Learning Opportunities All Around

I just got an email this morning with the subject, "blog, blog, we want the blog" and that leads me right into what I wanted to talk about today. Carol asked me what I have learned from this litter and I have been thinking about that for a couple of days. I do not think I have all the answers at this point, but it is an interesting question and one I appreciated.

The first thing I learned was from all of you. Since early September I have written almost every day. I have never imagined myself as a Blogger -- and what a funny term that is -- but I learned that people appreciated the chance to experience the day to day life of a litter, and so I wrote -- and write. About four weeks ago I looked back over all the posts I have written and it numbered over a hundred. It occurred to me that by writing a page a day, I had essentially written a book.

I have long had plans for a couple of books on grief, but could never really find the time or energy. But because of this Blog, I realized that I could easily write a page a day and that that those pages accumulate rather quickly. And so about 3+ weeks ago I started my first book with a goal of a page a day, and I have diligently written almost every day. My dad suggested I start with an outline so I did that, and am just writing through the chapters I outlined -- I am up to thirty pages, which is 60 book pages! The working title of the book is, "Beyond Cookie Dough and Kleenex: A Practical Guide to Surviving Grief."

And so the first thing I learned -- thanks to you all -- is that I could write a book a page at a time. I do not know exactly what to do with it when I am done, but that is tomorrow's concern -- today all I need to do is write a page :)

I have learned other things as well from this litter. I am reminded of my tendency to take on too much -- two litters in the first semester of a new job in a new place is crazy. Once again, I have to say how grateful I am to Galen!! And I am struck by my inability to do important things part way -- I take a lot of pride in doing this puppy thing as well as it can be done. I am sure it would be easier and less stressful if we did it differently, but instead they are now the central feature of the living room and our lives (thanks also to a very patient husband!).

I am challenged by the idea of having six dogs of my own, and have really reflected a lot on how I can do that and do it well. I am reminded by this litter that my husband is very supportive and tolerant, not only because he is living with these puppies but because he supports me in my decisions about this crazy dog thing. I have again learned that puppies are such good community builders, and that dogs are excellent bridges between people; it has made me excited about the idea of doing a private practice specializing in grief and using one or two of my dogs as therapy dogs.

And finally (for now), I have learned that the goal I set so many years ago is starting to be realized. As you all know, I really do not enjoy the puppy placement process. When I got Abra and knew I wanted to breed her, I set a goal of making my dogs and therefore their puppies known and desired by good people who wanted a typey, working dog. I believed that if I did that, I would have better home choices for my puppies and so I have worked very hard to show that I have exceptional dogs who are producing exceptional puppies -- and that I am breeding with integrity. As a result, my puppy placement options are exceptional and I really realized that with this litter. I cannot take all the credit -- I have been very blessed to work with excellent and ethical stud dog owners, and with really wonderful puppy owners. But that I have been able to realize this goal set so many years ago -- thanks to so many people -- is something I really learned with this litter.

Okay, that is enough for now -- I know you are ready for some adorable puppy pictures! I literally just took these pictures before I started writing this morning so they are truly hot off the digital camera :)


This is one adorable face -- Whitby.


And so is this -- Toronto.


Here is Toronto and Sydney having a showdown.


The showdown continues...


You have not seen cute Sutton in a couple of days -- here he is.


Jamaica is starting to look disheveled as she gets more fur, and in this picture she looks sleepy and peaceful -- looks are deceiving!


Ireland is really a pretty girl and a lot of fun.


Hudson -- what can you say?? Grandma Trish says WOW.


Geneva is many people's favorite now -- she literally follows you around asking to be picked up. She is very small and so cute.


And once picked up, she is perfectly content to sit in your lap and watch television, like she is doing here with Galen.

We will resume meeting families tomorrow but my question to you is this: what have you learned from this litter?

I hope your day is one of insight and integrity. Thanks for your visit.

