Summer is Officially Here!

Now that summer has arrived, and the puppies are closing in on 4 weeks old, it's safe to say the attention isn't lacking. The kids have been out of school for exactly 2 days, and the puppies have in the house and the yard roughly 20 time that amount.  They are loving their puppy time, and I do believe the puppies are loving their kiddo time!  Robyn and I spent the weekend in Nashville delivering four puppies and having some fun with just the two of us.  When we got home the puppies had changed so much.  Gracyn assured me that she was taking good care of them while we were gone and she was 100% right!  The first thing I had to do was change the carpet in the whelping box over to woodchips.  The bigger they get, the bigger the mess they leave. We'll start them on wet food later this week, and they'll love every bit of that.  After about the 10th time of letting them out today, the puppies are pretty content just crashing somewhere in the soft green grass. It's been an extremely busy couple of days for me, so I haven't been outside with them much, but rest assure they are getting plenty of attention. This is probably the best time of year to be a puppy in the Franken Household. There will be no shortage of attention these next few weeks!

 The pups are starting to become more and more alert every day now.  They are sitting up, walking/wobbling around, barking, growling, and getting chunkier by the day. Lilly is sure doing a great job of taking care of them and feeding them as you can see by some of the fat rolls on their foreheads.  The kids are enjoying their time with the puppies, and it's a pretty regular occurrence for the kids to take a puppy or two in the house to snuggle with. They are at the perfect stage for that because we don't have to worry about them terrorizing the house at this point.  They love to take them in, but its usually mom or dad that have to take them back out!   We took them outside today and let them explore the grass which went pretty well.  It's hard to believe that in a little over a week we'll start having a tough time keeping up with all of them!  

Poppy (Still the smallest and still KK's favorite)

Aspen (still the lightest and still Gracyn's favorite)

Rosie

McKenzie

Harper

Mandy

Creek

Branch (Darkest male and still Boden's favorite)

Aspen and McKenzie

Branch and Creek

Growing Like Weeds!

In  only a week's time the pups have changed so much!   A little over a week ago when we took the same pictures we were able stuff every puppy into the blind bag, now it was a full house with only half of them.  They sure hit a growth spurt, and they are starting to get more active. Along with their eyes opening up they are starting to wobble around on all fours.  Today some of the were even  sitting up like tiny little puppies!  It's hard to believe they can change so much in such a short amount of time.  It's also hard to believe that they are already over 2 weeks old!  With each day that passes, they are another day closer to going home.   Not sure if we're quite ready for that.  They are just getting to that stage where they love to be snuggled and held, but not rambunctious enough to cause any trouble!

Litter Expected Early June

Briar x Lotto Litter Expected Early June

Black and yellow litter expected around June 10.  This is a first time mating of two dogs that match up extremely well together!   If you're looking for that dog that has the perfect look, a ton of drive, and strong natural pointing ability this is the litter.  Both sire and dam have great personalities, are great family dogs, and have a pedigree that don't quit.  This breeding compiles 15 GMPR titles, 10 APLA titles, AKC and Field Trial Champions, 5 APLA Hall of Fame dogs and a total of 35 titled dogs in the pedigree.  Some notables include GMPR MPR Rik's Risky Raider MH, GMPR Grits of Black Forest SH, 4xGMPR Kroeger's Snapping Gator MH, GMPR High Caliber’s Winning Ticket SH, GMPR Zig Zags Jipsey's Black Magic MH, CPR Minn Horse and Hunt Club Thor, and GMPR Wannamakers Hot Tubb SH. Both Lotto and Briar come with all the health clearances.  Both of their hips are excellent, elbows/eyes normal. Pups come with a 28 month health guarantee. 

 Briar

 Briar is that all around great family gun dog that everyone is looking for!  She is the type of dog you can spend all day with in the yard, take for a walk, use to keep the kids entertained, but yet has a passion for upland hunting like no one else!   Briar is a 60 pound female that is built for strength, athleticism, and endurance!  Not to mention she possesses that same great look we've been seeking to reproduce for the past 10 years!   She is a dog that can cover a lot of ground in a hurry, but never gets too rangy and constantly has her nose to the ground. At only 3 years old, many people often ask to hunt their pups alongside her because she hunts like a dog whose been doing it for 10 years.  She uses her nose to pinpoint birds in the thickest of cover, and when the conditions are right she displays a strong and steady natural point.   Her greatest attribute would be her ability to mark and find cripples.  There have been very few crippled birds that have outsmarted over the years, and her determination is seldomly matched. Briar is the perfect all around gun dog and I'm impressed at how many things she does so well!

  

Lotto

Lotto is an GMPR, SH titled male comes to us by way of High Caliber Labs in South Dakota. High Caliber is a very well renowned kennel throughout the U.S. just south of Sioux Falls in the heart of Pheasant Country. Their reputation speaks for itself producing many titled dogs over the past several years.   Lotto is a black stud with all the natural point you could ask for.  He has a desire to hunt that is seldom seen, and amazing retrieving ability.  He is a 68 pound male with all the looks and a ton of muscle. You won’t find a better looking black lab!  Lotto’s pedigree includes:  GMPR Rik’s Risky Raider MH, 4 x GMPR Kroeger’s Snappin Gator MH, GMPR Wannamaker’s Hot Tub SH,  GMPR HPK Shooter’s Baxter Bing JH, GMPR Zig Zag’s Jipsy’s Black Magic MH just to name a few.  This pedigree is loaded with some of the most sought after pointing lines in the country.   He has hunted extensively on waterfowl and upland, and he lives to hunt and will go strong all day long! Lotto is professional guide dog in South Dakota, and sees more pheasants in one week than most dogs see all year!  

 

Puppy Pedigree

Preschooler's Visit

Last week I took my preschool students on a field trip to see the puppies and play at the park.  They were SO excited to see these puppies I have been talking about for the last 6 weeks.  I have showed them multiple videos, so they were pretty excited to see them in person.

This little girl wanted to take Silas home SO bad.  Her mom is going to have a baby in just a couple of weeks, so I kept telling her, "You will have a baby at your house in just a few weeks to hold and snuggle."  She responded with, "Yeah, but I would rather have Silas." :) 

This little boy in the pictures below has a very time sitting for ANY amount of time.  We have worked all year with him in finding behavior and attention strategies that work.  I looked at my para about halfway through the puppy visit and said, "We just needed (insert name) to have a Theo all year".  It is amazing to me how dogs can be so therapeutic for kids.  It was so sweet to see Theo respond to him and just sit on his lap, almost like he understood this little guy needed him.