Category: Pilgrim’s Litter 2021 Page 1 of 3

Seeing these pictures and videos from the puppy families does my heart good…it restores every ounce of effort that was expended in nurturing them, and doing my very best to match them to their families. You end up hearing about the process a bit, but don’t really know that some applicants are just not the right fit and leave the mix early. Its like one of my children needs to go to a foreign country and someone else is going to be their family and look out for their needs, forever. I’m so happy that these people have come into my life, and I look forward to getting to know their growth with their new member. Its like with kids, pets can be a big catalyst to know ourselves in new ways!

Lets start with the travel home…the biggest concern was Leah, who is now Cider, getting to Alaska. Luckily it wasn’t boat, plane, and train, but a car ride and just a few bumper flights to a little known place outside of Juno called Douglas. Here she is, just snoozing through the whole thing, with fantastic dreams of her new home and everything she saw since 4:30 a.m. when she was sent off with the puppy express.

Once there, she met her half-sister Rosie from 2016.

Same mom, different dad…

And then we had Chewbacca, who is now Charlie,
who was the co-pilot to Bend.

Another pup with half-siblings in Bend was Padme, who is now Briar.

And her sister in Portland, Rey, who is now Sequoia Rey,
who will also be meeting a Portland half-sibling.

Cider looks warm and cozy compared to the snow, which I hear she loves!

And, Charlie looks ready for action!

Both Charlie and Briar both have trails close by in Bend!

With Rey hangin’ in a nice large Oregon yard…

Which she really loves…does she stop? These figure eights are very reminiscent of Breeze’s puppy hood.

Charlie is exploring and still has his cute bark!

Briar is another ball player!

And luckily Cider looooves the snow!

Many thanks to all of you for your encouragement and good energy during the evolution of this litter. It really ripples. It supports me in my work with Ancient Ways, in our music we share from Zimbabwe, and life on the farm in general, as well as fuels those random acts of kindness needed to keep the wheel of life moving.

Looking forward to 2022 with all of you in my life. Always feel free to reach out… The Very Best to you this holiday season!

The final days of week 8 have arrived. We do keep the puppies until the 8th week is finished and they have had all the time possible to spend with mom and siblings.

They are getting a bit more vocal!

Chewbacca had something to say!

Padme has a rather independent spirit which will take her far…she has been nicknamed Houdini! Maybe she is just intuitive! “my papa is coming!” She was the first of the females to really catch onto eating (competing with Chewbacca) and often is the first to step out on her own.

Houdini at Large!

So indeed Padme went home to Bend this a.m. Tomorrow morning Chewbacca will also be going to Bend. They have half-brothers there to catch up with and hang out, Fessik and Bascom to name two. Padme and Chewbacca will undoubtedly meet again, since both fellows in the new families are active hiking/biking types.

Inside and out they are a smart bunch!

Napping again…it won’t be long and I’ll be able to do that too!

The challenge is always catching them after they wake up but before they pee…because within a couple minutes of waking, they will relieve themselves. This litter has been super good about taking care of business outside, but the pee part hasn’t yet been mastered. When they go home, the families will be able to teach that pretty quickly.

Here again I’m premature!

The last two puppies will go home Sunday. The one going to near Juno Alaska, Leia, will also have a half-sibling, Rosie, with whom to play. Rosie and Leia actually look very similar with the clear sable and a dot on her head. Leia leaves the farm at 4:30 a.m. and the puppy express will take her to the Eugene airport where she will be met and can fly home under the seat with mom and without stress. There are three in this attentive working-at-home family to absorb her and share in the fun…North to Alaska!

The last puppy, Rey, will go to Portland where there are several half-siblings as well, Dickens being one. Rey, being the smallest of the group, has learned a great deal about holding her own and you really wouldn’t know that she was a half-pint not that long ago. Delightful puppy to a delightful family!

I have learned so much from this litter! Thank you all for your contribution to that!

Ahhh yes…soon now returning to “normal” life….

Oh my…things are moving very fast…I’ve had all the greatest intentions of posting but time eludes us.

I’m always touched by hearing from puppy owners. Sometimes they are just incredible stories. This one just in… he says, “She broke her ankle hiking off trail in Montana in July and Cody sought our friends looking for her and led them to her ( I was gone fishing). What a smart, empathic member of our family.”

Doesn’t that just make your day!?

Here are the puppers enjoying the puppy yard.

[metaslider id=2186]

We are very grateful for all the visitors! Plenty of puppy love to go around…

[metaslider id=2195]

Oh yeah … the routine stuff…sleeping and eating…

Week 7 is just around the corner. We’ll be doing the innoculations and Renee, Breeze’s breeder, will be helping me to look at structure and such to help with the best placements for the puppies…always looking forward to that. The pup’s personalities can change quite a bit in week 7, so that is an interesting process to watch unfold.

Yesterday we weighed the pups again. From the last week, they added from 13 oz to 1 pound. Rey increased the most, by the entire pound. Leia and Chewbacca tied at 15 oz. And, Padme added 13 oz. That is kind of normalizing the sizes a little.

