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Calypso the Quick and Clever CGCA CGCU ATT TKP RN ACT1 RATI
“Calypso”

Calypso has not yet had any puppies. She just turned 2 years old in May 2020. She’s AKC and ABCA registered. She has been DNA tested and is clear aside from carrying CEA and she has OFA Good hips and Normal elbows.

Calypso is a fun loving, social sweetheart! She has always had the most phenomenal temperament and loving nature, ever since I brought her home as a wee puppy. She is the first dog I trust with other puppies, kittens, shy dogs, or animals of any type because she is incredibly gentle and kind with other animals, taking a lot of care to never scare or push boundaries with new critters she meets. Once she warms them up and brings them out of their shell, the party is on! She loves to play chase and wrestle and keep away from other dogs. She will slow her pace to match the puppies or little dogs and make sure they feel comfortable and enjoy the game. I am a professional dog trainer and have experience with tons of different dogs and Calypso is honestly the best with other dogs and the most dog savvy of any dog I've met. Not just saying so because I love her, I promise! 

Calypso is also a registered therapy dog with Love on a Leash and I plan to dual register her with Alliance of Therapy Dogs as well. She is great at therapy work and loves to get petted and show off some tricks to bring smiles and laughter to people! 

She is a very high drive dog and is more than happy to be on the go all day long if you are. She is a super star with tricks, freestyle, and disc and is so precise and calculated during training. She works under pressure with no problem and isn't very handler sensitive or "soft", as many BCs can be. Her toy drive is very very high and toys are certainly her favorite thing to work for. She also has great food drive and I'd say moderate praise drive. She is an excellent snuggler and loves praise and petting during her down time, but does not prefer it during "working time." During relaxing times though, the cuddle is on and she is the master of deep pressure therapy.

She has been exposed to stock and herding practice and showed great interest and high drive there as well. We plan to continue pursuing herding with her. She also competes in Rally and I actually had this whole year mapped out to get her Rally Masters title but Covid canceled all of the events we had planned to attend. We are training to compete in agility and barn hunt and plan to do dock diving and FastCat as well. The titles she currently has are CGCA (Canine Good Citizen Advanced), CGCU (Canine Good Citizen Urban), TKP (Trick Dog Performer), ATT (AKC Temperament Test), RN (Rally Novice), ACT1 (Agility Course Test), RATI (Barn Hunt Instinct) and several more online submission titles through Universal Canine All Stars. She will likely have all of those (I think there's 13 total) before the litter is born because we are addicted to ribbons and we can actually do those right now even during Covid!

One thing that is a downside with Calypso is she was frightened pretty severely during a fear period as a puppy by a friend's small child and she retains some wariness of little kids, I believe, due to that incident. Unfortunately, I don't know a lot of people with trustworthy kids to help her work through it and strangers' kids can be so unpredictable, I really don't want to make things worse! She isn't a bite risk but she does prefer to steer clear of screaming little kids if we come across them out and about. However, I have carefully selected the stud I am going to use on her (his name is Ace) for several reasons and one of which is that he is a therapy dog specializing in children interactions. He is a conformation champion and was junior handled by a child through his entire show career and he is just perfect with kids! A true natural. I will always be very careful with who I pair her with to try my best to correct her faults and make well rounded puppies. 

CH Embrace the Fanfare at Gladwyn TKI RI CGCA RATI 
"Ace"

Ace is a champion, Grand champion pointed. He has his Rally Intermediate, Trick Dog Intermediate, Canine Good Citizen Advanced, Barn Hunt Instinct, and has points/Qs in many other sports including agility, obedience, Fast Cat, and barn hunt novice. He is also a therapy dog and specializes in children interaction (schools, libraries, etc). He has been exposed to stock a few times and helps with some small scale herding on his family's ranch with chickens and 4H pigs and sheep. He could be capable of so much more in conformation and other sports but his show career is on pause at the moment, with plans to finish his Grand within a year. BEAR ears normal, OFA Good hips, normal elbows and eyes. Genetic tested with embark and clear for all genetic diseases. 

He is one of the sweetest, most even tempered dogs you'll ever meet! Not a "bad bone" in his body. He is gentle and laid back, low to medium energy level, and has never met a stranger - human or dog! 

Ace has a wonderful front that gets complimented wherever he goes, great correct movement, and travels with his head down. Great reach, but not overreach. His tail is naturally carried down and has a great croup and tail set. He has a lot to offer in breeding as far as structure and temperament are concerned!

02/15/21
Calypso is on day 54 of her pregnancy. A dogs pregnancy is usually 63 days but can be between 58-66. Our x-ray is scheduled for tomorrow to count the puppies. I've been taking her temperature for a couple of days now, in preparation and to get a good feel for her normal temperature. Dogs usually experience a drop in temperature of about 2 degrees or below 99 degrees approximately 24 hours before they go into labor. She's been between 100 and 101. Last night, she was 99.3 but I'm thinking that was not the true "drop." Looking back on my notes from my previous litters, different moms, it looked fairly consistently around 97 or low 98s. My thermometer may read a little cool and I always use the same one so I can have consistency there.
No nesting behaviors from Calypso but the puppies are super active and you can really feel a lot of movement through her belly! Just hold onto them for a few more days, my girl.

