Sierra's pup

This pup is currently spoken for and all the following pictures are of this little guy. The family that is considering him wanted to see some pictures up and close.

All white bellies on all the pups.

Andrew's science class came over on Friday and weighed the pups the largest gap in the pups is only 4 ounces. They all look to be the same size except the more white male pup. He looks big.

Later that day the whole elementary class came over to hold and pet the pups. I thought about posting their pictures but I don't know if that would be ok with their parents so I'll refrain but the kids are cute holding the pups.

That nose gets kissed a lot.

White legs!

Sierra's pup is on the far left. He matches the female next to him except for the fact that she has a small white spot on her right hip. The pups are really growing and their eyes should be opening Friday- give or take a day. They should start to hear things next week. They will be on sensory overload.

I hope ya'll are enjoying your Valentine's Day! We are up and just had breakfast. I got the girls gift I believe they will like- a puppy coloring book for Dakota and more flashcards for Daraby. Daraby loves to learn so we spend a lot of time sitting on the floor going through cards or books. I love books so I think that passion passed down to her.

Speaking of books- yesterday I planned to go to the library but the girls were so tired so I thought we would go after their nap. They slept late so I decided that we would go after supper since the library is open until 7- or so I thought. I called after supper to make sure they were open, since we live 15 min out of town, they were closed. They close early on Mondays and aren't open on Tuesdays. I think I could have wept. I need a good book and they have one waiting for me. I am really busy Wednesday so the earliest day I can get there is Thursday. You can bring me flowers or chocolates but if you want to make me happy just bring me a good book.

One week and One day!

The pups are a week and one day and we've been loving everyday with them. We've been a bit silent on the blog because we are honestly holding pups all the time and I can't type while holding one. However, I can pin on pinterest.com and so I've been pinning a ton. I've been cuddling and dreaming on pintrest. I don't think I'll ever live in the rooms I've pinned. Perhaps in heaven so perhaps I'm putting my mansion orders in early. Who cares, life is better with pups.

Daraby is a true mothering sort. It comes natural to her. I can just see her working as a nurse in labor and delivery or having a passel of her own children. I've never played house and babies so much in my life. I have to remind myself that I was a little girl but I sure never liked girl things until now. Good thing purple is my favorite color. I do fit in some where.

Don't mind the messy house we are making memories.

Dakota thinks the puppies are fine but she is really saying, "Mom they don't do much." I think, "Don't worry sweet in a few weeks you will be running with them. They will be active soon enough."

 If you think my house is messy now just wait. Chaos is about to happen right here folks. Plus, we have a home study to get ready for our adoption. During the day you can find the girls jumping on Mom and Dad's bed. It is the best to wear southern belle dresses while jumping because the dresses have bells sewed into the hems so they jingle.

The girls are huge fans of the movie "Tangled" so we brush and brush each other's hair. Mine is falling out the way it is but I submit to tear causing brushing -all in the name of parenting. Actually Daraby is the softest hair brusher I've met and I thoroughly enjoy it. Dakota is the tear jerker.

Dakota's hair is super fine and frizzy which gets some pretty interesting comments. I think my family is constantly brushing it behind my back. I'll pick Dakota up from nursery after church and it is all brushed but by the time we get to lunch it is a poof.

If Daraby can't brush hair- well the feet work too. "Does that tickle Kota?"

It doesn't show it well in this photo but Dakota is an extreme pack rat. She is normally carrying 20 toys. She piles them everywhere and remembers what is in each pile. She is attached to each pile. She squirrels them away in our walk-in closet, in her closet, under her bed, under my bed, behind the couch etc.... I keep finding these piles and putting them in the toy box- only to hear her moans of despair that her pile is missing. Honestly, she will be on hoarders. I am a thrower. If I don't use it, it is gone. Andrew is just like me so it will be a challenge to not throw Kota's stuff/art/church papers in the trash.

Happy Valentines Day- early. Andrew got me a fire and ice rose this week. He is making sure that he doesn't forget the special day. I love these white and red tipped roses. For the first year we were married he got me a new rose each week. I loved that but now living out in the country it is a bit tricky to remember to buy the flower and get it home unscathed.

Don't mind me I'm pinning on http://www.pinterst.com/ Each of the pups in handled everyday- multiple times. They will be very well acclimated to humans. Colorful male pup.

There are lots of yawns and open mouth sleeping. So precious! Colorful pup.

White ring neck male pup.

Daraby has the other white ring neck male pup.

Dakota just likes to tickle Daddy and that is fine by me. Daraby and I are mothering!

Enjoy your weekend!

Let's meet the Boy Puppies!

This is the more colorful boy pup- currently spoken for.

