14 Puppies at Home!!!

We have 14 puppies at home now that we have picked up Bella's litter from her guardian in Sisters, Oregon.   Scarlett's six puppies are thriving up in my bedroom as we take care of them.  You can see from the pictures that they have opened their eyes and ears.  They wake me up at night with their barking and yelling.  It is so funny!  They love to snuggle with each other, with momma, and with us.  We sit in their pen at different times and they come up to us to smell us and see if we can feed them.  This week we will begin feeding Scarlett's puppies a mix of ground kibble and goat's milk.  After that we will be moving them to kibble and water.  They really need to have the nutrients that the kibble provides.
We also have begun treating the puppies with preventative medications for worms.  At three, five, and seven weeks we treat the puppies to prevent any worms that they may come into contact with.  We weighed the two litters, trimmed their claws, and gave them medicine.  They were all troopers!  You can see the range of colors in the puppies from these pictures.  Scarlett's litter is darker.  They are all dark apricot to red in color.  Bella's litter has more of a range and has one that is a very light apricot and goes all the way to dark red.  Bella's litter is a little older and you can begin to see the wavy fleece coats that they will have.
All of these puppies have great conformation and the boxy noses and faces that we are breeding toward.  At this point it is too early to know how their little bodies are developing, but they all look like outstanding examples of the Australian Labradoodle breed!
We are taking deposits on these puppies and have a few left, but if you want to get one of these puppies it is important to contact us quickly at:
Steve@evergreenmanorlabradoodles.com.

We will soon be taking the puppies on car rides, introducing them to new places and people.  One of our favorites is to take them to Home Depot and let them get to know the workers there who love to hold them!  It is so good for them to be in new places, have new sites and sounds, and to meet new people.  Stay tuned for more updates!

Upcoming Litters

We have had a surprising week.  

Our family was in Maryland last week honoring Ann with all of our family and friends.  On the day that I arrived I learned that Bella Luce was in heat.  She was not expected to go into heat until November, or possibly December.  We had to arrange to have her picked up from her guardian home four hours away, while we were all the way across the country.

We got her picked up and began the series of progesterone tests to determine when she would be ready to breed.  On top of Bella being in heat, we knew Scarlett would be going into heat very soon.  When I got back to Maryland on Monday the 22nd we learned that Scarlett had also begun her heat cycle.  We have two girls ready to breed at the same time!

I took both girls south to Spring Creek Labadoodles where Rochelle Sundholm is keeping them as they breed with her stud, Bentley.  

We expect that both girls will deliver their puppies sometime around Christmas.  That means they will have puppies that will be ready to go home at the end of February or the beginning of March.  

We already have some reservations on these puppies, but we still have spaces available if you want one of these puppies.  They will be red to light apricot with fleece coats.  They will also be medium to standard in size (30 to 45 pounds).  These puppies will be wonderful pets that will love to be with people and will be great additions to any family.  You can contact me at Steve@EvergreenLabradoodles.com or at 301-335-5920.

Two Litters at Home

We have fifteen puppies at our home right now.  Scarlett and Seeker's eight puppies that are five weeks old, and Meggie and Seeker's puppies that are ten days old.

Scarlett's puppies are between four and six pounds and are running, playing, and very personable.  They are in a pen in our new puppy room that allows them to get used to a crate and to use the potty park (artificial grass in a plastic tray to teach them where to potty and to get them used to a grass texture) as well as a play area.

  

They are also outside in the puppy run for a chunk of the day to give them a place to explore and play so that they do not get bored.  

 

We recently took them all to Home Depot to get them used to car rides (many more coming) and to new sites, sounds, smells, and people.  We took them into the store two at a time (two people each carrying one puppy) and we never made it past the front door.  The staff wanted to hold, love, and pet each puppy.  

  The people entering the store wanted to stop and love on the puppies.  The puppies were superstars and enjoyed all the attention.  In three weeks they will be starting to go to their new homes!  All of you who have bought one of these dogs will need to talk with me about how you want to pick them up, or how you want us to get them to you.  

 Meggie's puppies are only ten days old and their eyes and ears are not yet open.  They stay in the whelping pen where we have kept them since birth.  

They have already had a car ride (they were born either at the guardian home or en route back to our house as my boys picked them up) but since their first ride they have been in our home.  This weekend their their eyes and ears  will open and after a few days we will move them down to the puppy room.  Shortly after they move down the older puppies will be making their way to their new homes!  

