Special Photo Shoot with one of our babies and our soon to be daddy...

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What a great weekend! I went to Ohio State University to attend a Canine Reproduction Conference. I learned a lot of useful information and ideas that I can add to my program. I'm like a sponge - there is always more to learn! The speakers spoke on topics such as:

Canine Inherited Problems by Dr. Dimick

Promoting Behavioral Wellness of the Neonate by Traci Shreyer

Parasitology for Canine Reproduction by Dr. Monohan

Feeding and Breeding: A Lifetime of Smart Nutrition for Your Dog by Dr. Hill

Anaotomy of the Male and Female by Dr. Threlfall

Testicular Degeneration by Dr. Threlfall

Physiology of the Estrous Cycle by Dr. Threlfall

The speakers were great and so was all the information. I also had the opportunity to talk with other breeders including Krista Waitz from Rainmaker Ranch Labradoodles. She is a wealth of knowledge and she's developped a fantastic program for her puppies.

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Things have been busy around here lately! Willow joined us mid-photoshoot so we got a few pics of her with Sadie's 3 week old puppies.

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Here are some new pictures of ArborGate's Hickory at 6 months old... WOW! He is turning in to everything I hoped he would. This stud muffin is going to be a huge asset to the Australian Labradoodle breed and my program. I can hardly wait for him to mature!!

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Trooper after a romp in the mud!!!

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Hi Gina,

I have been meaning to email you just to let you know how wonderful Chester is doing.  He is such a sweet guy.  Loves being outside and WATER!  He spent the weekend at his grandparents house and is absolutely exhausted.  We couldn't imagine life without him.

He runs full speed at the kids when they get home; he has made them feel so special.  We are landscaping the backyard, so he can run around like a crazy man.  

He is 26 pounds, carmel/choc. in color and like I said so sweet!  I will send you pictures when I download them.  I've been meaning to email and thank you for making the process so stress-free and wonderful.  Chester is so well loved!

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Dear Gina-

Well.....I apologize that it has been sooooo long since my last update on Lucy!  She is a DREAM of a dog.  She is soooo sweet, and sooooo smart and the star of her puppy pre-school.  She now knows how to sit, lie down, wait, place, leave it, walk on a loose leash, and give kisses like a champion.  She has exceeded everyyyyyyyyyyyy expectation and I just love her to pieces.  Here are some pics from yesterday on our deck in the sunshine.  Hope you and the family are doing very very well!

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Here's a picture of one of the puppies from Maggie's first litter. Allow me to introduce Captain Ron:

Hello there Gina, hope all is well. Captain Ron is doing great...loving the nautical life on our boat in Portsmouth. Thanks so much for a mellow, beautiful dog...

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Here's a note from one of our happy puppy families:

Dear Gina-

I can NOT tell you how wonderful Lucy is settling in at our house!  She has only had one accident in three days, was a HUGE hit at the vet this morning, and just has the sweetest calmest personality.  of course, she also gets her puppy sass on a couple times a day! which is a riot  I just adore her.  Thought I'd send a few more pics!!  She is everything I hoped for and sooooooo much more.

The first night she slept in her soft kennel on the bed......then last night while I was brushing my teeth....she went and climbed in her big kennel and slept there for 9 hours with only one potty run......what a dream!  Thanks for all  the reading suggestions too.  The Dog Listener skills are working great.  She doesn't like when I eat before I put her food down and last night she barked at me.....hilarious.....and working!

Take care-Sarah

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After much waiting, Maggie finally delivered 4 gorgeous fleece pups. Her first pup arrived at 1am on Friday and the last pup joined us at 8am. We have 3 boys and 1 girl.

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We visited our sweet Asia at her Guardian Home. She is doing SO great and loving all the attention from the 4 children. Here are some pics of her at 5 months.

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Picture of Elli with her new family...

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Lacey's Puppies have all gone to their new families. Here are the happy families picking up their Australian Labradoodle puppies...

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We got great news today! Asia, Doc and Willow all passed their prelim OFA hips and elbows and are CERF clear! Hooray!! Watch for their puppies coming in early 2010!

Asia - Red and Apricot Mini Australian Labradoodle Puppies

Willow - Standard Chocolate, Caramel and Cream Australian Labradoodles

Doc - He'll be a great daddy, able to produce Australian Labradoodles in all colors depending on who he's mated with

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We've been saying goodbye to Lacey's puppies already and the rest of the crew will be heading to their new homes throughout this week. We're going to miss them! Luckily, this time around all of these pups will be staying close by. Everyone is either staying here in Indiana or going to Illinois.

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Here is an update picture of Elly. She is from Sadie and RUE's litter and she seems to be turning a gorgeous parchement or maybe even lavendar. Stay tuned to see her color as she matures...

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A couple pictures of our Australian Labradoodles and their families from the open house....

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Pics of our day at the park today with our Australian Labradoodles - Willow and Doc...

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The James family just sent us an updated picture of Maple, an Australian Labradoodle from Maggie and RUE previous litter together....BREATHTAKING!

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BIG day today! The families of Lacey's puppies came for the Open House. Everyone had a good time and enjoyed meeting their new pups. We had great weather and were able to visit outside all afternoon. I love watching families fall in love with their new puppies. It's my favorite thing!! Familes met Lacey and RUE and spend plenty of time lavishing love on their new pups.

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Today we had gorgeous weather so we took Lacey's pups out to play in the yard! They explored EVERYTHING! It was so much fun. They would prance around with little sticks in their mouths, roll roll in the grass, chase each other into the playhouse and the kids even had them walk around on leash for the first time. Have I mentioned how much our family loves what we get to do?!

I also started teaching Doc, Willow and Asia how to fetch. They are catching on quickly. They go in for their prelim OFA hip testing tomorrow - wish us luck!

