puppies-blog

Area searches

Sat, 10 Mar 2012 19:25:47 +0100

I have made videos of each of the puppies doing area searches for their food bowls.
The game is very simple. Their bowl with some food in it is hidden in a slightly rough area of the garden where the grass is a little longer and we left fallen leaves, twigs and even the odd branch or two lying around to help hiding the bowls. In theory there shouldn't be any other animals there, but today Waldi escaped and was running around (he knows that he is not allowed to come and do the search though), Priscilla the cat decided to check things out, albeit from the top of the fence post and Obi ran up and down the fence behind the camera. So the puppies had to work really hard.
We have been playing this game for about 1 week now, and they love it. Chanel initially was particularly good at it. In today's video she is still the quickest by far, but both Nina and Lacxi show that they really now what they are doing. What is nice to see is even when Nina was badly distracted, she kept focus and kept going.

We are playing this game as a precursor to future nose games of all types, which all my dogs love.

Puppies on their own Balancing Dome

Sat, 10 Mar 2012 18:11:16 +0100

Pyreneans are smart, you probably gathered that by now. However, they are truly smart as this little video will show you. Those of us involved in dog Sports, particularly Agility and Freestyle are constantly looking for things to improve our dog's balance and body awareness. Well these puppies have just invented their very own "Balancing Dome". This is a shade net dome which we place loosely over a small fish pond to keep the tiny Jackaranda leaves out of the water. Often bees come and drink from the pond and occasionally get caught under the net. The puppies think this is their very own "Playstation" and "Balance Ball" rolled into one. Unfortunately I didn't get any of them trying to catch the bee, but you can see the bee in some of the footage. Whichever, even just climbing around on the dome is great for their little bodies. You can see how the net gives under each little paw. And of course because they invented this themselves they are having a ball. We can't keep them off the net.

Pierre has gone to his new home

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 18:57:49 +0100

Pierre went to his new home today. For people who frequently breed this may not be such a big occasion, for Anthony and me it was terrible. We have been on tranquilizers since yesterday and despite the chemistry I was crying my eyes out ....still am.
And yet, this is such a wonderful story.
When the puppies were about 4 or 5 weeks old a friend phoned to ask if she could come for a puppy fix and some "puppy breath". Well, of course. When she arrived she sat on the floor in front of the puppy pen and I went to open the gate. I explained that 1 of the puppies is very cautious and will sit and check things out and then come and join, whereas the others will just come running out. No sooner had I finished the sentence, as Pierre - the puppy who was supposed to sit and check things out - came running out of the pen and jumped straight into my friend's lap and remained there. I was quite speechless. We both laughed and I told her that she has a new dog. She laughed it off and explained that with a very sick husband this was not the time for her to get a puppy. It was a friendly, joking conversation, nothing more, but the puppies behaviour was seriously out of character.
4 days later she phoned me to ask if she could bring a friend to see the puppies - of course - the more people the better.
I was still busy in the kitchen when they arrived but told them to go and let the puppies out to play, I would be there in a minute. When I came into the room, my friend was quite white. She said the same thing had happened again. Pierre came running to her, jumped into her lap and sat there.
We all went away with our own thoughts.
My friend phoned me and asked if the puppy would be available and if I could give her a few days to think about this, as she did not think this was the best time for a puppy in her life, but she felt that Pierre really chose her. Not wanting to sway her either way, I just commented that perhaps a puppy is *exactly* what she will need to get through this year.
A few days later she decided she was taking him.
She came to visit at least every second day. Brought blankets with her other dog's scent on them, cat beds with her cat's scent on them, toys, dog food and lots of time playing with Pierre. She also brought her 2 dogs over so Pierre could meet them on his home ground before moving in with them. He was always happy to see her.
When she arrived today to take him home, we were all in the kitchen. As she came into the kitchen he went running to her and lay on her feet - he was ready to go to his new home.

He is a fabulous puppy who got an amazing new owner. He will have a wonderful life with her and she will have the most adoring friend in him. Good Luck little Pirri

almost 9 weeks old and ever so cute

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 20:30:40 +0100

The puppies are almost 9 weeks old. In many ways they are so big already, but in many ways they are still such babies. Our biggest problem is that Lollie still wants to feed them and it is a battle to create a good puppy-raising-environment, with mum around to teach them about life and yet keep her away and supervised enough that they can't drink from her.

Lollie overseeing things

I believe in a ballanced life for puppies, where they learn from everyone in the household - humans, cats, the environment and of course the other dogs.
Here Pierre is trying to convince Chippy to part with his toy....

Hands off my toy ...

I can't resist taking pictures of their cute faces, which start to perfectly reflect their little personalities.

Ms Innocent herself. Needless to say that she is anything but ...!

Pierre - the best puppy you could wish for. Simply a "Teddy Bear"

And This is Lacroix ... the jury is still out on him. He can be a little devil with his sibblings, he is Lollie's favourite, although it is him she most often disciplins when they play too rough. He can be very sweet towards us humans and often comes for a cuddle, but he can also occupy himself with "important" things, at which times humans become less important in his life. He is of course just totally cute ...