02/26/21
I'm so in love with these puppies already. Calypso is a fantastic mother and has taken so well to this new chapter in her life. She's still her usual playful sweet cuddly self when we encourage her to leave the babies for a bit and hang out with us but she's more than happy to spend most of her time nursing and cuddling with her babies. I walk into the room and she will be resting her head over them or laying on her back, belly up, snoozing with them. She's incredibly careful and hasn't even come close to stepping or laying on anyone. She has a good appetite and we are trying to hard to keep up with the huge calorie intake needs! Mother's pudding is a godsend and she loves it. I'm so excited to watch these puppies grow up but these first few days have been treasures.
The puppies are gaining weight rapidly and we've started ENS and done their first little nail trim. They are already so special to me and I love them so much! I spend a lot of time in the whelping box with them and Calypso, just petting them and watching how sweet they all are.

03/06/21
It's been so long since I've had a litter (almost two years) and even longer since I've had a litter from a first time mom. I had forgotten just how much sleep you lose, just how much work it is, and just how much stress I would be under! Calypso is being a good mother but she still needs some help keeping everyone, and herself, clean. The pups have been having a loose stool spell, which is common for this age because mom's milk is at it's richest and the puppies are becoming very strong and consuming lots of it. There are undigested milk solids in their stools and Calypso isn't a fan. So the babies have had several baths! I'm giving them a prebiotic and probiotic supplement as well as Nurture Mate to assure they are healthy. They are gaining weight and very strong and lively. We will do their first deworming in a couple of days. I always deworm every 2 weeks until 12 weeks of age, just to be safe.
But all in all, despite the sleepless nights and the worrying, it's so worth it. Nothing gives me the feeling that raising puppies does. It's so fulfilling and so lovely.
The work has only just begun and as they continue to grow and mature, they will be taking more and more of my time and effort, but I honestly look forward to it! I love being a huge part of their development and getting to know each of them so closely.

03/11/21
The puppies are in the transitional phase now, their eyes are opening, they are toddling all around the whelping box, we had 6 of them "bust out" of the whelping box yesterday which is pretty impressive, considering how small and clumsy they still are. I figure Calypso was laying right outside of the box and they could smell her and came right over. So we added a little height to the doorway. The pups are beginning to play with one another, mouthing and licking everything they come into contact with. They give us tons of kisses when we hold them and we are doing lots of cuddling and petting. They are also getting to spend individual time with me each day now, even if just for a few minutes. Today, they almost all have eyes open (two of them are still just cracking) so I'm going to start introducing new things/experiences each day. Tactile items, like big soft toys, different surfaces, different textures. And experiences like getting out of the whelping box to toddle around the room, going into different areas of the house, and also eating! I plan to offer them goats milk today and see what they think. I'm sure Calypso will appreciate the help with feeding! The pups can also start getting some limited visits from new people.

This is a bittersweet time for me with the babies because I absolutely love getting to truly "meet" them and see their personalities begin forming and see them truly awaken and begin learning about their world. But it also marks one step closer to them becoming "big puppies" and not so little and sweet and sleepy anymore.

Just some of my thoughts and views from inside the whelping box.

03/16/21
Puppies are three weeks old today! Which means we are entering Socialization Period - Week 1.

This week, we will continue having the puppies experience at least one new thing every day as well as having individual cuddle sessions with the humans.

We will be doing sound protocols;
Classical music
Habituation/desensitization playlists
"Upsetting" household noises (vacuum, blender, slamming doors, dropping books, etc)

Startle recovery, which is when we make some loud noise to startle the puppies briefly and let them recover from it. We don't want any true fear response, just a quick startle and then back to normal. We'll do one new startle noise per day, repeated three times in succession, as long as no puppies appear truly frightened. We only do this up to day 28, because after day 28, the puppies are more likely to have a true fear reaction and may be entering their first fear period around that time. Startle recovery is great and beneficial to pups, as it helps teach them that just because something was startling, doesn't mean it's scary or harmful. It helps them take things in stride and is especially helpful for Border Collies, which can be a breed prone to noise sensitivity.

We're going to be expanding the nest area of the whelping box slightly (bigger sleep area) and adding a litterbox this week.

We're going to be introducing challenges. Like rolled towels to climb over, letting them experience wet paws (wet towel on a cookie sheet), and sound mats they can step on and make noise.

Once they become excited about food, which will be any day now, we will begin doing the puppy call whenever we put food down. The puppy call is the foundation to a really great recall!

And equally exciting, we can begin doing in home socialization! Which means we can have people come and visit with the puppies. So if you're local (or willing to make the drive) message me and let's plan some "puppy parties." We will only be having one family over at a time due to COVID precautions and also be wearing masks and have sanitizer at the ready!

