[bchevs]

I figured since I never did an official intro on here I would introduce both of my pups!

Whiskey is a 6yr old collie/shepherd mix. He had a spinal clot last year so he does not have full function in one back leg but he doesn't let it slow him down any! He lives to play fetch and LOVES to play searching games and always has to "talk about it" when he's training / playing lol. He's the sweetest, gentlest boy who loves to give snuggles and kisses. He's been amazing with Nova, he plays very carefully with her and is much more tolerant than I expected.

Nova is our new addition!! She's almost 10 weeks old from Fraserglen Kennels (Nog x Jadzea). She's got eyes that stare straight into your soul and I swear I can see the gears turning in her head when she watches us lol. So far she has been fitting in great! She's caught on to potty training amazingly fast - she's had one accident so far and it was my fault, I missed her cue. She's learned sit, down, come and stay and we will start proofing/lengthening these commands soon. I'm working on rewarding eye contact with me and general engagement with me since the world is much more interesting than I am right now lol. She works well for treats right now but it looks like it'll be easy to get her working for toys.

She has met some friends/family and some of the dogs I know and trust with a pup and has done great, she's very brave! Anything that scares her she will observe intently before moving on. She heard the air brakes release on a semi truck and startled, then tilted her head and gave it a good long look before going back to playing. She takes corrections well from Whiskey and redirects well with me and she's learning not to chase kitties. So far I'm extremely happy with her, I can see so much potential in her and can't wait to see how she grows up! I'm really glad I found this forum to see all of the first-hand experiences that helped me to choose this breeder so thank you to everyone who has shared their experiences and expertise, I'm sure I'll have lots of puppy training questions in the future and very much appreciate having knowledgeable people to ask!

 

[bchevs]

And the pictures of course:

 

[WNGD]

What a cutie. A lot of red in that pup's hair?

 

[Nigel]

Congratulations! Both pup and Whiskey look great!

 

[Catrinka]

Whiskey and Nova look like they're well on the way to becoming besties. I love the expression on Nova's face in the third pic where she's in the grass.

 

[bchevs]

What a cutie. A lot of red in that pup's hair?

Yes actually! She definitely has a brownish/reddish tinge to her fur, you can really see it in the sunshine. She's also got a few white hairs on her chest.

Whiskey and Nova look like they're well on the way to becoming besties. I love the expression on Nova's face in the third pic where she's in the grass.

That is her thinking face 😂 She usually makes that face when she's trying to figure out what she needs to do to get whatever it is I have hahaha. And every day they are having more and more fun together, I'm really glad that Whisk seems happy to have another dog around, wasn't sure what he would think of having a pup in the house lol.

 

[bchevs]

Trip to the beach to watch the world go by. She must have remembered meeting my boyfriend's nephews because she got really excited when a little boy walked by. Bikes and dogs were fascinating as well lol.

 

[bchevs]

Nova is 16 weeks old today and going for her last set of shots, I'm excited to be able to take her out with me more; we have a lot of puppies in my area as well as lepto and distemper so I've been pretty cautious with her. She's becoming more focused on me and more affectionate and I'm having fun working on her toy drive. She's got quite the nose too, she really enjoys her snuffle mat. She's pretty biddable but also has a mind of her own, I've been making sure I'm rewarding consistently when she listens right away and if she tries to walk away from me I keep her with me until she does what I've asked, then we party and then she gets to go play. She's ignoring me less so it seems to be working.

I think she may be entering a bit of a fear period because things that never bothered her before she's starting to take note of and is a little unsure/huffy about it, but she recovers well and we're just going to keep socializing without overwhelming her. She caught her toe on her crate going in it one day and was afraid to go in for awhile but we've been working on it and she's now running in her crate excitedly when I ask her too. She doesn't like when other dogs bark so we're planning on going and sitting near one of the dog parks with a treat to chew on so she can get used to noise as well as ignoring other dogs playing. I'm also a crazy dog owner sitting here with dog barking sounds playing quietly on my phone while I work LOL, turns out there's lots of "desensitization" channels on youtube, I'm thinking we will try fireworks for Whiskey next!

All in all I think she's doing great. We adore her little excited wiggly bum and her giant dramatic puppy footsteps stomping around when she's excited. She's very very social so far as well so we're taking advantage of this and making sure she gets to know everyone who I think needs to be part of her "pack" before she matures. Whiskey is also so happy to have her around, they play constantly.

 

[cagal]

Those are some darn cute pictures!

 

[Galathiel]

Both dogs are lookers, for sure!

 

[bchevs]

Thank you!! One of the girls working at the pet store called Nova's ears her party hat the other day and now I can't unsee it 😂

 

[Davycc]

Happy guys, great pics.

 

[Squidwardp]

Nice pups! Love the ears on the young black pup! Party hat, indeed.
Older boy looks like he is still up for adventures.

 

[bchevs]

Nice pups! Love the ears on the young black pup! Party hat, indeed.
Older boy looks like he is still up for adventures.

He most definitely is!! Any adventure, any time haha!

 

[bchevs]

Thought I'd post a few more pictures. Nova is about 16 months now. This weekend she worked on some scentwork, had a playdate with my brother's Australian Shepherd puppy, a walk with my cousin's pup, went for a run in the fields with the four wheeler and went on a boat ride! She is really easy to take with us anywhere we go so she gets to live her best life enjoying all these things 😊

 

[Carter Smith]

Good job Nova!

 

[Sofi27]

Awe Nova!! Sounds like she had an exciting time!!