We are pleased to announce the arrival of the first Barrett litter of the year!
Rooster is a moderate dog from powerful hunting lines in Suprise, Arizona (Mollicone Kennels). His lineage goes back to some incredible and nationally ranked hunting dogs: Harley, and Ryder to name a few. Ruby is a beautiful speciman of the Weimaraner breed with dogs like Axel, Stewie, and Boulder in her pedigree. Together, we hope that some of their puppies will help us inch closer to our ultimate breeding goal of producing a Dual Champion Weimaraner. Puppies who do not meet aptitude testing objectives for endurance hunting will be carefully placed in active and experienced companion homes.
Joy. February 25th. Day 00. Ruby went into labor after dinner and had her puppies overnight. We’re pleased to welcome SEVEN boys and ONE girl. All families have been notified and we’ll be sharing additional photos here as puppies grow up.
Ruby and her puppies the morning after they were born
Sadness. February 28th. Day 03. We unfortunately lost one little boy on Day 2, but the remaining six boys and one girl are doing well. Tails and dewclaws have been done and puppies are gaining weight everyday.
Also – Folks are wondering if they can get in line for a Ruby puppy since Mango didn’t have a litter. Unfortunately, it’s not that easy.
Every planned Barrett breeding plays a role in our overall breeding program. No two breedings are identical, yet each inches us towards our ultimate goals.
Ruby’s litter was bred for the extreme hunting dog. Bird desire bordering on the line of recklessness. Range as far as the horizon. Nose as long as Pinocchio’s. At home, these puppies may be active, stubborn and willful. And you BET that if you turn your back on them for a minute, they’ll find something creative to do.
Seasoned Weimaraner owners know what we’re talking about. They’ve been through this and know how to handle it for the next puppy. Unfortunately, it’s a steep learning curve for a family who has never had Weimaraners before.
In tandem with breeding capable bird dogs, it is PARAMOUNT for us to send the right puppy out of the right litter to the right home. The right home for one litter may or may not be the right home for another litter. Knowing what we have and knowing who you are helps us make the best placement decisions. It’s a 12-15 year commitment. We wanna get it right!
As for Ruby’s kiddos, they’re going to be fun to raise and watch grow up. A year from now we expect to see some of them from the saddle off in the distance at a field trial.
– Kim Burnell & Kim Urbani, Barrett Weimaraners
Tails and declaws done
Peace. March 1st. Day 04. All quiet and peaceful in whelping box tonight.It’s amazing to think that in just a few short weeks, these little rascals will be bouncing all over the house. Early neurological stimulation exercises started tonight, and we’ll continue this until puppies are about 17 days old. Ruby’s milk is officially in (the first few days were colostrum) and everyone’s gaining weight!!!
Manicures. March 2nd. Day 05. We’re nail snobs around here. Puppy nails were clipped the day they were born, and just five days later, they’re due for another cutting. We’ll clip them once every few days with nail clippers until they’re about 5-6 weeks old, and then we’ll introduce them to a rotary Dremel. Dogs that live here permanently get trimmed about once every week or two. It’s important. You should plan to keep this up when your puppy comes home!
Pre-manicure talons
Post-manicure nap
Rescue. March 5th. Day 08. I’m a self-declared Weimaraner obsessionist. In addition to being a breeder, owner, handler, cuddle provider, I also volunteer a lot of my free time with local rescue.
Today was supposed to be my day off of work. And it was, but I found myself getting out of bed at 4:30 AM so I could leave the house at 5:00 PM. Destination: Las Vegas (four hours away). Reason: To volunteer for rescue and transport two Weimaraners who needed to be rehomed.
I’m pasting the below journal entry I posted to my Facebook page to share a little about about rescue does. And by the way, $500 out of every puppy placed in this litter will be donated to CalWEAR. So if you’re getting a Ruby puppy, thank you for supporting rescue!!!
…
Good afternoon from Las Vegas, NV.
The WEIMBUS picked up two dogs, CHLOE and BOWIE today.
BOWIE is from Australia and has a natural tail. CHLOE was “2019-158” who CalWEAR busted out of the shelter a couple of years ago.
