River in Action! :)

River is 6 weeks old now! Wow...what a difference a week makes. All of a sudden she's a running, playing, funny little girl. When we toss her toys, she'll run after them and slide across the kitchen floor. It's so cute! She loves to follow Maggie and Marlee all over the house and she acts like she's just one of the dogs now. Where did my baby go? She weighs 11 lbs and eats 3 meals each day of hard and soft kibble combined. She's still trying (kind of) to nurse when Maggie will let her. Usually once in the morning and once before bed. That will probably be all done by the time she's 7 weeks old.

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In the background of this pic, you can see the whelping/puppy room entrance. I put a crate in there the other day with some blankets and a stuffed animal that River has lived with. I just left the door open to see what would happen. Well, a few hours later I realized that River was no longer in the kitchen so I peeked in the puppy room to see what she was up to and I couldn't see her. When I found her, she was all curled up in the crate taking a long nap. That's the beginning of crate training! The next step will be to catch her napping in there, and while she's sleeping I'll close the door. Then as soon as she's awake, I'll open the door and greet her with a treat and a lot of praise. By the time she's 8 weeks old, she'll have plenty of positive crate experiences that her new family can build on and gradually increase her time in the crate during the day. She'll be old enough to spend the night in the crate as she sleeps through the night now, but daytime crate time has to be increased gradually. The general rule is 1 hour for every month of age, up to 8 hours. Any longer and you run the risk of UTI's in young puppies.

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In the picture above, you can see the empty plastic water bottles she has chewed on. These are the best, cheapest chew toy for puppies and dogs! My adult dogs LOVE a new water bottle to crush! The squeaking sound and the feel of flattening the bottle makes for great chew time. Just make sure you remove the cap and plastic ring (choking hazards!) and the paper or plastic label before you give it to your pooch. In the summer, I like to fill them half full with water and freeze them and the dogs will chew them outside for hours trying to get that ice! Cheap entertainment for Labradoodles!

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River loves to play with her "littermates". They are pretty stinky now, but they smell like LOVE to her and I know they bring her comfort. This is exactly how she would be playing with a sibling if she had one. We are working very hard to teach River what her teeth are made for, and that doesn't include chewing on people! We divert her to a chewy if she bites us and she's getting the picture that we don't like it. We also don't let her demand attention from us by standing on her hind legs for any reason. If she does stand up on us, we gently place her back down on all fours and set her bum on the floor BEFORE we give her any affection or praise. We want her to learn that good things happen to dogs that SIT! She'll get it, she's super smart.

River is still using the litter box 100% of the time. I have not had to clean up a mess off the floor ONE SINGLE time..amazing! She's such a good dog and we love her so much.

She's going to make her owners so happy in a few short weeks!

Thanks for reading!

River's 4 Week Pic!

Isn't she just darling?! She really is that sweet in person, too.

River is now 8lbs. 14oz and she has all of her teeth and is eating softened puppy kibble. I just soak it in water, keep it in a container in the fridge, and serve it to her on a plate. She eats it right up. I'm not sure why, but she just skipped the puppy mush stage and I don't mind at all! It's much cleaner this way! :)

She's still a perfect potty-er, never messing in her bed. She uses the litter box and now I've opened up her area a little to give her more room to walk around. She's funny to watch when she wrestles with her stuffed "littermates" and barks at them like they really are other puppies. So cute! I can't believe how the time is going by with her. I think this week she'll get her first bath. That should be fun!

Thanks for reading!

River 3 Week Update!

Here's River!

I took these pics last night as I was attempting to introduce her to puppy mush. She doesn't seem too interested in eating solid food yet, but we'll keep trying. She's more than happy to just keep nursing, I guess. Maggie is still enjoying her time with River and neither of them act like they're ready for a change. I was able to get River to lick some of the mush off the plate so I'm sure she'll get the hang of it really soon.

