Pick up week is going very well.

So far, four pups have gone to their new homes. I will post pics of everyone's departure on Saturday once Novak is picked up.  :+)

A box is not just a box..sometimes it is a scary monster... or a puppy boogie man.....

When pups get to this age, I like to toss in a decent size box in their area to see what happens. It was interesting to see how the dynamics of this litter played out. Initially, ALL of the pups scurried to all parts of the room when the box hit the floor. I think they thought 'the sky is falling'! :+)

Recovery was pretty good for some brave souls.

They approached with caution as there 'could be' something in there!

'Nope, it is empty' state Abner and Novak.

Now their interest is peaked!

They loved trying to rip off the tape and 'tasting' the flaps. I removed the tape promptly!

'Nope! I am not going near that thing, states Sailor in the comfort of her 'bedroom'.

Finally, Sailor gets brave enough to venture near it. She is in the front.

We are home and all is well!

Happily, the day was uneventful and I am thrilled to know that appointments are finished and I don't have to worry any longer about snowstorms.  ALLELUIA!!!

Actually, it was a lovely day - cold but bright and sunny. The day progressed something like this:

• I was at the vet office promptly at 8 am. The pups went through their prelim health exams with flying colors. Please note that on this particular litter, the girls had BOTH their ovaries and uterus removed (OVH). My normal vet, Dr. Estle, was away on vacation so the OVE (which leaves the uterus) was not performed.
• After the prelim exam, I request that blood work be taken from each pup to be sure that their kidneys, liver and enzymes are at the proper levels; otherwise, surgery would not be done. It is being a bit cautious but I feel a necessary procedure. I am not concerned when creatinine is low because they have been fasted.
• Each surgery is approximately 1/2 hour total which includes the recovery segment.
• Laser Therapy is done on each puppy after the surgery for faster healing and a shot of Rimadyl provides 24 hours of pain relief.
• Each client is provided with a copy of the neuter/spay surgery for registration in your town.
• The pups get lots of cuddles and lap time with all the vet techs during recovery.  :+)
• Upon arriving at home, I give each pup a small portion of food.  Around 6 PM, I will feed them all their normal amount.

While the pups are at the vets, I bleach the area and get the 'infirmary' set up.

Clementine with Blue, who is lying down.

Sailor with Mac Gregor.

Bella is hugging Novak. Abner is on the right who spent the day missing his siblings very much!

As I type, all the pups are napping, quiet and comfortable.  :+)

It has been a busy day! After our visitors left today, baths began in earnest!

I use to always give baths AFTER they had their surgeries but when I began sending pups home at 10 weeks rather than 12 weeks, I had to change that practice. My vets suggest no bathing for 10 days after a surgery so now I give baths BEFORE they go in. I have to say, it does make the preparations for pup pick up easier.  :+)

After their bath, I trimmed ears and nails. Blow drying and using a brush to fluff up their coats was enjoyed by all of them which surprised me as many pups are afraid of the dryer. By far though, their favorite part of bath day was the towel rubbing! Here are some pics of 'what they endured' to be beautiful.

Sailor was first and a real trooper!

Bella is just adorable in this shot.

Can you believe this boy? Yep, Novak. Thought he was at the spa and just laid there enjoying his 'towel massage'.

Here is Clementine during her rinse, very tolerant.

Mac Gregor all soaped up!

An ear trimmed up.

Blue is ever grateful his bath is finished.

Lil Abner enjoying the dryer.

I bleached the floor and put down one of their favorite big stuffed animals. All their toys are being washed.

Some cute and fluffy pups!!!

Tomorrow, I will continue to bleach again and set up their crates to house 2 or 3 pups each. They will be somewhat separated for a couple of days while they heal. My biggest problem will be stopping them from wrestling!

I hope this is okay.....9 week old pics a day early??

When I got back home from my appointment this morning, I thought that today would be a good day to get the pups' pics done. Tomorrow, depending on weather conditions, I have two families visiting which can make picture taking time a bit dicey.

I have had my eye on a 'snow' segment for some time but either it was way too cold, actually snowing or the wind was too brutal. Today was perfect so I took advantage.

Those of you visiting may not have noticed the HUGE snow pile that has accumulated on the other side of the puppy alley fence due to the many snowstorms  With the snow falling off the roof and the 'normal' snow amounts, I have shoveled a lot of snow! I finally found something worthwhile to do with it.  :+)

With those big paw pads, I am sure Bella will snowshoe really well!  6 lbs.

Sailor was leaping like a gazelle! I think she rather likes snow.  6 1/2 lbs.

Clementine stuck her face in it. 7 lbs.

Mac Gregor was going for the Old English Sheepdog look! 6 1/4 lbs.

Brady was stoic but I really think he prefers lying by a warm fire. 7 1/4 lbs.

Not only did Novak own the pile of snow, he then stuck his tongue out at me! 6 lbs.

Lil Abner let me know his toes were cold by raising one. 5 1/4 lbs.

As you all know, the pups go in for their surgeries and microchips on Friday. Let's hope I am able to travel on decent roads and this new storm doesn't dump a heck of a lot of the white stuff.

A busy few days for Hazel's pups!

We are getting down to the line here and still much to finish before pick ups beginning on Feb 24th! The pups have had a few appointments, visitors still coming for play time and, of course, lots of paperwork to get prepared and organized for the puppy packs. A special 'THANK YOU' for providing me with names - all done!  Yea!!!!

Here are some pics I have taken over the last few days as time permitted.  :+)

Every morning, after breakfast, Annabelle rattles the gate to go in to see the pups.
She loves to go in their pen area and 'taste' any of their stuffed toys. They are very respectful of her.