And Princess - well she is as cute in character as she looks. The smallest by quite a bit, she makes sure she gets what she wants by just being cute :-)

the puppies play and play and play ...

Cutie-pie and Lacxi

Chanel, Lacroix and probably Pierre

Chanle and Lacxi discussing how best to prune the remainder of the plant they used as a toy substitute
And just as suddenly as the game began, they all fall into a "puppy heap" to sleep.

A typical day

Sun, 22 Jan 2012 08:11:41 +0100

The past week just seemed to have dissapeared. The puppies are taking up more of my time, as their waking hours become longer and I am trying to fill their expanding minds and increasing body awareness with ever new little challenges.
A typical day starts at about 6.00 am, after I made myself a cup of coffee, I open the "jail gates" (at least that is how the puppies think of their puppy pen ;-)). I still need to help them get to the outside quickly, before the bedroom carpet receives all their early morning body functions. But even that is getting better every day. Early morning is typically an exploration and play time outside the bedroom door, where we have a series of very low steps interlaid with white large pebbles. There is a grassy slope on one side and of course lots of soil and flowering plants around. I think it is one of their favourite spots. between Lollie and Cassie they have dug a nice hole in the ground and the puppies love to further excavate it. And there are always leaves, twigs, seedpods or other plant parts that they find to amuse themselves.
It was interesting to observe how their co-ordination has improved over these past days and how they have become increasingly confident and able to manover over the steps.

Lacroix on "the steps"

After the morining romp they are allowed a bit of semi-free time in the bedroom while I clean up their pen. Anthony usually supervises further while I prepare the puppies' breakfast, which they get "served" in the bedroom patio. This is their private jungle-gym. It is a fully enclosed small patio planted with succulents off the bedroom. There is a small tiled section and lots of pebles, rocks, soil, plants for them to play in and learn.

Like many dog oweners and breeders, I believe that the best way for puppies to learn and for their bodies to develop is on their own account in challenging, but safe environments.
It is lovely to watch each puppy tackle obstacles in their own way. Chanel will "jump first, ask questions later" ;-), whereas BB (who will officially be known as "Pierre Cardin", or Pirri for short) will tackle things slowly - one foot at a time. Lacroix (HB) usually follows without thought, as long as one of the others are in front and little BG (Anthony and I have still not settled on a name for her :-(), has her moments of wild abandon and sometimes she likes the comfort of a human to watch and "think" a little before romping in anyway :-).

Lacroix trying to eat the wooden step

The situation is totally different when mum is there. the puppies follow "blind" where mum is leading.

So, they will have breakfast in the patio and then stay there on their own for some time. At this stage they are usually getting tired and mostly sleep.
At around lunch we have started serving chicken necks and they are an absolut hit with the puppies. It keeps them busy and provides nourishment for some time.

They come into the puppy pen for a siesta. It has been very hot here lately and in the pen we can provide the best climate controll for them.

Late afternoon is back into the "big" garden, where I take them into a new corner every day. Different plants, different footing, different noises, different light. These sessions I also split them up sometimes - one alone, or only 2, sometimes 3 and one has to remain in the pen. Then they get rotated. The "pack dynamics", even just between the 4 of them is most interesting. We always finish by having all 4 out. Anthony and I sometimes have drinks while watching them play. The other dogs, cats and if it gets late, even the ducks are always around and the pups have received the odd "clap" form the cats to teach them to mind their manners and keep their distance.
Lollie is still very protective over them, so we humans have a "juggle act" between allowing the puppies to learn, keep mum happy that her babies are safe and keeping the other animals happy and encourage them to interact with the pups.

Lacroix playing with Waldi

Chanel and Lacroix both trying to follow Waldi up a small wall

Pirri watching the fish

Then there is some more food and late evening is cuddle time and grooming time. One on one.

In between all that we have daily visitors and if there are no visitors the staff have to come and play with them. If I see that they are wide awake and up to an additional play session they get that during the day too. And of course whenever I walk through the bedroom I "just watch" or play with them for a little while :-).

The pictures below were taken during the course of this week.

Lacroix

BG portrait

BG

Pirri our natural retriever

"It's mine!"

Sisterly love ...

... can be deceptive

First Official Photo Shoot - perhaps not front page yet

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 19:53:39 +0100

Yesterday was a very exciting day for the puppies and a totally new experience. Johann Theron of the Animaltalk Magazine came to take pictures for an article they do that features Pyrenean Sheepdog (among other breeds). He first took action shots of Chippy, followed by a few portrait shots of Lollie and then lots of puppy pictures.
This one Johann posted on his facebook page this morning :-)

Johann wanted some action shots of the puppies running across the lawn together and suggested Anthony hold them and I call them across the lawn - remember they are exactly 5 weeks old! I doubted very much that that would work with such young pups ... I should have more faith in my babies :-) ....They didn't just have one or 2 races, but a whole bunch of them - even though one or 2 sometimes did "detour" ;-). I was so happy with their little reacalls - 5 weeks old and being called away from another person to run a good 5-6 meters to where they were called!
However, the action shots would be the "easy" part of this afternoon. The hard part was to get the portrait shots. After all, how do you tell a puppy this age to" sit "pretty", sit still, prick your ears, look interested and look at camera, but most importantly - "stay" exactly where we left you. As you can see from the picture, even this was not too much to ask :-). It seems Wesavi dogs come "pre-programmed" ... :-)

They all did sleep very well afterwards ;-).