She weighs 7lbs. 13oz as of yesterday. Her growth rate has really slowed down compared to some singletons, so she might not be as big as I predicted. She plays with her stuffed animals and growls and barks when she's feeling fiesty. Marlee loves to get in the whelping box with her and River thinks she's a big stuffed animal. I make sure Marlee is completely relaxed with her and if she shows signs of impatience, I make her leave.

In the picture above, you can see the litter box behind River. What I've done is put up the pen around the whelping box and made an opening for the litter box. River is using the litter box 100% of the time, I've been so amazed at her. She wakes up, toddles her little self over to it, and does her business. No messes or piddles in the bedding AT ALL!!! She's so smart, I tell ya!

In this pic, she was trying to figure out why she was out of her area. She's so easy and sweet. I'm already sad about saying good-bye to her in a month, but I know she's going to be an amazing pet for her new family.

Happy Thanksgiving!

River's 2 Week Pics!

Here are puppy-girl's newest pics! Her wonderful family has decided to name her River and that's what we've been calling her. She's so pretty, but not very still for pics! She's walking around the whelping box on all 4s now and starting to go potty on her own without mom's help. It's time to potty train ALREADY??? Yep, it is! :) Mom's still cleaning up after her so it's not messy or anything, but now is the time to start introducing her to the concept of leaving her "living area" to go to the "potty area" when she's ready to go.

In other news, Marlee is in heat! This is good news, it means she'll be having her next heat in May and she'll be the perfect age for her first breeding. We're excited for Marlee to produce our first ever ALL chocolate litter of Labradoodles. I'll keep updating on her progress as well.

Enjoy the pics of River!

Thanks for reading! :)

Jazzy Pics 1 week old :)

Momma Maggie watching her little one sleep.

Jazzy, 1 week old.

Jazzy's eyes are almost all the way opened now so on Friday when I take her 2 week pics you'll be able to see her eyes. She's so sweet! Today when I weighed her she was 3 lbs. 14 oz. What a girl! She's doing exactly what she has to do to keep mom's milk supply up and going.

Thanks for looking!

Jazzy is 5 days old!

And she weighs 2 lbs. 5 oz. Wow...big, healthy, funny puppy girl.

She's showing some signs of independence. I checked on her a little while ago and found Maggie and her napping on opposite sides of the whelping box. Funny, Maggie likes to hang out in there with her girl even if she's not nursing.

In other news, Marlee is showing signs of coming into her first heat. She's 13 months old and right on track for a summer breeding if she goes into heat now and again in May. Once she's out of her heat this time, I'll be taking her in for her OFA Hip/Elbow Xrays and her CERF Eye Exam. After that, she'll be a cleared breeding female and we'll be looking for Mr. Right Chocolate Boy for our first ALL chocolate litter. Next year should be exciting and full of Chocolate.

I posted pics of Jazzy on the website along with our Planned Breedings for 2010!

:)

Jazzy 2 days old!

Here's a pic of Maggie and her puppy. :) She's very sweet...Darin suggested we call her Jazmine and Jenna and I both said "Jazzy!" So, she's Jazzy now and she's a sweet girl. Barely makes a peep, I actually haven't heard her cry yet. Might be because she's gained 4 oz. since her birth 2 days ago! Sheesh, mom's doing a great job, I'd say. :)


Tomorrow I will get a better close up of Jazzy and post it on the website. Promise...

:)

She's done...

Looks like Maggie's all done and we have one, sweet, curly, black female. I will get a pic ASAP and put it on here.

She's nursing great and making happy puppy noises. I'm so proud of Maggie! When I saw those 2 little paws sticking out with no sac, I knew I had to move quickly. With every contraction she pushed and I pulled and her sweet puppy was born squirming and wiggling. So cute.

So strange to just have one puppy in the house.

:)

1 puppy born!!!

Beautiful, curly, black female weighing 1# 5.2 oz. She was born feet first and she's already nursing!

I'm waiting to see if there are more...

Day 64

Maggie's in labor!! We had a rough night and neither of us slept, but very soon it will all be worth it. This is where I'll post birth info so keep checking back!!

