Week 8: Puppies Heading Home
Tuco heads to maine
Alexis and Jonah drove all the way from Maine to visit Starry Night and collect Havoc "Tuco" Starry Night. They stayed at the Starry Night BnB and enjoyed their "first 60 degree temperatures since October 2025!" On their way back north, they made a stop at a pet store for essentials. Of course, Tuco was a star attraction.
Other families came or met up with breeder Kathryn from upstate NY, the coasts of NC and SC and down the road in Richmond, VA. We have received all glowing reports about how well they are settling into their new homes, success with crate and house training (no news of accidents!), and even a wild story of Hydra "Whiskey" Starry Night locking herself in a vehicle just as the owner walked to the payload area for the crate. A tow truck was called to unlock the door while the nonchalant female slept in the passenger footwell! Smart girl!
Week 7: Volhard Test by Canine Behaviorist and Temperament Test by Sire's Owner/Breeder
Matching Temperament to family needs
This week, Gabriel Dotson, Canine trainer and certified canine behaviorist administered and scored the Volhard Test. While just one data point, the results enable us to distinguish minor differences between the puppies and help inform puppy training.
The puppies also "enjoyed" another car ride of more than an hour to the Shenandoah Valley to be evaluated by Abhai Kaul, the well respected owner of Nummer-Eins German Shepherds and breeder of sire, Quest. This evaluation was a visual check of movement, structure and interplay with training pillow on a line after a long car ride with lots of hills, valleys and turns. The puppies had the strength to not only settle quickly upon arrival, but found interest in the pillow and children at the home. All had sound physical structure, and temperaments pronounced excellent for families. Specific buyer requirements were discussed to ensure the best matches were made for the puppies and buyers.
Vet Check (check!), first shots (check!) and microchips (check)!
An action-packed week 6!
Excellent results of vet visit. We've begun clicker training...getting the puppies familiar with the sound of the clicker and that it means that treats are coming! We will transfer that to positive behaviors soon. Puppies have experienced grass for the first time in the past 10 days. The ice is finally gone for the most part, and the puppies are enjoying the amazing smells around the chicken coop, the occasional feather (yes...I have had to pull some feathers away from the pups), lots of wrestling and racing around and SLEEP! They are showing how smart they are by solving lots of barrier exercises and racing to the kennel when mom Glory barks at turkey buzzards who have dipped a bit to close to the ground.
Puppies are all more than ten pounds, up to a bit over twelve pounds. They are always given as much food as they want, but it's simple with water or goat-milk softened ProPlan and the fancy meal at night. That's when goat's milk is added and topped with baked chicken, shaved cheese and sometimes beef or FreshPet.
More socialization, litter box and problem solving!
5 Weeks Old & Thriving
Puppies continue to get new types of toys...more interactive ones. Balance board has been introduced and more startle response activities...slamming sounds and more TV. They have met lots of new people of varied ages and ethnicities. Brain activities include balance board, barrier exercises (how do I get to my food?!) and intro to clicker training. The puppies have been using the litter box more regularly, separating their sleeping and eating areas from their potty area. This is the first step towards house training.
The litter box is made up of the bottom and top halves of an extra large airline crate filled with pelleted horse bedding (compressed wood shavings) and some alfalfa pellets to get the puppies used to the smell of pottying in grass. The pellets absorb urine incredibly well and disintegrate into sawdust that is compostable. We started by placing the pee pads on top.
Mother of the Year Glory continues to nurse them at times, but their primary diet is Purina ProPlan Sport 30/20 soaked in warm water. Sometimes tiny pieces of dry kibble, chicken or FreshPet are added. Goat's milk is a huge favorite and they get that twice a day. Goat's milk pudding is an occasional super treat (you can see it on some faces or coat in some photos!). All puppies remain healthy and growing at a similar rate. Their coats are deeply pigmented and we are getting closer to determining stock versus long coat!
Move into the custom kennel puppy room
Week 4
The finishing touches were added to the big kennel renovation just before the puppies were whelped...and they moved in after weaning. The puppies kept climbing out of the whelping box in the master bedroom, so it was time to give them about three times the space. The puppy room was designed by Kathryn and the engineers at Gator Kennels. Two large dog kennel runs convert by removing the upper glass gate that is part of the dutch door as well as the upper glass panel to its left side. The gate to the rear right kennel is also removed. Gator Kennels custom made these exclusively for Starry Night and the smart design has made all the difference! The puppies now have 13'x5.5' of space to eat, sleep, wrestle and potty. Under the floor tile, there is 2' of heating along the walls, so the puppies (and dogs) can choose to lay on the warm side or the cool side. In the later stages, the bottom glass panel separating Finley's kennel from the puppy potty room will be removed and Finley will move into the house. This change will give the puppies even more inside room and access to another 6'x15' covered run outside. The puppies will be trained to push through the swinging door hidden behind the light transmitting but opaque guillotine doors.
Kathryn's neighbor Gary was amazing in helping us receive and install the kennel panels. he also engineered an elegant way of attaching the guillotine door swivel connectors to the stainless steel cables. To finish them off, bone shaped Nylabones are the perfect guillotine door cable handles! As much as we love the design and finish of the kennel panels, our favorite part of the kennel are the posters we made of some of the Starry Night dogs and their families. They are what inspire us every day.
H Litter Puppies
Mr. White
Mr. Royal Blue
Mr. Orange (formerly Red)
Miss Rosie Pink
Miss Rosie Pink
Mr. Royal Blue
Mr. White
Mr. Brown
Miss Spring Green
Mr Orange (formerly Red)
Professor Plum
Mr. Denim Blue
Let the Weaning Begin!
Week 3 is Drawing to a close
And the puppies are enjoying their mush of Purina ProPlan Sport 30/20 softened with Goat's milk, a little Esbilac, and some of Glory's special nursing pudding (egg yolks, pudding, goat's milk cooked and cooled). As you can see, plenty ends up on their face...and some of the puppies believe that standing in it or bathing in it has some magical properties, too.
