Torch X Rowan - Puppies 6 Weeks Video

Puppies are doing GREAT!  Sleeping thru the night, eating 3 meals a day, playing outside as often as possible.  They are finding that pottying outside is good and fussing when they cannot get there to do so.

Here is the latest video!

Rowan X Torch Babies 2 Weeks Old VIDEO

Rowan and Torch's babies are now 2 weeks old.

Duncan X Rowan - 5 1/2 Weeks

The pups are 6 weeks tomorrow!

Everyone is doing great. They are really enjoying their outside time and coming along nicely with their baby housebreaking routine - they are already mostly pottying outside so long as I can get them out as soon as I hear them waking up from their many naps. Tonight they came in after their supper and were up again whining at 10PM - they wanted to go OUT!


We have also managed to get them to start following us indoors and outdoors, so less carrying than this past week! Much easier on my back and quicker, too!


Puppies will get their first shots soon and will be wormed one more time. They are eating regular food three times a day and now nursing only once or twice a day, when Rowan is feeling uncomfortable. I suspect puppies having teeth is a major contributing factor to Rowan wanting to wean them!


We are trying to expose the pups to as many new things as we can. This week I took a bucket into the puppy yard to water some flowers and they all were fairly sure the bucket was WAY TOO SCARY. Once it was empty I tossed it into their yard and left it for them to investigate. You can see how they did with it in this photo of Banks and in their latest video:

Duncan X Rowan - 4 1/2 Week Video

New Video!

Four Weeks - Rainy Day Update

Puppies have been doing very well outdoors. Now that they are getting around better, they are beginnning to enjoy the grass and learning about toys and new smells and how to play together.

They have also started on regular food which we try to feed outdoors so they can potty afterwards OUTDOORS! Yesterday was so nice they spent most of the day outside and there was no pooping indoors at all!

However, this morning was drizzly but still fairly warm. I put the pups outdoors under the eaves of the porch so they could attempt to potty outside before their breakfast. A few brave souls ventured out into the wet grass and drizzle to potty. Soon, of course, they were all huddled under the protective eave and I opened their gate to let them onto the covered porch to eat. One by one they followed me onto the porch and discovered their meal. Soon the bowl was empty and the pups were exploring the porch.

There were many new things to see: a few toys, furniture (ooh! wicker!), a broom, rugs of different textures, a bucket full of scrub brushes and garden tools, the grill... One puppy managed to knock over the broom but nobody seemed to mind. Soon they were all examining the handle and attacking the bristles... Someone found a plastic piece of who-knows-what and proudly carried it off to show the others.

The pups are very curious and every day is a new adventure. However, at this age their stamina is limited and after about 15 minutes they were all huddled under a table, looking cold and sleepy.

One by one, I called them into the laundry room. Each puppy managed to brave the BIG 5" doorjamb into the house. Keeping in mind the pups are only about 6" at the shoulder right now, it was quite the climb! The pups each are learning to respond to my voice and follow my fingers. As each pup made the big climb he or she was scooped up, given a smoosh and put into the box. This apparently was NOT part of their plan! Soon they were all at the front of the box, yelling for their lawyers and wanting BACK OUT!

All is peaceful now. They are piled up under their heat lamp, sleeping off their breakfast and getting warm and dry again.

Pointer Puppy Video - 4 Weeks

They are now 4 weeks old and really beginning to enjoy being outdoors. They are all doing great. They have learned to use the newspapers and keep their blanket clean. They will be starting on soaked kibble and goat's milk this weekend as they are getting so big! Their teeth have come in and Rowan is being very tolerant about it, but it is now time to begin learning to chew kibble and eat without mom. They were wormed again this week - more gagging and smacking of lips over the strange taste! PUps all weigh about 5 lbs now, except the little girl, who is catching up. She now weighs 4 lbs, which is pretty good since for quite some time they were all TWICE her size!

This next video is a bit long - sorry for those folks whose computers are choking on the file, but I wanted to get a little bit of every puppy in this! Hope you enjoy it!

PUppy Video #3

I cannot promise a video every few days, but I have another for your enjoyment.

First an update. Pups are all doing well, continuing to grow and learning new things every day. They have been outdoors twice now and were somewhat braver on the second trip out. As they are still only awake for 10-15 minutes at a stretch, all adventures dissolve into naptime...

Pups have been wormed once so far, due again next week. It is pretty funny to see them standing and sitting about the box, all coughing and gagging on this new taste. Even the adults seem to gag on the wormer (which apparently tastes like butterscotch). It must be the slightly sticky texture.

As a treat, in preparation for their introduction to real food, I placed a plate in the box today which was smeared with yogurt (just vanilla). I dipped each little nose into the plate, and soon they were all sitting around, licking their lips humming with pleasure. I went to answer the phone, and when I came back 5 minutes later, the plate was licked clean and the pups were working on each other. I let Rowan back in and she finished up the cleaning.

