I'd like to use this space as a journal of events that are going on here at ArborGate Labradoodles. There is so much puppy news to report that I hope to be able to journal it here for you to see. Please read and enjoy the happenings in our little corner of the world.
I ran across these sweet pictures that one of our puppy families sent a long while ago. They were simply too adorable not to post, better late than never! :)
I wanted to write you and tell you how well our first year has gone with Moses. He is such a lovable dog!! He is polite and gentle yet protective and playful at the right times. He maintains constant composure even in the craziness of our home!
He is not easily impressed or seduced by our hyperactivity! Ha! He is the Garfield of dogs.
He has become easily socialized with the other dogs at daycare and adapts easily to other dogs. He obeys well and is easily trained.
His coat is still soft and he has beautiful apricot accents on his ears, head, and down his back. He weighs about 42lbs.
He has been the easiest dog to have in our lives. We just love him to pieces.
P.S. And of course he is a swimmer!
-Sherry
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A small window of free time this afternoon led to an impromptu picture session of Lacey and Zeus's puppies. These standard sized beauties sure have captured my heart.
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Hi Gina
We had a really GOOD trip home. We stopped TWICE and Bexley on command went potty both times.....no accidents all the way home. The first 1/2 of the trip he was in his crate, the second 1/2 I wanted to hold him. He got a little restless but was so GOOD and so cuddly.
We stopped so my best friend could see him. Then got home and let him explore, and he ate quite a good little dinner. He was HUNGRY!!! LOL Every time we tell him "go potty" he goes pretty quickly.
After dinner and potty I put him in front of his crate, he went in on his own, took a nap and just woke up and Jim has him outside.
Oh yea.....our neighbor (dog sitter) came over as did the two children next door. So he had quite a day meeting new people and new environment. The WINDSHIELD wipers scared him.......as they were kinda loud with not enough water etc.
He is sooooooooooooooooooo adorable. If today is a glimpse of what is to come.....we have one special little guy.
Just wanted to let you know things are GOOD.
Thanks sooooooooooo much! He is our BABY!
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Dear Gina,
Chester's first birthday is coming up on Monday...12-19-2010. I cannot possibly capture in writing how this guy is loved! He is the most amazing dog I could ever had hoped or prayed for...he is my buddy, my confidant, he consoles me and makes me laugh myself silly. Life without Chester is really unimaginable...I could go on and on and expound on how wonderful he is, I don't think there are enough adjectives to describe Chester. So Gina, I truly celebrate Chester and my life with him in it....oh, what a difference a year can make.
Thank you so very much,
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Just a quick note on the belated third birthday of our Sadie x Rue litter which produced so many wonderful dogs - both breeders and pets. Bud is great. I had some health issues recently and he never left my side, loving me patiently while I healed. I have a new granddaughter who he is sweet with, and another one coming in February. My trainer has been borrowing Bud as a dog to socialize puppies with - especially really little pups, because he is so playful but so kind with them.
As for training, we have been working all fall on off- leash skills. I am often stopped and quizzed in the neighborhood about how I got such a cool dog (and where) as he is the star around here. He has dog pals that we meet at the lake for a romp and of all the dogs there, his recall is the best. One man stopped me last week and said, "I just want you to know how much I admire your dog, he is the best behaved dog in the whole subdivision". And of course, I agree :) He goes everwhere with me - at least everywhere that I can take him. I will be babysitting the new granddaughters while the girls return to work - so we may not get our therapy certification this year - but it is on our list and he will get it done very quickly I suspect.
And knock on wood, he is the healthiest dog I have ever owned. I take him for vaccinations and check-ups only. Period.
I hope your program continues to flourish as you provide families with dogs who have a chance to be the dog of their dreams - as long as they put a little loving training time in when they get home.
Hello there Gina,
Hope you and your family are well and that you have a great Thanksgiving holiday.
One of the things Kristin and I are very thankful for is our dog, Niko. He is almost a year and a half old, and the most amazing thing has happened: suddenly he is a dog, not just a puppy anymore. It is so amazing. Just the way he looks at us, and moves and behaves. He has become a full blown dog. Albeit a dog that still reverts to being a puppy sometimes. But it is very great to see the dog that he is turning into.
All the best, Guy
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Hi Gina -
Hope you are well. Wanted to give you a quick update on Jack. He's doing absolutely great. We love him to death. He's adapted well to his crate and now runs in there when he sees me grab a couple of training treats (from Life's Abudance) knowing it's time for us to leave the house for a while. At night he sleeps with me a for a little bit on the bed and when Paul comes to bed, he takes Jack out and then off to his crate. On the weekend mornings he knows that after we let him out to do his business, he gets to be on the bed with us so he runs directly to our bedroom when he comes zipping thru the door.
We just installed the Invisible Fence around our house - front, back, and side yards. Jack loves being able to run all around and within a few trips around the house, knew exactly where the boundaries were. Smart dog!
