Weimaraner Wednesday

Weimaraner Wednesday has a new meaning for us as it has become our new Delta Therapy Dog visiting day.  Jam resumed her visits a few weeks ago and the consumers and staff were beyond thrilled to have her back.  As mentioned in a previous post, we visit a residence that is part of the Rockland County Association for Learning Disabilities and had wanted a pet therapy team for a long time. From the start back in the fall, Jam was a hit and I was honored to be asked back and offered to do weekly visits. The residents or consumers as they are called, are mostly men in their mid-twenties with ASDs (Autism Spectrum Disorders) plus developmental disabilities and neurological issues and are non-verbal. 

Due to Jam's season and breeding plans, we had taken seven weeks off before returning. When we visited, it was as if we had never left. The staff of course, were very excited to see us and I was happy to see that the consumers remembered us. We met one of them outside and he immediately put his hand out to pet Jam!  We went into the rec center and had a nice visit with the consumers wanting to do their favorite tricks with Jam.

Last week's visit was a bit different as the rec center was occupied so the staff asked if Jam would be okay in the house in the TV room and she was fine. It was more intimate than the rec center and I think a little better as the consumers all sat on couches and it was easier for all to pay attention and get their time with Jam. One of the consumers started to do something new with Jam, not sure if he was copying one of the other consumers, who always loves to feed Jam, but this consumer wanted to repeatedly feed Jam a treat from his open hand. He smiled, which his aide said was the first time he had smiled all day and then he laughed and smiled some more.  The consumers each have their favorite things to do with Jam, some feed her, others give her the hand signals to down, spin or speak, which is a big crowd-pleaser. We really crammed a lot of quality interaction into our visit.

Today's visit was extra special as one of the consumers had a private visit with Jam as the other consumers were at their therapeutic horseback riding lesson. This consumer continues to feel more comfortable with Jam each visit and reaches out to her independently. May not seem like a big deal but for this individual, it is huge.  This is also the same consumer who first started to feed Jam treats last week and he again surprised us by opening his hand for me to put a treat on it so Jam could get it! The resident behaviorist witnessed this for the first time and was thrilled.  The consumer laughed and smiled when Jam ate the treat from his hand.  We all smiled too!

I guess we should say this was a truly Wonderful Weimaraner Wednesday!

World traveler

 In our romp around the internet, we stumbled upon the long awaited photos from Jam's photoshoot for Tumi luggage.  These were taken last October, at a fabulous beach house in Bridgehamptom, New York.    This house and location has been used for TV shows such as Royal Pains, movies and fundraisers.  It was a tough job, not really, but somebody had to do it.  Jam loved the crew and was only annoyed that she wasn't allowed to run on the beach but rather had to look pretty.  The onsite chef cooked Jam's favorites and she was totally spoiled.

 Jam is featured in two shots, the hallway shot lying on the floor and the other one on the driveway with a model, Maserati and of course, the featured luggage.  This shot is on the Tumi website and the cover photo on their Facebook page.

 The house had incredible beach views and this amazing infinity pool on the second floor deck.  What a fun day!

Shopboppin' Jam

Jam's latest modeling gig for the high fashion website, shopbop,com

Our Girls

              A bevy of beauties...our champions...l-r: Savi, Jam & Momma Trixie!

Let the sun shine

A picture perfect almost-Spring day for sunning on the deck. L-r: Trixie, Savi, Jam

Disappointments...

Reality has struck and we are ready to discuss one of the challenges of breeding. Although the majority of my posts are for fun, follow our litters, celebrate wins, discuss training and are hopefully educational, I also want to share the long awaited news about Jam's breeding. Unfortunately, her ultrasound showed no puppies.

We are very disappointed that she is not pregnant and we do not know why this breeding did not take and may never know. The people on our waiting list are also quite disappointed. I am thankful for those who have chosen to wait for our next litter and understand those who prefer not to wait and have referred them to other breeders.

As a responsible breeder, we spent many months researching pedigrees and looking at various dogs, in person whenever possible such as at Nationals and Regional Specialties, and made sure Jam had all her health testing complete as well as the potential sire. Additionally, there were hours spent speaking to and meeting potential puppy people and even mentoring some of them. We literally spent thousands of dollars to do this special breeding, as the pedigree was exceptional and we all had high hopes for a fantastic litter. But in breeding as in life, there are no guarantees and this breeding for whatever reason, did not take.

On the upside, Jam is healthy and happy and will return to her role as a therapy dog, where she was sorely missed. She will continue her modeling career, get back to training and competitions and we plan on breeding her this coming summer.

February Field Training

Savi

 We enjoyed President's Day doing one of our favorite activities, field training with Jam and Savi.  Kellyann was also off from work and took these great shots of our girls. We could not have been more pleased with how well Savi worked, as she has not been in the field since December.  If she continues as this pace, she will be ready for Senior Hunter this Spring or by fall.

 Savi on point.  The weather was perfect with good wind and Savi pointed the birds from quite a distance. She held until released for the retrieve!

 Awesome retrieve from Savi!

 Savi standing pretty!

Jam, who is still recovering from her procedure last week, was so happy that we let her out to retrieve a Chukkar!