# Puppies



## heathpack (Apr 16, 2021)

We have two brand new neonatal pups as of around 48 hr ago.  They were delivered via csection due to a pregnancy complication (inguinal hernia with a bit of uterus in the hernia, and a fertilized egg, which made it long enough to become a pretty decent sized embryo, which was then resorbed).  First night was rough.  Phoenix (mama) wanted nothing to do with the pups- she was in pain and confused.  One of the pups wasn’t nursing well and I was up all night, feeding him via stomach tube multiple times.

But... things are much better today.  Both pups gaining weight.  Girl Pup is very vigorous.  Boy Pup is the one who wasnt nursing well but he’s getting the hang of it now and doing well.  There’s still a lot that can go wrong, neonatal pups can die a lot of different ways.  But so far, so good.

They are wirehaired mini dachshunds.  The breeding was done to perpetuate some very fine rabbit sense in the mama dog, Phoenix- she is a Field Champion.  Papa dog, Midas, is a Conformation Champion.

Some pics for your viewing pleasure:

Around 45 seconds old:




Snuggle Huggle:




Baby Boy:


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## Passepartout (Apr 16, 2021)

Awww. Cute! But there's nothing cuter than a puppy anyway.


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## Cornell (Apr 16, 2021)

AWE!  Love this!  

I follow a few accounts in Instagram that follow puppies from their birth until they leave w/new owners.  It's been my little bright spot during Covid.

Also - I got a new vet.  During the first visit w/the new vet, the vet tech came in an profusely apologized that my appointment would need to be rescheduled b/c the vet was in emergency surgery delivering puppies via C-section.  More than happy to leave and come back for new puppies!


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## heathpack (Apr 16, 2021)

Tomorrow is day three.  The day we start Early Neurologic Stimulation.  That’s tiny little stresses to the neurologic system- just 5 maneuvers done for 3-5 seconds each, so under 30 sec total per pup per day.  The theory is that this results in life long changes in health, immune and adrenal responses.

Heres more info on ENS in puppies:  https://www.vin.com/apputil/content/defaultadv1.aspx?id=3853852&pid=11203

We‘re going to try to follow a program called Puppy Culture, time permitting.  This focuses on the first 12 weeks of the pups’ lives when their brains are open to learning in a way they’re not when the pup is older.  Young pups have no fear, so you can introduce new things to them and desensitize them for life.  

Here’s a link to Puppy Culture.  https://shoppuppyculture.com/


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## mentalbreak (Apr 16, 2021)

Awww. Glad your late night care helped the puppy pull through. And how is Phoenix doing through it all? Hope they all continue to improve each day.


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## heathpack (Apr 16, 2021)

mentalbreak said:


> Awww. Glad your late night care helped the puppy pull through. And how is Phoenix doing through it all? Hope they all continue to improve each day.



She is doing well.  She seems to feel pretty ok, csection considered.  She can’t quite figure out how to pick up her babies to move them, she wants to grasp them with her mouth but then she aborts that maneuver and instead nudges them around then gets stressed she pushes one too far away.  But  the other one is still close- what to do?  Abandon one to rescue the other?  Big conflict.  She also really wants to tuck both of them under her breastbone and lay on them.  They encourage her by crawling into her armpits and around the base of her neck.  But she is figuring it out.  We’re on 24 hr puppy watch so are helping her out.

The first night she thought about maybe killing the pups.  I think to her they looked like little rats and that’s what she’d do with a rat.  I was really worried we’d have a big problemo.  But the oxytocin kicked in and now she adores her little wrigglers.  If I take one out of the box to get a weight, she is very alarmed if the pup squeaks at all and comes running to check.

So she is being a good mama and has been through a lot in the past few months between the pregnandy and the csection and now the wrigglers.  She’s doing an amazing job with it all.


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## Passepartout (Apr 16, 2021)

heathpack said:


> Tomorrow is day three.  The day we start Early Neurologic Stimulation.  That’s tiny little stresses to the neurologic system- just 5 maneuvers done for 3-5 seconds each, so under 30 sec total per pup per day.  The theory is that this results in life long changes in health, immune and adrenal responses.
> 
> Heres more info on ENS in puppies:  https://www.vin.com/apputil/content/defaultadv1.aspx?id=3853852&pid=11203
> 
> ...


Thanks for this information. You heard this first here: Our beloved blind Lowchen departed for the Rainbow Bridge just before Christmas. I fought adopting another for some time, but of course a silent house is not a good thing. So we've put in an application and deposit for a Goldendoodle from a local breeder who seems to run a clean, dog-oriented, non-puppymill business. All the parent dogs live with host families then when birth is immanent, the moms go to the homes of the principals who adhere to Puppy Culture and ENS training for each litter for 8 weeks before they go to their new homes. We are looking to get our new companion by mid-Summer.

Jim


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## heathpack (Apr 16, 2021)

Passepartout said:


> Thanks for this information. You heard this first here: Our beloved blind Lowchen departed for the Rainbow Bridge just before Christmas. I fought adopting another for some time, but of course a silent house is not a good thing. So we've put in an application and deposit for a Goldendoodle from a local breeder who seems to fun a clean, dog-oriented, non-puppymill business. All the parent dogs live with host families then when birth is immanent, the moms go to the homes of the principals who adhere to Puppy Culture and ENS training for each litter for 8 weeks before they go to their new homes. We are looking to get our new companion by mid-Summer.
> 
> Jim



So you will need to do the final four weeks of Puppy Culture in your house.  Better watch the movie!  It’s actually really interesting and well done.  Worth watching the entire program so you understand it from start to finish.  If I wasn’t in the midst of it myself, I’d lend you my DVD version.  Maybe the breeder has a hard copy you can borrow.

Congrats on the puppy!


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## Passepartout (Apr 17, 2021)

heathpack said:


> So you will need to do the final four weeks of Puppy Culture in your house.  Better watch the movie!  It’s actually really interesting and well done.  Worth watching the entire program so you understand it from start to finish.  If I wasn’t in the midst of it myself, I’d lend you my DVD version.  Maybe the breeder has a hard copy you can borrow.
> 
> Congrats on the puppy!


Thanks. Yes, we'll watch it. Our breeder is recommending, 'Baxter & Bella' training videos. Maybe similar, maybe not. Who knows. We've both had dogs for decades and they've ALL been well trained, socialized, happy dogs. I'm sure the next one will be too. 'Doodles are smart and easy-to-live-with members of the household and we're looking forward to the adoption.

Jim


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## nerodog (Apr 17, 2021)

heathpack said:


> We have two brand new neonatal pups as of around 48 hr ago.  They were delivered via csection due to a pregnancy complication (inguinal hernia with a bit of uterus in the hernia, and a fertilized egg, which made it long enough to become a pretty decent sized embryo, which was then resorbed).  First night was rough.  Phoenix (mama) wanted nothing to do with the pups- she was in pain and confused.  One of the pups wasn’t nursing well and I was up all night, feeding him via stomach tube multiple times.
> 
> But... things are much better today.  Both pups gaining weight.  Girl Pup is very vigorous.  Boy Pup is the one who wasnt nursing well but he’s getting the hang of it now and doing well.  There’s still a lot that can go wrong, neonatal pups can die a lot of different ways.  But so far, so good.
> 
> ...


Super way to start my day!! Adorable.


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## MrockStar (Apr 17, 2021)

wow, too cute, thanks for the photos. Appreciate what your doing to care for the pups.


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## heathpack (Apr 17, 2021)

The little wrigglers doing their thing:





Boy puppy doing yoga:




We started Early Neurologic Stimulation today.  Both puppies nursing well and gaining weight.  Still need to dip their umbilical cords and get their “official” weight.  Their first weights were 6pm, so that’s my weigh in time.

First nail trims will be tomorrow.


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## Passepartout (Apr 17, 2021)

This is all new to Phoenix. How's she doing? Cute poopies, but you know that.


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## heathpack (Apr 17, 2021)

Passepartout said:


> This is all new to Phoenix. How's she doing? Cute poopies, but you know that.



She’s good.  She sometimes wishes they wouldn’t nurse so much.  But she seems to be feeling better each day.  Loves her babies and keeping them tidy and organized.  Every now and then, I origami myself into the whelping box and spend a little time scratching her chest (her favorite) and telling her how brilliant she is.


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## DaveNV (Apr 17, 2021)

So cute.  Looks like the boy puppy is slightly lighter in coloration than his sister. Or is that a trick of the light?  Glad he's catching up.

Phoenix will start regulating how much they nurse, especially after they start growing teeth.  

Glad they're doing so well.

Dave


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## heathpack (Apr 17, 2021)

DaveNV said:


> So cute.  Looks like the boy puppy is slightly lighter in coloration than his sister. Or is that a trick of the light?  Glad he's catching up.
> 
> Phoenix will start regulating how much they nurse, especially after they start growing teeth.
> 
> ...



The boy is much lighter.  As I understand it, the pups’ colors will lighten as they age.  So much so that sometimes a red wire dachshund starts out looking like a light wild boar.

Papa is red (which in wire dachshunds looks more strawberry blonde or wheaten) and red is dominant to wild boar and both are dominant to black & tan.  The dark girl is definitely wild boar, meaning Papa‘s color genetics has got to be either Red/WB or Red/BT.  So I was expecting at least one red puppy and it would not surprise me if the boy turns out red like Papa.  But it’s possible that Papa only passed on WB genes to the pups and one will be light boar and the other dark boar.

Dark boar is more fashionable amongst the conformation show crowd.  But I don’t care.


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## DaveNV (Apr 17, 2021)

Nice that you have different colors among the pups - easier to tell them apart when they're running around getting into trouble.  And yes, colors do change as they grow up. Phoenix is such a looker, if the dad is as nice, these are bound to be excellent looking kiddos. Looking forward to seeing pix in a few weeks when their eyes are open and they're starting to move around.

Dave


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## Theiggy (Apr 17, 2021)

Oh my goodness ! How exciting to follow puppy growth with you! Lots more pics please!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## JudyH (Apr 17, 2021)

My parents gave away my Doxie when I was 5 and he snapped at my new baby sister. To this day I wish they had kept the dog and rehomed  her.


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## klpca (Apr 17, 2021)

What exciting news! Thanks for letting us follow along as they grow. Give Phoenix a scritch for us tuggers.


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## heathpack (Apr 19, 2021)

Boy baby.


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## heathpack (Apr 19, 2021)

Girl baby using mama‘s paw as a pillow.

Big day of gaining weight and stealth nail trim while the pups nursed.


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## DaveNV (Apr 19, 2021)

Could these kids be any cuter??  So stinking cute!!

Dave


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## klpca (Apr 19, 2021)

heathpack said:


> View attachment 34658
> 
> Boy baby.


Who is that masked man?? I love his markings!


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## Glynda (Apr 19, 2021)

WOW!  How precious they are!!!!  Going to Google some of the details as it's new to me but can't wait to see more from these extraordinary pups!


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## Glynda (Apr 19, 2021)

Passepartout said:


> Thanks for this information. You heard this first here: Our beloved blind Lowchen departed for the Rainbow Bridge just before Christmas. I fought adopting another for some time, but of course a silent house is not a good thing. So we've put in an application and deposit for a Goldendoodle from a local breeder who seems to run a clean, dog-oriented, non-puppymill business. All the parent dogs live with host families then when birth is immanent, the moms go to the homes of the principals who adhere to Puppy Culture and ENS training for each litter for 8 weeks before they go to their new homes. We are looking to get our new companion by mid-Summer.
> 
> Jim



We've said that our Shih Tzu, Olive, will be our last. She's 10 1/2 yrs old. But I can not imagine life without a dog. I do know that we don't have another puppy in us so when/if the times comes we will adopt an older dog. Looking forward to seeing a pic of your new doodle this Summer!


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## AnnaS (Apr 19, 2021)

Absolutely adorable!!


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## heathpack (Apr 26, 2021)

Well, I have kind of a sad update: a week ago boy puppy stopped nursing overnight and then by the next morning he was exhibiting respiratory distress.  I assumed he had aspiration pneumonia and went all In on treating him.  I made him a little oxygen mask (yes I had oxygen at home!), I tube fed him formula every 2 hours, gave antibiotics and fluids, and I nebulized and coupaged him (using an electric toothbrush).

