20T18:29:00.000-08:00

Still concerned about the little two puppies I stayed up till 3 am. I feed them both formula at 1 am and again at 3. I slipped them with Possum before going to bed and set the alarm for 6 am. I have been concerned for these two as even with feeding off Possum and being supplemented 1 is not gaining any weight and the other minimal weight.

Well I was up at 6 am and the first thing I found was Cooper had died. Three hours was all I left him for... but, he wasn't thriving despite assistance. I have uplifted the second little puppy and completely removed from Possum. As there are seven bonny

puppies that are thriving and growing well she no longer needs them rotated.

I am feeding the last little one every 90 minutes. I dont hold out much hope unless she starts to grow. But I shall do my best. Possum is MUCH more relaxed with her out of the nest. I am certain that a bitch knows when puppies are not going to make it. They usually smother them, turn their backs on them or remove them from the nest. It sounds so cruel, but it is natures way.

Here are two photos. One is of the fat seven. The second shot is to show you the difference between one of the thrivers with the last little puppy. The little puppy just weighed in at 141 grams and the puppy beside her is 275 grams!! almost twise the size and weight.

I have five confirmed orders for puppies. Five families watching this blog... Plus I intended to keep a bitch puppy and I have a breeder order, subject to their 8 week assessment. That is seven puppies we ideally want from this litter.

* sigh

Antibiotics

2009-12-19T20:12:00.000-08:00

Tom has been and gone. I really appreciate having a country vet 7 minutes away. He is very good and dropping and coming instantly! Such a contrast to some of our other vets locally. A major clinic down the road (25 minutes away) have an answer machine for an after hours service and they are impossible to get a hold of often. My neighbour had a horse in laour and having problems, she phoned them and they were too busy to help. She lost the foal.

Anyway...........Tom says we have caught the infection in the early stages (yay). Possum has had a jab, and starts antibiotic tablets as of tomorrow. She should feel a lot better in a couple of hours, and gain her appetite back. I am to leave the puppies on her to keep her in milk... and most of her teats are uneffected. But I can supplement them a little.

Vet visit

2009-12-19T19:52:00.000-08:00

Quick update while I am waiting for the vet. Possum has gone off her food... There is $20.00 worth of diced raw beef sitting looking forlorne in the bowl by her wehlping box. She had turned down other food earlier in the day... but beef being ignored? Then I checked her over and discovered she has an elevated temperature. Investigating further I have found she has halved her milk production and has mastitis in two teats (not comfortable).... So the vet is popping around to hopefully confirm all this and set her up with antibiotics.

Ideally you don't want puppies on milk that has antibiotics as it destroy all the good gut bacteria that they need. Which means...... *sigh....... I shall be very likley handfeeding all of them formula till her infection has cleared and hopefully still maintains her milk supply.

Just when I thought we were clear of the woods!

99% WOLF

2009-12-19T17:35:00.000-08:00

Domesticated dogs have the DNA still of a wolf. 99% of their DNA is identical. I am a strong believer in understanding and allowing animals to express natual behaviours. Altough Possum has a very nice modern (if not budget) whelping box with soft furnishings... it just isnt a REAL puppy den. You know an earth one that is created with a great deal of digging and snuffling in the dirt.

Instinct is a powerful thing and on taking dear Possum out for some fresh air she realised that the one thing she forgot was to dig a puppy den. So set about digging frantically. Rather than stop her I just let her do her thing. I dont need her feeling frustrated and pent up with energies and ideas unfullfilled. So we spent 25 minutes patrolling the whole perimeter of the section scouting for danger and puppy killers. And once we established that all was safe(ish) she threw herself enthusiastically into the business of making a decent sized hole in the ground. With one sort of scraped out there was another thought that maybe a second den would be a good idea if she ever needed to rescue the puppies away to the safety of another hidey hole. You know, in case puppy killers found the first den. Better to be safe than sorry....

(P.S. Please do not think your puppy will become a perpetual garden digger. Possum normally doesnt dig on the section. This really was hormones and instinct in full swing!)

Having gotten the urge to create a puppy

den out of her system she was

back inside to snuggle down in the

cardboard Chalet with her little ones!

Pups are doing ok, most really thriving. There are only 2 now giving me some cause for concern. They are not putting in weight at the same rate as the others, are still so wee and needing a bit of support. The rest are away with a hiss and a roar, healthy, active and drinking with a purpose :) I will post again tomorrow

~ Peta Dowle