Why you should NOT give your dog rawhide...

Guinness Pups

Momma Guinness is doing the job of feeding and Grandmomma Juno is doing the job of cleaning.....

Why you shouldn't use the 'dominant down' maneuver on your dog

Although I like Cesar Milan's theory of dogs being the ultimate energy readers and responding to that energy, I am not a fan of the assertive-submissive approach to relate to your dog.    Personally I have no desire to dominate my dogs by being assertive and demanding submission.  In any case, they know I am 'pack leader' - I control all the resources and the things they love.  I control their food, their treats, when they go outside, when they go for walks, when they get snuggles.  They know.  Below is an interesting article about the 'dominant down' maneuver that Cesar uses quite regularly and why this is not an appropriate tool for training your dog.

http://www.petmd.com/blogs/purelypuppy/lradosta/2012/nov/using_the_dominance_down_on_dogs?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=Email&utm_content=20121107&utm_campaign=PurelyPuppy-The-Dominance-Down#.UJsH4sXR7yA

A training philosophy I really enjoyed reading about is that used by Jennifer Arnold of Canine Assistants.  Her book "Through a Dog's Eyes" is an interesting read.

Guinness's pups at 2 weeks

The eyes' of Guinness's pups are now open and they are learning to walk.  They walk around aimlessly and look like bumper cars as they seem to move in no obvious direction, hit an obstacle (another pup), and turn around and head another direction.  They grow so quickly, they almost look too big to be nursing from little Guinness.

Wow, we are about to become VERY busy....

All our girls that are to have Fall/Winter litters have decided to cycle within a few weeks of each other.   Eclipse was mated with Spirit on October 25 and is due to have pups on December 23.   Hershey will be mated with Kodiak this weekend, November 9/10 for pups in early January.   And now Aurora has started her cycle and will be mated with our Zip (or maybe Spirit - can't decide!) around November 19 for pups in mid January.  Still waiting on Juno, but I expect her to start her cycle any day.

Guinness's pups are now a week old!

Eclipse and Spirit have mated!

Eclipse and Spirit have had two successful matings.   The pups are due around December 22 and will be ready to go to their new homes around February 20.    They will be 20 to 25lbs at maturity and will come in a range of marking sets, all in chocolate.  We expect chocolate/white parti, chocolate/tan phantom, and chocolate/tan/white tricolour.