Cassonade and Guinness are both in heat!

Cassonade will be mated around January 4 and Guinness will be bred around January 12.  March babies!

Pups are leaving for their forever homes

There are some happy families in Ottawa this afternoon!  Milo (formerly Mocha) left this morning with his new family.  Then Nala left at noon and Griffon left just after noon.  We have Lola going tomorrow and then all the pups being adopted as pets will be with their forever families!  What a wonderful day!

Everyone has recovered beautifully from their surgery

It is like nothing ever happened!  The pups recover so quickly at this age.  Everyone is doing well!

Blue boy left us this morning and I received a note this afternoon to confirm we was safely snuggled in with his new family in Prince Edward Island.  Mocha, Nala, and Griffon go home tomorrow and Lola on Sunday.  Now I just need to find guardian homes for beautiful Shiraz and Merlot.

It has been a very busy week.  Silverstar and Snickerz had their annual physicals on Tuesday night.  Then the pups had their surgery on Thursday.  And today I had to rush Juno to the Vet as she has an unusually swollen mammary gland.   I've been expressing it twice a day for the last 3 days, but it hasn't improved so we had her looked at tonight.  Nothing appears to be wrong (good news), but I'll have to continue the expressing until the pups are weaned.  That is one of several downsides of a small litter.  Even though these pups are doing their best to drink all the milk (they weigh over 2kg - the same as Rosie's pups), they just can't drink it all.  Weaning will start over the next week anyway and then all will be good.

So, a busy weekend ahead of settling everyone in their new homes and then a little quiet next week.  Hopefully Guinness and Cassonade will start their heat cycles soon and we start all over again!

Interesting 3 Part Series on CBC

I haven't listened to it all, but it looks interesting....

http://www.cbc.ca/ideas/episodes/2010/12/13/dogs-themselves-part-1---3/

Thanks Carol!

Today was Vet Check and Vaccine Day

The pups had a visit with Dr. Gumley today.  All are in excellent health!  They also had their first booster.  I'll provide families with the vaccine certificates to give to their Vets.  I'm expecting a quiet evening tonight after all the excitement of today.

The Pups are keeping me very busy.....

With Rosie gone home and the pups being at an age where they need a lot of attention and care, things are very busy around here!  They are becoming quite strong and coordinated, so I've had to take down the low wooden barrier on the door and a closed the wire door.  I had a few escapees....

Their favourite play toys are socks.  They get some pretty good tug of war battles going.  I give them my sons' rugby socks, which are very long, and four of them can get in on the fun.  Earlier tonight they had a battle going with Cassonade.  It was her against 4 of the pups.

I transport them from the basement to the backyard or living room in a laundry basket.  I call it the puppy bus.  As soon as they see the puppy bus they are all scrambling to get on.   They ride standing on their hind legs with their front paws over the edge so they can see.   They seem to know not to try and climb out.  But as soon as I put the 'bus' on the ground, they climb out as fast as they can.

They are virtually impossible to photograph because they never stop moving - except to sleep.

They are eating well.  I haven't weighed them recently - again very hard to do because they don't sit still on the scale.  But they are going to the Vet on Saturday for a thorough check and their first set of vaccines, so I will get weights on everyone then.  I cut their nails the other day and all sat still on my lap for that.  So that is good!

Only 10 more sleeps for many of you! :-)))

Update on Juno's Pups

Well Juno must be producing milk for six, even though she only has two.  The pups will be two weeks tomorrow and Kahlua already weighs 1.15 kg.  Sheridan isn't far behind at 1 kg.  For context, Rosie's smallest pup at 6 weeks weighed 1.5 kg!! They are long as well as round.  Kahlua is 11 inches long and Sheridan is 9.5 inches long.  I don't think Kahlua and Sheridan will be walking as young as Rosie's pack because they are little porkers :-))).

The girls eyes opened today.  Although they are hard to see with their dark faces and dark eyes.

Final puppy allocations

The Barnes family is excited to welcome green boy (Mocha?) into their home.  And the MacClennan family is excited to welcome blue boy in their home.  Shiraz (yellow) and Merlot (pink) will both be retained as future breeding prospects.  I'm still looking for guardian homes for the cuties.....

Puppy Allocation has Begun!

