We had a tragic event happen. Due to human error and a faulty gate latch our pack got back to the coop and killed our flock. Backyard chickens was an adventure I took on for one purpose…I wanted our pack to have access to organic farm fresh eggs, having enough for our family was a bonus. I knew having chickens and the huskies was going to be risky. I thought we had a great set up. The chickens were kept away from the pack. It took 2 gates to get to them. For over a year it worked great and I learned to love my girls and enjoy tending to them. This incident was beyond heartbreaking.

Thankfully a few chicks managed to get out of their coop and under the fence. We could hear them but not find them. After trespassing and searching our neighbors yards during a thunderstorm my 2 sons and I managed to find 4 of the chicks. I called a friend who had a flock of her own, Tina, who is also a Supernova puppy owner, and talked to her about taking the surviving chicks. I was heartbroken. I was very angry at myself, it was my job to keep them safe and I blew it. She said she would take them but for me to think about it before deciding. Things like this happen and to not be so hard on myself. I called my husband (he’s out of town for work) and he didn’t even give me a chance to give up. He assured me we would re evaluate our coop and the gates and make any and all improvements necessary. My 13 year old was also adamant that we start over especially after searching all day for the chicks. So I found a local chicken (person? breeder?) and last night we added 8 chicks to our flock of four babies. We are going to start over.

Because our flock is apart of our family and I share our adventures with them, it was important for me to share this experience as well. Raising animals is not easy. The ups and downs and heartbreak is real. I have learned that shit happens… some you can control some you can’t. And if it is human error then we need to address it, fix it and try again if we can. Once again, I want to thank my husband for supporting me on this crazy journey, my friends for listening to me cry, and my kids for being there to help. I could not have made it through the last few days without them.

There is a lot of hype and misinformation surrounding Puppy Culture. So I wanted to share my experiance with it.

I was originally a skeptic. I had a hard time believing breeders needed a program to raise puppies. I have been using enrichment, practicing socialization, even doing potty box training and crate conditioning all without Puppy Culture for over 6 years. After hearing many breeders bragging about it, I decided to invest in the program to see what it was all about. I was very intrigued by what I saw. I began incorporating Puppy Culture protocols into our program. I loved how the science behind these protocols were explained. The results were amazing and it took what I was already doing and expanded on that by a thousand! These little guys are so smart and ready to learn. My husband was beyond annoyed that I was spending so much money on the program because he felt I was already doing so much…. but he was blown away when he watched our puppies successfully manding. He fully supports the program now. I am committed to raising our puppies with this program and I am inspired to re train my adults.

With that being said I want to clear up a few things about the program.

*Puppy Culture is not the same as typical enrichment and socialization. Yes, It involves both concepts but it is so much more. So don’t let cute toys and fun equipment in a puppy pen confuse you. Puppy Culture is specific protocols introduced at specific stages of development. You can watch a video about Puppy Culture HERE.

*I am not a better than anyone else because I use Puppy Culture and you can certainly purchase a healthy, happy puppy that hasn’t been raised with Puppy Culture. But for me, I feel I am a better breeder than I was a year ago and I feel it is up to me to make sure I offer puppies who well rounded, even tempered, properly socialized, and who are emotionally and physically ready for family life.

*Puppy Culture is ideal for puppies 0-12 weeks but many of the protocols can be introduced at a later stage In fact I recommended all my buyers continue with Puppy Culture when they bring their puppies home. It is not to late to use Puppy Culture for your puppy even if they were not raised with it!! If you would like to purchase Puppy Culture or view all the video and books in the program please click HERE.

If you have any questions about my program or how I raise my puppies please feel free to message me. .

Videos of our puppies Manding: For more info on Manding Click HERE:

What’s New: 
All our puppies found wonderful homes and we are so thankful for our new puppy parents. We have 2 puppies that leave us Saturday and as always it will be bittersweet. I can use the rest but will miss them so much.

