Skeeter x Tennessee Litter – Micro-Blog

Welcome to the 2021 Skeeter x Tennessee micro-blog! This page is intended for new owners to get a weekly update on their new puppy. Please send us a message with any questions. Thank you! – Kim

Food. August 6th. Day 55. There’s an article here about what we typically feed the puppies we raise. This litter, we changed it up a bit by adding some Instinct Raw Chicken Patties to their meals. In short, if you decide to feed raw, your puppy is used to it. If you’re going the dry kibble route, your puppy is used to that, too. As you prepare for your puppy’s arrival, please stock up on what your puppy’s been eating to minimize gut reactions due to ingredient changes.

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The Great Outdoors. August 4th. Day 53. With so much evening daylight, I’m spending 1:1 time after work in the yard with the puppies. It’s a great time for puppies to use their nose, explore the unknown, frolic in the leaves and just be puppies. Tonight it was Pink Girl’s turn to hang out. My thought is that there’s NO QUESTION she is the pick of the litter. She goes everywhere with confidence (look at that tail!), speed, curiosity, and zest. Her disposition about the world is that it’s hers for the taking, and so far, her attitude is GAME ON with anything that’s introduced to her. Pink Girl is ear-marked for a home that’s going to do EVERYTHING with her, and I’m excited for her to get there. One more week and she’s outta here!!! 

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Consistency. August 2nd. Day 51. Getting into the 8th week, the goal is now to pick apart every little detail of a puppy to decide who is supposed to where. It’s a complicated, exhausting, anxiety-ridden process that keeps me up at night. Fortunately, from a structure perspective, the Skeeter x Tennessee puppies are VERY nice. As a litter, everyone is balanced, has nice substance, good return of upper arm, great length of body, and lovely tail sets (and carriage). 

Top Row – Pink Girl, Middle Row – Purple Girl, Bottom Row – Black Boy 

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Prey Drive Testing. August 1st. Day 50. Weimaraners are hunting dogs and categorized in the United States as Sporting Dogs by the American Kennel Club. As such, it is very important to the Barrett breeding program that our dogs demonstrate an innate level of bird drive. To that end, all puppies are tested on quail. As expected, all six puppies demonstrated both sight and scent points, and were successfully imprinted for future bird exposure and training.

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Aptitude Testing. July 31st. Day 49. Aptitude/temperament testing day!!! This afternoon, all six puppies were placed on the front yard driveway and tested by Auntie Erin. In short, there wasn’t a bad puppy in the bunch, but the two standout/superstars of the day were Pink Girl and Blue Boy. Both demonstrated a superior level of confidence, were willing to follow the tester, and had no problem exploring the unknown.

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Stairs. July 28th. Day 46. In the spirit of knocking some more items off the socialization checklist, we mastered the stairs today!!! All of the puppies now go up and down. Puppies also had an opportunity to play in the ball pool, and we did our best to do another session of puppy group photos. They mostly cooperated. Mostly. Also, it’s amazing to see individual personalities emerging. Pink Girl is feisty and first to do everything… Green Boy is Mister Mellow; he likes to see his littermates do stupid things first before he decides if he’s going to get involved. Smart boy!

 

 

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One on One Dates. July 27th. Day 45. Dogs are pack animals, and right now, mom and littermates are the pack. Unfortunately, in this domesticated age, the pack is about to be torn apart so a new pack (i.e. the puppy’s new family) can become established. With two weeks left of our time together, it is critical that we start spending some one-on-one time with the puppies so that they learn it’s okay to get through life without their mom and littermates. Tonight, we began with putting puppies in the front yard on the driveway to let them explore and see the world without the comfort of everything they’ve known. #gettingpupsreadyforthebigworld

 

 

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Oh and we stacked them again. Couldn’t resist!

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Socialization. July 25th. Day 43. We cannot, CANNOT, stress how important enrichment, exposure, and socialization is essential to the proper growth and development of a Weimaraner puppy. To that end, the current Barrett Socialization Checklist is 10 pages long and it is our expectation that new puppy families are checking off many of the items on this list over the next two months. As much as possible, we also work on some of these items before your puppy even comes home. Today, it was socializing with unfamiliar well behaved children. And then we did a photo session on the porch. And then we added a tunnel to the indoor play pen so puppies had something new to explore.

