born-to-track puppy journal

Tucker finds his first real deer!

2011-11-07T22:41:00.001-05:00

Paika and Moose should be proud! One of their pups, Tucker (Storm von Moosbach-Zuzelek), just 3 months old, recovered his first deer. The deer was already munched on by coyotes as he was shot on Saturday evening. Sunday morning Tucker followed the line for around 300 yards and found it. Without Tucker's help the deer would have been lost. A big thank you to Ray and Pam Maurier for training and working with the pup, and for the exciting phone call! Way to go Tucker!

What a journey! In three months from this...

....to this. Tucker, the hunter and Tucker's deer.

Summer at three months - on a daily walk in the woods

2011-11-06T00:25:00.000-04:00

Sky at 13 weeks

2011-11-02T22:54:00.000-04:00

Sky is a lovely pup, who can stand up to his sister Summer. He has a very good potential for blood tracking.

A morning walk with Summer

2011-11-01T20:57:00.000-04:00

Summer and Sky are almost 13 weeks old, and raising them together has its challenges. On the one hand some things are easier as they play together a lot and burn some energy off this way (a tired puppy is a good puppy!). On the other hand we need them to bond with us so we have to spend some time individually with each puppy, playing with them and training them on one-to-one basis. In the morning I take separate walks with pups - today I had a nice long walk with Summer, and then another walk with Bella. Tomorrow is Sky's turn. These are some pics taken during our walk.

Puppies' first snow

2011-10-27T20:28:00.000-04:00

This is October 27, and puppies got to see their first snow. They liked it!

Summer working a liver drag

2011-10-22T21:11:00.002-04:00

It has been a while since we had time for puppy training. So today while John was tracking, I had Summer on a liver drag, which was probably 150 yard long and aged an hour and a half. Summer is a high-spirited, fast working puppy, and we still don't know whether we are going to keep her in a long run. But today she has showed her best work yet. Actually it looks like she is ready for an older line. Also it is time to start working her on a leash!

Glowing reports about Paika's puppies

2011-10-20T20:30:00.000-04:00

Raising a litter of puppies is a lot of work, but if puppies turn out well, it is a very satisfying and rewarding experience. It looks like Paika's pups are doing really well in their new homes. They are eleven weeks old today.

Joe Mason shared this e-mail with us:

Shome just completed his first liver drag find in the state of Kentucky. He did a great job under probably very trying conditions. We have 15 mph winds and sunny. I laid the line out about 120 yds. long with four 45 degree turns and waited 40 min. He strayed off line a few times just maybe 5-6 yds. and always on the down wind side. He would immediately come back and find the line and start out again.I think I was as excited as Shome was.

-----

Ray and Pam Maurier from New Hampshire sounded really pleased in this e-mail from few days ago:

Tucker (Storm) is doing awesome. We have been introducing him to new things all the time and he learns fast. Sunday morning I laid a blood line in the hard woods 125 yards. At the start was a drop of blood and a finger nail size piece of liver then one drop every foot and every ten yards another tiny tiny piece of liver. I hung a ribbon over the each piece of liver so I'd know where it was. At 60 yard I put a left hand 90-degree turn down a hill to a creek, another 65 yards to a half of fist size piece of liver under his bowl. Four hours later we took him to the start, changed his collar and a 30 ft leash and he was off. He stayed right on track and found every piece of liver. The wind was blowing 25 mph, two times he went up wind of the track about 5 feet, put his nose up and checked the wind and then jumped right back on the track. He went through in under 20 min, he really took his time and did absolutely awesome...We got it all on video, it's great.

So this morning just to see what he would do I took him back and I ran to the end a different way and left a small piece of liver under his dish, and then took him to the starting point. This is a 24-hour blood trail and no liver or man scent on the track, again the wind was maybe 15 mph. He followed the line right on and got to his piece of liver in 5 min tops. I couldn’t believe it , I am so proud of my little guy. I just have to let your know how he is doing and see what you think. I think we got a great pup he is house broken already. He goes to bed at 9 and gets up at 6 and sleeps right through the night.

We couldn’t be happier thank you both so so much. Ray & Pam

Today we received pictures and some of them show Tucker with another wirehaired dachshund, Ted , who is owned by Mike Lafleur. Tucker and Ted are related through Billy, who is a sire of Ted and a great-grandsire of Tucker. Ted was bred by Gail Berger from PA, and his pictures are at Mike's website at www.trailsendguideservice.com

Tucker and Ted

Dubya goes for a first swim

2011-10-18T00:01:00.000-04:00

When Matt and Jenny were here they asked whether pups had started to swim. This August and September we got so much rain that our pond was overflowing. There was no easy entry into the water so even though pups were going for frequent walks around the pond they never really got to swim the way pups from 2010 did.

Yesterday Matt sent us this nice update on Strut aka Dubya:

Dubya had a busy weekend. He spent time at two of our family's farms and a family get together that served as a send off for Jenny's cousin to an overseas posting. Dubya saw lots of people including some kids of all ages at the gathering. He was excited to see the kids. He also did liver drags and went for his first swim!

The first two pics are of Dubya on a liver drag this weekend. The first is of Dubya on the track and the second is of Dubya with his "prize" at the end. The conditions were very dry and windy with blowing leaves, this line was 1 hr old and about 50 yards with three gentle curves. He ran it with an incredible amount of precision and stayed very focused despite the blowing leaves, they usually provide a distraction he has trouble overcoming.

The next couple pictures are of Dubya's trip to the water. He was very hesitant at first which you will see in the the third photo. All of the sudden he jumped in and started swimming. It scared the heck out of me, I had to compose myself to get a photo! His head never went underwater and he looked like a natural, the fourth picture is of him swimming. He seemed to really enjoy the water!

Shome left for Kentucky

2011-10-17T21:09:00.000-04:00

We spent Sunday with Joe and Marlene Mason from Mayfield, Kentucky, who came here to pick up Shome (Blue boy). Joe went out on a deer call with John, and even though the deer did not bleed Joeri had no problems with finding it.

We will certainly miss Shome as this little pup loves people and is really affectionate. He has a potential to be a great tracker. Good luck with him Joe!

Puppies' last walk as a trio

2011-10-15T16:20:00.002-04:00

Pups are ten and a half weeks old now. Tomorrow Shome (Blue boy) will be leaving for his new home in Kentucky so today's afternoon walk was the last one as a trio. Colors in our field are at their peak but it was very windy and on a cool side. Paika was with us but she was moving much faster, especially when she was running rabbits. Only Summer tries to keep up with her, and surprisingly she usually manages to find her way back to the rest of us.

Even though not all of them are leaving us I will miss Paika's pups as in many ways this was one of the best and easiest litters ever. Maybe because there were only five of them, and usually our litters are larger. Last year we had 14 pups being raised at the same time!

All the pups were precocious in their tracking but also responsive and super people oriented. We really have high hopes for them, and most likely repeat the litter next year. For now Sky (Red boy) and Summer (Pink female) are staying here.

I could not stress enough how helpful my training with Suzanne Clothier has been when it comes to evaluating these puppies. The CARAT course made me look at them from a new perspective, and now I can articulate much better their strengths and weaknesses in terms of sociability, excitability, resiliency, biddability and so on.

Sky (Red boy)

Shome (Blue boy)

Summer (Pink female)

Pups are trying to follow Paika

Lightning Mountain Outfitters - a new home for Storm

2011-10-12T20:53:00.000-04:00

Storm von Moosbach-Zuzelek (Green boy) left for his new home today. He is a going to be a tracking dog at Lightning Mountain Outfitters in Manchester, NH, run by Ray and Pam Maurier. We hope to see him from time to time as Storm (his calling name is going to be Tucker) will be only four hours from us.

We had a lot of fun with Ray and Pam today and the time flew quickly. We know that they will provide an excellent working home for the pup and he will have a chance to do what he was bred for - track and hunt.

Storm at ten weeks is a very handsome dachshund.

Strut (Dubya) at his new home in Missouri

2011-10-10T22:36:00.001-04:00

We got a nice report from Matt and Jenny about Strut whose calling name is Dubya (variation on a "W" letter).

We all made it home safe. Dubya/Strut whined a little on the way back to the hotel Saturday and only briefly during his travels on Sunday. We were very proud of him! During our travels there was a ton of interest in Dubya from other travelers with everyone agreeing he was very handsome. Everything went according to schedule so we were able to minimize our travel time the best we could.

Yesterday afternoon we had a get together with some of our family to introduce Dubya. The attached pictures are of Dubya from yesterday's get together. He was a big hit! He really enjoyed the interaction with the family and spread out affection among everyone. Dad was especially impressed with Dubya, and when they weren't interacting Dad was looking over the family tree from the folder. It was a great end to a long day.

We really enjoyed spending the day with the you and John and appreciate the opportunity!

Best,

Matt

Puppies get their registered names...finally

2011-10-09T21:06:00.000-04:00

Finally we made our decision which puppy is going where and what their registered names will be.

Boys:
Blue - Shome von Moosbach-Zuzelek is going to Kentucky
Green - Storm von Moosbach-Zuzelek is going to New Hampshire
Red - Sky is staying here
Yellow - Strut has gone to Missouri

Girl:
Pink - Summer is staying here...for now

Thank you everybody who has helped with names!