It was great working with a professional animal photographer. Johann knew what he wanted, but he also knew how much he could expect from the dogs, especially the young ones.
As soon as the article is out I will post it here.

Puppies starting to play

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 19:02:01 +0100

The puppies are exploring their surrounding and learning to interact.
These video clips were taken last week when the puppies were not quite 4 weeks old.

Pyrenean garden outing, Jan 12

Sat, 14 Jan 2012 09:11:53 +0100

We had mum Lollie, granny Quincy, uncle Chippy (Lollie's brother) and of course the puppies in the garden together.

They definitely are starting to develop little identities.

Granny loves to play with the puppies and Lollie is getting more and more relaxed about it (previously we had to "sneak in" some time without Lollie knowing about it ;-))

The boys like to have some time together - BB, HB and Chippy

Even Chippy's toys are interesting (most things qualify as toys for Chips, this was a stick he brought along to play with). Just look at BB's coat how it has grown, and what a lovely ruff he already has :-).

and when Chippy moved, it was time to follow (I admit, I have a total "thing" about Pyrenean butts - they are just too cute, don't you think? :-))

BG heard that we have a nursery, so she though best to start early and offer some help

.. no, its not a mole, I promise, its a puppy ... :-)

Chanel in the meantime worked out that what we actually have is a flower business, so she thought she would check those out rather than getting her pretty coat all dirty like her sister ...

And each one is trying hard to find their niche as future competition dogs.
Chanel clearly is going to be a freestyle star - she is already practising her "wave"

... or was that "hide your face"? Well, then lets try the "wave" again ...

BG clearly sees herself in the breed ring

If BB is practising his Agility, maybe someone should tell him that "lengthwise" across the bar is not required ..

And Lacroix? Is he going to be our tracking dog?

Puppies are moving to "real" food

Sat, 14 Jan 2012 08:40:54 +0100

I am reporting that the puppies have “discovered” real food and I couldn’t get their little faces out of the dish this morning :-).

This is quite an achievement, as I have been trying to get food, other than Lollie's milk into them for some time and they were just not interested. I have a fairly good imagination and I tried everything I could think of - singly and in combination. But bar a few polite licks, I had firm decline on all my "cooking".

This story is not as rosy as it sounds however. I am in serious depression and have decided to no longer operate the kitchen ….

Yesterday was an overall hectic day – just one of those that hit us from nowhere occasionally. I was in a rush and growled at my husband that *he* could also do a few things occasionally … (well, you know how we all sometimes have *those* days … well *I* have those days ….). Anyway, he said I should tell him what to do (- phew, not the right thing to say either, he should *know* … Ok, so you get the picture of my general state of mind yesterday ;-)). I told him to try and give the puppies some food. He needed to be told “how” to cook the porridge, how “much” yoghurt to add, “which” dish to use … sigh. Anyway, next thing he calls me to come and have a look.

There he was feeding the puppies tiny strips of *ham*, which they gulped down and he couldn’t supply fast enough !!! I was speechless and was about to say that the salty ham can’t be good for them ….., but I did manage to bite my tongue in time ;-) and was very pleased to see them eat with such enthusiasm.

I had tried *everything*, I mean *everything* that one would normally feed a puppy. Of course “ham” wasn’t on that list, I mean who feeds ham to a puppy??? ;-)

This morning I started with ham, which they devoured, then moved on to cooked chicken breast and raw rabbit mince and as I said HB never took his little face out of the bowl, followed by BB and the girls tucked in too, if a little less greedy.

I think Lollie will be pleased when the suckling stops and she can get back to being a working dog, although in the past few days she really seems to enjoy playing with them, something she has not done before (video, I know, video ... :-))

First single outing by Lacroix

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 14:21:53 +0100

Lac is a lot less adventurous than his sister Chanel. This is today's portrait

and this is his "uggly face"

this is a "full body shot". By the time he had his head up, he was in motion again. I will keep trying to get a "show stance" shot :-)

He rather has things "come to him" than him going and finding things to do. So when meeting Waldi, he just sat there

If you have read Chanel's blog entry earlier, in the following picture Waldi really seems to say "Are you going to kiss me too?"

Like his uncle Chippy (Lollie's brother), he gets hot very easily. Of all the puppies, even the black ones he feels the heat the most, and it has been *very* hot here lately despite the rain and thunder storms we are having.