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.
It must be the time of year for updates! Here's a picture of Katie at 7 months old. She is a Sadie daughter and full sister to our breeding girl Willow.
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Hiro is a 1 year old birthday boy from Lacey and RUE's first litter. He has stayed such a dark chocolate that he almost looks black!! Here's a note from Hiro's family.
"Hi Gina,
Here is a picture of Hiro Keith he loves being outside in the snow. He also enjoys going to work with me at the nursing homes. We are so excited to have Hiro in our lives. When people see Hiro they always ask what kind of dog is he and where did you get him. We have given so many people your card and web site. We tell people if you are interested in a true labradoodle then this is the place to go."
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Here's a 1 year update from Cotton's family. Cotton is a LaceyXRUE puppy.
"Hi Gina,
We wanted to send along some photos of Cotton...We were very happy to celebrate her first birthday this past week, and loved having another excuse to spoil her with well deserved toys and treats. We cannot thank you enough for bringing her into our life. She is such a natural learner...she makes us SO proud when we take her out for a walk or to the vet because she is such a dignified, smart dog. She loves the group classes I have had her in, loves the dog park (she is SO dog friendly), and is great with all of the young children in our family...She has truly been such a wonderful new addition to our family. Hope you enjoy the pics!!"
Just wanted to let you know how much we soooooo love Bentlee. Thats what we named him. He starts kindergarten this morning at Petsmart and he really is a very smart puppy. He is already trained on the poochie bells and know exactly what I am saying to him. Oh, and by the way...you under estimated his cuddling ability. He is a big baby and LOVES to cuddle. We adore him. Thank you so much for all of your help and I will send pictures soon."
Lacey's 1st litter just turned 1 year old! Happy Birthday!
Here's Lucy...
Note from Lucy's mom: "Dear Gina, We definitely celebrated with our DEAR LUCY yesterday. She is just the best dog ever and we love her soooo much. Hope you are well Gina! I keep up via the website and love seeing all the news....you certainly breed the best dogs in the WORLD!"
We're very excited to have our first phantom pups here at ArborGate Labradoodles. We have a mini fleece phantom girl and a mini fleece phantom boy. Here are some pictures:
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We have Minis! 7 gorgeous minis to be exact. The first pup arrived at 7:30pm last night and we were all done by 10pm. It was a textbook delivery! Mom and pups are doing great.
We have 3 apricots, 2 blacks and 2 phantoms. The phantoms were a huge surprise. We've never had phantom colored pups before and are very excited to watch them grow.
These pups will be ready for their new families around March 23.
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Off to the airport today to drop off Ms. Holly. She will be meeting her family at the Indy airport and then flying in cabin under the seat all the way to sunny Florida.
In the same airport run, Mr. Kringle will be shipped to North Carolina to live with his new family.
It'll be quiet around here! We're used to the pitter patter of 48 little feet but now we're down to only 8. We have 2 pups still looking for their forever family. I'm sure they'll find their perfect families soon.
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Hi Gina!
I've been meaning to e-mail you for some time to show you pictures of our very own cream puff, Charlie! (Maggie x RUE) We got Charlie from you back in June, my husband met you in the airport and brought him to Virginia...Well, we are SO happy to have him in our lives! He makes us laugh everyday with his goofy ways. Our son absolutely adores him, but he is a mama's boy for sure!!! I kid you not, but everywhere we go, people constantly stop us to compliment how beautiful he is, they always want to know what breed he is. A couple of weeks ago we were taking him to get groomed and a lady chased us into to Pet Smart, I guess she had seen us walking in while she was in her car, and couldn't get enough of him...I gave her you info! He has enriched our lives in so many ways I couldn't even begin to tell you. Remember how worried I was about potty training, well he proved to be a real champ. Ever since we got him, he's only had ONE accident when he was a real baby, I can't believe how incredibly good that is, no one believes me! He graduated from Puppy Kinder with flying colors and I should take advantage of his intelligence and enroll him in other courses. He is an excellent fetcher, drops items from his mouth when asked and will do anything for a Scooby Snack! Thank you again for breeding such wonderful dogs. We LOVE Charlie and can't imagine our lives without him...
