Bear is the alpha. He is the ultimate protector of this family. As big as he is in size, his heart is just as big. He’s a lady’s man for sure. He allows his girls to get a drink before he does. He also shares his food bowl with them. He does have his personal space that he likes. And if he’s getting mommy or daddy time, he gets very upset with the other dogs if they interfere. He will set them straight real quick, letting them know that they crossed the line. If the dogs are playing too hard with one another and he gets concerned, he’ll put a stop to it as well.

With the females, it’s all about a pecking order. Nana is the matriarch, the beta. She sees the other girls as her babies or younger siblings. She has taught them how to fight, what to bark at, and what each one of their roles are. If she needs a drink and the others are drinking, she will push her way through to get to the water bowl. They immediately know to move to the side. She’s the boss. Nana is exceptionally smart. She has a very keen sense of smell, hearing, and eye sight. And she loves to hunt. All puppies from every litter come to her for inspection and approval. It is so precious to watch her check each one of them out and give them a kiss. She’s super loving.  

If it’s any of them that forget her rank, it’s Autumn. She is the tallest and strongest female of the pack, and she’s the Beta. So sometimes Nana has to remind her with a stare down. Autumn will submit to that authority. Never a fight, just a reminder who’s boss. Autumn has a quirky personality. I swear she smiles. I call her the Joker. And she talks every time she yawns. She likes to whine when she’s not getting enough attention. She thinks she has to be loved 24/7 and doesn’t like to share the attention. A true DIVA!

Abigail is more laid back and really doesn’t care. She’ll find a toy to play with instead. She loves squeaker toys. She tries to keep the peace and the love going. They all love each other and will protect the pack. But like with most families, an argument may break out once and a great moon. And someone has to break it up. That usually is Abigail. She is a true wiggle butt. She gets excited and she starts wiggling around. It can be challenging trying to get a leash and collar on her because she’s wiggling around. We call her Wiggle Butt Abby.

Copper is the baby boy of the family, and yet he’s the biggest of the whole pack! He’s a gentle giant that truly has no clue just how big he really is. He loves to play and be loved. He’s wanting to learn how to balance on his back legs and put his front legs up on our chest. Daddy can hold him for a short bit, but this mama is not that strong! Thankfully he doesn’t quite know how to do it regularly yet, so he just bounces up and down with his front paws. It’s absolutely cute! And he’s the best uncle ever to all the puppies that come along. He watches over them, plays with them, and always has to make sure they are playing nice with one another. He does the same thing to the younger pups in our pack.

Ahsoka is quite the character. She’s a little bit of Autumn and a little bit of Abigail all rolled up into one. She loves to have all the attention, like Autumn. But she’s also very active and wiggly like Abigail. She’s showing signs of being a very tall dog like Autumn as well. And she’s got the cutest face and ears, kind of shaped like Nana’s. She never runs out of energy at this age. And thankfully Copper loves to play and wrestle with her to help her burn up some of that energy! She likes to bark at all the adult dogs trying to get them to play with her. And if one of them has a bone in their mouth, she’ll come up to them and lay paw to paw with them just staring at the bone. It’s hilarious to watch but the adult dogs are not impressed with her tactics!

Daisy Mae is very playful and outgoing. She’s not afraid of anything. And like Ahsoka, she loves to play and wrestle around. It’s guaranteed if it’s raining, her and Ahsoka are out side playing in it! And like the heart on her back, she’s full of love and life.

Pepper Hope, the sister to Daisy Mae, is quite the opposite of Daisy. She’s very laid back and chill. She’s not afraid to explore her world but nothing seems to phase her. She’s very content with her toys and being loved on. She’s my little shadow when I’m outside doing chores and spending time with all the dogs. She’s a lovable fur ball!

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Family Fun

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As mentioned on our home page, we moved from Magnolia, Kentucky to Metcalf, Illinois in July 2023. We spent almost 6 weeks staining and installing a 6′ wood/metal fencing in our front yard. We still have the backyard to finish up, but we finally opened up the front yard to them. They were super excited to see more of the property, lots more area to run and plenty of shade under our big trees. The wind blows almost constantly here in our area and the dogs love that. They can’t wait for Illinois winter!! And the vehicles that drive by are loving seeing St. Bernards. We get people stopping to look at them, horns honking, etc. It’s amazing how much people love St Bernards and yet have never seen one in person. We’re thinking of putting up signs on the highway that say “St Bernard Lookout Ahead”.

2024

In February 2024, God blessed us with 3 beautiful girls to raise and hopefully one day breed. It’s going to be fun watching these three grow up and see what personalities they have in store for us and the pack!

Some wrestling matches are going on in these pictures below.

As a reminder of her rank, Nana will get in front of the dog she is reminding that she is head matriarch. She will stare the dog down and steal whatever they are chewing on. In this case, it’s Autumn getting the stare down and the bone stolen away. Nana walked past 3 other bones to get to Autumn. But she had to have Autumn’s bone. At least she didn’t steal from the puppies this time!

We live about a mile from a train track. There’s a crossing there that the train always has to blow his horn. The dogs are not fond of the noise it makes, so they respond to it with barking and howling. This is just a small sample of what I get to hear every time there’s a train on the track. It’s even louder when they do this inside the barn!