Puppy Fun and Meet the Heintzberners

Silver and Gold -- you are a smart bunch! The first one to correctly identify that the title of the Blog referred to old and new friends (from that children's song) was my daughter, Nicole. Her prize is to keep the two orange kittens she went to Montana to get!!! Aren't you glad you were not the first one to guess (Carol, Cali, etc.)? Can you believe that Nicole does not want her prizes?!

I spent yesterday morning at the vet with Halo -- my Utah vet is so wonderful. I stayed with Halo during all the pre-op blood work and etc. and until she went off to surgery. I sat in the waiting room and worked on my laptop while she was being spayed, and as soon as she was done I went in the back to sit with her as she woke up. It took about two hours until she could walk and then we came home! She is doing just fine and it was less stressful for Halo and for me because I was there the whole time.

On the way home I called Elizabethanne to set up a time when the poodle cousin, Chase, could come and play. It just so happened that it was the same time that all the kids were walking home from the school next door, and so we once again had quite the crowd. One person -- an adult man -- asked if Chase -- a boy poodle -- was the mother of the puppies!!!!! Hmmmmm.... The puppies had a great time playing and visiting with their poodle cousin and all their fans.


Although there was snow, it was a warm day -- maybe 45 degrees. This is Whitby enjoying himself -- doesn't he have a pretty profile?


Sydney remains almost as big as the boys, and probably a little bigger than Sutton.


This is cute Sydney again -- she sure looks like Cadi to me. Sydney is really not half poodle -- she is half pit bull -- when she clamps on, you just about need a crow bar to get her off.


All the visiting and playing wore out Toronto and Whitby, who took advantage of a sunny step to take a nap.


This is one of our visitors with Geneva.


Jamaica is quite the lovely girl and so much personality!


Here she is again, taking on the watering can!


Handsome, hunky Hudson striking a pose.


Galen says this picture should be on a Christmas card or something -- a visitor with Jamaica.


That poodle cousin can run like the wind -- the puppies knew they could not keep up so they stood and watched the speedy poodle.


Chase did try to talk the puppies in to chasing him: "Hey puppy cousin, my name is CHASE -- get the hint?!"


In addition to their expertise as paper shredders and ear/nose piercers, the puppies now offer a glove removal service.

You can certainly see that everyone at the impromptu puppy party had a good time :)

Let's meet our next family -- here is John with his family's first berner, Kirby:



John is all grown up now and -- with his wife -- is ready for a berner of his own. John is the son of one of my very dear friends, and will be a second generation to have a Kaibab berner. Here is the intro for the family I think should change their name to Heintzberner:

"Hi, we are John and Kristine Heintzberger and we are very excited to be the new parents of a Glitterati puppy. We plan to pick up our new addition just ten days short of our second wedding anniversary. At this point in our lives we have no children and both work near our home in Salinas, California. We have spent the last year re-landscaping the yards at our house, inclusive of a new large lawn in the backyard that is now established and waiting to be broken in. We are very lucky to have many family members from both sides nearby, and all are anxiously awaiting the arrival of our new puppy.

Kristine works several miles from our home as an accountant in Salinas. She has worked there five years, since graduating from St. Mary’s College in Moraga, California. John is employed as a plant breeder for Paragon Seed, and spends most of his time in his truck and outdoors in the fields around the Salinas Valley. He has worked there six years, after graduating from U.C. Davis with a degree in Plant Biology. He’s sure he and Mary-Ann could have in-depth discussions on the similarities and differences between breeding dogs and lettuce plants!

