Field Trip to Home Depot

 We took the puppies for a ride in the car today.  It was quite the adventure to load 14 puppies into the car and head off to the local Home Depot.  They love to have us bring the puppies into the store and give the customers and staff an opportunity to love on the puppies.  We enjoy the time with folks as they meet our dogs.  There are always lots of questions about the dogs and about breeding.  We have gotten to know the staff at the store and they always look forward to when we have litters to socialize.

 Once again the puppies were a huge hit.  I didn't make it past the front entry way before staff and customers alike were petting the dogs and holding them.  The puppies were great and were very calm as people touched them, held them, and loved on them.  This is such a good experience for these little guys.  Oregon is a dog lover's state and each of the people who stopped were talking about the dogs they have at home, as well as asking about our breeding program.

Providing new experiences, meeting new people, having new sites and smells and sounds is great to help the puppies feel comfortable as they adjust to unfamiliar experiences in the future.  As you take your puppy home I encourage you to do the same: take your puppy with you on car rides, and introduce them to as many new places and people as you can while keeping them safe.  Bring treats for people to give them so that they associate new experiences with rewards!

 After spending some time in the new settings the puppies were worn out and took a long nap.

They are also enjoying our puppy run now that the weather is cooperative and we aren't having rain.  They love to cuddle together in the dog house and then go out to run and play.  These two litters are adjusting well to life.  Soon we will be getting them ready to go to their new homes.  We are already lining up trips on airlines to deliver them to Sacramento, Washington DC, Boston, and New Jersey.  Other puppies will be going to new homes closer to us.  So many new experiences for them to enjoy.

We still have four puppies from these litters available, so if you want a wonderful puppy, contact us quickly!

Bella's puppies are here!

On Christmas Eve I received a call from our guardian for Bella Luce, Patty Mills.  Patty is keeping Bella with her for the first four weeks  of the  new puppies lives.  

Bella was due on December 29th, but on Christmas Eve Patty was calling to let me know that Bella was very agitated and nesting.  "Do you think she is going to have the puppies early like she did last time?" Patty asked.  I told  her "I don't know, but I am not going to be able to get out to Sisters tonight if she does."  

Patty has delivered a litter with Bella already, and Ann and I drove out to "help" with the whelping last February.  As we drove we were getting updates on the number of puppies that were being born.  We arrived just after the last puppy was born.  I knew that if Bella had her puppies Christmas Eve that Patty is up to the job of helping  her to deliver them.

Five minutes after Patty called, she called back.  "The first puppy  has arrived.  He is a male and is 12 ounces."  Over the next three hours, and before Christmas arrived, Bella delivered another seven healthy puppies.  She had a boy, four girls, and then three more boys.  Eight puppies.  Four boys and four girls.  All apricot or red.  Both Bella and Patty did a great job in bringing these puppies into the world.  

Stay tuned for updates on these puppies, and on Scarlett's litter that is due on the 1st.  We will keep you all posted on what is going on with our puppies.

Two Upcoming Breeders

We have received the results from the health tests on our Seattle's Sundance and Evergreen's Tank.  Both dogs have passed their breeding health tests with flying colors!  We will be bringing these two dogs in as breeders as soon as they are mature.

Sundance is a cream colored, fleece coated medium and she will be about 19 inches at her shoulder when she reaches maturity.  She will be around 32-38 pounds.  She loves to play with people and other dogs.  When people come to visit our puppies and they meet Sundance and Tank, they almost always ask if the are available.  The good news is that now that they have passed their health tests, we are looking for a guardian home for both Sundance and Tank.  We are looking for families or individuals who live within a short distance from our home in Newberg, Oregon.  Guardians will need to provide a safe home environment and loving attention to our dogs.  All reproductive vet care is covered by us, and regular vet care is covered by the guardians.  We ask that you feed high quality food and provide lots of love and socialization.

Evergreen's Tank is a male who is standard in size and will be about 23-25 inches at the shoulder when mature.  He will weigh over 50 pounds.  He is our gentle giant.  He loves to play with people and dogs.  He has a deep red fleece coat.  When people visit our puppies they ask if they can get a puppy with a coat "that color" and point to Tank.  He loves to lie down at our feet, unless our granddaughter, Annalee, has come over to play.  If Annalee is here Tank wants to play with her and give her kisses.  

We love both these dogs, and feel the bittersweet of placing them in other homes.  We want to have them around us, and yet we know they need to have homes of their own.  