The Noxon family is excited to welcome GRIFFON (black collared boy) into their family.  The Price family is excited to welcome NALA (orange collared girl) into their family.  And the Lee family is excited to welcome LOLA (red collared girl) into their family.

Congratulations to pups and families!

Grandma Cassonade gets in on the fun!

Kahlua and Sheridan

A few...

Everyone loves Aunt Guinness

A Day of Firsts!

Today the pups went outside for the first time AND met the other dogs in my pack for the first time.  No one was happier than Guinness, who has been anxious to meet the pups since the day they arrived.  She was so thrilled to finally be able to play with them.

First Meal of Solid Food

I gave the pups their first meal of solid food today.  It was a mixture of warm puppy formula and a can of duck and potato dog food.  Because I have food allergies (as does Snickerz), I'm very careful about waiting until the pups are older before I introduce food and also about the ingredients that are in the food (only introducing novel proteins).  Because the pups are almost 5 weeks old, they did not need any instruction or coaxing to get them to eat.   They literally (and figuratively) dove right in!  It was gone in minutes.....

Juno's Pups have finally arrived.

Juno had two sweet little girls.  One is solid chocolate and the other is a chocolate/tan phantom.  It is amazing, the phantom's markings are already fully evident.  Usually, they grow into them.  Her paws, cheeks, eyebrows, chest, and butt are a beautiful caramel tan colour.  Juno's pre-labour was long.  But she is happy with what she produced now!  The solid chocolate girl is named Kahlua and the chocolate/tan girl is named Sheridan.

Still No Juno Pups!

Juno's pups still haven't arrived.  She doesn't even look like she is going into labour today.  Last night I thought she would have them for sure, but those contractions seem to have passed without producing any pups.

Rosie's pups are getting more and more coordinated every day.  Instead of sort of falling on top of each other while wrestling, they actually launch themselves on one another.  They are still a little awkward with their bodies, but getting much stronger and more in control.  I took some photos of them today.

Belated Post

I have allowed myself to be delinquent in posting because all of the adopting families came to visit in the last week.  I figured words would not provide any more insight into the pups status than a visit with the pups would.  I have now moved the pups into a large play area in the basement.  Juno and her pups (whenever they arrive) will move into the whelping room.  

The play area is at least 4 x 8.  The pups have a sleeping area (all 7 snuggle into one dog bed), a play area (with a super large stuffed german shepherd and a bunch of toys), an eating area (that only has water in it right now) and a pee area (with pee pads).  They are using the pee pads to go pee!  Not every time and not consistently, but quite often.

I'm thinking Juno's pups may indeed arrive tonight.  She is shivering and restless.  It isn't the first time in the last few days she's been like that, but it is a bit more intense tonight.  I hope they come soon!  Below is Juno's X-ray from Saturday.  There are two pups.

Preparing for your Puppy

I know I've shared some of this with some of you verbally, but I thought I'd write it down to help make it simple.

The pups will be fed Orijen Puppy when they are old enough for solid food.  Another excellent brand is Acana Puppy.   The things I like about these brands are:  grain-free, high protein, probiotics, and vegetables and herbs which aid in health and digestion.  I also recommend Omega 3 (Salmon Oil, Coconut Oil, Flaxseed/Borage Oil) and Cranimals (cranberry + supplement).

If you can bring a blanket or towel, I will put it in the bin with the pups so when you take the pup home it will have something that smells like its littermates.  You will also need a collar and leash.  Their first collar will be quite small.  If you want to buy a crate, ask the sales clerk for one that will comfortably fit an adult of 25+lbs.  You can put a box in it in the early days to make it appear smaller to a small pup.  I would suggest a wire crate for at home.  If you want a portable crate, I like the soft sided crates.  But if you prefer the plastic crates, that is fine too.

In terms of books, I really like Jennifer Arnold's "Through a Dog's Eyes".  It combines a dog training philosophy, training guidance, and story into one.  Another great book that provides insight into dogs' minds is Dr. Temple Grandin's "Animals make us Human". It is about all animals, not just dogs (there is a chapter on each).  It is not a training book, but provides insight into the way dogs think.  And it is a very interesting read.  Dr. Grandin is autistic and she has used the insight that gives her to improve animal welfare practices significantly, especially for cattle.

Rapid development

The last few days have seen amazing development.  The pups can now walk.  They've even begun playing with each other - licking faces and wrestling. Once they are steady on their feet, I put a blanket pile in the bin for them to climb.  They love it.  As you can see in the photo below, they all climbed up and fell asleep on top of the pile.