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Structure. July 24th. Day 42. Six weeks old today. !!! The Skeeter x Tennessee puppies were primarily bred to retain sound temperament, continue good health, but also obtain excellent structure. To that end, we’ve been stacking puppies on an almost daily basis to see how they’re built, and at six weeks of age, it appears that half the litter (Pink Girl, Purple Girl, and Black Boy) may have what it takes to become beautiful show dogs. Of course, final determination hinges on how the puppies score on their aptitude/temperament test and bird/prey drive test. That will happen in about another week.

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Exploration. July 23rd. Day 41. I don’t work on Fridays so it’s a great day for sitting around the house and playing with puppies. Today, we expanded the puppy pen to create more room for toys. I threw in a cardboard box which Black Boy LOVED. Later in the afternoon, puppies were let out for some 1:1 time to roam about the living room. They very much enjoyed exploring new spaces!!!

 

 

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Food. July 22nd. Day 40. The Skeeter x Tennessee puppies were weaned onto Merrick Backcountry Puppy dry food with a splash of raw goats milk in it. Next week we’ll be adding other food so their guts have a chance to become exposed to different ingredients. Feel free to order a bag to have on stand-by when your puppy gets home. Better yet, comb through the New Puppy Shopping Checklist to prepare for your little one’s arrival!

 

 

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Afternoons. July 21st. Day 39. My favorite part about coming home from work everyday is sitting outside on the front porch with the puppies. I stack them everyday too, but since their bellies are full from lunch, we’re not posting those photos. 😉 With every moment that goes by, puppies are exploring new places, seeing new things, and chewing new toys. Black Boy prefers to snuggle up with people over hanging out with his brothers and sisters. That’s my kind of boy!!! Pink Girl is stunningly beautiful, and I think she’s going to look a lot like her older sister Layla.

 

 

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Playtime. July 18th. Day 36. I’ll be honest; the first few weeks of puppy raising are sort of boring for me. All they do is eat, sleep, and poop. Other than feeding their mom so she keeps them fed, there’s not much to do. But now… now is where all the fun begins. The puppies have hit an age of exploration where they’re learning new things by the minute. And their personalities are beginning to come out. (Pink is a spitfire!!!) For the next three weeks my job is to provide them with as many experiences as humanly possible so they go home well-enriched and ready for life. We’re also at an age where we can begin to see structure, and note how that will change over the next few weeks. Enjoy the latest batch of photos!

Blue Boy didn’t really want to participate in today’s stacking lesson, so he did it backwards

Green Boy was an early favorite of mine. He seems to be a little slower to come together (structurally speaking) than his littermates – I expect him to improve everyday

Black Boy is currently the smallest of the three boys, but I like the way he’s put together

Pink Girl really catches my eye – she moves around with confidence, and stands like she owns the world

Purple Girl doesn’t have as much size as Pink Girl today, but I suspect she’ll be catching up very soon

White Girl was much more cooperative today than she was yesterday – She’s currently a little one but I also expect her to grow up a lot in the next week

Playtime on the front porch

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Expansion. July 16th. Day 34. Hi, everyone!!! The puppies moved downstairs into a more spacious living arrangement today. They’ve also begun eating dry food soaked in raw goats milk and they LOVE it. Currently in the pen with them are some toys that crinkle. We’ll switch them out for some more toys in the next few days so they don’t get too bored with what they have. Also on the do-list, stacking puppies!!! 🙂

 

 

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Toys. July 5th. Day 23. So sorry everyone! It was an insanely busy work week for me, my focus was on getting things squared away in the office and then I flew to Phoenix, AZ for the weekend to help Stacy evaluate her litter of Marshall x Tearin puppies. When I arrived home, it seemed like the puppies had doubled in size. Eyes and ears are now open, so the next step is to start introducing toys. 🙂 Here are a few shots from today.

The girls

The boys

 

 

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Potatoes. June 26th. Day 14. Two weeks! Is it just me, or is it going really, really fast?! The puppies have officially entered the baked potato phase. They’re round, fluffy, and full of fat. Ha! In seriousness though, Tenn is being a great mom, keeping her babies fed and clean. By now, most of our moms are bored being in the guest room 24/7 with their puppies. Not Tenn; she’s happy to be locked up with them all day. Once in awhile, we’ll find her snoozing on the guest bed instead of the whelping box, but about 80% of time she’s right in there with them. Good girl, Tenn!

