Minnie x Dillon pups at Two Years

  Kip enjoying ranch life in western Canada.

Percy Jackson all grown up.

Dash is learning to compete in obedience --

Molly in NY enjoying the snow.

Dixie in NC carrying a pack.

Yoda is much loved and lives near Florence, SC

Piper is already doing therapy work.

Barli at Two.

Six months old

 6 months old: How wonderful to see them grow up!

Dash

Kip

Barli

Barli in midstride

Kip

Piper

Percy

Percy

Dixie

Yoda

August 6, 2013

The Dillon x Minnie litter is over 4 months old.
Percy and Kip are each now 45 pounds.
Barli is 28 pounds, and Dash was recently weighed at 31.4 pounds.

They are now old enough for PennHIP or preliminary OFA xrays to see how healthy their hips are.
Keep in mind that if your dog is under sedation for a procedure, that is a good time to have hips checked also.

PennHIP can be done reliably once they are four months old. We used Anne Malphrus at North Greenville Animal Hospital. It was $350, including the xrays, exam and anesthesia. She will ask if you are OK with releasing the information and if you say yes, it is a great favor to all the English Shepherd breeders who want to know how their breed is doing and especially to those with dogs related to ours.  ~~~You can get this information on your dog at any time, the only obstacle is the money and effort it takes to get it done. But if for some reason you want to know hip scores on all the other pups in your dog's litter, or on all the pups you produce in a litter of your own, no amount of money can get that information for you. That's what you are a part of when you say yes to the PenHIP vet.

The alternative method for checking hips is OFA. The dog needs to be two years old. Any vet can take the radiographs and send them to OFA, for about $200 usually. Shop around. Some will do it without sedation, if your dog will hold still for it. If they use digital images it is quicker to send to OFA and results come back faster.
There is also such a thing as a preliminary OFA, which can be done on a dog as young as four months old. They are a little more reliable done after 12 months, though.
If you are fortunate enough to be near a clinic, you might do it for less.

Barli at about 4 months

The destructive period is coming! (4-8 months)

The litter will be four months old the end of this week.
If you have forgotten what it is like to have a 4 month old puppy around, read this: http://www.diamondsintheruff.com/DevelopmentalStages.html

Use a leash or long line and provide plenty of chew toys through this time.

I'm glad that Barli doesn't seem to mind thunder. Minnie hides in the attic or in the east bedroom.

Summer 2013, pups in their new homes

This cat lets Kip drag him around.

Kip (was Rusty) 31 lbs 7-8-13

Yoda at home (was Emily)

This photo of Dash was sent to me June 24, so he is about 10 weeks old here.

Dash

July 3

Our litter is now three months old.

Daisy is now Barli, which means "little bear" in German.
We took Barli to puppy class and learned a way to stop the jumping up. It works, so I'll pass it on (credit for the method goes to Connie Cleveland):

Start by sitting down on a chair.
Tempt the pup to put his front feet up into your lap, with talk, not food.

Gently put your foot on a back paw until he gets all four paws on the floor (this is the hard part if he is dancing around, but the sitting down helps).

Praise using the word "off".
Don't use treats with "off" or he will sit and stare at you, which looks a lot like begging.

Puppies have an opposition reflex. If you push him away from you, he will simply jump back. By touching his foot, you are causing him to want to draw back, not come up.

After he has mastered this skill while you are sitting in a chair, do the same for getting his feet off in other situations.

June 15, 2013 Percy is home in VA.

Percy is on his way to a new home in VA. He will live on a farm with cows and dogs and cats and chickens. He will have a loving family and 200 acres to play on.