Litter D born August 27 2016
Sire: Dam:
Champion Powder Keg Farm's Blackhawk (Harley) Mika's Brooke From Swissberners (Brooke)
We are thrilled to announce that everything is in place for a litter from two amazing dogs: our female Brooke, and Champion Harley.
Blackhawk or Harley is a large male at 26 1/2 inches tall and 120 pounds. Harley is lives in Park City UT and belongs to the Powder Keg Bernese kennel. Combining two great European kennels, Stokerybos, with the most show winning dogs in Europe, and Weyenberg, some of the longest lived Berners anywhere, Harley has a happy winning personality, very laid back and sweet.
He has received all his health clearances as follows:
OFA Hips: good
OFA Elbows: normal
OFA Heart: normal
OFA Eyes: normal
DM SOD1-A: clear
vWD: clear
Thyroid: normal
The dam is our own sweet girl, Brooke. She has already whelped a litter a year ago and you can view pictures of her puppies under the tab "previous litters". She comes from great champion lines as well, and was sired by Grand Champion Beowulf av Hiselfoss.
She has also received all her health clearances as follows:
OFA Hips: good
OFA Elbows: normal
OFA Heart: normal
OFA Eyes: normal
DM SOD1-A: clear
vWD: clear
You can view a lot of pictures of Brooke under her tab, but here are a few more of Harley:
Blackhawk or Harley is a large male at 26 1/2 inches tall and 120 pounds. Harley is lives in Park City UT and belongs to the Powder Keg Bernese kennel. Combining two great European kennels, Stokerybos, with the most show winning dogs in Europe, and Weyenberg, some of the longest lived Berners anywhere, Harley has a happy winning personality, very laid back and sweet.
He has received all his health clearances as follows:
OFA Hips: good
OFA Elbows: normal
OFA Heart: normal
OFA Eyes: normal
DM SOD1-A: clear
vWD: clear
Thyroid: normal
The dam is our own sweet girl, Brooke. She has already whelped a litter a year ago and you can view pictures of her puppies under the tab "previous litters". She comes from great champion lines as well, and was sired by Grand Champion Beowulf av Hiselfoss.
She has also received all her health clearances as follows:
OFA Hips: good
OFA Elbows: normal
OFA Heart: normal
OFA Eyes: normal
DM SOD1-A: clear
vWD: clear
You can view a lot of pictures of Brooke under her tab, but here are a few more of Harley:
Mom is Brooke
Puppies were born on August 27, 2016. Three females.
Week one
In previous litters, all puppies were close to the same size, but this time we have two chubby girls, and one little tiny sister. She gave me a bit of a scare on day 3 and 4 where she wasn't gaining weight, but the vet examined her and confirmed that she seemed healthy in every way, with a strong heartbeat, and that she just needed to put on some weight. So we've been working on that, and I am now happy to say that on day 7 she has doubled her birthweight.
Their eyes are still closed, but should open around day 9 or 10. Their dewclaws were removed two days ago. Their pink noses are starting to get a few little dark pigment spots. They grunt and squeal quite a bit, but mostly, they just sleep and eat.
It's cute and funny to watch them move around as they cannot get up on their legs yet... Kinda reminds me of a seal or turtle :)
It's never too early to stimulate them and they are getting handled a lot (and kissed a lot too!) they have already had loads of visitors: 12 kids, and 3 women. But mostly my kids can't get enough of them! :)
Experienced laying in the grass for the first time today (day 7).
Their eyes are still closed, but should open around day 9 or 10. Their dewclaws were removed two days ago. Their pink noses are starting to get a few little dark pigment spots. They grunt and squeal quite a bit, but mostly, they just sleep and eat.
It's cute and funny to watch them move around as they cannot get up on their legs yet... Kinda reminds me of a seal or turtle :)
It's never too early to stimulate them and they are getting handled a lot (and kissed a lot too!) they have already had loads of visitors: 12 kids, and 3 women. But mostly my kids can't get enough of them! :)
Experienced laying in the grass for the first time today (day 7).
Week two
Week 2 was a lot more mellow than the first. Mom and babies have figured out their routines and things are going quite smoothly. The puppies are super sweet, still sleeping most of the time and eating contentedly.
Their eyes opened on day 9, their noses are turning darker still and they are putting on weight nicely.
Brooke is being such a great and attentive mom, it's very sweet. The puppies cannot regulate their body temperature very much for the first couple of weeks, so they are indoors most of the time with an occasional outing in the sunshine.
Their eyes opened on day 9, their noses are turning darker still and they are putting on weight nicely.
Brooke is being such a great and attentive mom, it's very sweet. The puppies cannot regulate their body temperature very much for the first couple of weeks, so they are indoors most of the time with an occasional outing in the sunshine.
Week three
Week four
The puppies keep on growing, developing and getting cuter and cuter. They started eating one solid meal a day onThursday (kibble soaked in milk and egg), but they honestly prefer mom's milk, plus there's plenty of it with just three puppies competing!
They are spending more and more time exploring in the yard and we are working on socializing them in different ways: sounds, surfaces (including trampoline), being held different ways, inspecting their growing teeth, and exposure to lots of people. I lost count of how many people visited the puppies last week... there were 3 or 4 families on Sunday alone!
They still sound a lot like puppies, but every once in a while one of the pups will surprise us with a distinct bark. They are so cute!
They are spending more and more time exploring in the yard and we are working on socializing them in different ways: sounds, surfaces (including trampoline), being held different ways, inspecting their growing teeth, and exposure to lots of people. I lost count of how many people visited the puppies last week... there were 3 or 4 families on Sunday alone!
They still sound a lot like puppies, but every once in a while one of the pups will surprise us with a distinct bark. They are so cute!
Weeks five and six
The puppies are doing great! They are spending a lot more time awake, exploring, wrestling with each other, chasing us around, exercising their bite (not always releasing when they have a hold of your pants!), etc.
We no longer have to soften their food by soaking it. They are eating great, but still get a lot of milk from mom.
The nights are getting cold now, but they stay warm in a bed of wood shavings in the garage.
We still expose them to different things such as noise from banging pots and pans, startling sights like running around with the wheelbarrow, etc. We are starting to see some patterns such as which puppy is always the first at a race and which one is always last! LOL. but to better predict future temperament, we are having a friend, stranger to the puppies, come and perform a Puppy aptitude test this weekend at seven weeks.
They have gotten wormed a first time, will be getting their first shots in a couple of days, and will be wormed one more time before going home with their new families.
We no longer have to soften their food by soaking it. They are eating great, but still get a lot of milk from mom.
The nights are getting cold now, but they stay warm in a bed of wood shavings in the garage.
We still expose them to different things such as noise from banging pots and pans, startling sights like running around with the wheelbarrow, etc. We are starting to see some patterns such as which puppy is always the first at a race and which one is always last! LOL. but to better predict future temperament, we are having a friend, stranger to the puppies, come and perform a Puppy aptitude test this weekend at seven weeks.
They have gotten wormed a first time, will be getting their first shots in a couple of days, and will be wormed one more time before going home with their new families.
Weeks 7 and 8
New Homes:
Tess
Tess went to a wonderful family who are close friends of ours. She is loved by 7 kids, one girl in particular who had been begging for a Berner puppy for several years now. We kept dual ownership on her with our friends, and hope that Tess will grow healthy and strong in everyway so that she can be a future momma in a couple of years.
Kate
Kate went to a working ranch in Montana where she gets to romp in the snow with two other furry friends and a wonderful loving family.
Edith
Edith also went to a huge ranch in Montana, loves the space and the outdoors with her family, and playing in the snow.