Exciting Litter News! Jam & Chaz are expecting!

Our fabulous and talented Jam has been confirmed pregnant via ultrasound and is due December 18th. Chaz is a Best in Futurity winner (2011) and was also Best in Maturity at the 2012 WCA National Specialty.  He is a proven producer of champions and multiple Best of Breed winners but most importantly, has passed on his amazing temperament and good health. All health clearances have been completed with passing grades for both Jam and Chaz, with CHIC numbers received. 

I have had the pleasure of spending a great deal of time with Chaz, at both dog shows and as a guest at his home, with his mother and daughter, all with wonderful temperaments.  Chaz is friendly, sweet and although has not competed or trained in performance venues, is biddable and smart.  Chaz has a gorgeous front assembly and typey build and we are hopeful that with Jam, will produce beautiful puppies.  Puppies from Jam's first two litters are already making their mark in the show ring, with major wins, at hunt tests earning JH legs, a tracking title, and training for agility.

We have decided to call this our Holiday Litter.  Not only will they be born during the Jewish celebration of Hannukah and a week before Christmas but the theme and puppy AKC registered names will be based on Madonna songs, one of our favorite artists, whose hit song Holiday is a classic.  As the Madonna lyric goes...It's Time to Celebrate!

Exciting breeding plans for Jam!

 Jam will be bred to the gorgeous Fala, CH A graytSky A La Fala Love'A.  This line breeding combines two outstanding pedigrees and dogs with wonderful health, temperaments and natural ability in the field.  Puppies expected early December.

Fala is a young dog with a great future.  He finished in amazing style with three majors including a 5-pt major  going Winner's Dog at the 2013 Weimaraner Club of America National Specialty and another 5-pt major at the Atlanta Kennel Club show leading up to the National Specialty.  The European side of his pedigree includes dogs who have been proven in both the show ring and field.  

Jam, a multiple Best of Breed and Specialty AOM winner, has lovely conformation and beautiful side-gait.  She has a wonderful outgoing personality and sound temperament: sweet, confident and friendly.  She is also a little spitfire with high drive and thinks life is a game.  Jam only needs 4 singles to complete her GCH, has one leg towards her Senior Hunter title (owner handled) and competes in agility at the Masters level all while being selectively specialed. 

Jam has followed in her mother's paw prints as a model and has done photo shoots and commercials for Longchamp, Target, Ralph Lauren, Vanity Fair, Vogue and Macy's.  Jam is a Pet Partners Therapy dog and is certified to visit different environments including hospitals, schools, and nursing homes. She currently makes weekly visits to a residence for developmentally disabled and autistic adults and was recognized nationally for her service and is featured in the new Pet Partners promotional video. 

Jam is a proven producer of talented pups from her breeding last year to Summit. These pups are extremely biddable, with solid temperaments and are just beginning their show careers and in training for competition obedience, tracking, agility and therapy work.

J-S Pups Day 16: Momma Monday

 Jam, enjoying the beautiful day, watching her Momma Trixie on the deck above.  Jam is looking great considering she is 2 weeks post-whelp, getting her model figure back.

 Faces of Trixie, our foundation bitch and grandma to this litter.

 Puppy Love!

 While the six girls get all their nourishment from the milk bar, we have been bottle feeding Chase, as he has a hard time nursing so we supplement him with puppy formula.

 And after a good meal, everyone takes a nap!

J-S Pups Day 15: Headshots & First Toy

A fun-filled day for the Rockstars!  A no-flash photo shoot for headshots and they got their   first toy! 

The puppies received their first toy, a soft, multi-color octopus! They were quite curious and enjoyed smelling, tasting and climbing all over the new toy. The pups have also begun interacting with each other and it is quite entertaining watching the beginnings of what will evolve into playing and socializing. Gradually, we will add other toys that make different noises and offer different textures for the pups to explore.

J-S Pups Day 14: Toddling around

 Eyes open everywhere and the pups are moving all over the whelping box.  We are still in no-flash mode to protect the newly opened baby blue eyes.  I've been sick and haven't been able to update the blog - being a teacher, surrounded by sneezing and coughing kids, it was bound to hit me.  Watching the pups is great medicine!

 The pups just woke up from a nap and are quite hungry.