At first it seemed like he was getting better, and then I realized he was just waxing and waning.  Sadly we lost him after about 48 hr.  I did a little autopsy on him and didn’t find much- lungs, heart, diaphragm all looked grossly ok (I did not send any tissue for  microscopic exam because I didn’t have any formalin at home).  Likewise there was no cleft palate, and brain and abd organs looked ok.  It still could have been pneumonia that I couldn’t appreciate, for functional disease of the heart, lungs and liver.

Mama Phoenix was distraught and took it hard for a few days.  But she and her Girl Puppy are now thriving.

Boy puppy on oxygen:








Mama Phoenix with her babies, boy puppy with oxygen mask:






Did I mention this was such a sad thing?!  Totally sad.  However this is the way of life.  Neonatal pups are very fragile, there’s actually a 30% mortality rate in the first two weeks.  Who knew?


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## heathpack (Apr 26, 2021)

i mentioned Phoenix had a rough couple of days searching for her boy, but she has bounced back nicely and is a great doting mama to her girl puppy.  Ninety five percent of the time.

The other 5% of the time, she tends to lie on her pup, or “hug” her by tucking the pup under her chin and resting her head lightly on her but then falling asleep and relaxing her head too heavily on the pup.  So hubby and I have been on 24 hr puppy watch, sleeping In shifts.  It’s been exhausting.  However, it should be getting better soon, as pup is getting bigger and stronger every day.  Probably another week of this continual watch.

Im normally the kind of person who rushes around and gets a lot of stuff done.  But I will say hanging out and watching a puppy nurse is pretty relaxing.

Post nursing sleepy bliss state.  This is very common, lol.





Phoenix wondering when this pup will start fending for itself. Lol.





Mama love.





Happiness is a warm scarf.


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## mentalbreak (Apr 26, 2021)

So sad, but Phoenix and boy puppy were lucky to have you there to give him every possible chance. I’m so sorry.
Just curious, was it difficult to do your autopsy investigation on your own puppy?
And thanks for all the pictures!  So cute!  Hopefully girl puppy is strong enough very soon so you can discontinue the constant monitoring.


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## heathpack (Apr 26, 2021)

mentalbreak said:


> So sad, but Phoenix and boy puppy were lucky to have you there to give him every possible chance. I’m so sorry.
> Just curious, was it difficult to do your autopsy investigation on your own puppy?
> And thanks for all the pictures!  So cute!  Hopefully girl puppy is strong enough very soon so you can discontinue the constant monitoring.



Difficult to do the autopsy?  Yes.  But I felt like it needed to be done, in case I found some obvious genetic defect.  So: you do what you’ve got to do, even when you really don’t want to do it.

It was super super hard on Phoenix to have a sick puppy.  She’s a maiden b1tch so she had no idea what to do (obviously there was nothing she could do, but she didn’t know that).  And then every time I took him for an intervention- tube feeding, temp, fluids, meds, neb, coupage- she became very distressed if he’d squeak or wriggle.  The whole situation was just bad for everybody.  I am used to treating the patient set before me, but I realized in the litter scenario, you’ve got to keep the entire litter in mind.  Helping Boy Puppy was hurting Mama Dog and by extension, Girl Puppy.

For a first litter, this has been something of a trial by fire.  Which by the way will probably be the pups name.  Briarwire is our “kennel” name (not much of a kennel, just our dogs, but having a kennel name is the convention when registering with the AKC).  So the AKC name is likely going to be Briarwire’s Trial by Fire.  That won’t be her call name of course.  Phoenix’s name is FC Eternal’s She’s on Fire MW SHH.  So I wanted to keep with the Fire theme anyway.


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## AnnaS (Apr 26, 2021)

Sorry to hear about boy puppy -    You are a great mommy.


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## DaveNV (Apr 26, 2021)

This really is sad news.  But considering the complications Phoenix had with her pregnancy, it's not completely unexpected. I'm really sorry for this loss.

On a brighter note, the girl puppy seems to be doing well.  Her size and apparent weight look really good at this stage.  She should be opening her eyes and crawling around pretty soon.  You'll have to provide sibling stimulation to socialize her, but I think you're already doing that.  You might want to add a few puppy-sized beanbags so Phoenix has something else to lay on, and the puppy has something to cuddle against.

You've got a great kennel name, and the "fire" themed registered name for the girl puppy suits her, and the situation.  Does this mean her call name will be Sparky?  LOL! 

Hang in there, grandma. It's a learning process.

Dave


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## heathpack (Apr 26, 2021)

DaveNV said:


> You've got a great kennel name, and the "fire" themed registered name for the girl puppy suits her, and the situation.  Does this mean her call name will be Sparky?



Very likely her name will be Smoke.

We‘ve been doing Early Neurologic Stimulation with her, I’ll post more about that later.  We also got her a stuffed dog with a heartbeat and a warm core, for the times she needs to be alone.  But so far that is almost never, so the fake sibling isn’t getting much use.

Auntie Ash will hopefully play a big role in socializing her, but Girl Puppy is too young for that just now.

She gets a lot of handling though, and daily puppy massages.


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## DaveNV (Apr 26, 2021)

heathpack said:


> Very likely her name will be Smoke.
> 
> We‘ve been doing Early Neurologic Stimulation with her, I’ll post more about that later.  We also got her a stuffed dog with a heartbeat and a warm core, for the times she needs to be alone.  But so far that is almost never, so the fake sibling isn’t getting much use.
> 
> ...




Smoke is a great name. And I'm guessing that means you're keeping her?  (After all this, I'd expect you couldn't possibly part with her.)

Dave


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## Glynda (Apr 26, 2021)

Oh, I am so sorry!  How blessed they are to have you as their person and their vet. The schedule, the process, and the loss had to be hard on all of you. Now you face new challenges but hopefully Phoenix and her baby girl will thrive and you will get more rest!

I'm curious about the father/donor. I recall that in some cases, the male's owner might get a pick from the litter in return for the service. Did you have some sort of agreement or was there just a charge?

Looking forward to reading more and seeing more photos of your beautiful girl!


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## MULTIZ321 (Apr 26, 2021)

heathpack said:


> Well, I have kind of a sad update: a week ago boy puppy stopped nursing overnight and then by the next morning he was exhibiting respiratory distress.  I assumed he had aspiration pneumonia and went all In on treating him.  I made him a little oxygen mask (yes I had oxygen at home!), I tube fed him formula every 2 hours, gave antibiotics and fluids, and I nebulized and coupaged him (using an electric toothbrush).
> 
> At first it seemed like he was getting better, and then I realized he was just waxing and waning.  Sadly we lost him after about 48 hr.  I did a little autopsy on him and didn’t find much- lungs, heart, diaphragm all looked grossly ok (I did not send any tissue for  microscopic exam because I didn’t have any formalin at home).  Likewise there was no cleft palate, and brain and abd organs looked ok.  It still could have been pneumonia that I couldn’t appreciate, for functional disease of the heart, lungs and liver.
> 
> ...


Hi Heathpack,

My condolences on your loss.  Thanks for your updates and pics.


Richard


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## heathpack (Apr 26, 2021)

Glynda said:


> Oh, I am so sorry!  How blessed they are to have you as their person and their vet. The schedule, the process, and the loss had to be hard on all of you. Now you face new challenges but hopefully Phoenix and her baby girl will thrive and you will get more rest!
> 
> I'm curious about the father/donor. I recall that in some cases, the male's owner might get a pick from the litter in return for the service. Did you have some sort of agreement or was there just a charge?
> 
> Looking forward to reading more and seeing more photos of your beautiful girl!



Hi there.  The stud dog is named Midas.  When this breeding was planned, he was still owned by Phoenix’s breeder.  The agreement was that we‘d get first pick of the litter and she‘d get her choice of second pick or the price of one puppy.  She never really thought she’d keep a puppy though, so it was always going to be a cash stud fee.  She doesn‘t collect any $ until you have at least one live pup at 4 weeks of age.

However- something weird is going on with her.  We started planning the breeding in late Dec and by mid Feb when it was time to do the breeding, the breeder had already sold Midas (although she retained his breeding rights).  She was supposed to be signficantly involved in the breeding and whelping but I didn’t hear from her again after the breeding, which I managed completely without her.  Shes aware the pups were born, and was updated when one died.  But otherwise has been out of the picture.

Its unclear what we’ll pay for the stud fee since it was to be the price of the pup, and we have no pup to sell.  But I’m not super concerned about it.  We’ll pay her something fair In another few weeks.


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## Glynda (Apr 26, 2021)

heathpack said:


> Hi there.  The stud dog is named Midas.  When this breeding was planned, he was still owned by Phoenix’s breeder.  The agreement was that we‘d get first pick of the litter and she‘d get her choice of second pick or the price of one puppy.  She never really thought she’d keep a puppy though, so it was always going to be a cash stud fee.  She doesn‘t collect any $ until you have at least one live pup at 4 weeks of age.
> 
> However- something weird is going on with her.  We started planning the breeding in late Dec and by mid Feb when it was time to do the breeding, the breeder had already sold Midas (although she retained his breeding rights).  She was supposed to be signficantly involved in the breeding and whelping but I didn’t hear from her again after the breeding, which I managed completely without her.  Shes aware the pups were born, and was updated when one died.  But otherwise has been out of the picture.
> 
> Its unclear what we’ll pay for the stud fee since it was to be the price of the pup, and we have no pup to sell.  But I’m not super concerned about it.  We’ll pay her something fair In another few weeks.



Thanks for the explanation!  Wasn't quite sure how it worked these days. Glad your agreement was that you would get first pick and not her!


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## heathpack (Apr 30, 2021)

Puppy opened her eyes yesterday.  So cute!

We‘re going to call her Smoke.  We have a fire theme going in the dogs’ names.


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## clifffaith (May 4, 2021)

heathpack said:


> Puppy opened her eyes yesterday.  So cute!
> 
> We‘re going to call her Smoke.  We have a fire theme going in the dogs’ names.
> 
> ...



I've been hoping for a puppy update. How is Smoke doing?


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## heathpack (May 6, 2021)

Im back to work now and no longer sitting around staring at the puppy as much- so less photos and less time to post.

But: little Smoke is doing great! She’s starting to toddle around some, looking at things and tracking them with her eyes.  Yesterday she tried a little pounce while playing with mama and promptly fell over- but it was totally adorable.

She gets something new every day- new experience like walking on a novel surface or going to a different part of the house.  Or we introduce a new object.  Today is her third week birthday and her new thing was a felt mouse cat toy.  So cute to see her go right up to it and engage.  We couldn’t leave the toy with her too long though- mama really really wanted that mouse toy for herself.






She‘s lapping a little milk from a saucer but is much more interested in nursing than starting weaning.

The godsend stroke of genius last weekend was me buying a used baby bassinet off Craigslist.  I could wheel mama and baby wherever I needed to around the house and get stuff done.  Or wheel the bassinet next to the sofa, put mama in a small crate with a view of baby in bassinet and get some sleep.  SOOO much better than the 24/7 puppy watch that we‘d been on.






She’s a super duper enormous puppy- just over 1000 grams at 3 weeks old.  A typical mini dachshund pup might be 500 gm at this age.  There’s some concern for her becoming something that’s called a “swimmer” pup- which is basically when a pup is too fat to stand.  They can’t stand, so they can’t build muscle, and the whole thing becomes a downward spiral.  Theyre called swimmers because their little legs start to protrude out to the sides and they paddle around on their bellies.  Because they’re still developing they legs being stuck out to the side is a big problem, it can become a permanent disability/deformity.

So because she’s so big, we are doing puppy PT with her several times a day.  Basically getting her up on a firm surface with high traction (we‘re using pieces of carpet liner) and getting her to walk.  She’s looking good- legs getting stronger and they’re properly positioned under her body, I‘m happy with how she’s doing but puppy PT leaves less time for TUG.

