HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO CLARA X CHICO BABIES - TWO YEARS OLD!!!

I can hardly believe that two years have gone by already! Time surely does fly, but I am always surprised when I get an email telling me one of the babies is having a birthday. Over the years, there are quite a few! (Thanks, Lucia!)

So, I hope Lucia, Lexie, Skidder, Liam, Phineas, Benzi and Tug are all getting extra hugs, kisses and well wishes today. :+)

Your mommy will be having her third and last litter in 2012. We are hopeful to breed her next month and then she will retire. I hope to add one of her baby girls to my program. Clara Belle is too sweet to not continue her legacy.

:+) Gram

Clara Belle and Chico's littermates are 6 months old!

Hello!

Alison, who owns Lucia, emailed me a few weeks ago about sharing six month pics of Lucia's littermates. What a great idea, I thought! Fortunately, everyone agreed and sent pics of their furry babies - what an AWESOME response - THANK YOU!

Here is the litter at 6 months old. :+)
_____________________________________

Skidder (Orange Collar). I knew this girl was a character early on and was just what her family wanted - confident, funny, smart and 'in charge' - or thinking she is!!


Lucia (Red Collar). We can all thank this curly redhead for this fun idea! Her owners posted me a pic of Lucia with her first professional haircut later and I feared for the worse but they did a very good job! Yeah!!


Liam O'Kieran (Blue Collar). Oh Lord, what a time I had with my good friends and guardians for a name for this boy! After WEEKS of going back and forth, Liam it became. Thanks, Michael!


Tug (Black Collar). This boy should feel very special as his owners waited almost a year to add him to their family. I am told that Tug listens to their baby, Nolan's, commands better than anyone else!


Benzi (Green Collar). I basically had to flip a coin to decide who was going to keep Benzi - me or Deb! Deb won out and hasn't stopped thanking me.


Lexi (Purple Collar). I wanted to keep this girl soooo badly for my program but a tiny blip in her CERF exam bumped her out of my lap and into the Lennox families' willing arms.


Phineas T. Barnum (Turquoise Collar). My good breeder friend, Stef, kept telling me to keep this boy over and over and I kept resisting. But Phineas simply wormed his way into my heart and boy am I glad he did! His guardians are over the moon with him.


I hope everybody is happy with their pups and that training is going well. A wonderful group to be sure! Thanks again for sharing!

They have gone home! Well.... most of them!

It was time to say goodbye to my furry babies from Clara Belle and Chico. This is always a bittersweet time for everybody.

Deb picked up Benzi on a whirlwind evening of events. At the very moment she was scheduled to pick Benzi up, I got a frantic call from my guardian that Miss Cadbury was having her babies! Oh my!! I gave orders to my husband, called Deb and explained and rushed to welcome my new litter of puppies. All did go rather well except, I did not load my card into my camara before I left and so Deb sent me this one from her phone. Never a dull moment. :+)


Miss Lucia charmed her 'parents' very early on. They are having a blast and learning a lot about raising a puppy. :+)


Skidder is a bundle of energy and intelligence. She will totally enjoy her new family which includes a Portuguese Water Dog. The kids swear that they will do all that is necessary for Skidder as mom heals from her accident. I believe them!


This family has already emailed me about how PERFECT Lexi is! She has just made herself at home and is doing marvelously!


As you might remember, Liam O' Kieran (Blue Boy) went to his guardians early on. This couple are very dear friends of ours and they wanted to enjoy early puppyhood along with their other doodle, Rory. As I understand it, both boys have already bonded. :+)


Talk about patience! This family wanted a puppy from our last litter, but they were all sold and so they have waited and waited for their precious Tug!


I will add a pic of Phineas and family when they pick him up next week. :+)

HEALTH CERTIFICATES!

Hi all!

The pups are all clear - yeay!!!! They can be picked up at any time. Thank you to those who have already scheduled their pick ups!

We have to wait a week.... :+(

Although we are fit as a fiddle, we caught a protozoa bug named 'Coccidia'. We have to be on meds for 8 days and will have to keep our families waiting just a bit longer. Thank you everyone for understanding that this is a minor setback. :+)

They had so much fun at the vets and everyone thinks they are just adorable. When they got back lunch was served. Dessert was the Albon as it smells and tastes like butterscotch. All the pups were licking each others faces and mouths - very cute.

Perfect timing allowed some pics today, so enjoy.

I think this is a New England' calendar shot. Tug is simply a perfect model. :+)


Skidder is forever exploring. She has managed to find a tiny piece of straw. Can you see it dangling from her mouth?