First puppy, Strut von Moosbach-Zuzelek, left for his new home

2011-10-09T09:06:00.001-04:00

Yesterday we spent all day with Matt and Jenny from Arnold, Missouri, who flew here to pick up their puppy. We selected yellow boy for them as he is a very easy going pup. This young couple is planning to have children in the future, and Yellow pup should be a right choice for them. His registered name is going to be Strut von Moosbach-Zuzelek, but we are not sure yet how he is going to be called.

It was a full day as John got a call from a northern zone about a wounded deer, and he and Matt went to track. Matt was happy to have an opportunity to see how real blood tracking with a dog is done. Joeri did a good job, but the deer was shot too high and trackers were not able to catch up with him.

I had a lot of fun with Jenny as we took puppies for a walk and talked about dogs and hunting almost all afternoon. When John and Matt got back it was already getting dark, and this is when I took this picture:

Good luck Matt and Jenny with your new puppy!

Puppies get a clean bill of health

2011-10-06T22:03:00.000-04:00

Today puppies were examined by Dr. Rebecca Kryzak and her husband Matt. Don't you miss those good old days when vets and doctors made house calls? Well, we got lucky as about a year ago Dr. Kryzak moved to our area and established Cottonwood Creek Veterinary Services. She makes house calls! So today instead of loading puppies to the car and driving 30 minutes to our regular vet, we asked Dr. Kryzak to come to our place, examine puppies and vaccinate Bella for rabies. We loved the whole experience.

Puppies are healthy, and their hearts sound strong. They got a clean bill of health.

Pups had their temperature taken.


Summer was not easy to handle as she insisted on covering Matt with kisses. She is wiggly and pushy.

Pups are extremely people oriented and were happy to see strangers.

Puppies at nine weeks

2011-10-05T16:59:00.000-04:00

Paika's puppies are turning 9 weeks. Tomorrow a local vet is coming to examine them. So far they have had one vaccination and have been dewormed three times.

Today the pups went for a long walk in our enclosure where they raced through dry leaves, played with sticks, climbed over branches etc. Yesterday they did a 30 minute liver drag, and we really liked what we saw. The pups are really people oriented and carve human attention. Their favorite place to be is our kitchen. They have been reunited with Paika now that they are completely weaned and she does not produce any milk. In a few days the first pup will be leaving and we have some decisions to make who is going where and who is staying here.

Green boy

Red boy

Green boy

Yellow boy

Blue boy

Pink girl

Noses to the ground

Play fighting and learning bite inhibition

2011-09-30T00:01:00.000-04:00

I will not be posting puppy updates until Tuesday as I will be away at field trials in New Jersey. Hence so many pictures being posted on Friday.

Puppies are doing great, and it is going to be hard to decide who is going where as this litter is so uniform. Right now there is a lot of play fighting going on in the pack, and it is a completely normal process.

Blue male

Green male

Pups turn eight weeks old

2011-09-28T20:26:00.001-04:00

Today it was raining almost all day so pups spent some time indoors. We introduced them to raw turkey necks, and oh boy, they acted like little piranhas.

Tomorrow pups are going to be eight weeks old. Yesterday they worked a fresh liver drag and all of them were really good.We are very happy with this litter.

Genti and Beth meet Paika's puppies

2011-09-26T19:57:00.000-04:00

Yesterday Genti and Beth Shero visited us and had a chance to meet Paika's puppies. All I can say this is a bunch of pushy puppies. They mobbed Beth and Genti and did not ask for invitation to their laps.

Tommy as a puppy-sitter

2011-09-24T08:34:00.000-04:00

Paika has not had any contact with the pups for the last three days as we got serious about weaning them. Next weekend there is a field trial in New Jersey, and I would like to take her along. She is not happy about not being able to be with them but we have no choice. At this age pups certainly are able to be weaned completely. Now they get three meals a day - for breakfast it is raw meat mix, afternoon it is a canned food and in the evening they eat dry kibble. This way they will be able to handle a variety of foods.

Yesterday I asked Tommy (FC Tom vom Linteler-Forst) to spend some time with Paika's puppies. Even though he is three and a half years old, he is still very playful and puppy-like. He was really good with the pups and they had a ball. There was a lot of running, chasing, digging and jumping!

Paika's puppies turn seven weeks old

2011-09-22T16:55:00.000-04:00

Anybody who knows John and me well also knows that we don't go gaga over puppies. We both love the process of breeding and raising puppies, but as I said many times "being a cute and pretty puppy" is not good enough for our pups.

Well... I have to admit that I have fallen completely in love with Paika and Moose's puppies. This is a good looking bunch - all their coats are perfect and it looks like our plan of mating Paika (who is homozygous for the F gene) to Moose (who is smooth out of wires and homozygous recessive ff) has worked very well. This is one of the most uniform litters we have ever had and all five puppies will have perfect wirehaired coats. Pups' heads are very nice and strong with good pigmentation of eyes. They have all their teeth, and the males have their testicles. No umbilical hernias. There is a range of dispositions here with the female being probably most feisty and yellow male most easy going. We will be learning a lot about the pups in the next few weeks. Today they went for an hour long ride in the country.

Blue male won this standoff over the deer tail.

Blue male is the smallest and weighs 4 3/4 lbs at seven weeks.

Green male is 6 lbs.

Red male is 6 lbs too.

Red male

Pink female is 5 lbs

Green male

Yellow male is 5.5 lbs

Puppies' first walk to the pond

2011-09-20T11:40:00.000-04:00

Today is warm but wet - a perfect weather to get puppies run through wet grass and get them to the pond. It was a fun experience for everybody.

Puppies are moved outside

2011-09-15T09:06:00.000-04:00

Puppies have outgrown the old lodging arrangement (my den), so for the first time they spent a night outside, on their own. We have a good setup for them, which was described here. When I was preparing the shed for them, I was really surprised how resourceful they were. They were not concerned at all. Very curious and uninhibited they investigated without showing any fear - climbed into new dog houses, and they also crawled under them. Then they settled in a large house, where I put their blanket and toys. This morning when I went to check on them and opened the shed so they could go into adjacent pen, they were fine. Today it is going to rain so it is a good thing that they can be in a dry shed (if they want to) on wood shavings. Now I'll have a chance to reclaim my working space! Today pups are turning 6 weeks old.

Puppies are learning how to relate to other dogs and people

2011-09-14T17:25:00.001-04:00

I have not had time to post in the last few days. I am taking Suzanne Clothier's course CARAT and underestimated amount of time that I had to spend working on the last assignment. So on Monday night I stayed up until 4 AM! It reminded me of how it used to be when I was a graduate student.

We continue to socialize puppies and started to work with them on liver drags. The below pics show their rich social life. So far we could not be happier with the pups!

Puppies met other members of our canine family. I think Tommy was the one who was the happiest playing with them. The picture shows Bella with the pups. She can be rough so when she plays with them, it needs to be done under our supervision.

When the weather is good pups spend a lot of time outside, but we bring them inside when we have meals. They need to be accustomed to the noises of every day life. Here they take a snooze in our kitchen/dining area.

Paika is a very good mom and still spends a lot of time with the pups.

Our neighbors Kevin and Paula brought their kids to play with the pups.

Logan was a big hit with Blue boy.

Mackenzie is high-spirited and the pups loved her.

I have some really good shots of Paula, which show a nurturing side of her character.

Red boy took a liking to Alicia's flip flops.

Puppies at five weeks

2011-09-10T00:00:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was a first sunny day in a long time, and puppies had a chance to be in the sunshine outside. They really enjoyed it. It is important now to spend some time on one-to-one basis with pups. It takes time but this way you can learn much more about the individual pups than when you watch them in a group.
Our neighbors' kids came to visit so puppies had a chance to socialize with them too. Every day pups get exposed to new items to play with - yesterday they got fresh deer legs, a big cardboard box, and a brick (various textures, smells). They like to investigate and are drawn to new objects. To get more insights about it, I highly recommend Temple Grandin's book "Animal Makes Us Human: Creating the Best Life for Animals". You can read the first chapter online by clicking here.

When I look at these pups it strikes me how uniform this litter is as the pups are very alike in their conformation and body type. Their coats are almost identical. I don't recall having ever had such a litter. Pups' personalities will be different, and I can see the differences emerging now.

When the going gets tough, the tough get going.

2011-09-08T20:09:00.000-04:00

In the last few days the weatherhas not cooperated. We have been getting a lot of rain again, and yesterday we had water in the house...again. I have never seen anything like it in my whole life. Roads are closed in many directions. Two miles from us, the Rte 443 (a major road here) is missing - 6 miles of it got washed away.

Yesterday we were looking forward to Suzanne Clothier's visit as she wanted to come and see the pups. On her way here she got trapped in a parking lot in Cobleskill where a major flooding took place, and she was stuck there for seven hours. Never made it see us. How disappointing and frustrating.

