Just a forewarning here of what’s to come in this segment. Dog lovers will understand; the rest of you may want to skip to the end of this section. We managed to hold out for almost a whole year without a puppy (instead of the 3-4 we’d been planning on). That’s a whole story unto itself. Mike wanted to pick this one, and it had to be a hunting dog—almost definitely a pointer variety. However, everything he suggested was either huge or was known to be one of the most energetic breeds on the planet or both which doesn’t mix as an indoor family pet (first job). So after starting research into breeds we found the “perfect” one that does upland game, retrieves water fowl, is the smallest of the pointing breeds, and is known for being crazy in the field and calm in the home. Um…sold! However, I now know that calm hunting dog does not even come close to equaling really calm dog (any other non working breed). Ha! The joke is still on me I guess. I’d figured I married a hunter who is soundly indoctrinating our offspring in the hunting ways so I figured if you can’t beat them, join them. No! I’m not taking up hunting anytime soon, but I figured I better be an active part of this dog’s selection and training since I get to spend the most time with her of anyone. So unfortunately during our research we also found the perfect storm of generations of field champion doggy genes in one litter—which leads us to the fact that we have added a new four legged friend to the family. This project actually took a good chunk of time this year as we were visiting the breeder a lot to look at prior litters and then visiting Trixie a ton until she got to come home, plus you add the puppy/hunting training and voila=huge time commitment. Glad to say that Mike’s instincts were good when he picked her, and she’s shaping up to be a great dog. It’s just fun to watch her in the field. Officially she’s Glimpses of Trixie which was supposed to be Glimpses of Trixie Dust. The kennel’s name took up too many spaces—not bitter a bit. LOL! Drum roll please…she’s a Small Munsterlander. I know, you’ve never heard of it. Just go Google it. There’s actually a good group of very dedicated breeders/trainers/national field trial judges in our area which made the breed even more appealing. It’s a breed that’s only been bred for field work, never show, or just “pet” class so the natural instincts are insane. Yep, you know it. She’s pretty much taken over the house.
Trixie went sledding with us a week ago at 6 months old.
Trixie at 1 month old
Trixie at 2 months old. All tuckered out.
When we first brought her home, she could curl up on her squirrel squeaker mat. Not so much anymore.
4 months old. Playing with the leaves.
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