Puppies at last!

It’s been a while since we’ve had puppies, as Moidart failed to take twice last year, but last Tuesday Etive (Fletchingly Glencoe) gave birth to her long awaited first litter a couple of days after her third birthday. Etive is an exceptional young dog, winning a novice working test at the age of 25 months, going on to be placed third in her first open a couple of weeks later, and consistently being placed higher than her very experienced mother throughout last year. She is sweet natured and calm, happy to sit quietly through a drive, and retrieves with pace and style when asked to do so. She is fully health tested, including all seven Kennel Club recommended DNA tests, as is the sire of this litter FTCH Arcklebear Caribou.
She whelped easily over a period of four hours, giving birth to eight strong and healthy puppies, who all started suckling straight away, and haven’t stopped since, so they are really thriving. They look quite strange at birth, as their feet and noses are bright pink, because the pigment doesn’t start to come through until a couple of days later. My puppies are reared indoors as part of the family, and I have a bed beside the whelping box so that I can keep a close eye on them. The puppies feed frequently at this age, and I often wake during the night and hear loud squeaks subside into contented grunts as the milk begins to flow.
A couple of people on my waiting list have had a change in circumstances, so I have two pups available from this first class litter, bred for health, temperament and working ability.


Etive aged 13 weeks – a very intelligent and trainable puppy
Etive aged 16 months, showing her natural marking ability
Etive aged 16 months, showing her drive and style

2 thoughts to “Puppies at last!”

  1. Hi Nessa
    Congratulations to Etive and to you on the birth of her 8 puppies. Love the videos, it really brings it to life.
    Is that Graham doing the commentary?

    1. Yes Shirley, I can’t play the videos within earshot of the girls, or else they go nuts when they hear Graham’s voice! He’s recently got some new ground on the Welsh moors, so we’ve been trying it out, and he’s got some lovely footage of the girls working.

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