Minnie and Malcolm's girl puppy born September 22, 2007

This is the story of this puppy.

Minnie and Malcolm were bred accidentally before I had Malcolm neutered. Molly and Malcolm were removed from the breeding program because they are proven carriers of CMO. This puppy will not have the condition herself because it requires two parents to be carriers in order to have a chance of getting it, but she does have a 50% chance of being a carrier of the condition. This will not be an issue because she is sold on a non-breeding agreement.

This little girl must go to a home where the youngest member of the family is at least eight years old and no children in the house will tease or be too rough with the puppy. (she has not benefited from playing with littermates). Malcolm has fathered 2/20 puppies that have more than an acceptable level protectivness, of the home and family by aggression. This is less than the 15% of cases reported on average in Westies but I would like to do better in the future. Brinkly, my new sire is much more obedient and mild mannered than Malcolm.  Malcolm is very outgoing , freindly and charming (just so long as you don't want to cut his nails :-)

I have been very surprised to watch this puppy develop. Being a singleton, I expected her to be shy or fearful - however she is very outgoing. She would of course benefit from the social skills she will learn at obedience school and it would be nice if she went to a home where she wasn't on her own for too many hours per day during her puppyhood.

We are keeping Malcolm even though he is not a part of our future breeding program because we love the smiley-faced little rascal - people will be able to meet him as well as Minnie. You can read about Malcolm under the "Retired" and Minnie under "Dams" side bar tabs.

Newborn photos...please scroll down the page to see weekly photos

Two weeks old - eyes starting to open

This little girl has surprised me with her personality - I imagined a single puppy to be fearful and quiet. Instead she is very bold and brave and very lively. She is not much of a cuddler - much too busy. Even in her sleep when she lies on her back, her little feet are running in the air like she is having a big adventure. She seems more advanced for her age than other pups I have had.

This little girl is full of beans :-)

Almost six weeks old.

We have been calling this little girl Bonnie, here at seven weeks her ears are now erect and her nose colour has come in nicely. She is such a tiny thing, I think if there had been a full litter born she would have been the runt. It is funny to see her play with her milk bones - the other pups had to eat theirs fast before someone else got them - sometimes it's nice to be an only child. :-)

She is starting to calm down now and is willing to be held for a short cuddle - but her main personality trait is that of the explorer which means she has taken more after her mother - intelligent and very sporty.

Bonnie has a new friend – an old one-antlered toy moose. She fights with him then cuddles up with him at naptime.

Bonnie will have her check up at the vet next week and should be ready to leave for her new home on Saturday November 24 when she will be nine weeks old.

I shall be starting to place newspaper ads very soon.

eight weeks old.

A family shot at 8 weeks.

This little girl checked out well at the vet. The vet said she has a good bite (No, she didn't bite the vet - her teeth just line up nicely :-). She was much heavier than I anticipated weighing in at a whopping 4.6 lbs! I guess she just seems so tiny because I am comparing her to my imported puppies who are 8 to 10 weeks older than her.

Her personality is calming down - she was happy to meet the vet until it came time for the shots. She did okay on the one-and-a-quarter-hour trip to the vet and back - didn't make a fuss mostly slept, but was glad to get back home.

Libby has gone to live with a wonderful family in St. Albert, Alberta

Libby on her first birthday.