Time is flying by - in 1 more month these pirates will be ready to venture to a new island! Their “mast” will be upgraded soon to a deck… and then to a ship! Haha. This will allow more room for them to play and explore but needs to be gradual to help litter box training! 

I have an opening for a special Partner Home for a male in Utah! If you are interested, please see my Partner Homes page, fill out my Questionnaire, or reach out to me. :)

I love seeing little peepers at this age! Their world is changing so quickly as they are adding vision and hearing to their senses. 

2 weeks!!! The little pirates are doing well. I keep checking multiple times a day for peepers . Any day, now! They are getting stronger trying to hold themselves up to move around and chasing after mom’s smell. Some of them are finding their voices…. and some are not shy to tell mom when they are lost, lol.

​We have been doing ENS (Early Neurological Stimulation) and ESI (Early Scent Introduction) since they were a few days old. I will share more about that soon. A few of these precious loot seeking pirates will be ready to adventure to their forever families/person after evaluations.

Sparrow (male)
Norrington (male)
Barbosa (male)
Turner (male)
Calypso (female)

The Pirates of the Caribbean crew has officially made it through to 1 week old! This is great news for a breeder because these little nuggets are so vulnerable, fragile, and dependent at this age. So much can happen. Nourishment, safety, and warmth are so very important. Mom provides a lot of warmth but I also keep the temperature in my room higher for these cute kiddos. Yes, I love a cold bedroom but this is worth the sacrifice - haha! And yes, the whelping box is in my bedroom so I can keep a close eye on them and on mom. Each puppy is gaining weight consistently and crawling around with more strength - especially when they can smell or feel that mom is near!

​Speaking of mom, Bliss is doing a great job! She is very attentive - making sure she helps each puppy urinate and is cleaning up after them efficiently. She is nursing them well and starting to take more breaks from them for some "mom time". I'm pleased with how she is taking care of her little pirates! 

The pups have started experiencing ENS (Early Neurological Stimulation) and ESI (Early Scent Introduction) which I do with every single litter. I am planning to put together an educational page about these. I feel this aspect of raising puppies can be very beneficial! Their eyes will start opening in one more week and will be so excited to watch them discover their surroundings!!

Check out my website for more EDUCATIONAL material.
Visit my PUPPY page for availability.

-Arieanna
801-834-4464
[email protected]

I am excited to announce that Bliss delivered 5 beautiful puppies on 5/13/25! So far mom and pups are doing well! For Bliss' first litter, she has proven to be an attentive mama and she is learning how to take care of her babies well! I love watching the pups snuggle with mom and nurse. They are using the few senses they have at this age to locate mom, drink, and find warmth with mom or siblings. Mama Bliss helps to stimulate them to use the bathroom at this age. 

Officially announcing the Pirates of the Caribbean litter!!
Sparrow - blue merle male
Turner - blue merle male
Barbosa - blue merle male
Norrington - black tri male
Calypso - blue merle female (on hold)

I have now opened deposits to approved homes. I am accepting for the following AVAILABILITY:

​🔹 1 PARTNER HOME for a BLUE MERLE MALE **(must be within reasonable driving distance of SLC, UT - this will be my 1st pick male after evaluations!)

🔹 2 COMPANION/SPORT homes for a MALE **(must be open to either a blue merle or black tri, will be matched after evaluations)

If you are seriously interested in a PreciousGem puppy, please fill out my QUESTIONNAIRE.

I am happy to answer questions you might have! To follow more frequent updates with pictures and videos, please "like" my Facebook or Instagram page! :)
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Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/PreciousGemMinis/

Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/preciousgem_minis/

Whoo!!  Man - it has been extremely busy around here. Puppies turned 8 weeks old this week and had temperament testing with my trainer, Lisa. I also took Willow to her BAER test. (I wish more breeders were proactive in doing this with merles that have more face white). I also look over structure again at this age as 8 weeks can be more predictive of structure as an adult. I recorded new weights, gave dewormer, and attempted to get height measurements again (not very easy without help, haha). We have also spent more time outside! Pups had some loose stool so placements were postponed this weekend and today stools look normal again. Yay! Sure seems like everything has to happen at once, haha. Bear with me! 😅

I have been in touch with families that have placed deposits to confirm placements of puppies and will update my website here if any changes are made. 

As of right now, I know that ASPEN is looking for a very special Partner Home that will love her as much as I do. I would love the opportunity to see how she grows. I may want to potentially show her and include her in my program. If you are around the Salt Lake City, Utah area and interested in this opportunity, check out my Partner Home page and fill out my Questionnaire. Feel free to reach out to me with questions and share with friends who may be interested.

Thanks fellow MAS lovers! Enjoy more pictures above and below!
​-Arieanna

If you are new to PreciousGem Miniature American Shepherds / Mini Australian Shepherds, welcome! Feel free to check out my website, educational topics, puppies, litter plans, and more.

This weekend I took the pups to visit our amazing Veterinary Ophthalmologist, Dr. Amy Knollinger. As this breed is prone to ocular diseases, it is responsible to have an eye examination done yearly for breeding adults. We ALSO have every litter examined before going to new homes, just in case something unexpected arises. I am happy to report that all pups did great and eyes are normal. 😁 Dr. Knollinger also helped open and flush their tear ducts which can often resolve frequent watery eyes/tear staining. The pups got in some good crate time in the car and in the clinic and are improving. Less crying and more sleeping. BUT I did make a point to let them play and tire themselves before our trip. 
😉

We've had several visitors over and with children of different ages to help socialize pups and watch how they interact. I'm pleased with how all the pups did and put together a little video. I've also had a couple dog visitors. Their half sister, Saturn, visited as well as their Auntie Bliss!

They have been introduced to new objects this week including uneven surfaces, the tunnel (my favorite), and more. I have introduced the stairs to them and they have all successfully gone up a flight of stairs. Going down is more intimidating, haha.  They have been introduced to collars. That's always a funny one because it looks like I have a flea infestation with all the scratching. 😆

We are also working on "Manding" which is part of Puppy Culture. It is essentially teaching the pups to have a voice through offering a behavior when they want something, such as sitting politely for a treat without you having to put in on a verbal queue. It's a good start for a puppy.

Miss Mimosa is available to a companion OR sport home.
Miss Magnolia is available to a companion home. 
Miss Aspen may or may not be available. I need to make up my mind! 😫

-Arieanna
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Miniature American Shepherd puppies / Miniature Australian Shepherd puppies 

The little furry beans came to my work for physical exams this week prior to going to their new homes. I can't believe how fast time is going by! They all did great and wanted to explore. My co-workers loved seeing them and the pups were happy to have the attention!  I tried bringing them inside in a wagon because it was helpful (and adorable). A couple pups did attempt to escape, haha! The car ride went pretty well. 🚙 Kong with peanut butter helped settle a couple pups... Willow, I'm looking at you ;) .... but the ride back was nice. Tired puppies are quiet puppies! 🙂 

- Arieanna
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Miniature American Shepherd puppies / Miniature Australian Shepherd puppies

6.5 week pictures are now up of these cute puppies! Man, these pictures were a LOT of work for both my sister and I! Haha. That tends to happen the older they get. They want to be with US or exploring elsewhere. But I love how they finally turned out! (Thanks Sis!)

Check out the Puppies to learn more about them.

​-Arieanna

I wanted to see how posting a video would look in the blog or if I will like adding from Youtube better! This is a funny video from yesterday. Birch and Mimosa were playing and very loudly at that. I was surprised how long they went on for! Hahaha. Silly kids! The other pups were like... "What's the fuss about? Should we join?" 

-Arieanna