Saturday, July 29, 2006

Profiles of all 10


Here is a photo of our daughter's latest brainstorm, sold to us as an example of "socializing" - camping out in the kitchen with the puppies.

Below are some of our observations of each puppy. We have been getting observations from others throughout the puppy period and will add to the profiles during the week leading up to August 18th.

Monday, July 24, 2006

Green






Green, the boldest explorer, very alert, pays attention to everything, confident stride, calm when nails are groomed, long nose, coat is more wavy, he has a more poodle-like face with a relatively "slim" build (see comment on Blue below), but still looking muscular. He is pack oriented, likes play fighting. (In some photos the bright green ribbon looks yellow, but it really is green). Update: Green is now Zeus and he lives in Pennsylvania.

Sunday, July 23, 2006

Black






Black is more independent, quiet, has a mid-sized, more muscular build. His coat is slightly wavy, his nose and set of his eyes are both more poodle-like. He has a upright and powerful Rottie-like stride.

Update: September 3rd. Black went home today, and Rosemary gave him a much needed bath in honor of the occasion (our vet said it's OK, they can regulate their body temperature now). Drying him, she noticed a tighter kink in hairs on his coat, not a Poodle coat, but very much a needs-clipping coat. We will have photos of him as he grows and we predict he will be clipped at least some in those pictures as he matures. Many of his littermates should be similar, especially White, Purple, Multi, Blue, and Green, and maybe even Orange and Pink. Red and Yellow will be interesting to watch, as they have relatively shorter coats, but still wavy.

Black's name is King Louie and he lives in the metro Denver area. The top photo above, is him at four months of age.

Orange






Orange is compact but strong, like a “pint sized rottie”, he would be the “runt” but for his powerful build, (he has the smallest body in height, but is quite wide, and has the shortest muzzle of all). He has a middle-of-the-road disposition, is calm during nail grooming, and his hair is more straight. He is the most unique dog of the group, and except for his dimensions, he is the most Rottweiler-like of all. We, of course, won't name puppies that will be living elsewhere - but we have nicknamed him - "Mighty Mouse". (For a look at his "other end" see the post below titled: "trying hard to do it right").

Update: After the Puppy Aptitude Test, we discovered that Orange is among the "hardest" in temperament. He got all 3's except one 4 (elevation dominance) , and two 2's (sight sensitivity and stability). He will be a great dog for someone who has some dog training experience and who is willing to devote the time (even 15 minutes every day). The ideal new owner will be able to develop one of those dogs everyone admires when they see him - radiating confidence and loyalty.

I cannot believe we still have him available, but if you are interested in him, please be aware that we want to be sure potential owners are prepared to train him. If he is not trained he will be a handful with his drive and intelligence. We do not want him to end up as an unruly young adult and at the animal shelter when he is nine months old. He will be a great guard dog and excellent family member as well, if you help him develop to his considerable potential.

Orange lives in Denver and his name is Finn. His tongue is always hanging out when I've photographed him because he's running around so much. With his plush coat, his tongue is his primary "cooling system".

Saturday, July 22, 2006

Pink



Pink, wins play fights but not overly aggressive, huge and powerful, but agile, male (the largest one of all), very confident, has a rottie body with a “hybrid face”(medium nose, more of a "poodle-set" to the eyes), has more of a straight coat, loves to explore, very friendly and human oriented, wags his tail the most, loves to nuzzle and kiss.

White





White, likes to cuddle, middle-of-the-road disposition, medium to large sized, not among the tallest, but still 2nd heaviest on July 25, by a growing margin. More square, Rottweiler-like face, hair is starting to get wavy, eyes are dark, not bluish as in photo. He is very calm, as puppies go he can be described as "relaxed", it is easy to trim his nails.

Update: White has always been the quiet one, he is the calmest of all. His hair is now certainly the longest and bushiest of all, he will need trimming or will be the "shaggy dog". He is easily trained with treats, and should be very good (with your continued socialization) with children, older people, or in a crowd. Although heavy, he still bounds around like a puppy, and should have some of that bulky-agility of Rottweilers.

(Note: regarding eyes, these puppies all have eyes that are now quite dark in real life, but the camera still lights them up blue - I guess it is flash caused "blue eye"? - like human "red eye"?)

