The Ups and Downs of Breeding

We are moving from older puppies to no puppies to new puppies.  As of tomorrow we will have three dogs at home:  Adoni, Scarlett, and Mojo.  Lady  in Red is going to her guardian home in Seattle tomorrow.  The family is good friends of ours and our daughter from Maryland.  They moved out here a few years ago, and when we moved out we were glad that they were already here.

So we have already begun preparing for the upcoming litters.  We have two girls we have "honeymooned" and had prepared for our new litters to come.  We took the first girl to the vet for an ultrasound to find out how many puppies were in there.  This is always an exciting time and we love to put on the webpage the good news of a confirmed pregnancy.

When I got home from work that day I asked Ann what the ultrasound told us.  She said "No puppies."  I looked at her and asked if she was teasing.  (For those of you who do not know Ann, she teases about everything.)  She told me she was serious.  She was serious and I was stunned.  We had counted on this litter.

We know that breeding is not for the faint of heart.  We have had other difficulties in breeding, and we have also faced a litter with Adoni where she had been pregnant and the puppies had all reabsorbed.  (Dogs do not have miscarriages, they actually reabsorb the puppies.)  In this case, Lacy had not become pregnant.  There simply were no puppies.

Next week we take Cappi in for her ultrasound.  I hope that she has a ton of puppies.  If she does we will broadcast the good news.  I am looking forward to working with the puppies to help them get ready for their new homes.  This should be one of our best litters yet.    I will keep you all updated.

Steve

Mr. Red is now at home

Today two of my kids, and my one granddaughter, took Mr.Red up to his new home in the Seattle area.  It is always a bittersweet time for us to deliver our puppies to their new homes.  The really good side of the equation is that the puppies are now going to get the one on one love and attention that we know they deserve.  Mr. Red is a sweet, cuddly little man who loves to look you in the eyes as you rub his ears or his chin.  You just know that he is enjoying the attention and wants you to enjoy this too!  His big brown eyes grab your heart and make you wish this was the only thing you had to do all day.


This morning as we went out for potty and got him ready for the trip to Seattle, Red was aware that something was up.  He didn't want to get out of the crate and have the leash put on.  After he was in the car and the kids were getting ready to leave, I had some time with him to rub his ears and to give him several hugs.  He melted into me and it was so hard to let him go.  That is the difficult part of the equation.  He is such a wonderful dog and it is so hard to say goodbye.  I have watched him grow up from the day he was born.  I have enjoyed every stage of his development.  He has been such a gentle soul and such a calm puppy.  I know that Jessica and Russ will love him as much as I do.  But, I won't be with him to love him face to face.  I hope to hear from them about how he is and what they are doing with him.  We always enjoy hearing about how the families who have our dogs are happy with them.  


Later this week we send Maggie to Alaska, and Black to Vermont.  More ups and downs, but we love to know that the dogs are getting all the love they need.  Thank you to all the families who have our dogs, and who love them the way we want to love them.  


Steve

Sending Puppies Home

In the next couple of weeks we will be sending the last of our puppies from the spring 11 litters to their new homes.  We have Scarlett's Black going to Vermont, Scarlett's Red going to Seattle, and Angel's Maggie going to Anchorage.  We are excited to have the dogs go to these families, but we are certainly going to miss these puppies.


Black, Red, and our stud Mojo have lately been learning how to play fetch.  They love to run after the toy I throw and race to see who can bring it back to me.  They are clear that the command "release" means they are to give me the toy so that I can throw it again.  They will even sit and wait for me to throw the toy once again.  

In the morning when I get the dogs out they will patiently wait for me to put out their food and water before I open their crates and let them out on the deck.  I really enjoy their temperaments.  I am going to miss them.  To those of you who will be getting these dogs, your are going to love your new family members!

The Wonder of a Furry Friend

Over this past summer we have gone through a lot of trials.  Ann has battled cancer.  She went through some really tough treatments involving daily radiation treatments for 8 weeks and weekly chemotherapy.  As a result of the cancer and the treatments Ann was wiped out.  Our first Australian Labradoodle, Rutlands Adoni, was inseparable from Ann.  


Addie stayed up in the bedroom while Ann slept.  She stayed when Ann rested in bed.  She would stay in the room with Ann for over 24 hours and when we finally took her outside to potty, we actually had to pull her from the room.  Addie's affection for Ann was a comfort for Ann.  The rest of us were busy trying to cover all the responsibilities for the house, and Addie simply stayed with Ann and loved her.  I am so grateful for the care our wonderful girl gave to Ann.  

She has cemented her place in the family.  I have raised dogs that have gone on to serve as therapy dogs to give love to folks, but I have also experienced what a therapy dog can do as this wonderful girl has loved my wife when I was off doing the other things that needed to be done.  Thank you Addie!