Puppy Stars 2007

Summer 2007 was an exciting time in Blue Fairy household. We made a decision to breed Starr as soon as she came in season.

The first step was to find a suitable Sire. We chose Jack – CH Kalevala Jack the Lad, RN, CGC, VO, ROM.
Jack is in the Otterhound Club of America Registry of Merit (ROM) for being an outstanding Sire and producing 12 AKC Champions – 5 of them Blue Fairy kids Mamba, Leeloo, Skye Girl, Angel and CJ.

With all necessary health tests completed and Sire selected, we were ready for action. Artificial Insemination (AI) procedure took place in August and on October 9th, 2007 we welcomed our first Otterhound litter: five females (one brown and four black & tans) and one brown male.

Starr was amazing throughout the whelping process. Her maternal instincts kicked in as soon as the first puppy was born. The expression on her face was unmistakable: she was proud and happy. Nursing and cleaning the pups came natural. Every puppy was welcomed with as much excitement as the first one. It was a very special night for all of us and an unforgettable bonding experience.

Initially, we did not name the puppies. We simply did not want to get attached (easier said then done 😉 ).
After all, we knew we could not keep them all! So we decided to call them by numbers, in the order they were born.

Angel was the first born at 1lb 6oz. She was brown with a white stripe across her forehead. As a puppy, Angel was brave and curious. There was no question she was in charge. She quickly found her partner-in-crime and BFF Mamba. Together, they ruled the puppy pack during the day and cuddled at night.
Angel now lives in Wisconsin with her Human and Otterhound companions. We were lucky to see her at Otterhound Specialty dog shows in Des Moines in 2008 and Pittsburg in 2010. She grew up to be a beautiful and healthy female.

CJ was the only boy in our litter, born just one hour after his sister Angel. Brown with white markings on his head and chest. He was sweet and easy going. He played with all his sisters with equal enthusiasm. Just a great hound.
We must proudly confess that CJ is the only Otterhound on record with OFA Excellent hip score. He is also in the Otterhound Club of America Hall of Fame for his accomplishments as a tracking dog with his eyes (or rather nose 😉 ) set on Champion Tracker title. We’ll keep our fingers crossed!

Mamba was born an hour after her brother CJ. She came out breach = feet first and squeaking or rather announcing her arrival 😉 She was all black with tan chest and legs. From the very begining, Mamba was confident and determined to please us – humans. Her eye contact was hard to miss and we could always count on her coming when called, even at the very young age. We knew she was going to be special. When she decided to stay with us, we did not object.
For more of Mamba story please visit her page Mamba – The Manager and if you REALLY like puppies, don’t miss Puppy Chronicles 2010/2011 – it is a story of Mamba’s first litter. Enjoy!

Maggie came out next: beautiful black and tan female with a white dot on her chest. She was the only puppy with a nickname: “Dotka”. Dotka was independent and knew how to take care of herself. She would participate in the game for a while, but when things got too rough, Maggie knew how to defend herself and her toys and everyone knew she was serious about it. Even Angel and Mamba would choose to walk away than challenge Dotka! She was also the first puppy to ‘flex her golden pipes’ and sing the hound song. She had a strong guarding instinct from the very beginning. We are told that it is still her special talent 🙂

Skye arrived at 5am: another black and tan Princess with a big white star on her chest. Skye was full of energy from the very moment she was born. She was the first one up for a meal or play and the last one to fall asleep. Mike and puppy Skye enjoyed many late night TV shows together after everyone else was long asleep. She was also independent and curious – she was always interested in exploring the farthest corners of the yard and trying to find out what is on the ‘otter’ side. Just an action figure!