In spite of the poor weather the pups have been expanding their territory. They sleep in my office, but during the day they can move freely downstairs through the hall to the downstairs bathroom and mudroom. They really like running and playing there. Today they had a nice playing session with Bella in the mudroom, and at the same time I had a washing machine and a dryer going there. It was pretty noisy but they did not seem concerned. When they get tired they go on their own back to my office and pile up to sleep in a crate. Pretty amazing that they do that. Paika is not sleeping with them any more, but in the morning she is very anxious to see them. She lets them nurse occasionally, but I also give them solid food about twice a day. Actually they like to crunch her dry food and now their teeth are up to the task.

Playing in the mudroom

Plastic bottles make good toys. Pups thrive on novelty!

Bella was pretty good with pups, and the playing session was beneficial to her and to them.

Bella is a retrieving fanatic.

The process of weaning has started.

2011-09-05T10:45:00.000-04:00

Pups are four and a half weeks old and they change with every day. When the weather is good they are outside, and we move them from one pen to another. When inside, they are either in my office or in our kitchen/dining area, where they are being exposed to the sound of tv, dishwasher, fridge etc. They are getting more mobile and now can walk really well. My office is divided with a board so Paika could get away from them if she wanted. Though it is not easy for them, now they can climb over the board, and every morning I find them on the other side than they were left for the night.

This morning they had their first solid meal - raw 'diet" mix of meat, organs, bone and veggies, which we get from Omas Pride. They were very enthusiastic about it! Paika is reluctant to let them nurse as their teeth are sharp and they have no mercy :) So now the gradual process of weaning have begun.

Pups have been exposed to a deer hide and deer leg, and they liked to munch on them very much. All in all things are progressing very well.

Puppies are having their first solid meal.

Munching on a deer leg

Thinking about joining Paika on the other side of the baord

Doing it!

Water bowl - what the heck is this?

Active and playful!

2011-09-02T22:49:00.000-04:00

At the age of four weeks puppies' weights were:
Blue pup 285 grams when born, now 1335
Green pup 295 then, now 1710
Yellow pup 275 then, now 1560
Red pup 315 then, now 1705
Pink pup 300 then, now 1655
Blue male is the smallest and probably the most active pup.

We have not started to wean the pups yet - thank you Paika for all that you do! Pups live in a rich environment and discover new sounds, smells, textures etc every day. We move them around all day long and rearrange things so they have to figure things out on their own. Today they spent several hours at three different sites, and now they are back in my den, loose. They have a crate that they use for sleeping and a couple of dog beds. Young pups like these ones have a very old and strong instinct to avoid predators so they like to sleep in a den-like environment. When outside and ready to go to sleep, they crawl to the crate or under a wooden platform we built for them.

It looks like they all will have wirehair coat of excellent quality (this is what we have been aiming for). I checked the males' testicles and they all seem to be down. The pups don't have all their teeth yet, but it looks like they all will have full dentition. So far so good!

More pictures of the four-week-old pups

2011-09-01T22:43:00.000-04:00

Puppies are four weeks old

2011-08-31T22:23:00.000-04:00

Pups are four weeks old now, and no, we have not named them yet. The storm Irene interrupted our routine for a while and created extra work. Pups' individual personalities are starting to emerge now, but for today's update just five pics will have to do.

Getting ready for Irene

2011-08-27T23:12:00.000-04:00

Saturday started well. Today the town of Berne had a big garage sale at multiple sites, where I was able to pick up some stuff for puppies for a very low price. Bella got three "new" toys, and puppies got a silver fox fur collar wrap just for $5.00. They will really enjoy playing with it.Then our preparations for the arrival of Irene started. My den is prone to flooding so I moved puppies and their whelping box upstairs to our living room. Our beagle club had our annual Italian Dinner tonight, and I had to prepare a salad. It went well, and it was a good evening to relax over a bottle of wine in the company of friends. The food was superb. This weekend the club is hosting a three day trial, but I think the tomorrow trial is being rescheduled. When we got back home we continued with preparations. It is not simple to take care of ten adult dogs, five three-week-old pups and one eleven-week-old pup when the heavy rain and gusty winds are expected to last at least 12 hours. We decided to bring all the dogs to the house and they are now very comfortable in their crates in our mud room downstairs. We'll see what happens in the morning and how they are going to do their business tomorrow morning in the pouring rain. We hope that Irene is kind to us!

Puppies and their new toy.

Puppies have turned three weeks old

2011-08-25T23:13:00.000-04:00

Puppies are getting incredibly cute. They just turned three weeks old!

A good lesson for puppies about toys' ownership

2011-08-22T21:51:00.000-04:00

Monday did not start well. Paika got sick overnight, and when I came down to my den in the morning, the floor was covered with diarrhea and vomit. I found it strange that she never let us know that she needed to go out. Other dogs would scream or jump on the door, but she always tries not to complain and tough it out. Whatever caused the trouble got eliminated from her system becausein the morning she was feeling good and had a good appetite. I called our vet just to reassure myself that things are not too serious and he recommended to give her a light diet today and several doses of Pepto-Bismol.
Puppies have been doing very well, and they have not been affected by her overnight issues. Today they are 18 days old, and I took them outside for the second time. They stayed in the outside pen, together with Paika, for several hours. Nobody complained too much.

The below video shows how they played with a furry raccoon, which they liked very much. Then two pups tried to approach the rubber toy Paika had claimed. They learned a quick and valuable lesson from their mom on what she considered inappropriate behavior. Paika is a sweetheart and I was a little surprised at her reaction, but she knows her kids the best. It is her show and unless she is ready to harm her pups (which she is not), I am not going to interfere. Some females are very permissive and they let pups do just about anything. Elli or Gela would never do what Paika did, but I actually think that Paika is a better teacher. You have to watch the video to the end to see her reaction
.

Pups are getting more active

2011-08-20T13:29:00.002-04:00

Yesterday we had huge thunderstorms going through the area so pups spent all their day inside. Today on the other hand is very warm and we'll wait for the cool evening to put them on the grass for 15-20 minutes. I cut their nails today and the pups were not too happy about that. It is at least the second nail trimming, and it had to be done.Pups start to interact with us and with each other more and more. They certainly can hear now and they are getting more mobile with every day. Soon we will give them toys to play with, but I am afraid that now Paika would confiscate all the toys and keep them for herself. She still spends quite a bit time with the pups.

It looks like all puppies will have wirehaired coat, as we expected. Some will have more coat than others though. I can see more hair on the girl and Blue boy.

We really have to get our act together and name the pups. It is harder than you might think. We will be keeping one puppy from this litter but have no idea which one, so all the names have to be acceptable to us because we will end up with one of them. Last year we named pups early for the ease of record keeping (there were 14 pups in two litters after all). Then when we decided to keep Queenie, we had to change her name to Quenotte as John did not like the name Queenie at all. So this year we'll be more careful. And since English is my second language, some names are just plain hard for me to pronounce. As a rule we like to use a registered name as a calling name too.

Puppies turn two weeks old

2011-08-18T20:26:00.000-04:00

Two weeks ago Paika's puppies were born. Today I took them out for the first time, and they spent half an hour in a pen outside together with Paika. Their eyes are open, but they sleep 90% of the time. Puppies crawl around their whelping box pretty well but they will be fully mobile only in a week. They certainly respond to touch and smell. Some of them were actually trying to interact with me while I was stroking them.

Towards the end of week #2

2011-08-16T20:54:00.000-04:00

Puppies and Paika continue to do well. Pink girl opened her eyes - you can see it in the bottom picture. I think that boys will be opening their eyes tomorrow. The pups' hair is getting a little longer now.

No-nonsense approach to mothering puppies

2011-08-14T09:19:00.002-04:00

We have not posted any updates for a couple of days as we were quite busy. Puppies are doing really well, and Paika is doing great too. I like her approach to raising puppies, and in the last 20 years I have seen many different styles of mothering.

She likes to be with her puppies, and she keeps the whelping box spotless, but now she takes long breaks away from the pups. If I am in my den, where the whelping box is, I find her quite often in her own bed resting. If we are upstairs in the kitchen and dining area, she comes there too and spends some time with us. When Beth and Genti were here on Friday, she was schmoozing with them and their baby Dea. Puppies are not the only thing on her mind, but they are on her mind often enough.

Anyway, their eyes are still closed but they should be opening soon. When they do open, we will have to be careful with taking pups' pictures. You can't blast them with a flash when their eyes are very sensitive.

These are pups today's weights:

Blue pup 285 grams when born, now 590
Green pup 295 then, now 750
Yellow pup 275 then, now 655
Red pup 315 then, now 745
Pink pup 300 then, now 750

Pups are one week old

2011-08-11T00:04:00.002-04:00

Are all these dachshund puppies going to be wirehairs?

2011-08-10T17:44:00.002-04:00

You might wonder why these puppies look so different from Paika whose coat is longer. Well, puppies coats are very short for the first few weeks of their lives. With time differences between individuals will become more apparent. We are quite sure that all these puppies are going to be wirehairs as Paika was DNA tested for the gene that controls the absence/presence of furnishings. If you would like to learn more about it click here and here. BTW, the color of Paika and her puppies' coats is called "wild boar".

Day number 6 for the little pups

2011-08-09T22:58:00.000-04:00

You probably noticed that their bellies are getting rounder... thanks to the good milk supply courtesy of Paika.

