I ran across this recently, and I'm sooo amused at how these pups have turned out to be sooo much like I saw them at 5 weeks old! I asked each of the owners to respond with comments about their own Bing Bang Baby!!
5 weeks old: my take on the girls:
Lime (now Anja in Florida) is the boldest of all the puppies and has a charisma that is just too cute for words. She will happily follow me anywhere without hesitation and is currently the love of my life. :-)
Anja is still very much as you described her… bold, curious and charismatic. She would follow me if I were to dive head-first into a wood chipper (not planning on that anytime soon, but just saying). If she had her way we would be attached at the hip. She was by far the easiest dog to teach recall to that I have worked with. Of my 3 dogs, she is definitely in charge. A funny little thing that happened with a tea kettle when she was younger kind of sums up her personality… I boiled water in a tea kettle and when it started to wail the labs looked freaked out and backed away. Anja instead ran across the house to the kitchen, propped her front paws on the counter near the stove and stared at the kettle as if to say "who the hell are you and what do you want". I have also recently discovered that she has a natural ability to soothe/calm neurotic, anxious or aggressive dogs. I have had numerous client dogs in boot camp that have attempted to attack every dog they ever met (including my labs) and have found them snuggled up next to Anja on the field on the first or second day. ~ Rick & Kerry
Rainbow (now Ch Tsuki CGC) is smart, adventurous but less "clingy" (for lack of better term) than Lime or Pink. She sits serenely and focus on me intensely (not really fight for attention) until I reach for her. Structurally she is my pick right now and probably the better temperament for our household than one of the more 'driven' girls. Today I saw Rainbow go through the tire jump.
TSUKI – What a bundle of energy and love! For two retirees in their seventies, she was almost too much for us. She had the cutest, most attentive "Sit" we had ever seen. Armed with that and a Halti, we made it though her second half year. She has her CGC; is smart as a whip & hopefully will be ready for her Rally Novice and Companion Dog titles this spring. Happily, she has calmed down nicely and now only goes berserk the first 2 or 3 minutes after coming into the house. Tsuki is drop dead gorgeous & finished her Championship in November at 16 months out of the Bred By Exhibitor class, thanks to Missy. What a team they were in the breed ring!
Tsuki romps daily with her brother, Notch (our rescued 7 year old Flat Coated Retriever). She can often be seen sitting on Notch's rump as he enjoys an afternoon nap; while she keeps a watchful eye on the squirrels crossing her acre & a half super pen. Living on a steep hillside in eastern Tennessee has made her physically hard as nails. Yet she retains her deep desire to please…. Thank you Missy, for letting Tsuki be part of our lives. ~ Marg & Marv
Pinky (now Arista, RN CGC) is probably the smartest of all the pups but she's not as personable as Lime, a bit more independent. She was the first to growl, then bark, first out of the box (though I think Lime HAD the idea first ... Pinky put action to it). Pink is also very vocal <g>. Pink also is like Birdee that she carries things around in her mouth already.
LOL this is Arista to a T!! Definitely smart to the point she has figured out how to manipulate using her cute little expressions and her wacky personality to get what she wants or needs. (especially works on her daddy...she is her mommies angel but her daddies girl!) She is very carefree and adventurous, vocal...yes she sings to us:). As for something in her mouth ALL the time, she even is learning to pick up the laundry and take it to the basket. Her new favorite love is her daddy's socks...lol She doesn't chew them up just wants to carry them..lol We love her!! I was watching the puppy video from when they were I think six weeks old..anyway there is a part when they all jump off of a step or something. Well i know exactly which one is Arista...she still jumps straight up!!! It made me laugh :) ~ Amber
Purple (now Fly, CD RA CGC and 5 singles in the breed ring) is Miss Independence and just gets more drop-dead gorgeous every day. Structurally she is the most like Birdee. She is the dominant bitch, very alpha in personality and as such has zero response to recall. I see her as being THE show bitch in the litter. A breeder friend already called that very early on due to her actions in the whelping box. So it will be interesting to see what happens with Purple McPhatty.
