Stuff

This is Max Patch who is an F1B DOODLE. He is from the first Labradoodle girl I ever bought (rather than breeding myself) and from my young (at the time) parti-colored Poodle.
And this is Max Patch as an adult, a number of years later.

Again, he's a DOOD. I have never seen a chocolate (brown) Whoodle.

What IS that noise
The pups were all happily taking a nap this morning... after a fairly lengthy and rigorous play session... when the guys started working on making the yard look less like scrub land in Utah. The initial lawnmower and weed eater sounds didn't bother them UNTIL they got close to the bedroom. ALL the pups sat or jumped up and stared at the windows. It was obvious they were scared BUT not one of them panicked. Most of them walked over to get close to Cotton who was in the back of the pen, totally undisturbed by the noise. A couple pups stayed where they were and waited to see what was going to happen next. After a minute or two... and with the noise moving AWAY from the house... all the pups lay back down. They woke up again when the noise came back but didn't bother to get up. And after that, it was sleep as usual. Another learning experience!

Things are pretty well firmed up today for me taking JB's pups in about 10 days. I am going to guarantee them myself (my warranty is longer than hers) and will handle them as I do my own pups... same screening process, etc. That way, people will just have to deal with me rather than some with JB, some with me and neither of us knowing exactly what is going on with each individual pup/family. I did a couple co-own/co-sell litters (of Doodles) several years back and found that two cooks do not the soup improve! Won't have any pictures until the pups get here, but they can be seen at http://breeders411.com/vaw.html

Just One Pup Available

I am happy to report everyone in this litter is spoken for except one male. And there is the possibility one of the females may be available (I'll probably know for sure later this week.) I'm getting lots of inquiries via both email and phone, which is nice. Sometimes I wonder "is anyone out there" (like with the rescues!) but not with this litter. Also, my plans for the Fall F1 breeding of Brogue and Diamond AND my backcross breeding of Shadow and Emy has some interested followers. No, I'm not planning on starting a waiting list for either, but, as usual, will open a reservation list once a breeding is done and I'm sure there are pups on the way. That's worked out well for me since I started doing it a couple years ago, so I'm not going to fix what ain't broke!

For those of you waiting for Who-Doo info, I've got nothing. I did look at a Wheaten male who was 46 pounds, thinking he might be bigger (as in TALLER) than Brogue (who with his current full and heavy coat weighs in at 42 pounds.) But the other guy was just heftier, not taller. In fact, he could have been a tad shorter. IF Keogh (my Goldendoodle) comes into season AFTER Di and
Emy and one of them does NOT get bred, I may go with a surgical artificial insemination for her, but I don't want more than two litters at the same time. Gone are the days when lots and lots AND LOTS of puppies are still fun for me.

Nothing new and cute to report from Cotton's gang today. They ARE looking more and more like 6 week old pups... sort of like the difference between a 3 months old baby and a 6 months old baby... there is a certain amount of awareness now present. And they are gaining a sense of "self." All part of growing up!

Water at Last!

Let me tell you, it's true what they say about not missing something until you don't have it. Do you know how many gallons of water it takes to flush a toilet. And how often you have to do that every day? The dogs use a lot of water... especially as hot as it's been... and of course, it isn't raining much this week so I've had to water the tomatoes. Thank goodness I don't cook or even drink much water. But Walmarts revenues will be up this quarter and it will be because of the clear stuff in plastic jugs! It was sure nice to see the plumber's van pull into my driveway this morning. I was ready for him by 6:30 and getting nervous at 8 o'clock when he hadn't shown up yet. Yeah!

Pups eating mostly kibble
And Cotton isn't particularly pleased about it. She rushes back inside after she's been out in the yard a short time and wants in the pen right away. Of course, they all swarm her, but then a minute or so later, they're back to doing whatever they were when she interrupted. She goes and sits in the corner and I swear she pouts! She's still cleaning up after them, which is a big help for me. (I know, yuck. Lot's of nature is yuck!)

As of this minute, two boys are unspoken for BUT I had a ton of email and many phone calls over the weekend, so that probably won't last long.

Once everyone is promised, I'm going to help my friend with her puppies. We haven't figured out if I'm going to use HER email address and just answer inquiries from there, or if we'll change her website and ads to MY address or exactly how we're going to work it. The last time I did this, I think we used my address, but the memory, etc. Her pups just turned 4 weeks, so it will be another 2 weeks before they come to me. They're all blond too... well, several of them are reddish (like Wheaten pups at this age) but will lighten up. Will have to keep the litters separate unless I find it's easy to tell them apart (probably by size.) Oh boy! MORE puppies!