Dr. Clode, Canine Ophthalmologist (eye exam). Don't you just love a vet who actually enjoys playing with your doodles!

Both Drs. Clode and Cassotis enjoy the pups as their 'assistant' looks on.

It didn't take long for him to participate!

Today, two families came to interact with their puppy (and siblings)! These two young men
were so polite and wonderful with the group. Thank you!

Many have asked about chewing. All of you should know that pups like to chew - almost anything will do. One item that I have just recently tried and like very much was a suggestion from one of my puppy buyers. Thank you, Jill!  They are called Himalayan Chews and can be found on the Internet or speciality pet stores. They are made out of Yak Milk and baked until very, very hard. I highly suggest them for your pups! They come in sizes but I would not get them too small as you want your pup to enjoy them for a long time! Worth their price. I found some for my dogs for just under $10.00 each, so do your research.  :+)

The imminent snow has scared two families off from visiting today but it really is not bad here at all.

I had to do some errands and the flakes are small and falling but not sticking.... yet.  Tonight and tomorrow are the days you don't want to be traveling.

Hopefully, we will be able to reschedule during the week.  :+)

We had a visit to the vet this morning for our Health Certificates and first vaccines.

Thank goodness I didn't have to take them in a snowstorm! I shall be grateful for small blessings.  :+)

The ride to my vet was somewhat vocal with several whining but I could not tell you which ones they were. The good news is NONE of them threw up or had wet muzzles - so no car sickness!!!  Once at the vets, they enjoyed exploring the floor and having vet techs visit for cuddles. Every one was a brave soldier during the exam and vaccine injection.

The stool samples were negative for parasites, so no worming meds were given - that always makes me extremely happy. The ride home was very quiet as they had lots of 'exercise' playing on the floor attacking the rug, vet tech shoelaces, paper towels and the like. They are all napping as I type.

Monday is another adventure day with the OFA Eye Exam vets in Portsmouth, NH. We should be done shoveling from the weekend storm - at least I hope so. Their last vet visit will be Friday, 2/20/15 when they will have the early spays and neuters. By the 24th, they will be ready for pick ups for those who want to come earlier than 2/28/15.

Hazel's 8 week old 'VALENTINES' have been assigned!

Quite a day but we have finished assignments - whew!

I hope all of you will be happy owners of these cherubs and I know all of you have been instructed on what is in store and what needs to be done.

Please welcome each other to the Annabelle Doodle of New England family.  :+)

'Cuddlebug' that's me! 'BELLA' aka Green Girl assigned to the Sullivan family.
P.S. 'Can I sleep with my new human brothers'?

'My heart belongs to Roxann'. 'MAC GREGOR' aka Red Boy assigned to the Gregory family.

'I am sending me to the Williams family for Valentine's Day'.
Love, 'SAILOR' aka Buttercup

I hope to 'fall in love' with a bunch of doodle beauties in the near future'!
Annabelle's 'LIL ABNER' is looking for a local guardian home.

'I do believe my heart belongs to the Bruce family and my new bro, Rafa.
My name is 'NOVAK'.

'Will Delilah and I have to share EVERYTHING?' asks 'CLEMENTINE' aka Purple Girl of the Ray-Feloney family?

'Want to swap Valentines'? 'BRADY' aka Blue Boy assigned to the Bureau family.

Temperament Testing was today!

I know this is such a stressful day with the anticipation of who is getting which pup. Since I am still waiting for some decisions to be made (hopefully, within the next couple of hours), I wanted to share a bit of what went on today and how helpful this 'window of personality expression' is.

Here are some pics of the pups in action with my trainer. Although I did not see a lot of pups with shyness or caution, a different story is told when you put them in a strange environment. DNA comes through that is not evident when in a familiar place with all your litter mates.

I know many of you have visited, some more than others. What you saw were playful, happy pups that enjoyed your company. All of these pups love cuddling and petting but some of them need an environment that will give them that support in heavier doses than others. Can those pups develop a more confident level? Of course!  With consistent, professional training and socialization all of these pups will be wonderful, confident companions.

Red Boy shown in Holding Segment - relaxed and trusting.

Purple Girl would do best with another dog to hold her paw. She is very respectful, sweet and gentle. In this segment, she is curious about the toys but not confident enough to interact with any of them right away. She did go to a ball but at her pace.

Green Girl in the Greeting Segment - a bit timid, shows a crouching posture - needs confidence building exercises.

Buttercup is in the Recovery Segment. She was rather happy under a chair and required coaxing. Her recovery was good but this shows that more socializing and exposure would be a huge benefit. So a family with time to do this.

Camo boy could not decide on playing with a ball or getting cuddles. Cuddles won. A confident pup who will be added to my breeding program for a possible stud candidate.

Blue Boy in the Restraint Segment. He loved it. The more cuddling, the better.  Needs a family with gentle children and activity. Another dog would be great too as well as retired active adults.

'The World is my Oyster'. Russet Boy owned the room. A very confident, happy go lucky character. Russet is a 'pack and go' kind of pup - one that would do well in almost any type of active environment. He loves to cuddle too.

Here are a few pics outdoors!

Although all of them would not venture outdoors today, there were a few brave souls! I have to say both Russet and Camo enjoy the cold air the most. If I leave the dogie door available, they go out all the time. Every now and again Red Boy will join them. Both Purple and Green Girls are definite princesses and prefer lounging on the big tiger indoors.

Here are a few pics.

Russet is first to 'test' the dogie door.

Off he goes to venture outdoors!

They want to go out soooo bad .... 

Not to be outdone, Camo squeezes through the door to follow Russet.

Then Buttercup and Blue Boy bravely go through.

Green, Purple and Red did not join these brave souls.