Our AKC Whippets

Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Time to run around...

The puppies were outside enjoying some backyard time when I suddenly noticed that it had started to rain heavily. I quickly had to bring the puppies inside, giving them the opportunity to run wild for a little bit :)

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

AKC papers and a medical emergency :/

I know you all expected to find new pictures of the puppies on our blog, but unfortunately we had some sort of a medical emergency, which had to be taken care of immediately. The puppies damaged two of Moneypenny's teats so badly, that it resulted in deep and open wounds with constant and quite severe bleeding. The wounds had to be cleaned, closed, treated with antibiotic ointment and properly protected, which wasn't an easy task due to the location of the teats, which is right between her hind legs. However, now that the bleeding was stopped, the tissue can recover from the damage. Moneypenny is doing great though. In fact, I am not even sure if she noticed that she was severely hurt. The puppies started eating dry food about a week ago, so there are no concerns about their nutrition. Since the weaning process wasn't finished yet however, we have to assist both, Moneypenny and her puppies, in doing so. We therefore make sure that Moneypenny nurses her puppies 3 times a day, but with extremely limited access. This means that we deny access to the damaged teats, and bring only 3 puppies at a time to nurse. We than rotate them until each one of them got some milk and snuggles. Although most dogs of other breeders are long weaned by now, we believe in the benefit of extended nursing and slow weaning. We will continue this procedure for another week, while we slowly decrease the amount of nursing sessions. It is not so much about the nutritional value here, but a slow and controlled decrease of Moneypenny's milk, and the slow emotional weaning of her pups. The puppies are still babies after all :)

So I apologize for missing pictures, delayed responses etc., but it is extremely time consuming to finish the weaning process.

I also have good news! The AKC paperwork is being processed and I expect it to be in the mail any day now. I decided to pay some extra $$, and ordered copies of the pedigree for all of you.

Sunday, July 20, 2014

It is almost time!

Whippet fans, it is almost time for our puppies to leave for their new homes. We found great homes for all of them except Leo, but I know that he too will be found soon by his new family. If you are one of those families, please read over the next couple of lines as they contain important information.

Our puppies will be ready to leave between

August 7th and August 9th

For those of you who wish to pick up, please schedule a day and time with me for that, so I can have your puppy waiting for you along with the paperwork. We will be at the airport shipping those puppies who won't live close by on August 8th. That Saturday is therefore not the best day for us to receive you in our home. Shipping out puppies can sometimes take the whole day, and is a very stressful task. Also, we prefer you to pick up your puppy as early in the day as possible. That way your puppy has a few hours to get used to his or her new environment before bed time. It is incredibly scary for puppies to arrive at the new home, and be expected to sleep there shortly after arrival.

Please don't forget that the rest of the money (price for dog + shipping if applicable - deposit) is due on

July 25th

I am legally obligated to have your contract ready by then, so I will sit on my butt and work on those the next couple if days. I will need the following information provided:

full name
dogs name
address
phone number
email address

If you could send me an email with that information, I would be happy. Otherwise I will contact each one of you individually.

For those of you who will get their puppy shipped: someone who bought one of our 2013 puppies (and actually also one of our 2014 puppies!) had an incredible idea last year! They sent me a towel with the smell of their new family. I think it is an excellent idea. If you wish, you can send me a towel or a piece of fabric that smells like your and/or your family. I will put it in the flight kennel during the puppies flight, so he will easily recognize your smell as something familiar once he arrives at the airport. Important: the towel or fabric has to be small, no bigger than wash cloth size! Before you send it to me, please seal it in a ziploc bag and write your puppies name on it.

Since we are so close to the 8 weeks mark, you will find lots of important information on our blog over the next 2 weeks. Please stay tuned!

Saturday, July 19, 2014

They smell so pretty now!

Unfortunately I couldn't find the time today to take new individual pictures. I promise that I will post them by tomorrow. I do, however, have a little treat for you! The puppies got their first bath yesterday.

Sunday, July 13, 2014

Outdoor session

Now that the puppies have developed into curious toddlers, it was time for our first outdoor shoot! I personally love them the most since they provide me with the best light for beautiful pictures. They loved exploring our patio it was, however, quite exhausting for them! Enjoy!

Penelope and Leo are still available. Contact me for more info!