Category Archives: Puppy Development
Gemma
~All is Well
She loves her stuffed birds
We are all doing great since our little girl came home to us! We are calling her “Gemma”. We just love her; and she and Susse get along great. No accidents in the house at all.
She loves to play inside the house and outside. She is a fast learner – knows her name and the command “Here” already. Oh, and she loves to chew!
Breeder Comment
Thank you for your concerted effort to get Gemma off to an excellent start. Of course, you are an experienced Weimar family. She is in good hands. We hope to receive news of her and Susse’s antics as they become co-conspirators of the best kind.
Meanwhile
~In Idaho
Thought you might like a 12week (almost 13) update on our out Henry!
He’s amazing. He loves to play fetch and so good at the return. He is learning and listening so well. Still mastering the potty training, but great as long as we are paying attention! He’s such a funny pup and so smart! He is able to play hide and seek with toys and people. He’s catching on so we’ll to words we use. He is obedient to sit, stay, lay down, come and ‘outside’ (our word for potty!) He has even mastered wiping his feet when he comes back in, on the rug…. For a treat of course! He has grown SO much and going to need a bigger bed soon!
Sorry some of the pics are blurry! He’s not still for long! ~Jill and Clint
Breeder Comment
Hello There–we are so happy to hear from you. Just look at what is happening, you are doing great things. We cannot be happier to hear the news and to these photos. Thanks ever so much!
Every Breath You Take
~ Sounds Like
I often wonder how we do it. You know–raise a puppy. We bring the little bundle home and hover over them. It is essential to do the hovering thing–otherwise, how can you accomplish the housebreaking, etc.? But this obsession with our new fur baby runs deep–some of this never goes away.
Their every sound–a rattling, a snore, a hacking sound is cause for alarm. We watch breath-abated wondering if we need to run to the Vet. Ah–it is hard to know sometimes. We always suggest you wait and watch a bit–possibly take their temperature. Remember that a pet’s temperature is much higher than ours–typically around 101 degrees. Anything above 104 degrees is emergent. Of course, if you were monitoring their temperature and it was 102 degrees and then within an hour 103 degrees, there might be cause for alarm. Always err on the side of caution–but rushing to the Vet for everything is probably not necessary. In fact, your alarm will be internalized by the puppy increasing the stress-factor. Try to stay calm.
A lot–and I do mean a lot, of our concerns, are for nothing. Puppies can cough, they snort, the sneeze, they can reverse sneeze (something we recently learned), they choke, and create a myriad of noises. Many of which are concerning. Most of which are in the end nothing at all. Thank goodness.
Keep your eye on them. A pup can ingest something in quick order–so despite saying not to overreact, there is vigilance. Recently, Henri went under my recliner and came out with a packet –that must have been attached underneath the chair. We didn’t realize it was there, but Henri found two–probably toxic packets. Oh my gosh–it is good we heard the crackling sound and asked what she had. We retrieved each package and tossed them in the trash. Thankfully they were not broken open.
To Wait, Or Not
Nancy Shares Her Thoughts
~Spaying and Neutering
To wait or not to wait, that is the question! The current thoughts dictate that it is best to wait until your dog is a year or older to spay. Well, we all want what is the absolute best for our fur babies. They say wait, ok I’m going to wait which means going through at least one heat cycle. Let me tell you going through a heat cycle is not an easy thing, not for the owner or the dog! If you don’t have the time to monitor your pup 24/7 for at least two plus weeks then you should spay before a heat cycle begins. We have let both of our girls go through a heat cycle before spaying. I don’t remember much about Luna’s cycle, but Tikka’s is fresh In My mind!Once she started bleeding it was two and a half weeks of dripping, two and a half weeks of not being able to go potty by herself (we have fenced property, but when it comes to breeding nature finds a way!) , two and a half weeks of being kenneled when we leave the house, two and a half weeks of not getting to go out due to her “condition”. My girls hated the bulky diaper things you can buy for dogs in heat so for Tikka … Victoria Secret panties (modified a bit!) with a panty liner seemed to be the most comfortable 😊When she finally stopped bleeding I realized that it wasn’t just miserable for me, she seemed genuinely happy to be done with that too, she didn’t understand the changed handling or the change in the way she felt, it was difficult for all of us.I would say if you don’t have the time or patience to monitor your pup 24/7 to prevent an unwanted pregnancy then it might be best to spay before the first heat cycle.
Breeder Comment
This topic is often heated–even Veterinarians may disagree on when it is ideal to alter your pet. It is not a topic we want to discuss–especially when it comes to the female. We (Cliff and I) feel the ideal time to alter your Weimaraner might vary from person to person. The hormones do play an essential role in the growth process. Proponents talk about waiting through the first heat-cycle–when that might happen can vary. We like to suggest you hold off a bit–altering around 8 months and sometimes waiting until they are about a year old. The growth plates close sometime between 12-15 months. A male can produce a litter around eight months. Some females show little evidence of being in heat, while others bleed profusely–it can be quite the challenge. Possibly, thinking about as timing rather than the heat cycle would help some of you.
Honestly, many are better off altering their Weimaraner around eight months for the reasons Nancy mentions. We won’t repeat what she has already said. The idea is to alter them around six months. We suggest you consider all the facts and then discuss your options with your Veterinarian of choice. Thank you, Nancy, for sharing your thoughts as well as the experience.
Luna
Joined her family
~ a few days ago
Thank you guys for the followup emails as we get going with the new pup.