:)

Day 63

Last night Maggie woke me up at 3am to go outside. Very unusual. I finished the night sleeping on the couch with her pretty much laying on top of me. Found out this morning she had a #2 accident in my sons room during the night. Very, very unusual.

So, I work at my kids' school on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I came home at lunch today to check on Maggie and she hadn't eaten her breakfast and the blankets and towels in the whelping box were all messed up in a big pile. She was excited to see me, but not in a happy way, more like a "where have you BEEN?" kind of way. I decided I better not go back in to the school.

When I let her out to go potty, she made a straight path to the porch and went underneath it and dug out a huge hole to lay in. Yikes. I coaxed her out of there and brought her back in. She was moaning and whining and following me around. I gave her a bath because she was dirty from the hole she dug, and brought her back into the whelping room to see what's up. She was nervous and unsettled. So, I am now sitting in the whelping box with her and she's sleeping soundly. Poor thing, I think she was just mad at me for leaving her. I better stay home from this point so she doesn't get upset again.

More later... :)

Day 61 (This is where it gets graphic!)

WARNING!! From this point on, the fun begins and the subject matter gets gross. lol

So, today is Day 63 (normal dog gestation) from Maggie and Bo's first tie. I just like to add a few days to that because I don't know if she actually ovulated on that day or not. So, we'll call today Day 61 so we don't get disappointed when she doesn't have her puppies tonight. Because she's not. :)

However, I came home at lunch from helping out at my kids' school and took her out and she did have a long string of mucus hanging out of her after she pottied. That's a good sign! Her temp has been normal with no changes or fluctuations.

She's eating, sleeping and eating some more. We'll see what happens tomorrow!

:)

Puppy Movement

I can watch Maggie's puppies move. I'm really feeling like there is more than one puppy in there. She has continued to fill out as every day goes by and she's sleeping a lot as well. I've begun to take her temp in the mornings to get a good baseline for her. She's Day 60 today so she can really go into labor at any point. The temperature is such a good indication for when labor will start. When it dips below 98 degrees, we know puppies will be born within 12 hours or so.

The weather is so strange today. It's 55 degrees outside, windy with dark clouds filling the sky. We're supposed to get rain, too. Maybe the storm will put Maggie in labor. :)

Maggie's Litter

Well...took Maggie in for her X ray today and we could really only see one puppy. It was so faint and it seemed to not be very big for it to be the only one, so I'm being optimistic that there are more in there. She's eating and napping a lot and acting very pregnant. Following me around, laying down wherever I am in the house, even laying right outside the bathroom door. I've felt puppy movement in her tummy in different locations, which is why I feel there may be more than just one. But, I've learned to hope for the best and prepare for...well, life. :)

Check back for more updates!

Update!

Since I last posted, Henry has gone to his wonderful home and they love him. Alice (Purple Girl) came for a 2 week visit while her family went to Disneyland and it was great to get to know her again. I'm looking forward to when she can produce pups for me, she's a wonderful girl.

We got some fencing done so that's exciting. And...

DRUM ROLL...

I found a stud for Maggie! He's a gorgeous brown and white parti poodle with a wonderful pedigree and Excellent hips. :) Now Maggie just needs to go into heat so we can get this party started. lol She should go into heat any day, she's usually very on schedule. Cocoa (the stud) will be coming here to visit and then he'll go back to his home in La Grande, OR. I'll be taking Bo to doggy daycare for a few days because I don't think he'll be able to handle another boy around. This is his harem after all.

So, till Maggie gives us the signal, we wait. As soon as I know, I'll be able to give an expected breeding/due date for the puppies. I am accepting applications at this time for anyone interested in a Maggie/Cocoa litter.

Enjoy the summer, it's half over! :)

Down time

Well, all the puppies but one have gone to their forever homes. Black Checks Boy (now known as Henry) is with us until the 11th of July when his forever family gets back from vacation. It's been fun having him here with me, I get a chance to train and get to know a puppy from Rosie to see what the temperament is. He is highly trainable, I must say! I have been taking him out on a leash and I have a spot right by the door that I hang it on when I bring him back in. Today he went to the door and pawed at the leash to tell me he needed to go out. Good boy, Henry! He's 12 weeks old now and getting tall and lanky. I like to look back at the puppy pics when they were rolly-polly things.