Leeloo, made us wait almost 3 hours for her appearance. She was born @ 8am and very hungry! After all, she was late to the party and had to catch up to her brother and sisters 😉 Although we never planned to keep 2 puppies from Starr’s litter, somehow, we never showed her to the potential puppy owners. Leeloo’s mellow temperament and playfulness made her a perfect complement to our pack and a counterbalance to her energetic sister Mamba.
To learn more about Leeloo, please visit her page Leeloo – The Toy Master

The first week was filled with nursing, sleeping and lots of puppy noises. I never thought that these small creatures could make so many sounds: squeaking, sucking, snoring even growling at each other over the best nursing spot. It never got boring to watch them crawl around, roll over each other and fall asleep while eating. Starr was an excellent Mother. We were concerned at the beginning that she may squash a puppy, but she let us know very quickly as soon as anyone was in a place they were not supposed to be and it was our job to put them back in her sight. After all, we were her worthy Assistants!

Lots of changes! Although nursing and sleeping were still puppies’ favorite entertainment, it was clear that their curiosity was growing with every day and the mission was to get out of the box. The question was who was going to break free first! We had to raise the borders of the whelping box to make sure no-one gets out unsupervised 😉 At the end of the second week, the eyes started to open: beautiful blue-black slivers. We knew that things were about to get more exciting: with a strong urge to explore and eyes open the pups were ready for action!

Week three was all about walking and playing. It became more challenging to keep the puppies contained. Starr started to spend more time outside of the box watching her kids with love and fascination. We would all sit in the middle of our living room just watching them tumbling around. Puppies’ personalities started to show and best buddies emerged. Angel and Mamba somehow found each other most of the time – playing and cuddling up to sleep. The other four were happy in their puppy pile. Noise level seemed to go up just a touch 🙂

Lots of growing up! This week puppies gained more control over their bodies and the movement. The first attempts of running took place, starting with hopping then rolling over to stop or slow down. Toys became a new entertainment and a subject of puppy quarrels. Did I mention they could growl..? Starr seemed to enjoy spending time with puppies in more of a management role. She moved out of the whelping box but would visit them to nurse and play. When she was done, she would simply jump up on the couch to supervise.

Weaning time! The puppies got their first ‘real’ meal. It was mixture of ground dry dog food, puppy formula and water and they LOVED it. Furthermore, they ate like pros – straight from the bowls and no mess. Unbelievable but true 😉 They still enjoyed their Mom’s milk for a desert, but it was clear that the new food was a big hit. Playing, hopping around and wrestling with each other continued to be the favorite daily activity. We also introduced toys to make things more exciting. The game now was ‘who’s toy is it anyway’. We never got bored watching them!

The Great Outdoors! Lots of it 🙂 From the very first day, the puppies were eager to explore the world. Getting out of the whelping box was just the beginning. We started introducing puppies to our yard at the end of week 4, gradually increasing their play time outside. We were very fortunate to have warm and dry November weather in Southern California and puppies enjoyed every minute of it. We also took another big step and moved the puppies from our bedroom to their own play room. It became pretty obvious that they were growing up fast and needed more room to roam!

All about play time! At 7 weeks old, the puppies were full of energy and playing most of the time. Our biggest challenge was not to lose them in the yard. All of us, including Starr were busy keeping track of the puppies and their favorite hiding places. Noises graduated to barking, running became second nature, and finding new things to chew was a new daily adventure. The transformation from defenseless tiny creatures into the little dogs was almost complete. It was hard to believe the time to say good-bye was around the corner.

Week 8 was a lot of fun – daily mayhem in the yard continued: running, wrestling, growling, barking, digging and oh.. more running – part of growing up and getting ready to leave the nest. CJ was the first puppy to go to his new home and it was heartbreaking! After all, he was my only boy 🙁 The good news is that he was placed locally and we are very fortunate to be able to see him become a handsome boy. Angel followed shortly after her brother. She had to undertake a flight to her new home in Wisconsin. It was nerve-wracking to put her on the plane, but the trip was uneventful and she happily arrived at her destination. She was welcomed by her human and Otterhound pack – we got pictures to prove it! Skye and Maggie are Southern California residents and we enjoy visiting them as much as we can. They changed a lot from their time at our house and we are lucky to be able to see them grow and thrive in their new homes.
No better feeling in the world!
In 2009 Starr, Mamba and Leeloo got together with Maggie, Skye and thier owners for a Blue Fairy Family Reunion. What a great looking pack of hounds 🙂