Shabbi's (Chamois) puppies are two weeks old already. Today they received their first dose of deworming medication. They are all getting big and strong. Their eyes and ears are open and they are toddling around. They are so cute.

Romp Around the World

Today was IDOG's Doodle Romp. Actually it was the Romp Around the World. There were doodle romps in many cities all over the world. It was fun. Velvet and Field's went with me. I got to see my Lazy River Rafting buddy and her daughter. Josie and her family were there, as was Montana and Lincoln. Montana got a job in a nursing home. I'm not sure if Lincoln has a job yet or not. He is Josie's littermate, by the way. They seemed to know each other. They hadn't seen each other since they were babies, yet went right to each other and played like old buddies.

Holy Freakin' Crap!

Rick just announced to me that he is moving out. He is going to rent a place that doesn't allow any pets at all, no cats, no Velvets, not even a Venus fly trap. He invited me to join him. Wow We have been married almost 20 years and have had issues for about 19 1/2 of those years. I certainly do love him, he is a great guy. For me though, it is not a matter of having to choose between him or my dogs. As I said, we have had ongoing issues. I'm going to miss him.

Sadie

Sadie is the North American Retriever from Rosie's second litter. She was in a guardian home and I had planned on breeding her with a Poodle for F1B North American Retrievers. Her guardian mom became a widow last week. Now she is going to move out of state. She just lost her husband, how could I take her dog away from her? I have to seriously cut back on breeding anyway, so I decided to go ahead and spay Sadie and sell her to the guardian mom. Sadie was spayed today.
She wants to show you her tongue:

Hips

Today the following Doods went to the vet for health testing:

Bear - Hip retesting, he was tested fine as a young pup and I want to see if he has changed. He is also getting thyroid and chemistry profile done.
Ruby - Hip retesting
Honey - PennHip and chemistry profile
Kingston - PennHip and chemistry profile.

Between this and the eye testing, I have spent about $4,000.00 in health testing. ouch

Eyes

There is a test that can be done on dogs DNA to see if they have, or if they can pass on, Progressive Retinal Atrophy. That is an eye disease that leads to blindness. Here is the link that tells about it. This is really exciting to be able to know for sure that this disease can be wiped out of a breed. A bunch of Labradoodle breeders are testing all their breeding dogs for this so hopefully it will not become a problem with the breed. Once parents are tested clear if it, there is no need to test their pups because it is impossible for parents who do not carry it to pass it on. I tested all my breeding dogs except TinkerBelle and Kingston. They will be tested with the next clinic. All the once I tested are clear of it. That means that not only do they not have it, they don't carry it either. I also tested Velvet, she is clear too. I'm so pleased.

Spoke too soon

Guess I spoke too soon about life being good. I need to make some drastic changes around here soon.

Life is Good

Wow, the only dogs we have are Velvet, Fields, Chamois and her puppies. If Fields (he needs a call name) were not here it would be like a vacation. He does not appreciate being in a crate by himself and he is also not completely house trained.
Isn't he simply stunning? I'm about ready to sell him just to cut down on the number of dogs here.

Jill

Jill has been selected to run for Miss Little 500. That is a great honor.

Airport hassle and Velvet is Beautiful

I suppose it was bound to happen, it has been a while since I've had any real problems at the airport (unless you consider a puppy being stranded all night at the airport a problem). I was up half the night packing the crates. When I got to the airport bright and early, they said the crates were too big for the airplane. Gee, just how small is the plane if these two littleish crates won't fit? He said I'd have to get smaller ones. Thank goodness they are in the same building as Continental who sales crates. Thank goodness the Continental guy was not busy. They dysplayed great teamwork. The American Airlines cargo guys and the Continental Airlines Cargo guy all scurried around finding and getting the right crates and bringing them over. I did have to keep running back and forth too. In the end we did it. We got the new crates packed and ready to go and they made their flight. Remember American Airlines and Continental Airlines. While it was great that they were able to sell the crates to me and the puppies didn't have to miss their flight, think of it as doing your grocery shopping at a convenience store. Oooeeee, they were expensive.

Velvet went to the groomer today! It has taken four years for me to finally break down and get her coat clipped. I was always so afraid she would look stupid. She doesn't! She looks really really good. Actually, she looks so much better than before. All this time I have thought she wasn't the best looking doodle on the block (but I do really think she has the best temperment of all). Now she is. She just needed to be trimmed. It was her coat that made her look bad. Wow, she should get groomed more often then every 7 years. I ought to get around to taking her picture.

