Posts filed under ‘HWV Extended Family’
Mingus Touchdown.
Home!
So yesterday we journeyed far (well, to Southampton) to collect our new little lad. We packed the car for every eventuality, fully expecting howling, vomiting and other bodily expulsions en route home. In the event though Mingus took it all completely in his stride and slept silently for most of the journey, with occasional moments of rousing to check out the passing scenery – a stark contrast to Phoenix who howled and screamed like she was having root canal work for the entire of her 7 hour trip home!
With Adam.
As soon as he touched down in the kitchen Mingus burst to life, brimming with excitement and joy at all the new things to explore. After wolfing down his first home meal, wagging furiously throughout, he raced around like an energizer bunny on overload…so wonderfully confident despite his all-new environment and leaving his siblings behind, a really great testament to how well raised and socialised he has been. Eventually he crashed and burned and snuggled straight into his new cage for a good long snooze – perfect!
Favourite new toy....
....definitely.
Phoenix was beside herself with excitement, but was just too boisterous to play with her new brother just yet. Mingus seems perfectly happy to sleep on his own and settles down without fuss, so the first night went pretty well, punctuated with various trips out to the toilet, but with no screaming, howling or signs of any distress…all quite remarkable!
"Yes?"
So now, after about 24 hours at Wolf Valley, Mingus definitely knows his name, and comes scampering every time you call him. He’s also mastered “sit” pretty quickly, thanks to trusty clicker and reward system. He starts his formal Puppy Gurus obedience training in just over 2 weeks, so we’ve practised a few “down” commands to get the ball rolling. Luckily Mingus seems to have an insatiable appetite, which certainly makes training much easier. He was also weaned straight onto on raw food by Mum Jacqui, which fits perfectly with Phoenix’ all raw diet too.
Sofa snuggle.
Phoenix has become less hyper around Mingus as the day has gone on, which has allowed them to interact properly, albeit under strict supervision, and even enjoy a 3-way-snoozy-snuggle together with Tim on the “dog” sofa this afternoon…
Sofasnooze
"You displease me Human..."
"Sit!"
New Kid on the Block!!
So here’s where we finally get to officially spill our very-exciting-and-not-very-well-kept secret news….
In just under 48 hrs our pack will be expanding with the arrival of….
Mingus.
His official name is Morehay Lars of Belatarr, but at home he’ll be Mingus, after the jazz legend Charles Mingus.
Mingus is one of eight puppies born to gorgeous mum Anora (Starshot English Miss for Morehay). With a Zöldmáli sire and a Ragnolds Dam, supremely elegant, wonderfully fluid in movement and with the kindest of temperaments, Anora is also highly successful in the ring – where we’ve been watching her all through last year. She is without doubt one of our very favourite HWV bitches in the country, and so we were thrilled to be offered the option of pick of her first litter.
Mum - Anora.
The Judges Critique after awarding Anora Best of Breed at Bournemouth Championship Show 2009:
“where has this beautiful bitch been hiding, has elegance in spades, very feminine in outlook, lean head, good ratio between skull & muzzle to give that all important elegance & dignity, kind eye of good colour complemented by a super coat in both colour & texture, enough bone for a bitch & neatly constructed to stand easily over her ground on catlike feet, very well handled, elegant on the move, moving on a long, even stride that was deceptively ground covering.” – Chris Guest
Although we were initially looking for a second bitch to accompany Phoenix, when we first visited this litter at 4 weeks of age, we were overwhelmingly drawn to Mingus.
First meeting with a snoozy, 4-week-old Mingus.
A second visit at 6 weeks confirmed that he combined pretty much everything we were looking for in a pup….a perfect coat, lovely head and very promising shape – he even seemed to quite like being show-stacked for examination, quite a miracle in one so young!
Mingus at 6 weeks.
The gang - in "off" mode.
Mingus and his sister Love - both destined for the show ring...but not right now!
So, not long to go now until our worlds are turned upside-down with a whirlwind of training, chewing, yowling, sleep-loss and general cuteness overload all over again – hurrah!
All new arrivals come with stamp of Phoenix approval.
Belatarr is born.
…and now the concluding part:
The exciting news that we *mysteriously* alluded to in our last post can now be revealed!
Having heard stories that applications for a Kennel Name can take many months and that applicants often need to submit 10 or more name options before one is accepted, it was with considerable surprise and delight that we received news that our 1st choice of Affix had been granted just 4 days after we applied!
So, Team Phoenix now becomes Team Belatarr…and as to why that name, well, Béla Tarr is one of our favourite film directors, his awesome Werckmeister Harmonies is certainly our favourite film, and, most importantly, like the Wirehaired Vizsla, he’s Hungarian. Phoenix came from Jane & David’s Tarndair kennel, and it also felt like we were paying homage to them with the echoed “Tar(r)”…all in all it always felt like the right name and we’re so very pleased that it was accepted.
Phoenix’ kennel name now becomes Tarndair Phoenix of Belatarr and her future little sisters, younglings and various scions will be little Belatarrs too.
So, to sum up… 🙂
Sister Act.
Just a few days shy of their 9 month birthday, Phoenix met up with Thirza, her litter sister, along with Thirza’s human companions Sue and Henry. This was the first time that the two pups had met since they were 7 1/2 weeks old, as Thirza and family were away when the litter reunion took place back in May. As might be expected from the getting together of two exuberant 9 month-old’s, the meeting was conducted with a calm, quiet and dignified formality….as the pictures below will hopefully illustrate.
Litter Reunion.
6/8th's of the Tarndair litter: Maize, Pogo, Noah, Sparky, Phoenix, Dolly.
With Pogo at the water trough.
Magnetic attraction to H2O.
Meeting brother Sparky.
Romping with sister Dolly.
...and Noah joins in the chase.
The (Half) Sisters.
Phoenix met up with her half-sister Henna (Ebeegeebees Razzie) together with her breeder and human companion Catherine today. Henna is almost a month to the day older than Phoenix but the two pups are more or less the same size and look incredibly similar to one another. After much bouncing ‘n’ boinging at one another on-lead – and much to their delight – we let them both off their leads where they proceeded to have a good old tear-around. One of the things that was really interesting to see is how the two “girls” completely tuned into one another and reacted to everything as one pup-unit, something that we’ve not observed Phoenix do with any other puppy. Somehow both pups knew that they were with another of their own kind….but can you spot which is which in the above pictures????
You Can’t Ignore the Snore.
Dolly.
We’ve been hearing from the kids! Phoenix’s brothers and sisters (three of whom sisters are pictured here) are scattered around the country, and thanks to the wonders of email and stuff, all the new parents have been able to compare notes.
What we’ve learnt:
1. HWV’s like to snore (or at least these ones do).
2. HWV’s like to snore LOUDLY.
3. But it’s cute snoring.
4. All of this crew are big – they’re all taking after their mum rather than their dad in terms of stature and frame. Leggy is the key word.
Maize.
5. They’re a very good looking bunch (although we would say that wouldn’t we?).
6. They all have really cool names.
7. Everybody really loves their puppies and it’s just one great big happy puppy family.
Pogo.
There’s going to be a puppy posse reunion on the 9th Maywhere there are due to be around 30 or more HWVs, including six of the eight puppies from the litter meeting up again for the first time since they were seven and a half weeks old. AND they’ll meet their sire, Mallard for the first time. Hankies at the ready!
Belatarr Hungarian Wirehaired Vizsla. 