Happy belated birthday, Diamond Willow Litter!

So wonderful to get some picture updates from the pups 1st birthday!

Growing Up

The Diamond Willow Litter recently turned 10 months old, and it's as good as time as any to correct our failure to post a farewell to these special lil' pups, who are anything but little now. We relished the opportunity to provide them the love and care to get them through their first months of life, and could not be happier with their chosen forever homes and for how they developed so far.

 

Bashaba Sweet Sawyer, a.k.a. Samson

For those of you who are in the FB group, Chinook Fun Spot, you’ve witnessed the love story that began last July when Sawyer went home to his family near Philadelphia.  They pined for a Chinook for many years but waited until the young family was ready to welcome a new pup to the home. Sawyer was that pup, and he’s exceeded all their expectations as a loving and mellow soul who returns every ounce of love with equal affection. At 10 months of age, Sawyer is oblivious to his size – all 86 lbs – and loves to be as close as possible to all of his human and animal family companions. His wonderful temperament has made him the perfect addition to the family, and someday he might get a day job as a therapy dog. 

 

Bashaba Some Kind of Blue, a.k.a. Zanna

Blue headed off to be a beach dog on the Jersey Shore where she is the constant companion to a wonderful family who gush that she’s “an absolute joy”. She’s grown into an energetic and outgoing pup who loves meeting new people and dogs, always drawing comments on how happy she looks. She continues to be a curious and bold explorer, much like her mama. And she’s smart as a whip, currently rocking an advanced training class.

 

Bashaba Arya Nymeria, a.k.a. Chickadee

Arya packed up her spunk and headed to North Carolina to be with a loving and devoted family. Despite being the lil’ peanut of the litter, she has really grown into her own and is a stunning long coat Chinook with a playful spirit. We’re happy that she’s not terribly far so that we can have occasional visits.

 

Week 7

7 week old puppies are keeping us too busy to take many photos, so we are grateful that our friend and her daughter came to play with the puppies, visit with us, AND take all of these beautiful shots.

Chickadee

Samson

Zanna

The Gang

Week 6

Week 6 outdoor games slideshow from meganr on Vimeo.

Week 4

Week 4 was a special one for the Diamond Willow Litter because it coincided with Roxy's third birthday. We feel so privileged to be part of this Litter, and it doesn't seem that long ago we switched ourselves from the long wait list for a "male pet" to the head of the line for a breed potential female. And all we got was an amazing pet AND a very special litter. And we can't say often enough how thankful we've been to the Chinook breeding community for helping the newbies. But enough sap. The puppies!

Week 4 transitioned from the weeble-wobble stage to the run-like-mad-then-crash stage. The pups were also introduced to grass this week and started some mental challenges. They've taken to food quite well, but Roxy is not giving up nursing quite yet despite all that the lil' piranhas dish out. The pups have become so wonderfully social and hold eye contact even with new visitors. At the beginning of the week, Roxy first started playing with them, which she initiated with Samson, usually the last to stop nursing and the last one in the whelping box. So sweet watching mama and son gently wrestling.

Week 2

Week 1 Update

Week 1 Update - Happy Mother's Day!

Roxy has recovered quite well from the c-section and is back to her usual self. After being initially confused as to the sudden appearance of the three fur dumplings, the maternal instincts kicked into high gear. She doesn't like being away from them for long and will touch each one when she returns. Just yesterday, Day 6, she began to take short non-bathroom breaks from the box.

Though slow to return, Roxy's appetite has picked back up. Our efforts to supplement her diet until now have paid off as all pups have steadily gained wait and all have more than doubled their birth weight. Pretty remarkable for C-section pups!

We're dedicated to producing the best possible Chinooks not only genetically but developmentally as well. On day 3, we began Early Neurological Stimulation, or ENS, which is an evidence-based approach to improve long-term outcomes, such as resilience to stress and improved cardio vascular performance. This is one of the first steps in the Puppy Culture process that we're following.

It's been an amazing week, and we're thrilled to be part of the journey, even though we're still up all night every night keeping pups from being inadvertently crushed, offering Roxy a variety of food and drink, helping puppies poop, and doing laundry. But what else would we be doing?

To track their growth through pictures, check out their individual pages by clicking on the tabs above.