We are a week old now and sleep, eat and......

These handsome boys are packing on the weight and are very content. All are over a pound each. :-) The ultra creamy one on the right is Black Boy, I forgot his collar.

Here is Chocolate Girl, Yellow Girl, Flower Girl (the cream one) and Multi Girl (black one). They are always cuddling and snuggling amongst themselves.

A close up of the different coat types.

Now this is called a girly 'sleep over, under and between'!!!

The Nursing Mothers

Harriet is relaxing with her seven girls. The noses on some of them are just starting to shade a bit as it develops to black. Some of their coats are developing more waves, while others remain more straight. It is so much fun watching them evolve. :-)

P.S. - I have taken the orange collar off of the chocolate girl as she 'stands alone' in the color department.



Annabelle has taken in Harriet's three boys without losing a beat. She takes her role as surrogate mommy very seriously and nutures the four of them with panache! Annabelle's only biological child is the dark apricot/red one. Since she will be added to our program, we are looking for a local guardian home placement.

Is this what you call satisfied?

It is not my intention to always focus on Yellow Girl, but you gotta admit, she sure is a ham!! When I took this pic the Rolling Stones' famous song 'I Can't Get No Satisfaction' crept into my head. I thought, 'well, this girl is sure satisfied!' :-)

The entire litter is plumping up nicely as poor Harriet slims down. She is eating, but is producing sooooo much milk for her baby chubs! Once weaned, she will add some pounds back on. (Oops!, not what most women want to hear!) LOL!

A carbon copy of Annabelle is born!

This little miss is a replica of her mommy, Annabelle, right down to all the 'baby markings'! As Annabelle grew, the marks disappeared except her patch of white on her chest. This little girl is a doll!!

Annabelle's surprise!

Guess what? At 11:15 this evening, tucked under our canopy bed, Annabelle delivered a gorgeous deep apricot female puppy! Now, remember folks, this is the girl that had two x-rays that said...SORRY, NO PUPPIES! Surprise indeed! :+) Pics tomorrow!

The first of five! Individual pics of the litter!

Yellow Girl

Pink Girl

Multi Girl

Black Boy

and Orange Girl

Whew!

Individual pics of Harriet/Zack babies!

Blue Boy

Green Boy

Red Girl

Flower Girl

Purple Girl


These are the rest of them!

To be honest this is the ONLY time taking pics doesn't bring on a sweat for me!! As they get older, pics are quite the trial as they DON'T STAY STILL! :+)

I hope you enjoy their 'up close and personal' debut. Most of the future pics will be in groups.

Dew claw removal controversy.

As with everything, there is always two schools of thought. With dew claw removal, heated discussions go on and on. For me, I believe you should look at the breed AND what this breed will be doing.

Dew Claws do have a mission. They are an apendage - like a toe and they do have a function. Their biggest contribution is in balance. This 'extra' toe helps a dog when taking sharp turns - sort of like using your boot when on a motocycle. But this toe can also have a bothersome side. Many hunting dogs have had it caught in underbrush resulting in severe bleeding, incredible pain with expensive surgery to repair/remove the remaining parts of it. If my Labradoodles were being used for a career in agility, herding, or a racing prospect, I would keep them on, but this is not the case.

The argument goes on that many hunting dogs, etc. do not have them removed and many never have an injury so the risk is considered minimal and the early removal of the claw 'distasteful, like tail docking'. I cannot disagree with this. However, with the Labradoodle comes frequent grooming. I can't tell you the statistics, but I have heard the many complaints about 'how the groomer cut into my dog's dew claw and it bled and bled and the groomer felt awful'. Trust me, so did the dog - it HURTS! And the dog becomes clipper shy.

So, I want the customers of Annabelle Doodles to know that I do have them removed to prevent accidents of all types irregardless of the percentage. Yes, it does pinch when done at a day old, but mommy is near for comfort and her warm tongue gets them right as rain in no time.

The new Harriet/Zack babies! 5/21/07

Hi Everyone!

I think I may have been too tired when I did this the first time, so here is my second try after a nap! :+)

The top and bottom pics are the girls - 7 total. The middle pic is the boys - of which there are 3. I have never had such a heavy percentage of girls!

You will notice a colored collar around each pup's neck. As they grow, I will change their collars but not the color combination. The pups are identified thus GIRLS: red, pink, purple, orange, flower, plain yellow and multi. BOYS: blue, black and green. As the need for new collars arises, they will be changed both in tint of color and patterns, but always follow the color range. This is so you can identify them as I take group shots.

They are very, very consistent in weights - basically 8 to 9 ounces each! It appears they will have lovely coats as well. Another outstanding job from Harriet Potter! Special thanks to Zack as well. :+) (remember to enlarge the pics by clicking)

Our fuzzy 'Lilypad'.

Okay, I finally caught Harriet in the pond on camara! She comforts herself by submerging her big belly under the water. This is how pregnancies should be - all about being pampered. :+)

Our future breeding hopefuls.

Hi All,

I received a wonderful gift on Mother's Day of a visit from my stud, Rumple Sticks! Oh my, what a lover he is. :+)

Rumple and Willis hit it off very well as the pictures show and, I believe, will produce the most incredible puppies in about a year. Both their coats are soft fleece with Rumple having just a bit more wave than Willis. Since Rumple carries the parti gene in his genetics, I am really looking forward to a litter of chocolate and white babies!

Harriet's xray results.

Click to enlarge!

Hello!

Well, sweet Harriet went to visit the x-ray room today at the vet's and it is confirmed....she has a belly full! We are expecting 9 to 10 little bundles of joy to grace our home. :+) We will all be very busy. Unfortunately, the x-ray did not 'contrast' well and a pic did not come out. But it was so exciting to see my vet point out all the little heads and spines. Dr. Lowe checked her over and pronounced her in good health.

The pics above show her lounging on the couch with the fan's breeze tickling her belly. :+)

Doodles welcome our new additions!

The girls are very, very excited about the newcomers! Everyday they run outside to see how they are doing. Of course, the group is not quite sure what to make of their furry fans, but they are handling it all very well. :+)

Harriet's belly is growing!

It has been a while since I have posted as we are in the thick of getting our garden center in gear to open for Mother's Day. But I caught Harriet on the couch this morning 'looking pregnant'. Her belly is swelling and I rub it often when she is lying down. Now, she is sitting in that 'pregnant position' so many of us women are familiar with. From the last report, the poor thing is carrying nine puppies! :+)