Kirby Mountain Kennels, East Burke, VT (2025)

01/12/2025

Addie's girls were in the kitchen at Kirby Mountain Kennels taking in the sounds, sights, and smell of the peanut butter dark chocolate chunk cookies baking. No tasting included! This was a perfect way for me to rest and spend some time observing the two girls alone.

01/12/2025

Early Morning Dip in the Snow

This morning after feeding all the dogs I tossed some fun bumpers for Tamrose Alexander and Kirby Mountain Mathilda his daughter. As we know Labradors get excited to play and Mattie takes this excitement to the next level!

01/11/2025

Watching the Snow Falling

Kirby Mountain's Oliver watches the snow from the warmth of the house.
Oliver, a yellow Labrador born last year seldom misses a chance to be in the middle of chaotic play but for this time he looks very pensive and peaceful being on the inside looking out.

01/11/2025

Man's Best Friend?
You better believe it!

Puppies can make bad situations feel not so bad, cold days not seem so cold, can turn a mishap into an adventure in mischief and can fill the void in your life and heart with unconditional love and comfort.

Experience tells me this is true as I spend some quiet time with Miss Addie's English Cocker pup remembering the start of KMK and looking forward to this new year of 2025.

01/10/2025

Is there a better way to spend Friday afternoon?

Kiley and I spent some time (and a lot of smiles) with Addie's male English Cocker Spaniel pups today. These two were playing and snuggling this afternoon content to cuddle into a hoodie or each other.

This is a time when we watch them in small groups to observe behavior and temperament differences. These 2 are very similar so far but we'll mix it up tomorrow and see what happens!

01/10/2025

Something Different

I was never surprised to see any variety of birds or critters back when the barn loft was the home to our training pigeons. Once John stopped training 6 months before he passed homes were found for all of the pigeons and the barnyard hasn't had much activity outside of morning doves, bear and deer.

This morning I was greeted by a flock of turkeys in the 3 crabapple trees outside of the barn. I'm not especially fond of the turkeys in the yard but it resonates of life, a good life.

01/09/2025

Breakfast with Mom

As weaning Addie's English Cocker Spaniel pups continues, she is only with them for a short time day. When I put her in with them they latch on immediately and get their second course of breakfast; the first one was their porridge. Addie continues to be a patient and attentive mother though she is always glad to leave them now.

01/08/2025

Snug as a Bug in a Rug!

The Addie and Wally English Cocker pups get more confident with every day. Today as the wind whips around the house and the temperature continues to drop below zero I took this little boy to snuggle and help raise my attitude temperature. It has sure worked, he warmed me right up!

01/07/2025

Kirby Mountain Honey

Honey has spent some time with me at Kirby Mountain Kennels during the holiday season. And like most of our Retrievers she loves to carry things around and sometimes takes on a full load of not only her toys but anything else laying around.

After a few days here she discovered the draft blocker at the door and picks it up every time she goes out and comes in. Honey certainly lives up to her name as a Retriever but also her name of Honey because everything she does is with playful sweetness!

01/07/2025

Planking with Pups

Though I have learned that I am no acclaimed photographer, I have picked up a few tricks in the last 5 years.

One is about light, sunshine, and shadows. The other is how to get close enough without stirring the natural moment. And so I find getting in a good low plank position with little puppies allows me to capture a moment. These Addie and Wally (ECS) pups were having a peppy puppy experience last night as I got down to their level.

I wanted to see how low I could go!

01/06/2025

Not Over Yet!

At the Hayes' household the celebration of Christmas doesn't revolve around a date, instead it is a season of celebration and we would include January 6, the celebration of Little Christmas as an important part of this time.

Tonight I sit by the tree listening to seasonal music with some of Addie's puppies. I reflect on Christmases past as I anticipate what could come with Christmas next year and beyond.
It is a very peaceful night indeed.

01/06/2025

A Frosty Day

At the time of opening the front door it was zero degrees at Kirby Mountain Kennels but by the time I got back in the house it was -3 degrees out. This afternoon's walk with Sallie and Grace was only 9 degrees warmer.

From what they are forecasting it will be traditional mid January temps this week. In this weather I put the timer on for the dogs being outside. Most of them are so hardy and energetic they wouldn't pay attention to how frosty it's out so I do! Frostbite isn't fun for anyone, humans or pups.

01/05/2025

Warmth in a Puppy

The afternoon has been cold and blustery and once I came in from walking the dogs Addie and Wally's little girl warmed my heart and kept me entertained in the playroom at Kirby Mountain Kennels .

As it always does, time is passing by quickly with this litter and Addie and her pups have been a joy to care for.

01/05/2025

American writer Caroline Knapp said, "before you get a dog you can't imagine what living with one might be like; afterward,you can't imagine living any other way."

Here is Kirby Mountain Sadie, a Grace and Finn pup born April of 2021. She is an example of the versatility of our Labrador Retrievers: a trained hunting companion as well as a member of her home. She keeps her family going and they certainly give her a very full life.

01/04/2025

Starting to Get the Hang of It

Addie and Wally's pups turned 4 weeks old Thursday and their behavior had indicated that they were ready to start being weaned.

Weaning is a process and differs between litters so there are several indicators we look at in behavior. The first we look for at Kirby Mountain Kennels is the pups diving into Mom's hard kibble and the mom starts vocalizing and then snapping at the pups.This behavior is naturally important for puppies to learn boundaries and is beneficial, not harmful to puppy development.

As we monitor this the pups are then separated from the mom at their feeding time and once they appear to be done with their "mush" mom goes back in to clean up the pups and any leftovers.

We started this process with this litter 6 days ago. It has taken that long for them to really get interested and dig in to their food. This routine of going back and forth between nursing on mom and eating their own food will continue for up to 2 more weeks as the process of Addie's milk dries up. This is significant so the mom doesn't develop mastitis and pups can continue to grow both physically and mentally in a healthy way.

It is also important to note that breeders have a variety of different practices that work with their pups and situations: there is no one definitive right or wrong way of weaning as long as pups are physically healthy and properly socialized.

01/03/2025

Snow-dog!

Kirby Mountain's Honey is not daunted by today's frigid temperatures and the wind. She loves to run and scoop as much snow as she can in her mouth. There is a bowl of fresh room temperature water only feet away but it does not translate into fun for her.

True to the playful temperament of the Labrador Retriever, Honey bounds through drifts and piles as she spins off into traditional "zoomies!"

01/02/2025

A Content Cocker

The wind and the snow have not let up but Otto (Fordrock Mocha) doesn't mind the weather since he is tucked in the playroom at Kirby Mountain Kennels.

Thankfully he is an exceptional cuddler and more animated and entertaining than any blanket could be.

01/02/2025

A Quick Transition

Yesterday, New Year's Day 2025 Arthur (Labrador), Otto (ECS) and I walked the training fields at Kirby Mountain Kennels in spring like conditions. However, this morning's walk was definitely back to winter conditions with the snow flying and wind gusts that take one's breath away!

Kirby Mountain Kennels

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