Posts tagged ‘Puppies’
Belatarr Mahalia Jackson steps out.
Billie (Belatarr Mahalia Jackson) has had a superb run at Champ Shows all year, most recently taking 1st Post Graduate Bitch at Midland Counties under breed expert Sheila Grey, but she has been a little overshadowed going head-to-head against her brothers Django & Gryphon at recent Open Shows.
Billie certainly turned the tables today at the Exonian Canine Association show, though. She started by taking 1st in another big HWV Open class, with Django 2nd, and then went Best of Breed with Django Reserve BOB under judge Penny Gowland. Some hours later the 17-strong Gundog Group took to the ring and Billie did us all proud by taking an excellent Gundog Group 2 – congratulations to Billie & Irene on another really super result for the Mk 1 Belatarr babies!
Billie at Midland Counties.
Wonderful win for Gryphon!
The gorgeous Belatarr Dizzy Gillespie (Gryphon) scored a stunning win yesterday at the Minehead & District Open show. He started by collecting 1st Graduate HWV, and then beat his sister Belatarr Mahalia Jackson (who was 1st in Open HWV) to take Best of Breed.
Then, after a few more hours of waiting, he won the Gundog Group too, a rare and very special achievement for any HWV, and only the third such win for a Belatarr boy, following similar Group 1 wins for dad Mingus and brother Charlie Parker, but Gryphon wasn’t finished there and shortly afterwards also took Reserve Best in Show! A fabulous achievement for Gryphon & Irene and one that instantly rewards them with 12 of the necessary 25 points towards a Show Certificate of Merit.
The judge’s super critique was:
“2 years dog. Typical, well balanced head. Correct skull, muzzle, nose, eye & ear. Strong jaws. Good head carriage, neck & forehand construction. Well boned limbs & feet. Excellent body & ribs. Powerful loin & couplings. Muscular, well made hindquarters. Correct skin, coat & furnishings. Sound free mover. Very typical all through combining quality with breed essence”
J Gill Davis
Needless to say we’re immensely proud of both Gryphon and Irene!
The Minehead rosette haul.
Lyra at 12 weeks.
Lyra glowing in some rare sun and suddenly looking terribly grown-up too, but still very tiny beside her parents and big brother.
Introducing Lyra!
The Belatarr pack expands once again as we officially welcome Belatarr Lyra to the household.
Belatarr Lyra.
The pick of Phoenix & Mingus’ recent litter Lyra (formerly Miss Lime, for our puppy watchers!) is an absolutely gorgeous girl with her fathers deep red wire coat and a completely unflappable confidence in everything that she does.
Lyra was named after the heroine of Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy and also, in line with all of her litter-mates, after the Lyra constellation.
Riding in the sling, just like her parents and big brother before her…
…and wiggling to get down to hurtle around in the grass, just like her parents and big brother did before her…
The famous “butter-wouldn’t melt” expression.
Looking eager, as usual!
Lyra almost does her first point.
The determined explorer.
Trying cow parsley for size.
Lyra at nearly 7 weeks.
and at 6 weeks.
So Lyra carries the hopes and plans for Belatarr into the future and it’s a future that we are now extremely excited about!
Saying ‘hello’ back at 5 weeks old.
Puppy Portraits: Week 7
The final week that the babies will all be together – where did all that time go!? Most of the pups will be heading off to their new lives at the end of the week, so, now that everyone has been allocated, we can finally reveal their Kennel names & destinations.
Our previous Jazz litter were named after their father, Mingus’, so for this litter we wanted to continue Phoenix’ name theme. As a result all the pups have all been named after constellations, following on from the Phoenix Constallation.
THE BOYS
Belatarr Sculptor (Kofi)
Kofi, Mr Black, will be heading off to join Vivien, Lox & senior GWP Freddie in Berkshire. Always a very strikingly handsome boy right from birth, Kofi will be gundog trained and, along with some of his brothers and sisters, will also be heading to the show ring next year – can’t wait!
Belatarr Cepheus (Rusty)
Rusty, Mr Blue, was the first boy to leave the nest & this very sweet boy joins a thoroughly smitten Ian & Anita in Chichester where many cuddles and adventures undoubtedly await them all.
