6 month old Taff (Nel x Blu) joins Sabine and Geoff on their horse farm in SW New Hampshire. Taff is the second Thundering Paws Farm pup for Sabine and Geoff. 11 month old Sunny (né Leif) is already on their farm.
Geoff, Sunny (né Leif), Taff and Sabine
Taff is naturally biddable. Confident, well-balanced pup, with push. And she will be looking for work straight away . Sabine who has not trained a pup before plans to train her on neighbors’ sheep.
Sabine is so very thoughtful. She sent a photo of the two Thundering Paws Farm dogs when she got home …Taff all cleaned up. Very elegant pair. Taff’s intensity and strength shows in that icy stare. It is clear who will be boss!
When a female has 11 pups, the pups have to take turns feeding. There are only 10 teats, and the best teats are nearer the back end. Here, one group sleeps while the other group feeds. Maintaining a very warm temperature is essential. Hypothermia is the pups’ enemy, the chief cause of early pup death.
Sue looks tired but is doing incredibly well, for having delivered all these pups just a few hours ago. All look healthy. All are feeding and active. I am feeding her premium chicken breasts, anything to keep the nourishment up.
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Sue’s pups will not be staying with me. They will be fostered by Lucy and Jim on their dairy farm in Massachusetts once they are weaned, vaccinated, chipped and ready for travel.
Update:
When I went to change the bedding in the late afternoon, there were only 10 pups. Nature and mothers have a way of ‘taking care of things’ …if we do not intervene first. Sick, failing or dead pups are removed by the mother for the good of the litter (they simply ‘disappear’). I am familiar with this. We can’t and shouldn’t try to save everything. That is not nature’s way. Susie is in charge, not me. And she does what is best / needed. The 10 puppies look healthy and alert. They are loving the 85°f temps in the whelping room. Susie, less so. She goes out every so often to douse herself in the cool brook.
5 month-old Fluffy Jac has been in seclusion recovering from a left shoulder problem. He has been so patient and so good, I just had to let him out to enjoy the day half way through his 3 week rest. This pup exudes joy. Happiness is wherever he is –‘Happy Jac’. Recover soon Jac, so you can enjoy more days like this one!
Sabine sent a photo of Leif, who will turn 1 on June 1, among the horses at her farm. The puppy who could not sit still here looks happy and composed on the farm. Little does he realize that Sabine is bringing him a little ball of fun, high-spirited 5 month old Taff, from a littler of 10 here.
3 year old Gail joins Kristian on his sheep farm in Maine. Gail is one of the nicest and most talented dogs to leave the farm. She needed / wanted / deserved a one-on-one relationship with a kind human …and sheep.
Work began immediately for Gail …and she is just fine with that! The dog who always has a smile on her face has reason to smile.
Nature threw me a curve that I didn’t see coming… until today She was supposed to wait for Cap in 2027 🙏🏻 Enter… Lucy & Jim to help manage this unexpected development
10-April-2026. The dogs are enjoying snow-free fields again. Winter is over. We are waiting for spring to arrive. The 5-month-old pups are in heaven! It has been snow and cold since they were born on 25-October-2025.
Patch – naturally talented, slowly warming to me (and humans)Nova – who got a (successful) remedial lesson in who is boss.Mindi – my little housemateand future working dogSkye – mama without the neurosis
…and my #1, Peter. I can never take too many photos of this dog.
In a country with a free press, new is whatever people deem it to be. I didn’t need this kind of ‘publicity’. However, for all its shortcomings of a ‘free press’, it better than the alternative. News of the Groundhog Day Missing Puppies from Thundering Paws Farm was the talk of the Vermont side of the Upper Valley. Only 2 months later did I see that the story hit the local newspaper. I was too busy trying to make sure the puppies didn’t escape …again. With 60 cm of snow on the fields, running down the 1/2 mile driveway to seek adventure was almost irresistible.