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We gave Lacey's puppies their very first baths today! They loved it! Afterwards , they were so clean and fluffy. I took their 5 week pictures a bit early since they were looking so cute. It's hard to believe that they are already 5 weeks olds. The time has gone by so quickly.

Each of the puppies have found amazing families and I'm looking forward to meeting everyone at the open house. All of our puppy families will be able to come to meet us, see our program, meet the parents of their pups and of course play with the puppies. The best part of my job is watching families fall in love with their puppies - it's such an amazing thing!

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Lacey's babies are enjoying tons of attention from my kids. I think I answer the question: "Can I hold a puppy?" about 100 times per day!

I got an email today with a current picture of Brouno. He's an Australiand Labradoodle from Maggie and RUE's litter. He is weighing 16 lbs at 5 months old. Isn't he sweet?!

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Today we are moving the puppies from the nursery to our living room. This is my favorite part! The pups are old enough to interact and play with each other and our family. These next few weeks they'll be exposed to all the noises of an active family. The other dogs will be able to meet the puppies and my other adult girls can enjoy their roles as Aunties. The puppies will also begin having their first taste of something other than mommy's milk. So many firsts are about to happen!

Surely by next week, I'll plan on getting a video clip of the pups at play. This is such a fun stage!

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Paula sent us an updated picture of Maple. She is an Australian Labradoodle pup from our first MaggieXRUE litter. Maple is about 4 months old here. She has such a gorgeous dark chocolate fleece! Paula says that Maple was fully house trained by 11 weeks old. The Poochie Bell technique worked great for them!

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Totally undog related but I just had a dozen people dressed in black and red come up the driveway. They gave me a rose, a cookie and a valentine and then proceeded to sing me two lovely songs. A singing valentine! I thought that was just for the movies! They did a great job but I couldn't stop giggling. I'm just glad that I didn't open the door in my bathrobe!

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Today was picture day - I love picture day! The pups are either so squirmy that it's hard to get a good picture or they're fast asleep and I can take as many as I want. I really enjoy setting up all the props and making the pics look as professional as I can, despite the fact that I'm certainly no pro. I had my daughter help me with the photo shoot today, she was a great helper. She kept track of which pups we'd already done, she transported them back and forth from the whelping box and she cropped some of the pictures for the website. This will be our routine for the next 7 Wednesdays. I love to look back over the pictures and see how each pup has changed over the 8 weeks of being with us.

I also love getting pictures of my puppies from their new families. Here is a picture of Rex at about 4 months old, he's from our very first litter of Australian Labradoodles here at ArborGate Labradoodles. Isn't he gorgeous!? Thanks for the picture Kim - give Rex a treat from us!

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Lacey is settling into her new role as a mommy. We've started our Super Dog Program with the pups. It consists of 5 exercises done with the puppies each day. 1- Hold them upright for five seconds. 2- Hold them upside down for five seconds. 3- Hold them tummy up for five seconds. 4- Rub a Q-tip between their toes. 5- Place them on a cold wet cloth fo five seconds. All of these exercises help jump start their nerological systems. We'll continue to do these until the pups reach 16 days old. The benefits include: improved cardio vascular performance (heart rate), stronger heart beats, stronger adrenal glands, more tolerance to stress and a greater resistance to disease.

My kids have loved holding each of the puppies before bed. We spend a good hour in there with the kids before bedtime. They each have their favorites already! Of course, my daughter's favorite is the smallest girl and my son's favorite is which ever one he happens to be holding at the time. We're really enjoying these babies and are excited to see them grow and change.

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We have puppies! Yesterday, Lacey's first pup arrived at 5pm and the last little one waited until midnight. Everyone is doing well. Lacey doesn't like to be away from them for more than a minute or two. She is a first time mom and still needs to figure out how to not crush the 9 little squeaky, squirming bundles all around her. She loves them so much, she climbed right into the laundry basket with them!!

It's amazing how quickly I forget how small newborn pups are, the smallest weighed in at 0.5lbs and the largest being only 0.75lbs. They really look more like mice than pups at this stage but it won't be long until they can see, hear, walk, bark, and play.

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Today the puppies I've held back for testing learned to use the dog door!!! This brings much joy to me because now, potty training will be easier. We have 3 Australian Labradoodle puppies to introduce as potential breeders:

Willow will be a standard Australian Labradoodle female with a beautiful chocolate fleece coat.

Asia will be a mini Australian Labradoodle female with a silky apricot fleece coat.

Hickory (called Doc, as in "Hickory Dickory Doc") will be a lg.medium Australian Labradoodle stud boy with a soft caramel wool coat.

We can hardly wait to test them! Right now, we are keeping busy with puppy class for everyone and crate training.

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We spent yesterday waiting for Lacey's litter to arrive. Nothing yet! This will be Lacey's first litter so we're very excited to see these babies. Lacey and RUE are expecting mostly chocolate colored pups but we may see a caramel or two in the mix. We have Lacey all set up in the nursery and everything is ready. She looks ready to pop, but we'll just have to wait.

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Today was a busy dog day. This morning we took plenty of pictures of the kids with RUE before we took him to his Guardian Family. It's bitter sweet. We are going to miss him around the house but I know he's going to love it with his new forever family. They live very close by and I'm sure he'll be visiting us often. Once the time came for me to actually leave withouth him, I lingered for quite some time. Even though I knew he was going to be fine, I still had a big cry in the car. Here are a couple of pictures that we took today of RUE and the kids.

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Raising Australian Labradoodle Puppies for Your Family
contactus@arborgatelabradoodles.com

Australian Labradoodles in Indiana
Only 1 hour north of Indianapolis and 2 hours south of Chicago
(765) 497-2561