HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY! The pups were 9 weeks on Tuesday!

Green Girl is now 'Hazel Mae' and will be a breeding hopeful for ADNE!
Hazel weighs 7 1/4 lbs.

Teal Girl is 'Ani' and weighs 7 3/4 lbs.

Purple Girl weighs 7 1/2 lbs. and her family is still thinking of a name.

Black Girl is now 'Crystal' and weighs 7 3/4 lbs.

Orange Girl is 'Aubree' and weighs 7 lbs.

Pink Girl will also be a breeder hopeful.  Her name is ADNE's 'Maybelline' but
will be called May or Maybelle by her guardians. 

Whew!  It has been quite the week so far.  Lots of phone calls to make and questions to answer.  Assignments went well given that I had to take the second temperament test as well as the CERF exams into consideration prior to making my choices first.  Remarkably, everything fell into place as it should and everyone is happy.

As you can see, I am as impatient as the rest of you when it comes to assignments!  I have to wait and take so much into consideration before KNOWING which ones I want to keep back.  Based on all the results, I need to make changes with all the info that is at my hand.  I weigh each and every positive and negative that the potential breeder will contribute to my program.  Then I wait a year to do testing to see if I made a good decision.  It can be so difficult at times.  Your heart pulls one way and your brain pulls the other. 

The bottom line is that my clients are happy and so am I!  :+)

Camden's litter was eye CERF'd today.

Even though it was snowing quite a bit this morning, I was so thankful by the time we left for our appointment, it had turned to rain.  Whew!  I was dreading trudging through snow for their appointments.

So into the car we went to see Dr. Cassotis, my Canine Ophthalmologist.  Port City's staff is always helpful and enjoy playing with puppies; so the group had a wonderful time pulling shoelaces, grabbing the plastic bag on the wastebasket and peeing (oops!) on the floor as we waited for the eye drops to dilate their eyes properly.  Finally, it was time and each and every pup was examined thoroughly for any sign of eye disease.  Happily, all did great and got a biscuit to chew on for their ride home.

The trip there and back was uneventful and everyone did fine in the car.  By the time we got home, they were all cuddled together in the back of the car sleeping away.

Tomorrow is the BIG DAY for assignments!  Don't expect any info until later in the afternoon.  Patience, patience!!!

Tango Wool's 'Needle in a Haystack' aka 'Dublin' (was named Lucky)

Dublin (was Lucky) enjoying our blizzard at 12 wks.

Dublin at 12 weeks old.

I guess lucky is the right word to use when I was asked to be in a partnership with this darling puppy.  He is an upcoming stud hopeful for Annabelle Doodles of New England, Blueberry Cottage Labradoodles and Tango Wool Labradoodles, who produced this cutie pie.

We expect him to mature to approximately 30 lbs. and roughly 18 inches.  He has very nice boning and is a 'wash and wear' kind of guy who is easy to have around but has plenty of stamina for wrestling, playing and social interaction.  My guess is that Dublin will eventually become more of a deep apricot color when his mature coat comes in but he could stay red as well.  No matter the shade, Dublin is an adorable young man that can't help but bring a smile to all who meet him.  His curly, non-shedding coat is lush and 'squeezably soft' and will produce adorable 'teddy bear' puppies.  :+)

Dublin will have stringent testing done when he is a year old and we are all hoping his results will bring smiles to our faces.

We survived the blizzard!

Even with all the snow, Black Girl went outside to potty.  :+)

'Hey! I am stuck in the snow!'

Closer to the house, it was not as high.

Our fences are 4 feet.  There were some high drifts plus I shoveled.  Still...

The were playing normally, once I shoveled most of the high snow out.

'Are you guys coming out, or what?'

Pink Girl loves the outdoors.  :+)

When you don't COMB your doodle, this is what will happen....

This is NOT one of my doodles, but I was given permission to post it.  You DO NOT want this to happen to your doodle.  Please, be very conscious of your doodle's coat.  It is especially important when they go through the coat change from puppy to adult and that can take as long as a year but most times much less.  Once your pup begins having some small mats, you should have him cut to about 3/4 - 1 inch long so that you can maintain him well while he undergoes the changeover.  Keep him this length the entire time or this is what will happen:

The above dog was 'maintained' by a 'chain' grooming place and just 'top brushed' for months.  Notice the top right hand pic - that is a MAT hanging on the pole!  Can you imagine the agony that dog was in every time he moved?????

Please don't ever let this happen to one of my fur babies.  After brushing and combing, bath.  Once dry learn to groom yourself or bring them to a PROPER groomer every 6 to 8 weeks.  Bring a comb yourself and in front of the groomer, comb him/her.  Look for mats and point them out to the groomer so that she/he knows you are looking for a professional job because you are paying a 'professional price'!

WE had our first puppy DHPP shots today!

 

Bright and early this morning, the pups went on a car ride to visit our friendly vet, Dr. Estle for our DHPP shot.  Brave woman that I am, I did feed them a small meal early and kept my fingers crossed that it would not be a 'barf fest' during the ride.  After about 10 minutes of whimpering, they all were quite.  I brought along the potty box and they used it appropriately.  :+)  I do believe one pup did barf, but it was 'cleared up' before I parked at the vets.  (Dogs do those sort of things.)

Happily, the stool sample I brought in was 'negative' and I always am so pleased when that happens.  Each pup was examined and proclaimed 'in great shape'.  All hearts were strong with no murmurs heard, no hernias were detected, ears were clean, no complaints with hip extensions and no one yipped at the shot.  A very good visit.  :+)

They rode home in total silence and once back in their puppy room, went outside to play.  They love using the dogie door now and go in and out all day long.  I love my pups to get as much outdoor exposure as possible even in cold weather.  Naturally, I will have to shorten their exposure during this 'impending' blizzard.  Keeping fingers crossed all will be fine with no loss of electricity but I think I might be asking for a bit much so am preparing for the worse.  I thank God, I don't have a newborn litter at this time!  Whew!

We went outside!

Pups playing 'peek a boo' indoors.

Oh the joy of fresh air and sunshine!

Time to get up and explore.

Pink Girl was the first one to go outside the dogie door and Black Girl the first to use it to come in.

As I was cleaning the pen this morning, I realized what a gorgeous day it was.  The temperature was rather mild and there was no wind.  I decided I would bring the pups outdoors into the alley for their first outside playtime.  Two by two, I carried them out and then they went haywire!  What fun was had running up and down and under the ramp.   Running through the tunnel was fun and finding little pieces of sticks and debris were special treasures.  Several did potty in the litter box outside and all were having a ball chasing each other round and round.  I kept them out for about 15 minutes and they would have stayed longer but their little feet were wet and I felt they needed a bit of drying before nap time.  They don't know that they will now have many outings today if the weather holds.