Our First Litter: The Cabin in the Woods Puppies
I slept in my bed for the first time in 8 weeks last night. As my beloved puppies begin to move on to their next adventure, I am looking back on what came before them and looking forward to the lasting impact they will have.
The story of this litter begins years before they arrived. This litter *really* begins with a mostly unrelated dog, Random. Random is our OG Dalmatian. She is a magical unicorn of a dog who is up for any challenge, any adventure, any time. She was my entry *back* into dog sports after a several-year hiatus as I went to grad school, moved across the country, etc.
Random was never destined to be a show dog with her glorious and generous spots, despite her beautiful conformation and movement. We were so enamoured with her that we jumped at the opportunity to add a second Dalmatian with Pam (Rockstar Dalmatians) next litter. That puppy was Hazzard.
Hazzard showed his beauty in the conformation ring early with a best baby puppy in show. As a newbie conformation handler, this remains one of my most exciting moments! Hazzard's first "real" show at 6 months had him take BOB and then a group placement.
He went on to a best puppy in show, multiple RBIS in UKC, and finished his CKC CH, CKC GrandCH, AKC CH, and UKC CH by 14 months. He is now focusing on performance events and semi-retired from conformation with more than 20 group placements.
His brains match his beauty, and he excels in many sports and events from obedience to weight pull to dock diving to mushing and more. Perhaps most importantly, he demonstrates his stable, steady temperament through it all.
We started searching for the right puppy to be a potential future match (knowing much could go wrong and stop our plans - from health testing to conformation to a bite going off, etc). After reviewing tons of pedigrees, looking at many different litters, and seeking the guidance of Pam, we decided on Danger.
Although heavily marked, Danger quickly finished her Canadian championship with a group placement and went on to show her workability in a variety of sports.
Again, perhaps most important is Danger's steady, gentle, wonderful temperament.
Both Danger and Hazzard tested and passed the fairly rigorous BH, a combined obedience and temperament test that comprises the 1st level of IGP—making them the 1st pairing of dalmatians to both have a BH.
We completed all of the recommended health testing for Danger and Hazzard with excellent results and added an echocardiogram to be extra safe. Then it was time to plan for the puppies. Danger's pregnancy was smooth she soon looked like a spotted hippo!
Her delivery was primarily uneventful, with just one pup giving us some concern as she took her time entering the world. As I sat beside Danger in the whelping box, each puppy was born into my hands. I slept beside them that night, and every night after for the next eight weeks, to ensure they had everything they needed and that if a problem arose, I was there to help.
Our littlest pup, who kept us waiting long enough that we called the emergency vet, made her appearance while we waited on hold. After what was undoubtedly an exhausting entrance, little Candy didn't have the energy to latch on. So at 2 am, we watched and rewatched videos on tube feeding and got her fed. We fed her again a few hours later, and then she was strong enough to eat independently.
Over the next eight weeks, I marveled at their changes. I watched them change from white potatoes to spotted yams to tiny dogs. I fed them, I cleaned them, I kept them warm. Above all else, I loved them.
We incorporated Puppy Culture learning and did Early Neurological Stimulation, and tried to add in everything we could to give them the best foundation possible.
I created opportunities to expand their horizons, build on their natural good temperaments, and create bold, confident, happy puppies. They learned about balancing, climbing, and swimming. They walked on different surfaces, heard different noises, and smelled different things.
I screened MANY applicants, talking to 10 people for every one that made it onto the list. When the time came that I had all the information necessary to match them to the perfect home, I had the perfect homes waiting.
Puppies were matched based on conformation evaluations, hearing tests, temperament tests, and the combined knowledge of 6.5 weeks of 24 hrs a day observation.
We had conformation evaluations done by the knowledgeable, wonderful, and generous people from Brightspot Dalmatians. We are thrilled to have produced several show prospects, several performance hopefuls, and to have all puppies with stable, confident, friendly temperaments.
We decided where each puppy would head off for their next adventure, knowing we would be both devastated to see them go and excited to see the joy they'd bring to their new home. Many of them have now moved on to their new devoted families, but I'll always feel a little bit like they're still my puppies.
They'll always have a safe place here. They'll always have somewhere to go if they need it. They'll always be loved by us.
So, to my beautiful puppies; Be safe. Be well. You will be missed.