**sigh**

So, as you remember Maggie had the one sweet boy, Mack, back in April. She nursed him for 3 weeks and then I moved him in with Rosie's litter and she picked up the mothering role. Maggie's milk was dried up by the time Mack was 4 weeks old and she was off the hook, mothering-wise. She enjoyed spending time with all the pups and would always go right to Mack and sniff him out, but she really allowed Rosie to feed and clean him for the last bit of nursing the pups do as they transition to solid food. Her coat is back to being shiny and healthy and she's put on a little weight in preparation for her next heat.

Since Maggie looks so good and she's only had 2 litters, 10 pups in all, we're going to go ahead and breed her this summer for her last litter of Labradoodles. She brings an energy and intelligence to her puppies and they are fun to raise. Her first litter with Bo produced amazing nonshedding puppies that were so smart and trainable. I'm going to try and find a different stud for her this time, just for variety's sake. :) I'd like to find a brown and white parti poodle stud for F1bs, or a brown and white parti F1b for F2s.

I'll keep this blog posted as any news comes. I'm expecting Maggie's heat in July or early August if her cycle stays as predictable as it's always been.

Darin and I are working on some fencing plans for the property, very exciting stuff. Right now my fence is my voice "Get back here...Hey, dogs, COME, ...Maggie, Rosie, Bo, Marlee...!!" Ugh. With busy highways and gopher fields surrounding us, it's going to be wonderful to get the puppy area fenced and the large dog yard completely fenced with all the gates for easy access.

Keep checking back here for updates on Maggie. I am accepting early applications and deposits for anyone that's interested. Email me for info!

:)

Puppies in the Pool!

I haven't posted here in a while, figured I better check in so everyone knows I'm still here! :) I'm just enjoying every minute with these pups, they're getting so big! The group will be 8 weeks on Friday, and Mack is 7 weeks today. Wow. I can't believe the time has gone by soooo fast.

I'm in puppy love and I'm already feeling sad about the pups that will be leaving this weekend and on Monday. Alice and Raven will be picked up on Saturday, and I'll be delivering Navajo on Monday to Bothell, WA. I'd love to have a buddy come with her for the car ride if anyone wants a puppy and lives near Seattle! ;)

Also, anyone who's interested can come and see the pups on Saturday as well! I have 1 female and 3 males still available. They are super sweet and ready to love you. I'll be hosting a visiting/pick up day from 11am - 2pm, email or call me and we'll talk!

I posted a slide show of the puppy pics I took today. I set up the playpen in the grass, filled up the kiddie pool and let them play in it. In true water-dog fashion, they drank it, sat in it, dug in it, drank it, wrestled in it, drank it some more then took a nap. It was fun, they all love water as do their parents. The big dogs got jealous and ended up in my fountain pond...grrr...they know when I'm busy with the puppies and they get my attention one way or another. I didn't edit the pics at all...some are weird and of nothing...but it's fun. Also, excuse the yard tools, I removed a rose bush last night.

Thanks for reading, looking, waiting patiently for pictures...

Puppies on the Porch

The puppies have been enjoying the covered porch now that the weather is more stable. We had 65 degrees with a mild breeze today, so they've been able to have a little more room to run and romp. The dog house is good for hide and seek, the pool with blankets in it is great for naptime, and the baby gym with hanging toys serves as their paw-eye coordination activity! :) In front of the toy you can see the litter box with red cedar chips and paper. They're taking to that pretty well and it's a lot cleaner and smells nicer than the piddle pads. Rosie likes the set up, too...as you can see. The day is coming when I will have to start to limit her time with the pups-gradually-so they become independent of her. We don't want them crying for their momma when they go to their forever homes. :)

Here's Mack, trying to catch some Me-time. Each pup has moments when they just want to get away from the crowd and they find a spot to hang out and just observe. It's important to give them that time and watch for clues that they need to get away.