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Cooper's Family was so happy with their first ArborGate Labradoodle puppy that they've come back for a second one! They brought Cooper along to meet his new canine sister. Here's a picutre of when Cooper first went home and then a picture of their growing family. Joy is one lucky pup!
It's the ultimate compliment when families come back for a second ArborGate Labradoodle puppy.
Andrew, Eli and I wanted to send our best to you guys! Eli is growing into his personality. He is the sweetest boy. He loves to snuggle, but is respectful of space. He is active, brilliant, and witty (I swear, he’s witty)! Attached are some of our favorite recent pictures. He gets cuter every day!...
Maggie's pups are growing like weeds. Today they turned 4 weeks old! They got a bath, dewormer, nails clipped, weighed and moved out of the nursery. Their new accomadations will allow them to interact more with the other adult dogs and take in all the sights and sounds of a busy household. The pups are getting plenty of lovin' from my kids which is great because by the time these puppies leave they'll be pre-spoiled and childproof.
Here's a great picture from our photoshoot today.... isn't she adorable?
We have a few puppies from this litter still available, they're medium fleece chocolate and cream Multigen Australian Labradoodle puppies. Ready January 23.
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We've received Christmas cards from many of our Puppy Families this year. I love keeping in touch with so many great people. Thank you all for the cards, pictures and letters!
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Merry Christmas ArborGate Labradoodles! ~ From the James'
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Maggie's litter will be ready for their new families on January 23. If you're looking for a Christmas puppy we're happy to send a gift box with some pictures, a leash, collar and puppy toy for under the Christmas tree. Then once the craziness of the holidays are over and everyone is back into their routine, your pup will be old enough to come join your family.
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Tis the season and it's a busy time around here. Maggie is being a wonderful mom to her large litter of oh so perfect puppies! Everyone is enjoying naming the pups Christmas names. So far we have a Joy, Noel, Holly, Mr. Kringle, Belle, Miracle, Dasher, Comet and a Mr. Jingles. The pups just began opening their eyes and going to become more and more fun each day. By Christmas morning we'll have puppies roming every where, pulling at the tree, tearing at the wrapping paper and causing joyful chaos where ever they go! There's nothing funner than puppies at Christmas!
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I was very excited to receive an update from Sadie's Guardian family today. Here's a recent pic of Sadie with her boys...
The Anderson kids have chosen the winner of our photo contest for Sadie's pups' 1st birthday pictures.
And the winner is.... Elly.
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We have a puppy available now.....
MEET MAX!
He's looking for his forever family.
10 weeks old
Medium Chocolate Australian Labradoodle (ALF6)
Vaccinated, Dewormed, Microchiped, Genetic Health Guarantee, Lifetime Support
Chosen from a litter of 9 as best candidate for therapy work
Playful, affectionate, smart, child proof, easy going, eager to please, friendly, confident, pre-spoiled, inquisitive, knows "sit" and he walks well on leash.
Puppy Update: Today was a big day for Lacey's puppies.... first bath and first time outside! They loved playing with the leaves as the wind blew them around. Our puppies are enjoying being out in our family space, they love all the attention they get from the kids and from Aunty Willow. I can tell that Willow is going to be a great mama, she loves these babies as if they were her own!
Lacey's pups have already caught on to using the potty area - they've been my easiest litter to teach so far. They're eating 3 mushy meals a day and already weigh between 3.0lbs and 4lbs13oz. The smaller ones in the litter will take after dad in size and the larger ones will take after mom.