After nap time we checked out the new-new digs…that of the back porch, proudly put together by Ryane and Phil. The door skin is protecting the deck from the many uncontrollable deposits over the next month, so that was a grateful addition.

Lets take this a step at a time…

We really have been wanting to get these little ones outside but the rain has been pretty unrelenting. Today was a wonderful break and so the adventure was perfect, and timing was even better.

They really need to be “hardened off” like seedlings coming out of the greenhouse to tackle the weather they will live in, and so from now on, its every day, no matter how much rain or wind or sleet or snow….we will be going to school (outside).

I wanted their first experience to be non-threatening and just a curiosity seeking. Breeze has been through this a few times and it feels like she really “gets” the drill. Of course, getting them back in the house is an entirely different conversation…its all coming back to me now…

Puppy buyers…please remember to send me your stinky undershirt for your pup to sleep with the last night or two, plus a sock tied in a knot that will not only smell like their litter mates, but also is a great teaching tool for which socks to play with as you work with them on that issue (only the knotted one is okay).

You can also send a small toy that the litter can play with and also smells like their first home….but we can’t promise they won’t tear it up.

Thanks for tuning in…

Just a quick note to keep you in the “litter loop”!

We just made the move to the living room from the office whelping room. It all went well. The new den is larger and easily accessible to the outside…check it out here. We are planning on having some outside adventures really soon.

Of course I’m looking at the pouring rain and am aghast at the possibility, but have to remember that dogs have a higher temperature than humans. And we want them to be able to transition to the colder temps of Alaska and Bend!

This week also was a worming week and nail trimming. I can always tell I must get those nails done because Breeze lets me know. I can’t imagine why evolution would have puppies with such sharp little claws as it only causes earlier weaning, but maybe they could defend themselves from a predator?

I don’t know, but as a domestic pup we want them to be really easy about nail trimming time, so we start them in their sleep, and work up to wide awake work. Luckily their little claws are like an eagle beak and easy to to hook with the trimmer :*)) making it far less stressful than one would imagine.

Before worming I reweighed them, even though I had weighed them just a couple days before, since the meds are measured by the ml to ounces. The weight change in 2 days was fascinating. Leia increased by 12 ounces, as did Chewbacca. Rey increased by 9 ounces and Padme by 10.

The other thing about this week was they really started playing with each other…what fun! Check it out…

And yes, I quickly found a solution…I hope it works through the night and there are no surprises when I awake. I had something that I had purchased and stuck in the back of the closet. Its a tiny fence for hamsters of all things. I added it around the baby gate. The puppers never cease to amaze me and keep me guessing ;*))

Thanks for listening…Until next time…

p.s. OH! I almost forgot…due to unforeseen circumstances, one of the puppy buyers had to make a change, so we do have one puppy left for placement. Call to set up a chat!

Sunday gave us a wonderful visit from our next door neighbors! These visits are one of my favorite parts of having puppies! People come out of the woodwork who love animals!

We’ve watched these little ones (2 years old and 5) grow up over the last several years, 6 to be precise, and originally met because they heard our Zimbabwe marimba classes playing over the field grasses and through the trees. They were kind enough to let me video their visit today in two parts, so all of you who can’t come can still have some fun!

Thanks for checking in!

Breeze’s pups are growing well and are so content … what an easy-going litter. It could be that there are so few of them to share in the milk…or maybe the mating produced a calm bunch. Although, you wouldn’t know it from their nursing style, which is not particularly chill.

Enjoy watching this Friday afternoon’s meal here in this video.

They do have their eyes open now. They might have been open yesterday but it wasn’t obvious. I suppose I could have used a flashlight to look in there then, but who would want that in their eyes? Today, it was clear.

Getting a good picture of a wiggly 2-week old pup was not too easy so I thought I’d include some video too…check it out right above the photo:

Our smallest pup (at this point) is Leia who is 1 pound 13 ounces. She was first born, and Breeze’s first has always been the littlest. Leia was almost 7 ounces at birth.

Rey is 2 pounds even. She was 3rd born at 8 and 3/8 ounce so has increased 1.5 pounds since her birth.

Chewbacca, who we thought was the hungry one, is not the largest at 2 pounds, 12 ounces. He was 5th born, was just over 8 ounces at birth, and is our only male. He actually waved his paw at the camera during the video…how funny!

Padme Amidala is 2 pounds, 15 ounces. She was 4th born. She really surprised me by her bark, but then she completely kept her composure.

Check out the vigor two hours later in this video… the litter was still nursing. Then they were finally done….they look complete ;*))

Thanks for tuning in. I was telling someone how much sharing their story with you helps me…it won’t be long and they will all be going home with their families, and Breeze, Katie and I will be staring at each other, saying “what happened?”. It helps me grow up ;*)) Thank you!

Dear Friends,

Sadly, our little Jedi didn’t make it.  In many ways he was improving, but then suddenly quit making progress yesterday. 

Thank you for all of your encouraging words and support during this last week…you have been amazing!  Particularly when I was walking through my world in a dream state, blinking blurry eyes, and working hard to connect my synapses and fulfill other life functions.