A quick snap from my new camara caught Benzi in a wonderful gaze. He has amazing eye contact.


Not a comfy place to lie down in my opinion, but Lexi seems to be quite comfortable!


A glamour shot for sure! Lucia posing just for me. :+)


Lastly is Phineas T. Barnum. He loves to watch everything that is going on around him.

Eleven weeks today! Homebound this weekend!

As is typical of early spay and neuter surgeries, the pups don't miss a beat! They are frisky, energetic, hungray and wanting to play, play and play some more. I kept them confined until this morning. Once breakfast was down, they were off and running outside to burn off steam - lots of it!

As I was grooming another dog, I put them back into their space so that I did not have to think about which one was grabbing the dropped furballs and who was I going to step on!

Later today, back outside they went and then they had kitchen time. Boy are they growing!

Skidder/orange 10 1/4 lbs.


Lucia/red 13 3/4 lbs.


Lexi/lavender 12 1/4 lbs.


Tug/black 12 1/4 lbs.


Benzi/green 13 1/2 lbs.

Surgeries are done!

Hello!

Lucia, Skidder, Lexi, Tug, and Benzi had their surgeries, bloodwork and microchips today. They all did great! They left this morning at 8:00 am and I picked them back up at 5:30 pm. Boy, are these pups terrific car riders! Not a peep and no upset tummies - even after anesthesia! WOW!

Once settled I fed each one individually to make sure they got their pain med down and didn't eat someone else's!! I will give them another small meal later tonight as I know they are still hungray. They were without food for nearly 20 hours as their last meal was last night at 9:30 pm. I did that on purpose because I knew surgery would not start before 10 am. and they could not have breakfast. :+(

Right now, they want OUT of their confined space. Confinement is necessary to prevent too much wrestling too soon after surgery. These pups want to play!

I will get pics tomorrow!

Our 10 week pics!

The pups are REALLY growing now. They investigate and chew everything. Nothing is left 'undiscovered' by those teeth! They look sooo innocent in these pics. :+)

WE ARE ALL NAMED - WHOOPIE! I also FINALLY have a confirmation on Blue Boy, who does have the official name of Annabelle's LIAM O' KIERAN. Liam was placed in his guardian home early and is not pictured below. He, along with Annabelle's PHINEAS T. BARNUM are future Annabelle Doodle stud hopefuls.


LUCIA is always in the middle of things. Although she is lying down, she is strategizing. She has topped the boys in weight this week at 13 lbs.! Time to substitute yougart for lunch, Lucia!


Don't let this dollface fool you! SKIDDER LOVES life and intends to enjoy it to the fullest. Skidder is beginning to catch up to the others and is a solid 9 lbs.


Phineas T. Barnum is about as opposite from his namesake as is possible. A nice analogy on opposites. Phineas has a Guardian Home and is 12 lbs. this week.


BENZI has the cutest head tilts on the planet! He weighs in at 12 1/2 lbs.


'TUG's personality (Black Boy) is as gentle as his eyes. A very sweet pup. A perfect 'medium' weight of 10 3/4 lbs.


LEXI (formerly Lavender Girl) is a princess and holds court at every opportunity. She now weighs 11 lbs.

Crates and Food for your new pup.

Hi,

I am getting a number of questions about crate sizes and food choice. I just sent all of you an article from The Whole Dog Journal about food. It is their 2008 version but still holds true. Read it carefully to understand what is in food and why they make the recommendations.

Other breeders tell me that Orijen is another quality food and you should ask for it by name if your doggie store does not carry it. Although many vets recommend Science Diet, it is not a great food except the ID which is for dogs with digestive issues. It your dog has good digestion, then try a different food. Unfortunately, Science Diet changed hands and the quality of the food was affected. Also, your pup will need to be fed PUPPY food three times per day until about 6 months or when it begins refusing the noontime meal. After 6 months +/-, switch to twice a day and after a year to adult food.

Decide how the crate is going to affect your new member. Will it be its permanent bed? A place it will always go to for safety and 'quiet' time? If so, get the 36 inch. If it will be just for training purposes and then will be moved to a doggie bed type situation, then purchase the 30 inch crate.

Hope this helps!

We are almost 10 weeks and LOVE playing in the kitchen!

Hello!

Yesterday, we added our gate to our kitchen so that the pups could come in and have another area to play in. I like them to be underfoot for a couple of weeks prior to going home.

