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.

And Then There Were Three

Six of the nine pups have gone to their new homes.  Early reports back indicate everyone is doing very well! This is excellent news.  The last adopted pup is leaving this afternoon, which just leaves the two that are still waiting for their forever family to come find them.  Things are much quieter.  Cassonade has more time to enjoy the pups now that she isn't swarmed by nine every time she goes near them.  They are also having an excellent time playing with Guinness, who is still a pup herself.

Juno's pups seem happy in their warm and safe environment inside their Momma.  I don't expect they will be arriving today.  Maybe tomorrow!  The x-ray revealed five pups.  It is exciting to have one unexpected pup.  And five is an easily manageable number for a Momma.  I'm very anxious for their arrival as Juno produces interesting colours and markings.

24 Hour Post Surgery Update

It has been over 24 hours since the pups surgery and everyone is excellent.  It is impossible to tell that they've just had surgery.  They are playing, eating, and talking just like on Sunday, the day before.

So everyone is officially ready to go home!  They have been microchipped, vaccinated, spayed/neutered, and dewormed.  And their first 24 hours after surgery has been uneventful.

Grady will be leaving tomorrow (Wednesday), then Billy and Robbie are leaving Thursday.  Charlie and Truffles are going Saturday am and Aurora (Indigo) is going Sunday.  Sadie will also be going this weekend.

The cream boy with the black collar (I've started calling him Jack - seems to fit with the theme of Robbie, Billy, and Charlie) and the cream girl with the pink collar (I've started calling her buttercup) are still waiting for their forever families to find them.  Hopefully they will come soon!

I have all your documents ready including your microchip registration, vaccination certificate and spay/neuter certificate.  I registered the litter with the International Labradoodle Association last week. I'm waiting for the registration papers, which should be here in a couple of weeks.  I will mail them when they arrive.

But then the excitement starts all over again.  If Juno's gestation is identical to her last pregnancy, her pups will be arriving this Saturday.  I'm hoping she holds onto them for a few more days and she has them Monday.  I think the ultrasound count of 4 is probably correct.  She isn't very big.  Well, not compared to Cassonade before she delivered her 9!  She definitely has a baby belly and is starting to find it challenging to jump on my bed.  We have the x-ray tomorrow (Wednesday) afternoon so will have a better idea then.

Spay/Neuter went well

The Vet just called to say the spay/neuter went really well.  They are all awake, have had something to eat, and are playing together like nothing happened.

I'm just heading out to pick them up now (3pm Monday).

Growth Patterns

I ranked the pups by weight at birth and again at 8 weeks.  The following is interesting:

At birth:

1. Robbie

2.Truffles

3. Grady

4. Billy

5. Charlie

6. Aurora

7. Pink Collar

8. Black Collar

9. Sadie

At 8 weeks (kg):

1. Robbie (4.1)

2. Sadie (3.4)

3. Billy (3.4)

4. Aurora (3.2)

5. Pink Collar (3.2)

6. Black Collar (3.1)

7. Charlie (3.1)

8. Truffles (3.0)

9. Grady (2.9)

The healthiest litter....

I took the pups to the Vet on Saturday for a thorough check up and their vaccines.  After examining all 9, he said "This is the healthiest litter I've seen.".  This is not a small thing as my Vet is a reproductive specialist.  He services most breeders in the Ottawa area.  He was also impressed with how quiet, content, and cooperative they were during our 2 hour visit.

Tomorrow (Monday) I will be taking them in to be spayed and neutered.  I will drop them off in the morning and pick them up around 3pm.   They were all microchipped last weekend and I gave them a dose of dewormer yesterday, so they are getting very close to be ready to go home!!  Hoping you are all excited and looking forward to it.

When I bathed them the other day I put four at a time in the bathtub with 3 or so inches of water and used the shower head to rinse them.  They were a little uncertain, but all were very comfortable in the water.

I took last week off as holiday.  It was fun to spend the time with them, although admittedly it was a little exhausting at times.  Nine pups is a lot of pups!  Next week I'm back to work so it will be even more hectic around here.

Just a reminder that you will need to take your pup to see your Vet within 48 hours of pick up.  This is to ensure you have your own Vet's assessment for your records.  The pups have been eating Orijen Puppy dry dog food.  I will give you each a puppy pack of Orijen.  If you have limited experience with dogs and dog food, I suggest you speak to your Vet or a knowledgeable sales clerk at a pet food store for advise.  You may also want to look on the web for information on how to read a pet food label.  I really like Orijen, but there are other brands out there that are equally good.

Recent Photos of the Pups taken by my Friend Dena P

Aurora (Indigo)

 Billy

 Black Collared Boy

 Charlie and Grady

 Charlie

 Grady

 Pink Collared Girl

 Robbie

 Sadie

 Truffles

Puppy Names

All 7 pups that  have been assigned now have names:

Black boy with blue collar: Charlie
Blonde boy with blue collar: Grady
Blonde boy with green collar: Robbie
Blonde boy with purple collar: Billy
Blonde girl with red collar: Sadie
Black girl with red collar: Truffles
Black girl with orange collar (will be a future breeder): Registered Name - Aurora; Call Name - Indigo

Blonde boy with black collar and Blonde girl with pink collar are still waiting to be adopted....

Bath and Trim

All the pups had a bum trim and a bath today.  I used a small dish bucket filled with 3 inches of warm water.  Everyone was quite comfortable in the water (Labradoodles are water dogs), but purple boy thought it was so cool, he dunked his face!

After the bath they were quite tired.  Above is a photo of 8 of 9 of the pups all huddled together.  There are 5 snuggled up on the dog bed - 4 blonde and 1 black.  Try to count them all!

Seven of nine of the pups are now allocated to families.  The blonde boy with the black collar and the blonde girl with the pink collar are still available.  They are both totally adorable, so hopefully will find forever homes soon.