 

 

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Scents. June 25th. Day 13. The puppies would like to thank their Auntie Megan for sending them “beers ‘n wings!” We’ll save the beers for when they’re old enough to enjoy them, and we’ll put the wings in their pen this week as part of their early scent introduction routine. It also appears that eyes are getting close to opening! Below, puppies with their feathers, and some new headshots. Happy Friday, and stay cool! (It’s very warm here this weekend.)

 

 

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The girls

The boys

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Growth. June 21st. Day 09. I was shocked to see how much the puppies had grown in just the few short days that I was away. Their zebra stripes are long gone and coats are now thick and solid. Eyes and ears are still closed, but it’s pretty amazing how quickly they can all zoom around the box to find their mom for a meal. It’s been unusually warm here, so the heat lamp is now turned off, and the windows in the bedroom are cracked just a tad to let some fresh air in. Tennessee continues to be a patient and good mom, as she has always been.

Morning grooming

Pile

Post-breakfast nap, and yikes, those nails need to be trimmed again!!!

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Raising Cane. June 20th. Hi friends! Apologies for the brief interruption; I was away in Boulder, Utah over the weekend to get away for a few days of R&R. I took with me a 10-week old puppy named Cane (he’s my stud fee puppy out of L&L Weimaraners’ recent litter) so I could get him out of the house for a few days and socialize the snot out of him. Speaking of socialization, if you’re about to bring a Tennessee puppy home, please take a look at the Raising Cane micro-blog, and make sure your puppy gets all of the same experiences in. It’s CRITICAL that puppies are well-socialized before they turn four months old.

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Early Neurological Stimulation. June 17th. Day 05. The textbooks say that conducting early neurological stimulation on puppies improve their natural abilities. It also improves their cardiovascular performance, gives them stronger heartbeats, stronger adrenal glands, makes them more tolerant to stress, and gives them a greater resistance to disease. Do we know for sure this works? Meh.  Have we done our own research to confirm the same findings? No…  But – It’s easy to do, doesn’t cost anything, and provides an excellent excuse to hang out with the kiddos. 

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Nails. June 13th. Day 01. Surprise! We’re #nailsnobs. In other words, we are fanatics about nail care (for both ourselves and our dogs) so nail care starts now. By the time these puppies are old enough to go home, they will have been clipped more than a dozen times and also introduced to a nail grinder. Please keep up the work we’ve started so your puppy’s nails don’t turn into nasty talons that scratch your patio doors and etch your wood floors.

Day 01 – Six beautiful puppies and one attentive mamma.

Day 01 – The boys.

Day 01 – The girls.

Arrival. June 12th. Day 00. Barrett and Highpoint Weimaraners are pleased to announce the safe and uneventful arrival of three boys and three girls this afternoon. !!! And – Thank you Tenn for a daytime delivery so we wouldn’t have to pull an all-nighter. Mama and kiddos are doing great. The babies are stripy, chunky, feisty, and hungry! Prospective families will be notified in the next 24 hours (after we catch up on some sleep). We’ll do our best to post photos here for the next eight weeks.

 

 

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June 7, 2021. Tenn’s x-ray this afternoon confirmed that we are indeed expecting six puppies in the next week. We have some GREAT homes lined up for these puppies so to say that we’re excited would be an understatement. Counting down the final days now until the litter arrives. This will also be the last litter we’re raising out of Tennessee before she is retired, so it will be extra special.

May 14, 2021. Breaking news… Lani’s boy, Maui (2019 Skeeter x Lhotze) and half brother to the Skeeter x Tennessee puppies, won Best Dog at the the 2021 Western Show Futurity today!!!! For the uninitiated, it’s a BIG DEAL and incredible honor. Congratulations to Lani, who bred and owns Lhotze and Maui, and to Sharon, who owns Skeeter. Now we have a glimpse of what the Skeeter x Tenn puppies might grow up to look like.

