Brooklyn 99 Litter

Natural birth on Monday, March 2, 2026. Rosa has been one of the strongest growers from the start—outgoing, fearless, loud, and willing to fight hard in the box and during handling. She often breaks off to lay by herself. ENS was a full-on battle; by mid-March she was a big girl, first to the food, solid dominance in and out of the whelping box, quieter when resting, and only a hair less intense than Amy when handled.

By late March she was huge, silky-coated, growling and barking in that jumping, ridiculous way she has—feet were a favorite target. In private notes I had her as number two prospective working female early on, still preferring mom over supplemental food when that was optional.

She has settled into a clear pattern: second most aggressive and active in the litter after Gina, but more interested in coming at me than at her siblings—which is why I’m calling her, so far, the best protection lean of the bunch (they’re young; everything can move).

At four weeks we ran the first weekly baths—wash, then hand-dry away from the litter for heat and noise. Rosa went first. In the tub she froze—statue-still, almost unreal. On the dryer she never pitched a fit; she simply tried to walk away the whole time. Quiet resistance. I’m watching how that pairs with her forwardness toward me on the ground. No verdicts—just notes, dated and honest.

Natural birth on Monday, March 2, 2026. Amy came out loud and serious about fighting, but with a calmer baseline than some and a habit of cuddling siblings. Growth stayed strong; ENS had her fighting hard at first, then settling about three-quarters of the way through. By mid-March she showed high dominance, big bone for her age, and a calmer presence in the box while the litter chattered around her.

She kept showing up among the most scent-aware pups—first with Charles, later with Terry—and had days where she was the most outwardly drawn to human interaction. By late March she was drifting toward a Charles-like style: lighter player, likes to cuddle and check out the person, though I still wanted to see her eat more confidently when we shifted how feeding worked.

Dam developed mastitis; we cut nursing and moved the litter fully onto gruel. Through that change Amy kept her thread: social curiosity, scent edge, softness with people when she isn’t in full fight mode.

Bath day: she fought the bath at the start, then calmed. On the dryer she crawled in as tight to me as she could—solace from the human she trusted. She and Terry are first to the gate now; he has edged ahead as the most social overall, but she’s right there with him.

C-section on Monday, March 2, 2026; she was the runt, likely from a later breeding. Early on she was funny—opinionated when handled, already wandering and exploring by nine days. She hit milestones first: sitting, standing, chatting, calming quickly after a scuffle. For a long stretch she was my top prospective working female—days ahead on walking, play, and choosing me over the teat sometimes.

By late March the picture sharpened: still the most active and aggressive pup in the litter, but her intensity aims more at momma and littermates than at people. That split matters when you’re guessing where a dog’s heart will land in work.

The litter is fully on gruel now, eating hard; baths are weekly so I can see each pup handle temperature and dryer noise away from the pile. Gina went last on our first full round.

She was nervous but stoic in the tub—little real fight. Drying she tolerated with minimal argument: not as oddly relaxed as Charles with the nozzle, but very good for a first go.

C-section on Monday, March 2, 2026. He started huge, sweet, and willing to scrap—loud with his siblings, sometimes calmer under ENS than his usual fire. By mid-March, lighter bone but chatty, quick to settle after the initial fight, cuddly in the pile.

Then he went through a pull-back: uninterested in me, quiet, cool toward supplemental food while others leaned in. For a stretch he looked like the odd man out with people—still fine with momma and siblings.

Late March gave a little hope: he’ll come say hi more, play okay, eat okay; he even claimed my lap once—first and only time so far. I’m not dressing it up as a transformation yet; it’s a crack of light.

Bath day was hard. He cried through bath and dry, wouldn’t stand in the tub, tried to climb into my arms on the dryer, and howled after I put him back with his littermates. He’s still last on my service-dog list today, with room to move if he keeps choosing people.

C-section on Monday, March 2, 2026. High-pattern black and tan, nonstop vocal from day one—talking in his sleep, at the milk bar, on the crawl. ENS: fight, then midpoint calm. Huge bone, real fighter energy, brief settles—early high work potential with the usual nine-weeks-left caveat.

He stayed among the most scent-aware and the most pulled toward people—outgoing, supplemental-feeding positive, still momma’s boy at heart. By late March I had him middle-of-the-pack for overall chaos but solid on food and play, crawling into my lap to claim it, still tracking as a good service-dog candidate on paper.

Bath and dryer broke the script. He resisted the tub a little and cried briefly. Then the dryer: in thirty-plus years of bathing dogs, pro and not, I’ve never had a puppy act like he liked it—standing like a statue, leaning into the nozzle, lifting feet when asked. He told me clearly when the air hit spots he didn’t want (mostly his rear); otherwise it was bizarrely calm. I’m watching whether that holds; it’s not normal at this age.

He wants to meet strangers—that plus the dryer oddity puts him in the running for my own SD replacement, with every honest caveat about age and change.

C-section on Monday, March 2, 2026; runt, likely later conception. He held weight, then gained; early hyper-reactivity at the teat burned off fast with steady, fair stimulation—he learned young. ENS was a full fight. Mid-March: smaller but growing, decent bone for size, short coat, quick submit, mid-range noise, DDR lean possible.

He stayed scent-aware with Amy, then came into his name: outgoing, play-attacking my feet with growl-and-bark that reads as play, not avoidance. When mastitis forced us off mom’s milk, he became the best gruel eater in the litter—fuel matters when you’re trying to grow out of runt odds.

As of late March he is my most social puppy, with Amy first at the gate beside him. Toy drive is already loud—that matters for trainability. Bath five in the first weekly round: small cries, wouldn’t stand in the tub; on the dryer he climbed me and only steadied with front paws on my shoulder—average for a first puppy bath, in my book.

I’m proud of his arc and hopeful, not finished. We’ll keep watching.