Kristine married into a BMD family. She has grown to love Bree and Grace (John’s Mom’s dogs) over the past couple of years. She also began to follow the F-litter blog daily, and since has been asking when we could get a dog. Their gentle nature, and puppy pictures, have lured her into wanting to grow our small family. John, on the other hand, has grown up around many dogs (among other four-legged creatures) and remembers their first BMD, Kirby, who came to the family when John was four (Kirby lived 12 ½ years). Then John’s mom, Cindy, met Mary-Anne and the rest is history. She has since had a puppy from each of the A, B, and D litters [Kaibab’s Anniversary Cruise (Cruiser), Kaibab’s Bumper Crop CGC, RN, NDD (Bree), and Kaibab’s Deep Devotion CGC, RN (Grace)].

You can probably tell by now that there will be no shortage of love and care for our new puppy. We admire the disposition of these great dogs, and also their history as helpers on the farm. We plan to carry on the tradition as we learn to train our puppy and support her as she grows to fill her inherent potential. She is already enrolled in puppy classes with Suzi Bluford in Carmel, California. We can hardly wait to fly in and meet Kaibab’s Glamorous Sky (Mika), named in honor of Kristine’s Japanese heritage (Mika, which means new moon, is a famous Japanese singer whose top single was called Glamorous Sky)."


Here is John all grown up and shopping with Kristine for puppy supplies. We are so excited to have a puppy going to live with John and Kristine, and to be spoiled by Grandma Cindy :) Is the name pronounced like Mike-a or Meek-a?

Is someone spoiling you today? I hope so!! Thanks for visiting and have a perfectly fun day.

Silver and Gold

The puppies had a fun afternoon yesterday. We live next door to an elementary school, and I like to use the kids going to/from school as training opportunities. I had Zoey out to practice being friendly at the fence as the kids walked by -- she did great. A group of little girls were just enthralled with her and since I had run out of cookies for Zoey, I brought out the Glitterati and invited the girls in the yard to visit them.

One thing I just love about puppies in how they build community. This Blog is a great example -- I love reading your comments to each other! Complete strangers find a way to connect, and suddenly the world is a little smaller :) This happens in our yard with every litter. I saw it again yesterday as one neighbor who stopped in to see puppies met another who had come in to the yard with her grandson. People who would have never had the chance to know each other develop relationships over puppies, and it has helped make our neighborhood even more neighborly.

And so the puppies met 11 new people yesterday afternoon as they frolicked in the yard. It is very fun to share the puppies with kids, and to watch how both the kids and the puppies interact with each other. Visitors included two shy girls I have never met whose mom stopped her car and let them out to tentatively approach the fence. I invited them in and they had a wonderful time. Two year old Damien had puppies trailing him around, and that was really cute; they were amazingly gentle with him.

After over an hour in the yard, it was time for the scheduled visiting time and Kathy, Cali and Kate arrived to find tired puppies -- Kate's favorite! So the puppies had a busy afternoon of new friends and old friends of all ages, and they did just great :) Let me share pictures from their adventure in visiting:


Here are two of the girls who stopped on their way home from school -- they stayed almost an hour, giggling and trying to attach names to the correct puppy. Geneva was their favorite, but they were most impressed that we have a Rock Star!


This is very handsome Toronto exploring the yard -- I think he is also a very good looking boy and can hold his own with Hudson!


Geneva was very happy to see her Aunt Kathy, and immediately came to say hi and get a kiss.


Kate just got contact lenses!


It is a good idea to keep your hair up when visiting, but Kate forgot the other important thing -- keep the puppies away from your head!


There was peace summit in the yard -- representing the girls is Jamaica. Toronto represented the boys, and they met with Hudson. The puppies decided that they were all cute and that collectively they were even cuter so they agreed to get along -- what a relief!


Ireland, relieved to learn that all puppies are cute, decided to practice looking so.


Hudson knows there is plenty of admiration to go around (but he gets his share!).


Hudson and a fan.


Geneva showing why she is Kathy's favorite.


Cali still favors Jamaica, who really is a lovely puppy! Two different people used the word, "spunky" to describe her yesterday :)


The puppies appreciated getting to know someone more their size.


Whitby thought Damien was quite interesting and made sure to follow him around -- isn't that a cute picture?!

