Kjempe

We have a another fun Wildflower update but first, Sparkle and Claire from this morning…

Mariya sends us this report on the puppy formerly known as Paintbrush:

“It probably goes without saying that I couldn't be more pleased with Kjempe and how well he is doing.  Loving, social, smart, fun, curious, and just a sensation overall.  As I had hoped, we can't go anywhere without some social interaction, as everyone loves a Berner - especially a Berner puppy.

We are so busy these few weeks.  As Mary-Ann knows, Kjempe is about to have a new home...we are moving to a small acreage North of town, and life has become a maze of pathways through boxes, piles for donation, and piles for the dump.  While the animals don't quite understand yet, they are about to have a LOT more room to play!  I know I can't wait to be fully transitioned :-)

Kjempe starts puppy school this Saturday.  For the most part, I pat myself on the back that we are ahead of the game on our training.  We have sit, down, stand, paw, shake, touch, "watch me," leave it, heel, "check in," crate, and all of the little things like - "out of the kitchen," sitting before he gets his meals, getting his toenails dremmeled, and sitting at the door to take his harness off, or get his tootsies dried when they're wet.   The most important training for me, at this point, is simply averting his attention back to me when another dog or person really has his attention...(I mean...really has his attention).

We are finally old enough to make it to the top of the ridge behind the house - see pics.  We entertain the other patrons at the breweries and the park.  We have a bestie named Howard (Portugese water dog) who comes over here - and shares treats and toys.  Funny enough, whatever Howard liked/played with, becomes Kjempe's favorite thing for the next few days.

The temperature has finally cooled in Colorado - with crisp, cold mornings and gentle breezes in the afternoon.  It has made a big difference for Kjempe who does not like the heat (neither do I).  We are excited for FALL and WINTER - which many of you know Colorado had an early touch of winter last week.  Kjempe loved the snow!

Following suit - he is going to be a lap dog.  

Things he loves:  other people, especially Karen, my nieces, his vet; playing fetch and tug, his tug rope toy, squeaky tennis balls, his Fox toy, his snuffle mat, bison & beef bones, ME :-), his cat brothers, the cold bathroom floor, carrots, his crate, riding in the jeep with the window open, breweries and coffee shops (me too!), freeze-dried chicken hearts stuffed in a kong, any cat toy he can find, sneakily chewing on mulch (so glad the new place does NOT have mulch!!!)

Things he is not so fond of:  Peanut butter, cauliflower, carpeted floors, bully sticks, loud aggressive barking dogs on the other side of the fence (who is?).”

What a wonderful, happy report — thank you, Mariya! Best Wishes to you, Kjempe, and the cats on your move.

Kitsap

Yesterday was a busy day and so our Wildflower Updates got interrupted— oops!

One of the many things we did was a veterinarian appointment for Harper B for Best Senior. Her ninth birthday is coming up soon and so it was just a routine check-up — all bloodwork is perfect, as is Harper. YAY!

And now we resume our regularly scheduled Wildflower Updates with a check-in from Bridget and Kitsap:

“Kitsap spent his 4 mo birthday doing his favorite things, eating, playing and sleeping.  We started with our weekly play date with Hasley, an English Springer Spaniel Field type, who is great about only playing as hard as his play partner.  Chase, tug with a toy, checking out the frogs in the frog pond, digging together in the dirt, and just laying next to one another catching their breath were part of the activities of the hour.  After such hard work a solid nap was in order until it was time for second breakfasts and more naps before a late afternoon walk.

Earlier this week was one of those moments as an owner that you love.  I came home from teaching, Bob had just given Kitsap a meal and he was eating voraciously as I walked in the door.  He came running over to the edge of the x-pen tail wagging so hard that his entire backend was wiggling, whimpering with excitement to greet me.  You know you have bonded with your puppy when you are more important than food.

Kitsap continues to grow like a weed.  At his appointment Thursday at 17 weeks and 2 days, he weighed in at 42.2 lbs, either he is going to be a big boy or he is an early grower.  Still Dr. Scamahorn and I think he looks great, one can easily feel every rib and when we look at him from the top, there is a clear waist line.  He’s quite tall, like Posy, long lean legs.  It is fun to watch him grow, one day his back legs grow and the butt seems high, then a day or two later the front legs catch up and the back line is perfectly flat.  Another few days go by and I notice the torso has lengthened and everything looks in proportion again.  It is a bit hard to measure because he wants to checkout the tape measure by putting it in his mouth, I think he measures about 18” at the front shoulder.