Mack again, trying to see if Rosie will stand still long enough for him to latch on. He does nurse from her, even though she's not his actual mom. She's an awesome girl, I couldn't ask for a better mom for the pups. She's so attentive and patient with them.

There's a wrestling match going on here, and Mack is trying to decide if he wants to get involved. You can't see it in the picture, but his tail was wagging the whole time.

Play time with the baby gym.

Here's one of the boys...I think he's looking for the perfect resting spot.

Notice in the yard all of the white stuff on the ground?? Our huge 40 year old cottonwood trees are releasing their cotton. It flies around like snow for a week every spring. Then we mow and bag it and it's gone, but it makes a mess while it's here!

Well, I hope you enjoyed that little snapshot of a day in the life of an Orchard View Labradoodle puppy! It's a good life, I tell ya. :)

More puppies...

These pics were taken just minutes ago...the puppies were active and playing so I thought I'd post these as well. I couldn't resist...these puppies are soooo sweet.

Look at this face!

Here's Yellow Dots Girl, she has those eyes that melt your heart....

Pink Checks Girl, biting mom's ear...

Mack, younger half-sibling to the group! lol
He's hanging out with Orange Dots Boy...

Rosie lets the puppies climb all over her. She loves them so much!

Turquoise Girl is on the right, sleeping.

Purple Girl is laying between Pink Checks Girl and Orange Dots Boy.

In the very back of the group is Black Checks Boy. He kind of has his back to the romping group.

He likes to go off by himself and rest. He's very quiet.

I think he'd be great for a smaller, calm family or couple.

More of the group...

Pink Checks Girl playing with the toys...

The puppies love this baby gym!! They bat their paws at Big Bird

and chew on the moving parts...

So, as you can see these pups are super sweet and playful.

If you'd like to see more pics of any individual puppy that you're interested in, please email me!

As always, thanks for looking!

Puppies, Puppies!

Here are some cute pics of the puppies being their cute little selves!

Rosie didn't really know what to think of this whole thing...eating food. Her babies are growing up so fast! :)

More pics are coming soon. The puppies are growing and changing every day!

Thanks for looking!

Puppy Pics

If a picture is worth a thousand words, I don't have to say much! :)

This is our current activity...piddle pads. Here's Mack doing his thing!

Blue Dots Boy is giving Orange Dots Boy some love...


Yellow Dots Girl cuddling with her sibs...

Look at this, Mack is just loving it!

He looks like he's actually smiling!

Some more potty action...I watched from the door as this puppy left the others to go potty!

Yay, Puppy!! I think it's Orange Dots Boy...

This one is sweet, I let Marlee go in to see her "little brother" Mack.

They are full siblings from different litters. She's so interested in him...

they were actually licking each other.



I love this picture, Pink Checks Girl was just staring at me.



Rosie's such a good mommy...



Here's Purple Girl in a cute pose...

This one's funny, Blue Dots Boy is trying to bite his sister's tail...

Turquoise Girl and Yellow Dots Girl do not even care that

they are being climbed on.

Black Checks Boy is sleeping in the corner,

content to stay out of the action for now.

Here's another sweet picture of puppy cuddle time.

Puppy Play Time...

More Puppy Play Time...

As you can see, I have the best job in the world! I get to see these darling things all day and hold them and love them and...get ready to let them go to all of my wonderful puppy families!

I still have three sweetie boys waiting to find out who their forever families are, but I'm sure we'll find out soon enough.

On Wednesday, the older puppies will have their first puppy mush meal. Mack has to wait a week, but as you can see he's not starving. :) It will be fun and messy, I'll be sure to post pics of that as well. Mack is spending more and more time with his siblings so he builds his muscles and learns to socialize. He's very sweet and they love him! Rosie also loves him, when he's with them he's one of her puppies. All is well is Puppyville! :)

I hope you enjoy these pictures!
Email me and tell me what you think! I love to hear from my puppy families!