His passing means that I’ll be returning a deposit to someone. And, as Divine Providence would have it, there was a shift in one of the family’s lives and they were planning to call me later in the week to see if they could relinquish their spot on the list!  What a relief that all things work together for the common good…it’s just that it’s not always obvious, nor easy.

I have cherished my time with the little being of Light that we named Jedi…I have learned mountains of deep things during these last 10 days, and wouldn’t trade it for anything…it’s a treasure in my secret heart.

We are on our way forward with the four pups and am happy to share the latest HERE!

I wouldn’t have noticed the one on the left who is lined up in reverse, except she keeps getting my attention…just a bit of an individual.

And then the reunion…always a good moment! The rest of them had their dinner and were snoozing when I heard her, still at arms length. Plopped her into place, and then of course, the delight of finding mom!

Stay tuned …hoping to take weights soon.

Its taken a bit for me to post here…simply messaging friends and family has become too easy! We have a Whatsapp Breeze group… if you are inclined, let me know. But I really wanted to share with all of you who are subscribed to the Breeze Blog so that you are in our loop! The litter began arriving on 10-1-21 at 7 a.m. At first it was every half hour.

The page for Pilgrim’s Litter is up and not quite complete. There are many half-sisters and half-brothers out there. Remember I’m always interested in your lives and how your pup, that was born just like one of these tiny ones, is doing.

We realized early-on that the second-born was not catching on to nursing, but in this video on day 2 all looks fine.

Here, only because we are watching him like a hawk, we see he wasn’t latching.I really wasn’t expecting this and didn’t have a bottle on hand, so began the feeding using a tube used for filling an essential oil bottle. It worked off and on for quite a day or so. A generous friend went to Petco and brought me a bottle kit…thank God for good Samaritans! You can see here its gotten so much easier!

Day 3 I was amazed with the realization of how Breeze does all this maneuvering with her mouth!

And, later that same day….

We have been enjoying the puppies and are so grateful for them. The little guy we thought was a female at first, mainly due to the whirlwind effort of feeding every 2 hours around the clock…and he was so little. It wasn’t until Day 6 that he was big enough I noticed a tiny penis and sure enough there was urine coming out! Oh my…how interesting (and embarrassing) of a mistake to make! I can only tack it up to lack of sleep and everything being a bit blurry ;*))

The timing of the sex realization dovetailed with all of the naming for this special little soul. It started with the diamond spot (continuing to morph into a droplet) bringing on the name Lady Di and then someone else said Gigi due to the little body. One of the marimba players suggested merging that into one name, like Gidi and suddenly the naming theme for the litter was clear…this smaller tri-color male was Jedi and everyone else was also from Star Wars.

The only other one that seems clear right now is the larger sable male who was fondly named Chewbacca since he is somewhat the dominant one on the nursing scene. We will have Princess Leia, Padme Amidala (Luke and Leia’s mother), and Rey, a powerful female having The Force within her. Just haven’t figured out who is who quite yet.

Of course, I know that you name your own puppy when you get it home…but this is part of the fun of keeping track of the notes about characteristics, worming dates and immunizations. This is a relatively small litter, and happily going home to their new families on Thanksgiving!

On that note, here is a wrap from the end of Day 4. I wonder if I could sleep on my head, and not wake up with a kink.

And, for those of you who are wondering how Katie is doing, she is doing an amazing job. She has very quickly assimilated the information that she is no longer the baby, and has astutely been behaving in wonderful ways. Here she is last night watching the den. The door is open and I can see the wheels moving around behind those eyes.

Its not like she doesn’t want to peek in there, but I’m waiting until week 3 to give Breeze and the bunch plenty of time. Then Katie will have a week training in watching and paying attention, but not getting too excited by all the squeals.

Week 4 we go outside into the puppy park so hopefully I’m planning enough time for all the learning phases. I just know that right now, we don’t want any more stimulus than we already have.

For those of you who know Katie, you know her as super affectionate, kind of smiling in her demeanor, and on the active side….but here she is so serious and almost contemplative, studying …what IS going on in that room?

It was the end of July and beginning of August, Breeze and I drove south about an hour to Junction City, where we visited with Joan Oakes, and her handsome English Shepherd Pilgrim. Joan runs an agility training school, with a variety of dog breeds, jumping through hoops and tunnels, running ladders and the like.

Breeze and Pilgrim mated three times over that week. I didn’t want to make the same mistake I did in 2020, leaving too soon. We now have a very pregnant Breeze who is looking to be due any day. Her first litter was 7 pups, her second was 12 and her third 10. Often older females have smaller litters, so who knows. We are on pins and needles.

Pilgrim and Breeze both have the recessive sable gene, and he being tri-color and she the Irish black and white, we may have 3 colors in the litter…but this is all speculative at this point…just like the litter size. It all happened so quickly that we forgot to have a puppy pool.

Are you looking for a new family member? Applications are being considered and deposits are being taken for up to the litter size. Check out our questionnaire here (and on the menu under litters), and feel free to write or call – hopefully I can answer whatever you ask! Thank you for your interest in Breeze and her pups! Stay tuned….