Well we were up at 6am taking the puppies out for their first early morning romp and potty outside. It went pretty well, although a bit cold and icy with the new rain/snow we got last night.

They came inside and ate about 3lbs of food, and then crashed.

Tomorrow they will start going home, so we are getting things ready.

It is an interesting reflection for me – I fall between two worlds, probably more.

I received a lot of calls from farms and ranches looking for hard headed asshole type temperaments to work cattle – of which I don’t breed.

I received some call from family pet owners or never owned a dog before people who were looking for a calm sweet house pet – of which I don’t breed.

I received a few calls from people who didn’t know what natural rearing was and didn’t care about it, they just wanted a dog – of which I don’t do.

My market for my puppies is knowledgeable owners, work or performance homes, and heavy duty dog lovers, and understand health.

All of our puppies have those homes, and each puppy has between 2-10 hours of conversation on them.

One of our owners contacted me 5 years ago and has been in touch each year waiting for one of our puppies. It is a similar path I took with my first Ross Line Border Collie.

All of the puppies are rolling through their first fear stage, and in their gentle protected and safe romper room they are able to work through it with ease. We see a puppy here and there start to retreat to a corner, and then the next day reengage with everyone. A pup that loves to be held and then doesn’t want to be touched, and then next day cannot wait to be held. So gentle care and attention and this first tricky stage is passing with care.

All of the puppies are yummy eye gazers, they all want eye contact and to hold it. That is part of our line and a border collie thing. It makes my heart sing every time!

And Mama Beetz – she came upstairs last night while we were having dinner, jumped up on our dining table, licked my mashed potatoes, and laid down and passed out. I couldn’t help but smile and shed a tear or two at her honesty. Me thinks she is tired, worn out a bit, and ready to wean these pups and move on to the next stage. She did play with them for a while this morning, but didn’t want to nurse for more than a few seconds. Oh Mama I totally get it!