YankeeDals Dugout

Meet the NYC kids up close and personal

During weeks 7 thru 8, we would allow the puppies to spend individual time with us each day. Not only did this give each one time to be "that special dog" but we also closely watched how they played and explored on their own.

Rockefeller

Rock, Rocky, Mr. Red, Rockefeller-all affectionate call names for this special guy. Our adult dogs love carrots, and during the first one on one evening with Rock we gave him a large carrot to see what he would do along with a large dog biscuit. He proudly picked up each one separately and paraded around the kitchen, family room and outside in the dark making sure each one of his littermates had seen his catch.

Rockefeller has inherited his dad's sleep on your back genetics

Rock is one of the first to explore, and was the first into the garden area. He likes his cuddle time.

Rockefeller....exploring or helping?

Rock is a very confident boy. He watches and thinks. He is easy going with his littermates. He is playful and is often taken "down" by the tag team girls, but gets back up and shakes if all off before he is on his way again. He can easily locate the source of food odors, for example - he quickly learned where the dog food is stored and can find the general counter location in the kitchen of something yummy.

Staten

What a lover. Staten is our gentle soul. He craves people contact and loves his individual time. He loves our older male Jeter and is becoming his shadow. Staten is happy wherever he is at. He is always full of kisses. He loves to snuggle up and cuddle.

Staten after evaluations with a nose covered in cream cheese.

Initially not thrilled with the louder outside noises such as the rototiller and lawnmower, he now sits at the fence to watch both go by. We see him growing in his confidence everyday. He is curious about the bubbles in the above photo.

Hudson

A quiet force. Hudson will sit and watch, taking it all in....but then watch out here he comes. Independent. Life marches to his own beat. He is interactive and playful with his littermates but is just as happy to be off on his own exploring, observing or napping. He also loves to be held.

Hudson helping with yardwork

Manhattan

One of the middle of the road boys. Not always the 1st to explore or do something, but he will be in the pack playing with the rest. He likes to play with our adult male Jeter and will follow him around. He will investigate new things and noises. Today when the outside sprinklers came on with a swoosh of water; he jumped off my lap to go out and see what the noise was. He is becoming vocal but we are working on correcting that!

Bronx

He has a look at me attitude. Bronx has decided he should be part of the household and likes to leave the puppy area to be with the household humans. He attached himself to Jeff very early on and will follow Jeff around if given the chance. He gives lots of kisses and is very curious about life. He is determined to bring down one of the backyard redwood trees. I think he is his mother's favorite as she seeks him out to play with.

Madison

The local sweetheart. Always happy and wiggles her butt when attention focuses on her. Is submissive to the older dogs but is quite the tag team with her sister Liberty when playing with littermates. She is also making a hard sell to stay on at Yankee Dals. I believe her mother told her, "to stay you must win over Jeff".

Madison center of pool watching the water from the hose...notice the other half of the tag team right behind her in the green

Liberty

Liberty is a spunky little package with her mother's attitude. Equally as happy to cuddle or play hard with the others. Half of the tag team with sister Madison. I think Liberty and Madison have their own personal form of communication skills. Together they will take down any one of the boys quickly and swiftly. She is a sweetie.

Brooklyn

Independent, full of attitude and craves human affection. Likes to be held. Runs faster than the rest of the pack. Pot stirrer. Motto in life is "let's get the party started".

Roadtrip!!!

May 25th

The puppies experienced their first lengthy road trip at 8 weeks of age and went to Portland Oregon for a professional evaluation with Pat Hastings. Pat has been a professional handler and breeder, and is now an educator and AKC judge. She gives seminars on puppy and dog development and structure, and has written several books on the subject. Pat feels puppies should be structurally evaluated at 8 weeks, + 3 days as they are proportional structurally to what they will be as adults. Pat looks at how the dogs are put together piece by piece. She reviews how variances in this structure will affect their daily life and what jobs they may or may not be able to perform. Pat is constantly observing the interactions between puppies during her evaluations.

Candids of Pat with each puppy durring the evaluations:

Exhausted!

The goal of evaluations such as this is for a breeder to better understand what they have produced and what their bloodline is moving forward in the breeding. In any breeding, there are positives and negatives. A breeder should embrace both and be as knowledgeable as possible about the negatives to address them with any future breedings. Evaluations also help to review and understand personalities and temperaments of each puppy. As puppies move on to their forever homes, breeders should help place puppies with families who are the best possible fit for the puppy. A breeder should not place a high-energy independent puppy with a retired couple looking for a dog to be a companion and take short leisurely walks with them.

Stacked pictures from the evaluation:

Staten

Bronx

Rockefeller

Manhattan

Liberty

Madison

Hudson

I must say the trip was fun, and something I will always cherish. The adult dogs were left at home, including mom Ruth. We traveled in an RV, and although I initially intended to have one or two pups out at a time to play and stretch their legs while we traveled, we were not far before the entire gang was out and it was a play fest, which lasted several days. Nights were spent in a crate, which allowed for some good initial crate training.... that is except for the one or two who sneaked into bed with us each night for cuddle time :))

Rockefeller looking to see where we are at

Brooklyn wants to know if we are there yet

Bronx taking a turn at the wheel

Dad....I think we need to get off there

More Evaluations

The eighth week

The 8-week period during a puppy's life is a very busy time. We were very fortunate to have local Dalmatian breeders visit and evaluate the puppies, not only for structure but also for breed specific qualities. The puppies also had visits from other dog fanciers wanting to learn more about Dalmatians.

Bronx