His potty training is pretty much complete. No accidents for quite some time. He rings the poochie bells and out he goes. We have been taking him for morning and nightly walks as well around the neighborhood and he's doing great on the leash. He's also been enjoying his trips in the car. He can just about get his nose fully out the window when he's in the backseat. It's really cute to watch him snap at the wind in his face.
I think his favorite friend is my 4-year old niece. She's closer in size to him than we are and he loves to chase her around (we're still working on the nipping). She loves to run and have Jack chase her.
We just couldn't be happier Gina. He's a great dog and we're so happy to have him. He's a wonderful addition to our family and we love him more and more every day. I constantly tell people how amazed and impressed we were with the entire process...start to finish. Hopefully we'll send some more clients your way :0).
Tammi
Zeus and I go to a local elementary school each week to read with some of the 2nd and 3rd grade students. Each of the kids look forward to Thrusdays and can't wait to greet Zeus upon our arrival.
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ArborGate's MacDuff is visiting us right now so I thought I'd snap a few pictures of this adorable new stud boy. He is so floppy, cuddly and lovable. MacDuff has a buttery soft fleece coat like him momma and a solid, thick, square body like his daddy. We can't wait to use him in our program!
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Hi Gina!
I just thought I would send you a little update about Sammy! I can't believe it, but he's already TWO YEARS OLD! He's such a fun dog. He loves to play and run around, but he also loves to snuggle up on the couch. This year I took him up to Lake Michigan and let him run around and play in the water... he had a blast! It was so funny to watch him dig at the sand and water! I've attached some photos from one of our trips. Enjoy!
Kaity
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Our boys continue to have a best friend in Maple, out sweet-natured Arborgate Labradoodle. It’s hard to believe she’s been in our family almost 3 years now. We are celebrating her 3rd birthday this weekend and thought we would share with you this beautiful picture of our boys and sweet puppy girl.
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Hi Gina,
I just wanted to drop a quick hello and send a pic of Pike. He is the most amazing dog ever! He has the best personality - everyone can't help but love him. He is so smart too. He learns a new trick every 2 days. We are so excited to have him as part of our family and I just want to thank you for such an amazing job with your dogs.
This boy is beyond compare. He is such a loving, kind and loyal gentleman.
Our Zeus was born right here at ArborGate Labradoodles. His parents are Willow and Marley Boy (from Chicago Labradoodles). Zeus has a stunning dark chocolate fleece coat and eyes that simply say it all. He's a standard sized hugable, kissable teddy bear!
What's next you ask? Well....now that he's a certified Therapy Dog with Delta Society Pet Partners, we'll be taking him out into the community to bring smiles to the faces of many. We plan to become involved with the Library's Reading with Dogs Program, visit the elderly at our local care facilities, clown around with the kids in the hospital and bring him into the school program.
ArborGate's Trumpkin arrives safely at his new home in Reno:
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Hi Gina,
Hope all is well with you and your family. Winston is wonderful!!! We all love him and he is a favorite with our family and friends too.. He's just about finished with his vaccinations - on schedule per our vet. We just completed a puppy obedience class and he graduated with flying colors (see photo). We can't imagine a better dog for our family.
We do have a question though - is it time for him to be groomed? He's adorable shaggy, but we feel he may be more comfortable with a shorter coat. Please give us your recommendation as to the instruction you give your groomers and the frequency.
I just wanted to let you know that I took Pike to the vet this morning. All is well! A letter from the vet is attached in case you need it. Let me know if you need anything else. I will hear back tomorrow about his stool sample, but assume all is well. He is set up with a schedule for his upcoming vaccinations and now has heart dewormer medicine and Frontline.
He is adjusting well. Lots of play and naps. He barely whines when we put him in his crate and sleeps well in the night. Once he is housebroken, he'll be the best puppy ever!
He's a looker though! It's tough to walk him on the street without people oohing and ahhing and wanting to pet him. He sure loves to explore and is pretty good at walking (with a little coaxing).
He's wonderful and we love him so much. Hope all is well.
Hey there Gina:
Hope you and your family are well.
I slacked off a bit in sending you monthly pix of Niko. Here is a picture from the weekend. He is almost 15 months old. He continues to be totally great. Great temperament, smart, fun and loving. He weighs about 35 pounds. Also, after watching his color lighten for the last year, now he is actually starting to regain some of the reddish/brown hair he had when he was a puppy. His color is a forever changing wonder. He loves the beach and swimming, he loves playing with other dogs. He is a really good guy.
All the best, Kristin
This update is from the family I mentioned earlier (the one who now has 2 of our puppies)....
Oh My Gosh!!! Are you house training these pups BEFORE they go to their forever families? It's as if our sweet little boy "knows" to go outside!! By the way, we decided on a different name. "Cooper" didn't fit him. He is literally a "Tank"! We decided to name him Sherman Tank! We plan on calling him by his middle name Tank.
