Puppy Time; The New Girl is Here.

     Thought the weeks, days, and minutes passed slowly, they passed none the less. The stillness and quiet of a suddenly dogless home life has come to an end, and I now have the pleasure of introducing all of you to the new girl. So, without further delay, I give you Ginger.

     Ginger is the product of a breeding between Windrift Honeybee, and AFC Tulcan Tod. I came across this breeding in a round about fashion. I'd talked to Justin of Olive Ridge Springers, who put me in touch with Christine at Windrift Springer Spaniels, because he wasn't planning any litters. Christine didn't have any litters planned either, but put me in touch with Shane from Ontario. Shane had decided to breed the bitch he had gotten from Christine, Windrift Honeybee (Bee). After several e-mails, and phone calls an agreement was reached, and I knew where my next dog was coming from.

     As fate would have it, the age when Ginger would be ready to be separated from the rest of the litter coincided with a spaniel training clinic being hosted by Christine at Windrift, featuring David Lisett of Buccleuch Estate Scotland. As Shane would be attending the clinic, my wife and I decided to attend the clinic and pick up Ginger there, rather than putting her on an airplane. The clinic was fantastic, and I'm already planning to attend next year ( details will be posted separately, soon ). Hopefully Ginger will be reunited with her litter mates next year. As for her litter mates; her sister Trixie will be staying with Shane and her mother Bee, while her brother Quinn will be living in eastern Pa, and Pearson will be living in northern Va.

     While it's only been a couple of days I'm already seeing things in Ginger which make me think she'll be easy to train. Most importantly, the bonding is going well. My wife having never raised a puppy before, my dogs being adults when we married, we both want Ginger to bond with both of us in the same way my past dogs had bonded with me. So far they've enjoyed some nice mama time at home, and we've set up a dedicated mama only walk time. Ginger has already been introduced to the crew at the kennel, met the chickens and cows, been for a walk in the woods, and popped into the bath tub.