You can check out our application on the web page (www.EvergreenManorLabradoodles.com) and go to the Guardian Home page.  You can also call us 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.  

Breeders on the way

 We are excited to let you know that we have two up and coming breeders who will be joining our program after we get their test results and they continue to grow up.  The first is Seattle's Sundance who comes to us from Jan Probus.  She is the daughter of Greta and Chipotle.  She has the most amazing personality and loves everyone she meets.  She is gentle with our one year old granddaughter, Annalee, and you can see her making Annalee giggle on our You Tube video of the two of them.

You can find the video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qlb8IYhLbtc&feature=plcp.  Sundance is a wonderful girl who makes friends with everyone she meets.  She is a medium and has a cream with soft fleece, and has been tested.  We are waiting for the results of the hip and elbows tests.  We will begin breeding her in the winter or spring months.  

 Our other new breeder is Tank, who is growing into a standard size.  He is five months old and already is bigger than his mother, grandmother, and great grandmother.  The vet saw him yesterday and thought he was a two year old.  Tank is very friendly and relaxed.  Everyone who meets him wants to take him home.  He is a red that is holding his color, and has a soft fleece coat.  He will sit down with you and soak up all the love you have to give.  Then, he gives it back.

Tank roams around the house and yard and entertains himself until he finds you, and then you are his best friend.

Tank also gets along with all the dogs we have.  Whenever we are out and he meets another dog he has found a new friend.

If you are looking for dogs with great temperaments you want to mark these two dogs and keep an eye on when they have litters.
If you are a breeder looking for a red male Tank is a breeder to keep your eyes on.

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 also in heat!

Great news!  We learned today that Meggie is also in heat.  She will be tested for her progesterone levels in a few days and once we know she is close to fertile we will be breeding her to Seeker.  That means that in a little over eight weeks we will have her puppies here (around the Fourth of July), and after that it will be another eight weeks before we are able to deliver them to their forever families (Labor Day Weekend?).  We have already closed the reservation list and have people who are preparing to welcome their new family members into their homes.  These puppies will be going to homes in Oregon, Washington, and even to the Netherlands!  We have two breeders coming out of this litter.  

Scarlett is doing very well and is several weeks into her pregnancy.  In a couple of weeks we will be having an ultrasound done to confirm the pregnancy and to give us an idea of how many puppies she will be having.  We have at least one family on a waiting list in case we have more puppies with Scarlett than the reservations we have already taken.  Scarlett is known for having eight to ten puppies per litter, and we may well have more puppies than the number already spoken for on our puppy list.  We may know more clearly what to expect once we have the results from the ultrasound.

Stay tuned, we are in the midst of exciting days here at Evergreen  Manor Labradoodles.  

Exciting Days!!

We have finished raising three litters over the winter and they are nearly all in their new homes.  We still have a puppy from Bella's litter that will go to her new home (a breeder in Texas) on Thursday, and we have another puppy that we are still allocating to her new family.  Home is a lot quieter now.  We do have two puppies that are going to be breeders in our program that we are raising and testing before we allocate them to guardian homes (see our page on Guardian homes).  

The quiet will not last forever.  We have exciting news to tell!  Scarlett has been bred to Seeker yesterday and today.  She will be delivering her next litter of puppies in nine weeks.  We already have a full reservation list for this litter, but we are still putting people on waiting lists in case she has more puppies than we have reservations.  The last litters Scarlett had were ten puppies each.  We have taken six reservations and we can take two or three additional applications for her waiting list.  This litter is going to be spectacular.  We expect reds, apricots, and perhaps a cream puppy.  These puppies will have wonderful conformation and boning.  They will be athletic and outgoing.  They will be friendly and have gentle temperaments.  The pictures below show some of the puppies Scarlett and Seeker have produced in the past.  

We also expect that Meggie will be going into heat in the next few weeks.  We also plan to breed her with Seeker so that we will have dark reds and dark apricots that will be small mediums or large minis.  This litter also has a full reservation list.  We are not expecting as many puppies from Meggie as Scarlett has produced.  We will wait until we have the ultrasound to have more of a sense of how many puppies she is carrying to take any more applications for a waiting list for her.  

Puppies, Puppies, Puppies

We have a house full of puppies.  It is wonderful!