Maggie is expecting a litter of pups just after Thanksgiving and although not official, we've already begun to see early signs of confirmed pregnancy. Maggie's upcoming litter is our first dual sired litter. This will be Doc's first attempt at being a daddy so we used RUE as a back up to help ensure a litter. All the chocolate pups will be RUE's and we'll be DNA testing all cream puppies so we know who the daddy is. Can't wait to see what Doc is able to produce!!
We're still waiting for pictures of Lucy, Wrigley and Copper. We'll wait until tonight to decide the winner just in case we get another picture entered. Good Luck Everyone!
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In celebration of MaggieXRUE's puppies turning 1 year old, we are having a photo contest! All pups from MaggieXRUE's first litter are welcome to send in a recent picture of their pup. Our kiddos will choose the winning picture and the results will be posted here in our journal on Monday.
Gina........ Thanks so much for the birthday email and note about the photo contest. I will have to wait on the photo until my daughter is home, since I do not know how to send a photo via email....... I will try to get it to you by Monday!?!
I was so happy to get your email because I have been meaning to write and update you on Lucy, aka Zion....and I cannot believe that almost a year has passed! She has been such a joy!... we just love her dearly! She is just the best dog! She has been to obedient school and was one of the best students in the class.... the teacher often used her as the "example" puppy. She has actually completed two classes. She is calm, obedient, smart, cute, sweet, loving, etc....... She is so adaptable... she has been back and forth to our lake cottage all summer and just acts like she has been doing it for years. People are constantly stopping me and asking me about her...... she does not know a stranger! We just could not be happier with her!
We look at your website every so often and think "maybe we should get another one!"... time will tell...... who knows!?!
Thank you for everything and I will try to keep more in touch in the future!
I just can't help but post a few of our newest puppy pictures - I think they're SO cute!
Cup of Cocoa?
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People always ask me what the best time of the year is to get a new puppy. Some people think that summer is ideal but remember that often summers are filled with trips, camping, holidays etc. Puppies thrive on routine! Summer is often anything but!
I think the best time to get a puppy is when you're going to be sticking close to home, following a regular routine and when you're able to attend a puppy socialization/obedience class one night per week.
Maggie's pups will be ready for their new families in late January/early February. The advantage of this time of year is that by the time summer roles around, your pup is fully vaccinated, housebroken, finished with puppy socialization classes and has some basic obedience under his belt. Now he's ready for all that summer has to offer..... days at the beach, camping, vacations, etc.
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We've begun doing the Neurological Stimulating Exercises for our newest batch of little ones:
On day three of the puppy’s life we begin early neurological stimulation exercises practiced daily between the ages of 3 - 16 days. This gives the puppy’s neurological system a head start. It consists of 5 different exercises designed to stimulate the neurological system. The five exercises are:
Tactile stimulation - holding the pup in one hand, the handler gently stimulates the pup between the toes on any one foot using a Q-tip. Time of stimulation 3 - 5 seconds.
Head held erect - using both hands, the pup is held perpendicular to the ground. Time of stimulation 3 - 5 seconds.
Head pointed down - holding the pup firmly with both hands the head is reversed and is pointed downward so that it is pointing towards the ground. Time of stimulation 3 - 5 seconds.
Supine position - holding the pup so that its back is resting in the palm of both hands with its muzzle facing the ceiling. Time of stimulation 3-5 seconds.
Thermal stimulation - using a damp towel that has been cooled in a refrigerator for at least five minutes. The pup is placed on the towel, feet down. It is not restrained from moving. Time of stimulation 3-5 seconds.
These exercises impact the neurological system by jump starting it into action earlier than would otherwise be expected. 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.
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It's been busy around here lately! Lacey gave birth to a stunning litter of puppies and Maggie has been honeymooning with RUE this week. RUE lives with his guardian family but is here for the week so we decided to do a little photoshoot of our "big" man.
Here's some updated pics of our Standard Australian Labradoodle Stud Boy...
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I'm getting excited! Puppies are due in just 1 week. It feels like we haven't had pups here in ages.
