Three Weeks Old

The Icelandic puppies are too young for stacked photos* - nevertheless - we had great fun the other day trying to hold squirming puppies into a "show pose". So what exactly should one look for in a show pose - - at this age? I cannot answer that question from experience. I am more a performance or pet person than I am a conformation show person. However, I believe that experienced people look at how the feet touch the ground. They are looking for feet the point straight forward and not out to the sides. They are looking for tail curls (it's too early for that on three week old puppies), they are looking at the "top line or how the back will look in the show ring these pups are wiggling a little too much for that now but, imo, their top lines look good, they look at the ears, they should be "up" and "pointed", they are looking for an outgoing temperament (personality) which all of these pups have.

It needs to be said again, I am not a conformation show person but, in my opinion as a non expert and inexperienced person, all of these puppies would do well in the show ring. Both parents are champions and both have obedience/agility titles.

They do not want a frightened or shy puppy which I why I socialize them several times a day. They don't want an aggressive puppy. Early socialization is very important for any breed of dog so that they can capitalize on their instinctive pack temperament, be outgoing. The ears on Icelandics do not really go up and stay up until they are several months old. Over the next few weeks their ears will travel up and down. Ears on shorter furred pups go up earlier and stay up more reliably than the ears on longer furred puppies. All fur types should have their ears up by the age of four or five months. (Ears may go down temporarily during the eruption of adult teeth. Is it the pain of teething or the body's demand for extra protein for the teeth that trigger that? Don't know.)

Bangsi
Bangsi is probably a tan colored boy with a collar, blaze, and a split mask.

Kathleen (Kit)

 Kitty is a chocolate & tan with white (tricolor girl) with a collar and blaze;
she will resemble her mother.
 

Lulu
Lulu should be a tan colored girl with a black mask;
like her sire Calvin. She's going to Oregon.

 

Edgar (Eddie)
Eddie will be a tan colored chocolate boy with
a collar, a blaze, and a split mask.

 

Kippa
Kippa is black & tan with white (tricolor);
she looks like she will have longer fur.

 

Elisabeth (Betty)

 Betty is a tan colored girl with a chocolate mask;

she will resemble Calvin, her dad.

 

It's too early to guess about fur length - but - I'm going to do it anyway. Kippa, I'm guessing, might have longer fur; all of her siblings might have shorter fur. Do NOT hold me to that premature prediction. Within the next few weeks we should know better.

 

All of their tails have just started to curl. Bangsi is on the road to being a tan colored boy with a collar, blaze, and a split mask. Kitty is a chocolate & tan with white (tricolor girl) with a collar and blaze who will resemble her mother. Lulu should be a tan colored girl with a black mask, like her sire Calvin. Eddie will be a tan colored chocolate boy with a collar, blaze, and a split mask. Like his namesake, he is going to be stunning. Kippa is a black & tan with white (tricolor) girl. Betty is a tan colored girl with a chocolate mask who will resemble her sire.

The puppies have huge appetites and are eating three big meals of puppy food every day now. Soon, very soon, after they arrive in their new homes, they should be switched to adult food to slow their growth. Wolves feed their pups regurgitated meat from their kills; the wolf pups eat what the adult wolves eat. Slower growth is beneficial for hip health. Soft tissue (muscles, organs, etc.) grows faster than hard tissue (bones) on puppy food. Switching to adult slows early growth and allows the skeleton and soft tissues to grow at the same rate. That's ideal because it reduces stress on the skeleton. The pups future adult size will not be compromised.

People sometimes ask "when" to switch from three meals a day to two. I let the pups decide. When their appetites wane at the noon meal, I switch them to a raw carrot or a broccoli stem for lunch and reduce their "dog" food to breakfast and dinner.

I try to acknowledge receipt of "Puppy Applications" when I get them. If you've sent me an application and if I have not gotten back to you within a few days, please let me know. Things get hectic here with visitors and taking care of the pups. I apologize.

Asking for one is easy: jaimehansen1@frontier.com

You can either snail mail the completed forms or email them. No pup is ever considered "sold" until I have at least a deposit or the full amount.

 

* - Tracy served as voluntary "handler".