Jeff; my “dog whisper”… and love of my life

Jeff is the love of my life. No kidding. He and my children and my dogs and my quilting/gardening habit make my life full and meaningful. Some say their jobs (and yes, making a difference is very important). Me, I am lucky to make others lives enriched by sharing the love. It could be a quilt, a puppy, or a kind word. It is not a gift you “have” it is the gift you have when you give it away. Back to the love of my life.. besides his many awesome talents, he also has a way with animals (and people). Forget words; let the pictures tell the tale. I love you Jeff, forever and ever; the kids and I are so very lucky to have you in our lives. Thank you for being part of mine.

We should learn from this…a nap is a terrible thing to waste.

Ah; the lessons we can all learn from puppies.. First we should all take naps and if possible; share a nap with a sister, brother, or good friend; better yet; share a nap with a puppy. Here is Whim (Jake) and sister Toffee (Sydney) showing how it is done.

Teddy studies up…

I wanted to share a picture with you “worth a thousand words”. Teddy is getting ready for his new family member; Jake(Whim) and if you look close; yes; he is taking notes. He wants to be the perfect big brother. Here is a picture of Teddy learning the importance of socialization with the Monks of New Skete. He wants to be sure to be a good example on how to raise the perfect puppy. Thanks Connie for the wonderful picture!

Puppy Mushin.

Here is a picture of the puppies’ second step towards moving to more solid food. Today they had a bit of meat added to their goat milk and rice puppy mush. They are so full and sleeping now. Their muzzles and feet need so cleaning but they look very happy and full.

Like having newborns, while they sleep is my time to catch up as somehow I get so distracted with staring at the puppies. J Enjoy.

Here they Come! Watch out World…

Wha-hoo!! The puppies personalities are emerging; along with their baby teeth. They are playing and walking well and we observe them beginning to run and play. They are lapping water (how fun!) and really getting the puppy mush down. Belle is doing the lay down nursing out side the whelp box. The puppies have learned how to go through their whelp box exit door and can be seen climbing in and out. Soon we will remove the box and add a bit bigger enclosure. A crate without the door has been introduced and that is so much fun to explore. Libby continues to play whelper helper with the litter. Watch for more pictures to come this weekend. They are trying out their voices and learning to scratch. It is so fun to watch them unfold.

Goat milk and rice…

Well, we just introduced the pups to their first goat milk and rice meal. A very thin “puppy mush” mixture similar to an infant rice “first meal” marks yet another transition. After the pups checking it out, walking in it, tipping it, learning to lick and not plunge their nose into it the meal I deem it a success for the first go round. Belle was there to clean up the pie plate of mush and then clean up the pups faces, nose, and feet. This was then followed by a “chaser” of Belles milk. They are sleeping after their first puppy mush experience with full little belly and yes, puppy breath. You can tell who had more and caught on to the “lapping” trick which differs from nursing.

What, the milk bar is dry?

Well; this was a first! Liberty (Belle’s mom) just climbed into the whelp box and was cleaning up the puppies. This is not unusual as Belle and Libby frequently share mother duties. What was hilarious (and the first) was she lay down to nurse the puppies. Considering she has no milk but such a nurturing instinct Jeff and I were laughing so hard. She was all open to receive them and the puppies were finding the nipple but no milk. I called her and she would not come out. She is the “ultimate” mom and would nurse them forever I think. There was a first time last year when both she and Belle had litters on the ground a couple of weeks apart. Libby would feed the masses even when Belle was done nursing.

Belle has moved from the lay down to nurse to the stand up to nurse stance as the puppies get bigger. She is also a great mom it is just funny the different mothering instincts and the reasons behind them. Belle is preparing them to become more independent and exercise in working for it more, using instincts of smell and new sights to move them along. Libby wants to keep them babies forever. I think that is why Libby is “mine” and Belle is “Jeff’s”. Jeff nurtures our own children while at the same time encouraging independence of thought and “letting them learn”. Me, I would keep both my children with me forever and protect them from lessons learned. If only they just listen to me. J The two different approaches to nurturing is nice to have the puppies exposed too. This litter is blessed by having two wonderful moms to help raise them up. But with one, she seemed to forget the milk bar is dry. There are so many wonderful lessons I learn as we raise puppies. When we don’t have litters on the ground our Libby and Belle always have sparks that remind us of life lessons and what is important.

The week three photos of each puppy will be coming later today for the website as well as the Blog. I have to go get some batteries for my camera. This week we will be moving the whelp box, adding the crate without a crate door for them to explore. Expect this coming week for the puppies to move from finding their walking ability to attempting to run. They will be exposed to a small water dish as well as an introduction to goats milk and puppy rice at the end of this week. Their ears are opening and they are starting to make practice whelps. They will be mouthing each other more and interacting with each other more and sleeping less as they develop. We handle each one several times a day and provide gentle stress. Jim, owner of Latte from the last litter shared the Monks of New Skete book passages on puppy rearing. I was aware of their book on how to be your dog’s best friend but was thrilled after getting the book on raising a whelp. I loved their theories on the art of raising a puppy and have introduced more into the raising of a wonderful Labradoodle.

Two Week Old Photos

Blondie

Taffy

Toffee

Lil’ Lady

Whim

Copper

Week 2 Update on Belle’s Litter

All our Multigen Australian Labradoodle puppies eyes are open and weight wise they have all tripled in size. They are going to have great coats and all be about the same size; with Copper and lil’ Lady looking to be a tad smaller then the others. All are showing signs of mismarks and look to be beautiful, not that I am partial or anything. J Belle is doing great and is starting to spend a bit more time out of the box but never far from the pups. They are starting to get their legs underneath them and around Wednesday we should start to see them all truly walking. Later in this next week is when we introduce a crate (without a door) and the Ugodog doggie potty training screen tray. This is something new we are trying and the theory is to have the pups trained to go in this grid system to help new puppy owners with potty training in their new home. We will update you on the tray as well as the crate training as we go. I am working with Ugodog and if it honestly works, they will give me a discount on their product (which I would pass on to you). It has been proven in Europe and great for those with apartments. I will give you more information if you email me and if I like it I will be posting a link to their site in my puppy owner pages under resources.

The puppy cam appears to be working great and we are seeing lots of streaming going on from our end. Let us know if you have any problems on your end.

This is the week we really see their personalities start to unfold as well as the pack order established. They grow and develop so from the time of the knot…amazing magic. To me this week into next is (when they start to try running) is one of the best as I can tell much about them and start to interact with them. We will be posting their “2 week old” pictures later on today.

~Vicky

libertylabradoodles@comcast.net    

Hello World! Eyes are Opening…

Hello World! Today we start seeing eyes open. Lil’ Lady is the first and the others are not too far behind. We will be posting pictures for you this evening. Mark this day on your calendar! This was the first time your puppy see’s the big world. Things start moving faster now as they move from eat and sleep stage to start exploring stage. It is amazing how fast they grow.