Puppies like to stay all cuddled together and close to their mom Paika. However, a mild stress is good for them, so a couple of times a day, when I change their bedding, I spread puppies in the whelping box. This way they have to do some "work" to reunite (they must follow their noses) and they get some exercise too.

Paika cornered!

2011-08-09T00:38:00.000-04:00

Puppies are growing like weeds

2011-08-08T09:20:00.000-04:00

Everything is going really well in the whelping box, and puppies are growing like weeds. Puppies were born just four days ago and these are their weights now. It is easier to do it in grams than pounds and ounces.

Blue pup 285 grams when born, now 380
Green pup 295 then, now 415
Yellow pup 275 then, now 397
Red pup 315 then, now 445
Pink pup 300 then, now 460

Paika is still spending all her time in the whelping box.

A video showing the whelping of the second puppy

2011-08-07T08:54:00.001-04:00

This is a seven minute video showing the whelping of Paika's second puppy. The placenta was not expelled along with the puppy so I had to cut the cord to free the pup, which was already outside. I think that the real star of the video, besides Paika of course, was the first puppy. The original video is 11 minutes but it seemed a little long so I shortened it to seven minutes.

It is touching to see how Paika handles the delivery. She is able to focus on the first puppy, which is pretty demanding, and the puppy that is being born. She is highly cooperative and has a complete trust in me (not all bitches are like that).

Pups and Paika are doing well

2011-08-06T09:57:00.000-04:00

A couple of pictures taken this morning put a smile on my face. Is there anything better than happy and healthy puppies?

Last night I spent a couple of hours applying warm compress to Paika's breasts. I used Epsom salt (1/2 cup per 3 cups of warm water), and it looks like it helped a lot.The breasts are much better now though not completely normal yet. Paika and pups are getting some Bene-Bac, which contains healthful Lactobacillus acidophilus and other beneficial bacteria to support normal digestion.This is to counteract the effect of antibiotic that Paika is on.

All puppies are gaining and doing well:
Blue pup 10.2 oz when born, now 12.0
Green pup 11.2 oz then, now 11.8
Yellow pup 9.8 then, now 11.0
Red pup 11.0 then, now 11.8
Pink pup 10.6 then, now 12.0

This is our S litter, which means that all the pups in this litter will have their registered names starting with an S. We already had one S litter in 1995 that had 6 girls and 1 boy. Now we need some new S-names.

Let your creativity flow, and let us know your suggestions for puppy names!

The whelping is over

2011-08-05T09:24:00.001-04:00

Last night around 11 PM I gave Paika a shot of oxytocin. We were not sure whether she had more pups in her or not. She was having occasional contractions but nothing was coming out. After she got oxytocin she expelled a big placenta but no additional pups. Her contractions ended after that.Today we palpated her and we don't feel any additional puppies.

So we ended up with five nice puppies - four males and one female. We are really looking forward to all the fun we are going to have with them! Last year when we had two litters of pups at the same time, 14 in total, it was so much work. This year with just 5 it is going to be fun! I'll post some pics and video later.

Update 4:00 PM
Some pictures taken during and after whelping. Everything is going well except for the fact that Paika produces too much milk and two of her mammary glands got too full and hot. This condition is called galactostasis and it could lead to mastitis, a serious condition. I am trying to avoid it so I am keeping an eye Paika's temperature and started her on Clavamox. I also put warm wet compress on the affected teats and milk them to give her some relief. Puppies are doing well, and all put on some weight. They have different ribbons around their necks, and to make things easier to identify the only girl she wears a pink ribbon.

Click on the images to see larger versions.

Today is the day!

2011-08-04T10:40:00.004-04:00

Paika's water broke at 8:50 AM and the first puppy arrived at 10:30. It is a pretty big boy, weighing 11 oz (315 gr). Her maternal instincts seem to be excellent, and the boy is doing well.

Update 2:00 PM.
So far we have three boys - 11.0, 10.4 and 10.2 ounces, and everything has been going really well.

Update 4:15 PM
Two more puppies - one boy 9.8 oz and one girl 10.6 oz. Paika has been eating and drinking in between pups and seems to be in a really good shape. All pups except for one came out feet first, at a somewhat awkward angle, but nobody was stuck. The pups are very vigorous and everybody has been nursing.

Third boy coming out feet first

Update 10:30 PM
I believe that there is one more puppy in Paika but she has taken a very long break. The five puppies have full bellies, their bottoms are clean and they are very active when not asleep. Paika's temperature is normal, she has been eating, drinking and taking care of the pups. We are just going to wait and see what happens. Sometimes the last puppy is whelped quite a few hours after all the others.

Still waiting

2011-08-03T10:48:00.002-04:00

Wednesday 10:50 AM
So far there is no change worth reporting. Paika's temperature this morning was 99.0.
I washed her and trimmed her behind. Otherwise she has been sleeping all morning, and she is not showing any sign of being in labor. No panting, no shaking, no digging. We are still waiting.

Update 7:30 PM
Around 4 PM Paika walked into her whelping box, which now is lined with old t-shirts, towels etc, and things started to happen. She scratches and digs, throws up a little, and then goes back to sleep. We could be having puppies tonight or tomorrow morning. The below is a video taken around 7 PM.

No puppies yet

2011-08-02T08:30:00.001-04:00

I think Paika decided that she is going to hold on to puppies for a while longer. Last night she ate a big meal and drank a lot. She was turning her nose at everything I offered but when I opened a container of moist pre-prepared Purina Beneful dinner, she really went for it. Go figure. I noticed that in this late stage of pregnancy she likes novel things that she has never had before.

Since she did not act like she was going to have pups last night, I managed to get some good sleep in my own bed. Today she seems happy and pretty active. No sign of any distress, no abnormal discharge. Who knows what the Mother Nature has in store for us but we are going to wait. The waiting game will be over when her water breaks and then things will have to progress at a certain rate, but until then we are going to be patient.

Thank you for all your support! We really appreciate it.

Update 10 PM: There is no change to report, and it does not look like Paika will be whelping tonight. She just ate her only meal of the day (her appetite is much better in the evening than in the morning). Puppies are moving in her belly, but obviously we have to wait longer for their arrival.

It is going to be a long day

2011-08-01T10:44:00.002-04:00

Monday 10:30 AM

Paika is more uncomfortable and wants to be in eye contact with me.

I read my notes on Keena's last whelping, and if Paika follows the same patter, it might be a while. In Keena's case it took at least 36 hours from the temperature drop to the arrival of first puppy. So it looks like it might be a long day... It is too bad that John has an appointment in Albany this afternoon :-( He is really good at pulling out stuck puppies.

Update 6 PM
No change in status quo. Paika is not eating and she is drinking very little. But she is not in distress, and her water did not break. I read my notes on Keena's first litter and as it turned out it took Keena three days to prepare for whelping. So I am going to relax as probably nothing is going to happen today. I might even sleep in my own bed.

Anyway, Paika likes to be touched and massaged, and this is a short video clip taken with our webcam.

Paika's temperature drops

2011-07-31T13:05:00.001-04:00

This morning Paika's temperature dropped to 99.7 so most likely she will start to whelp within 24 hours, probably tonight or tomorrow morning. Now at 1 PM she is resting comfortably in the whelping box. She has not eaten anything yet today.

Update 10:30 PM
Things are pretty quiet. Paika has spent all day in the whelping box stretched out. She ate very little but enjoyed a mix of goat milk with vanilla ice cream. It should give her some glucose and calcium, both necessary for the whelping process. In the evening she started to breathe more heavily and dig a little bit. All these signs are completely normal and indicate that she is in the first stage of labor. This stage can last from 4 to 24 hours so it is hard to say when she will transition to the stage II.

She is in my den and there is a big desk between her whelping box and me, so I can't really see her when I sit in front of my computer. I set up a webcam on my desk and I can watch her on my screen without bothering her. This way I can do some work too and at the same time can monitor her. I like the webcam (Logitech QuickCam Orbit AF) because I can change its position and tilt from the software without touching hardware. I can take pics and videos and the pic below is an example of mid-resolution shot. There are many options, but of course, the higher resolution the larger size of file. I can zoom on her too while she moves around the box.

I'll probably stay with her all night.

10:30 PM - Paika in the whelping box on her back.

Good day for Paika

2011-07-30T20:26:00.001-04:00

Today was a good day for Paika as she was pretty active. Last night she finally ate a full portion of Canidae, and today she has been eating pretty well. In the morning she ate some of Oma's Performance raw food. Later I went shopping for groceries and got her fresh chicken giblets. She really liked them.

She walked around quite a bit and once she came across a rabbit scent trail, her tail went up and she was ready to follow into thick brush. She does not look like she will be whelping soon. And this is fine with me as it gives me more time to get ready!

Getting closer...

2011-07-29T22:15:00.001-04:00

Today we got a whelping box ready for Paika. It is placed in my den, and this is where Paika and pups will be staying for the first few weeks. Paika went right into the box and stayed there probably 40% of the time. She has been eating very poorly today even though I offered her a variety foods. Even though she usually has a voracious appetite, she is probably not going to eat much until she whelps.