Belatarr Perseus (Percy)
Percy, Mr Bronze, is another very striking boy, picked out by many visitors and blog-watchers, particularly for his intensely dark red coat. He joins a very excited Copper the HWV along with Jan & family in Chichester and we hope to see him out in the ring next year too!
Belatarr Hercules (Herc)
Herc, Mr Green’s, specialty is soaking up as many cuddles as he can secure. His melting expression and super-huge ears mean that cuddles tend to come thick and fast! He joins big brother Belatarr Charlie Parker, along with David, Jenny & Oz the Lab in Northants and will also be joining Charlie in the showring from next year – very exciting!
Belatarr Indus (Fergus)
Fergus (Mr Red) is a big boy with a big heart and from a very young age looked like the spitting image of Finley, Belatarr Art Tatum, so it only seemed fitting that he now joins big brother Finley along with Carole, Chelsea & Emma. They are just 3 miles away from us here at Belatarr HQ, so we will be delighted to be able to watch this handsome chap growing up at close hand.
THE GIRLS
Belatarr Andromeda (Ava)
Ava, Miss Fawn, was pretty much always destined for the show ring, and now joins Liz, Barry, Scooby the HWV and Dodd the Leonberger in Telford where this elegant young lady will live right beside sister Halle. We can’t wait to see these two sisters growing up.
Belatarr Musca (Gertie)
Gertie, Miss Orange, heads even further West to Cornwall where she instantly became the centre of all attention for Sarah, Paul & a very excited young Jack. We hope that this confident, outgoing and beautiful girl will fulfill all of their long-held HWV dreams.
Belatarr Libra (Twiglet)
Twiglet, Miss Pink, is definitely the sweetest and most polite of the litter, and this pretty and gentle girl seemed like the perfect pup for Kathy, Paul & a thoroughly besotted young Millie in Surrey.
Belatarr Cassiopeia (Halle)
Halle, Miss Purple, very nearly stayed here with us, but was finally destined to live with Tom, Gail and their two Border Collies where she will undoubtedly share many adventures with her sister, Ava, who lives just a few houses away in Telford. Tom & Gail are very keen to learn to show and we are sure that Halle will make the most wonderful and rewarding girl for them to learn with.
Belatarr Noctua (Kaia)
Kaia, Miss White, is quite the adventurer and was the perfect match for experienced HWV owners Tim, Laura & family on the Kent/Sussex border where she will have a lovely outdoor life and may also be trained to track when she’s a little older.
Belatarr Corona (Cooroo)
Cooroo, Miss Yellow, is the only one of the pups who will be flying to their new home. A true adventure awaits her in a few days when she jets off to join Will, Jess & young Arlo for a life of endless beaches and woodlands on St Mary’s in the Isles of Scilly.
Belatarr Andromeda
Proud Dad.
Puppy Portraits: Week 6
The Boys
Mr Black.
Mr Blue
Mr Bronze.
Mr Green.
Mr Red.
The Girls
Miss Fawn.
Miss Lime.
Miss Orange.
Miss Pink
Miss Purple
Miss White.
Miss Yellow.
Puppy Portraits: Week 5 (a bumper crop!)
THE BOYS
Mr Black 1.
Mr Black 2.
Mr Black 3.
Mr Blue 1.
Mr Blue 2.
Mr Blue 3.
Mr Bronze 1.
Mr Bronze 2.
Mr Bronze 3.
Mr Green 1.
Mr Green 2.
Mr Green 3.
Mr Red 1.
Mr Red 2.
Mr Red 3.
THE GIRLS
Miss Fawn 1.
Miss Fawn 2.
Miss Fawn 3.
Miss Lime 1.
Miss Lime 2.
Miss Lime 3.
Miss Orange 1.
Miss Orange 2.
Miss Orange 3.
Miss Pink 1.
Miss Pink 2.
Miss Pink 3.
Miss Purple 1.
Miss Purple 2.
Miss Purple 3.
Miss White 1.
Miss White 2.
Miss White 3.
Miss Yellow 1.
Miss Yellow 2.
Miss Yellow 3.
Puppy Portraits: Week 4
The Boys
Mr Black.
Mr Blue.
Mr Bronze.
Mr Green.
Mr Red.
The Girls
Miss Fawn.
Miss Lime.
Miss Orange.
Miss Pink.
Miss Purple.
Miss White.