Interesting side note is that I got in touch with a dachshund breeder friend about my enormous puppy issue.  He’s a big time Westminster-level breeder and he said not to worry.  He has Russian import dogs and finds they are just very big as pups, whereas American lines tend to produce smaller pups.  But they all wind up the same size in the end.  Phoenix and Midas (the papa dog) are both American bred dogs but from Russian imports.  Dog breeding is a huge thing in Russia (who knew?) and there are some beautiful dachshunds coming out of Russia these days.


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## DaveNV (May 6, 2021)

All good news.  And now that you're back to work, you'll come home to new developments every day. The puppy will have grown, she'll be doing some behavior she didn't do yesterday, and it'll seem like forever since you were there.  It sounds like things are doing just fine.  Congratulations to the three of you. 

Dave


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## JudyH (May 6, 2021)

I just love reading all these posts. Thanks for taking the time. I had many many dogs, cats, and horses and was lucky to have wonderful vets and a wonderful hubby who didn’t complain about the bills.


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## SandyPGravel (May 6, 2021)

She's adorable.

In retrospect wish we would have named our silver lab either smoke or cinder.  Or concrete.  He blends in with all of the above.


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## heathpack (May 28, 2021)

Little puppy Smoke is 6 weeks old now, can you believe it?

Shes still nursing mama some, despite having enough teeth now that it can’t be comfortable.

We‘re so busy, she’s much more active now.  But super duper cute- running around, pouncing the big(ish) dogs, attacking our hedge in the yard.  

I started clicker training with her this past week, which was the first week she was enthusiastic about taking treats.  First she took treats by hand for a few days, then I clicked her and just gave her a freebie treat, to condition her to the sound of the click being the reward.  Right now we’re playing the box game in which you present a box (really it could be any neutral object, ie not a toy or food) and anything the dog does in relation to the box gets clicked and treated.  The pup could look at the box, sniff it, pounce it, anything.  The lightbulb moment for the dog is when they realize that the route to the treat they want is not a straight line to the treat, it’s by doing something.  What you want to develop is the idea in the dog that their behavior can result in reward, that they can get you to give them what they want.

At this age, puppies need very few repetitions in training.  So we’ve done the box game enough to move on to the next concept, which is manding.  Manding is when a dog is given a behavior that they can use to ask for something, it’s the dog version of learning how to say Please.  We’ll probably start those lessons on Sunday.

Also on Sunday: we’ll have friends over for a puppy party.  Ie learning to be comfortable with strangers around, and offering behaviors to strangers and getting treats from them too.  So really what we’re doing is teaching our puppy to manipulate the max number of humans, I guess.


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## DaveNV (May 28, 2021)

How can you resist that face?  She's adorable.

Your training is a great way to get her doing what you'd like her to do.  If the goal is for her to follow in Phoenix's path, regarding nose work and such, this is going to be a great way to do it.  And you get to see the development of a smart puppy along the way.  I'm glad it's going well.

Keep up the great work!

Dave


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## Passepartout (May 29, 2021)

Smoke is gorgeous! Our Doodle breeder starts the puppies on clickers early too. When they are with their litter-mates, the puppies that sit quietly when clicked, get a treat, and those that jump up and get impatient don't. They learn very quickly that the way to a goodie is to sit quietly when 'clicked'.


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## klpca (May 29, 2021)

She is adorable! 

Clicker training is the best. Glad it's working so well for Smoke!


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## heathpack (May 29, 2021)

Passepartout said:


> Smoke is gorgeous! Our Doodle breeder starts the puppies on clickers early too. When they are with their litter-mates, the puppies that sit quietly when clicked, get a treat, and those that jump up and get impatient don't. They learn very quickly that the way to a goodie is to sit quietly when 'clicked'.



She’s teaching manding.  The dogs natural way to ask for something is to jump up onto the possessor of the thing you want.  When you teach them to mand, typically you change the manding behavior to a sit.  It’s different from an obedience sit which is done on command.  This sit is up to the dog.  They do it when they’re trying to say “Please may I have....?”  Fill in the blank with “your attention,” “that treat,” “out of this pen,” “a walk”.

So when you get your puppy, he/she will have a voice and will know ways to communicate with you.  Hopefully the breeder will explain this to you, so you understand what the pup is doing!  If not, theres some free videos for new puppy owners on the Puppy Culture website.  You can view them there.


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## heathpack (Jun 7, 2021)

Seven and a half weeks old.  Jeez it’s a whirlwind of activity. 

This weekend we introduced car rides and did our first socialization with children.  I finally have some enthusiasm for the dish of puppy food, which gives me more to work with from a training perspective.  I can’t believe mama’s still letting her nurse, little Smoke has some sharp teeth!

She is now a Bitosaurus Rex.  Plays like the Tasmanian Devil.  Yeah she looks sweet in the pic, but she’s got a mean snarl-lunge-bite! Not with humans of course- I’m talking about while play with Auntie.

She got her first vaccine on Thursday, so we will be able to start getting out in the world by the end of next weekend.


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## Theiggy (Jun 7, 2021)

Oh my heart!!! Smoke is so adorable!!!! Thanks for making my Monday morning. 


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## ilene13 (Jun 7, 2021)

She is adorable.  I'd love to send my almost 9 year old yorkie to you for training.  She still thinks she's a puppy!!  Since we moved to Florida, so in our house she is VERY defensive and protective of me.  If you came in she would nip at you.  Out in public she is an angel.  My vet and the groomer we use can't believe that she is anything but a sweetheart.  Truly Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde!


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## DaveNV (Jun 7, 2021)

I’m smiling with pride here. She’s gorgeous! And listen to you - the proud grandma.  Really good to hear all of you are doing so well. Thanks for sharing this journey.

Dave


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## melissy123 (Jun 7, 2021)

Those eyes! I wouldn’t be able to resist giving her anything she wants.


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## Glynda (Jun 8, 2021)

She's just precious!


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## heathpack (Jun 20, 2021)

Well today was the first day I’ve slept 8 uninterrupted hours since Smoke was born on April 14.  She slept all night in her pen and/or crate without needing anything.  Also- the litterbox was clean this morning, she held it all night!

Smokey will turn 10 weeks old on Wednesday.  Last weekend we started trips outside the home to various novel environments and to meet safe dogs.  She has spent time with adult dogs- a dachshund, a lab, and a giant lab mix.  So far, her behavior has been great (sometimes singleton pups are obnoxious towards other dogs because their mama is too tolerant with them).  Still looking for some puppies to play with, I have a few leads.

She‘s been to a couple of different parks, a coffee shop, the beach, “hiking” in the mountains, and yesterday I took her on her first solo excursion (ie without the adult dogs) to the outdoor area of our local mall.  Once she was used to seeing people from afar, I started giving folks treats to give her.  Lol the lightbulb went off in her head that random people might give her a treat, so she started bounding up to mall-goers.  She was pretty well received- definitely smile-inducing to have a dachshund puppy run up to you at the mall.  So cute.

Heres a pic of her manding for a treat in my pocket this morning.  I mentioned manding earlier in this thread.  Basically- you train the dog to sit as a polite way to request something from you.  Maybe they want a treat, or a toy you have, or to get out of their pen, or to sit on your lap.  The way to ask is to sit, not jump on the person (which is what dogs naturally do).  Reasonable requests are usually accommodated.  Of course she still jumps on us plenty, she’s a baby.  It’s a work in progress.






Heres my favorite overall pic of her, I think she is around 8 weeks old in this one:






PS It was a great morning- not only did my puppy sleep through the night and demonstrate polite behavior, I was able to EPlus my Cabo week for a Westin Kaanapali week for next May!


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## MULTIZ321 (Jun 20, 2021)

heathpack said:


> Well today was the first day I’ve slept 8 uninterrupted hours since Smoke was born on April 14.  She slept all night in her pen and/or crate without needing anything.  Also- the litterbox was clean this morning, she held it all night!
> 
> Smokey will turn 10 weeks old on Wednesday.  Last weekend we started trips outside the home to various novel environments and to meet safe dogs.  She has spent time with adult dogs- a dachshund, a lab, and a giant lab mix.  So far, her behavior has been great (sometimes singleton pups are obnoxious towards other dogs because their mama is too tolerant with them).  Still looking for some puppies to play with, I have a few leads.
> 
> ...


Hi Heathpack,

Thanks for sharing! Smoke is part of your Tug Family too.  The pics are wonderful!

Richard


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## Theiggy (Jun 20, 2021)

This might be my favorite recent thread on TUG! Glad to hear Smoke is doing so well and you got some sleep and a great eplus! Bonus! 


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## heathpack (Jul 25, 2021)

14 weeks.  I made my first pass at stripping her coat, only to find there appears to be a red dachshund under that dark overlay.  Whoops, I registered her as a different coat color called wild boar.  I’m going to gene test her for coat color before I get in touch with the AKC.

Shes doing great.  She knows sit, down, come (sort of), touch, and stand (really more of a freeze, which is the prelim step to stacking, which is the ”show dog pose”).  She walks on a leash pretty well.  We’ve started closing the crate at night for 6 hours at a stretch- no accidents so far!  She’s about 70% housebroken.


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## SandyPGravel (Jul 25, 2021)

What a cutie!!

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## heathpack (Jul 25, 2021)

Here’s Smoke’s tricks back when she was 11 weeks old.  She’s way smarter now!


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## heathpack (Jul 25, 2021)

We work a lot of building emotional resiliency.  When she was a little baby, we‘d do startle and recovery exercises.  I take her somewhere every day and encourage her to interact with people, the environment, dogs I know to be friendly, etc.  Huge amount of work.

But here’s an example of what we’re working towards: we took her to the beach and she was exploring the rocks.  She didn’t really understand how the wave action worked, until her feet got flooded by a little surge of water.  Look at that!  No panic.  She takes it in stride.  So proud of her.  She was around 12 weeks old in this video.


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## DaveNV (Jul 26, 2021)

I'm grinning ear to ear. You're both doing so well! Smoke is going to be striking.

How is Phoenix handling the weaning? Not still nursing, I hope?

Dave


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## heathpack (Jul 26, 2021)

DaveNV said:


> I'm grinning ear to ear. You're both doing so well! Smoke is going to be striking.
> 
> How is Phoenix handling the weaning? Not still nursing, I hope?
> 
> Dave



Essentially no more nursing, Every now and then Smoke makes a dive for a teat but then aborts her attempt on her own.


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## heathpack (Aug 1, 2021)

Stacking practice.  Here’s a video from a few days ago.  You can see in the video that she’s trained to freeze, keeping her attention on my finger.  We’re working on being able to move her feet, so that I can get her placed into the perfect show dog pose.  In the video, I’m only able to move one paw.  But as of today, I can almost always move two paws without her losing focus.  Sometimes 3!


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## heathpack (Aug 28, 2021)

Smoke is 19 weeks old now.  She’s pretty well housebroken, and is sweet and lovely when she’s not being terrible.  Tomorrow she learns how to go on vacation- we are taking a trip up the central California Coast.  Gotta start em young!  Pro tip- just say she’s a service dog, and you can stay anywhere!  I’m kidding.  We’ve rented pet friendly air BnBs.  All the property owners know we are coming with three dogs.







Yesterday I took her to the park and we saw some rabbits.  One was sitting by the brambles, so once he hopped off, I put Smoke down on the rabbit scent.  This was her reaction!  A little bit excited, don’t you think?!  At the end of the video, she gets herself pointed in the direction of the rabbits escape.  






In this video, we are working on everybody being in the same place at the same time but no one biting anyone.  Yes, it’s chaos a lot of the time!


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## Glynda (Aug 28, 2021)

They're beautiful! Safe travels!


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## DaveNV (Aug 28, 2021)

What a star! Great progress.  You're collectively doing really great.  Very happy for all of you.  

I hope you plan to write a book about all this.  Remember when you were first thinking about whether to breed Phoenix?  Seems like years ago. Add in everything that's happened since then, and all you've experienced and learned together.  You have tremendous experience to offer others about all of this.

Have a great vacation!

