The Puppy Picking Begins: Addie x Ike “Michigan Rivers” Litter

Addie & Ike’s puppies are six-weeks old and the picking has started. Because it is summer (a slow time for bird dog puppy sales) and we had a few transfers, we have puppies available. Detroit, Rainy, Pigeon (females) and Spurr (male) have been picked. Because of a transfer to a female, Moss (male) is now available. There are 3 females now available! If you knew how crazy that is for us, but this seems to be the year of males. Dozens of inquiries on males just weeks ago when all 4 were reserved… and now with transfers and switching, there are 2 males available (one from this litter and one from Nash’s litter). Anyway, point is there are some awesome pups available—Annie, Fawn, Sandy and the Moss Man. Check out the litter page.

 

The pups are doing fantastic. They are little pointing fools and are a blast to watch as they point butterflies, bugs, and each other. They stalk and pounce. The males are definitely backing.

 

Their mother taught them (I think she did anyway) how to dig and now the puppy play area outside is full of holes! I thought of trying to fill them in (again), but decided they are having way too much fun playing, hiding, and keeping cool in the holes. They even like to sleep in them. If this isn’t the instinct to den, I don’t know what is. And besides, every dog deserves to the pleasure of digging holes, keeping cool, and hiding in them if they want to!

The pups get out to play as much as possible. It’s been very warm and they are a bit spoiled, so they don’t stay outside for long during the afternoon. Morning and evening are their fun time, but not great light for photo taking. They scratch at the door and cry to go out to do their business much of the time and most sleep all piled up in the crate, unless it is just too warm for them, then they prefer the cool floor. I must get another crate for them.

I’ll also try to get them out to the big yard for exploring. This yard is much larger than the yard in PA, there is more they can get into, and keeping track of them myself is much harder.

They love me and get so excited, tails wagging like crazy and crying, when they hear me coming. During playtime, they are all over me with puppy kisses and licks. It can be very difficult to get photos because they all want to be in my lap. They are so stinking cute and I’m in bird-dog puppy heaven again. The house probably smells a bit like puppy pee and is a disaster, but really, who cares? I used to completely obsess about my house. I really just don’t care anymore. It’s clean, where it needs to be, don’t get me wrong, I have to keep dog and puppy areas scrubbed and disinfected at all times, and have to be a maniac about it and keeping every “deposit” picked up and disposed of, but the rest of the place, I just don’t have time for right now. I’ll get to it when I get to it. It’s all about surviving here in bird-dog heaven and spending every extra minute that I am not working with the dogs and now, the puppies and besides you know the saying that goes something like, the more people I meet, the more I like the company of dogs… it’s kind of like that for me now. I really don’t care what anyone thinks of my 1910 yooper farm house. I only care what folks think of their Llewellin. 🙂

Anyway, sorry… I always get too personal and go off on tangents when all I meant to do was give a simple update on the puppies!

The next two weeks will be full of paperwork, crate training, scheduling for puppy meets and flight arrangements for the weekend of July 27th-28th. Nash & Ranger’s puppies will turn 6 weeks old this coming weekend (July 20th) and can leave the weekend of August 3rd-4th. After all the pups leave in early August, and if I can ever get my truck fixed and if Caveman can get permission to get a few days off work to come manage the kennels, I might get to finally go home to PA for a short visit and my daughter’s wedding shower!!!!

Speaking of Caveman, we received a lovely surprise in the mail yesterday! My darling Caveman sent a little box full of puppy toys! The pups had a great time with the new toys last evening. Thanks Caveman, you’re swell.

All of the photos and videos can be found on the Flikr area (link in the sidebar, too) and some on the litter page.

I am down to using the iPad for photos and videos. It’s fine, but I barely can stand life without my Canon D40 that kicked the bucket a few months ago! Someday I’ll get a replacement. Until then, I hope everyone can suffer with the less than stellar quality of photos and videos.

Have a great day all. I hope it isn’t too warm wherever you are in the world and that you are getting out with your bird dog.

As the mercury climbs to 95°F today—yes, sadly even here in northwoods paradise it get’s this freaking hot—I am longing for fall, 40°F, a stiff north wind, the rustle of fallen leaves under my feet, the sound of the dog’s bell going silent, the draw-dropping site of my Llewellin Setters on point, the explosion of a Ruffed Grouse flush, the smell of gun powder, the taste of mouth-watering partridge sautéed to perfection in a cast iron skillet, and the Llews sleeping contently around the wood stove… ahhh take me away…

Where would you rather be?

-M.