Finally, I have permission to share this post from the Berner-L -- it is from one of the best trainers in our breed, Vilma Briggs:

"I havent seen the movie yet [Marley and Me], but I heard that they give a promo boost to that Cesar Millan. Icko!! What a shame, when there are so many GOOD trainers out there. Ones who use real behavior modification.

Cesar is a smooth talking Hollywood fellow who even the veterinary behaviorists at Tufts University state "is taking dog training backwards 20 years" with his heavy handed training methods. While his advice on things like increasing exercise is reasonable, he is one of those outdated trainers who still jerks dogs around on choke chains and goes on about "dominance" and all that "alpha" nonsense.

If you want to learn about dog training from an entertaining TV show, skip the so called "Dog Whisperer" (even if he does have that sexy accent) and instead watch Victoria Stillwell on Animal Planet in her new show "It's Me or the Dog."

She is from Great Britain and now living in Atlanta. Not only is she quite entertaining, but she uses POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT based training. She does not use fear and pain to get the desired behavior, as traditional trainers did years ago.

Victoria bases her training on rewards, not punishment. She is much more humane -- and also much more effective, IMO."

I sure hope nobody jerks you around today! And remember -- everyone is cute in their own cute way -- even you! Thanks for visiting and we will resume meeting new families tomorrow. And who can figure out why I used the title I did for today's post? A prize to you if you can!

Visiting Hours

Visitors are welcome today (Wednesday) from 4 - 5:30 p.m.

Halo gets spayed tomorrow so we will need to take Thursday and Friday off from visitors.

Saturday -- visitors are welcome from 2 - 4 pm

Sunday is when Eden arrives -- all are welcome to join us for a discussion of puppies at 4:30 and then out to dinner at 5:30 or so.

Heidi -- this is plenty of notice so start driving!

Who Needs Sleep Anyway?!

If Joan were a real friend, she would have reminded me more strongly that I swore off breeding berners after Halo's stressful delivery. But instead she allowed me to go ahead with Cadi and next thing you know -- not enough sleep for over four straight months. This is all Joan's fault -- I should make her take Jamaica!

The puppies are actually doing relatively well at night and sleep until 3:30 or 4, and then are willing to go back to sleep. Unfortunately, after letting all dogs out to potty and sitting up while Cadi nurses so I can let her out of the puppy pen when they are done, my brain is not so willing to return to dreamland. I suspect the sleep deprivation is part of nature's plan, just like the adorable faces that help with puppy and baby survival -- if it wasn't so hard to have all these puppies, we might do this more often and never let them leave! So while I am not happy they leave in 1.5 weeks, I am looking forward to sleeping again! Any one who thinks having a litter of puppies is fun and games needs to spend 24 hours at our house this week :)

But yes, they are extremely adorable -- more so than yesterday! Joan came over last night and can verify that both Sydney and Toronto have been secretly watching the movie Jaws. They sit there, looking adorable (that part is very not shark-like), and then launch at your face! It is like a snake strike, only less graceful and more fluffy.

In contrast, Geneva finds the warmest lap and settles in to nap and look especially adorable. And Jamaica now has competition from Ireland, whose bark is even more shrill! Yes, life with eight puppies in the middle of winter is an adventure!

In addition to Joan, her husband and two of his work colleagues stopped by last night. One them was holding Hudson, looking at his face and said (and I quote): "oh, you are very cute -- and you know it." The other puppies looked at each other in a knowing way -- Hudson may need to go in to isolation for his own protection!


Toronto is also a very handsome boy, and as Joan said, he is all boy!


Sydney wonders if this look is enough to have someone say she is cuter than Hudson?


Don't be fooled by sleeping puppies! They look sweet and innocent but are very much like what Kate's dad says about her: cute but evil! This is Toronto and Hudson.


Joan, having gotten wise to the plan, protects herself from Sydney's evil but cute plan.