More colorful boy pup- that milk must be really good. 

Two of the darker boy pups. Very sweet and cuddly.

The two boy pups again.

The colorful male (not avaliable) and the darkest boy pup. The boy pup on the right almost matches our one girl pup.  Hard to believe that the dark boy pup is our runt and the more white pup is our tubby pup. They are pretty even in weight and size.

You can see that their tails are docked. They are 2/3 length which is more of a field cut.

Colorful boy pup- biggest pup.

Darkest boy pup- he is the smallest.

We've been having a great time here with the pups. The girls are petting them each day and we've been taking them out to hold them and let them crawl around on our bed. Yesterday I took them in with the girls to get their tails docked and dew claws removed. I don't know if any of you have ever taken two toddlers, 6 pups and one momma dog to the vet. It is chaos! We went through two packages of M&M while we waited. If you know me at all then you know that feeding my kids M&M's is not the norm. There were crying pups, a worried mom dog, and running/screaming kids. Don't worry I looked the vet in the eye and had a normal everyday conversation and realized I'm getting used to chaos. I bet they took a huge sigh after we all left. :)

The three boy pups that aren't nursing are avaliable. I do have one family really interested in the darkest boy pup.

They're here! AKC Springer Spaniel Pups

On Friday February 3, 2012 Abby had 6 puppies and we got to watch them come out. The girls had a wonderful time seeing the puppies arrive and Andrew even brought his Science class over to watch. What a miracle of birth! It never gets old for me.

All of them got up to the bar early and are doing so well.

They are a bit noisy in our room but are so healthy and for that I'm thankful.

There are four boys and two girls and I believe they are seperated by gender in this photo- on their own accord. Most all of them are liver color but they all have white bellies. I will get their tails docked and dew claws removed on Monday. I will start posting about their personalities and temperments as they grow. Abby is a terrific mom and we look forward to them getting big soon. They will be ready to leave the middle of March.

AKC Reg English Springer Spaniel Pups are coming!

This is our dog, Abby. A 6 year old English Springer Spaniel. She is due Feb 4, 2012.

Another picture of Abby.

This is Abby when she shaved for the summer. She looks really young and is a small springer spaniel- 35 pounds. Her mother was a show dog and her dad was a field hunter.

Abby is the best dog: sweet, kind, all heart. Abby is an inside dog and sleeps with us in our bed. She loves our kids. She never gets angry and is very obedient. She loves anybody and rarely if ever barks. Every where we go Abby goes. She sits right in between the girl's carseats and cleans up dropped snacks.

Prior to Abby's first batch of pups she took to mothering our two kittens which grew into full grown cats. She nursed them for a long time and even lactated. The cats thought she was their mother. She did too. This will be Abby's second batch of pups.

Abby is bred to a wonderful hunting dog named Cappy. His owner, Jerry Pier, uses him exclusively to hunt. Cappy is all heart when he hunts and has to be told to slow down or he will hunt until he hurts himself. He lives to hunt. He is a very impressive hunter and  follows commands flawlessly.

Besides Cappy's incredible hunting ablility he is a real sweet dog. He is great with people and didn't seem to mind our kids at all. He is just a happy dog.

Cappy

This is Andrew and Abby after they went hunting one late afternoon. Abby has all the hunting instinct and the heart. Although we had her trained to the T we've barely taken her out hunting this year or last. She still hunts well but is out of shape. She was so easy to teach.

This is Abby's personality when at home. Very relaxed and not hyper at all. Although is very high strung when hunting. We find her to be a great blend of hunt and house dog. Our kids love her and play with her all the time.

photo by: daronshort.com This is a pup from our last batch in 2009. Quinn lives in NE. They say he is, "the best Christmas present." Quinn was our only male in the last batch. His new owners run a hardware store and he goes to the store with them to be loved on by the customers. 

photo by: daronshort.com This is Harley and she lives in CO.

photo by: daronshort.com   This is Coldwater aka "Coldy." She lives in NE with a family that had never had a dog- ever. They love her. She plays with their two girls a is an avid hunter. He takes her out with several of his buddies and their dogs. They group hunt. They also own a hotel and Coldy is a door greeter.  

We are excited about this next batch of pups. This will Abby's second batch of pups and both times we've bred her to Cappy. We have no less expectations for the quality of these pups. We've heard so many great things about the first batch of pups and are so happy with the great families they went to.

Abby and Cappy have great dispositions and I consider Abby to a be a once in a lifetime dog and we hope that she passes that quality onto her pups. People that don't like dogs love Abby.

If you are interested in a pup please email me: Darcy darcycbeck@yahoo.com  We are located in Central South Dakota.