Puppies

Throne of Glass Litter: Fall 2019

Zazu

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George

+ more about the parents

Zazu (purebred Chinook) and George (purebred Bernese Mountain Dog) are producing the second litter of the Chinook Breed Conservation Program (CBCP) of the Chinook Owners Assocation (COA) and approved by the United Kennel Club (UKC). The program's goal is to produce a healthy, genetically sustainable Chinook population, with the breed’s historical temperament, working ability, structure, and appearance. Both Zazu (57 pounds, 24 inches) and George (95-100 pounds, 25.5-26 inches) are average sized for their breeds. In addition to improved genetic diversity, we expect pups from this litter to be above average in size (for a Chinook), have excellent temperaments, and have good working ability. George is a sweet, mush-ball first and foremost. He is smart, good-mannered, confident, and outgoing. Zazu is zany and fun, loving, particularly enjoys children, and is athletic with excellent drive in harness. Both are conformation Champions (Zazu in UKC, George in AKC).

Both have OFA 'Normal' eyes and have OFA 'Good' hips and are free of genetic diseases common to their respective breeds. Neither has a history of seizures or food allergies. When selecting George as sire for this litter, we researched hundreds of Berners and found George (and his pedigree) to be the perfect balance of health, temperament, and type that we are looking for. We expect to see tawny and black & tan pups (with the possibility of tri-color).

Unique to this litter is that we are also working with the BMD Vitality Project. Pups from this litter will aid in improving the genetic sustainability for both Berners and Chinooks. Desert Sol is proud to be a part of the CBCP program to help improve the health and longevity of our breed while maintaining the excellent temperament we love in our Chinooks.

CH 'PR' Desert Sol Zazu's Pride DNA-VIP

Birth Date: 5/1/2014

Pedigree: Click here to see Zazu's Pedigree

Hips: OFA Good

Eyes: OFA Normal 8/7/2019

Genetic Testing: MDR1/Dwarfism clear

Stats: 57 pounds, 24 inches

Other: Seizure & allergy free

More Photos & Info: Zazu's page

Zazu is a sweet, smart, and fun loving girl. She is an outdoorsy dog and will let you know when you are late for her morning walk or when she wants to go bask in the sun on her favorite lawn chair out back. Zazu loves playing with other dogs. She also loves people and can be just as friendly as her mama Kyra, although in her home she's a bit more reserved with strangers. After lots of training and socialization, she now warms up quickly to strangers- the more dog friendly the people, the faster she starts to lick you and shove her head under your hand for pets!

Zazu is a curious dog and will follow you from room to room to see what's going on, and will try to play with anything if she can. During chore time it's really hard to use the Swiffer sweeper with all the barking and attacking of the sweeper going on. Zazu has that perpetual puppy personality that we hope she passes onto her puppies! She was a great mama during her first litter with the perfect balance of responsibility, discipline, and fun in regards to her pups.

George

Pedigree: Available to puppy owners

Hips: OFA Good

Eyes, Elbow, Heart: OFA Normal

Genetic Testing: SOD1-A, SOD1-B, VWF, MDR1 clear

Stats: 95-100 pounds, 25-26 inches

Other: Seizure & allergy free

George is a sweet, mush-ball. He is very smart, a very easy to live with dog, quiet, and his family has trained him well - he is a dog with good manners. George went to obedience classes through his first 18 months, off and on, and to doggie daycare a couple times a week. He waits at doors, doesn't beg at the table, doesn't mark/pee on things, doesn't bark for no reason, has self-restraint and patience. He knows all basic obedience, he excelled in his training and his family did and continues to do an excellent job. He is always well groomed, and welcomes it. He generally behaves correctly, with proper body language and respect of older dogs, he is "sweet to passive" with other dogs in most cases. He really wants to play, but often is too big to play safely, even when he does so appropriately. His owner doesn't let him get over-excited in those times. He is confident, outgoing and happy boy. He quite possibly will go with anyone who has a treat and a car ride. He loves his dog sitter, he loves kids of all ages, and he loves cats.

He adores his family, loves his momma best, and human sister. She sings and reads to him. When she plays piano, he sits right with her. George also has elderly people in his family, and while they do not visit a lot, he is intuitive about not jumping and respecting their space. He will only rest a chin on them vs. run his rough paw pad over thin skin...he just knows. His owner loves this aspect of Berners: a high level of knowing just what you need, when you need it! And that it varies from person to person.

George is an AKC conformation Champion.

Birth

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4

Week 5

Week 6

Week 7

Week 7 - 12/15/2019

Week 7 was a busy one for the Throne of Glass puppies! They had their 7-week vet appointment (clean bill of health for everyone!) and were really good in the exam room. A few thought the vertical blinds were fun to play in but mostly they slept when not on the exam table. They had their structure evaluations, which is always fun for puppies (not!). Surprisingly most puppies were good with this, which is extremely rare. The hardest part was some were a little tense being up on the table while I held them in weird positions. All puppies looked good with some slight differences between them. We are extremely happy how this litter turned out, and their coats are amazing- soft and thick!

The best part of week 7 was the PUPPY PARTY! We had it a week later than usual, it was good that the puppies are older and played much longer. The buggers went for 2 hours straight before slowing down for a nap! We had a decent little turnout with some coworkers, friends and some AZ locals that were interested in learning more about Chinooks. We had a bunch of young kids that played nicely with the pups and they had plenty of cuddles from the adults. We had many toys out in the yard, a fun tunnel to run through, slide, water bottles, an umbrella, motorcycle helmet, homemade "puppy" chimes and other objects to desensitize the puppies with. The kids also were playing with each other so the puppies got to experience the movement and noise that comes with that too. I do have to give my co-worker/friend Michelle a big shout out! Outside of family, she’s the only person that’s been to ALL our puppy parties! From our first one in the Fall of 2012 all the way to this one in the Winter of 2019! I need to give her a plaque or something. ;o)

Lastly, this is the big week that Jon and I made the decisions… where the puppies are going and which ones to each family! This is the rewarding part, making people happy with their new puppies, getting to meet them as they pick their puppies up, and adding a new friend to the Desert Sol family!

Aedion teaching a child how to play at the puppy party ;)

Photos

Videos

Amazingly, these puppies made these last few weeks easier than I thought it would be. Overall, they were pretty well-behaved and quiet. They had their routine down and loved to go outside so that made it easier for feeding and bathroom time and playing. They all are super sweet, making me fall in love with a different puppy (or several puppies) every day. :) We haven’t heard any true roo’ers in the bunch though; it will be interesting to see if it pops out in any of Zazu’s pups in the future. Now we will enjoy our last week (or two for some) with our adorable, sweet little puppies, and savor the time we have together before they go home. At least we get to keep one this time. ;o

Puppies

Throne of Glass Litter: Fall 2019

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CH 'PR' Desert Sol Zazu's Pride DNA-VIP

George

Birth

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4

Week 5

Week 6

Week 7

Week 7 - 12/15/2019

The Throne of Glass litter (as always in order of appearance):

Desert Sol Aedion

Desert Sol Nesryn

Desert Sol Chaol

Desert Sol Lysandra

Desert Sol Nehemia

Desert Sol Asterin

Desert Sol Rowan

Desert Sol Dorian

Desert Sol Manon

Week 8