Their dad died. Unexpectedly. And the family he left behind was emotionally wrecked.
BOWIE and CHLOE had the best of care. My car is loaded today with their crates, bed, frozen raw food, toys, bowls, and paperwork, including active pet insurance policies and a packet for CHLOE I addressed, stamped, and mailed myself.
It’s easy to say, “My dogs are my life and I could never give them up no matter what.”
But really, it’s not.
If I were to unexpectedly wake up alone tomorrow, my heart filled with grief, I’m actually not sure what my next steps world be.
I’m grateful to be part of an organization that takes in dogs without judging a family’s (heartbreaking) circumstances and decisions. Our role is simple: be the soft spot to land until these creatures find their next home sweet homes.
Julie asked me to take a few pictures of her last moments with the dogs. She was crying. I was crying. We needed someone or something to break the flow of tears.
Sure as shit, a guy comes walking in from stage left with his two Weimaraners and all of us are in hysterics saying, “What are chances of THIS happening right now?!” Julie laughed for the first time in two weeks.
We loaded up the dogs and Julie hugged me goodbye.
We are now on our way back to California. Tonight, the dogs are going to a foster family in Livermore I connected with through the Barrett network. They were on my list for one of Mango’s puppies, and have committed to helping these dogs until we can get them a pup out of a future litter.
Weimaraner people are the best people.
For those of you who are feeling generous today, there’s a post on the CalWEAR Facebook page about all the medical dogs we’ve cared for in recent months. The bills are STAGGERING and we’d be grateful for any support.
– With love and gratitude, Kim
Orange Boy. March 9th. Day 12. How is it already Day 12, and how is it possible that I already have a favorite?! 😆 Calling it now, Orange Boy, Mister Ambition. 🧡 He’s got it going on. The rest of the kiddos (and Ruby) are also doing fine. Everyone’s a hungry caterpillar, well fed and well groomed. We’ve been bio-sensing (holy crap, these guys NOT like being bothered🙈) and now… waiting for eyes to open. Any day now…
Weather. March 10th. Day 13. It snowed overnight. (We may be in Southern California, but we live in a little mountain town.) Ruby asked to be let out first thing in the morning and quickly regretted her decision. LOL.
In case everyone thinks that breeding is all about butterflies and rainbows, I’ll quickly mention that after work tonight, I drove 2.5 hours to Azusa, CA to have Brandy bred. Unfortunately, sometimes dogs don’t cooperate and we spent an hour in the rain encouraging dogs to just do it already. Nope. (We’ll have to try again tomorrow).
By the time I got home, it was after 11:00 PM, and I was beat. One little check-in on the gremlins and off to bed we go. When pups are awake it looks like they’re trying to get their eyes open. It looks like we’ll have some peepers (eyes opening) tomorrow!!!!
Soul. March 13th. Day 16. Unfortunately, no puppy update today because this hijacked our entire day.
Butterballs. March 14th. Day 17. The little tubbies can see now. They also alternate between being incredibly gluttonous or astoundingly comatose.
ORANGE BOY continues to rock my world. He’s already covering real estate and wouldn’t surprise me if he was the first to escape the whelping box.
In the next few days we’ll gather up fun things for them to look at, feel, play with and crawl on.
Happy Sunday to you and yours!!!!
Brotherhood. March 15th. Day 18. While sissy sleeps, da boyz hatch a plan for next weekend’s frat party.
Checklist. March 20th. Day 23. It may be a snow day outside, but it’s party time inside.
Eyes open
Ears open
Worming
Nail clippings
New textures to climb over
New toys to mouth on
New collars to grow into
Dinner. March 22nd. Day 25. When you’re starving and mom’s too busy having HER dinner.
National Puppy Day. March 23rd. Day 26. On this National Puppy Day, the bambinos would like to thank their Aunties Deb & Beth for scouring the Southland to source a batch of fresh raw goats milk for their dinner.
There has also been an eyewitness account that three of the puppies (color withheld for their own protection) have been seen climbing out of the whelping box for adventure time… and then climbing back in again for nap time. Sneaky little buggars!!!