Today I have been reading the latest book by Myra Savant-Harris "Advanced Canine Reproduction and Puppy Care", and I learned some new things. I highly recommend the book, which currently is on sale at amazon.

I think that Paika might start to whelp as early as Sunday.

Paika is most comfortable resting on the back

2011-07-28T22:19:00.000-04:00

Paika on July 28 - 57th day from the first breeding

One week to go

2011-07-25T21:36:00.000-04:00

One week before due date - Paika longingly looks ahead at the field where she used to run rabbits.

Paika looks big and full of pups. She is in a good spirit though, eats well and goes for walks.

Deworming during pregnancy

2011-07-20T22:44:00.000-04:00

Today Paika was given 3 grams of Safe-Guard (fenbendazole) in order to prevent prenatal infection with roundworms. The treatment has to be given 3 days in a row. For more information on deworming a pregnant bitch go here or here.

Paika is getting big and losing her appetite

2011-07-19T10:04:00.000-04:00

I am going to document here Paika's last two weeks of her pregnancy, mainly for my own records. Paika's projected whelping date is around August 3 so we still have two more weeks. Today was the first day that in the morning she would not eat her breakfast consisting of dry Canidae food (for all life stages). However, when offered canned Canidae, she ate it with gusto. Her appetite is not as strong now in the morning as it used to be. She gets now three meals a day.

Two more weeks to go

2011-07-18T13:43:00.002-04:00

I took Paika for our usual walk last evening. It was really hot, and we went to the pond. She went in right away, and after she came out all wet, I could really see that her bell is getting rounder quite rapidly. Two more weeks to go!

This feels sooo good!

Nine more weeks until arrival of Paika's puppies

2011-06-03T23:06:00.000-04:00

We have decided to have only one litter this year, and yesterday and today Paika was bred to Chuck Collier's Moose. More info about this litter is given click here. Paika and Moose's pups are expected around August 4. This will be our "S" litter.

2011 born-to-track puppies

2011-03-19T10:39:00.000-04:00

We had two litters of pups in 2010, and now the pups are almost ten months old. They have done very well and we posted about them here and on our blood tracking blog. We are planning to have two litters in 2011 but it will be a while before they arrive. We will breed Paika and Keena, and they are due to come in heat in May. So if everything goes according to plan, puppies will be born at the end of July.

2010-11-10T09:51:00.000-05:00

This nice e-mail came from Lynn and Ann Pierce from Louisiana.

We have two youth weekends for the first time and this past weekend was the first of the two. We had 13 people at our camp and with all the camps in the area about 40 adults (family and friends) and 9 youth hunters and more to come this coming weekend. It was great. We all meet at one camp "GUT-BUSTERS" to do all the cleaning, cooking, and storytelling.

The atmosphere is great and a lot of fun. Maybe y'all could visit us one hunting season, it would really be great and fun to have y'all over to do some tracking.

Rosette's first track was very successful. My great nephew shot the deer at the end of a food plot, it ran about 225 yards and went into the woods where he could not see the direction the deer went. It was not a very long track, but defiantly long enough. Rossette found the blood, tracked it with a hard right turn and then a large half circle which she followed right on line and found the deer in very tall grass. We could have found the deer ourselves, but it was a great training exercise for her. We waited almost two hours before we started the track. No one knew where the deer was and if it was hit or not. We only knew the area at the end of the food plot where it was shot at. My nephew thought he had missed it. I told him we always go look when anyone shoots at a deer. You never know if it is hit or not.

Rosette (Roulette von Moosbach-Zuzelek) at the end of successful track

Several hours before the above track my other great nephew shot a deer but it fell in its tracks. So I had my nephew pull it several hundred yards and hide it in the woods where no one of us knew where it was hidden.
Rosette followed the track perfectly right to the deer. This was a fresh track about 30 minutes after the kill.

For both tracks I had a hard time holding her, Rosette was all business and she was tracking with much enthusiasm and fire and she loved it. I did too.....

She loves the hunting camp atmosphere and she is great at the camp with the other dogs and everyone loves her. I am very pleased with her and she is a great companion. She is very mild mannered, laid back, and loves playing with the grandkids and great nieces and nephews. You did a great job picking her for Ann & I. She's just what we wanted.

Well, that's it for now.

Thanks and happy tracking,

Lynn

First recoveries for Quella and Mya (Quanta)

2010-10-08T16:00:00.000-04:00

We sold three 2010 puppies to hunters from Ohio and two days ago we heard from the two of them.

David Bell who has Quella (Joeri/Keena) wrote:

Hey Jolanta, I just wanted to let you know that Quella is two for two in finding deer. The first track was 4 hours old. Quella seemed to be overwhelmed at first and I had to restart her three times on the 120 yard track, which had very little blood at first for the first 10 feet. I had to use flashlights at the time and I couldn't see any blood, but they were cheap led lights, which weren't very bright. The third time I put her on it she took me straight to the deer. She could have been right the first time, but I wasn't seeing any blood, so I re-started her on it. Well, to make a long story short on this track I believe the reason she was wrong the first time was that she was tracking the coyotes that had found the young button buck before Quella did (and they had blood on their feet).

The second time I took her out was on a call that was only two hours old. Quella found the deer with no problem at all, which was a training line for her (my firend shot the deer). The deer went around 125 yds with two wound beds and some decent blood at times. This time out I had my new coon light from Kelley's K Light Supply. It was their top light, with the G-2L Advantage Head on it. Quella took me straight to the deer and my buddy and his cousin were saying that they couldn't believe how good this little dachshund is. They were kind of laughing at first when they first seen her, but she made quick believers of her flawless nose work. Thanks again for a awesome dog. The tracks I mentioned were on the 4th and 5th by the way.

Bill Brown wrote about Mya (Quanta):

Jolanta, hopefully all is well with you and John. Were all doing fine and couldn’t be any happier with Mya.We all have her spoiled rotten and my labs love her too. She has been doing very well on her training exercises, not perfect but she has always ended well. She had her 1^st real deer tracking this past Sat. I knew where the deer was, about a 150yd job, had to get her on the blood a couple of times but she did extremely well. She got very excited when she got to the deer licked the wound and wanted to chew and enjoyed the piece of liver she was given. Can’t wait for her next tracking job, now that she knows the end results. I’ll keep you updated.

David and Bill, good to hear from you. Good tracking and hunting - keep us posted!

Jezy gets a taste of real tracking

2010-09-26T09:20:00.001-04:00

This morning brought a nice e-mail from Jerry Davis:

Jezy [Quipster] went on her first two real blood trails last week. They were both good bow shots and easy tracks (75 yards or so long). Her desire to track was strong ! It was priceless to watch her astonishment upon finding the first deer. She was quite taken back and slowly circled the deer. Upon much praise and encouragement , she was then delighted to chew on the deer's tongue during the entire drag out of the woods. I think she really got the idea as she showed better focus on the second track .

She's made a great house dog and seems sure to become a good tracker as well. During our daily walks she is constantly "hunting" prompting my wife to comment that she was "born-to-track"!

Good job Jezy! These easy real tracks are a great training tool for puppies.

Quentin, now Radar, and his training

2010-09-25T16:10:00.000-04:00

Radar (Quentin von Moosbach-Zuzelek) and his owner Craig Dougherty of Northern Whitetails have been doing well. In his first report Craig wrote "Talk about personality! This guy has it all. He is a real charmer and incredibly observant. He sure acts a lot more like my Lab puppies than the beagles I used to keep. He took to the crate like a champ and sleeps peacefully through the night. Housebreaking is coming along nicely and he answers to his name nicely."

The recent e-mail says: "Wanted to let you know that Neil and I are now "official" and legal having passed the NY Certification Test. Radar seems to be coming along nicely. Working him about 2x per week on different concepts. Did nicely on a 24 hr. trail last week in the rain. Worked him around the perimeter of a heavily used plot with lots of fresh sign the other morning. He showed plenty of interest in the fresh trails but with a little help stayed "true" to the 12 hr blood trail we were working. I am learning every day. Now wearing ring of clothes pin flagging around my neck when putting out a trail after learning how easy it is to loose track of a trail that you were sure you would remember a half day earlier. Have replaced my plastic puppy clothesline with a nice orange training line which moves through the woods better and picked up a wide tracking collar I had made from our local Amish harness maker (he happens to practice QDM as well).

Radar seems quite 'calm" when trailing. Nothing "frantic" like I have seen with some other dogs when they are working some kind of scent trail. You can generally tell when he is back on track after drifting off line but he doesn't make a real big deal over being back "on line" he just moves on without a lot of drift."

Update on the Q-puppies

2010-09-23T17:13:00.000-04:00

Q-puppies are four months old now. Over the last few weeks we have received quite a few updates on the pups.

Let's start with QUENOTTE as she is the pup that we have kept. She is pretty small and when she had her rabies shot ten days ago or so she was 9.3 lbs. Her beard started to grow, and it is becoming clear that she is going to have the wirehaired coat very similar to her mom's coat - quite short and wiry with a medium beard. Quenotte is an easy going pup who sleeps during the night in her crate without any fuss. During the day she spends some time with us, and of course with the dogs. She is learning that not everybody cares to play with her, and if she insists on harassing older dogs, she gets corrected by them. The mild discipline is exactly what she needs.