He loves the come between his two humans game.  With treat rewards on offer, sit, down, stay, turn and switch, come front, tunnel, circle, spin, figure eight around my legs, touch, and crate are all reasonably consistent.  Nearby we have two flag polls conveniently positioned and we have started working on the obedience figure eight in small bits, we go around one pole with Kitsap on the inside, treat, then do the other pole with Kitsap on the outside, and treat again.  He naturally loves to walk along side me in a wonderfully attentive heel position. We aren’t naming it particularly just encouraging and praising the presence when he chooses it.

Many students and colleagues ask to see how he is growing and so he often gets up on my lap for part of a Zoom meeting.  Many have commented about how big his paws are.  My hands are perhaps slightly smaller than the average adult but not much, still his front paw fills my palm. 

He has an entire yoga routine that he performs as he goes down the stairs in the morning on our way out for the first time.  He continues to keep his lungs and vocal cords in good shape for the Montana puppy choir, singing in excitement, demanding with strong woofs if one isn’t responding quickly enough to suit him.”

Thank you so much Bridget — for everything. I am glad (sort of) to hear that Kitsap is also practicing to be a soloist in the Montana Puppy Choir — this litter likes to sing.

What's Up, Buttercup?

Buttercup’s update was actually sent to me early — and got buried under emails. Sorry, Buttercup!!! Here is her fun update:

“As we approach the 4 month mark Buttercup is 31.6 pounds and almost 18" at the withers.  She has that baby colt appearance of being "all legs".  Her adult coat is coming in on the stomach area first.  The fur on the stomach is very black, shiny and straight.  Her fur on her back is wavy almost to the point of being curly.  It's still puppy fur though so that may change. The end of her tail, where the adult fur is unwinding looks like an exploding cigar.

She's lost eight deciduous teeth (milk teeth) four on the top and four on the bottom.  The tooth loss starts in the front middle (top and bottom) and moves toward the back.  I can't wait for the canine teeth to fall out (i.e. "fangs" - isn't every tooth in their mouth a canine tooth? :-)  Those will be next.  Fun fact: Dogs have 42 teeth that's 10 more than humans.   I have found at least one tooth from almost every dog I have owned.  I keep them in a baggie with the name of the dog and the date.  Most of the teeth that I find are the premolars (P1-P4).  Those are the "mountain range" looking ones and I usually find them by noticing that the puppy is rolling something around in its mouth.  Most of the puppy teeth are swallowed.  Hopefully I'll be able to snag one of Buttercup's baby teeth as well.

We've had very unhealthy (even dangerous) air quality for a couple of weeks because of the forest fires in Oregon and California. It looks like super dense fog, only it's toxic.  It even blots out the sun and makes it as dark as twilight all day long. I've only been letting the dogs outside just to potty, then right back inside, which has been difficult.  They don't understand why they can't go outside and play as usual.    Needless to say, we haven't ventured very far from home but we did go to our swim lesson this week and there was a marked improvement.  On our way there we stopped to take a photo of Buttercup-the-small-fry getting caught by a fish.

Buttercup has reached the housebreaking milestone of asking to go outside to potty. (She bonks the bells hanging on the door) Yay!!  We've been diligent about taking her outside every couple of hours, whenever she wakes up from a nap, and after every meal and thus she hasn't had an accident in a long while.  Now she tells us "I need to go outside, please!"

A friend wrote to me and asked what Buttercup's "call name" was.  She knew that her registered name was Kaibab's Kindhearted Buttercup CGC TKN.  I told her that we kept the puppy name Buttercup (which I usually make even longer by calling her "Pup, pup, Buttercup") but that there wasn't a good nickname for Buttercup.  I've thrown out calling her Butt for short or B'cup.  HA!”

LOL! Not sure if it is worse to be called after a tushy or a bra size??? Good thing Buttercup is so easy and fun to say. Thank you so much to Georgia and Patty for this wonderful and happy answer to my favorite question (see post title).