Galewinns Irish Setters & Miniature Dachshunds
Conor was bred by Krista Musil of Lunns Irish Setters and is owned by Pat Skavlen.  He finished his conformation championship easily and has already accomplished his Senior Hunter title at a young age.  He is currently training for his Master Hunter which , we have no doubt, he will complete easily.  Conor has a correct head, and beautiful front with nice forechest, and correct movement.  Conor did well in the conformation ring but where he excelled in my eyes was the field!  He is truly a joy to watch. Conor won an AOW (Award of Merit) at the 2011 Irish Setter Club of America National Field Trial Championship.  He also placed 3rd in the Open Dog class at the 2011 ISCA national walking field trial.  He has such intensity when he locks on point - he gives me goosebumps to watch.  Both Pat (owner) and John Augustine (field trainer) have done an amazing job with his training.   Conor also has a delightful temperament and is very trainable.

Katie is a elegant girl who has a temperament "to die for".  She loves every person and every dog she has ever met.  She needs her majors to finish her conformation championship but we (the owners and myself) have decided that since she really doesn't love to show (although she shows with no problems) we are not going to finish her.  She has a ton of major reserves but she just doesn't "flaunt" herself in the ring.  However, she LOVES the field and has a beautiful run.  She is very smart and easy to train.  She has 5 of her littermates that have finished their championships and her pedigree is beautiful.  I think that combining her elegance and Connor's substance we will have beautiful puppies for the show ring AND for the field and performance.
  

10/3/11 - Puppies are here!!!!  We have 5 girls and 2 boys and all are doing great!  We ended up having an "urgent" c-section as one of the puppies was transverse or "sideways".  The puppy blocked traffic so-to-speak so we had to do surgery.  Mom had a little bit of a tough time coming out of anesthesia and is still a little unsure of what these little creatures are.  The puppies came out strong and screaming!  They all took to nursing right away and are doing very well.  Very uniform in size - all from 14-16.5 ounces.  Scroll down for some early pictures.
10/7/11 - Puppies got their dewclaws removed today.  All of them did great.  They got their first toenail trim last night and already had to change their collars as they were getting tight. 

10/9/11 - All seven puppies are doing great!  Growing a ton - they are all around 2 pounds now.  Eating and sleeping is still their way of life!! :)

10/11/11 - I can't believe it has been over a week since the puppies  were born.  Katie is doing great - her c-section incision is healing beautifully and she is running around my yard like she never had surgery.  In fact, I had her out in the dark last night and I heard a strange clapping sound.  It was Katie's milk bags banging together while she ran!  lol  The babies are doing great - growing so fast. 

10/13/11 -  Had to trim their nails again and put on new color collars!  A few people have asked about who is which color  - the boys are red and blue, the girls are purple, yellow, white, orange, and pink.  They are all very active and similar in size.  Just waiting for their eyes to open...

10/16/11 - Eyes are open!!!  Half of them opened yesterday and the rest of them opened their eyes today.  Hard to catch them with open eyes though as they still sleep all the time!!  They are starting to "wobble walk" now - won't be long and I will have to put the sides of the whelping box up higher!!

10/23/11 - Sorry I haven't updated pictures for a few days!!  I went to a dog show in Rapid City, SD and my gracious husband watched the puppies for me!  I thought I had better do it now as soon they will be more work for both of us.  They did great while I was gone but I can't believe how much they changed in just 4 days.  They are walking all over now and barking.  Starting to play with each other.  I had to change their yarn collars tonight and trimmed their nails.  So glad to be back with them - they are just beautiful!

10/27/11 - Every one is doing great!  Blaise's puppy is so fat that I decided to put some of Katie's puppies with Blaise.  Blaise adopted 3 of the girls without any problem and is taking great care of them.  Katie didn't seem to mind that I lightened her load at all.  Now each mom has four puppies and it is working great.  Blaise's puppy is so big from being the only puppy and nursing "non-stop" that it will be good for him to have "siblings" that he can play with and get some more exercise. And...Blaise has more than enough milk.  All is good in puppy land!!:)

10/30/11 - Everything is going great with the new split - each mom is taking care of "her" four puppies without any problem.  The puppies are getting so mobile now and love to bark at me when I come into the room.  When I sit in the whelping box they now come "running" and crawl all over me.  Hard to get any pictures of them because they are always crawling on me (which I love!).  Katie had a day at the spa yesterday - she got a bath, her nails done, ears cleaned, and all groomed up.  I can tell that she feels better and she certainly looks better.  Her and Blaise are spending more time away from the puppies now and are in the house together now and doing great.  Each one goes into their puppy room when needed and both are taking great care of their pups. 

11/2/11 - Can't believe the puppies are 4 weeks old already!  All 8 are doing great.  Blaise's blue boy is really enjoying having siblings.  He is playing with his sisters now and moving around more.  All are doing great.  Going to have to start feeding them soon.  That is when the realy work begins!!  Sure am enjoying them as they are so cute and at such a great age.  I love to watch them play together.