Feeding Frenzy

The pups nurse very vigorously now.  It doesn't take long for them to drain the milk.  And they are so big, Rosie lays on her back with her legs open so they can access her teets.

Photos - Monday, October 17

Lots of development in the last 48 hours

When you see the pups regularly, you miss some of the more subtle development.  However, after not seeing the pups for 48 hours (while Rosie and pups were at Rosie's guardian home), I was surprised by how much they have grown.  I came home to small slits in the eyes.  You can just see the blacks of their pupils.  They are also starting to walk like alligators.  They can only lift their bellies off the ground for a few steps, but they are getting stronger.  And feeding time is more of a feeding frenzy as everyone jostles for position.  Fortunately, Momma has 10 teets, for 7 babies so lots for everyone.

Rosie and pups have resettled back into our home.  It is nice to have them back!

This weekend

I am attending a wedding in Hamilton this weekend.  My dog sitter will stay with my adult dogs over the weekend, but I delivered Rosie and her pups to her guardian family for the weekend.  I heated up a cozy fake fur blanket.  I put it in a laundry basket and then put the pup inside.  They were sooo cute snuggled up in the fake fur.  When I took them out at Rosie's house, they all kind of woke up with a 'but we were so cozy in there' kind of body movement.

Photo - Friday, October 14

One Week

In the first week, the biggest change in the pups is their size.  Their eyes and ears are still shut.  They are more efficient at dragging themselves around the box to get to Momma, but their movement hasn't really changed much.  Speaking of changing size - at birth, the pups' weight ranged from 250 grams to 300 grams.  After one week, they now range from 475 grams to 580 grams.  They have doubled in size!  I had to put new collars on everyone over the weekend because they had grown out of their first collar.  Rosie is an excellent mother, providing her pups with the best motherly care.

3 Days Old

The Pups are thriving

Dr. Gumley came by today to give everyone, including Rosie, a thorough once over.  His conclusion after examining everyone "Well, Linda, you have some really beautiful and healthy pups here".  The pups birth weights were between 250 and 300 grams.  Everyone has gained at least 30 grams - that is 10% of their body weight.  I had to loosen the collars as they were already getting tight.  Below is a photo I took tonight.

Nursing Puppies

Puppies have arrived

Rosie's 7 pups have arrived safely.  Everyone looks great and is doing very well, including Momma Rosie.  They are a good healthy size (250 to 300gr) and all are nursing vigorously.  There are four girls and three boys.  All are dark - we have several reds and several apricots.  It is hard to know how dark they will all stay, but they are the darkest pups I've delivered.

I will post photos later.

Answer to the puzzle

Below is the radiograph with the skulls and spines marked up.  How many did you find??

Seven Pups!

Rosie had her x-ray today.  We counted 7 pups.  The radiograph is below.  It is a bit small, but it can be like a game - can you count the skulls and spines??  The trick is to look for the small white circles (skulls), then trace their spines like snakes and ladders.  Five of this litter are already reserved, so that means we have 2 available.  If you click on the image it will enlarge.

Studs, studs, and more studs....

Roma, from DragonRam Doodles, and I have banded together to buy 4 (yes 4!) studs in the last few months.  Not only does it give us much more control of our breeding programs, it is also a lot less stress when it comes to mating our girls.  The daily progesterone tests, the guess at ovulation, the made dash to the FedEx office (and fingers crossed it made it overnight), the race to the Vet office, and then the insemination process - will generally be things of the past for us.  Our oldest boy, Magnum, the chocolate and tan phantom, will be 'mature' around January.  I will mostly use Magnum with Guinness and Eclipse to produce chocolate and tan phantom pups.  But Guinness and Eclipse also carry for parti, which means that matings with our caramel and white parti boy, Aspen, will produce chocolate and white parti pups as well as solid chocolate.  Aspen has a chocolate nose, which is so cute on his white and caramel face!  He will reach maturity around June, 2012. Zip, our red and white parti boy, is an excellent match for Rosie, Maple, and any Rosie or Cassonade offspring that I hold back from future litters.  None of my cream girls carry parti, so none of the pups will be parti, but I could get some nice reds and apricots.  Zip will be ready to go by March, 2012.  Kodiak, our solid chocolate boy, works great with all our girls too, but is particularly perfect for Juno, Hershey, and any of their future offspring to produce solid chocolate pups.  Kodiak is our youngest boy, although he is only two days younger than Aspen so we too will reach maturity around June 2012.  With these 4 boys, the possibilities for me in terms of colours, markings, sizes, are endless!  It is so very exciting.....

