Day 57 A.M. & P.M.

Mary-Ann Sontag July 22, 2020

Gone are the Cuddle Days of Summer — the Land Sharks have arrived with a vengeance and I am completely outnumbered.

Puppies speak a very different language than we do; their language involves teeth. The assault on my pajama pants is not bad behavior — it is a Bid for Connection in the language of a puppy.

Keep that term in mind because if we correctly translate the language of a puppy, we will behave in ways that foster and support engagement. A person who responds to Bids for Connection with negativity will have a puppy who stops trying to engage.

This does not mean we accept the teeth in our shins because trust me — they are not very good at grabbing just the pants. What it means is we correctly interpret the intention (Bid for Connection) and respond to that with redirection and engagement.

Prevention is also important and I have two ideas for this.

First, don’t wait for the puppy to make the Bid for Connection — initiate engagement with something you deem suitable. For example, hold an appropriate toy and let the puppy chew while being petted or play a very gentle game of tug (gentle being the operative word and keep puppy head level or below her shoulders).

Second, get the chews out first by giving the puppy a bone or a bully stick, for example, before starting human time. I feed breakfast, and then let them have chew time — this makes the start of the day easier for all of us.

It strikes me that Puppyhood is a chance to put our commitment to honoring Diversity to the test. After all, expecting a small baby puppy to only speak our language — and not their own — is a wee bit ethnocentric, wouldn’t you say?

Life with Dogs — an opportunity to appreciate and live with differences.

Video HERE

EVENING PHOTOS

Clarkia learns about Gravity…

Good Night, Friends.

Day 56 A.M. & P.M.

Mary-Ann Sontag July 21, 2020

Dear Husband arrived in Salt Lake City safely and on schedule, delivering the two puppies to Eden at about 6:00 a.m. — luckily, Eden lives on eastern time so it was 8 to her. The trip was an uneventful as possible given that they are eight weeks old and likely wondered WTH was going on.

Mariposa is now Kadi and happily with Eden — photo later, I hope.

Paintbrush was quickly with his new human, Mariya; his new name is still be decided. Look at how happy Mariya is!!!

Marija just checked in and they are about halfway back to Ft. Collins — things are going well. Eden’s flight back to North Carolina leaves in a bit.

And so now there are seven…

Yes, it is hard and sad but I cannot think about that right now as I have to focus on the puppies’ transitions and helping those go as well as possible.

Sage is ready to jump into his new life, but it is not clear yet if that will be west or east of Montana.

Buttercup is the litter’s Busy Bee along with Clarkia — not hyper! but always ready for fun and VERY smart. She has to be in an experienced working home that will give her smart brain an interesting life.

I don’t think people always understand what a difference it makes to breed Berners with attention to working ability. The working titles around a dog matter — they are the evidence that a pedigree produces working dogs. The Wildflowers have a working dog pedigree — not a pedigree combined to create slow, dull, couch potatoes.

How a puppy is raised also matters a lot to future aptitude. An eight-week-old puppy is not a blank slate — I cannot say that enough. Nature and Nurture combine to create a foundation that is just starting to bloom at eight weeks, which is why it is hard to assemble the puppy placement puzzle until almost the last minute.

And after over 25 years in the breed and with dozens and dozens of titles on multiple dogs across generations — my own and those Kaibab dogs who are out there excelling with their wonderful humans — I like to think I do a decent job of not just talking about the working ability of my dogs, but proving it.

How a Berner bred to work is different from those with less attention to working ability is maybe one of those things one cannot know without experiencing it but trust me — there tend to be differences. This has implications for puppy placements.

Nothing matters more to me than ensuring the right homes for my puppies. This means I use my expertise and experience to assess puppies and people, and make the best match I humanly can.

And so Buttercup will be with someone who is experienced with working Berners and who will embrace and maximize her potential — it just has to be that way, for the sake of Buttercup.

She is the next to leave later this week.

This hose toy, which is part of the structure, is a great example of an awesome social toy — but a terrible idea for one puppy.

If one puppy had her way, she would happily chew small pieces from the cord and the hoses. Managing puppies is all about making sure they do not kill themselves, I assure you.

But with multiple puppies it is a keep-away toy, and so it is safe — as long as I am watching, of course.

Another example — Buttercup was playing with this ball but then settled in to chew it — so I snapped that photo and confiscated the ball, trading for another toy.

Daisy is doing just fine with the two missing puppies — I think she understands they are ready for their own lives.

I included this photo of Sage so you can see that some of the puppies are starting to show a gray puppy undercoat. Soon some will look as if they have been sprinkled with powered sugar. The adult coat comes in very black — it is just a puppy coat thing.

Nope — I still have not picked my puppy.

Have a wonderful and amazing day!

EVENING: PHOTOS FROM THE DAY

Eden and Mariposa/Kadi have arrived safely at home in North Carolina — hopefully we will have photos tomorrow.

Meanwhile in Montana, the fun continues…

Good Night, Friends!

Day 55 A.M. & P.M.

Mary-Ann Sontag July 20, 2020

Busy morning and so please enjoy THIS video — more this evening.

Evening Report

I took all nine to their veterinarian today for well checks. Clarkia served as an assistant…

All puppies are healthy and well — no issues at all. As you can imagine, they were a Big Hit.

And then it was home for more playtime…

…and naps…

Brace yourself, Team — the Wildflowers are about to begin scattering. In just a little bit, Night Owl Dear Husband will begin his drive to Salt Lake City with two puppies.

Tomorrow morning Paintbrush will be meeting up with his new human, Mariya. Together they will head off for their many excellent adventures in Colorado.

Mariposa will also be traveling on the Red Eye to Utah. She will be meeting up with Eden Jonas and flying to North Carolina where she will live happily ever after with Eden, Chuck, and her Aunt Jannu.