She travelled with us to field trials in Michigan and it was a very good experience for her. She got to meet new people and see a lot of dogs. The picture below shows Quenotte schmoozing with Phil Ruggieri.

Quenotte is very affectionate and she just loved Phil Ruggieri

While we were running multiple dogs in Michiga, she spent her days in a pen watching her surroundings.

We take Quenotte on walks, and just yestarday she was swimming in the pond trying to get a feather floating there. We started with her easy obedience exercises and continue blood tracking training.

Quenotte

David Bells' QUELLA is doing well in training.

QUELLA

WALDO (Quantum) is helping Koren paint

Waldo's first canoe ride

Quick and his buddy Fitz

Pam Ellenberger writes: Fitz and Quick are getting along very well. Quick never challenged Fitz and they have settled in together nicely Somehow Fitz know that he needs to be gentle with Quick. The biggest challenge we've had is to get used to a puppy this small. He can go through places that our cats don't even attempt! We've all decided that Quick is a perfect name since he can get into trouble in a flash. We love him & will stay in touch.

Rilla - before and after

2010-09-16T22:21:00.000-04:00

We have received many e-mails and pics of Q- and R-pups and will be posting them really soon. Our trip to Michigan field trials has caused a big delay in our posting but we should be catching up in the next few days.

Below are three pictures of Rilla - before and after a grooming session with Sherry Ruggieri. What a difference! Thanks Stan for the fantastic pics. And congratulations on Rilla's first "real" deer. Stan wrote a week ago: "Rilla had two "finds" yesterday--both my sons filled their antlerless tags, and we let Rilla "find" them. It was fun, she did VERY well, and was only a little bit intimidated by the sight of her first whole deer."

Ruger is on his journey to a new home in Georgia

2010-09-02T08:06:00.000-04:00

Josey Visnovske from Georgia was planning to come here to pick up his puppy on Friday evening. He was planning to drive from Maryland, where he was for his job, and next day he was to go back to MD to catch a flight back home. The hurricane Earl complicated things tremendously. So last night Josey came here after 11 pm, stayed with us overnight and left today at 7 am with Ruger in his arms...well in a Sherpa bag.

We hope Josey and Ruger make home tonight without further complications. Good luck to both of you; please stay in touch!

We have been receiving good feedback about puppies but have had no time to post it. Things should get better soon, especially after Saturday, when we are hosting a United Blood Trackers test here in Berne.

Rosette and a bad weather in Louisiana

2010-08-30T20:03:00.000-04:00

It is about time to post some updates on how puppies have been doing in their new homes. Today we received this shocking picture and a letter from Lynn and Ann Pierce from Louisiana.

We had unbelievable amount of rain Saturday and I thought it would be a good time to check out Rosette under those types of conditions in our yard. We had thunder, lightning and pretty hard rain while we were playing in the water together and she did great. (I did not want to pass up this opportunity).

She really enjoyed herself and I did too, and she was never concerned with the bad weather. She is adjusting perfectly and this weekend we are heading to our deer hunting camp in Woodville, Mississippi north of St. Francisville, Louisiana.

I will introduce her to the hunting grounds where she will be doing her deer tracking this hunting season. I will do a couple of drags with her in the woods to see how she does in her new surroundings.

We are all enjoying her a lot. Thanks for a great puppy.

Lynn and Ann,
You would not find me playing in the water during thunderstorm and lightning! But I guess you guys play differently in Louisiana. Please be careful and stay safe. I guess all this exposure of puppies to the pond and water has been paying off. Rosette must be one resilient puppy.

We are getting spoiled!

2010-08-26T12:57:00.000-04:00

When Lynn and Ann were here last Saturday we lent them our Sherpa bag for transporting Rosette in the cabin on their flight back to Louisiana. Today we received the bag back and before I opened the box I had wondered why it was so heavy. As it turned out the bag was full of Louisiana goodies. Thank you Lynn and Ann!!! You have been way too generous. I guess you must really like Rosette :-) Now we have all the food to go with the beer and wine we received from Stan. And since next Friday we are hosting a UBT blood tracking test, we'll serve some of the Louisiana treats to trackers from Quebec.

We are truly blessed by all the wonderful people who got our puppies. They quickly are becoming part of our extended family.

I should mention that the Sherpa bag was a gift too that we received from Sherry Ruggieri several years ago. We have been putting it to a good use. The bag will go on its next trip to Georgia where Ruger will be going to his new home.

Teckel family dynamics caught on video

2010-08-24T17:49:00.000-04:00

When Pam and Hanna left with Quick, I let Gilda play with two remaining puppies. A larger puppy in the video, Ruger, is Gilda's son. The other one, Quenotte, is Keena's puppy. The video starts when Quenotte is inviting Gilda to play. Gilda is nice to the little pup but quite dismissive. She lights up though when Ruger joins the party. Throughout the rest of the play session she ignores Quenotte (who is desperate to be part of the action). If you looked at these three dachshunds from a distance, you'd think that the three were playing together. In reality just two of them, Gilda and Ruger, a mother and a son, were playing, while Quenotte tried to join the fun.

Quick and his new home in Reading, PA

2010-08-24T17:09:00.000-04:00

Today Quick left for his new home in Reading, PA. He is going to live on a 55-acre farm, where Pam Ellenberger and Paul Stelmach's family is going to move this fall. Pam is a surgeon, but she quit her job to become a farmer and raise alpacas. I can relate to that career move :-) Pam and Paul fell in love with the wirehaired dachshund Georgia (Nellie von Moosbach-Zuzelek) owned by their friend and hunting buddy from Texas, Paul Vrana. Quick is going to be their daughter's dog.

Hanna, good luck with Quick! Stay in touch; I am sure that Quick's life will be full adventures.

Pam and Hanna with Quick

Where is Waldo?

2010-08-23T21:09:00.000-04:00

Many thanks to Susanne for this very cute picture of Waldo (previously Geico).

Today we said goodbye to Ranger

2010-08-23T21:04:00.001-04:00

Today Ranger left for a new home with Gail and Vince Latella from Long Island. The Latellas have already one dachshund from us, an eight-year-old Hannah. They have been on our waiting list for two years now. The "problem" is that Gail and Vince do not hunt so they have been patiently waiting for a "pet" puppy. We never know in advance whether we will have a pet puppy so actually getting a puppy like this from us sometimes requires a very long waiting period. In the last week we decided that Gail and Vince's home will be a right one for Ranger.

We always select a puppy for new owners with a puppy's best interest at heart. Ranger is a gorgeous puppy, who actually uses his nose a lot and follows a scent line well. He has a hunting drive, but his temperament is not as solid as we like to see. He is on a somewhat nervous and timid side; he does not want to be crowded by other pups and dogs, and he is very submissive with people. We could see the difference in his behavior early, especially when we started to expose puppies to loud noises. His first experience with the sound of bubble wrap was caught on this video. He is the puppy who is very nervous about the crackling sound of bubble wrap and tries to hide.

Ranger is now 13 weeks old and he has come a long way. He does not show noise sensitivity any more. But we decided that he will be better off in a home where there is not going to be any pressure to perform in the field. Gail is retired now and Ranger will have an excellent home with a lot of love and attention. Hopefully he and Hannah will become good buddies and will enjoy a large back yard together. Below are the pics of Vince, Gail and their niece Elizabeth.

Roulette aka Rosette and her new owners from Louisiana

2010-08-22T10:03:00.000-04:00

Yesterday we had a pleasure of spending a day with Lynn and Ann Pierce. They came all the way from Cut Off, Louisiana, to pick up their new puppy. I have included a map of the nearby area where they live; it is 60 miles south of New Orleans and quite close to the recent oil spill.

Lynn is an avid deer hunter and outdoorsman. He approached us in January about getting a puppy that would have a good potential for blood tracking and at the same time be a companion for their family. Ann and Lynn have three grandchildren and another one is expected soon so the pup would have to be good with young kids. We think that Roulette, who now is going to be called Rosette, is a good choice.

Lynn impressed us a great deal when he showed his binder with the very neatly organized information and pictures collected from our blogs. Usually we give puppy buyers a binder with some printed info, but this man's binder was already at least two inches thick. Wow!!!

View Larger Map

Lynn and Ann - good luck with your puppy. Call or e-mail any time.

Pictures of puppies at the age of 3 months

2010-08-19T12:08:00.000-04:00

Puppies are almost three months old. This is how they look like at this age.

Ranger

Roulette

Ruger

Quenotte

Quennotte

Quick

A new puppy for Craig Dougherty of NorthCountry Whitetails

2010-08-18T22:00:00.000-04:00

Time flies when you are having fun. So the seven hours that we spent with Craig Dougherty and Sharon Scholl of NorthCountry Whitetails felt more like an hour. Craig and his son Neil have taken food plot management to its highest level, and they are the authors of highly successful and popular Grow 'Em Right: A Guide to Creating Habitat and Food Plots.

We are sure that Craig's work with Quentin (aka Radar) is going to generate a lot of interest in the use of blood tracking dogs in the recovery of wounded whitetails.