Future. March 24th. Day 27. When you’re starving and mom’s too busy having HER dinner. Someday, little man, you’re gonna grow up and run as far as the horizon. There will be birds everywhere for you to find. You’ll delight in working for your human, and at night the bed will be your throne.
New Digs. March 28th. Day 31. New development phase. New digs. New places to explore. Happy Sunday.
Observation. March 30th. Day 33. My first clue that Purple Boy (formerly White Boy) was ‘different’ was when I watched him climb out of the whelping box at three weeks of age to… potty. And as soon as he finished his business… he climbed back in again. And to make sure it wasn’t a fluke I watched him do the exact same thing for the next three days. (For the record, in seven years of raising litters, I’ve NEVER seen that kind of detail to personal space at this age.)
My second clue was that after we moved everyone downstairs, most of the puppies were happy to explore their new digs… except for this little guy whoimmediatelywantedOUT. There were obviously better things to explore.
Then came the third clue. Normally, when puppies are stacked for the first time, we’re just acclimating them to the table. No real expectations about liking food, wanting to stand, tolerate being fondled.
In comes this little dude. He ate with gusto. He stood like Stonehenge. And when he was put down on the ground, he ran like Usaine Bolt. Destination: who cares?! He’s freeeeeeee!!!!!!!
All eyes on this guy. Will be curious to see how he tests out in a few weeks.
Food Please. March 31st. Day 34. “Excuse me ma’am, but we’re gonna need a refill here on our dinner. Plsnthx.” – Orange Boy
Manicures. April 2nd. Day 36. When yo mamma’s a nail tech and she uses her e-file to teach you everything there is to know about nail snobbery.
Pedicure spa day was a smashing success.
Easter. April 4th. Day 38. Happy Easter!!!
Sunshine Day. April 5th. Day 39. Outdoor exploration.
Tails. April 15th. Day 49.
From previous litter blogs, y’all are well aware that that we’re “thunder thigh fanatics.”
A show dog cannot win a Sporting Group nor can a field trial dog earn a blue ribbon when it doesn’t have the right tail.
Not that it’s about the winning.
Outside of performance events, the tail is a tell-tale sign (say THAT three times fast) of a dog’s state of mind. A high tail, confidently carried, says “LOOK AT ME!!!!!!!” whereas a saggy/hanging/low carried tail says, “nothing to see here, move along please…”
A Weimaraner on point with a high, staunchly held tail with a LOOK AT ME attitude is a sight to behold. And once we add that gem to our treasure chest, we’ll hold on tight so we don’t ever lose it.
The RUBY puppies mark our third generation of “high-tail dogs.” There are other things we’re working on too, but for now, sticks flying across the yard on ALL SEVEN PUPPIES makes us happy. And for those who are lucky enough to bring one of these baubles home, congratulations on your little firecracker!!!
– Kim (Burnell) and Kim (Urbani)
Growth. April 16th. Day 50. And just like that, they’re “big dogs” now. #StopGrowingSoFast
Aptitude Testing. April 19th. Day 53.
In the seventh week, BARRETT puppies are aptitude tested so we have a good understanding of what we’ve produced. The evaluation must be done early enough that puppies aren’t “socialized” into giving us false results, yet late enough that puppies are developmental aware enough to successfully complete the exercises.
The evaluation is not a “pass/fail.” Instead, data falls along a spectrum and contributes to other notes and observations we make over the course of two months to help us decide who goes where. And why.
As a whole, the MAGNIFICENT SEVEN litter was very “people oriented.” Some of them are Olympic athletes. Others are philosophical scholars. Not a single one was fearful. More than two ran up to the umbrella with their tails up. Most of them stalked, pounced, and then bit on moving objects. One did not flinch even though we drilled a screw through his webbed feet. (kidding) Most were natural retrievers. All were very well adjusted.
One will likely stay here to be grown out for future potential as a stylish bird dog. The others will be making their way into wonderful homes with families who have been waiting a really long time for them.
And mamma Ruby has declared that she. is. DONE. feeding. babies.
They All Go Home. Congratulations to the new owners of Ruby’s puppies!!!!
Meghan Smith says
I love that $500 is going to CalWEAR – that’s such a great idea, for such a great cause ❤️