03/18/21
All of the puppies are being so brave and so outgoing this week! It's amazing to see the transition from little baby lumps with no eyes or ears into "real puppies" who want to be held and petted, who are rough housing and fighting with each other, playing with toys and interacting with their environment. They have been doing very well with their startle recovery. No real fear! So far we have done slamming doors, dropping a stack of books outside the whelping pen, and slamming metal dog bowls. They give a quick jerk and then back to whatever they were up to! They all love their individual cuddle sessions and they are still little enough that they don't mind just being snuggled and not getting to run around and explore. They are spending more and more time awake and up to something and less time asleep! But still a lot of time asleep.

03/19/21
Tonight, as I feed the puppies and get the whelping box reset and cleaned up for the night, then watch them play around and interact, I feel overwhelmingly sad at how fast they are growing up. Every single day brings on new development and now it looks like there is more puppy mass than mama when they nurse. They are each turning into such lovely little babies and I'm so happy to see them healthy and thriving but at the same time it's heartbreaking. Soon, they will be too "busy" to cuddle whenever I like and soon I won't be so interesting and my affection won't be so compelling. Other dogs, new people, new experiences, new places, and all the excitement of being a puppy will begin to take priority in their world. And soon they will be moved into the weaning pen and I'll have to take down the whelping box they have been in beside my bed since they were born. No more waking up in the night and first thing every morning and just looking over and there they are. I feel so attached to this litter and I know it's going to be a very hard one to let go of, when the time comes for them to go to their new families. But I feel happy that I can give them each a great start in life and set them up for success and make sure they end up in the best possible hands.
For now, I will hold them a little closer, stare a little longer, kiss a few more times and treasure these remaining days of early puppyhood.

03/23/21
The puppies are officially 4 weeks old today! Their last week, Socialization Week 1, was very eventful. They met 5 new adults and 2 kids. They got to explore new areas in our house, and spend time in the weaning pen phase one. They experienced lots of new sounds, tactile objects, toys. They are gaining confidence everyday and becoming more and more interested in exploring the world around them. They are super driven by human attention and affection! I feel like more so than my previous litters. These little pups are purebred sweeties. They are so eager to climb into anyone's lap for cuddles and to gaze into your eyes. They are very encouraged by people and have a lot of engagement so far! They have been eating meals twice a day and gaining more enthusiasm for food each time. They are already responding super well to the Puppy Call! They are rapidly gaining in coordination and gusto.
I love these little angels more than words could say.
I'll post new photos later today and talk about what kinds of exciting things they have coming up over the next week! Stay tuned. 

03/29/21
Pups are turning 5 weeks old tomorrow.

This week has really flown by but I did achieve most of my goals with them for this week. They have been feeling the first touches of fear and have been randomly and briefly concerned with various things so we have stopped doing startle recovery and begun doing more shaping emotional responses by giving them treats and encouragement when faced with something "scary." But mostly keeping things easy until they all feel more like themselves again.

They have been greatly enjoying have more space to run and play in the weaning pen, they've been taking to potty training exceptionally well, they love going outside, they love exploring the kitchen and sun room. They also all seem to really enjoy water and like to splash around in a boot tray I fill with water on the patio. I'll give them something a little deeper before too long and as it continues to warm up outside.

We have started introducing them to our personal dogs and they really enjoy that! Lapis in particular loves them deeply and is completely enthralled with them. Abigail thinks they are gross and is glad they aren't her responsibility. Little does she know, she's up next for motherhood duty!

We have done several barrier challenges and they all have overcome these with relative ease. From climbing out of the weaning pen to climbing up the two steps into the house and figuring their way around obstacles. I'm trying to carry them places less and just have them follow me there.

They've still been sleeping in my room with me but the small space of the whelping box is beginning to cause tension in the litter, specifically in the morning when they awake and feel fussy. So I think I'll finally let them start sleeping in the big pen. Going to be hard for me but I have to accept they are growing up! Far too fast for my liking but that's how it always goes with puppies.

04/13/21
​My little babies are not so little anymore! They are 7 weeks old today.
They are such amazing puppies and I couldn't be happier with them and their personalities and progress. They've really been overall a very easy litter to raise and I'm so attached to each one of them. They also pick things up fast! They have an excellent concept of manding (I don't demand a sit for manding, just feet on the floor and focus, although they mostly do choose to sit) and their recall skills are awesome. They are basically potty trained. Super reliable on pottying in the potty box in their pen and just the other day, I had them free in my bedroom which has a door to the patio which is their outdoor area. I left that door open and 4 different puppies separately stopped what they were doing, walked all the way outside to the farthest turf patch to both pee and poop. So proud of them!
We've also been continuing to show them something new or do something new with them each day. They are quite brave! I've seen them come in and out of a couple of small fear periods and it's pretty distinct when it happens since they are usually so confident.
They have been doing super well with the resource guarding exercises and body handling. Not one of them has shown any signs of resource guarding yet and they all are quite peaceful and darling about handling too. A few are a little more "busy" but mostly they are very happy to be cuddled and petted.
Such a perfect little group.