If you want to see photos of my boys, check out Our Labradoodle Studs page (http://www.doodlepuppies.ca/labradoodlestuds.html).

The only thing outstanding for these boys is forever homes.  We are looking for guardian homes for Aspen and Kodiak, and possibly Zip.

Starting Regular Updates!

I haven't been active on the blog for quite some time because my house was empty of pups.  Life just isn't as exciting without pups.  But now that we have Rosie's litter coming within the next 4 to 7 days I will start posting regularly.

Rosie is looking very pregnant.  She's got a nice round belly and that glow in her eyes.  We are going to the Vet on Friday for an X-ray to confirm the number of pups so that once she goes into labour we know when to stop expecting more pups.

Five pups have forever homes already.  Once we have numbers confirmed on the X-ray we may be able to accept a few more reservations.

Juno's ultrasound, to take a first count of pups is scheduled for Tuesday, October 4.  Quite exciting!

Puppies at 6 weeks

I look at other labradoodle websites and I see such beautiful photos and I wonder how they manage to capture them.  So, determined I would get some nice photos, I spent part of this afternoon trying.  Unfortunately, I just don't seem to have the touch!   I did go purchase a lighting set after this session so that next time I can put the camera on sport mode and just shoot multiple frames.  Every time I had the perfect shot lined up, by the time the flash charged up to take it the pup had moved.

Here is the gang below.  They really are much cuter in person!

Bohden

Cadbury

Eclipse

Kava

Oreo

Puppies at 6 weeks

I look at other labradoodle websites and I see such beautiful photos and I wonder how they manage to capture them.  So, determined I would get some nice photos, I spent part of this afternoon trying.  Unfortunately, I just don't seem to have the touch!   I did go purchase a lighting set after this session so that next time I can put the camera on sport mode and just shoot multiple frames.  Every time I had the perfect shot lined up, by the time the flash charged up to take it the pup had moved.

Here is the gang below.  They really are much cuter in person!

Bohden

Cadbury

Eclipse

Kava

Oreo

Pups are now 5 weeks old!

Because we had such beautiful weather this weekend, I took the pups outside several times.   The first time they were a bit unsure.  But once they realized it was safe, they loved it! They actually made a puppy pile and fell asleep out there.  I've attached two photos below.

From left to right, the chocolates are: Cadbury, Eclipse, Oreo and Kava.  Of course Bohden stands out!

Video of Juno Pups @ 4 weeks

You can see a recent video on You Tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOdNg4hCu7M

Happy Easter

I'm glad the easter weekend is here and I get to spend 4 days with the dogs.  The pups are at a great age to spend extra time with as they are starting to respond to humans.  All the pups are now sold and in 5 more weeks will be ready to go to their forever homes!  I have not yet started them on puppy food as they are thriving so well on their Momma's milk.  Next weekend I will introduce them to puppy formula with some rice cereal in it.

They are very playful.  They love to play with each other, but especially love to play with their big sister Guinness. I love watching her play with them.  She is so gentle and sweet with them.  Juno plays with them as well, but it is a different kind of play.  With Juno, she lays on her side and they climb all over her.  It is a more passive kind of play. Guinness stays on her feet and tickles them with her nose.  It is more active.

Below are some photos.  The three pups together are the girls.  The cream pup is one of the boys.  I don't have a good one of the chocolate boy.

Guinness finally gets to play with her brothers and sisters

Juno's pups are progressing beautifully.  They can now walk properly and their eyes are fully open, although still a little cloudy.  They interact with each other, in a social sort of way, as well as with their Mom.  And today, Juno allowed them to have a little play with Guinness, their older sister.  See pictures below.  They aren't the best quality because I knew I only had a moment to capture this and grabbed the first camera I found.....

