PUPPY VISITS!

This weekend, the pups can have their first visits.  You will be limited to 30 minutes to see and hold them and ask me questions.  I can have two visits per day.

SATURDAY, MAY 4TH - I can do one at 11 am and one at 2 pm.

SUNDAY, MAY 5TH - I have a health clinic to attend to in the morning, so 1:30 (This slot is taken) and 3:30 pm is being offered.

I can offer visits during the week if you contact me directly so we can plan a time.  Once the pups get bigger and can handle more stimulation, I can be more accommodating by having more than one family at a time.

The pup room is small, so when we have better weather and the pups can be outdoors, visits are SO much easier to plan!

PLEASE contact me directly through my email not on the AnnaBlog to schedule a visit.  :+)

Clary McFadden IS pregnant! Yea!!

Right around noon today, we were at the vet waiting for her ultra sound.  Clary was a wonderful patient and settled into the ultra sound table as Dr. La Pine placed the scope on her belly.  Little black blops popped up and we all could confirm the successful mating.  :+)

An x-ray a few days prior to her whelp will tell us how many - guessing about five or so. 

Thank you Clary for being so cooperative.  :+)

We are looking forward to your babies in early June.  Should be a colorful litter of chocolate, cream or black cuties with adorable white markings.

ELSIE X DUCKIE PUPS ARE THREE WEEKS!

They are really growing into themselves.  Walking is a bit better with just a bit of tipsy turvy.  They are beginning to mouthed each other as well as some of the hanging toys on the pens.  Eyes and ears are open and fully functioning.  They are becoming more and more curious.  If I change anything in their pen, they all want to see it, investigate, taste and smell what it could be.

The coloring on the phantom pups is beginning to show more.  Actually, each of them is slightly different with where their markings are especially on the face.  Believe it or not, the two light colored boys are the most difficult to take pics of.  I think those with curly hair can understand how they can interfere with photos!  Their eyes seem squinty with the curls all around - can't wait until the coats grow more, then they will look like little teddy bears.   :+)

Today, I added a potty tray - it is more or less for 'decoration'.  I need them to smell and learn that this is their toilet.  It will take a few days but generally, by four weeks, they are getting the hang of it.

At some point I will also offer some gruel for them to make a mess of.  The intro to feeding pups gruel is the same as feeding a human baby.  Food gets into eyes, noses, ears and fur; sometimes the mouth!  Lots of baby wipes!

I will also uploaded a video I took this morning (a miracle for me!).  It is on the 'video' tab and displays quite large.  Sorry, don't know how to resize it!

Teal Girl.  2  1/4 lbs.

Onyx Girl.  1  3/4 lbs.

Copper Girl.  2  1/4 lbs.

Lime Boy.  2  3/8 lbs.

Yellow Girl.  2 lbs.

Denim Boy.  2 lbs.

Ever heard of BONE BROTH?

I have read numerous reasons for making the above for both people and pets.  So, I decided to make some myself.  I want to give it especially to my older doodles to benefit their joints, ligaments and bones.  However, I also plan to give it to my mommas and their babies because of the enormous nutrition it provides.

Today, I purchased an Insta Pot.  A sort of new gadget that is like a pressure cooker on steroids.  Using a crock pot will take about 24 hours to produce a bone broth and some of the broth will be 'steamed' off during that long process.  The Insta Pot will give you Bone Broth in 2  1/2 hours - I like efficiency.  :+) 

Several of my breeder friends have these Insta Pots and swear by them.  Many have bought two - one for their two legged family and a second for the four-legged ones.  It might be worth your while to investigate this 'cooker' and continue making Bone Broth for nutrition, keeping allergies at bay, losing weight (Bone Broth Diet for humans), prevent gut leakage, increase digestive juices, helpful for inflammation and general overall health.

You can research the benefits of Bone Broth for yourself, at your leisure.  I just thought it was worth posting about.  :+)

ELSIE X DUCKIE - WEEK 2

'I'm late, I'm late... for a very important date!'  Do you remember that quote from Alice in Wonderland??  That was me today.  Early this morning, I went to breed Miss Gunny to Okie Boomer which was an easy mating - thank goodness!

Then I rushed home to do shopping for tomorrow's Easter dinner - always last minute stuff to get, right?

Once the food was put away, I began taking the pics for the pups' two week celebration.  Finally, uploading everything for clients to enjoy.  Whew, I sort of feel like the 'Unbirthday Party' of the same movie (chuckle!).

Well, my little 'bunnies' were set up for their photo shoot in a large Easter Basket.  Most of the time, I am able to place them in the basket vertically, but this group is just not big enough, so I had to improvise for their safety.

Onyx Girl is now 1 lb. 5 oz.

Lime Boy weighs 1 lb. 8 oz.

Yellow Girl is the smallest at 1 lb. 2 oz.

Denim Boy is 1 lb. 5 oz.

The 'Big Bopper' of the litter is Teal Girl at 1 lb. 13 oz!

Miss Copper Girl is 1 lb. 8 oz.

