Puppies

Avatar (the Last Airbender) Litter: Winter 2024

Aelin

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Bailey

+ more about the parents

This litter was born January 21, 2024! This is a colorful litter with tawny, black & tan, silver tawny, and gray & tans all represented. We believe in the classic phrase of "colors don't pull sleds" as we prioritize good structure, temperament, and health over color in our lines.

Aelin and Bailey are a lovely pair both in size and temperament. Aelin is well-built with sturdy, bladed bone (heavier than most Chinook females) yet surprisingly fast. The judge at the 2023 Chinook National Specialty noted her athleticism immediately. She is extremely affectionate to her family and a bit more aloof with strangers upon first meeting, but warms quickly. Aelin was an excellent Auntie to our 2021 Kitty Litter and we expect her to be a fantastic mom. Bailey is more heavily built than many Chinook males, but is of a nice average height. He has a handsome head and we expect those good Chinook looks to be passed on to these pups. He also is a lover of people and dogs. Both dogs are up for any adventure as long as it is with their people! This is a 2nd generation Chinook Breed Conservation Program (CBCP) litter and the pups are expected to be approximately 75% Chinook and 25% Bernese Mountain Dog.

Since this is a CBCP litter, we'll be especially interested in homes willing to keep their dogs open for future breeding.

Desert Sol Vitality Aelin Fireheart (Aelin)

Birth Date: 10/25/2019

Pedigree: Click here to see Aelin's Pedigree (sire information available to puppy owners)

Hips: OFA Good

Elbows: OFA Normal

Eyes: OFA Normal 10/3/2023

Stats: 68 pounds, 24.5 inches

Registration: COA CBCP - X20-0114-50%G1

Genetic Test Results: Dwarfism: Clear, MDR1: Clear

Other: Seizure & allergy free

Aelin was named after my favorite character from my favorite books series: Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas. Aelin in the book had a very sweet yet powerful nickname: Fireheart, which we also added to her registered name. Yet she has been called several other nicknames and we’ve yet to truly call her our Fireheart. Those nicknames include Mushball- she is super sweet and empathetic and loves to be cuddled up to you. She will actually melt into you by going up to your legs and lean on them, twist around and then slide down your legs to the ground while you scratch her tummy (sometimes this is hilarious as she melts before you’re ready and one of you will fall ungracefully to the ground!). Sometimes she will come over to me while I’m on the couch, put her paw on my lap to let me know she’s ready for her “melting” session which I happily get on the floor for her to melt into my lap. Another nickname is Comfy Butt- which pretty much means she wants a comfy butt every time she’s sitting down! If a dog bed, carpet, floor mat, car seat, your foot… whatever is *not* the floor is available, she must put her butt on it. What princess doesn’t want her butt to be comfy!? And lastly she’s called Tank because she is built very solid and is a strong and fast girl! She looooves when her human grandparents come over and we always need to be careful that the Mushball Tank doesn’t take someone down in her quest to love on them!

I can’t say enough great things about this dog. She is my “heart dog” for sure. We connect at such an intimate level, it sometimes makes Jon jealous (I get the special lovey eyes a lot)! She’s very confident and knows her place in our pack. She’s not pushy and also not submissive or meek. She is super smart and sometimes problem solves a little better than her momma or grandma (sorry girls!). She constantly makes me laugh, whether it's her little “chirp” noise when she’s happy, her latest comfy butt conquest, when I suddenly have this black nose between my body and elbow while I’m at my desk demanding a pet, how she grabs her favorite childhood “bunny” toy every night (wherever it is in the house) to play with Jon or I before bed, her silly “superstition” that she has to be in her kennel and wait for the perfect moment for the nightly milkbone comes, and when I’m ready to get into bed how she comes out of her kennel for a last melting session before bed.

Aelin is a 1st generation Chinook Breed Conservation Program (CBCP) dog (50% Chinook, 50% Bernese Mountain Dog) with the goal to bring increased genetic diversity and other physical qualities to the Chinook breed.

Lake Time Bailey

Birth Date: 2/3/2021

Pedigree: Click here to see Bailey's Pedigree

Hips: OFA Good

Eyes: OFA Normal 6/1/2023

Elbows: OFA Normal

Stats: 90 pounds, 24 inches

Registration: AKC - WS71991003

Genetic Test Results: Dwarfism: Clear, MDR1: Clear

Other: Seizure & allergy free

Bailey is a gentle, old soul in an extra large package. His calm and composed nature endears everyone who meets him. He loves his family passionately and is content travelling where ever they go. He will happily greet strangers and loves to play and run every morning with his two best friends, a pair of Husky "siblings". Bailey is a creature of comfort and although he loves adventures, he is delighted when it is time to snuggle in the bed (head on the pillow) or on the couch. Hiking, biking, roaming the beach (though not swimming), and wading in the river are Bailey's favorite activities. He is cautious in new surroundings. He loves his "work" - accompanying his Mom to her workplace at the Elementary School where he enjoys being mauled by all the children.

