The puppies are now 7 weeks old -- where has the time gone -- and have been going outside for the past week. This past weekend was one of the coldest in Central Florida in the past 10 years so the pups have had a chance to run around in temps that didn't get much higher than 45 -- very unusual for us. However, the cool temps seemed to invigorate the little imps because they've been playing, running, pouncing and pummeling like there's no tomorrow.

Later this week, they will be evaluated and we'll start the process of sending those that are leaving to their new homes. But for a while, we get to enjoy the entire puppy pile and be entertained beyond anything you'll find on your TV. Here are some pics from the weekend.

Their favorite toy is a 3-foot long soft snake which they love to carry around 3 or sometimes 4 at a time. Here's a 4-tandem carry.




And the seldom attempted and never fully accomplished 5 puppy snake carry -- or, in this case, snake grab.




The second favorite toy is the fish which we used as a prop in the calendar shoot. Here's the difficult 3 on a fish carry.



Followed by Ms Margarita's fish steal and the inevitable chase by Ms Peach.



When they're not playing, they're posing. Here's Mr Red's head in profile.



Ms Margarita.



Ms Peach's head, a self-stacked shot and a shot from the rear.







And here's Ms Plummy asking if we think she's cute.



And then showing off her lovely rear.



Mr Blue play-bowing to try to entice one of the girls to run with him.



Unaware that he, himself, was being stalked by Mr Red .



Once the formal stacked shots and headshots are completed, I'll share them with you. It won't be long before these guys are gone from here. I can truly say we're going to miss the little devils.

Jim

Hey Jim,

Thanks for sharing. Curiously, what kind of process determines what kind of homes they go to? Are you going to keep any for yourself?

LOL, on another note, I am sorry to hear about the cold temperatures. Del Boca Vista will never be the same!!

James

James,
we evaluate the pups in terms of show potential. All of them are structurally correct in terms of showing. But not all will not only be correct enough but have the attitude for showing. We do a lot of the evaluation ourselves and that involves just watching them move, play and run with their littermates. We also do very thorough hands-on evaluations of their structure including things you don't readily see like how the shoulders lay which effects the front movement. Then, we stack each puppy in the "ring pose" and take close-ups of the heads. That's on the agenda for this week and I'll share those pics.

We also will have the opinion of a Rottweiler breeder/judge and a Rottweiler breeder/handler. Both will be here for formal evaluations on the 12th. Once we have everyone's opinions, we'll ignore them and pick the puppies by the color of their ribbons . Just kidding, once we have the opinions, we'll weigh them and make decisions about which are going into "show" homes and which into "pet" homes.

This litter is very nice and I'm sure they all could be shown. Fortunately, we have a lot of show homes to choose from including our own. We are keeping a girl for our long-term breeding program. Because we are looking for a brood bitch as well as a show girl, we're looking for size as well as structure. Both Peach and Margarita are in the running. Plummy, who is adorable, is quite a bit smaller than the others and does not have the shoulder lay back that the other two have. That only means she might have a roll behind the shoulder when she's mature -- like the #1 Rottie bitch in the country last year . It's not a fault but it's not what we breed for.

The pick boy is going to the family that owns Juneau, the mom. Another pick girl is going to the family that owns Presley, the dad. That leaves two other homes and we have 6 possible choices depending on how the pups rate. We are fortunate that our litters are in demand and both parents are very nice representatives of the breed, both are champions and both have excellent health clearances.

So, that's the process with just a little over a week to go. Linda and I still half-kid about keeping them all. They really are that nice and that much fun. But it is ONLY half-kidding!

Jim

As promised, here are some stacked shots and headshots of the puppies for "evaluation" purposes. These are necessary for anyone looking to buy a puppy for show purposes. For everyone else, it's enough to tell them they are sound, pretty and wonderfully playful and very loving.

First up, in birth order, is Mr. Blue.



Mr. Blue is the chunk of the litter and has been since day 1. He is also very sound both in terms of body and head and would be our choice for pick of the litter. At this point in time, it looks like he's going to the family that owns his mom, Juneau.

Here's Mr. Red.



Mr. Red is the "other" boy and he's very nice with a nice short back and a very pretty head.

Ms. Plummy is the smallest of the 3 girls but she's also very sturdy and very pretty.



Plummy is the girl everyone falls in love with. She's a very nice girl in all ways.

Ms. Peach is the female version of Mr. Blue.



Peaches has a tight coat and is very athletic. She has a lovely rear and a pretty headpiece.

Ms. Margarita is a chunky girl -- the second heaviest in the litter -- and was the last born.



Margarita has a lot of her mom's markings and has lots of attitude. She has a great tailset and nice angulation overall.

So, those are the "official" photographs of the kids at this moment in time. Over the next week or so, we'll get them more used to being stacked and get to move them so we can see how sound they are in terms of straight-line movement as well as sidegait. Right now, we're very happy with this litter overall. Every one of these puppies is quite sound structurally and outstanding temperamentally.

Jim

Mr Blue and Ms Peach are my two standouts from the posted photos, but, Margarita would be a close one with peach. Those are just my initial reactions from the photos. I didn't read your comments because I didn't want to influence my gut feelings

Julie,
you have a good eye. This was their first stacking session so and I was the handler while Melanie did the photos and she wasn't always able to see when they were posting but, that notwithstanding, they did very well. Mr. Blue is really the pick of the litter and very, very nice overall. He has size, good topline which is actually better than the photo, pretty head and good front & rear as well as a lovely neck into shoulders.

Ms. Peach is, at the moment, our pick girl. And it's between her and Margarita. We love all 3 girls but right now, I'd rank them Peach, Marg, and Plummy in that order. Having said that, Plummy has that nice short back and she's a very nice, compact little girl.

It's so hard. You make your decisions at a moment in time and from then on, it's up to God in terms of how they turn out. The intangibles can't be seen in the photos: the attitude and play drive and all those things that add up to a great show dog. That's why Rowdy, probably the best pure show dog in his outstanding litter, was 4th pick male puppy. He was a great show dog because he loved to show. He had the physical tools but when he moved around the ring with his head in the air just floating and smiling, people applauded and judges pointed.

These guys have great attitude from Blue right on down to Plummy. They love new adventures. Blue chased me around the outside of the house yesterday when I let him out of the pen. He loved it! Plummy stole the string cheese when I was baiting her. They are just cool puppies. Thanks for your opinion. We agree totally.

Jim

I just look at overall balance. If you don't focus too closely on any one part, the balance shows. Peach and Blue have the most balance and you can see how they naturally stack without falling back or forward. margarita is right there too. The others don't have it *at this point* quite like the top three.

Though, you never know until they are mature. I am really good at picking puppies. Better than I was with foals. Most everyone feels I have the pick bitch from the Cinny litter, and I picked her at birth (luck)

"Overall balance" is what we look for as well. And some puppies at this age have their act together better than others in the same litter so you have to kind of watch them move outside of the stacked/down&back environment to see how they use their bodies.

We've been very fortunate in our picks in general. Not always but more than most. Plus, if you put the puppies in homes where they will get a chance to be seen after they've matured, you'll find your show dogs. Having said all that, nobody can pick a puppy. You give it your best shot at that moment in time and see what happens. We've had puppies with no heads at 8 weeks of age get huge heads as adults. We've had puppies with funky fronts develop perfect fronts when their chests dropped. Knowing the parents and how they developed over time helps to understand what might happen with the puppies. We'll let you know how the "selection committee" picks 'em next week.

Jim

They are beautiful and look like tons of fun. What a great litter.

Diana