Miss Yellow.
A month old already and huge changes in the pups this week. Nearly fully weaned they’ve learned how to polish off pretty much every morsel of their raw food diet and now manage to eat in a very orderly fashion:
Team 2 tuck in.
They also started to come out of the whelping box into their indoor run about a week ago, and now merrily hurtle up and down squeaking and yipping as they go. They have also taken to their cozy mini-dens (aka cat carriers) with the same enthusiasm as did their older brothers and sisters and can regularly be found in randomly piled arrangements within in or more often spilling out of the dens:
Meanwhile… an unusual new puppy joins the litter.
Puppy Portraits: week 2.
The Boys
Mr Black.
Mr Blue.
Mr Bronze.
Mr Green.
Mr Red.
The Girls
Miss Fawn.
Miss Lime.
Miss Orange.
Miss Pink.
Miss Purple.
Miss White.
Miss Yellow.
Pup Report
This was a big week for the baby Beltarr’s. Their eyes started to open, with Mr Green taking an early lead by opening his eyes at day 10, which is very early indeed! The rest mainly waited until day 13 or 14 and a few are still only just on the verge even now. Mostly they keep eyes closed though, and can be seen in their pics, and vision is extremely limited/blurry for now in any case.
Coupled with their senses gradually coming on line they started to wobbly-walk around day 11 and 12 and are getting more proficient each day, although mostly walks still consist of a few wobbly quick steps and then a turn-turtle.
Weight increases briefly slowed at around day 9 so we started to supplement with bottle feeding. Within 24 hrs they had also got the hang of it (rather surprisingly, since the action required is totally different from that used when feeding from mum) and they are all now piling the weight on once again, most passing 1kg on day 14.
Finally their 2-week old claws have already turned into razor sharp needles, so claw-cutting began in earnest on day 14 – here’s a very compliant and super cute Miss Purple getting her tallons seen to:
Puppies have arrived!
Tuesday saw the arrival of our excitedly anticipated new generation of Belatarr babies as, right on schedule, Phoenix and Mingus’ second dozen were born.
The whole gang together
Miss Orange was the first to arrive, at a very respectable 10:53AM, with 10 of her brothers and sisters duly following in quick succession and puppy number 11, Miss Lime, making her appearance at 15:15 that afternoon.
Miss Lime & Miss Orange.
All of the births had been very quick and very easy, with just one or two contractions and then a new arrival. So far so good. However, after puppy number 11 things ground to a halt, although it was very evident that at least one more pup was still waiting to arrive. After a few hours of waiting and no signs of any further action we all decamped to the vets (11 puppies included) where two shots of oxytocin, a 15 min IV drip of liquid calcium, a vigorous walk up and down the road and 5 hours later puppy number 12, Miss Fawn, finally decided to put in an apperance, arriving (in the car boot) fashionably late to the party, but (despite our fears over the worryingly long wait) very fit, healthy and at a good weight.
Mr Red takes centre stage.
Now, some 48 hrs later, all 12 babies – 7 girls and 5 boys – are feeding very well and all are gaining weight at almost identical rates.
Random puppy pile-up.
As with Phoenix’ first litter there are no tiddlers or weaklings amongst the bunch and all twelve are vigorous indeed! With mum having only 6 functional feeding stations we have, as before, divided the pups into two teams and feed them one team at a time, every two hours, night and day to ensure that everyone gets their share.
Team 1 take their turn.
Whilst team 2 wait to be called into action.
Phoenix herself has been a wonderfully attentive mother, as ever, but today she surprised us by deciding that she wanted to go out with the boys for a swim in the river and a quick hurtle around the land before thinking that she really should zip back up the hill to return to her offspring.
Mum forms a comfy resting spot for Miss Yellow.
That’s the story so far.. .more pics follow below and watch this space for ongoing puppy antics and the ever-popular weekly puppy portraits too!
Mr Black and Mr Green.
Mr Blue hangs out his teeny-tiny ears.
Miss Purple.
Mr Bronze, who is so dark that his collar often looks as though it’s disappeared…
Mr Black, on the other hand, is the palest of the pups.
…and a good contortionist too!
Miss Yellow.
A snoozy heap.
…and another.
Everyone together once again.
Belatarr Hungarian Wirehaired Vizsla. 