Sigh -- Hudson on a slipper.


Did you have one sibling that was so good s/he made the rest of you look bad? In my family, it was my sister, Christine -- and she is still amazingly nice and wonderful -- sigh. Anyway, in this litter, it is Geneva -- she is our Christine.


Here is one of our visitors cuddling with Whitby.


And another visitor getting help with her zipper.

Okay, time to meet another Glitterati family! I got an email with the subject: Desperately Seeking Versatility Berner and that was how I met Barb. I appreciate cleverness, and so Barb and I communicated about what she wanted and what she offered and so on, and now she is getting a show girl from this litter! Barb is the one who endured 16+ hours in the car plus one speeding ticket to come over for a few hours to meet us this past weekend, and we are excited to have her join our Kaibab family. Here is her intro:

"We are Barb and Keith LeTourneau from Leadville, Colorado.(We are only 30 miles from Frisco, Colorado where Jon and his F litter puppy Homer live!) I am a surgery nurse and Keith is a water technician at the Climax mine. We have 5 grown children, 2 Berners age 4 and 4 1/2, and 3 cats. I am enclosing a picture of us at our land in Walsenberg, Colorado where we hope to retire some day. [note from M-A -- I couldn't get the picture to upload but it is lovely!] We live right in the Rockies at 10,000 feet. We get tons of snow 300+ inches-great mountain dog climate. This is a dog friendly place- the dogs know all the shops downtown that give treats. We hike and snowshoe with them and in nice weather take them swimming in Turquoise Lake. We work opposite shifts so someone is always home-good for puppy training.

We are interested in drafting, obedience, rally and just working with our dog. We also hope to show the dog to a conformation title in pursuit of a versatility dog title. We worked with one of our other dogs in drafting and got a CGC until he was sidelined by several orthopedic surgeries. He is still a happy dog and goes on two walks a day with us.

After spending over $10,000 on orthopedic surgeries I became very interested in researching breeders who kept thorough records on their dogs health. I spent a lot of time going to shows, talking to people, reading the Berner-L and surfing the Berner-guarde data base before coming to the conclusion that Mary-Ann was my #1 choice of breeders. I wrote to her thinking I would maybe get on a list and be lucky to get a dog in a couple years but fate was on my side. She has the all around Berner that I was looking for and is willing to let me live my dream of getting a versatility title. My husband is my constant support in this.

I got to meet the puppies last weekend-they are ALL gorgeous and I would be happy to have any one of them. They were very interactive-Galen let me into the pen and as I sat down they all woke up and rushed over to climb on my lap. I really enjoyed just watching them play and snuggle with Kate, Cali, Aiden and Kate's other girlfriend. They are very well socialized. Jamaica and Hudson both barked like big dogs! I was excited about them before but now that I've met them I can't stop talking about them and am counting the days.

We are still working on a G name which do you like best??

Glory of Love
Goin' Up the Country
Gold Rush in Silver City(Leadville is called Silver City, Cloud City and Oro City-so it could be gold rush in any of those-I thought it was glittery)
Great Spirit
Good Luck Charm
Guardian Angel
Great Divide
Goin All Out
Gonna Have A Ball
Greatest Show on Earth

Those are the top ten--maybe you blog readers can tell me which you like??

Thanks,
Barb"

Okay, I will set up a poll for Barb's name ideas and please vote!

I vote that you have a G for Great Day -- thanks for visiting and being part of our Glitterati community!

Danger Ahead -- OUCH

These puppies are getting very dangerous - visitors are warned to wear protective clothing! Taking this morning's pictures was quite the adventure and I was not disappointed to see them all start getting tired :) Even sweet little Geneva was getting her bites in. I plan to go to PetSmart today and stock up on new chew toys as apparently they are bored with the ones they have and think I am delicious!