I have stared to look forward and plan for future litters. I outlined our plans on the website under “upcoming litters”. I am going to be completely honest I have no idea when the girls will cycle next. They synced up last heat which knocked several out of their normal cycle. I am going to assume the “typical” 6 month cycle but please note that my girls were previously cycling every 8/9 months. So all dates are estimates. 😀 If all 3 girls remain synced up I will breed 2, skip one then next time breed one, skip two. So have only 1 or 2 litters at a time and the girls will skip heats between breeding. With the amount of work we do with each litter it is best to limit the litters so we can give each puppy the attention they deserve. I am trying to focus more on raising puppies instead of just breeding them. If you are interested in an upcoming litter please watch for updates posted here on this page.

At this time we plan to move forward with 3 girls, Amara, Winter and Reign. Autumn will be getting spayed in a few weeks. If you have been following you know we considered this last year but our sweet Ghost had other plans. haha We are going to try to avoid that this time around. We want to keep our program small, and even though Autumn will no longer be bred she is our family and will remain here. I cant have coffee without Muffin cuddles and we know she will be a wonderful grandma and auntie!

I plan to continue with Puppy Culture, and while I was doing a variety of socialization and enrichment with our previous litters this program takes it even further and I feel really makes a difference. I am still learning, but I think as I become more familiar with it and proficient at it, it will be even better. I have already invested in more Puppy Culture training material and I look forward to studying and implementing that in our future litters.

We will continue with our vet approved deworming and vaccination schedule. I think it worked well with me administering Neopar at about 5.5 weeks and our vet doing a vet check, fecal and administering the combo vaccination at about 7.5 weeks.

We are still working on our kitchen, and I am excited that our hot mess of a house is getting the face lift it deserves. haha I am also trying to get our yard back in shape and I am trying to dedicate a portion of the yard for the pack and get them to use it. I am looking to build and or purchase equipment for them. I am excited that we only have a little over a month left of school, I love summers with my kiddo and the pack. 😀

If you have any questions please feel free to message me.

-Missy

Puppy Do’s and Dont’s. (according to me and my experience)

DO crate train! You would not leave a toddler alone and unsupervised in your home, why would you leave a puppy alone? You are setting yourself and the pup up for punishment and anger and it is not worth it. If you cannot supervise your pup, put them to “bed”. When you are cleaning, if you are outside mowing, leave to the grocery store, go to work or go to bed for the night! It is much easier to crate train a puppy at 8 weeks then try to crate train a 6 month old with bad habits. You can always crate train now and when they are older try to let them out at night to sleep with you, etc. Autumn was in a crate for one year in our room, next to my bed. It helped calm her being close to me. She now sleeps in my bed or on the floor next to my bed without eating clothes, furniture, etc. If you crate train have realistic expectations… Start right away! Know that they WILL cry, whine, howl, bite the wire, and generally hate it for the first 5 nights or so! Don’t give up. If the noise gets to you, try putting them in your room where they can see you! Or put them next to another dog’s crate if you have one.  Understand that they can NOT hold their bladder for long periods right now! They will need to be let out to potty at least once though out the night! You can try smaller periods of time by putting them in the crate in afternoon for an hour or so. Be happy and positive, give it a name “bedtime”, “kennel up”, etc. Take them out to potty, walk them or exercise them before crating them. Offer treats for going in and give them toys to chew on to prevent boredom. Baby gates are also good to keep them out of certain areas.  Puppy pens (look for one that is fairly high) also can help contain them or even extend the area they are confined in by attaching it to the crate.  But know it might not last long as they are great climbers and jumpers!

DO expect potty accidents. Potty training can take patience. Generally, puppies need to go out as soon as they wake up (or taken out of their crate), after they eat, after they have a burst of energy and playtime, and before bedtime (being crated).  Of course, you need to watch for signs, sniffing, turning in circles and squatting (or standing still for boys) are all signs they need to be rushed out!