Since I caught several of them standing elbow deep in Rowan's food bowl the yesterday, I think they will be quite pleased when it's time for food. Rowan was a bit annoyed that three little heads and six little feet were taking up most of her bowl, (altho she just growled and pushed in between them to eat) so I've gone back to feeding her OUTSIDE the box. They have also had a few sips from the water bucket clipped inside teh box - so they are learning that not all good things come from Mom. I'm not, however, in a hurry to start them on food so long as they are still gaining steadily and Rowan is maintaining her weight (albeit with about 12+ cups of food per day plus goat's milk and eggs). Once they begin on real food, often the dam is less willing to help keep the box clean and my job gets quite a bit more arduous.

Here they are, after their nap, wide awake and full of vinegar:

Puppies First Outside Adventure...

This is a video of the pups' first time outside. They are 2 1/2 weeks old. They were a bit sleepy as they had just eaten. Keep watch for Grammy Scarlett, who pretty much hogged the limelight...

Rowan's Puppies - 2 weeks Video

This is my VERY first video ever.... :-)

Introducing Puppies to Birds

For those of you interesting in hunting, and for those of you interested in pursuing a Junior Hunter or field trial title with your pointer, one of the most important things you do is introducing your puppy to birds.




The first questions is, at what age is it appropriate to begin putting birds in front of your puppy? We feel that no dog is really too old, having done some beginning training with rescue pointers as old as six years, but if you have a puppy, you'll want to put birds in front of him as soon as possible. We try to at least do a few brief introductions while the pups are still with their dam - starting between 6 and 7 weeks. You may wish to wait until the pup has had most of his puppy shots before venturing anywhere that might have ticks, rodents or other germ-carrying critters. Basic introductions, however, can happen in your own backyard.


The next question is, what kind of birds? Tweety birds (robins, bluejays, chickadees and other common yard birds) do not have the same type of scent as gamebirds. Gamebirds include: quail, grouse, chukar (these look like largish pigeons) pigeons and pheasant. All of these (altho pigeons are not normally hunted, they work well for training a pointing dog) are the types of birds for which we'd like our dogs to be looking.



The best birds to introduce to puppies are quail. They are small, don't fly as far as other gamebirds, and not particularly scary or dangerous for a puppy. They also have a very good scent which is easy for a puppy to find. Pigeons and chukar would be a second choice for a puppy, being slightly larger than quail. Grouse are hard to find and very flighty, not an easy choice for puppies. Pheasant is not a good choice for a puppy as often they are bigger than the puppies and might scare them as they take off to fly away - they can be quite loud.


We always try to introduce puppies to birds along with a trained adult. Puppies spend a lot of time learning from their adult family members and housemates. The interest, enthusiasm, behavior and security of a trained adult can all contribute in a positive way to your puppies first experience. Generally, if we have an adult available, we will plant a bird (more on this) put the puppy on a leash nearby, and then bring out the adult. The adult will quickly find and point his or her bird, which we then flush (make fly). All this in view of the puppy who sees: dog using its nose, dog getting excited, dog pointing, and WAHOO! birdy fireworks as the bird flies away. If enough birds are available, it's useful to have the adult put up two or three birds to really spark his interest. At this point, we bring the puppy, still on lead, over to where the bird was, and let him investigate, encouraging him as he smells the area. If he saw the bird fly, if he smelled it before or afterward, he's already got a pretty good idea of what his little nose is telling him. Let him rummage around until he begins to lose interest.


Now, if you haven't an adult nearby who can "demonstrate" the fun and excitement of birds, you want to work a bit more carefully. It's important not to startle the pup. What we generally do is take a quail in our hands, pinning the wings, and, with the puppy on a lead, show it to him and allow him to check it out thoroughly. Often there will be some grabbing, which you may wish to gently prevent so your bird is still intact. Sometimes the puppy will show minimal interest in this fuzzy thing in your hand, after all, it's not particularly palatable and he's never seen it before. Don't worry about it. Next, at some distance from the puppy, we will tie the bird to a string, or tie the bird to an empty 2-liter soda bottle (this is just to weigh down the bird so it cannot fly far - saves on quail) and bring the puppy into an open area where the bird is. Generally the bird will run or fly at sight of your and the pup approaching. Hopefully, the puppy will give chase and show great interest. Again, if the pup shows little interest, keep trying.


Now, many pups will begin pointing at first sight or smell of any gamebird. This is not uncommon, and of course is desirable, altho we've had many dogs who chased their first few birds before ever pointing and grew to become nice hunting dogs. If the puppy is pointing from the very beginning, this is great. You can VERY QUIETLY encourage the puppy. Do not walk between the puppy and the bird. Normally the puppy will eventually break his point and head in to pounce on his quarry. (Again, you may want to prevent the puppy from doing too much damage to the bird, but there is nothing better than a proud pointer puppy, strutting about with his first bird in his mouth.) We will allow this for the first few times to build his enthusiasm.

