Welcome our Wonder Litter!

We are thrilled to announce the arrival of our Wonder Litter - 4 Boys and 3 Girls!!! They are sired by Fala, Multiple Best of Breed, WCA National Specialty Winner's Dog, CH A GraytSky A La Fala Love' A and our Jam, Multiple Best of Breed, CH Grayhart's Purple Haze, CD, JH, AX, AXJ,SD,VX.  This Wonderful litter arrived on schedule and uneventfully, with Momma Jam doing a great job of bringing them into the world.

Jam did another phenomenal job whelping the litter in the early evening and finishing in four and a half hours.  In order of appearance, we are proud to introduce the Wonder pups:

• Miss Pink      16.1 oz
• Miss Purple  16.0 oz
• Mr. Blue        15.0 oz
• Mr. Orange   18.7 oz
• Mr. Black      18.3 oz
• Miss Teal      19.4 oz
• Mr. Red         18.2 oz

Burberry Girl!

 Appearing on the Nordstrom website, Jam as a Burberry model!  This was her last modeling assignment before she went on maternity leave.

 During the shoot, a cameraman was filming a "behind the scenes" video, which is all the rage for fashion shoots.  Jam and all the other dogs are in that video.

Silly Sophie

 Sophie, (Parker x Savi) 6 months old, thinks the pool cover is her own personal trampoline.  Don't worry about her falling in, that cover could hold an elephant!

Ready to burst!

Savi & Jam

With less than a week to go until Jam's due date, she has gotten huge!  Next to her slim sister Savi, you can see just how much her body has changed.  Her nipples are quite large, ready to provide milk to her pups and we can see/feel the pups inside her move around!  A truly amazing feeling to put your hand on her belly and feel a puppy move.

The whelping box and supplies are all set up and on Tuesday, we will go to the vet for an x-ray to see how many pups Jam is carrying.  The x-ray is not always 100% as sometimes there can be a hidden puppy but my vet has an excellent track record of being right on the money with puppy counts.  

Jam is feeling well and loves her increased food portions, eating six cups of kibble a day! She has started nesting, especially outside in  the bushes.  No, Jam will not be allowed to have her puppies under a bush in the backyard!  We will be monitoring her temperature and keeping a close eye on her to make sure we see the first signs of labor which may include heavy breathing, contractions, panting, restlessness and not eating. 

CeCe is a STAR!

 CeCe has something to smile about - she passed her AKC S.T.A.R. Puppy!  Congratulations to KellyAnn for doing a fabulous job of training  six-month old, CeCe, Grayhart's Almost Famous, (Parker x Savi) to her first title!

The AKC S.T.A.R. Puppy test is a pre-Canine Good Citizen test for puppies under one year of age., who complete a basic puppy obedience class and can demonstrate specific skills.

20 STEPS To Success: The AKC S.T.A.R. Puppy® TEST

 S ocialization 

 T raining 

 A ctivity 

 R esponsibility

OWNER BEHAVIORS: 

1. Maintains puppy’s health (vaccines, exams, 

 appears healthy)

2. Owner receives Responsible Dog Owner’s Pledge 

3. Owner describes adequate daily play and exercise plan 

4. Owner and puppy attend at least 6 classes by an AKC 

 Approved CGC Evaluator 

5. Owner brings bags to classes for cleaning up 

 after puppy 

6. Owner has obtained some form of ID for 

 puppy-collar tag, etc. 

PUPPY BEHAVIORS: 

7. Free of aggression toward people during at least 

6 weeks of class 

8. Free of aggression toward other puppies in class 

9. Tolerates collar or body harness of owner’s choice 

10. Owner can hug or hold puppy (depending on size) 

11. Puppy allows owner to take away a treat or toy 

PRE-CANINE GOOD CITIZEN® TEST BEHAVIORS 

12. Allows (in any position) petting by a person other 

 than the owner 

13. Grooming-Allows owner handling and brief exam 

 (ears, feet) 

14. Walks on a Leash-Follows owner on lead in a straight 

 line (15 steps) 

15. Walks by other people-Walks on leash past other 

 people 5-ft away 

16. Sits on command-Owner may use a food lure 

17. Down on command-Owner may use a food lure

18. Comes to owner from 5-ft when name is called

19. Reaction to Distractions-distractions are presented 

 15-ft away 

20. Stay on leash with another person (owner walks 

10 steps and returns)

Enjoying the fall

We are fortunate to live close to some fabulous state parks and Harriman State Park in New York is one of my favorites.  Last weekend, I took Trixie and Savi for a short hike and even though it is past peak fall foliage, it was still beautiful and we enjoyed having the trail to ourselves.  

After the hike, we drove a short distance to one of the many lakes in Harriman and Savi did some water retrieving.

\Scenic view of the lake.

Savi even had an audience, a group of Japanese tourists, who thought she was quite entertaining. They were snapping away at her swimming and water retrieves.  Wonder if she'll show up on a travel blog!

 Savi absolutely loves to swim and retrieve and it is terrific exercise.

We fit the hike and swim in before the sunset.

Classmates

CeCe on the left, Momma Savi on the right

A family that trains together stays together!  A fun night this week when I did a drop-in class at the training school where KellyAnn and CeCe, Savi's daughter, train for competitive obedience.  Very cute to see Savi and her daughter, do the obedience exercises.  I was impressed with 6-month old CeCe's great focus and Kel is doing a terrific job with her.  It was a good opportunity to work Savi in a new environment with new dogs and many distractions.

CeCe started Puppy Kindergarten when she was 10 weeks old and after that class, enrolled in a beginner obedience class.  She showed wonderful potential and was moved up into a Beginner Novice class, where the training is geared to competitive obedience.  All the skills CeCe is learning will benefit her in any venue that KellyAnn decides to venture into as well as just making CeCe a well-behaved dog and easier to live with.  My personal recommendation to my puppy people is that they should commit to two years of formal training at a high quality training school.  Training builds teamwork and gives the dog, especially Weimaraners, much needed mental stimulation.

Less than three weeks to go...

 Jam, six weeks pregnant, has lost her girlish figure.  Canine pregnancies are 63 days and during the last three weeks, we increase their food to meet the demands of their pregnancy,  Jam is loving her huge portions for breakfast and dinner!

Family portrait while we had the camera out - left to right, Trixie, Jam and Savi.

Happy Halloween from the Grayhart kids!

 Reagan, (Parker x Savi) not yet 6 months old, celebrates her first Halloween in style!

Sister CeCe, (Parker x Savi) in a poodle skirt!

Marshall, (Parker x Trixie), as a frog, of course, he was the green collared boy in his litter!

 A fabulous group of shots of Whitmore, (Clay x Trixie) wearing a great collection of Halloween hats!