We are already giving the older puppies their medicine to de-worm them.  Soon they will get their first round of shots.  Those who will be spayed or neutered will have their appointment at about seven weeks.  (If you have told us you want to have a spay or neuter contract with us to do this later please confirm with me so that we can arrange for that in the bill of sale.)  We will do the last round of de-worming medicine at the seventh week.  These puppies will go home healthy and ready to fit into their new families.  

Meggie has ovulated and hopefully pregnant!

We got news today from our vet that Meggie's progesterone test this morning proves that she has ovulated.  The level was 10.7.  As I mentioned in the previous blog, once she passes 5.0 she has ovulated and then in a couple of days she is fertile and ready to become pregnant.  Well, today she was well past the 5.0 and she has been bred three times in the past three days (twice today alone because she and Seeker decided to have a second encounter while we weren't watching ;-).  

That means that Meggie is most likely becoming pregnant as I write this blog.  Today is the perfect day for breeding and having a healthy litter.  That means that all of you who have put deposits in on this litter can celebrate.  Nine weeks from now we will be introducing the litter to you all and we will begin that magical time of frequent updates on the little ones.  

Scarlett is going in for her ultrasound (at four weeks) next Tuesday and we will be letting all of those who are waiting for her puppies know of the news of confirmed pregnancy and likely number of puppies who will be making their entrance in the next four weeks.  July will be a busy time at our home.  We will have a bunch of puppies making their happy noises and getting lots of love from us.  

Stay tuned.  Lots of puppies on the way!

Steve

Meggie and Seeker honeymoon

I want to let you all know that we have bred Meggie with Seeker.  We have been tracking Meggie's progesterone levels.  Monday a week ago she was at .02 and Saturday she was at 1.3.  She ovulates when her progesterone level reaches 5.  

We also watch her behavior.  Yesterday she was crying to be around our male puppy who is not mature, but is an intact male.  She followed him around the house and was "flagging" him (raising her tail and waving her rear end in his face) and trying to entice him into some romance.  I knew it was time to bring our mature male, Seeker, into the dance.  I picked Seeker up today from his guardian home and brought him home.  Meggie was very interested and the two had a "tie" almost immediately.  A tie is when the two  have a successful breeding.  This tie was very peaceful and both dogs were equally interested in each other.  This was a great breeding. 

We will follow up with another progesterone test and then follow up breedings every couple of days.  The importance of the progesterone test is to tell us that Meggie has indeed crossed the "5.0" barrier so we know that she has indeed ovulated.  Once we know when she ovulated we can gauge when the puppies will be born.  We are looking forward to this litter.  One puppy will become a breeder in North Carolina, and one will be a breeder in Holland.  Four others will be pets in other parts of the country.  

Scarlett continues to have an uneventful pregnancy.  We have he ultrasound to confirm pregnancy and number of puppies.  That test will be run on May 29th.  Once we get the results we will post that on our web page blog and will also contact all those who have put down deposits on the puppies.  It is going to be about four weeks later that we have the puppies born.  Exciting days ahead!!

Meggie is almost ready

We have had a progesterone test earlier this week to determine when Meggie is fertile and ready to breed.  She will need to hit level 5 before she has ovulated.  Once she ovulates she will have a few days before she is ready to be bred and her eggs can become fertilized.  The test she took on Tuesday placed her at .02 and so we are going to retest her this Friday to find out if she will be ready to breed over the weekend.

There is a lot of science as well as art involved in breeding great dogs.  We want to do our best to make sure that we are producing the best Australian Labradoodles we can in terms of health, temperament, and aesthetic beauty.  The puppies from this litter will be small mediums or large minis.  They should have red to apricot colored coats, and they will have beautiful fleece coats.  

Scarlett is almost ready for her ultrasound to definitively confirm her pregnancy and to give us a first sense of how many puppies she is carrying.   That will be a very exciting day for us here at Evergreen Manor Labradoodles.  We always enjoy knowing that there is evidence of the work we have done and we love to tell the families who are on the puppy list when the pregnancy is confirmed.  We have an appointment for the ultrasound on Tuesday May 29th.  Look for an email that evening if you are one of our buyers for this litter!

We will keep you all updated about where things stand with the breedings and with the ultrasounds.

Steve