I got an email update this week from Mike regarding his Bella puppy. He has been reading the book “Bird Dog” by Ben O. Williams that I sent home with him when he picked up the puppy. Mike reports that Bella is adjusting well and is turning out to be quite the little firecracker. She is full of energy and loves to get outside and run. Mike can’t wait for the snow to melt so they can get serious about bird dog training. Bella is pictured below locked up on a point while Mike was working her with the wing and a string. It is amazing how deeply engrained the pointing instinct is with these young brittany puppies. Bella should be a fine hunting dog come next fall when she can really get after some birds.

We got these pics via email of Bailey and her holiday adventures. Bailey spent christmas with her family in Kansas City where she got her first introduction to snow. Anita says Bailey is settling in nicely and loves to play outside. She mentioned a problem about biting. It is important for puppies to have chew toys that they are encouraged to bite and chew on. Anytime a puppy tries to bite a person or something they are not allowed to chew, a correction should be made. They key is to set your puppy up for success not failure. We know that when puppies are excited they are more apt to bite or play rough, this is when we should have their chew toy handy to direct their attention and sharp teeth.

The last two brittany puppies are going to their new homes tomorrow. One is headed for Nevada (Freckle face) and the other (Brown face) is headed for California. Alyssa helped me give the puppies a bath and comb out their coats. Just if they could stay clean for more than 24 hours. We were thrilled to find hunting homes for all 5 of these females. Only one stayed here in Utah. The other two went to Wyoming and Arizona families.

In bringing a young hunting dog puppy along, the bird introduction is one of the funnest places to start. You can use a clipped wing pigeon, quail or chukar. I like to use the quail or pigeons on young pups because the size of the bird is not too intimidating. You can trim the flight feathers on one wing, or simply pluck them out. They will grow back with time if the bird doesn’t get chewed up too bad. I start by waving the bird in front of the puppy and let them get a good sniff. Then I toss the bird a few feet and see if the puppy will give chase. Typically they can’t stand the bird running and flapping and their prey-drive will kick in. The main goal of this drill is to get the puppy excited about birds. Being interested in birds is the foundation for building a bird dog.

This training drill can also be turned into a retrieving introduction. For best results you should do this in an enclosed area or with a lead fastened to the puppies collar. It is very natural for a dog to pick up a bird in his mouth, but bringing it back is the trick. Once they pick it up reel them in slowly with the lead and give the “fetch” or “here” command. When they get within reach, don’t take the bird right away. Pat them down good and pile on the praise. Let them hold the bird for a minute or two while you really build them up. Then get the bird and throw it again for another try. Do it a few times and put it away. Training should be fun, as well as short and sweet.

This weekend the pic of the litter went home to her new family in Wyoming. Forrest (Necha’s Father) drove more than 20 hours in a weekend to surprise his daughter Necha with the new puppy. The liver and white puppy was the pic of the litter and Necha decided to name her “Maple”. We are thrilled that she is in a loving home where she will be with a family who enjoys hunting gamebirds. Necha is getting ready to take hunters safety and is excited about hunting next year with her own pointing dog. This puppy seemed to be the most well-balanced of the litter. A real people lover but also quite adventurous and bold.

Between 3 and 4 weeks the puppies will have their teeth coming in enough to start eating solid foods. At first I add a cup of hot water to make a kind of mush with out of their high protein puppy food (I feed Black Gold 30/20). I am always amazed at how they know just what to do. The only problem is they seem to eat with both front paws in the food dish. This can be a very messy part of raising puppies but it is fun to watch. They are getting around pretty good and starting to venture out of the whelping box during the day. Now that the pups are starting to eat they begin to poop and momma quits cleaning up after them. I line the whelping box with newspapers and change them out daily, if not more often.

Part of what makes for great pups is proper socialization when they are young. At 3 weeks old the pups are pretty helpless so I make my kids sit down to hold the puppies. This helps avoid any accidental dropping of the pups and it gets them down on the same level. At three weeks old these american brittany puppies just need a lot of gentle petting and handling by people. They learn early to like the sound of humans and it won’t take long before they hear you coming and meet you at the gate/door. Below my nephew Jake is giving this liver/white female a good loving and squeezing. Kids and puppies are about as cute as it gets.