There are still two puppies from Juliet's litter here (until tomorrow when Amore is scheduled to go to her new home), five of Velvet's puppies (four of which will leave in the next few weeks to go to their new homes) and ten of Bella's puppies.  They have a load of fun as they play outside in the grass when it is warm and dry enough for them to be outside.  Today was just such a day, and I got some great pictures of the three litters playing together.  

They are  so much fun to watch.  They run all over the yard chasing each other and finding toys to play with.  The older puppies are gentle with the younger ones.  There isn't the kind of competition we would normally expect with three different litters of three different ages.  
Having so many dogs in the house can also be stressful, but we know that all but three of the twenty puppies we had in these litters are already reserved and now we are spending time socializing them and doing temperament testing to make sure that the dogs go to the home where they fit best.  It is a delight to fit the families to the puppies.  After spending so much time, energy, affection, and yes money, on these puppies it is very important to us to make sure that they have a wonderful future with their new families.

We are setting up trips, and flights to get these puppies to their new homes.  We will be taking dogs to Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and New Jersey.  We have a dog flying to Florida.  We also have other puppies from these litters going to Oregon, Washington, California, and Texas.  We are building relationships with extended family members all over the country.  We love raising puppies and making new friends! 

Crate Training! Potty Training!

We have moved Juliet's puppies down to the kitchen where they get a lot of attention.  They love it!  We have set up a pen for them with a crate (the door is always open and it is their favorite place to relax) and a special tray with artificial grass where they potty.  It is amazing that even at four weeks they are choosing to go to the "grass" to potty.  Boy do they potty!  We have to clean out the reservoir twice a day.

The puppies are also moving to eating from a bowl and are going to start on "mush" this week.  We add ground kibble to goats milk and feed the puppies from a large, shallow bowl.  It is hilarious to watch them figure out how to lap up the food and to see them experience new taste sensations.  These puppies are motivated and learn very quickly that they can have full tummies when they go to the bowl.  It is providing a break for Juliet who has been nursing her puppies from their birth.  She is relieved to see the puppies feeding and is enjoying more time playing with them and less time feeding them.

We are also introducing the puppies to new experiences and new people.  Soon we will be taking them on car rides to the bank and other places where we can introduce them safely to a variety of people.  This helps them to be well socialized when they get to their new families.  

This litter is very social already and loves people.  As I write this blog I am sitting next to the pen and the puppies are whining to get out and have me sit with them.  They prefer to play over eating.  

I think you will enjoy the videos I am taking and trying to edit so that I can put them on You Tube.  I should have them up within the week.  Pester me about them if you do not see them soon.

Juliet and Mojo

The long awaited day has come!  We have Juliet staying with us while she is fertile and she has been a dream!  Thank you Jenica and Patrick for letting us have this visit with Juliet.  We have had Juliet and Mojo tested thoroughly for a variety of health issues to insure that they are premium breeders.  They have passed all the tests with flying colors.  We also know that Juliet was very close to ovulating on Monday morning.  Monday evening Mojo and Juliet had a tie (honeymoon for those of you who aren't breeders) and we will have them breed again this evening (Wednesday) and then again on Friday.  We may test Juliet's progesterone again on Thursday to make sure it indicates she has ovulated and that we can expect a pregnancy.

The puppies these two will have should be solid dark chocolate in color, with soft fleece coats and great conformation.  Juliet brings a beautiful dark chocolate color that has held up long enough to show us that she will not likely lighten up much.  Most chocolate Labradoodles do lighten up and we have been working hard to have a line that will keep its dark color.  Juliet also brings a very sweet and warm personality into the mix.  She is a lovely young lady and has stolen our hearts again with her visit.  She has matured into a beautiful girl.  

Mojo brings a great personality as well.  He has been home with us for over a month now, and has been in a trial guardian home for a little over a week of that time.  He is quite the lover.  He tries to sit on our laps when possible.  He is about 26 pounds and thinks he should put his face right next to ours whether we are sitting with him on the floor, or are on the couch.  He wants to be as close to us as possible.  He has great conformation and boning and will pass that on to the puppies.  He loves to play and will take all the time we can give him.  His caramel coat is buttery soft.  

We are looking forward to a litter of dark chocolate puppies that will be under 30 pounds when mature and will stand about 17 inches at the shoulder.  These puppies should be born around December 20th and will be ready for their new homes around Valentine's Day.  If you want a puppy for your family, these puppies will be great Christmas gifts, (notes in a gift) and can be yours on Valentines!

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