Litter E whelped May 2nd, 2017
4 males and 1 female - all spoken for
Below is some info about the parents of this litter.
Sire: Dam:
UKC Champion Swiss Silhouette's Quantum Mika's Brooke From Swissberners (Brooke)
Leap of Faith (Ollie) WS44575601 WS43090001
The sire:
Ollie is a fabulous dog in all respects. He is a gorgeous and well structured dog who earned his UKC championship in just one week end! He comes from very strong champion lines, his father being well acclaimed CH Four T's Shaken, not Stirred. You can view his full pedigree on Berner-Garde.
Ollie has obtained all health clearances, as follows: (these can also be verified on Berner-Garde)
OFA hips: good
OFA elbows: normal
OFA heart: normal
OFA eyes: normal
vWB: clear
DM SOD1 A+B: clear.
As far as temperament, Ollie is healthy and active, but knows how to be laid-back as well. He is very sweet and loving, and very socialized. You may meet him if you ever buy fresh produce at the farm where he "works" with his family. :)
The dam:
We are currently only breeding our female Brooke and you can view all about her under her tab.
Ollie is a fabulous dog in all respects. He is a gorgeous and well structured dog who earned his UKC championship in just one week end! He comes from very strong champion lines, his father being well acclaimed CH Four T's Shaken, not Stirred. You can view his full pedigree on Berner-Garde.
Ollie has obtained all health clearances, as follows: (these can also be verified on Berner-Garde)
OFA hips: good
OFA elbows: normal
OFA heart: normal
OFA eyes: normal
vWB: clear
DM SOD1 A+B: clear.
As far as temperament, Ollie is healthy and active, but knows how to be laid-back as well. He is very sweet and loving, and very socialized. You may meet him if you ever buy fresh produce at the farm where he "works" with his family. :)
The dam:
We are currently only breeding our female Brooke and you can view all about her under her tab.
More pictures of Ollie (for pictures of Brooke, please click tabs "pictures" and "Brooke")
Litter E, whelped May 2nd 2017 - 4 males and 1 female
Day one
Brooke has had quite a bit of bad luck with stillborn puppies, or dangerously small litters, so we had planned on taking her in for a C-section, but she surprised us with two healthy puppies at four in the morning (in our closet... despite the whelping box set up downstairs haha). Since everything seemed to be going smoothly this time, we just stayed and assisted her with two more puppies born at 7, and then a last one at 11. Yes, they were very spread out, but they were all born healthy, and we were relieved that no medical intervention was needed. Everything is very peaceful now as mom and babies instinctively know just what to do, and spend a lot of time resting.
Week one
The puppies are all doing really great! They are just eating, sleeping, and growing. They have almost all reached 2 1/2 pounds, which is pretty good considering they are born just around 1 pound.
They have had a trip to the vet this week to get their dewclaws removed.
It's just amazing to observe how both mother and babies know exactly what to do. The puppies' eyes have not opened yet, but they know exactly where to find their food, or their littermates. They know how to pile up to stay warm and they know how to whimper to get mom's attention. ;-)
They have had a trip to the vet this week to get their dewclaws removed.
It's just amazing to observe how both mother and babies know exactly what to do. The puppies' eyes have not opened yet, but they know exactly where to find their food, or their littermates. They know how to pile up to stay warm and they know how to whimper to get mom's attention. ;-)
Week two
The puppies turned two weeks old today. The main highlight of the week was their eyes opening. Other than that, they just keep on growing.
Part of us can't wait for them to keep growing because they get cuter and cuter (they still look a little bit like guinea pigs... no offense to them haha), but part of us wants to keep them just the way they are right now: they are so sweet and huggable! They fall asleep within seconds in our arms and are just so content.
Part of us can't wait for them to keep growing because they get cuter and cuter (they still look a little bit like guinea pigs... no offense to them haha), but part of us wants to keep them just the way they are right now: they are so sweet and huggable! They fall asleep within seconds in our arms and are just so content.
Week three
Quite a few new things this last week: The puppies can now walk on their 4 feet (rather than doing a sort of turtle crawl), they have experienced being outside in the grass which they thought felt quite weird at first, and their teeth are just starting to come out.
They have been well socialized this week. Several families with many young children came over. They continue to be handled a lot, and are being exposed to different sounds and surfaces.
No solid food as of yet, but we will start soon now.
We are enjoying them so much! :-)
They have been well socialized this week. Several families with many young children came over. They continue to be handled a lot, and are being exposed to different sounds and surfaces.
No solid food as of yet, but we will start soon now.
We are enjoying them so much! :-)
Week four
At four weeks the puppies spend much more time awake and are showing signs of playfulness, it's very cute!
