Posts tagged ‘arrival’
So that’s where the last month has gone…
Shockingly it’s been over a month since our last update…slapped wrists all round…we blame pressure of work and puppy juggling… so we’ll now attempt a potted history of the last month-in-the-lives-of Mingus & Phoenix.
Twin engine.
Firstly, like Phoenix before him, Mingus has been busy at his Puppy Guru’s training classes, the third of which is coming up in a few days. His initial foray into the class was undertaken with some trepidation (but then he was only 11 weeks old at the time and hadn’t yet started getting out and about to meet and greet) but since then he’s really got into the swing of things and is incredibly quick to learn and easy to train. We’ve mastered come, watch, sit, up, down, (plus the infamous sit-up-down sandwich) heel and wait. This week should be “stay”.
Mingus at large.
Meantime Tim took our little lad along to his first ringcraft class last week, mainly to introduce him to the cut-and-thrust of the training environment. Luckily he loved the whole experience and, of course, received LOTS of attention from humans and canines alike as well as some extremely favourable comments from several of the Champ show gundog judges who were present. He also did several pretty presentable laps of the hall in fine style,so, all in all, a very pleasing start.
Having an explore on the Common.
Back at base Tim is slowly attempting to shape Mingus’ stacking technique using the same positive training methods that (eventually!) worked for Phoenix. This time round at least one of the two parties knows roughly what they’re doing, so hopefully by the time he’s 6 months Mingus should have a pretty decent stack to show the world.
Watching the action at the Wadebridge show.
We all went to visit a dog show at Wadebridge in Cornwall last weekend in order to give Mingus more full-on socialization opportunities. Despite the cavernous venue and the many, many dogs of all shapes and sizes, he took it all firmly in his stride and trotted round with great enthusiasm and curiosity – again, receiving much attention and many oohs, aahs and coos along the way.
Ready to roll at Rough Tor.
Soggy-bearded Phoenix en route to the top of Rough Tor.
At only 12 weeks old Mingus is limited to walks of 10 to 15 minutes at the moment (so as to protect his developing joints) so he still gets to be carried once his allotted walk time is up…we did manage a quick trip to the beautiful moorland of Rough Tor on the way back from Wadebridge though, and this allowed Mingus the opportunity to splash around in the shallow river and see some horses close up. Phoenix and Tim then went for a great romp up to the top of the tor itself whilst Mingus and Adam want for a snooze in the sun back at the car….
It's all go on the dog-sofa.
Phoenix & Mingus are still very much besotted with one another, but (again, with joints and hip-scores in our minds) we’re now very wary of allowing them to play together for more than a few minutes. We currently running an alternating-dog schedule of play, walks, training and confinement which, although very time consuming, seems to be working fairly well, but can’t wait for the time that they can both hit the moors and beaches together.
Throwing a semi-point on Torrington Common.
Mingus’ big-boy cage arrived last week, so he’s now upgraded to a full-on adult-sized den, which he clearly loves, and voluntarily hops into when he wants some quiet time. He’s been completely toilet trained for a few weeks now, but still wakes up a couple of times each night, so the 3AM toilet run has yet to fade into memory (unfortunately…) That’s pretty much the only area that needs work though, in all other respects he’s a total delight to live with, incredibly affectionate and responsive and such a cutie!!
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.
The Phoenix Has Landed!
Favourite New Toy.
Day 1: Bleary Eyed.
Day 1: Seven and a half hour journey from North Norfolk to North Devon. It went howl, snooze, pee, play, eat, poop, sleep, pee, play, fidget, squirm, howl, arrive! Most importantly, nobody was sick. On touchdown in the kitchen, she arrived like it was her long lost home. She immediately dived into her crate (the one we had been worrying about for weeks about how we were going to entice her into it – involving complex uses of peanut butter, biscuits and stuffed kongs).
Somebody was very excited with her box of new toys and managed to eat a meal before pegging out for the night….
Belatarr HWV’s – An Introduction.
Morehay Lars of Belatarr ShCM Belatarr Django Reinhardt ShCM Tarndair Phoenix of Belatarr
Top HWV Stud Dog 2014, 2016, 2018 Top HWVC Puppy 2012 Top HWV Brood Bitch 2014, 2016, 2018
BELATARR IS THE UK’s TOP HWV SHOW KENNEL FOR 2014, 2016 & 2018 (OUR DOGS)
Welcome to the Belatarr Blog – a record of our Hungarian Wirehaired Vizslas, from our foundation dogs, Phoenix & Mingus through the subsequent generations of 71 Belatarr puppies, including our own Django, Lyra, Aja, Cuba and Alfi.
Details of each of our own four dogs can be found at the Meet The Dogs link at the top of the page, whilst the exploits and adventures of all of the extended Belatarr clan can be found on the blog posts below.
Belatarr Hungarian Wirehaired Vizsla. 