Beautiful puppies

Today I took Dots to Petsmart with me to get crates for her and Clark to fly home in. Unfortunately they won't be able to fly in the same crate because they are too big. They will at least be able to ride beside each other and see and smell and talk to each other. To fly, dogs have to be able to stand up straight, hold their head up without touching the top of the crate, and turn around. I needed to take one of the pups with me to try on the crates for size. While looking at the crates, one of the groomers came over to talk to me and give me a coupon. She offered to clip the nails for free. I thought "hmm, gonna have to do that today anyway, why not". Then she said for $9.99 she would bathe him, trim his nails, clean his ears, and clip his potty ears. Again I thought "hmmm, gonna have to do that today anyway, why not". So I signed her in then zipped home to get Clark and the poor no name puppy. Poor no-name does have a registered name of Heartland's Field of Dreams. He just doesn't have a call name yet. For now I'll refer to him as Fields until the right name stands out. Anyway, so I bring back clark and Fields for a spa treatment. I also buy the crates. For just a little bit more money I bought crates that are a little bigger then they need, but they will be able to use them in their new homes for a little longer. They cost a little over $60 each.
The puppies looked and smelled so good. They all had bows, even the boys. I'm going to take Velvet in tomorrow.

Puppies!

I think I forgot to mention that Chamois came here a couple days ago. She is here to have and raise her pups. She is due on the 20th. Chamois is a Velvet/Koby daughter and is Lacey's littermate.her guardian family calls her Shabbi. She has Velvet's disposition and is one of the sweetest dogs ever. She is going to have some of the best tempered pups. Tucker is the daddy.

Last night I could see that Chamois was going in labor but didn't think she would have them until sometime today. I went to bed but didn't put my earplugs in. At 3:00 a.m. I got up to check on her. She was still acting fine and wagging her tail. Man, I sure didn't feel like wagging my tail when I was in labor. I went back to bed then shortly was awakened by a squeal. I jumped up and ran into the bathroom to find Shabbi standing there looking at a pup that was still enclosed in its sack. She wasn't licking at it or doing anything with it. Thank goodness I'm a light sleeper and thank goodness I wasn't wearing my earplugs. I broke the sack and wiped his mouth, all the while talking calmly to shabbi and encouraging her to take care of her baby. She caught right on. She had five puppies. I still had to break the sacs for all them, but she did everything else and was great. She had four black boys and one black girl. All but one of the pups has a white marking. The girl has the most white.
Tucker's mom was so excited to find out she has grandpuppies. She came over to see them.Jenn, Tucker's guardian mom, is giving her grandpupgirl a kiss.
girl
the 4th born, a boy
Chamois(Shabbi) and Tucker's babies

Dots and Clark, the last 2 of Mera's pups, went to the vet today for a routine check up. They are perfect.

Today I drove 2 1/2 hours each way to deliver a pup. Actually I took 2 pups with me. They really like both pups. The impression I got was the husband liked both of them but preferred Clark, the wife liked both and preferred Licorice. When they first inquired they said they wanted a doodle with more Lab like characteristics. They is why I thought Clark would be better for them. However, when the wife saw him, he reminded her too much of their old yellow Lab they just lost. She loved that dog very much and was afraid Clark would just keep reminding her of the Lab. So, they got Licorice. He is also a great match with that family.

On the way home I called the other family to let them know Licorice was chosen. They said they'd talk among themselves and call me back to let me know if they want Clark. I really didn't expect to hear back from them. Surprise surprise, they called back in about 20 minutes to let me know they want Clark.

Oh, did I mention that Dots, their littermate sister was chosen today too? Turns out Dots and Clark are going to the same town in New York. They will be able to fly together.

When it rains it pours

So here Mera's pups are, 14 weeks old and still hanging out here without a family to call their own. I get a phone call this afternoon from a family interested in Licorice. Terrific! We talked for awhile and they seem like they will be great puppy family. She is going to submit an application and we are going to talk further after that. Not five minutes after talking to her, someone else called interested in that same puppy. I've learned the hard way not to hold a pup without a deposit, yet the first person had not had time to submit an application so it woulnd't be fair to sell the pup right now. I explain that and talk about the other puppy to him. He said he will contact me this evening to see if they did submit a deposit. So a little later I received the application and called and talked to the family (they had me on speaker phone). I talked about both puppies to them. They are leaning towards Licorice but are happy to see both puppies. We decide to meet halfway between here and Chicago tomorrow. Shortly after that conversation and I received a deposit from them, the other family emailed saying they want Licorice and are ready to pay for him now. I hated telling them to hang on to their money. I'm to contact them tomorrow to let them know which pup for sure the first family chose.

Jill's birthday

Today is Jill's 5th birthday. Happy Birthday Jill, I love you.

Molly, the rescue girl went to her new home today.

I'm going to have to do something. I get the feeling I have to decide between the husband and the dogs.

Ice

Something is just not quite right around here. I think I crossed the line by bringing in those rescues, even though the boys were only here a couple days.