Their teeth are growing, and they are eager to use them. Luckily they aren't very sharp yet, so it's still ok for them to "teethe" on us. That gets quite painful later on as you will be able to experience yourselves! Sunday was the first day with solid food (kibble soaked in warm milk). They knew just what to do! The dish was clean within seconds.
They have also started barking... again, so cute!
Lots of visitors came and socialized the puppies over the week. Many teens in particular. Now we need some more adult males... that always seems to be the hardest demographic group to have come over. ;)
Their teeth are growing, and they are eager to use them. Luckily they aren't very sharp yet, so it's still ok for them to "teethe" on us. That gets quite painful later on as you will be able to experience yourselves! Sunday was the first day with solid food (kibble soaked in warm milk). They knew just what to do! The dish was clean within seconds.
They have also started barking... again, so cute!
Lots of visitors came and socialized the puppies over the week. Many teens in particular. Now we need some more adult males... that always seems to be the hardest demographic group to have come over. ;)
Week five
The puppies' teeth are now quite sharp and their mouths are very busy... ouch! ;)
We have done a bunch of "overcoming fear exercises" this week. Loud noises, crinkly surfaces, rides in the wheelbarrow, collapsible kennel, getting claws clipped, etc.
They are up to two solid meals a day. Their fur is growing longer which makes them look somewhat chubby and oh so cute.
We have done a bunch of "overcoming fear exercises" this week. Loud noises, crinkly surfaces, rides in the wheelbarrow, collapsible kennel, getting claws clipped, etc.
They are up to two solid meals a day. Their fur is growing longer which makes them look somewhat chubby and oh so cute.
Week six
The puppies are fast runners now! They just chase us around and are really good at getting underfoot!
They love to chew everything. I only wished they were better at chewing their food instead of slurping it down and then gagging. They are in such a hurry to eat! We used to soak their food to make it easier for them when their teeth were just coming in. Now they've gotten used to this and don't want to take the time to chew their food properly. Hopefully by next week's update this will no longer be a problem.
They are also being bolder and exploring the yard further.
The "fear overcoming exercises" this week included trampoline, car rides, and bicycles. We sort of zigzagged around them in the yard, and they even got to ride in the basket! Haha We want your puppy to feel relaxed around bikes, unlike that one dog years ago who darted out of his halfway open garage when I was riding by and bit my ankle! :/
We are starting to see some personality traits. Next week will be the puppy aptitude test.
They love to chew everything. I only wished they were better at chewing their food instead of slurping it down and then gagging. They are in such a hurry to eat! We used to soak their food to make it easier for them when their teeth were just coming in. Now they've gotten used to this and don't want to take the time to chew their food properly. Hopefully by next week's update this will no longer be a problem.
They are also being bolder and exploring the yard further.
The "fear overcoming exercises" this week included trampoline, car rides, and bicycles. We sort of zigzagged around them in the yard, and they even got to ride in the basket! Haha We want your puppy to feel relaxed around bikes, unlike that one dog years ago who darted out of his halfway open garage when I was riding by and bit my ankle! :/
We are starting to see some personality traits. Next week will be the puppy aptitude test.
Week 7
The puppies have been wormed this week, and will receive their first immunizations within the next few days. I wait until close to handoff to do those, because they still nurse from Brooke now and then and could still receive immunity coverage from her.
They are currently eating three meals a day, with some in between snacks from Brooke. :)
We have done the puppy aptitude test, and although there were slight variations, for the most part, nothing really scared them and nothing really excited them. They were rather aloof to most parts of the test. I guess it's nicely typical of the breed standard which states: "The temperament is self-confident, alert and good natured, never sharp or shy. The Bernese Mountain Dog should stand steady, though may remain aloof to the attentions of strangers."
I must have taken 100 pictures this week, but the puppies move so fast that hardly any pictures were worth saving. Haha. So from the pictures below, you will get the impression that they are just angelic... not so! None of my pumpkin plants have survived, and I have moved all my potted plants on a table after finding the remains of a couple of geraniums! Are you all ready for this?
That said, their cute little faces and their hilarious moves will melt your hearts! They are so precious.
They are currently eating three meals a day, with some in between snacks from Brooke. :)
We have done the puppy aptitude test, and although there were slight variations, for the most part, nothing really scared them and nothing really excited them. They were rather aloof to most parts of the test. I guess it's nicely typical of the breed standard which states: "The temperament is self-confident, alert and good natured, never sharp or shy. The Bernese Mountain Dog should stand steady, though may remain aloof to the attentions of strangers."
I must have taken 100 pictures this week, but the puppies move so fast that hardly any pictures were worth saving. Haha. So from the pictures below, you will get the impression that they are just angelic... not so! None of my pumpkin plants have survived, and I have moved all my potted plants on a table after finding the remains of a couple of geraniums! Are you all ready for this?
That said, their cute little faces and their hilarious moves will melt your hearts! They are so precious.