Dave


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## AnnaS (Aug 28, 2021)

Adorable!! Have fun and safe travels!


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## silentg (Aug 29, 2021)

Have a nice vacation, thanks for keeping us updated with Phoenix and Smoke.


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## heathpack (Sep 14, 2021)

@Passepartout post reminded me to post this pic of little Smoke.  Our vacation went very well.  Smoke was a great traveller.  No accidents in the rental houses and she had tons of fun.  We took her out to lunch with us one day and she was the best behaved critter on the patio, including the human children, lol.

Its exhausting managing a 5 month old puppy.  But fun too.

Our rental house in Cambria was right near the beach and there was a briar patch at the marshy end of the beach.  The briar patch was full of RABBITS!  So most days Smoke got to do a little rabbit work.  It was awesome.

One day she took a break from rabbit to watch the ducks swimming.  She is getting to be huge.


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## DaveNV (Sep 15, 2021)

I warned you - parenting a puppy is exhausting work.  

I'm glad she's turning out so nice.  You've earned this.

Dave


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## Glynda (Sep 15, 2021)

She has gotten big!  Fantastic that she travels so well.


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## Breezy52 (Sep 15, 2021)

As my niece would say, Totz Adorbz!


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## heathpack (Sep 21, 2021)

Aw, baby puppy got stung by a bee on her toe today.  High drama but she is feeling better now.  She got to spend the day with me at the clinic.  Fun times for her.

To manage to chaos of three dogs, I’ve taught them “Go To Bed”.  Which means “find yourself an available dog bed and lie in it”.

Last week, I said “Go To Bed” and all three dogs went to the same bed.  So funny.

Auntie Ash on the left, Baby Smoke in the middle, and Mama Phoenix on the right.  This is possibly the first time in five months that they’ve all been still enough for me to take a group photo.


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## Passepartout (Sep 21, 2021)

Awww. Sweet!


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## pedro47 (Sep 22, 2021)

Puppies are so cute and charming. I missed my scottish.


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## Glynda (Sep 22, 2021)

heathpack said:


> Aw, baby puppy got stung by a bee on her toe today.  High drama but she is feeling better now.  She got to spend the day with me at the clinic.  Fun times for her.
> 
> To manage to chaos of three dogs, I’ve taught them “Go To Bed”.  Which means “find yourself an available dog bed and lie in it”.
> 
> ...


Oh, look at those adorable faces!


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## TheHolleys87 (Sep 27, 2021)

I look forward to your posts so much! What a joy watching Smoke grow up!


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## heathpack (Oct 3, 2021)

We are in Genoa, NV near Tahoe, staying in the pet friendly David Walley’s resort.  So far its a great timeshare to stay at with dogs.  I’ll write a separate post and review for that.

This resort is on a slough, which is a marshy river.  Lots of waterfowl.  Smokey gets up around 5am.  Every time a goose honked, she’d bark.  It was super stressful.  As soon as the sun came up I took her for a little walk alongside the slough, so that she didn’t wake everyone in the place up.





Last night a friend texted me that she is entering her wire dachshunds in a dog show Oct 30/31.  I thought she was going to suggest that I come to watch.  Nope, she was suggesting that I enter Smoke in the show too.  So I did.  We have no idea what we’re doing, but what the heck?  Might as well give it a whirl.

Right when we get home from our trip, I’ll be attending a seminar to become a Field Trial judge for dachshunds and Bassett hounds.  Then the next day is a dog carnival- multiple events but one is a Puppy Match, which is a pretend dog show for puppies.  That is Oct 17 so we’ll get to practice a little. 

Her first field trial will be Nov 27!


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## DaveNV (Oct 3, 2021)

She’s sure coming along for you. From the looks, she might do fine in a puppy match. Good luck!

How is Smoke around strangers, and strange dogs? Will she let a stranger touch her?

Dave


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## heathpack (Oct 3, 2021)

DaveNV said:


> She’s sure coming along for you. From the looks, she might do fine in a puppy match. Good luck!
> 
> How is Smoke around strangers, and strange dogs? Will she let a stranger touch her?
> 
> Dave



Shes been to dogs shows 3 times already as an observer.  Her behavior there is pretty ideal- she’s happy to see the other dogs, interested in them, likes to say Hi if the opportunity presents itself but is very content that 99% of dogs are not going to interact with her.  She’s very relaxed at dog shows- lies calmly, will roll and scratch her back in the grass.  I done some mat training at shows- asking her to lie on her mat and stay there- and she can do that for fairly long periods of time (15-20 min) quite contentedly.  She’s also pretty well crate trained.  At the show today, she met a young male Bassett hound (friend of a friends dog).  She wasn’t thrilled with his oafish advances but wasn’t afraid of him, upset by him, or trying to get away.  So far she walks out of a dog show wagging her tail.

She‘s ok with strangers.  Every now and then is shy buy mostly can’t understand what is going on when she’s out in public and some human just walks on by without saying hello.  However- the judges exam will be another issue.  Not that I expect her to be upset by it but she won’t be used to it and remaining still for the exam will be something of an accomplishment.  She will both be taken aback by a stranger touching her and be thrilled to be the center of attention.  We have some time to work on these things though.

She’s happy and comfortable on the table (where she’ll be for the judges exam).

The thing that will be comically bad though is gaiting in grass- and we’ve entered an outdoor show on grass.  She just wants to bury her entire head in grass, to stop and bite it.  She then just plops herself down.  Also- whenever she is not sure what is happening or when something piques her interest- her response is to stop for a moment, sit down, observe and give it a think.  I’ve always let her do this but in the show ring it will not be a good thing.

We‘ve been to a handling class a few times.  Not one where they really teach you but the type where you’re just practicing.  She LOVES being in the ring with the other dogs. She moves a better when the entire group is gaiting together.  But on her own- boy howdy the best I can say is that it’s very amusing.

There will be a handling class at the Dog Carnival, we’ll do that.  I can see if I can drum up some folks for show practice the weekend between the Puppy Match and the actual show.


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## Passepartout (Oct 3, 2021)

She's a cutie, but just you wait til little Snickers comes to live here (the 20th). She probably won't have Smoke's hunting chops, but who knows what the Golden and poodle genes will do. We're going through the Baxter & Bella regime, so we hope for a well socialized loving pooch. 20 lbs. of love.


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## heathpack (Oct 3, 2021)

Passepartout said:


> She's a cutie, but just you wait til little Snickers comes to live here (the 20th). She probably won't have Smoke's hunting chops, but who knows what the Golden and poodle genes will do. We're going through the Baxter & Bella regime, so we hope for a well socialized loving pooch. 20 lbs. of love.
> View attachment 40591



Jeez I love the white chin.  What is Baxter and Bella?


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## Passepartout (Oct 3, 2021)

heathpack said:


> Jeez I love the white chin.  What is Baxter and Bella?


This. THE ONLINE PUPPY SCHOOL | BAXTER & Bella (baxterandbella.com) Pretty much self explanatory


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## silentg (Oct 3, 2021)

Very cute puppies 


My new grand pup Boglen Terrier, Adora


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## heathpack (Oct 3, 2021)

silentg said:


> Very cute puppies View attachment 40603
> My new grand pup Boglen Terrier, Adora



Aw another cute one!


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## silentg (Oct 4, 2021)

She is a sweetheart


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## Theiggy (Oct 6, 2021)

@heathpack Smoke is adorable! Good luck as you enter the dog show world!

@Passepartout and @silentg - more cuties! GL with your pups (or grand pup!)

I love hearing and seeing all about the puppies. I’m going to check into that link you posted to @Passepartout.
We had a trainer come when our Rosie was little and it made a world of difference. She’s very well socialized. Here’s a pic of her recently in Home Depot. She loves all the attention she gets in the store. 






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## bogey21 (Oct 6, 2021)

My Son came home with a days old German Shepherd he could hold in one hand many years ago.  We nursed him into one big boy.  See my avatar.  For almost 13 years he was my constant companion.  Most days we would spend 2 hours or so socializing at out local 3 acre dog park.  It was really tough when I had to have him put down...


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## Passepartout (Oct 15, 2021)

Snickerdoodle came home today! All 8.5 lbs of her. She's just tentatively exploring her new surroundings. I suppose it's much quieter than when she had kids, her mom, siblings, other litters there. She seems good for a half hour of play and an hour nap.


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## heathpack (Oct 15, 2021)

Passepartout said:


> Snickerdoodle came home today! All 8.5 lbs of her. She's just tentatively exploring her new surroundings. I suppose it's much quieter than when she had kids, her mom, siblings, other litters there. She seems good for a half hour of play and an hour nap.
> View attachment 41039


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## Glynda (Oct 15, 2021)

Passepartout said:


> Snickerdoodle came home today! All 8.5 lbs of her. She's just tentatively exploring her new surroundings. I suppose it's much quieter than when she had kids, her mom, siblings, other litters there. She seems good for a half hour of play and an hour nap.
> View attachment 41039


She's so cute and looking so seriously at something or someone.


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## Passepartout (Oct 16, 2021)

First night at home. Snickers was crated in the bedroom. She cried. A LOT! I took her out at 2 a.m. and returned her to her crate. She quieted down after a half hour.  I think the crate is coming out of the bedroom and some of her toys will get stashed in it, so she gets used to it being her 'happy place'. I'm inclined to let her cry- it was her first night away from her mom and siblings- but DW wants to get her out and cuddle, which I think just reinforces the crying/yelping behavior. 
<sigh>


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## Theiggy (Oct 16, 2021)

Passepartout said:


> First night at home. Snickers was crated in the bedroom. She cried. A LOT! I took her out at 2 a.m. and returned her to her crate. She quieted down after a half hour. I think the crate is coming out of the bedroom and some of her toys will get stashed in it, so she gets used to it being her 'happy place'. I'm inclined to let her cry- it was her first night away from her mom and siblings- but DW wants to get her out and cuddle, which I think just reinforces the crying/yelping behavior.



It’s only a matter of time before Snickers is hogging up your bed just like Rosie hogs mine. A king sized bed, but somehow I am left with about 6 inches at the edge of the bed as Rosie is pressed into me all night. Never my husband. She rarely ventures over there to his spacious side of the bed. Mama’s girl. 


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## heathpack (Oct 16, 2021)

Passepartout said:


> First night at home. Snickers was crated in the bedroom. She cried. A LOT! I took her out at 2 a.m. and returned her to her crate. She quieted down after a half hour.  I think the crate is coming out of the bedroom and some of her toys will get stashed in it, so she gets used to it being her 'happy place'. I'm inclined to let her cry- it was her first night away from her mom and siblings- but DW wants to get her out and cuddle, which I think just reinforces the crying/yelping behavior.
> <sigh>



Jim I’m in a field trial judging seminar but I’ll reply before this evening.

Do you know if she was already crate trained before you got her to the extent that she’s already been sleeping all night *alone* in the crate?  If last night was her first night ever alone, you really want to cut her some slack.


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## Passepartout (Oct 16, 2021)

heathpack said:


> Jim I’m in a field trial judging seminar but I’ll reply before this evening.
> 
> Do you know if she was already crate trained before you got her to the extent that she’s already been sleeping all night *alone* in the crate?  If last night was her first night ever alone, you really want to cut her some slack.


Slack is duly cut. She was sleeping in a crate, but with her littermates. Yes, all this is quite new to her. she's doing fine. She's on the same food she was used to and has both soft and hard (Kong type) toys and does settle right down with them after a 10-15 minute 'play' session.


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## Passepartout (Oct 16, 2021)

Theiggy said:


> It’s only a matter of time before Snickers is hogging up your bed just like Rosie hogs mine. A king sized bed, but somehow I am left with about 6 inches at the edge of the bed as Rosie is pressed into me all night. Never my husband. She rarely ventures over there to his spacious side of the bed. Mama’s girl.


That's what we are trying to avoid. Snickers' predecessor slept with us. Think of a capital H. Short term, it would be quieter and more peaceful here, but we think having a dog that's 'happy place' is a crate by herself would be better. We'll see.