The kids and I crowded around Lacey today and took turns feeling the pups move in her tummy. I love this! I gave Lace a bit of a tummy haircut last night so the pups will have an easier time nursing. She looks a little funny with her near shaved tummy! When she walks, her middle sways back and forth. Too cute!
We've switched her over to puppy food and have been supplementing her meals with treats of eggs, cottage cheese, apples, carrots and plain yogurt. She loves that! Willow gets a little jealous so she's been enjoying a few extra treats too. Willow is also on the receiving end of some mothering from Lacey. Lace cleans Willows ears, snuggles close to her and licks her constantly. Those mothering instincts are in full swing.
Lacey has spent the last week getting used to her new digs. We've set her up in our master bedroom. She loves being so close to us and enjoys stretching out in the whelping box at bedtime.
I'll certainly post pics as soon as our blessed little bundles arrive.
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Hiro pictures...
2 weeks:
4 weeks:
8 weeks:
7 months:
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It has been a while since I've posted on the journal because it's been so quiet around here. Well, that's not entirely true, we're a busy family but there hasn't been a lot of dog news to report. Lacey is pregnant and we're just waiting for her upcoming due date. We have been receiving glowing reports from our puppy families (I love getting updates!) and also some current pictures. I hope you enjoy the pics...
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We spent the day at the 4-H Judging with Asia and her Guardian Family.
Taylor has been working with Asia and was very excited about today. They won Reserve Champion in the Showmanship Ring ~ he was the most excited little boy I've ever seen!
Elly in her beautiful Lavender coat at 9 months old....
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A letter from Eli's family in North Carolina:
Andrew and I are amazed at the temperament of this pup! I don’t know what you guys are doing to your dogs up there, but this puppy is AMAZING! Last night, I must not have shut his crate all the way when we put him to bed because when we woke up around 4am to take him out to use the potty, we couldn’t find him. He was sound asleep on his dog bed, next to our bed. A perfect puppy! We let him out to use the bathroom and then put him back on the dog bed. He slept there until about 7:30. His sweet temperament is combined with a spunky personality. He loves to RUN around the backyard, around bushes, under the wheelbarrow, around gutters…he is a fast little guy. He lets all our neighborhood kids chase him and play with him. He loves kids! What we really can’t believe is that he hasn’t cried at all! Considering his Friday flight situation, I thought he would be a little terrified and skittish…but no! He is extremely well adjusted. We are just so thankful for you guys and for Eli. I can’t wait to see how he grows and will be sure to send you pictures as he matures (I’m sure I’ll send you stories too). He is a cutie pie!
It's summer time ---- here's some pics of Doc in his long coat and then a few new pics of his cool summer cut.
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Email from a happy puppy family:
Hi Gina,
Wow! If I wasn't impressed with your organization and Labradoodle expertise before, I came away from your home, thoroughly impressed. From the immaculate condition of your home and yard, the quiet music in the background, the wonderful chocolate-chip/banana muffins, to the obviously happy and healthy dogs, your quiet children, David, who came out to greet us. (but then he disappeared)...to my perfect puppy, Katie, I was amazed and quite pleased.
Though I don't know anyone currently looking for a Labradoodle, I will have absolutely no hesitation recommending you and your dogs, should an inquiry be directed to me.
Today was filled with tears both of sadness and joy. We all had a good cry when Sadie left with her Guardian Family. They are an amazing family from Chicago and I know Sadie will be spoiled, loved, played with and pampered. We are going to miss having her here with us though. She would prance around with her favorite toy in her mouth. She looked so proud!
"Gina, you have been wonderful. It is evident that you put A LOT of love, attention and care into these puppies. Thank you for all the articles, I have read them all and have found them very helpful. I hope you don't mind as I'm sure I will contact you often with questions! You are great at what you do!
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.
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!!
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!
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!
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...
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!
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.
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.
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
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.
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...
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.
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!
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!
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?!
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!
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!
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!
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.... Here are some pictures of Lacey pregnant.
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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.