But they are truly so adorable and very, very cuddly -- even when attached to one's flesh or clothes. They enjoyed their chicken smoothie this morning and seem to be getting the hang of this eating thing. They are very playful and I hope the weather warms up a little today so they can play in the new snow. They will also be having some visitors today so it should be a full day here at Puppy Central.

Let's look at pictures and then meet the next family.


I took this last night -- it is all eight puppies and that is Hudson looking up.


This is cute, disheveled Whitby.


This is Whitby and Jamaica having a conference about how to take down Hudson, who already inspires jealousy wherever he goes.


Toronto is also ready for advanced obedience.


Sutton continues to find dinner plates very useful.


Now we move on to the girls -- here is Sydney running from Ireland, who wants that very valuable empty plastic bottle.


A close-up of Sydney -- isn't she cute?


Yes, that is indeed someone's tail in Jamaica's mouth! At least she isn't barking!


Ireland.


Geneva.

I emailed Kay and Sue some time ago and offered them a boy from Cadi's litter -- Sue has been ready for some time but Kay politely declined because she still has two wonderful Kaibab boys that keep her busy. Here is how I imagine this went down -- every morning Sue would get on the Blog (and before the Blog, check her email for puppy pictures) and say, "Kay! Look at these pictures!!! Aren't they such beautiful puppies?! This went on through the E Litter, the F Litter and finally, the G Litter.

But Kay resisted day after day, until one day appeared a lovely picture of Kate and Hudson, and Kay's resolve melted. I got an email letting me know that there had been a change of heart, and I was THRILLED.

Kay and Sue will be getting a show boy that we will co-own. Sue will spoil him, Kay will train him, and I will beam proudly -- a perfect arrangement!

Here is the intro from Kay:

"Hi everyone. My name is Kay Morrow and I am happy to say that my friend, Susan Norman, and I will be bringing a Glitterati boy home to Phoenix, Arizona. We both work out of our home so will have plenty of time to enjoy our new pup. Sue works as an interior designer with her own design business. She also teaches an interior design class at Arizona State. I work as a graphic designer for a publishing company and, in my spare time, like to play with, train and show my dogs.

I acquired my first Bernese, a female, in 1984 after seeing a photo of one in the AKC breed book. The Berner in the photo was not only beautiful but also had a kind expression. After I did more research, I knew it was the breed for me. Since then, we've shared our home with six other Berners, all males. Over the years our Berners have earned 3 CH's, 6 CD's, 3 CDX's, 1 UD, 1 TD, 3NDD's and 1 RAE. Two of my boys also did therapy work in nursing homes. We've certainly had great fun, traveled to numerous places and met many nice people on our dog adventures.

About nine years ago, I contacted Eden Jonas in Colorado seeking a sound and healthy puppy with working ability. She referred me to Mary-Ann and we were lucky enough to get a puppy from her A litter. His name is CH Kaibab's Above Suspicion CDX RAE NDD (Riley). He is my second BMDCA Versatility Dog and is now 8.5 years old. Riley would like me to mention that he is also a professional model because he's so handsome.

In addition to Riley, we have his C litter nephew, Kaibab's Cruising Together CD RA (Dillon), who is 3 years old. He is also Cadi's brother and therefore an uncle to the Glitterati. Dillon is currently working on Open obedience, drafting, tracking and rally so he keeps me busy. I suspect Dillon will enjoy having a puppy around to play with.

Each Berner I've lived and worked with has been different and had their own personality. All have been a delight and we look forward to getting to know our new pup as well as the other lucky Glitterati families."

I am really grateful to have Kay and Sue as a home for a Glitterati, and expect we will be seeing their puppy in PetSmart ads just like his very handsome Uncle Riley! I know you will all love Kay and Sue as much as we do when you get a chance to meet :)

So the two show boy homes have been introduced -- tomorrow we will meet the show girl home (besides me, who you already know!).

I hope you are having a day free of dangers and full of fun! Thanks for visiting and for your good wishes for our new families.