Also, I said 'good-bye' to Annabelle's LIAM O' KIERAN? (not 100%) as he was taken by his guardians to a new home and environment. He does have a 'big brother' to play with, but it will be sometime before they can REALLY wrestle! Liam is a big guy but his buddy is MUCH bigger. :+)


Red is now LUCIA and she still enjoys our boot rack. The laces of our boots have been enjoyed by many, many teeth!


Doesn't it look like SKIDDER is doing the raspberry??? Thanks for the name Wendy!


Lavender Girl looks like she is soooo ready to pounce on someone!


BENZI has caused lots of mischief and is taking a short break. :+)


Using the boots like an umbrella, Black Boy is keeping an eye on things.


Annabelle's PHINEAS T. BARNUM awaits a family to call his own. I am looking for a local guardian placement. He rather enjoys tugging on the leash.

Temperament Testing is complete and assignments made!

WHEW! It was a day of surprises for sure! Thankfully, everyone is happy with their new family additions.

I thought you would enjoy shots of the pups going through some of the criteria used for assessment. It actually went very well as the pups are a great group.

Some of you have names picked out and others are still thinking. Once pups are assigned, I need to receive name choices as soon as possible as I have a ton of paperwork to do as well as inform my vet of their names for the up-coming spays and neuters. So........... :+)

This is Lavender Girl participating in the 'Retrieve Segment'. I think she may like to play ball.


Blue Boy enjoying the 'Sight Sensitivity' portion.


Red Girl is a great 'Follower'.


'Stability Recovery Time' is not a problem at all for Black Boy. He is inquisitive.


The 'Elevation Test' shows acceptance in a position of no control. Orange is very compliant albeit wondering where the floor is!


Ahhhh....Do you think Green Boy has any problem with being 'Social'???


Turquoise Boy has no issues whatsoever with 'Restraint'. Can you say 'relax'?

We had our Eye CERF's today.

We braved the weather and managed to dodge most of the mess. :+)

You all are very, very lucky in that these pups ride like a dream in a car. They have been on four car rides so far of at least a 1/2 hour and these pups are so quiet - not a peep! A very rare thing to happen. I had Blue and Green with a little bit of muzzle wetness from a bit of anxiety for their 8 week shots last week, but that did not even happen today. Really terrific riders!

There was no eye disease found in any of the pups which is a Godsend, but the two that I was most interested in keeping in my program had slight imperfections that will keep them from getting official CERF certificates. I feel very strongly that my potential breeders must have this certificate. That is going to make several people happy because both Green Boy and Lavender Girl are now pet quality only. Makes me want to cry that I cannot include them in my program. That also means that I am now picking two new choices and won't make these selections until after the second temperament test on Wednesday.

Three Muskateers!

They were just so cute laying there together on the step.



Turquoise Boy, Blue Boy and Orange Girl.

We will be 8 weeks tomorrow! We are getting to the countdown!

These rugged babies LOVE to be outdoors no matter what the temperature is. For the most part, after I feed them I leave their X-pen gate open as well as the doggie door. It is amazing to watch them finish up their meal and then go outside to potty and play. They come in and out all day long. If I leave (for shopping and such), I keep them gated in the X-pen so that they will get in a solid nap. If I don't do this, they all crawl up onto the wooden step and sleep on it. Very cute to see. :+)

Because tomorrow will be spent taking my husband to Boston for another surgeon check on his hand, I took all these pics outside today (at dusk) except for Black Boy who was way too busy to stay still long enough! Some of the colors are a bit off due to shadows, etc. I also cropped them quite a bit so the clarity is not as sharp when you enlarge them.

They are more adorable every week. :+)

PLEASE BE AWARE THAT THESE PUPS ARE EVOLVING EACH WEEK AND I, TOO,
AM MAKING CHANGES ON WHO I MAY BE KEEPING! I HAVE MADE PRELIM CHOICES BUT STILL RESERVE THE RIGHT TO CHANGE MY MIND ONCE VET VISITS AND TEMPERAMENT TESTS ARE FINISHED. I DO APOLOGIZE FOR THIS, BUT CHOOSING BREEDING DOGS IS DEPENDENT ON MANY FACTORS, NOT JUST 'LOOKS'.

Red at 9 lbs.


Black at 7 lbs. - sorry he was 'flashed' out as this was taken indoors!!!


Blue at 10 lbs.


Turquoise at 8 lbs.


Green 8 1/4 lbs.


Orange at 6 lbs.


Lavender at 7 1/2 lbs.