White now lives in North Carolina, where his family has named him Harkes after the Hall of Fame soccer player, John Harkes.

Multi



Multi is very vocal – he barks, squeals, and growls, very affectionate, even tempered, very playful (one of the most playful), head and build more rottie-shaped, hair is wavier, he is confident and a very happy tail wagger. He is now firmly established, along with Pink and White as one of the "big boys"; in fact he is only two ounces under "big Pink" and only one ounce under White as of August 9th, and could easily become the largest at any moment.

Purple


Purple is stable and calm, hair is wavier (we once said his seemed straighter, but not so). He has a "hybrid face", more narrow set eyes, nose has some length, somewhat blocky head. He seems like he has a mid-pack disposition. He is highly curious and playful.

Update: Purple is cautious in new situations and likes routine. He has a spot he likes to sleep in every night in our kitchen. He is underfoot when we are outside, which can indicate that he is very accepting of human leadership. His coat is very soft and silky. Where White has the "big hair" coat, Purple has the hair you can't stop running your fingers through. Purple is very loving, bouncy and ready for fun, and eager to please.

Thursday, July 20, 2006

Yellow




Quiet, very easy going, confident, really likes to eat, likes to snuggle, built strong, more rottie in face, not dominant or submissive - likes to play fight and not a pushover, but quick to "forgive and forget" win or lose, very human oriented, one of the sweetest dispositions, largest female.

Monday, July 17, 2006

Trying hard to do it right


We feel good that we are doing so much for the future of these puppies. We are taking every step to make sure they are as happy as possible. We cuddle with them, we let them meet new people and dogs. They live in our kitchen, but they have been in the yard, all over our living room, on various surfaces: tile, concrete, leather, plastic, wood, today in 1/2" of water in a baby pool for a few seconds. (Update: they have been in the pool and the car a number of times). They hear the microwave, TV, vacuum, telephone, talking, doorbell, silverware going in drawers, etc. etc.

They have chew toys, rolling toys, noise making toys, always something new. They roam the house play fighting, exploring, learning to potty on the newspapers (close also counts, we know they are trying!) We weigh them every three days, all are gaining well, they have started weaning with Innova puppy food, soaked in water overnight, warmed on the counter, mashed, mixed with evaporated milk until soupy, although most of their nourishment still comes from nursing as of July 19th (Update: more from food, less from nursing on July 28th).

Volhard Puppy Aptitude Test given the weekend of August 12th.

Our greatest hope is that these puppies all get to live in homes where genetic health and early development and socialization are the most important things, something truly appreciated by their future owners; owners who will continue their socialization and training so they can reach their fullest potential as happy members of their new homes.

Blue






Blue is mild-mannered and fun loving. She is more poodle-like in the face and has a silky, wavy coat and a more narrow build. She is agile, quick on her feet, likes to explore (second only to Green in exploring) and she likes to be held.

Update: At this age pack status changes back and forth, but Blue does try to be the dominant female in the pack. She is very loving and quick to come when called. She has lots of energy and is extremely alert. It is almost like she is the older sister to the pack, ready to issue orders.

Sunday, July 16, 2006

Red























Red has a body and stride like Black. She is independent, quiet yet active (a champion at ripping up newspaper). She is the mid-sized female, closer to larger than smaller, her coat is straighter, harsher and shorter, her head more square.

She is healthy and energetic, bidable and friendly, and she is quite sturdy. Our vet saw the puppies and in his opinion, based on current size for their age - they will all be quite large - maybe larger than we have been guessing (around 75-85 pounds?)
Update, late October 2006: Reading this over I am now saying we guessed better than our vet and most weights will be 65-75 pounds instead of the ten pounds heavier he predicted. I won't edit this info and we will check back around Labor Day 2007, when they are pretty much fully mature, to see who was right.

Red is now mostly known as Scarlett at our house, although we have a few pet nicknames for her :) Her body may be like Black (King Louie) like I mentioned above, but her hair sure is not. His coat is plush and full and her's is thinner and wild. That wild look suits our household well, however.

Thursday, July 13, 2006

Rottweiler, Standard Poodle hybrid

Quality crossbreeding for the future:

Rottweiler, Standard Poodle crossbreeding: hybrid vigor; genetic testing, OFA, DNA; full AKC pedigree and all genetic registry numbers on request for both sire and dam.

