Winston's Home Page

Hi! And Woof too...........it is Winston here from Belding, Michigan. That is a long ways from Ontario, Oregon. Yesterday very early in the morning I took off from Boise, Idaho with Tigger. She carried me in a larger rolling Sherpa Bag. We had a wonderful day of travel, although it was a long day. It was after 9 PM when we arrived in Grand Rapids but Mom & Dad were there and came running to greet both Tigger and me. Along the way Tigger and I met a lot of people that "oohed and awed" over me. It was nothing in light of the fuss the my new parents made there in the airport.

Directly right he can see me in my Daddy's arms. Shela and Cliff found me an awesome home. Emilee is so cute and sweet. I am 'much loved"!!

Now that you have heard from me and got a good look at me, please read what Mom had to say to Cliff and Shela. Sweet Weimy Kisses --Winston

11/12/2007

Whew...I finally have a minute to sit and write you a quick note. It's already been a busy time since our baby came home last night : )

Shela, I really can't thank you and Cliff enough for the phenomenal job you do of raising beautiful, well loved Weims. Winston is absolutely perfect...he is the most handsome dog I've ever seen! His coat is like velvet. We've already gotten stopped by everyone who sees him mentioning how gorgeous he is : ) And he already comes to his name! You must have been telling him his name was Winston for quite some time because he runs right to you when you call him. Can you tell we're in love with him???

He rode home beautifully in the car last night. Granted he was pretty pooped from his long day, but he was very well behaved. He didn't sleep a whole lot last night, but we let him carry on in his crate and soon enough he would fall asleep...for a while : ) Really he was very good; we took him out once at 4:30 am (after he quit crying...we're trying to be strong) and he didn't have an accident all night long. This morning after breakfast he got a bath and we tried on his Michigan State sweater. All of this tired him out and he and his dad fell fast asleep in the easy chair.

I also can't believe how great Wanda (Tigger) is. Truly she is such a blessing to you and those of us who are far from Owyhee. She was so great; we really enjoyed spending even the little time we did with her. We dropped her off at her hotel around 10...she must have been exhausted! We saw her coming down the hall with Winston's little head poking out of the sherpa and I immediately had tears in my eyes! Please thank her again for us and let us her know we are eternally grateful for her kindness and generosity.

Well I should get going, we've got a big day of getting to know each other! Thank you again Shela...Winston is the most beautiful blue boy in the world!

Emilee and Vance 11/12/2007

Well, we had a big day yesterday. We went to the vet's, which was really fun. Out vet specializes in sporting breeds and all of her dogs are ranked nationally in field trials. She's absolutely awesome and we asked about 900 questions, which, considering it was 8:00 pm was awfully nice of her to entertain : ) Winston had a great time...lots of attention and even a few treats. The vet says he looks great; his coat and skin are very healthy, his lungs and heart sound clear and his eyes and ears are nice and clean. He's feeling VERY bitey, which drives me crazy but I also know it's just a phase. We're already training him with down and whoa and his favorite reward after a training session is just attention and love. He adores sleeping in my lap but Vance keeps reminding me of how much I'll love it when he's 70 lbs! Speaking of which, he was 10 lbs. 4 ozs. yesterday on November 13th. Today is their 8 week birthday! We're waiting until about a week for his bordatella injection, which will be about two or three weeks before his twelve week shots. We're going with the injection instead of nasal and we want it before he starts puppy class on Dec. 4th. The woman who runs the class is also a Weim breeder, but she's just getting started. All in all they said he looks great and we had fun showing him off to the staff. He's such a sweetie and I can really see his independence showing through. His new thing today is grabbing anything he's not supposed to have and looking at me while he runs like the wind. Hope all is well on Onion Ave!

Love,

Emilee, Vance and Winston 11/14/2007

P.S. He's teething so much and loves to eat sticks. What do you think about things like Nyla bones? Do you think they're safe? He seems to want something hard to chew...

P.P.S. He only cried once during the night and has been quietly laying in his crate the whole time I've been writing this. Horray!

