The last couple of weeks have been a flurry of activity around here. It’s time to get you caught up!

First of all, Mia’s puppies headed off to their new homes! My kids enjoyed getting a few final snuggles in.

It was a little bittersweet seeing Mia’s last litter leave. Mia was the best momma dog we could have ever asked for, and she has blessed so many families with her offspring. I’ll miss having her adorable fluffy babies around, but I am also looking forward to having Mia enjoy her lazy, golden years.

Next up is an update on Duchess’s puppies. These little ladies have brought some unexpected challenges. The puppies developed a dry, itchy fungus rash on their skin. I am not entirely sure where they picked it up, but fungus and yeast rashes are more common this time of year with the heat and humidity of summer. Thankfully, this type of thing in puppies is very temporary and doesn’t cause any problems. I simply need to treat it and give the skin time to heal. This usually takes 2-3 weeks, and then things go on as normal!

The unfortunate part is that it means I will not be releasing the Irish Setter puppies to their new homes at 8 weeks old, like I usually do. My goal as a breeder is to produce healthy puppies- physically, mentally, and socially. When I hand a family a puppy, it is a culmination of weeks, months, and years of intentional work. I have striven to make this puppy as perfect as possible. So when my puppies develop a problem, even one as minor as a skin rash, I see it as my responsibility to take care of that before I am able to send them to new homes. I don’t feel comfortable releasing a puppy from my care that is not in its best possible physical, mental, and social condition.

That’s why we have decided to keep Duchess’s puppies two additional weeks in order to make sure the rash is completely cleared up before we allow families to take them home. That way, I can hand off the puppies to their new families knowing that I have done everything necessary to provide them with a healthy and happy puppy.

So my children and I will be enjoying these sweet ladies for two more weeks. Two more weeks of soft, wiggly puppies? It certainly could be worse. 🙂 Besides having small spots of dry skin, which are now well on their way to healing, the puppies are growing and playing and developing as they should. They are very active, social, and delightful. There are still two available puppies from the litter. If you have interest in adding a spunky Irish Setter lady to your home and you don’t mind waiting two more weeks to bring her home, please get in touch with me.

The puppies continue with their normal training, which includes an introduction to crate training, sound desensitizing, and socialization. They are doing excellent on the potty training front, and they have handled the crate very well so far. July is proving to be an good month for sound training opportunities. The puppies have been exposed to many different sounds, such as fireworks, thunderstorms, lawn mowers, etc.

I hope to get some updated pictures of the girls this week, so you can all see how much they have grown. Until then, here is a candid shot of Liberty, sprawled in the grass on a hot afternoon.

And that’s it for the pups! We’ve got some other things happening behind the scenes here with our dogs, so you can expect some updates on them in the near future. For now, our attention is on our five little red ladies.

Have a blessed week!