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## Passepartout (Oct 17, 2021)

Not a very good picture, but today, Snickers learned to use her doggie door both out, and in. She enjoyed 'yard work' while we raked leaves. She thought my gas leaf blower was quite fun. I'd thought it would frighten her, but, on no. It was just another fun new experience.

We have windows down to the floor, and last night, she spotted another doggie (her reflection) so she yelped excitedly, and ran to get her favorite squeaky 'dead squirrel' for her new friend. She stood up against the glass and 'kissed' her her friend, then took the toy out the door, and when the other pup wasn't there, she brought it back in and curled up to chew on it right in front of her friend.


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## heathpack (Oct 22, 2021)

We did the Puppy Match last weekend and we learned that we need to work on everything, lol.  Smokey also barked at a helicopter and made it fly away.  Everyone was so relieved, and she felt very important.

The Puppy Match was part of a larger dog carnival, and there were lots of other things to do, including Earthdog practice.  I let her try something called Intro to Quarry.  In Intro, the dog has to trail rat scent to an underground tunnel entrance, then go into the tunnel, traverse 10 feet underground to find a rat in a cage, which they have to “work” (bark, dig, whine etc) for 30 sec.

Many dogs balk at entering the tunnel but Smoke went in with only a little encouragement.  Then… nothing.  I couldn’t hear anything from the tunnel entrance, the judge couldn’t hear anything from the quarry box end.  He opened the trap door and Smoke was just standing there, mesmerized by the rats.  Ha, it was funny.  But she did really well for such a young pup, I was proud of her.

Im working on grooming in advance of next weekends shows.  I need to get her face and eyebrows tidied up- believe it or not, I’ve already taken a lot of hair off the head and face.  I’ll work on it tomorrow some more.

Cant believe she’s 6 months old already!  Time flies.


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## heathpack (Oct 23, 2021)

I did some serious grooming on the wild dog of Borneo:


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## Glynda (Oct 23, 2021)

She's so adorable!  I especially love the profile pics!  Great job, both of you!


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## DaveNV (Oct 23, 2021)

She awesome. And really, really pretty. Love the eyes.  So expressive!

Earthdog is its own world.  Dogs either get it, or they don't.  Hope she gets it.

And it's nice to know you're safe from pesky helicopters. 

Dave


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## Passepartout (Oct 23, 2021)

heathpack said:


> I did some serious grooming on the wild dog of Borneo:
> 
> View attachment 41386
> 
> ...


She's beautiful! Don't tell Snickers, though. And great hunting chops, too!


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## heathpack (Oct 24, 2021)

Practicing for next weeks shows.  Not perfect but pretty good for a 6 month old pup!


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## heathpack (Oct 30, 2021)

Practice practice practice.

Send us good vibes today TUGGERS because Smokey has her (and my) first ever dog show this morning!  She’s 6 mo + 2 weeks old.  Six months is the youngest you can compete.

All of the things we need to do are a little rough- gaiting (don’t bite the grass please, ignore the leaf, and try to trot vs hop, gallop, or sit down for a good think), stacking (posing pretty), being examined (she melts into a puddle of happiness when a stranger goes over her!).  But the basics are there and per the dachshund breed standard, she’s turning out to be a pretty little girl.

So, GOOD VIBES PLEASE!  We need all the help we can get!


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## DaveNV (Oct 30, 2021)

Good luck today!

Dave


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## Passepartout (Oct 30, 2021)

Seems like a VERY early morning activity. Heathpack was posting before 5:am. Hope Smokey is successful, but more important, has fun competing.


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## heathpack (Oct 30, 2021)

Passepartout said:


> Seems like a VERY early morning activity. Heathpack was posting before 5:am. Hope Smokey is successful, but more important, has fun competing.



Yeah we had to leave at 5:30 am to get there!


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## heathpack (Oct 30, 2021)

Smoke rocked it today.  She took Best of Winners, which basically means the Best Non Champion Wirehaired Dachshund.  Best of Winners is where the money is on your road to a conformation championship- that’s the accolade that gives you championship points.  Smoke earned 1 point today.  She needs 15 to earn a conformation championship.

Because she won Best of Winners, she got to compete again for Best of Variety.  Best of Variety in dachshunds is basically equivalent to Best of Breed, this is because dachshunds are shown in three coat varieties (smooth, long and wire), and each variety is effectively a separate breed in the conformation world.  She didn’t win Best of Variety, but she was a contender! 

I was really proud of her today.  She had to use a lot of “life skills” that we’ve been working on since day she was born.  Unlike the field events, which inherently make sense to the dogs, a dog show is a busy chaotic place that does not obviously have a point from the dog’s perspective.  The tasks- trotting around, standing still and posing, letting a judge examine you- aren‘t particularly fun.  So we’ve been developing patience, calmness in public, friendliness but without getting to meet everybody, being crated as a cue to relax, exposure to all kinds of dogs.  And today she took everything in stride, nothing bothered her, and she was happy to get out there when it was her turn, even more so when there were other dogs in the ring.  She even took a nap in her crate while the smooth and long haired dachshunds were being judged, with a stream of Cane Corsos flowing by, hustling to their ring for their judging.


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## DaveNV (Oct 30, 2021)

What an awesome first day! Way to go, Smoke!!  (You too, @heathpack )

Dave


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## TheHolleys87 (Oct 31, 2021)

Congratulations! I’ll have to start paying more attention to the dachshunds when I watch the dog shows on TV. One of my most persistent memories from my college year in Regensburg, Germany, was that everyone seemed to have a long-haired dachshund.


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## pittle (Oct 31, 2021)

Congratulations!  It will be fun to keep up with Smoke's journey! She is so cute!


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## heathpack (Nov 6, 2021)

Smokey did great in last Sunday’s show.  She took Reserve Winners, which is basically second place.  No points but she got a ribbon!  Two, actually, because she was also Best Puppy.  But she was the only puppy.  Ribbons aside, she was awesome!  She was so happy to be there, greeted people she’d just met the day before like long lost friends,  was a little ‘concerned’ about the Rough collies waiting to go into the ring after us- but she managed to do nothing more than give them stink eye.  All the show dog stuff was better too- gaiting, posing, being patient for the judges exam.  She had soaked a lot in from the day prior.

But this update is about how all of a sudden she’s seeming so much more mature.  Not one second too soon, the naughty puppy persona was exhausting!  Even the other dogs like her way more now, lol.

She used to get tired and just become frantic and unruly- running around, biting everyone and everything.  She would even attack the poor sofa!  Every thing that required cooperation was a struggle.  And now, suddenly: Reasonable!  Lovely!  Naps when she’s tired!

Thank God!


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## Glynda (Nov 7, 2021)

heathpack said:


> ...She used to get tired and just become frantic and unruly- running around, biting everyone and everything.  She would even attack the poor sofa!  Every thing that required cooperation was a struggle.  And now, suddenly: Reasonable!  Lovely!  Naps when she’s tired!
> 
> Thank God!
> 
> View attachment 42132



Did your other two go through the same phase when tired?


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## heathpack (Nov 7, 2021)

Glynda said:


> Did your other two go through the same phase when tired?



Nope, but we got them at 5 & 6 months old.  I think we might have missed it!  Lucky us.


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## Passepartout (Nov 9, 2021)

I didn't know where the best place to put this might be, but this seemed appropriate. . .


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## heathpack (Nov 22, 2021)

Well… I cancelled the second half of my timeshare trip to Arizona because a dachshund field trial was added to the beginning of the FT season, and I had to use up my last EPlus on that second week, so y’all know that I was really hoping it was gonna be worth it.

And then this weekend, little Smoke absolutely rocked it!  She had a good run in yesterday’s trial but got no love from the judges.  Today however: she took second place of 21 girl dogs in brutal (hot, crackling dry, and super duper windy) conditions that were terrible for rabbiting.  She had three great runs and really earned her placements.   I almost cried on her third run because she was set up to repeat the same rookie mistake (getting fooled by the heavy winds into thinking the rabbit had headed down wind when in fact it had turned and run up wind) but she did not.  She learned from that mistake and the next time correctly trailed the rabbit up wind.  It was so well done for a 7 month old puppy!  I was so proud of her.  

This was a really big placement for her.  She earned 10.5 of the 35 points she needs to earn her field championship!


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## TheHolleys87 (Nov 22, 2021)

heathpack said:


> Well… I cancelled the second half of my timeshare trip to Arizona because a dachshund field trial was added to the beginning of the FT season, and I had to use up my last EPlus on that second week, so y’all know that I was really hoping it was gonna be worth it.
> 
> And then this weekend, little Smoke absolutely rocked it!  She had a good run in yesterday’s trial but got no love from the judges.  Today however: she took second place of 21 girl dogs in brutal (hot, crackling dry, and super duper windy) conditions that were terrible for rabbiting.  She had three great runs and really earned her placements.   I almost cried on her third run because she was set up to repeat the same rookie mistake (getting fooled by the heavy winds into thinking the rabbit had headed down wind when in fact it had turned and run up wind) but she did not.  She learned from that mistake and the next time correctly trailed the rabbit up wind.  It was so well done for a 7 month old puppy!  I was so proud of her.
> 
> ...


Congratulations, Smoke! (And, of course, you too, @heathpack!)


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## DaveNV (Nov 22, 2021)

Wow!  This girl is an absolute rock star!  Congrats to you both!

Dave


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## Glynda (Nov 22, 2021)

Woo hoo Smoke!  Way to go both of you!


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## heathpack (Nov 28, 2021)

Guess what Smoke the little shebeast did today?  She took FIRST PLACE in her class at the field trial!

Her first run was so so good.  She was super confident, super accurate, and ran the entire rabbit scent line until she was out of sight.  After the fact, one of the judges told me she’s only ever scored one other dog that high in 10 years of judging.  It was beautiful work, truly.

Her second run was very solid as well.  She was again immediately, confidently, and accurately on the rabbit’s line from the moment we released the dogs.  Then her bracemate, a mature dog, got off the scent line into a bit of cover.  Smoke followed her.  But whereas the other dog got caught up in the error and stayed in that wrong bit of cover investigating it, our girl Smoke quickly figured out the mistake, left that unproductive cover, got back on the line and resumed working it in the right direction- which is to say, the direction the rabbit had actually gone.  Wow.  Super work for a baby puppy to not get caught in another dogs error.

In short, she was awesome today for a dachshund of any age, but really amazing for a 7 month old puppy.  She earned the right to compete for Absolute, which is the Field Trial version of Best in Show.  But she had to sit it out, since she’s in heat and would‘ve had to run against an intact male dog.  The girls can’t run against the boys when they are in heat.

Today was her third ever Field Trial.  Her win today was in a class of ten open (ie non champion) girl dogs.  She earned 10 points towards her field championship.  She now has 20.5 points total.  She needs 35 points, plus one win (which she got today), and three total placements (which she’ll have the next time she’s in the top four girls) to earn her field championship.  More than half way there at only 7 months old.  Lest you think it’s easy peasy to earn a Field Championship, there’s 10 year old dogs out there still trying to get there.

Here’s our girl resting in the gallery on a very hot dry day.  That’s a burr on her face that hadn’t gotten around to, plucking off yet.


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## Glynda (Nov 28, 2021)

Amazing work while so young and new at it!  What a team you and your girls are!


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## Passepartout (Nov 28, 2021)

What a girl! She's a Champion in our eyes already! Congrats to you both.


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## Theiggy (Nov 28, 2021)

Aww great job Smoke! You are super cute too. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## TheHolleys87 (Nov 28, 2021)

What a wonderful dog, and a great trainer as well! Congratulations!


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## DaveNV (Nov 28, 2021)

That is a very happy dog.  Almost as happy as her owner.  

Congratulations on a great day!  (And think - if Smoke is this good at this age, how far can she go? She could be amazing at this.)

Dave


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## heathpack (Dec 5, 2021)

OMG WHAT A DAY!

Smoke was stung by a wasp in two places, on her paw and her groin, at her field trial.  That darn wasp was stinging her the whole time I was whisking her away from the wasp nest, and she was screaming.  Had to give her Benadryl and carry a very sad puppy with her head slumped onto my shoulder.  Eventually she would walk three legged lame.  Then, just lame.