He definitley is independant but he absolutely loves to be around us too. He seems pretty fearless in all honesty. Vance is definitley planning on exposing him to everything he can think of in the first six months. We're fortunate to have the country and the city both very close to us. We were thinking about making some sort of table for him, but Vance isn't as keen on the force retrieving right now. Maybe when he's a little older and not so darn cute : ) We're still dog sitting for Midas and he's been a great influence on Winston. Midas is unbelievably well behaved and Winston has been learning alot from him. He sorts does "foos" which is German for left side...this is what you tell Midas on a walk (he was obediance trained in German) and he won't budge from your left side. Literally nothing phases Midas when he's "foosed". We've had dogs charge at him snarling from their yard, squirrels run in his path and kids riding their bikes right past him and he barely pays attention but will never leave your left side. I'm praying he rubs off on Winston : ) Like I said, Winston has kinda learned to foos when in the yard and he always waits for us to go in the house first just like Vance taught him. He's such a great boy and a perfect addition to our family.

Thanks for the updates and the puppy ideas. They're great!

Winston has got an independant streak a country mile wide, but Vance and I knew it would be difficult for a while. It's easy to be patient when you have little ball of love like Winston : ) As much of a maniac he is tearing around the house and terrorizing the cats, he immediatley crawls into our lap and crashes out. Vance gets up at 6 with him every morning and takes him for a walk and into the woods etc. Then they just spend some QT together until I wake up at 7:30. I think it's so good for both of them...plus WInston is pretty pooped after all that excercise : ) WHen we were leaving the vet's on Tuesday Dr. Scholl stopped me and said " I know it can be tiring to be so consistent with training and staying on him all the time. But the first six months could make or break your dog's behavior. Just stay with it because it's worth it." We liked that...I don;t know why, but I think of that when I wonder if it's the millionth or millionth and one times I've said "Winston off" or "No." Just a random thought : ) Okay...have a great day Nielson's!

Love from Vance, Em, and Winston 11/16/2007

I have a quick couple of questions...

1.) Winston seems to only have accidents in one place in the house. Is there anything you know of that we could put down to deter him from this? Maybe a spray or scent?

Breeder's Comment: Weims are notorious at being difficult to housebreak--so much so the breed standard even mentions the fact. Regardless, we don't know of anything that will prevent them from peeing in a certain place that we could recomment. Some people use mousetraps, but alas that is NOT a good idea for a hunting Weim. It could scare them and cause them to fear bird launchers because they snap and sound a lot like a mouse trap. It just doesn't seem like a good idea to us to scare a put that way. Some people put these in the top of the trash can etc............ The best course of action is to avoid accidents by keeping the pup with you all the time. With a couple of weeks of diligence most Weims are well trained and prefer to go outside. Weims are very concrete thinkers and like routine. Click here for housetraining pointers.

2.) How much is too much excercise for a weim pup? Winston gets an hour or two a day in the form of walks in the woods and fields mostly. Do you think this is alright or too much for his growing joints?

Breeder's Comment: It is true that you need to limit exercise while the pup is growing. We always recommend that for the first year you limit an actual run to 2-3 miles. Now this type of run is often on asphalt..........which also would work into the equation. Walking is fine. It is not the same as hard pounding pavement-running. When your pup is young (like 2-3 months old), they will most likely tire before they have had too much exercise. A tired Weim is a happy Weim. Smiles Just keep things in balance. Weim puppies need exercise but not too much. Too much would be extreme. Many runners are faithful to do 5 miles everyday. That is too much for a growing Weim in our opinion. By the time they are about a year old and the growing has slowed, you can work them into the 5 miles run. Weims will be able to walk for a long time and during the walk they will sprint at intervals and go a lot further than the 2 mile walk. We don't feel you need to worry about this being a problem. Take it slow and build up to the longer distances and time. They will muscle up as time goes along.

Thanks in advance for any insight!

Breeder's Comment: We are glad to answer all questions. We realize that even the most prepared puppy home will find questions and challenges. Most of the initial obstacles pass quickly and without incidence. Most of the training issues will also be resolved with consistency and persistant training. Keep things fun and light. Build your relationship and you will be rewarded over and over again.

Love from Vance, Em and Winston 11/17/2007