Bailey is very routine-oriented and will let you know when it is walk time or will question your decision-by sitting down-if you want to travel a different route. Upon his return home from a walk, he immediately seeks out the family member who stayed home to check on them and let them know how his walk went. And if they aren't adequately attentive, Bailey will paw at them to express his dissatisfaction. He is vocal when it comes to demanding treats but is otherwise a very quiet companion. He loves looking out the front window and curiously inspects the activity on our street. Although our puppy cam captures the occasional howl when he is home alone, he excitedly greets us when we return home, anxiously waiting on the couch for the pets he knows he is going to receive.

Birth

Week 1

Week 2

Week 2 - 2/4/2024

Ah Week 2...it's always the fun week where they change from little seal pup lumps to actual pups! Their eyes and ears are open (although they still are developing) and it is always so amazing and adorable watching the pups "discover" each other for the first time! They start to recognize us more as well and will get excited to play with us. It's kinda funny watching them play with each other. It's like slow-mo gumming each other and when they want to play with us, their mouths are open and waiting for us to approach to "eat" us. Usually they just eat my sleeve or finger, but if I put my face up to them, it's usually a kiss I get instead. Awwww! I like to tell them how "ferocious" they are, which couldn't be further from the truth! Since their wake and play time is usually a whopping 5 minutes long, we usually stop whatever we are doing to go and enjoy and play with them while they're awake. Now when you watch the puppy cam you can scroll back to these 5 minute long bursts of fun and cuteness!!!

I will say that I'm a little sad that Aelin isn't the "fun aunt" to her pups like she was to her half siblings in the Kitty Litter. But, that's because she's being an amazing MOM!!! She has truly amazed me with her transition as the pups grow. It is crazy how her instincts tell her what she needs to do when. The first few days we had to literally bring her food and water and drag her outside to go to the bathroom. Her walks were extremely short and she immediately wanted to get back to them. She gradually built up time away from the box, where she will sleep just outside of it to protect her pups, but giving herself a break. She will go on normal walks with us and drink on her own, but when we bring her food, she only wants to eat it next to her pups so she can feed them right after. She will still give us the concerned eye when we take one away from the box, but totally trusts us when we go to the box to hang out and play. She's been a little concerned when Zazu (Aelin's mom) goes in to check on them, and will keep a careful eye. I hope she gets to enjoy them a bit more when she's not worried about feeding them. We'll see what next week brings!

The puppy stimulation exercises have ended but now we are starting to introduce toys, new surfaces, rooms, more people handling them, and then start to introduce new sounds. It's pretty funny watching them learn to walk on their wobbly legs and attempt to leap at eachother or their toys! It usually ends in a faceplant, doh! Their personalities are starting to emerge so we'll have more fun updates in the coming weeks. Although I must say these guys are pretty chill. There is usually a lot more sass and squeals, but they've been pretty good overall. Sometimes one can be a little fussy if we take them for a nightly snuggle, but usually just are calm and hang out with us. The most sass I get is a little cute growl when playing or gruff grunt when we pick them up.

Photos

Videos

We now have their offical backdrop and toys for their weekly pictures. Last week I forgot to tell you that their background was a wood hanging piece that we put the Throne of Glass litter's paw prints on the board before they went home (Aelin's litter). Aelin is the yellow paw prints on the background. This week we got our Appa fabric in for their photo backdrop because we couldn't have the Avatar litter without Appa involved! And their little toys featuring each bender is so much fun. Bumi's is much larger than the others, I think because he's sitting on a throne in the box. It's funny how the largest box ended up with the smallest pup!

Zuko has been the most playful with us so far which has been fun. He as well as Bumi and Momo enjoy sleeping in the corner, the first one with their head up in the air and the other two using each other as pillows. I'm not sure why they do that but it's been pretty funny! We have a picture of Zuko and Bumi, I couldn't get the camera in time to get the cute one with all three of them. Sokka is one chill guy that cuddles with us so well. The girls, Katara and Momo, have been so sweet. Usually we have a little girl that's full of sass, but these two are so far sass-free! Iroh is also a pretty cool guy. I call him "noodle" because he is totally limp when we pick him up and snuggle with us. Aang was the first to open his eyes and interact with us. I can't believe how fast time is going and I want it to slow down, but I will be excited to get to know these little bender pups better in the coming weeks!

Puppies

Avatar (the Last Airbender) Litter: Winter 2024

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Desert Sol Vitality Aelin Fireheart (Aelin)

Lake Time Bailey

Birth

Week 1

Week 2

Week 2 - 2/4/2024

The Avatar litter (as always in order of appearance):

Desert Sol Katara

Desert Sol Zuko

Desert Sol Aang

Desert Sol Iroh

Desert Sol Sokka

Desert Sol Bumi

Desert Sol Momo

Week 3

Week 4

Week 5

Week 6

Week 7

Week 8