Pearl's litter is 8 weeks!

Rainbow Girl 7 1/2 lbs.

Blue Boy  9 lbs.

Green Boy 6 1/2 lbs.

Fudge Girl 5 1/4 lbs.

This has been an interesting week.  As you know, my trainer came here and we had our first assessment.  Karen (my trainer) loves this litter.  They are a group of spunky, funny, tail-waggin' balls of fluff!  They did very well on their trip to the vets but today they are having a bit of a digestive upset from the shots, I think.  They are playing normally but have diarrhea which is unfortunate.  This shall pass.... sooner rather than later, I hope!!

A little bit about each pup:

• Rainbow, lovingly called 'Houdini' because she is the only one that climbs out of the x-pen routinely and greets me at the door in the morning.  She is full of energy and LOVES water hence, the need for Lixit Bottles instead of a normal watering bowl.  She is very curious and lively but once in your arms, relaxes for cuddles and lots of kisses.
• Blue Boy nicknamed 'Monk'.  He quietly contemplates his next move.  Energetic at times, but also quite content to just 'laze about' in the potty box, stuffed frog or bed.  He doesn't generally initiate play but does not back off when invited either.  
• Green Boy, the 'Gentleman'.  He can and does, however, get 'down and dirty' too. Wrestles like crazy with Fudge Girl and gives the ol' rock um/sock um to his larger caramel siblings.  This pup does prefer to be with people and charms them shamelessly.
• Fudge Girl is mistakenly thought of as the 'runt'.  No, no, no!  Big personalities come in small packages and this pup is such a love!   Happy to play chase, cuddle in your arms or do water sports (she too, loves to dig in the water bowl!).  Her size belies her abilities!

As a breeder, I find DNA and genetics incredibly interesting - especially so with this litter.  When working with hybrids, you expect a wide assortment of DNA splitting.  It has never been so apparent as with this group.  As you know, Coriander is a first generation Cockapoo, who is on the larger side of his breed at almost 16 inches and 26 or so pounds.  Pearl is an excellent representation of a gracefully put together medium sized Australian Labradoodle at 18 inches and roughly 30 lbs.  In this litter, you can easily pick out how the DNA split - the caramels favor Coriander with Blue Boy favoring the Cocker influence the most in both looks and coat.  However his size comes from the larger dogs behind Pearl.  Rainbow Girl is more 'mixed up'.  The Cocker influence shows but not as potently as Blue Boy.  Perhaps because she is a female, her 'edges' are softer and more feminine.  Both the chocolate/cafes are their mom through and through.  Although they definitely have a curlier coat than their mom per the heavier Poodle influence, they do not have a Poodle nose nor are their heads narrow like the Poodle breed.   The Cockapoo influence shows much less in these two except in their eyes (which are round, not oval) and the nice breadth of their foreheads.    Oh yes, they both  favor their father's smaller size. So much fun to see how a litter evolves.  :+)

They also had a great time exploring the tunnel I put in their pen this week.  Enjoy the pics below.