The Pups are Off and RUNNING

And so am I.

Puppies first... they have developed the need for speed. While they're not up for chases and "zoomies" yet, they're sure enough on their feet to try a faster pace. They're even getting good at stopping BEFORE the wall hits them... sometimes, in a heap when they trip over their feet, but stopped. All of them are eating well and all are still totally devoted to mom. They've also figured out that if they swarm around her feet when they hear me open the pen for her to get out, some of them can escape at the same time. So many got out at once yesterday morning, I lost one during the roundup. He came out from under the bed... where he's still small enough to walk upright... a few minutes after everyone else was re-incarcerated. So HE got to spend some time ON the bed with me. What a sweetheart! Cuddling is something they must know genetically!

Now for human problems. Gonna get humid later today and over the weekend. I'm NOT looking forward to that. And last night... middle of the night OF COURSE... I had a water pipe burst. The news has been talking about how hard the hot temps have been on the roadways and I guess it's the same for plumbing. You expect it... dread it but admit the possibility... in the winter. But not the summer. So, the water is shut off until the plumber can get out here. He was supposed to call "first thing in the morning" but when I didn't hear from him by 10, I called him. His wife said he was on a call and would try to work me in. But since it's Friday and I have SOOOO much running around to do (pick up newspapers, buy dogfood, go to the post office and then to the bank, stop at the grocery store, you get the picture,) I really couldn't just sit here and wait. I asked to be first appointment on Monday. So now, I'm adding "stop at son's house for quick shower" to my list of things to do in town along with "pick up 2 dozen gallons of water at Walmart." At least I wasn't planning to fill the pool this weekend... no, I don't have a pool, but it sounds inviting when I think about temps in the low to mid 90s!

Happy Birthday to Us!

Here we are (well as many as can fit at the fountain at one time) at exactly 5 weeks. I always say it looks like Cotton is being devoured by piranha pups!
Look at how their hair is getting longer and starting to fluff.

Later today, lots more pix on the website.

We're Big Kids Now

Yep, they've discovered "real" food. It was like one minute Mom was the only game in town and the next, McDonalds had opened up. Late yesterday, first one pup was in the food bowl and an hour later a couple others were. Today, it's crowded around the bowl.
In a couple days, I'm going to have to get the puppy pan down and start using it. Of course, Cotton is still the main source of nourishment, but that's changing rapidly. Soon she'll still be suckled but it will be for comfort rather than sustenance. I doubt she'll mind.

It's interesting that the switch happened in one step... usually pups start playing with the kibble, scattering it all over the pen, sometimes sucking on it. These kids just started eating it. I have noticed an inclination on their part to chomp down on my fingers when I'm holding them. Guess they're all teething a little early and chewing feels good. So far, haven't felt any little pricklies in their mouths.

And they're all wrestling with each other, growling ferociously. But they sound like mini buzzsaws rather than wolves!

Several boys and one girl are unspoken for. I'd like to get everyone promised soon as a breeder friend is having some medical problems and has asked if I can possibly help her with her pups who are about the same age as Cotton's. I hate turning her down but can't think of any way to screen and sell for myself and someone else at the same time. (About half her litter is sold, so it would only be a couple.) If she can manage until the pups are weaned (so I don't have to bring their mama here,) it might be doable.

My back is trying to go out... I've been in bed most of the day hoping the muscles will loosen up. Soon as it feels better I'll get some more pictures.

Things are Getting Back to Normal

I know some of you were worried, but everything... and you know what I mean... is getting back to normal. Color is less yellow and consistency is much improved. I checked the fat content on the puppy food... 18%... while on the Pedigree Adult it was just 10.8%. I'm going to keep Cotton on the Pedigree for a couple days and then start mixing in the puppy again. And the next time I'm at Petsmart I'll check out the fat content of a couple other puppy foods. This food has always been absolutely wonderful for the pups and I really don't want to switch to something else if it's not necessary. They're just about to the age when they're going to start eating it... 4 weeks today! And growing at an unbelievable rate. I'd like to get a shot of Cotton nursing them but every time I pick up the camera, she gets up and moves away.