Juno's Pups @ 2 weeks

The pups are growing nicely.  They can now walk - a little wobbly, but still a walk - and their eyes are open.  They still nurse quite often, but Juno is now able to leave them for short periods.  She's come to Bruce Pit with us every morning this week.  After we get home she has to have a bath before she can see her puppies.  That is the hardest part because they start to whine when we come back and she is desperate to get to them but I have to force her in the shower.  There are a lot of dogs and wildlife at Bruce Pit so I need to be sure she isn't bringing anything home with her......

Below are some photos.

Stewardship

I was at a leadership retreat where we were discussing organizational maturity.  The fourth level, which is where I am trying to take my organization, is called Stewardship.  This requires a true acceptance of accountability for oneself (no blaming others) and commitment to the greater good (taking one for the team).

In trying to communicate the meaning of stewardship, we started with an exercise where people introduced what they are stewards of in their everyday lives.  The parents all noted they are stewards of their children.  One young girl stated she is a steward of her parents' expectations.  I stated that I was a steward of the joy that a healthy and beautiful pup brings to its new family.  As I watched each family leave with their pup, observing their excitement and commitment to this new addition to their family, I felt the sense of satisfaction that comes from being a steward of joy through my pups.  It is very rewarding......

All of Cassonade's Pups have gone to their forever homes.

The pink collared girl and black collared boy found forever homes this week.  It is nice knowing the pups have all gone to families that are so excited to be welcoming them into their lives.

Juno Pups

Juno and her pups are doing really well.  They continue to grow at a rapid rate.  Juno particularly likes to snuggle and nurse them in a dog bed.  I've attached a picture below of everyone snuggled in.  One is hard to see as it in in a fold of the bed at the front.  If you look really close you can see her ear.

I always like to give the pups names so that I don't just refer to them as 'pink collar', which feels so impersonal.  I've given the pups the following names:  Pink Collar:  Eclipse;  Red Collar: Cadbury; Yellow Collar: Oreo;  Green Collar: Harley;  Blue Collar: Aspen.  New owners are of course welcome to change these names.  And once the pups are allocated I will start using the name chosen by the new owner.

Early Spay/Neuter

I often get questions about early/spay neuter.  I have links to a number of reputable websites that discuss early spay/neuter on the LINKS page of my site.

The following is an extract of one of these articles:

Pediatric or Early Spay Neuter refers to spaying or neutering pets at a much earlier age than the old six month standard. With today's anesthetics, advanced monitoring equipment, and surgical techniques, not only are these procedures safe in young puppies and kittens, the risk of complications is lower and the recovery period shorter. Concerns about adverse affects have been proven unfounded. The American Veterinary Medical Association, Association of Spay/Neuter Veterinarians, and the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Georgia, are among those that support early spay/neuter.  ( Linda's NOTE:  The Canadian Veterinary Medical Association also supports early spay/neuter).


But why spay and neuter babies?

• It's safer. Our mortality rate is lower. Complications occur less often. Most compelling, in a study done by veterinary students, completely inexperienced surgeons, their death and complication rates were lower.
• It's easier on the pet - anesthesia time is shorter and recovery takes only a few hours.
• It completely eliminates the possibility of accidental litters. We daily hear the infamous " I didn't know she'd go into heat so soon." And "She just got out for a few minutes." The list is endless. My personal favorite is "She can't be pregnant, I chained her up when she was in heat."
• It completely eliminates the possibility of intentional breeding by well meaning but ignorant owners. The old "so the kids can have the experience", "just one litter", "we can make a little money", or "I found her a good home" that turns out to be a backyard puppy mill.
• Breeders can avoid having their names show up on poor quality stock and help control competition by backyard breeders.
• The bottom line is fewer unwanted pets, and fewer ill-bred animals filling up homes so that others go without.

Juno's Pups are Growing

Juno and her pups are doing very well.   She doesn't leave them except to go to the bathroom herself.  I feed her in the bin with her puppies.  All have gained between 60 and 80 grams, on a starting weight range of 300 to 400 grams.

We only have one Cassonade pup left - the cream boy.  The pink girl goes to her new family on Saturday.  I think Guinness will miss them the most as she loves to play with them.  The weather has been cooperating this week and they spend a fair bit of time outside too.

Juno's pups have arrived!

Juno's pups arrived safely in the night last night.  We have 3 chocolate girls, 1 chocolate boy, and 1 cream boy.  Everyone is nursing well.  The Vet is on his way over (it is 7am as I write) to give them a good once over and check on Juno.