I guess you could call Fly a dominant bitch but she will cower down to any dog that exhibits dominance over her but not Flynn who tells her all the time to get lost. She even cowers down to 12 year old Chic but loves her to death. She is not Alpha in my house over me, but she tries on occasion to over power Anita when she is here. She still does not play well with others as she wants to control the others but she gets put down a lot for it and it doesn't apparently bother her. Fly has an excellent recall, I can call her from almost anything but squirrels. Hope she is enough of a show bitch to finish. :>}
She is currently experiencing a breast enlargements! :>}
Oh forgot to mention , she is exceptionally smart and learns so incredible fast and remembers every thing but she can be self serving as to when she feels the need to perform something she learned to get what she wants. i.e. Taught her the drop on recall, now she wants to perform it all the time to get more cookies. Got to love her for thinking and she is a big thinker and studies situations. ~ Karen
Mellow Yellow (now Pearl in Mississippi ) is finding her spunkiness and is very deft of foot too. She is very good on recall, plays great with boys and girls alike, is bold during 'family time' in the evenings, is pretty much paper trained all on her own. She is also very independent but not dominant.
5 Weeks old: my take on the boys:
Blue (now CH Shiloh JH CGC) is a lot like Birdee in build and personality. He is a little whiney but also a bit of a kook. He is most definitely the punk of the litter. He's got nice but moderate angles.
I would have to say that all of your comments on Shi pup still hold true, except for being whiny - he has gotten much better in that aspect. His punk training is nearly complete, I think he only has a few more modules to work through : )
One of the traits that I love most about Shiloh, is that while he can be such a punk, he is also the peace keeper in the house. There have been times when our younger vizsla, Ember, starts playing a bit too rowdy with house guests, and Shiloh will come over and calmly stand between them until they settle, then he goes and lays back down. He is excellent with puppies, and is firm and fair about teaching them dog manners. ~ Jenni
Red (now Rizer, needs one major to finish ) is my current Pick of the litter. He is just beautiful (aka his nickname, Handsome) and is just the right amount of bold. Very nice angles.
Rizerman – 1 major away from his Championship, to me he is the most handsome baby boy there is. Rizer loves his family especially his Junior Cortney. Loves to lay in our lap or sleep on top of my back, he thinks he must always be touching some part of us. He is not a social butterfly, but warms up pretty quick. Rizer loves his fur buddies at the house, he thinks he is the size of the Shih-tzu and is so adorable when he gets down to her level to play. He and Maggie can run, hunt rabbits and dig for hours in the back yard, but when time to come back in he is the perfect gentleman. I love my baby boy!! Thanks Missy you have been a wonderful breeder, mentor and friend! ~ Ronda
Green (now Bruno JH NAVHDA NA III) is a little more laid back than Red. He does his own thing a lot. Sometimes he ignores the recall back to the puppy play pen. Green is slightly long on leg to my eye right now - though he is still a very attractive dog.
Bruno's fortune was true, he is long legged and likes to control the situation. I get alot of complements on his head and how nice and square it is with the big ears. Bruno is also sneaky. He has figured out when he doesn't have the electric collar on inside the house and sneaks up to rooms he isn't supposed to be in. He has almost learned how to lift his rear leg so I guess he is a late bloomer there. He has muscled out nicely too. We have taken time off from training due to several family illnesses but hope to pick up this Spring. ~ Vicki
Orange (now my schnuggle boopers, CH Cosmo NAVHDA NA I) is just the cutest little fellow. He is a little slow to engage in new adventures but once he gets over the <minute> aprehension, he becomes bold and sassy. He is the sweetest of all the puppies.
Cozi is still the cutest, sweetest mama's boy ever! :) The "slow to engage in new adventures" rang true when it came to water last summer. We would carry him into the middle of the pool and he would strain to keep his head as high and out of the water as he could. Eventually, he would swim back to the steps without panicking, and eventually, he would leave the steps and swim out to fetch a ball. Well, once he realized what a powerful swimmer he is, we couldn't keep him out of the water! He quickly took to Bolle-style leaping into the water, first off the top step then off the side of the pool, then off the diving board. Often he will jump in when there's NOT something for him to fetch - just to make the splash! :) ~ Missy