11/6/11 - Today the puppies had visitors!  The Hughes family came to see the puppies and it was great to meet them.   They are taking a girl.  Mitch also came to see the puppies again as he is taking a girl as well.  It was really fun to get to share the puppies with other people who love "red dogs" as much as I do!!  After everyone left, I decided to feed the puppies their first meal.  Both sets of puppies licked the pan clean.  They figured out the food immediately.  They are now sound asleep with big fat tummies.  Should be a quiet night....:)

11/8/11 - Had to move the puppies out of the whelping box tonight as they are able to crawl out.  So...they are now in xpens and learning to potty on papers.  I think they actually really like being able to "see" outside of the xpen now.  They don't seem to mind their new homes and it will be easier to clean than the whelping box.  I am also trying to wean the moms.  I will let them nurse the puppies a few times a day but that is it.  The puppies are eating real food now (blended kibble) and drinking from a water bucket.  So...time to get them weaned. 

11/14/11 - Sorry I haven't posted in a few days - I went to a dog show in Pueblo this weekend and my wonderful husband took care of the puppies for 2 days.  We moved the puppies down into the kennel run where they have indoor/outdoor access.  They are learning to go in and out of the doggy door.  So cute to watch them "fall" in and out of the door.  All eight puppies are together now and I think they really like the extra company.  They are enjoying the extra room in the kennel.  They are weaned now and eating like little piglets!  I took pictures of the puppies today - their first stacked pictures!  They all did great.  As you look at the pictures remember that the puppies are only weeks old and look like little pumpkins right now! :)

11/16/11 - I took the puppies out in the big yard for the first time today.  I have 3 acres fenced and the irish setters LOVE it.  The puppies had a ball exploring.  They especially enjoyed playing with Baron, my dachshund!! lol  It was really cold out but they still really enjoyed their adventure.  Wasn't easy to get all 8 back into the kennel though!! :)

11/17/11 - A little too cold and dark to take the puppies outside tonight.  So, thought I would let them run around the basement as it is unfinished.  Well - to my surprise they ran around for a few minutes and then went right up the stairs!  My husband yelled down to me "why are you bringing the puppies upstairs"?  I replied "what are you talking about - I haven't brought any of them upstairs".  So...I ran upstairs and sure enough - most of them were running around the living room!  So I called the puppies and they followed me back downstairs.  I was floored - I don't think I have ever had puppies go up stairs and come back down the stairs this young!!  Not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing!! lol

11/19/11 - We got snow last night - a light dusting.  Took the puppies out first thing in the morning and they had so much fun running in the snow.  Sure wore them out - they went back in a crashed. 

11/21/11 - I posted the puppies 7 week old stack pictures.  Still pretty young but they are getting better about stacking.  They are such outgoing puppies!

11/25/11 - Ginny Swanson of Tramore Irish Setters & Kim LaMontagne of Keliaire Irish Setters came to the house today to help me evaluate the litter.  They both really liked the puppies and felt as though the whole litter is nice.  We took some more stacked pictures and I have posted them.  We then took the puppies outside and let them run and play and watched them move.  I had already taken them out early in the morning so they are definately tired.  They came back inside and are all  crashed out now.  Good day for the puppies!

11/27/11 - Beautiful day here in Colorado so I let the puppies out for a long run/play.  They had a ball - they ran and chased, played with toys, and explored all over.  They were out for about an hour - as soon as I put them back into their kennel they literally fell over to sleep.  They were so tired - we didn't hear a peep from them for at least 2 hours.  I took a whole bunch of pictures and posted them.  Forgive me for having so many pics but I was having so much fun watching them all.

12/9/11 - Sorry I haven't posted in awhile.  I had surgery on Nov. 28th - a total hysterectomy and was in the hospital for 4 days.  Since being home I have been busy trying to care for the puppies and get them ready for their new homes.  I am doing well and so are the puppies!   They are certainly keeping  me on my toes.  They love to go out and run in the yard (I have 3 acres fenced) but it has been brutally cold so they haven't gotten out as much as they otherwise would.  Yesterday it got up to 30 degrees so they got to run 3 times.  They did sleep well last night....:)

12/24/11 - Well, all of the puppies have gone to their new homes and are doing great.  Sure seems quiet around here in the mornings (much to my daughter's delight! lol).  I have posted some of the pictures that I took of the puppies with their new owners - scroll down to see them.  However, I didn't get pictures of everyone so I would sure appreciate pictures of the new owners with their puppies (this is for Pat with purple girl, Rick with pink girl, Mitch with yellow girl, and I will post my picture with my orange girl).  I will keep posting pictures that I get of the puppies as they grow up so please keep checking back.  It is really fun to watch how the puppies grow and to see their accomplishments.  These puppies will have show careers, agility careers, and hunting careers and I know they will do great things!  Thank you to all of the new owners who love these puppies as much as I do!

Conor/Katie Puppies