Highpoint’s Have’iian Hottie, “Maui” with Handler Robert Scott

May 13, 2021. Greetings from Thousand Oaks, California! Sharon, Lani and I are renting an AirB&B this week so we can hang out together before attending the WCA Futurity/Maturity in Moorpark, CA on Friday. Lani is here with two puppies: Maui and Sally. They’re worth noting because the puppies are out of Skeeter and Lhotze, and Lhotze is Tennesee’s sister. I’m here with Layla, who is out of Skeeter and Tennessee’s first litter in Autumn 2020. Oh, also, Barry, who is home with Tenn and all the other dogs who didn’t make the trip, called in the morning to share with us that he took Tenn to the vet and she’s CONFIRMED PREGNANT with six puppies!!!!!!!!!!! 🙂 Time to celebrate.

Layla (2020 Skeeter x Tennessee), practicing for the dog shows

April 16, 2021. Tennessee came into heat two weeks ago and was artificially inseminated by Dr. Dana Bleifer with Rose City Veterinary Hospital in Pasadena, CA with Skeeter’s semen (collected fresh and shipped via FedEx from Dr. Robert Hutchison’s office in Ohio) yesterday and today. Now, we wait about four weeks before we bring Tenn back in for a prenatal ultrasound. One million thank yous to Sharon of Bristol Weimaraners for allowing us to do a repeat breeding of the 2020 litter we raised last Autumn.

January 4, 2021. Tennessee and her people (Kim of Barrett Weimaraners, Lani Jones of HighPoint Weimaraners, and Sharon of Bristol Weimaraners) are pleased to announce a planned litter in Spring/Summer 2021 sired by GCH CH Silversmith I’ll Have Another Vonstark JH, “Skeeter.” This will be a repeat breeding of the 2020 Skeeter x Tenn puppies that arrived in October 2020.

Puppies are expected in June 2021 and will be old enough to go home in August 2021.

1/29/2021 UPDATE: No inquiries, please. The interest list is currently full. For those interested in a future Barrett puppy, please feel free to check out our other planned breedings and submit a prospective owner questionnaire if there’s a litter you might be interested in getting a puppy from. Thank you!

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MORE INFORMATION ABOUT SKEETER AND TENNESSEE

Sire Information:

GCH CH Silversmith I’ll Have Another Vonstark JH, “Skeeter”

AKC  SR92270904, DOB 3/25/2016, Sire: GCH CH Pike’s Peak Silversmith Summit MH, SDX, NRD, VX, BROM, “Summit,” Dam: GCH CH Meriwood Silversmith Shedevil SH, NRD, V, “Reva” Bred by Carrie Albert and Elena Lamberson-Rice, Owned by Sharon and Robert Hladio, OFA (Hips: Good, Elbows: Normal), HUU N/NU, HYM N/N

Dam Information:

CH HighPoint’s Shotgun Boogie to Barrett, “Tennessee”

AKC  SR93012701, DOB 5/4/2016, Sire:GCH CH Waltz To The Top V Anson NAJ, “Logan” Dam: GCH CH Top Hat’s Once Upon A Time, “Story “ Bred by Lani Jones, Owned by Kim Burnell, Lani Jones, Garret Andersen, OFA (Hips: Excellent, Elbows: Normal), HUU N/N, HYM N/HYM, SD N/N

Photos of Skeeter:

Versatile boy!

Futurity Placement with handler Rusty Howard in June 2017.

Skeeter as a puppy!!!

Best of Bred and Group 4 Placement with his mamma, Sharon!

Photos of Tennessee:

Winners Bitch for Third Major at Fort Worth Kennel Club Dog Show in Texas in April 2018. Handled by Holly McKnight.

Winners Bitch for First Major at Sporting Dog Association of AZ Dog Show in Phoenix Arizona in February 2018. Handled by Holly McKnight.

Kim showing Tennessee in the Open Bitch class at the Sahuaro State Kennel Club Dog Show in Phoenix Arizona in February 2018. 

Boulder, Utah in April 2018

Vacationing at a VRBO in Boulder Utah July 2017

Sandwiched at home between the two old ladies, Britta and Friday

A little bird work at Prado Regional Park in Chino California. Girl has style!!!

Hiking in Southern Utah March 2017

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Additional Family Photos

Photos of Skeeter x Lhotze puppies from Autumn 2019 (Lhotze is Tennessee’s sister):