VoM Holzbach blog

We certainly had an abbreviated hunting season, being completely occupied with puppies for most of the late fall and early winter. To cap off the final days of Washington’s upland hunting season, we headed over the mountains and spent a week in the southeast corner of the state. Despite cold weather and being terribly out of form for late season hunting, we made the most of the opportunity end the season with some birds in the bag!

The puppies have all departed for their new homes and are settling in nicely. I have so enjoyed the updates that I’ve gotten from the new families! I’m excited to know how all of the dogs do in their first few months of training and eventually heading into their first hunting season next fall.

This was a busy week for the growing puppies! They visited the vet for exams and vaccines, they visited our local breed inspector for tattoos and microchips, and they learned how to ride calmly in the car while venturing out on all these errands. Their world is expanding daily!

The physical and mental development of the puppies hit warp speed this week. I think they look taller, leaner, and more mature every time I look at them! Photos that I took on Tuesday suddenly look outdated by Friday. In addition to physical growth, the puppies are starting to display distinct personalities and traits. They are truly becoming individuals instead of just a pack of puppies.

The puppies had a big week this week: they moved out of the whelping box and into their playpen. This gave them much more room to run and play, which definitely changed their interactions. Life no longer centers around eating; they are making social bonds and learning how to interact with each other, with people, and with their environment.

Week four was all about independence for the pups, both by choice and by circumstance. They are gaining confidence in themselves during play time, whether it’s with each other or during their one-on-one times outside of the whelping box.

The puppies took on their third week with open eyes and ears, giving them a week characterized by alertness and awareness. Suddenly they were noticing things in their world - especially each other. The regular rhythm of feeding and sleeping gave way to an additional activity: play. The living room is now ringing with the sounds of puppy barks and puppy growls as the pups engage in this crucial developmental activity.

The A litter puppies turned two weeks old this weekend. It was a big week for them! The theme of the week was mobility. They are really getting their legs under them. What started with just a few shaky stands soon turned into first wobbly steps. Seemingly overnight, they were on the move.

We’ve had a busy week as we all get adjusted to raising a litter of puppies. Piper continues to do a great job, though I can tell she gets a little bored sometimes! Things are slowly falling into a regular routine as we work together to care for the pups.

The A litter is here! Piper delivered eight healthy puppies on Saturday night - and not without her usual flair for the dramatic.

Entering the ninth week of Piper’s pregnancy is both exciting and nerve-wracking. She appears wider every time I look at her! I tell her she’s “glowing” but in truth, I can tell she’s ready for this phase to end. Her perpetually good-natured attitude is being challenged by the discomfort of the final days of carrying growing pups.

After Zeke and Piper were bred, it was time to play the waiting game. We knew there wouldn’t be any obvious signs of pregnancy for a while, but that didn’t stop me from reading into all of Piper’s behaviors. Was she extra tired? Extra clingy? Extra…maternal?

Feeling pretty excited about our rookie success on Dusky Grouse, we headed back over the mountains at our next available opportunity. We retraced our steps to the areas we’d found birds and focused our efforts on identifying likely habitat and resting spots.

We made it a goal this year to really focus on early season grouse hunting. With Piper being pregnant, we wanted to take advantage of as much of the September and early October hunting opportunities as possible. Here in Washington, that means forest grouse.

While Zeke (Bolt vom Coraschatten) was staying with us for breeding purposes, we took advantage of the opening of Washington’s grouse season to stretch his legs and to learn more about his hunting abilities. I was thrilled to have the opportunity to hunt behind the sire of our future litter; in addition to getting to know him in our home, I’d also get to know more about his hunting style and handling of birds.