The past couple of days, each of the pups have opened their eyes.  The ears have not quite caught up yet.  I actually moved them to the Puppy Room yesterday as I wanted them in there before my company came.  This way, they are not isolated and will acclimate to the different voices, kitchen sounds and numerous 'peeks'.  All the doodles go in and out of that room all day long which is great exposure to dog life.  None of the doodles try to get in their pen - Elsie keeps an eye on things.  :+)

Elsie continues to eat well and produce nutritious milk and the pups are all gaining.  Golly, in a couple of weeks - we will be scheduling visits!!

Last pic is of them in the pup room with lots of room and sunshine for them to enjoy.  :+)

Even experienced breeders can be 'fooled'.

For the past week or so, I noticed drops of blood on my kitchen floor, so I knew one of my girls was in season.  It was Daisy.  I knew I was not breeding her this cycle so was content to mark my paperwork and move on.  After a week, I was surprised that I still continued to see droplets and both Daisy and Gunny were quite 'amorous' with each other.  They are 'best buds' though so nothing 'too' odd about that.  However, it was unusual to see bright droplets for longer than a week and it finally dawned on me that Gunny was ALSO in season!

A trip to the vet today confirmed my suspicions and Gunny will be having a date with Okie 'Boomer' on Saturday.  This could be a 'Jack in the Box' litter.  It should be quite diverse with colors ranging from solid black, chocolate, cream; or include phantom patterns in black/tan or chocolate/tan, or even wild sable (similar to a Shepherd's coat color).  I have no idea what to expect as Mother Nature is always in charge but it should be fun and interesting!

The possible myriad of colors and patterns is because Gunny is a Cockapoo and brings the Spaniel patterns and colors into the Labradoodle mix.  Boomer is an Australian Labradoodle as his Dam is an Australian Labradoodle that was bred to a Multigenerational Labradoodle (Bo Didley) and if the breeding is successful, this will be Gunny's retirement litter.  You can view her adorable past litters with Lil Abner if you scroll down the index on the right. 

Keep in mind, the Australian Labradoodle is comprised of a Poodle, Lab and Spaniel type, so the pups will be AUSTRALIAN LABRADOODLES per the definition of all Labradoodle registries which include the ALAA, ALCA and WALA.

Why did I choose Boomer for this litter?  Happily, Boomer has a wonderful selection of early generations in his sire's lineage - I LOVE keeping the Labrador in the 'Labradoodle'!   My breeder friend, Marci of Tango Wool Labradoodles did an excellent job of creating strong new lines from solid foundation stock and I was very fortunate to benefit from her work.  Blending Boomer's DNA with Gunny will produce a sweet litter of non shedding, stout pups.

Gunny (Cockapoo) - 26.5 lbs.  Chocolate, non shedding easy care coat.

Boomer (Australian Labradoodle) - 27.8 lbs. solid as a rock black abstract with a soft, non shedding coat.

Accepting applications at this time.  My best guess, if the mating goes well, is for pups to arrive in mid June and pups placed around mid August.  Please do not apply for this litter if you have vacations scheduled during the fourth week of August.  It is not possible for me to keep pups over past their pick up day.

Early Neurological Stimulation - Elsie x Duckie pups

I wanted to share some pics I took today just to explain what I am doing with the pups for 16 days.  Early Neurological Stimulation is a sensor program.  I have included a synopsis below as well as the link if anyone wants to read the full article.

I used one pup for each individual 'exercise' and also added a pic of one of them being weighed as I do this daily until they reach 2 weeks of age.

The first exercise is to use a Q Tip to 'tickle' between their toes and pads.  The pup is laying horizontally on my hand as I do this.  Since I don't have three hands, I just showed you the pup and Q tip.  Pups are wiggly!  :+)

Exercise #2 is holding the pup upright.

Exercise #3 is one they do not like at all as the puppy must be pointed toward the floor .

Belly up is Exercise #4.

The last one is #5 and they are placed on a cold clothe for a few seconds.

Each day, I weigh the pups to be sure they are gaining.  I also check the mammary glands of Elsie to be sure there are no lumps or bumps on or near the teats which, if unchecked, could develop into Mastitis.  All is perfect!

FYI:
Methods of Stimulation

The U.S. Military in their canine program developed a method that still serves as a guide to what works. In an effort to improve the performance of dogs used for military purposes, a program called "Bio Sensor" was developed. Later, it became known to the public as the "Super Dog" Program. Based on years of research, the military learned that early neurological stimulation exercises could have important and lasting effects. Their studies confirmed that there are specific time periods early in life when neurological stimulation has optimum results. The first period involves a window of time that begins at the third day of life and lasts until the sixteenth day. It is believed that because this interval of time is a period of rapid neurological growth and development, and therefore is of great importance to the individual.

The "Bio Sensor" program was also concerned with early neurological stimulation in order to give the dog a superior advantage. Its development utilized five exercises which were designed to stimulate the neurological system. Each workout involved handling puppies once each day. The workouts required handling them one at a time while performing a series of five exercises. Listed in order of preference, the handler starts with one pup and stimulates it using each of the five exercises. The handler completes the series from beginning to end before starting with the next pup. The handling of each pup once per day involves the following exercises:

1. Tactical stimulation (between toes)
2. Head held erect
3. Head pointed down
4. Supine position
5. Thermal stimulation

Here is the link for the full article.  

https://breedingbetterdogs.com/article/early-neurological-stimulation

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I like to keep my customers abreast of what is going on here!!  :+)