DO keep your puppy on a high quality food and consider supplementing with fresh foods. If/ when you switch, do so slowly! Changing foods can cause tummy issues. We no longer require you to keep your pups on Nuvet, but if you are interested in vitamins, it is a great option.

DO consider puppy training class and puppy proofing your home. If you do not have experience training pups, please consider a class. Remember behaviors that are cute now will not be cute at 6 months old!! Manners like, sit, down, stay (hehe), drop it, leave it, wait, off, are very important! Puppies are ALL teeth and mouths at this stage!! Just like toddlers put everything in their mouths so do puppies! Do not let your hands become toys… it sounds silly but I know many folks who use their hands to play with puppies and then complain when the puppies grab their hands at other times and insist their puppy is mean! NO, you just taught them that hands are toys! Since puppies use their mouths to explore their surroundings it is also a good idea to keep things off the floor and out of reach if at all possible. Shoes, wires, bras (yes bras), socks, ponytail holders, diapers, game controllers, charging cords, etc.

DO keep your puppy current on all vaccinations, as well as flea and heartworm treatment and prevention. Find a vet you trust! Please remember your pet is NOT fully protected until they have had their complete series of vaccinations!

DO NOT leave your puppy unsupervised with children! Please! So many sad stories in the news… it breaks my heart! Also just like you have to train a puppy to be easy and gentle with kids, you need to train/teach your children to be easy and gentle with their new puppies! Please, Please, Please do not allow your child to ride their dog, pull ears, tails, grab faces, etc. If a child runs, a puppy will chase them and more times than not they will knock them down. It’s natural, but the puppy gets blamed for being too rough and mean. Both child and puppy need education on how to behave! Another reason I recommend training classes.

DO offer plenty of exercise, toys and interaction, a bored husky is a destructive husky.  Huskies are pack animals, they need your love and attention. Look up canine enrichment activities, keep them mentally and physically active. With that being said, please be mindful of your puppies age and development and not to over exercise them. Over doing it (including high impact actives like using stairs, jumping off furniture, etc) can cause damage to growth plates that are still developing and injure joints, etc.

DO try to avoid possible separation anxiety issues by not packing your husky around like a baby or Chihuahua! In most cases separation anxiety is our fault!

DO NOT leave your husky (or any dog) out in extreme weather (hot or cold). Kiddie Pools, Ice, Frozen Treats are fun summer outside activities in the heat. Also, save walks for early morning or late evening in the summer! But access to air conditioning at the hottest part of the day is a MUST!  Do not get a husky if you are going to leave it outside!! Watch for hot concrete and asphalt! The pads of their feet will burn!

DO have fun, love them, care for them and know that like children they will act up, make mistakes and be naughty! Love them anyway!!

Week 8

Sun 24 Jun 2018 – Sat 30 Jun 2018

• Dam begins to spend a lot more time grooming herself.
• Her breasts become swollen as her milk forms.
• Nesting begins as she looks for a place to have her puppies. Make sure you have her box or spot ready.
• The dam may not have as big of an appetite during this period. Her abdomen can be crowded with puppies.
• Offer your girl as much as she will eat several times a day rather than one huge meal.
• You can feel the puppies move now.
• See if you can get her used to her whelping box.
• Pups have fur and are more active in their crowded space.

We are getting closer.  Both girls are doing well. Amara is choosing to spend a lot of time in her puppy room. It is nice and cool in there and she can get a break from the younger pack members.  If she is not in her room she is next to me on the couch. Autumn prefers to be where the action is and stays close to me. Both girls have noticeable bigger bellies, and they will only get bigger these last 2 weeks. We have not felt movement yet but as soon as we do, I will let you know.

Both puppy rooms have been clean and disinfected. I will be rewashing bedding and towels to make sure they are fresh and clean. I am also replenishing our whelping kit, making sure all our supplies are ready.

We are getting excited.  If you have any questions, please let me know.