 You can see that they are toddling around, pushing off their front legs and starting to walk with all fours.

 Once Jam comes in the box, it's like a free for all and all the pups surround her looking for the best spot at the milk bar.

 Jam checks their rears to clean them or stimulate them and then will start to settle down for them to nurse.

 How cute is this pups between Jam's front legs!

 All vying for a spot, a bit of chaos and then they'll all settle down to nurse.

Awww, kisses from mommy

J-S Pups Day 12: Look how big!

 The pups continue to gain weight and now look more like miniature Weims than guinea pigs.  All their eyes are now open in varying degrees but we are keeping the lights low and have banned flash photography for a few days to protect their developing eyes. We are doing the best we can to take pictures of the pups without using a flash. Their vision however, is not very sharp but don't worry by day 18 or so, they will be able to focus on objects and people. Very young Weimaraner puppies have striking blue eyes. As the pups mature, their eye color changes to shades of light amber, gray, or blue-gray.

 They still nurse aggressively, vying for the best spot at the milk bar.  Chase, aka Mr. Orange, hasn't mastered the art of nursing so we are still bottle feeding him.

J-S Pups Day 11; Peek-a-Boo

The puppies' eyes have begun to open, so we have banned flash photography for awhile. Even though their eyes are starting to open, they cannot see clearly yet and still bump into each other in the whelping box as they wander around.

With open eyes, these pups have such character in their beautiful faces and it is difficult to not want to just cuddle them all day long!

The Rockstars also had a special visitor today, our good friend, Lilly, who owns relatives of our Weims.  She was a super help, holding the pups while I clipped their nails with a children's size nail clipper.  After their mani/pedis, the pups got lots of hugs and kisses!

J-S Pups Day 10 Part 2: Weigh-in

 Part of the Rockstars daily routine is getting weighed.  We use a digital postal scale and for now, a bowl until they outgrow it and then a tray. We weighed them at birth and will continue daily weighing for the first two to three weeks and then switch to weekly weigh-ins. By charting their weight, we can be sure the pups are eating enough or if there is a problem.

 The pups have been steadily gaining weight and Miss Raspberry, below, broke 2 lbs! Our biggest girl.

J-S Pups Day 10: Where's Waldo?

The Rockstar Litter Logo!

Thanks to KellyAnn for designing this fabulous logo for our Rockstars.  Photo by me, Rockstars produced by Summit, BISS BIF CH Pike's Peak Silversmith Summit,SH,SDX,NRD, V and Jam, CH Grayhart's Purple Haze, CD,JH, OA,OAJ,SD,VX, Therapy Dog.

J-S Pups Day 8: Bio-Sensor for Super Dogs

The Bio-Sensor or "Super Dog" method is a tool we use to help ensure our puppies develop superiorly both physically and mentally. Developed by the U.S. Military, the Bio-Sensor method is a series of exercises performed on puppies starting at day 3 and ending on day 16. 

Each exercise is performed one time, for a specific amount of time, daily during this time period. It is important not to perform each exercise more than once per day or for increased amounts of time as it could over stress the puppies. These exercises would not occur naturally during this time frame and work by requiring the pup's neurological system to kick in earlier than normal.Studies have shown that Bio-Sensor puppies have:

• Improved cardio vascular performance
• Stronger heartbeats
• Stronger Adrenal Glands
• Increased tolerance to stress and
• Greater resistance to disease

Studies also show that Bio-Sensor pups are far less affected by stressful situations than pups that do not have these exercises performed. They were more calm and able to perform learning tests with fewer errors.

The benefits from this early neurological stimulation have lasting effects on puppies, lasting a lifetime if proper enrichment and socialization is provided during the dogs life!

We believe this is an important tool in developing puppies and in our breeding program.

 Securely holding the pup in an upright position with head over tail. This position is then reversed and the pup is held tail over head in a secure hold. Each exercise is performed for 3-5 seconds.

 Pup is held between both hands on its back in a supine position.

 Tactile stimulation with a Qtip.

 Pup is exposed to an interesting scent, in this instance, a pheasant feather.

 Even at this young age, the pups react to the scents and get excited by certain ones, like this feather.  I think Miss Yellow is a bird dog in the making!

Thermal stimulation on a chilled plate.