Oh, he's a dream. I'm as exhausted as I was when I had my second child! This is like having an infant and a 2 year old running around!! Zoey Belle is helping Tank learn about social graces, like not taking a toy when she's playing with it.... She, however, won't take a toy away from Tank if he starts playing with it first!! So much fun! Thanks so much for your continued dedication to this amazing breed!! Your program is AAA+!!
Best wishes for you and your family!
Angie
P.S. I LOVED the write up you did on Maggie. It was so sweet it made me cry!
One of my very favorite puppy families visited today....to get their second ArborGate Labradoodle!
Zoey is almost 2 years old and they are calling their new puppy "Cooper". These 2 are both Maggie puppies but they have different dads so that would make them half-siblings. It's such a joy to see our labradoodle families come back for a second pup ~ it's the ultimate compliment.
Our dear, sweet, hugable, kissable, lovable Maggie is now retiring. She is the first girl in our program to retire and it's bitter sweet. We love Maggie and she's produced some outstanding puppies. Maggie will be staying with her Guardian Family in Indianapolis where she is a much loved pet.
I'll forever remember:
bringing Maggie to my son's preschool
watching Lacey and Maggie share a crate when they were youngsters
getting sloppy wet face washes
the time she stole a stick of butter off the counter
how she intuitively knows what those around her need
that she was the first mama of our very fist litter here at ArborGate Labradoodles
how great she was at caring for her young pups
how she would roll over to "show us her babies"
her calming, tranquil demeanor
her love for marrow bones
the love and loyalty she has for her "people"
how much I love her!
We've retained two of Maggie's puppies as potential breeding girls for our program (Tess and Piper -I'll be sure to post pictures of them soon.) We are thrilled that these girl will carry on in our program in their mother's place.
We'll miss you Maggie!
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I just had the best business meeting with my breeding friend, Mindi. I love that we can get together over lunch to discuss our dogs, our puppies and our program. It's so important to have a network of people out there to share ideas with. As breeders work together, our already great programs stand to improve as we learn from each other.
Thank you for being such a great breeder and friend Mindi. We should have lunch together more often! :)
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Hi Gina. I thought I would update you on our summer. We have decided to name him Max after the dog from the Grinch (loyal and smart). He has had all his shots, and graduated from Kindergarten. We are now working on clicker training. He is so smart and enjoys school. We will probably do agility work next summer just because he loves learning! Max knows sit, down, stand, shake, high five, touch (with nose), kennel, leave it, and walk with me. His loose leash walking is getting really solid, it just has not transfered over to the kids yet. Max will even go potty on comand! Stay has needed some work, but we are up to 30 seconds on a down stay. He does not do sit stay very long. I would also say he comes 85% of the time when called. Right now we are working on settle, stay, chasing us if he gets off leash, a reliable recall, not jumping when excited, and touching things such as lids at far distances. The only time he barks is when he is playing with the kids or cats.
Max loves people! He has not met a stranger yet. I have taken him to work about once a week this summer. He does so well with the kids. They look forward to seeing him. He has been every where with us. He has gone camping, to the beach, many baseball and soccer games, to a parade, a fire work show (he slept through!), cookouts, and even on a 13 hour drive down to my grandmothers house.
He is very energetic at times and mirrors the energy level of the person or animal he is with. We are very proud of him and are so glad we have him. My kids love him very much, and he listens to them pretty well (my 5 year old is still a littermate, but is because of her energy level). Thank you so much for all the hard work that went into breeding this wonderful puppy.
For the first time, ArborGate labradoodles has a litter with RARE Sable, Brindle and Phantom Australian Labradoodle Puppies
Sable
Brindle
Phantom
Sable:
A coat represented by black-tipped hairs on a background of any solid colour, with no particular pattern. [Rare colour group]
Our sable wool girl started off looking like a phantom but as her hair grew in..... it grew in gold in color. As she matures, her hair will have black tips but will continue to grow in gold. Once she receives her first haircuts, she'll lose a lot of her black and become more and more gold colored dog. She is simply stunning!
Here's a picture of an older sable puppy. Picture courtesy of Labradoodle Babies.
Brindle:
Should have an even and equal distribution of the lighter colours with layering of black hairs producing a tiger-striped pattern. [Rare color group]
Our fleece brindle boy is developping stunning stripes of black and apricot. Unlike sable, a brindle's hairshaft is one solid color and the different colored areas form a tiger-striped pattern. This is oh so exciting and I can't wait to watch him mature!
Colors and patterns vary but here's a pic of an adult Brindle Labradoodle. Picture posted by Jonathon D.
Phantom:
Solid base colour with sharply defined markings of a second colour appearing above each eye, on the sides of the muzzle, on the throat and forechest, or in a chin and forechest bowtie pattern as well as on all four legs and feet, and below the tail. [Rare color group]
We have 2 phantom boys in this litter. Their bodies will remain black while their markings are an apricot color. Asia and RUE have had some phantom puppies for us before and I totally fell in love with this color.
Here's an example of one of our past Phantom puppies. He is breathtaking!
Sable
Brindle
Phantom.jpg)