It was great meeting you Craig and Sharon. Good luck with Radar!

A pack of six puppies

2010-08-17T10:58:00.000-04:00

We are down to six puppies, and two more will be going to their new homes in the next five days. We are enjoying the six puppies a great deal! These are just a couple of pics to prove it.

A change of name for Queenie

2010-08-16T15:41:00.000-04:00

We decided on the puppy that we are going to keep for ourselves, and it is going to be Queenie. The problem is that John does not like her name. When we started to use specific names in reference to individual puppies, we had no idea which pup we are going to keep and hence the problem. Well, we have been debating the name change for quite a while now, and with the Q letter finding something that we both like has not been easy. I like French names starting with Q but there are not many of them. And we don't want a name that sounds similar to a names of a dog that we already have, for example Keena. So today we settled on a new word and we both like its sound. It is a french word Quenotte, and it means a tooth of a child. So now Queenie becomes Quenotte pronounced in a French way (kuh-nowt). For more on this word click here.

Why this particular puppy? She is not a very precocious pup in her tracking, but has showed us enough promise so far. Her agility and size are appealing as she is the smallest of the both litters (except for Geico/Waldo), and we are trying to reduce the size of dogs in our breeding program. He coat will be quite short, probably similar to Keena's coat. It means very little grooming (an important factor for us). She is going to have a short beard when mature. We like her responsiveness and very quick intelligence. So, at least for now, Quenotte is going to stay here.

Another busy weekend spent with new puppy owners from Ohio

2010-08-15T21:06:00.000-04:00

Saturday was a busy and long day. We usually spend 5 hours with new puppy owners and this was not an exception. In the morning the Byington family from Sandusky, Ohio made an early appearance. As it turned out they drove all night long and were in our driveway at 7:45 am. We enjoyed our time spent with them, and they left with Quint at 2:30 pm. Quint is a good match for Ben, Heather and their two kids, 1 and 4. He is an affectionate and easy going pup, who never growled at us, even at the end of the blood line with the deer liver in his mouth. I think this year our biggest challenge has been to decide which puppies should go to families with small children. All the puppies have shown good potential for blood tracking and from this point of view we have been very impressed with both litters. At the same time the pups have demonstrated a wide range of temperaments and activity level, and we had to take these factors into consideration when making decision how to match puppies with their new owners.

We spent the rest of Saturday and morning on Sunday with Bill and Laurie Brown, and their two sons Billy and Wiley. Quanta, who most likely is going to be called Maya, will be living with the Brown family in Paris, Ohio. This is a family of deer hunters, and Quanta will fit right in.


Ben and his new puppy Quint Billy, Bill, Laurie and Wiley Brown with Quanta

And then there were eight...puppies

2010-08-09T22:22:00.000-04:00

Last weekend was a busy one as we said good bye to four puppies. On Saturday two puppies left for their new homes.

David Bell and his wife Jacqueline came all the way from Ohio, and they left with Quella (orange collar).

Stan Kite, his wife Vonnie and son Lee came from New Jersey and left with Rilla (white collar).

Both David and Stan are members of the United Blood Trackers and will be using their dachshunds to help hunters recover wounded deer. Stan lives close to Maryland and Delaware and will be able to track in these states. Let's hope that New Jersey is going to legalize blood tracking really soon.

Then on Sunday we spent quite a few hours with Gunn and Mary Lou Gardner from NY and Justin Richins from Utah.

Gunn Gardner (above) is a member of Deer Search of Western New York, and Questa is going to be his tracking partner.

Justin Richins and his partner http://www.thehuntingcompany.com/ operate the largest outfitting company in the western part of the US, and Remy is going to track a variety of big game - deer, elk and moose. Justin spent almost all day with us and had a chance to see Remy working a liver drag. Justin's hunting season starts on August 15 and this is a very busy time of the year for him.

We are very fortunate that the pups are going to be in excellent working homes and will be doing what they were bred to do - track.

We are going to end this post with the latest picture of Geiko, who now is being called Waldo. How cool is that picture? On the weekend he also got to swim in the ocean!

Quantum aka Geico leaves for his new home in Maine

2010-08-04T22:51:00.000-04:00

Today it was a sad day as we said good-bye to Geico. He is going to live with Koren and Jeff Libby in Maine. I met Koren several times when visiting a good friend of ours, Susanne Hamilton. In January 2007 I flew to Ocala, Florida to breed our Keena to Susanne's Buster. While there I took quite a few pics of Koren training horses, and this is one of them:

Koren is a vet tech so Geico is in good hands in case any health problems arise.

John and I got really attached to this little guy. In the last week Geico has blossomed and has gone through transformation. He got bigger, and his color, initially light brown, got much darker. His coat has grown. This is not an ugly duckling any more.

This is Geico a week ago:

And this was Geico today:

Today I met Susanne who was on her way from New Jersey to Maine, and she took Geico for Jeff and Koren.

Susanne is holding her puppy Meggie and Geico

I hear that Geico is with his new family now. Jeff wrote: "Hi Jolanta! We just wanted to let you know that Geico arrived here safe and sound this evening. We have introduced him to the family and he is making a smooth transition. :) Koren and I can't thank you enough for this wonderful gift. He is very special! We already love him very much and he is such a fun little man. We will provide lots of pics and updates. Thank you again. Sincerely, Jeff and Koren"

Thank you Jeff and Koren for providing a perfect home for the little pup! Good luck and keep us posted. We surely will miss him.

Remy on a fresh deer liver scent line

2010-08-03T18:59:00.000-04:00

It really got hot when Remy started to work this deer liver drag - around 85F. It was a long line with three checks and he did very well.

Chris and Gerti

2010-08-02T16:48:00.000-04:00

It seems like it was just yesterday when Chris Barr came here all the way from Indiana to pick up his new puppy Gerti (Gwen v Moosbach-Zuzelek). Actually it was 13 months ago as she was a puppy from Gilda's litter sired by Billy. Chris did a lot of research and communicated with the people who have already had dogs from us, like Chuck Collier and Joe Walters. Chuck and Joe's dachshunds are short coated with no beard, and Chris insisted on a puppy with this type of coat.

Today I got a nice e-mail from Chris, who wrote:

"Hi Jolanta,
Just a quick Gerti update. She got her shots last week and was less than impressed with the needle. She weighed 20.8 lbs and the vet was impressed with the shape she’s maintaining.

I know you know what I mean, you hate to say any dog is your favorite because you love all that you have or have had, but Gerti is absolutely the best companion dog I’ve ever had. The kids are running all the time. They basically just need dad for rides and cash. This allows me a lot of time to spend with Gerti. We have several places that we exercise, you know, I don’t want her to get bored or anything, including the neighbor’s pond where she has evolved into a swimming nut. I think she likes to swim as much or more than my lab did. I took her fishing last night with my daughter’s boyfriend and my son, and Gerti swam for an hour solid. She went from person to person, doing her best to catch their bait, (not a great thing) or the fish they were reeling in. My son finally stripped down to his skivvies and swam with her. She loves it. She’s especially fond of trying to catch the hundreds of squeaking frogs. Makes her as you put it, “a good/tired puppy”.

She runs rabbits beautifully; I can’t wait to try her on a field trial next spring. However, I’ve tried to limit the “rabbit exposure” this summer at Andy’s urging since Trackfest. She’s so gamey; just want her to focus on deer when we’re tracking. When we’re out and she bumps one though, it makes for a great opportunity to work on her recall.

It’s been too hot to lay any practice tracks since July 4th weekend when the mosquitoes and deer flies nearly carried us away. So we’ve just spent the month walking, running, and swimming. When it starts to cool a bit, we’ll do some more training.

October 1st is right around the corner, hard to believe. My goal for Gerti is 20 tracks, with hopefully at least 5 legitimate finds.

Anyway, I just wanted to say hi and tell you how much we love Gerti. The kids say she’s “spoiled rotten”."

Below there are two pictures of Chris and Gerti, first one with Joe and the other one with Chuck. They all have become good friends.

Thanks Chris for the update! We are really happy that you and Gerti bonded strongly and enjoy each other so much.

Video of Quanta working a deer liver drag

2010-08-01T21:44:00.000-04:00

Today was a busy day. We worked more pups on liver drags, and we also had a visitor. A friend of ours, Lena Leonardsson, dropped Hexel (who belongs to Laurel Whistance-Smith) off so we could breed her to our Tommy. She brought her lurcher, a 17-month-old Bedlur.
Below is a video clip of Quanta working a fresh liver drag. The line was marked with red flags, and was approximately 70 yards long with three turns. Quanta was very good though she was not flawless. I liked her intensity.

When we sell our puppies to blood tracking homes, we want the pups to be able to work a scent line of this difficulty. It reassures us as breeders that puppies have a potential for blood tracking. The rest will be up to their new owners. It is good to remember that puppies are just puppies. They are inconsistent and they change a lot while they mature and develop. Their motivation and tracking desire will increase. Their performance will get better while they learn through training and through experience on the job. Some puppies are more precocious than others but it does not mean that they are going to be better blood trackers when they are adults..

