One-third Full

Mary-Ann Sontag February 22, 2021

Something interesting is that the tails are up in both litters. I imagine that a tail is a bit of a balance aid to puppies of this age. As they get more steady in their walking and begin to think about adding scampers, the tail is a way to add some stability.

Someone should study this, comparing the rate of steady walking of tailed and non-tailed puppies. The fact that I think like that in the middle of all this explains why I teach a Research Methods class.

This is Metis practicing his self-stack…

Pozy loves to visit with her family, and the Moonshadows greet her with wagging tails — adorable.

Daisy makes all of this so easy. Here she is with Ariel and Hunter…

Arche checking out today’s fun…

This is Kale and Mighty Titan…

Okay — yes, things are a Hot Mess at the Bright Stars side of things.

The hormone Relaxin is not Claire’s friend. If you do a quick google search on relaxin you will discover that it impacts ligaments and joints in varying degrees in pregnant and lactating women (and dogs).

Claire pulled the short stick in the relaxin department. Ligament #1 went out after a stumble on the stairs while very pregnant and the ligament in her other knee appears to be having big issues. Her braced leg is now the better hind leg.

This is awful. No question. The brace was to get us through puppies and to surgery, and now this.

Deep breaths.

We have a great vet, and I have reached out to do yet another consult with a specialist. Suzanne is lending me a harness, Claire is comfortable when not walking, and the puppies are fine. That is all why the glass is one-third full, and I am focusing on that one-third.

I am not a proponent of feeding solid foods early because it is healthier for babies to wait, and so my puppies exclusively nurse until 5 - 6 weeks; I think we can make it to five weeks (Thursday) before the Bright Stars start solid foods.

My hope and prayer is that they can continue to nurse until they leave for their new homes but we shall see how things proceed with Claire. This is obviously an emerging situation, and Claire’s welfare is important. A balancing act, to be sure.

Claire is patient and good-natured about all of this.

I worry that people won’t understand that all of this is pregnancy-related — Claire is a sound, wonderful dog who just got overdosed on hormones and is having really bad luck.

Therefore, I made this video — it is Claire practicing from a year ago and followed by the Bright Stars today. THAT is the real Claire.

All of us who get one of Claire’s very Limited Edition Puppies are damn lucky and need to understand the price this dog has paid to bring them into the world.

Yep. Tears in Montana today. But that glass is still 1/3 full.

Evening Photos

Thank you for your kind and supportive comments, emails, and messages. I appreciate all of them.

When Transparency is Opaque

Mary-Ann Sontag February 21, 2021

The demand for Berner puppies is intense. I have received dozens and dozens of inquiries from wonderful people who just want a puppy.

Producing family companions is not actually my first priority as a breeder. What I am trying to do is create MY next puppy — or in the case of the Moonshadows, Toby’s next puppy.

This means the goal for every breeding I do is based on what I value: I want a healthy, sound Berner with a strong work ethic who can compete at the high levels of performance events AND conformation (aka beauty pageant). This means my dog must have a solid temperament and a certain “look” — it also means I tend to produce smart, active Berners who are not couch potatoes.

Many of our dogs live amazingly wonderful lives as family companions — most them, in fact! Those family companions were also bred to be sound, active, smart, and pretty. For any number of reasons, they were not placed as a “show puppy” and so their interesting lives look different than the one who will stay here or go into a show home. Not better or worse — just different.

Some homes that start off wanting a family companion discover the fun of performance events and next thing you know they are off competing. That is wonderful! It is also fantastic if the dog’s interesting life is being a Therapy Dog or hiking in the mountains.

There is no one perfect life for a dog — as long as it is kind, safe, and interesting a dog’s life can be so many things.

I am so grateful that most of these puppies will go to people I already know and/or who have previous Berner experiences. The selection of which new homes to welcome into our Berner Community is hard on all of us. People just want a puppy — and it seems like it should be easy.

It isn’t.

I do not want to mess this up — a puppy’s life depends on me making an optimal match. Further, I have contracts with stud dog owners. They — and others who have worked with me through generations of dogs — have every right to expect me to keep doing the honorable and ethical things I agreed to do. Terri Zimmerman doesn’t deserve to have the progeny of any of her Z Boys in bad situations — these puppies are part of her legacy.

You get it. This stuff matters.

I cannot choose my puppy until they are 7 - 8 weeks old. There are a few homes that want something similar to me — and again, those puppies cannot be identified before they are 7 - 8 weeks old. In fact, I cannot make any puppy matches until that age because I have to know personalities.

I will not breed Claire again — this has been much too hard on her. She is a lovely mother and has produced gorgeous babies but her quality of life matters more than anything. Claire is one and done in the motherhood department.

And so I am tempted to keep two puppies from Claire. I am not sure I will but yes, I am tempted.

Complicating things more — if I only keep one puppy, I need a back-up girl in a home I trust in case the girl I keep doesn’t turn out. With only one litter from Claire, I need options going forward and so placement of puppies is also based on what I need as a breeder.

All this is to help explain why it is hard to say whether I have a puppy for someone or not. Yes, I can commit most of the puppy slots but there will be last minute decisions and those are hard on all of us; this is especially true of the girl placements.

I write this blog to help people understand more about what it means to live a Life with Dogs that includes occasional litters. This post should give an inkling that it is surprisingly complicated. Who knew?!

Have an uncomplicated day — I bet that would be nice.

Evening Pics

Today got more complicated — Claire’s good back leg is not so good anymore — and so just three photos from the Bright Stars today…

The Importance of Being Kind

Mary-Ann Sontag February 20, 2021

As I sit here at my desk, I can easily see both litters. I look right and see the Bright Stars…

…and to my left is the new Moonshadow compound…

The flooring above is vinyl over agility mats, and the whole room will soon be the designated indoor play area to be utilized by both litters.

Right now, the Moonshadows would not benefit from too much space and in fact, too much space all at once can be scary for a puppy. An alone puppy in the wild would be an easy meal — they are biologically programmed to not want to be alone and a big, new space lets them get too separated.

Remember this when you bring a new puppy home — don’t expect them to love being alone because it just isn’t how they are made. Being alone = Terrifying when you are an easy meal.

Puppies (and tiny humans) need what they need in each developmental period, and it is the job of ethical, intentional, and smart adults to meet those needs.

Remember this — it is 100% appropriate to meet the current needs of a puppy, understanding that they transition successfully through developmental periods ONLY when the developmental needs are met. Deny a human baby what they need and go ahead and start saving for their future therapy bills.

Puppies are not different — they need what they need, and denying them the chance to be developmentally appropriate is not only setting them up to have issues but it is also just plain mean. #bekind

And so let the puppy chew.

Make sure little puppies have company.

Manage your housetraining expectations.

And in all ways — let the puppy be a puppy.

The life of a dog is quick — don’t waste one second being unreasonable in your expectations or disappointed because a puppy behaved in ways perfectly compatible with normal development and their DNA.