But when her turn came to run, she got it done.  After the first round, she was in third place.  By the time we were done, she’d worked herself into FIRST PLACE out of 14 open (aka non-field-champion) bitches (girl dogs)!  She now has 34.5 of the 35 points she needs to earn her field championship.  Boom!  She has two first places and one second place.  I am amazed.  I know it probably sounds easy because she’s breezing right along, but there’s 10 year old dogs out in the field still trying to finish their field championship!

Not to be outdone, her mama Phoenix took first place out of 20 Field Champions today!  That meant at the end of the day, mother and daughter and the winner of the open dogs (aka non-field-champion boy dogs) had to compete for ABSOLUTE aka High in Trial. Mama won that handily, which is an achievement unto itself.  Many successful field champions never win Absolute.  This win will bring Mama into the National rankings, likely somewhere in the top 20 field dachshunds nationally.

Love my girls, it was a great day in the field.  We finished after dark so we didn’t even get ribbon pics.  Maybe I can get some tomorrow.


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## DaveNV (Dec 5, 2021)

Absolutely fantastic news!  Congratulations!!

I can't even imagine how proud you are of your girls.  Heck, *I'M* proud of them, and I don't even know them. 

Dave


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## Passepartout (Dec 5, 2021)

WOW! I'm impressed with your girls! Little Snickers is 100% in housebreaking, No accidents for several weeks. She has some behavior difficulties- She lunges/bites at clothes/hands, but the walking on leash is better. I guess that if you subscribe to the '7 dog-years-to-a-human-year', she, at 3 1/2 months is a toddler in the 'terrible twos' trying everything, and everything goes in the mouth.
She seems to favor the Golden side and seems to want to bring back everything we toss. Oftentimes she keeps the 'tossed treasure' and we have to play 'keep away'.
Puppies are soooo much fun.   Sometimes.


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## heathpack (Dec 5, 2021)

Passepartout said:


> Puppies are soooo much fun.   Sometimes.



I can totally relate!


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## Passepartout (Dec 5, 2021)

heathpack said:


> I can totally relate!


We have nicknamed her 'Attilla, the red headed thief'. She'll dash into the bedroom and have a slipper or sock in a microsecond then dash off. She isn't destructive, but relocates EVERYTHING.


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## heathpack (Dec 5, 2021)

Passepartout said:


> We have nicknamed her 'Attilla, the red headed thief'. She'll dash into the bedroom and have a slipper or sock in a microsecond then dash off. She isn't destructive, but relocates EVERYTHING.



I am forever wearing mismatched slippers nowadays.  One of them is always dragged off, it seems, so I grab some random nearby slipper to make a pair.  I have given up caring whether I wear matched or mismatched slippers.  Whatever.  As long as my feet are covered.


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## heathpack (Dec 6, 2021)

Wow, y’all, what an incredible weekend.  Smoke finished her field championship yesterday with another 1st place out of 14 open bitches!  It’s very very uncommon to finish at such a young age (seven months)!  We are so proud of her- it takes a lot of moxie as such a young dog to go out from your own and work off leash in a wild place.  Most dogs don’t finish their field championship until they’re a little older, because they need to be a little more mature and self confident to be successful.

When you bred your dog in hopes that the puppy will be able to do something very specific, it’s a really great moment when you realize they can do that thing very well!

She finished her FC with three wins and a second place in three weekends.  Tally ho!

As I mentioned previously, Mama Phoenix took 1st in the Field Champion class Saturday, and also Absolute.  Auntie Ash took 2nd in the Field Champion class on Sunday.  We came home with a pile of ribbons.


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## DaveNV (Dec 6, 2021)

I'm beaming with happiness for all of you! That is a remarkable achievement, especially at such a young age. Way to go, Smoke!!

Am I correct that Ash still needs to finish? No pressure, Ash. 

What comes next? You've done so well with Smoke so far, where do things go from here?

Dave


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## heathpack (Dec 6, 2021)

DaveNV said:


> I'm beaming with happiness for all of you! That is a remarkable achievement, especially at such a young age. Way to go, Smoke!!
> 
> Am I correct that Ash still needs to finish? No pressure, Ash.
> 
> ...



No, Ash finished at the end of last season.  We have three field champions in our household now.  That makes Ash’s second place yesterday all the more awesome- she is a timid dog and now has to compete against the other field champions, who are generally speaking very self confident dogs.  She can really psych herself out, worrying about the other dog.  She is a good little rabbit dog though, she just needs to lose herself in the task and forget about everything else.  She did exactly that yesterday.  What a huge confidence boost for her!  Just what the doctor ordered.

Smoke has three days of conformation shows this weekend.  I’d like to put a conformation championship on her too, so that she’s a dual champion.  We’re planning on three days of shows this coming weekend in Costa Mesa, then a big three day show in Palm Springs in early Jan and a two day show in Ventura in late Jan.  Then we’ll reassess and plan from there.  Conformation is new to me, and I’m the worlds most awkward handler.  But she’s a pretty puppy and I think the dual championship is very realistic.

The weekend after next, she has two Hunt Tests.  This is a pass/fail test of hunting ability.  I’d like her to get the most advanced title in that discipline, Senior Hunting Hound.  However there’s very few Hunt Tests each year, and the SHH title takes 9 passes to achieve.  So that’s definitely a multi year process.

In the Field Trials, getting an Absolute would be nice.  Phoenix and Ash each have one.  I might even consider bringing her to the east coast to run some FTs there.  I’ve gotten a lot of help from a woman in Virginia who is a FT judge and breeder.  She breeds actual hunting dachshunds, mostly for use in falconry.  She has 40 fenced acres stocked with cottontail and she just founded a new Dachshund field club.  They will be offering FTs and Hunt Tests once they figure out logistics- ie in the next 12-18 months.  So we’ve already discussed me coming to Virginia with my dogs to work rabbits with her, and to compete in some of their trials or tests.

The national ranking system for field dachshunds is somewhat corrupt (there’s a group in the Midwest and Texas that runs a lot of trials, they hire their own judges and mostly only give top placements to dogs in their group.  This means dogs in that corrupt group gather huge numbers of points for the national rankings and makes it pointless to try too hard for that- if you wind up nationally ranked, fine.  But it’s stupid to make it a goal unless you want to be part of that corrupt world.  Ugh.  No thanks.)

tl/dr there’s still lots to do with her!


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## Ty1on (Dec 6, 2021)

My dog does her business outside, as long as she expects a treat for it. She's a grand champion of going outside.  

I've always admired working dogs, and especially the time and dedication their human cohorts put into training and showing them.


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## DaveNV (Dec 6, 2021)

heathpack said:


> The national ranking system for field dachshunds is somewhat corrupt
> 
> tl/dr there’s still lots to do with her!



I understand completely.  My sister in law breeds Parson Russell Terriers and the newer Russell Terriers.  She's told me many stories about how judging can be such a biased situation. I couldn't handle the potential for favoritism and corruption.

I sincerely hope all three of your girls reach the goals you have for them.  You've done very, very well, and you deserve your own ribbon. 

Dave


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## heathpack (Dec 6, 2021)

DaveNV said:


> I understand completely.  My sister in law breeds Parson Russell Terriers and the newer Russell Terriers.  She's told me many stories about how judging can be such a biased situation. I couldn't handle the potential for favoritism and corruption.
> 
> I sincerely hope all three of your girls reach the goals you have for them.  You've done very, very well, and you deserve your own ribbon.
> 
> Dave



Yes, I have been warned that as an owner-handler, I will be at a disadvantage in the conformation world, as judges tend to award professional handlers if it’s close, in order to support folks who make a living from the sport.

But then again, I’m also told that judges love dogs in the “bred-by” class- this is the one in which the person showing the dog is also the breeder.  The judges favor those dogs supposedly because they are typically also breeders who at one time handled their own dogs.

I am starting Smoke out in the Puppy classes in conformation because she still acts and looks like a puppy.  Once she matures a little more, we’ll move into the Bred By class.  Hopefully that will give us a little leg up.  However in our area there’s a very successful pro handler who is also a wire dachshund breeder.  If Smoke and I have to go up against her and one of her dogs, we’ll be very lucky to win that day!


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## DaveNV (Dec 6, 2021)

heathpack said:


> Yes, I have been warned that as an owner-handler, I will be at a disadvantage in the conformation world, as judges tend to award professional handlers if it’s close, in order to support folks who make a living from the sport.



Way back when, I knew a woman who bred and showed Collies.  She was pretty successful at it, because, as she described, when she found out who was judging which show, she'd know whether to wear a skirt or pants.  She said sometimes the handler is judged more acutely than the dog. I commented on how wearing a skirt seemed rather deceiving.  She replied that it was a show where the contestants were judged on appearance.  So why NOT increase her odds of doing well?  She said it worked quite well for her.  We chuckled over that situation.

Wishing you and the girls all success, going forward.   

Dave


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## Passepartout (Dec 15, 2021)

Snickers just came home from the groomer, has had dinner, and been outside to relieve herself. She's a happy puppy. She will be 4 months on Friday. 100% housetrained. Now to calm her down a bit.


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## DaveNV (Dec 15, 2021)

Passepartout said:


> Snickers just came home from the groomer, has had dinner, and been outside to relieve herself. She's a happy puppy. She will be 4 months on Friday. 100% housetrained. Now to calm her down a bit.
> 
> View attachment 43688



This is one cute doggo.  

Dave


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## Passepartout (Dec 15, 2021)




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## heathpack (Dec 19, 2021)

Smoke ran her first Hunt Test today.  She did great, passed with flying colors and high marks from both judges in all categories!  I ran her in the brace stake, meaning two dogs run together.  Both dogs have to pass for the dogs to get the “Q” aka qualifying score.  She ran with her mama Phoenix.  Such nice work.  One of the judges told me afterward that she was super impressed with Smoke, given she is only 8 months old.  Today’s Q gives her the 1st of 3 legs she needs to earn her Hunting Hound title.

Auntie Ash passed her brace stake too, also with Phoenix.  That earned her her Hunting Hound title.  So proud of her!

Mama Phoenix also passed her solo stake today, to earn her first (of 3) legs towards her Master Hunting Hound title.

So: great day for us in the field, beautiful work from my girls.  They flushed 7 rabbits in about an hour total out there in the field.

More tests tomorrow.


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## DaveNV (Dec 19, 2021)

Congratulations on another great day!  I know you have a pretty happy household right now.  Great work!

Is there "value" for the dog to have these hunting and nosework titles?  Other than personal pride and bragging rights, I mean.  Having a dog be a conformation Champion adds value to stud fees and litter prices. Do these awesome groundwork titles add anything like that?  

Really impressed with your girls.  I know about the only thing my Doxies would be good at is barking when the doorbell rings (or when they think it did), and maybe eating. Oh wait - they will poop and/or pee on command.  Small victories.  LOL! 

Dave


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## heathpack (Dec 19, 2021)

DaveNV said:


> Congratulations on another great day!  I know you have a pretty happy household right now.  Great work!
> 
> Is there "value" for the dog to have these hunting and nosework titles?  Other than personal pride and bragging rights, I mean.  Having a dog be a conformation Champion adds value to stud fees and litter prices. Do these awesome groundwork titles add anything like that?
> 
> ...



The idea behind these performance titles is the same as conformation titles- you are taking your dog to an objective third party for evaluation to help you determine who is your breeding stock.  As a breeder, you might want at a minimum to be breeding only dual champions for example- the conformation titles are “proof” that the dog is the physical “type” it’s supposed to be and the performance titles are “proof” that the dog is functionally capable of doing what the breed was developed to do.

But for me, really, I just like to watch them do this amazing complex 90% instinctual behavior.  It amazes me that such behavior could be genetically based. It makes me think about whether I could breed more of it.  Etc.  Plus I like spending a lot of time with my dogs.

For me, there’s definitely no monetary value in it.  I will likely produce very few puppies ever.  Spending money trialing them would eat into any $ you might get out of it with more valuable puppies!