This is all great. I got her chip registered this AM and she’s on the DN puppy food you recommend — the online Chewy.com shipping option looks nice for future reference. So thank you.
We also have a Vet appt next week and we’re so thankful for the clearly outlined vaccination protocol you recommend. We’ll work with the vet to get this completed without the unnecessary workups.She’s been a blast so far and kennel training has been a breeze. What a joy to have around!Thank again and we’ll be in touch. -Michael and Michelle
Breeder Comment
At Six Months
Updating You
~Loki’s Adventures
Now that spring seems to finally be here Loki and I are having all sorts of adventures. For the last month or so I’ve been working on introducing Loki to water. First, it was getting his toes wet, then the ankles, and so on. I’ve attached a video from this evening— we headed out to the lake after work. Needless to say, we’ve come a little ways from not getting our paws wet. You may notice the cord on the bumper— sometimes Loki needs to remember that the game is retrieving, not keep away, but the water work has seemed to really help this. Also great insurance in case he doesn’t go for it, so I don’t have to swim.
Other adventures include hide-and-go-seek at lunchtime on a trail system near my office. It’s a great game for anyone to play to help their pup remember to check in on hikes, but with Loki, in particular, we want to develop the idea that he can use his nose to find people. When we’re out on the trail, I wait until he gets just a little too far ahead of me, and I hide in the bushes next to the trail where I can still see him. He is quick to notice that I’m no longer in sight, so he runs back down the trail. He usually goes past me until he hits my scent (in the air), and then he usually works the scent cone back towards me. When he finds me, we enthusiastically play with his favorite toy.
Another new thing is teaching Loki to pull me on my longboard. I keep it short and easy so as to not stress his joints, but it’s a great way to practice verbal directive commands. And to take the edge off the wiggles!Loki is also turning into quite a camping dog. Last week was his first tent camping adventure in Glacier National Park over Memorial Day weekend.The two pictures I’m sharing here show our work on the down-stay (he’s not tied in either). You can see the drool starting to come with the cheese! That’s what happens to those who attempt to counter surf. He got no cheese.
As always, we constantly incorporate sit-down-stay-heel-come into our daily routine. The heel is finally taking hold— at least 50% loose-leash on a flat collar, and his off-leash heel is almost better. The red harness he’s wearing in the picture is his working harness and includes a handle to help keep him safe on the chairlift. We are working on associating it with good listening and lots of fun search games.
Anyway, I can’t believe he’s 6 months old already! It has gone so fast. ~ Erica
Breeder Comment
Looking Ahead
Cliff and Winnie have been in the farm pond already. Cliff wears hip waders, and sometimes he records the swim with our GoPro. I still take the individual videos of each pup’s first swim. Of course, the prospective owners love it.
Eventually, most folks attempt to get their Weimaraner in the water. Some are more successful than others. Regardless, anyone willing to be patient and work through the process can get their Weimaraner to swim. We believe this shows you how natural it is and at the same imprints the experience on the pup’s psyche.
It won’t be long, and we will be swimming pups. Just so you can see kind of what we do, here is last year’s first litter swim of the year. We sincerely hope you enjoy it!
Pushkin
Roadtrip
~Coping with Excess Energy
Pushkin and I are preparing for a long road trip to Arizona to move my mother into an assisted living facility. Once that has been taken care of we are going on to the Chaco Canyons of New Mexico. It is the oldest Anasazi site in the U.S. In preparation for the trip to Arizona, we took a trip from Salem to Kennewick to see my grandchildren.
What I learned on the drive was that we had to stop quite often, not because Push had to “potty” but because he needed exercise. Once he was out of the car and we walked for a bit he settled right down when we started up again. At every rest stop, someone would comment on what a beautiful dog he is. I have attached some pictures for you. The man is my son, the children are obviously my grandchildren. I am not sure who that white-haired old woman is, could it be me?😏
What a great dog he is!Marie
Breeder Comment
How Important is
The Fetch
How Important is it to achieve the recall? The retrieve. The Fetch. Combined with the essential rock-solid recall it is a thing of beauty. Exercise is easy and fun–for both you and the Weimaraner. The Fetch-addicted Weimar can be eased into the water retrieve. The benefits are nearly endless.
When should you begin? There is no time like the present. The earlier you achieve the recall and have the pup retrieving–the better.
Jeff writes, “Toby loves to fetch!”
The Last for the Year
At the Nielsen Farm Pond
We promised an OwyheeStar client who is getting one of the Atti X Boone pups that we could swim the pup before they depart. Any promise is subject to being derailed by circumstances beyond our control. Mr. Winter could push in and steal the stage. He has already made it evident that he is intent on an early arrival. We didn’t get snow; however, other not so far away places did–Cotton Mountain for one. The forecast has been for a warmer fall, and we hoped for the Indian Summer weather that we love so much.
The icy temperatures departed, and the pups came of age. Isn’t it grand when the stars align? The pond filled and despite the straw-like trim that floated around the edge it made for the perfect opportunity to get the swim accomplished. The last induction to water for the year. We don’t have access to an indoor swimming pool.
We love adding the puppy swim to the list of early life experiences. Nevertheless, many OwyheeStar Weims swim without the benefit of this imprint experience. Therefore, folks getting a winter pup should not fear their pup won’t take to the water. In fact, any Weimaraner can become an excellent swimmer. Some are more natural swimmers than others. It takes knack and patience. The right setting also helps you achieve the swim. A love of the retrieve is an invaluable tool. If you are patient and keep working on this discipline, we have no doubt you will achieve a positive outcome.
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