*****

Puppies meet Bedlur

A deer liver drag for two ten-week-old puppies

2010-07-31T23:42:00.000-04:00

I have included below two video clips of Rilla and Questa working a 50-yard deer liver drag. The track was fresh, and it included three turns. We were in a hurry this morning when we did the drag and did not put any flags or markers along the way. The commentary is at the end of each clip. Rilla worked the drag first.

To see a video of Rilla in a high resolution click here.

To see a video of Questa in a high resolution click here.

Quipster left for a new home in North Carolina

2010-07-31T22:00:00.000-04:00

Today first puppy left for her new home in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. Quipster (whose new call name is Jezy) is going to live with Jerry and Arlene Davis. She is going to join Jackson (Arko von Moosbach-Zuzelek), a wirehaired male that Jerry and Arlene got from us ten and a half years ago. It was great to hear how much Jackson is loved as a companion and appreciated as a tracking dog. Since apparently Jackson is "the most wonderful dog in the whole world" Jezy is going to have a good role model. We hope that we made a right decision about Quipster. She is a pretty active pup, who would not do well being at home by herself for long stretches of time. Since Jerry and Arlene are both retired and have a very active lifestyle, they will be able to give the pup a lot of attention and exercise. Good luck to Quipster and her new "parents".

A good puppy is a tired puppy

2010-07-29T15:49:00.000-04:00

At the age of 9-10 weeks puppies seem to have endless energy. It is up to us to keep them busy so their bodies get exercised and brains get stimulated. With 14 pups it is not easy. At this point I swear that we will never have two litters of pups at the same time again! Remind that next year, if by any chance I block bad memories.

During the day puppies are separated into two packs of 7 as they are much easier to handle this way. We have tried to sort them out according to their temperaments, energy level and dominant/submissive tendencies. If you watched the video clip from yesterday, you probably noticed that Ruger was picking on Quentin several times. They do not need to be in the same pen. Low key pups that are more submissive stay together and pups on a more dominant side are in a different play pen. Of course, the division is not so clear cut. During the night all pups are together, and they sleep through the night pretty well. Last night Geiko slept in a crate by himself all night, and he was very good about it.

Ruger is trying to get dry after a swim.

A walk to our 11-acre enclosure

Helping John in the garden

Ruger is sharing his opinions with others


Swimming is a good form of exercise

Play-fighting and bite inhibition

2010-07-28T23:09:00.000-04:00

This video taken today shows how puppies play at this age - when they are 9.5 weeks old. They are starting to learn about social structure and pack ranking. Their wrestling, mounting and biting may look very rough to us but this is a part of normal process. It allows puppies to learn about bite inhibition. To quote from Dr. Joël Dehasse:

Play-fighting and learning to control biting:

Play-fighting, which begins at 3 weeks, can sometimes be painful when a puppy begins cutting teeth, especially when its ears are bitten. A bitten puppy whimpers or squeals. In a one-on-one or one-on-two fight the bitten puppy is able to turn the tide of the 'battle' and bite its adversary(ies). And this is precisely one of the "rules of the game": to change roles, with the biter becoming the bitten and vice versa.
- The puppy learns to make an empathetic link between the opponent's squeal and the pain invoked.
- Reciprocal biting negatively reinforces its intensity.
- Biting is thus stopped, inhibited and controlled.
These play-fights also lead to a certain hierarchization of relations.

The best picture of swimming puppies

2010-07-27T17:43:00.001-04:00

Well, some would call it a complete waste of time, but I was very curious how other puppies would respond to the water. I took additional two groups of pups to the pond. In the first group Ranger and Quipster proved to be very good swimmers. Even though Ranger was the first who went to the water, he was also the first to come out. Quipster was a natural - the way she navigated and made turns reminded me of Paika from a year ago. Then I took a group of three - Queenie, Geiko and Rilla. They were a bit reluctant at first so I took them on a walk around the pond. When I almost completed a circle I crossed the pond where the water was pretty shallow and very warm. They followed and swam across. The picture shows Queenie in the front, then Geiko, and Rilla.

Queenie, Geiko and Rilla swimming across the pond

Puppies swim for the first time

2010-07-27T15:14:00.000-04:00

It is hard to believe that Keena's puppies are already nine and a half weeks old. The summer days go really fast, and this coming weekend first puppy will go to her new home. Days continue to be hot so blood tracking conditioning takes place in the morning and evening. Now pups are worked one at a time.

Today I took Bernie and two groups of two pups to the pond to see whether his love of water would lure pups to wet their feet. As it turned out puppies did not pay much attention to Bernie, but they watched very closely what I was doing. When I took few steps into the pond they followed. They are very trusting at this age and are willing to try unknown things. Of the four pups, three swam on their own will - Quanta, Questa and Quint. Quella (orange) stood and watched but was not willing to join us. This was very interesting because Quella is a very curious and enterprising puppy. She is doing an outstanding job in her blood tracking training but she has an independent streak. When on walks she just does not follow us in a straight line like many other pups do, but she investigates and takes short trips to the side.

Questa, Queenie and Quipster at 9 weeks

2010-07-26T15:50:00.000-04:00

Three sisters at the age of 9 weeks - Questa (lime), Queenie (yellow) and Quipster (white).

Quentin, Ranger and Remy at 9 weeks

2010-07-25T18:57:00.000-04:00

Quentin (light blue) - above and below

Ranger (black) above and below

Remy (yellow) above and below

These three males, even though now look quite short coated, will have very nice wirehaired coats when they mature.

Playing with adult dogs

2010-07-24T11:01:00.000-04:00

At almost every meal we bring 2-3 puppies to our kitchen/dining area and let them play with other dogs. This morning it was Rilla and Questa's turn. They had a chance to play with Keena (white collar) and Paika.

Puppies meet kids

2010-07-22T22:52:00.000-04:00

posted by John

The Dunnells family lives near the foot of our long driveway. Paula and Kevin are animal folks like us and their children Mackenzie, Logan and Alicia are maintaining the family tradition. They visited us this evening and we watched to see if the puppies would wear out the kids or vice versa. It was a draw, but we cheated a little bit and sent the puppies to play with them in two shifts.

Mackenzie, the youngest girl was the individual winner with the most energy. She inspired the pups to keep up with her as she ran circles around our big lawn. We are beginning to learn a lot about our pups. Now we are pretty sure that they will have the stamina to be tracking dogs.

Puppies in the garden and on the lawn

2010-07-21T22:21:00.000-04:00

Roulette

Queenie

Geiko

Rilla and Geiko

Geiko

Pictures of Rilla

2010-07-21T21:19:00.000-04:00

Rilla (currently no collar, previously white collar)

Pictures of Quick and Quella

2010-07-19T22:17:00.000-04:00

Quick (red)

Quella (orange)

Puppies' first trip to the pond

2010-07-16T08:22:00.000-04:00

What a hot summer it has been! Dogs are not able to get enough exercise as it is plainly too hot during the day. Last evening I took Gilda and her two pups, Remy and Rilla, to the pond. Gilda needs to lose a lot of weight, and I can see that she is out of shape. We should be taking her to the pond more often if the weather stays this hot. She likes to swim so this is a good exercise for her. Pups, just over 7 weeks old, were exploring but did not get into the water.

Playing with Tommy

2010-07-14T22:00:00.000-04:00

Another hot day today but pups had a good time playing with other dogs.

Puppies meet Nolan

2010-07-11T20:44:00.000-04:00

Today we had a very nice visit from a future owner of our puppy. Gunn Gardner from Springwater, NY, a member of Deer Search, came all the way to visit puppies, and he was accompanied by his grandson Nolan. A nine-year-old Nolan was natural with puppies, and even though he got scratched by sharp nails and teeth, he played with pups for a long time, and then went for more. It was a great fun for puppies too! Nolan lives in Texas so probably we are not going to see him too often, and that's too bad. After we had played with the pups, we went to the pond to watch Bernie performing his tricks in the water. And then Nolan fished and caught a big catfish. Altogether a great day!

By the way, yesterday Keena's pups turned 7 weeks old and their weights were:

Boys:

1. Quantum Green 1440 gr

2. Quick Red 2470 gr

3. Quentin Light Blue 2740 gr

4. Quint Navy             2360 gr

Girls:
5. Queenie Yellow       2040 gr
6. Quanta Pink            2470 gr
7. Quella Orange         2560 gr
8. Questa Lime            2130 gr
9. Quipster White        2600 gr

Pups' first blood line and first encounter with a deer hide

2010-07-09T07:16:00.001-04:00

Last evening there was a nice breeze, and even though it was still very hot, we managed to do a short fresh blood line for puppies, which ended with a deer hide served as reward. The video below shows puppies coming to the end of blood line and responding to a deer hide (their first). You can also see Geiko there, who now is fully integrated into the pack. He is in the first frame the brown pup on the right.

After pups had chewed on the hide for a while, John started to drag the hide and pups followed. They did well, and it was a good exercise. Some of them were more intense than others, but overall we were very pleased.

This morning started with a lot of excitement. When we got up and let Billy out to our fenced-in dog yard, we did not realize that a rabbit squeezed through the gate and was munching on the grass there. Billy killed it quickly, after John gutted it, we offered it to the puppies. Well, what can I say? The puppies are little savage beasts.