If the pup is steadily pointing, you can slowly move towards the bird until it flushes. You may have to kick the bird, or even pick it up and toss it into the air. At this point, nearly all pups break and chase. Again, let him go for now. Let him have his fun.


Now, once you've shown the pup what a bird looks and smells like, and established his interest, it's time to begin allowing him the chance to find the birds on his own. Again, controlling the situation as we've done already will go a long way to building his enthusiasm. Making sure that he sees plenty of birds as a baby will ensure that he knows what his job is as an older pup and adult when he's turned out to hunt. Dogs who see few or no birds as pups can take much longer to build interest and will spend more time running then actively HUNTING. If you learned as a child that gold nuggets were to be found under mailboxes, you'd spend a good amount of time as an adult checking under mailboxes. If you had never heard of finding gold under mailboxes, you'd just walk right past them without a look. You might once in a great while find a nugget by chance, but you wouldn't be actively hunting for them.


So, what comes next is planting a bird or two for the puppy to find. Planting means placing the bird in some kind of cover: grass, bushes, a depression in the ground with leaves covering, whatever you can do to conceal the bird. Giving the bird a good shaking, tucking his head under his wing, all these help to settle the bird so he stays put. It's helpful to place the bird several minutes before you bring the puppy into the area. This gives the scent of the bird time to waft out from the bird itself to some of the surrounding area and help give the puppy something to follow. Dogs hunting regular gamelands with wild birds will have a trail to follow, and there is often a good deal more scent, so leaving the bird a few minutes can help the puppy have more to find.


Bring the puppy (again, on a lead - the purpose of the lead is to control where the puppy goes, not so much to prevent his freedom) into the area where the bird is planted and allow him to investigate. He may not even notice the bird or its scent. Give him some time to figure it out for himself. If he's gotten very interested in field mice, digging or playing with something he finds in the brush, you can walk him in a circle around where the bird is planted (careful of flushing the bird yourself) until he notices it is there. Usually he will pass it, pause, and go back to investigate. As a last resort, you can crouch down, bringing the pup with you, and rustle the grass near the bird, even expose the bird for the pup if necessary.


Following these steps a few times for your pup as soon as you can possibly do so will usually give him a good start for hunting. He will know what a bird is, what it smells like (most game birds have a similiar scent and most dogs will easily translate what they learn on quail or chukar to any game bird including pheasant) and will be beginning to learn how to follow his nose and locate game.


You will notice that AT NO TIME was there any mention of gunfire. This is not the time for gun training. Gun training comes after the dog's interest is solidly established. This topic will be covered at a later date.



Good luck and happy hunting!


(Photos: Scarlett, Ch Corwyn's Flame JH CDX VA at 3 months pointing probably her 2nd or 3rd bird and, later, Scarlett's first litter: Corwyn's Wizard, Corwyn's Illusion and Corwyn's Mystic at 7 weeks - two pointing, one pouncing - on their first bird. This scenario in our own yard. Notice the bird is on a string)

Planning for Puppies

We are planning for a litter of puppies this spring. There is quite a bit that goes into planning a litter and getting ready to have the pups.

First, you want to choose the parents. For this litter, we've chosen to breed our dam to one of our own stud dogs. Ch Corwyn's Mystic JH CD VA (these titles means she's got her AKC Show championship, her Junior Hunter title, and her Companion Dog in obedience, plus the Versatility Award title from the American Pointer club) who call call Rowan (or "The Devil!") is to be bred to Ch Corwyn's Charisma JH CDX VA "Duncan". The dogs should be chosen to complement one another in the various doggy aspects:

• Type - they should look like a pointer and hopefully contribute positively to one another in areas where one is better - example: Duncan has more bone than Rowan - we're hoping to get some of that in the pups. Rowan has a beautiful head and dark eye and we're hoping to get that.


• Temperament - They should be solid tempered, outgoing, friendly and easy to train. We at Corwyn do not breed dogs who are shy, aggressive, extremely stubborn or difficult to train.
• Health - both dogs are over 2 years old and have had the appropriate health checks that apply to our breed. Pointers are pretty healthy, but we do use OFA to check their hips - both of these dogs are OFA Good. They do not have any seizure disorders, nor do any of their relatives, and have shown no skin problems.
• Field Ability - No dog at Corwyn is bred without demonstrating field ability. After all, a pointer should be able to do his job! Both these dogs have a basic hunting title (Junior Hunter) and have been hunted over in the field by us. Rowan is a natural retriever and Duncan has been trained to retrieve as well. Rowan has a particularly good nose and both have good range but are manageable when working at a distance. We think the pups will be very birdy and not hard to train.

Now that we've made a decision about the parents, it's just a waiting game for Rowan to come into season so we can breed her... She loves puppies (that's her in the photo with her 1/2 brothers & sisters) and we hope she will be a great mom!