Oops

Lacey (a Velvet/Koby daughter) lives in the same guardian home as Da Vinci When I first placed them in the same home I had every intention of breeding them together. They are both Australian Multigens, not related, and would make a great match. However, I've been toying with the idea of neutering Da Vinci and found a mini male to mate with Lacey to try to get smaller doods. When I talked to their family last week they didn't think Lacey was in heat. That is good since we already have 2 litters on the way and Francie is in heat. I certainly can't handle 4 litters so close. Well, their family called to day and it seems we will be getting those Lacey/DaVinci pups after all. Lacey must be like her mom and not bleed or show obvious signs she is in heat. Their guardian parents found those two stuck together in an awkward position today.

Dang! Now I'll have to call off Francie and Trout's wedding. I was looking so farward to a mini red puppy from them.

IDOG to the rescue

Thank goodness for IDOG. They are helping me place these 3 dogs. One of the rescue/rehome coordinators lives up near Chicago and we met halfway today. She took Zorro and Roni and is going to foster them, get them neutered, and find a good home. I wanted to kiss her when she took them. For some reason I thought that might be inappropriate so I managed to restrain myself.

Peyton went home today.

Bear went to Bessie's house today. Her guardian family loves him and likes keeping him for extended visits.

Wow, four adult male dogs went home today. *exhale

Pee War

Ugh! Did I mention that Zorro, Roni, and Molly (the 3 rescues) have not been spayed/neutered yet? That means Zorro, Roni, and Bear are all 3 having a pee-war in our house. These are big dogs with big bladders. Bear is the smallest at 50 pounds.

One thing about them being intact good looking dogs with great paperwork, I could keep them for breeding if I wanted. Ha! I'm crazy, but not that crazy. I don't need any great big F1 labradoodle studs. I wouldn't mind keeping Molly, but no, I need to downsize.

Francie, Rosie's daughter from her first litter, started her cycle today. She caught me off guard, wasn't expecting this for a couple more months. I need to make sure Trout, her intended who lives in California, is available.

Special Delivery

We got a special delivery today. No, we didn't get new puppies, we got adult rescues. Somebody called and said he had 3 adult Labradoodles that he got from somebody else and he needed to find good homes for them. I said "sure, bring 'em on over and I'll make sure they find good homes". So he pulled up this morning pulling a trailer, and out came 3 big F1 Labradoodles. That makes a total of 7 adults and 4 that are about 3 months old. My family about flipped out. I really do need to not do things like this anymore. These are good looking dogs and the paperwork they have is impresive. It is clear the original breeders had every intent to breed them.
Here is the 2 yr old boy
Here is the 3 yr old boyThis is one big boy, and so sweet. He knows the basic commands and was even involved in 4-H one summer.
Molly is the girl. She is 1 yr old. Have you ever seen a dog smile? I don't mean the happy goofy mouth hanging open look. I mean actual curling up the lip in a real smile? It looks a little creepy unless you know what it is. Molly does that and I love it, it is hilarious. I was able to catch a picture of her doing itcheeeeese

Slumber Party

Do you remember Duchess? She was my little F1 girl that was only about 15 pounds. I loved her. She had one litter for me before retiring. Anyway, one of her pups is spending the weekend here with us. He came today and is absolutely adorable. I love him. He reminds me of Duchess, only with a better coat. His name is Peyton. When he was a baby we referred to him as Louis Armstrong When Duchess pees she does the funniest thing; she lifts up one of her rear legs. She doesn't stick it out like she is hiking a leg. She squats down and lifts the leg straight up towards her ear. I about fell over when I saw Payton doing the same thing. Who would have thought that would be an inherited trait?

Back to the Brenda-stranded-all-night-at-the-airport saga. Brenda's new mom said when they arrived at the cargo area at the airport, Brenda was running happily around the office and was just fine. Remember - American Airlines

Today was a whirlwind day spent working on getting Brenda (an Ashes pup) to her new home. She was scheduled to fly to Boston this evening. A snowstorm was predicted for the evening so she either needed to fly out earlier, or wait a couple of days. I scurried around and made phone call after phone call and finally found one that was arriving four hours earlier. It still wasn't as early as I would have liked. I scurried around and got her and her crate and rushed to the airport. We are supposed to arrive 2 hours before the flight leaves. I didn't get there until 1 1/2 hour prior and thought we would miss the flight. Good 'ole American Airlines, the friendly cargo guys said we were just fine. I didn't even have to slip them an extra $20. Brenda made the flight just fine and arrived in Boston safe and sound. The problem was that due to the snow storm, the family was not able to get to the airport. The poor puppy was stranded at the airport overnight. The mom called the AA cargo in Boston and spoke with a really nice lady who works there who said not to worry. The employee assured the mom that she would let the pup out, feed and water her, and exercise her. She said the pup would be just fine. This is a real nail biter.

Ginger went home today. She is one of Ashes' pups.

Bear came back today. He and Bessie are ready to take a break from each other.