Ongoing socialization, living in center of our home with increasing exposure at appropriate age to: children, visitors, household noises, other animals, new surfaces and environments, car trips. Also Bio Sensor (“super dog”) early neurological stimulation. This is our first litter, we are not a puppy mill with pups living in isolation from humans. It will make a difference in your puppy's future!

They will have a high quality diet (Innova), just like mom. Temperament testing will be done at 49 days, with results posted (around August 12, 2006) . By then housebreaking will have begun, with 1st shots. Dewclaws were removed and tails docked on June 27th. Flight certificate and airline certified crate will be provided, if necessary. Puppies will be ready to go home from mid-to-late August.

With continued socialization and good nutrition in your home, and with the head start we have given him, one of our puppies will be a valuable and fun member of your family; calm, courageous, intelligent, quickly trained, powerful, agile, sensibly protective, more hypo-allergenic than Rottweilers, and with far fewer genetic concerns than most purebred dogs. You can contact us at: sclaeson@yahoo

2 1/2 weeks



















Nearing three weeks of age, all puppies have their eyes open and are walking around like they have been doing it for several days!

Actually, it is amazing how fast they are learning to walk; in just these few days they have gone from wobbling, to becoming confident on their feet. We are just now seeing personality differences appear. We will post more on what we are observing in upcoming days.

Tucker, the dad

Tucker has OFA good hips and weighs a powerful 110 pounds. He comes from lines of titled, European Rottweilers. Four years old, he lives in Commerce City, Colorado. He is playful and easygoing in the home, yet he is aloof with strangers and a formidable foe to anyone not welcomed by his master.

His background is filled with V-rated conformation and Schutzhund champions; also including Sieger winners. Tucker's OFA registration number and AKC pedigree are available for you to research- just contact me at sclaeson@yahoo.com.

Wednesday, July 12, 2006

Why Rottweiler and Standard Poodle?


(Above: Tucker, the sire, in his back yard).

A few minutes ago I was at Yahoo's dog site and I filled out Purina's dog finder. My top purebreed was a Malinois (too active for me in real life) but the finder said that although it was not hypoallergenic, it was high in learning rate and a great guard dog. The finder also listed Giant Schnauzers and Kerry Blue Terriers (two breeds I love) but indicated that, while they have good guarding temperaments, they are not easily obedient. The Standard Poodle was obedient, smart and hypoallergenic, but not really a guard dog.

You can guess, I have thought about this a lot, and I really did not need the "dog finder" to realize that my ideals in a dog are that it is highly obedient, easily trainable, guarding and hypoallergenic. I thought about crossbreeding the Standard Poodle with a German Shepherd, but I decided on the Rottweiler instead, with its powerful build and Schutzhund background. A well bred GSD would not have been a bad choice, I just think the Rottie is one step better, and we can already see the "beefy" build in some (actually most) of this litter.

The Rottie, the Poodle and the GSD are all in the top 10 in "dog breed intelligence" (see the link to check out 79 breeds, from wimpy little dumb dogs like the Shih Tzu, to the brainiacs of the dog world, like our dogs.) It just seems to me, why have a hard-to-train dog when you can have an easy-to-train dog? The worst ranking breeds were rated like this: Understanding of New Commands: 80 to 100 repetitions or more.

Meanwhile the Rottie, Poodle and eight others were rated like this:Understanding of New Commands: Less than 5 repetitions. Now, these tests were performed by experienced trainers and your "results may vary", but the difference in learning ability (and willingness to comply) among breeds is truly vast.

Tuesday, July 11, 2006

36 hours

Here is one of the puppies – at the time of photo he was about 36 hours old. All puppies are black and have a very fine coat. We will have to see in a few weeks how their coats turn out. Some pups seem to be more stocky and some more lean, beyond the normal feeding variations, maybe showing signs of being more Rottie like and more Poodle like. In fact, everyone is gaining weight except mom, who is working very hard at producing milk and has already eaten six nutrition packed - but modest sized - meals today (Innova puppy food mixed with my homemade blend of salmon, chicken, rice, eggs and traces of some veggies). I have provided a link to Natura pet foods, the makers of Innova, so you can see what we feed our dogs.