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## TheHolleys87 (Dec 19, 2021)

heathpack said:


> Smoke ran her first Hunt Test today.  She did great, passed with flying colors and high marks from both judges in all categories!  I ran her in the brace stake, meaning two dogs run together.  Both dogs have to pass for the dogs to get the “Q” aka qualifying score.  She ran with her mama Phoenix.  Such nice work.  One of the judges told me afterward that she was super impressed with Smoke, given she is only 8 months old.  Today’s Q gives her the 1st of 3 legs she needs to earn her Hunting Hound title.
> 
> Auntie Ash passed her brace stake too, also with Phoenix.  That earned her her Hunting Hound title.  So proud of her!
> 
> ...


What adorable faces! So who’s who, left to right?


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## DaveNV (Dec 19, 2021)

heathpack said:


> The idea behind these performance titles is the same as conformation titles- you are taking your dog to an objective third party for evaluation to help you determine who is your breeding stock.  As a breeder, you might want at a minimum to be breeding only dual champions for example- the conformation titles are “proof” that the dog is the physical “type” it’s supposed to be and the performance titles are “proof” that the dog is functionally capable of doing what the breed was developed to do.
> 
> But for me, really, I just like to watch them do this amazing complex 90% instinctual behavior.  It amazes me that such behavior could be genetically based. It makes me think about whether I could breed more of it.  Etc.  Plus I like spending a lot of time with my dogs.
> 
> For me, there’s definitely no monetary value in it.  I will likely produce very few puppies ever.  Spending money trialing them would eat into any $ you might get out of it with more valuable puppies!



And that makes the most sense.  You'd never get back the time investment for all the training and effort you've put in. I agree it's amazing they do this because their instincts tell them to.  The hunting titles are quite hard to get, as you've explained, so having a beautiful dog physically (that conformation thing) with the addition of the string of hunting titles certainly speaks to the quality of the animal and its breeding.

It's all an amazing hobby with the benefit of improving the quality of life for a dog who otherwise would be laying on the couch all day.  You're a great dog Mom. 

Dave


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## heathpack (Dec 19, 2021)

TheHolleys87 said:


> What adorable faces! So who’s who, left to right?



Phoenix—- Ash—- Smoke


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## heathpack (Dec 29, 2021)

Grooming day.  Look at the coat between Smoke’s eyes.  It used to be soft fur and now is a proper wire coat.  I’ve learned a lot about wire coats and still have a lot more to learn.  But… puppy coats start out soft and become tougher the more you groom them.  Also wire red coats are softer than other coat colors.  Soft is not desirable.  Harsh coat is desirable.  Smoke has a pretty nice coat for an 8 month old pup.

We entered a dog show in Palm Springs two weeks from now.  I’m too much of a newby to know that it’s a big time show- over 3500 dogs entered.  We’re showing Fri, Sat and Sun.  Had some free nights so we’re staying at the Waldorf Astoria!


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## heathpack (Jan 1, 2022)

Jeepers!  

Smoke took FIRST place in the Field Champion stake at today’s field trial.  She finished her field championship on Dec 10 and this is the first trial since.  Now the big difference for her is that she has to run against the experienced rabbit-savvy dogs instead of the other non champion beginner dogs.

But she went out there and was amazing.  Her first run was so beautiful.  The judges told us the rabbit had been resting in the grass, bolted around 20-30 feet down a little game trail, then checked to the left and disappeared between two trees.

When we brought the dogs up to the line, we could see a rabbit form in the grass.  A rabbit form is a little rabbit shaped space in the grass, which tells you the rabbit had been nestled there for awhile.  The form is so full of scent that you have to take care not to let the dog get too enraptured by it-  that much scent sometimes almost “mesmerizes” the dog and sometimes they act like they were drugged.

Smoke just stuck her nose into that form and it was as if she was supercharged.  Nose down, tail whipping, body vibrating, super intense.  Then she took off down that game trail, took the left check and disappeared between the trees.  Exactly as the judges described.  She was 100% confident.  It was beautiful to see.

She made the first cut of dogs called back to compete a second time for final placements.  She was called back in first place, and with the way the chips fell, she only had to run one more time to secure first.  That was a nice run, definitely better than her bracemate, but it was nothing magical.

Her auntie Ash took Next Best Qualifer which is kind of an honorable mention/5th place.  Mama Phoenix did not finish in the ribbons today although she actually did pretty well too.

This little puppy Smoke amazes me out there in the field.  So young, and just rocking it totally.  What a crazy thing to breed a dog to do this and just on your first try winding up with this home run puppy!


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## DaveNV (Jan 1, 2022)

So, so happy for you.  All the hard work is really paying off.  And I'll bet Smoke is happy as can be.   

Dave


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## Passepartout (Jan 1, 2022)

Smoke prolly thinks, 'What's all the fuss? I was just doing what my instincts told me to do. So What? Gimme a nice stinky treat.'


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## heathpack (Jan 14, 2022)

OMG y’all.  I mentioned I think previously that I’m a newby to regular conformation shows.  I was looking at the schedule awhile back and saw three days of shows on a Fri-Sat-Sun in mid Jan in Palm Springs.  I thought to myself “well that would make a nice weekend trip,” so I entered it.

Little did I know that this is a MAJOR dog show!  There were over 3500 dogs entered each day.  Thirty six show rings operating simultaneously.  Each day there were around 65 dachshunds entered.  All the big time professional handlers were there.  People drove from all over the west, and some flew from the east coast to be there.  It was a deluge of dogs.

So.  We were in over our head, being newbies.  But still Smoke made a pretty good showing, she took second place each day.  Our weak point was the judge’s exam, we need to practice that.  In these shows, I put Smoke up onto a table and she’s supposed to strike a pose that makes her look perfect.  The pose is called a stack and it looks like this:





Her stack is pretty solid now, but while she is stacked on the table, the judge approaches and does a hands on exam, feeling her all over her body.  We’ve practiced a little bit of that and it honestly wasn’t that good.  I don’t know why I didn’t practice more.

Both on Fri and Sun, the judge complimented her when handing us our ribbon but mentioned we need to work on the table exam.  These were different judges so you know thats our glaring issue.

However the judges don’t make lots of comments to exhibitors.  Reading between the lines what each judge was saying is- you have a nice dog who deserves success and I’d like to see you achieve it.  Those comments were definitely big compliments.

So now we know what to work on.

Also- such a big crazy gigantic whirling show: Smoke was a little overwhelmed by it.  She enjoyed Friday but kind of shut down on Sat and then rallied Sun.  I have her entered in two smaller Sat/Sun shows and will see how it goes.  If she’s happy, I’ll proceed with the multiday shows.  If she’s overwhelmed, we’ll take it down a notch and just enter her one day at a time.

This weekend though- field trials.


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## Glynda (Jan 14, 2022)

Second place each day at your first dog show and a major one at that!!! WOW!  I'd say that is phenomenal! We could be seeing you at Westminster some day! Congratulations!


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## DaveNV (Jan 14, 2022)

Showing is a process, definitely.  Good to hear she did so well.  You both serve some high praise.  Second Place twice in a field of 65 Dachshunds is a fantastic result for a newbie.  The judges comments are definitely for your benefit, and are exactly what you think they are.  It's all about performance.

I've mentioned previously my sister in law breeds and shows Parson Russell Terriers.  She breeds at the highest level, and her dogs regularly go to Westminster. Many champions with her kennel name are top performers in the breed.  When she is starting potential candidate puppies for the show ring, one of the things she does often is practice a judge's exam.  She asks strangers to do an exam like a judge might do in the ring.  She stacks the puppy, then has another person walk up and handle the pup as a judge might.  She has different people do it a few times, then stops - puppies have a short attention span.  But then she repeats it again later.  It's a practice and preparation for the judge's handling at a show.  Puppies will accept handling from people they know, but it's the strangers who make a difference in cases like this. My suspicion of what happened at your show weekend was Smoke was just shy about having strangers handle her.  Completely normal, and fixable, with some effort and practice.

Good luck to you both!  She's definitely got potential. 

Dave


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## heathpack (Jan 14, 2022)

Glynda said:


> Second place each day at your first dog show and a major one at that!!! WOW!  I'd say that is phenomenal! We could be seeing you at Westminster some day! Congratulations!



It’s actually our third dog show.  But our first BIG DADDY type of show.  It was an absolute spectacle.

And just to be clear- the dachshund entry is chopped up into smaller classes.  If you win your class, you compete further for Best in Breed (in dachshunds, it’s actually Best of Variety, because smooth, long haired, and wirehaired dachshunds compete as if they are separate breeds (called varieties) even though they have the same breed standard except for coat).  If you win Best in Breed/Variety, then you compete in your group (in this case hounds), then then the best hound moves on to compete for Best in Show.

So Smoke was competing in the 6-9 mo wire dachshund Bitch Puppy class, which had four entries each day.  She was second of four, not second of 65.  But it was still a very good showing.  I honestly think she was very close to winning her class on Fri and Sun, if not for the table squirmies.  That would have advanced her further in the competition and given her a chance to take the top prize of the non-champion wire dachshunds, which would have earned her points towards her championship.  If she took that, she’d compete for Best of Variety.  It’s a little confusing, I know.

But these were quality dogs, and top judges.  It was nice to get serious consideration!


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## Glynda (Jan 14, 2022)

Thanks for the explanation. Regardless, it's her versatility that amazes me. Field trials and shows; she's so young and has done so well! Your other two earned their points quickly too as I recall. You've really worked hard and trained them well.


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## heathpack (Feb 8, 2022)

We finished our SoCal field trial season on Sunday.  We competed in 12 field trials over 11 weeks.  Crazy!  Great results from the girls.  

Mama Phoenix took Absolute twice, which is the field trial version of best in show.  Some dogs compete their entire lives and never win Absolute. Baby Smoke finished her field championship at 7 months of age and then came back to compete against the field champions, taking one first, one second and one third.  Overall between the three dogs, they earned 16 ribbons over the course of 12 trials.  Totally rocked it.

On Saturday, Mama Phoenix & daughter Smoke took second (Phoenix ) and third place (Smoke).  They had to compete against each other at one point.  Poor judges were so confused as to who was who.  Mama defeated daughter in that match up.  

Also- the week prior I took Smoke to a regular dog show- she won Winners Bitch, which earned her one point towards her conformation championship.  But crazy thing- she also won best owner-handled wire dachshund.  Which qualified her to compete for best hound in the hound group.  The sequence goes best of breed- best in group- best in show.  She didn’t get a placement in the hound group but she went out there and got it done.  Competing against all kinds of hounds- Afghan hound, Rhodesian ridgeback, Black & tan coonhound, Basset Hound, Beagle, etc.  They are brought into the ring in order of speed.  Little Smoke was the smallest hound out there, bringing up the rear.  Totally non plussed by all the big dogs out there.

We have a hunt Test coming up in two weeks, then a big cluster of 10 dog shows in 10 days!  Three dachshund specialties (dachshund only shows, usually with 100 dachshunds competing), some all breed shows, and the Beverly Hills kennel club show, which is televised on NBC sports- only the groups though, so she’d have to win best wirehaired dachshund to make it to TV.  Very unlikely in reality.

I’ve also decided to enter her in the Dachshund Club of America National Specialty.  This is a big dachshund only show in St Louis.  Not because we expect to be competitive but for the experience of it and because we’re driving cross country with the dogs in May to run them in some east coast field trials and realized this show just happens to be on the way.  Might as well, right?


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## DaveNV (Feb 8, 2022)

I'm so blown away by these girls, and how well they're doing.  Good going, all of you!

A Dachshund Speciality show is a great way to size up your dogs against others.  You already know how good your girls are - this will be a way to see it in action.  Good luck with that!

Dave


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## JudyH (Feb 8, 2022)

You and yours are amazing.


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## Passepartout (Feb 8, 2022)

Absolutely fantastic! It takes good breeding and a whole bunch of work to get results like this! Fabulous on both counts! Congratulations!


