Willow's 2018 litter arrived May 30th

See individual puppy pictures in the galleries below.

Hycottage Farm's Willow - 2018 Tree Themed Litter 

Puppy #1- Hycottage Farm's Timber

Sable, white tipped tail, four white paws, wide blaze, partial white collar.

Timber became Axel and now lives with his family and his buddy, Violet, in Michigan.

Special thanks to Axel’s family for sharing pictures of him in his new home.

Puppy #2- Hycottage Farm's Cypress

Sable, White tipped tail, four white paws, wide off-set blaze and full white collar. 

Cypress became Finch and now lives with his family and buddy, Tug.

Puppy #3 - Hycottage Farm's Forester

Sable, white tipped tail, four white paws, full white collar, white muzzle and wide blaze.

Forester became Finley and lives with his new family in California.

Special thanks to Finley’s family for sharing pictures of him in his new home.

Puppy #4 - Hycottage Farm's Sassafras

Sable, white tipped tail, four white paws, 3/4 white collar, white tipped muzzle and thin blaze.

Sassy became Annie and lives with her family and buddies, Buck and Scout, in Oregon.

(Professional photos of Annie, by Mary Fish Arango Photography)

Special thanks to Annie’s family for sharing pictures of her in her new home.

Puppy #5 - Hycottage Farm's Spruce

Sable, white tipped tail, four white paws, full white collar, white tipped muzzle and thin blaze.

Spruce became Timber and lives with his new family in Maryland.

Special thanks to Timber’s (Spruce) family for sharing pictures of him in his new home.

Puppy #6 -  Hycottage Farm's Magnolia

Sable, white tipped tail, four white paws, full white collar, white muzzle and thin blaze that connects muzzle to collar. This little girl is spunky and has personality already. She is always on the go. She forced her way out immediately after Spruce (#5). She may be the smallest but she can "run circles" around the other pups.  

Maggie became Winnie and lives with her new family in Georgia.

Special thanks to Winnie’s family for sharing pictures of her in her new home.

Puppy #7 -  Hycottage Farm's Holly

Sable, white tipped tail, four white paws, 3/4 white collar, white muzzle with wide white blaze.

Holly is a great little puppy with lots of personality. She loves meeting new people and other dogs on outings. She makes a lot of eye contact and is progressing well in obedience training.

Holly is now Hollie, with an ie. She lives with her new family in Maryland and has occasional playdates with her brother Spruce (now Timber).

Puppy # 8  - Hycottage Farm's Hemlock

Sable, white tipped tail, four white paws, full collar, full blaze.

Hemlock is now Jeriel (Jeri) and lives with his human Mom and 5 kitty friends in New York.

Special thanks to Jeri’s mom for sharing pictures of him in his new home.

Puppy #9 - Hycottage Farm's Oakley

Oakley is showing tan markings on her cheeks, along her back legs and under her tail. She looks like she is going to be Tri-color with white tipped tail, four white paws, full white collar, white muzzle, white blaze. 

Oakley is a very task oriented puppy. She knows many obedience commands and several tricks. She is always looking for a job to do and has an endless amount of controlled energy. She is able to settle when it is time to be quiet and is very intelligent.

Puppy #10 - Hycottage Farm's Aspen

Sable, white tipped tail, four white paws, white peak on neck (no collar), thin blaze.

Aspen is now Bella, and lives with her family and her two doggy pals in Ohio.

Special thanks to Bella’s family for sharing pictures of her in her new home.

Puppy #11 - Hycottage Farm's Hickory

Sable, white tipped tail, four white paws, partial white collar, white muzzle.

Hickory’s Health information:

CEA (Wild Type/ Mutant - Carrier) Hickory carries one copy of the mutant gene for Collie Eye Anomaly. He is not affected by CEA, he is just a carrier. As long as he is bred to a female that is clear for CEA his puppies will not be affected by CEA

MDR1: Normal/Normal

Hickory is Normal/Clear for the following mutations: Cyclic Neutropenia, Degenerative Myelopathy, Progressive Retinal Atrophy, Rod-Cone Disease 2, Von Willebrand Disease II

The events of Puppy Day!

Puppies have arrived! Willow went into first stage labor around 2:30 a.m. on May 30th and delivered the first puppy about 4:30p.m. We now have 11 wonderful, squirming, healthy puppies. There are 6 males and 5 females and all of them are fairly consistent in size and weight. Individual puppy pictures are posted above.

Willow spent all day Tuesday trying to find a good hiding spot, even though her whelping box was available, and she likes it, she was on the search for someplace more secluded. She tried our closet, under my desk, under the bedside table and even attempted to crawl under the porch when I took her out to go potty. She tried nesting by digging the carpet, pillows, and any blanket she could find. On Puppy Day I placed her pile of blankets in the whelping area and let her dig to her hearts content. She would bark every time I left her, so I spent most of my night and day in the box with her using TTouch  (Tellington Touch) and massage to soothe her. She didn’t like the openness of the box so I took a sheet and made a temporary cover to help her feel more den-like. It was probably a strange sight to see us sitting together under the cover of her “labor tent”!

Toward the end of the first stage of labor Willow decided the only thing missing from our tent was a baby so she left and got her stuffed toy chicken and brought it in to snuggle and lick and move from corner to corner.

 Willow was relieved once second stage labor began and she figured out what all of her instincts were trying to tell her to do. She was down to business when the puppies started arriving and knew just what to do about cleaning them off and trimming cords. At one point two puppies arrived at the same time. She settled and let the puppies nurse between deliveries until she had to stand up and deliver the next one. We would quickly gather up the sibling pups and place them into the warming box until she was finished cleaning off the latest arrival.

All of the puppies, except one, have white collars and all of them have white muzzles with some having a full blaze up the forehead. They all have white tipped tails and white feet. 10 of the puppies are varying degrees of sable and 1 female puppy is a tri-color. We are so proud of Willow and the wonderful job she is doing with her new family.

Days leading up to delivery day.

At 50 days pregnant, Willow is getting bigger every day. She has adjusted her daily routines. More trips out to go potty, up earlier to go potty, eating three bowls of food a day, and if you ask her to sit she often gives you the "do I really have to? That means I'll have to get back up" look. You all know what that looks is, right? Puppy day is getting closer!

This is Willow on her "spa day"! Every mom deserves a little pampering now and then. Willow enjoyed her bath and then a nice relaxing dry with the hairdryer. She loves the hairdryer and will often seek me out when I am drying my hair so that she can have a turn with the settings on high. Maybe it feels like a mini-massage.