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## Passepartout (Mar 11, 2022)

Just a check-in. Snickers will be 7 months soon, and got spayed today. The vet found one remaining puppy canine tooth, and it went to the doggy tooth fairy. She's pretty tender, so will be on light duty for a few days.  No food until tomorrow, then we'll ease back in. She weighed in at 21 lbs. Might get a little heavier, but we think she about has her size. She isn't fighting the lampshade collar, so it's all good.



Jim


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## heathpack (Mar 11, 2022)

Passepartout said:


> Just a check-in. Snickers will be 7 months soon, and got spayed today. The vet found one remaining puppy canine tooth, and it went to the doggy tooth fairy. She's pretty tender, so will be on light duty for a few days.  No food until tomorrow, then we'll ease back in. She weighed in at 21 lbs. Might get a little heavier, but we think she about has her size. She isn't fighting the lampshade collar, so it's all good.
> View attachment 48841
> Jim



Aw poor girl.  Feel better soon Snickers!


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## heathpack (Mar 12, 2022)

Our girl Smoke passed both of her Earthdog tests today to earn the title of Novice Earthdog.  This was her first time ever trying Earthdog, although we’ve been cramming for the tests for the past week.

In Earthdog, the dogs have to enter underground tunnels and find a caged rat underground and then “work” the rat (bark, dig, snarl) etc for a specified amount of time.  We have some above ground tunnels we used to practice for the past two days, so she was familiar with the idea of entering a dark tunnel.  We’ve also been hunting rats in a wild rat colony known to us.  All three dogs work together to uncover rats in their nests- digging, burrowing, etc.  In the past week, the adult dogs have each killed one rat, and baby Smoke helped with the excavation process.

So- within our time constraints, she was ready for her tests today and passed with flying colors.  The novice dogs are given 2 minutes to locate the caged rats underground- both times she found the rats in 10 seconds.

I didn’t expect her to pass today, so I in my pre-entry I signed her up for a Novice test tomorrow.  But now I’ll move her up to Junior level tomorrow.  It’s a much harder underground test and they have to work the rats twice as long.  I doubt she can pass that, I’ve only worked a Junior level tunnel with her in practice once.  But it will be a good experience anyway.

So, pending AKC approval, she is now Field Champion Briarwire’s Trial by Fire MW, Novice Earthdog.  Ten months old!  Such a precocious little hunter.


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## SandyPGravel (Mar 12, 2022)

Looks so sweet for a kickass hunter

Sent from my SM-S906U using Tapatalk


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## DaveNV (Mar 13, 2022)

"Who, me??"  Business as usual for a dynamic hunter.  Good for her! 

Dave


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## heathpack (Apr 13, 2022)

I took Smoke up to Northern California this past weekend for some Earthdog tests.  I wanted to see if she could maybe get that second leg at the Junior level to earn herJunior Earthdog title.  I am happy to report that she passed her test on the first try and earned her third hunting title (Field Champion, Novice Earthdog, and now Junior Earthdog) before her first birthday. She is rocking it!

Since we had driven so far, I let her run in the afternoon test and she passed that too.  The judge has a little slot in the trap door above the dogs head in the underground tunnel, right near the rat.  Lol you could tell Smoke was working hard because little clods of earth were flying through the slot.  When the judge opened the trap door for me to pull her out of the tunnel, she had dug a hole around 8 inches deep in the 1 minute she needed to work for the test.  Her idea I think was to dig underneath the quarry cage and try to grab a rat from below.  Might as well try!





I was staying with a friend who competes at a high level in agility, and she also teaches agility.  She has four agility boy dogs.  Smoke loved them and took all weekend to decide which one was going to be her special boyfriend.  In the end, she decided it would be Crispr, the 13 month old border collie who is second from the left in this pic.  She also chased them around the agility field and even did some of the obstacles.  Of course she is a natural at the tunnels.  But her other specialty was the dog walk, a ramp up to a plank about 4 feet off the ground, then another ramp at the far end to get down.  She’d run up, across, and back down, multiple times.  Apparently a lot of dogs are afraid of the dog walk and you typically introduce them slowly.  Except Smoke who just did it without thinking twice.  

Tomorrow she turns 1 year old.  Can you believe it?


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## MULTIZ321 (Apr 13, 2022)

heathpack said:


> I took Smoke up to Northern California this past weekend for some Earthdog tests.  I wanted to see if she could maybe get that second leg at the Junior level to earn herJunior Earthdog title.  I am happy to report that she passed her test on the first try and earned her third hunting title (Field Champion, Novice Earthdog, and now Junior Earthdog) before her first birthday. She is rocking it!
> 
> Since we had driven so far, I let her run in the afternoon test and she passed that too.  The judge has a little slot in the trap door above the dogs head in the underground tunnel, right near the rat.  Lol you could tell Smoke was working hard because little clods of earth were flying through the slot.  When the judge opened the trap door for me to pull her out of the tunnel, she had dug a hole around 8 inches deep in the 1 minute she needed to work for the test.  Her idea I think was to dig underneath the quarry cage and try to grab a rat from below.  Might as well try!
> 
> ...



Thanks for the update and letting your fellow Tuggers  honor Smoke vicariously 

Richard


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## DaveNV (Apr 13, 2022)

That girl is rocking it, for sure.  Happy Birthday, Smoke!

Dave


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## Passepartout (Apr 13, 2022)

Congratulations! What a great pooch. I know she has the genes, but it takes a LOT of dedication and training to produce this kind of results.

Jim


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## heathpack (May 1, 2022)

Another hunting title for our girl Smoke!  She passed one of her Hunt Tests in Utah last weekend to earn the title of Hunting Hound.  To earn this title, the dog needs to pass the test three times.  The dogs are turned loose in rabbit territory and have 30 min to find their own rabbit.  In this case, the rabbit was jack rabbit and I don’t think I’ll do that again.  Jack rabbit run far, in a straight line.  Little dachshunds getting that far out of sight in coyote territory is not ideal. A dachshund is not the right dog for that job.  But- she was braced with her mama Phoenix and they got the job done.

She just turned a year old and this is the 4th hunting title she’s earned: Field Champion, Novice Earthdog, Junior Earthdog and now Hunting Hound.  I know it probably sounds easy to get these titles, but lots of dogs never earn them or take years to do so.  It’s really been an amazing run so far!





Auntie Ash also passed both of her Hunt Tests, finishing her Senior Hunting Hound title in the pack format- in snow, hail, and mud.  Then the next day, she passed her solo test to earn the first leg of her Master Hunting Hound title.  Nice work, Ashy!


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## DaveNV (May 2, 2022)

Your dogs have got to be setting some new standards for the breed.  These achievements are amazing!  Good job!!

Dave


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## heathpack (Nov 10, 2022)

We had Earthdog tests the past two weekends.  I can’t remember if I’ve explained that before but Earthdog tests are instinct tests for breeds of dogs historically bred for hunting animals that live in dens, like badger, fox, European rabbits.  In the tests, the dogs are evaluated for their work in manmade underground tunnels with a caged rat at one end, separated from the dog by wooden bars.  The basic task is for the dog to mark the location of the quarry for a specified amount of time, because typically the way denning animals were hunted was for the dog to locate the quarry and then the hunter would dig the quarry out and dispatch it.

Theres four levels of titles in Earthdog, with increasing levels of complexity/difficult of the tests the dog must pass to earn the title.  The titles are Novice, Junior, Senior and Master Earthdog.

Our girl Smoke is/was working towards her Senior Earthdog title, and also towards the “Excellent” designation on the Junior title she’s already earned (to get the Junior title, the dog needs to pass the Junior test twice, to convert that to Junior Excellent Earthdog, the dog needs to pass the Junior test six additional times).

In Junior Earthdog, there is a scent line laid from the start point 10ft away from the den entrance.  The den consists of 30 feet of underground tunnel with three right turns.  The dog must “work” the quarry for 1 min (bark, scratch, dig, bite the bars, etc), then you have to be able to retrieve the dog from the quarry end of the den through a trap door.

In Senior Earthdog, the start line is 20 ft from the den entrance.  The dog has to navigate the same basic den set up as in Junior, but now there is a false den added (with used bedding but no rat) and a false exit (which takes the dog out of the den and away from the quarry).  The dog must work the rat for 90 seconds, and then the judge removes the rat from the den (simulating quarry that escaped via a back entrance) and you have to be able to recall your dog out of the den.

In Master Earthdog, the start is 100-300 YARDS from the den entrance and the dog is paired with another dog being tested at that level.  Both dogs are working off leash and they have to track the scent line to find the den entrance (which is hidden).  Along the way, there will be a false den which the dog must check out upon your command but not get caught up in.  When the dogs find the den entrance (which is blocked by a perforated board with the rat sitting just inside), the first dog who found the den entrance works the den first and the second dog is staked outside the den entrance and must “honor” the other dog working, by remaining reasonably quiet and in control.  The den complex is the same as in the Senior Test except now there are two constrictions in the tunnel (simulating a rock or root that the dog must squeeze past).  One constriction is left to right, and the other constriction is in the up and down direction.  The one in the up and down direction has a roller on the bottom to keep the dog from getting caught on it.  The dog needs to work the rat for 90 seconds and then you have to be able to retrieve the dog from the quarry end of the den.  Then the second dog runs.  They are judged on their above ground and below ground hunting.

OUR GIRL SMOKE SMOKED IT!  

In two weekends, she ran six Junior tests and passed 5 of them to earn her Junior Excellent Earthdog title (she already had 1 passed test from last spring.

She also ran six Senior tests and passed 2 of them to earn 2 of the 3 legs she needs to earn her Senior Earthdog title (almost there!).  I’d argue that she passed 4 of the tests, but that’s another issue!

And then one day in the Master tests, they had an odd number of entries.  Since dogs are tested in pairs, when there’s an odd entry, an unentered dog is asked to run with the odd hound.  We had the good luck of Smoke getting asked to be that dog twice.  Good luck because we’ve never done it before and the exposure to the walk up hunt and the contractions in the den were invaluable.  I expected the constrictions to flummox her.   Y’all our girl Smoke passed both of those Master Tests with ease.  In her first ever encounter with the constrictions, she breezed right past them, getting through the den complex and to the quarry in 11 seconds.  In her second Master run, she outhunted her bracemate (a six year old Cairn terrier) by a good margin, locating The den entrance a minute or two ahead of the other dog.  It was awesome work.  To earn the Master title , the dog needs to pass the test 4 times.  Sadly Smokes passes do not count because she is not yet eligible to be formally tested at that level (has to earn the Senior title first), but it was really impressive work for such a baby dog.

On one day, between the various tests I entered her in, and running with the odd hound in Master, she ran 7 tests and passed SIX.  It was by far the most passed tests of any of the other dogs running that day.  It might sound easy, since she’s racking up these Qs but actually only a handful of dogs pass tests each day, and a lot of dogs take years to  earn their titles.

AMAZING den instinct in our 18 month old puppy who is now Field Champion Briarwire’s Trial by Fire MW, Junior Excellent Earthdog, Hunting Hound! 

We have four more Earthdog tests in the next two weeks, hopefully can earn that Senior title and start working towards the Master title.  Once we do these tests, we will take an Earthdog break, just to keep it fresh.  Plus our local field trial season starts the weekend after Thanksgiving, and we will be well-occupied in the field.


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## SandyPGravel (Nov 10, 2022)

Wow!!  Super Impressive!  I'm happy if I can get my corgi to leave our bed when I tell her "off"


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## DaveNV (Nov 10, 2022)

heathpack said:


> AMAZING den instinct in our 18 month old puppy who is now Field Champion Briarwire’s Trial by Fire MW, Junior Excellent Earthdog, Hunting Hound!


 
I actually got goosebumps when I read that sentence.     What a fantastic performance, and a spectacular list of credits on her name.  Great work!

Considering the tenuous start to life Smoke had, she has done a marvelous job with things. Honorary Dog Uncle DaveNV is very proud!  

Dave


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## Glynda (Nov 12, 2022)

Fantastic! Congrats!


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## JudyH (Nov 12, 2022)

I reread this whole thread. What a wonderful story.


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## nerodog (Nov 12, 2022)

So happy for you...really impressive. Thx for sharing...


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