1 Week Old puppy update

 

Well, it is Sunday morning and I am making coffee and checking on the puppies as I do through out the day. A little more than a week old and the puppies are flourishing under Libby’s care. She is such a wonderful nurturing soul. Belle has been in to see the puppies under Libby’s watchful eye.

The very plump boys and girls are getting ready to open their eyes and at this stage are still very much eating and sleeping although trying to move from scooting to wobbling on their legs. They are starting to show their colors and mismarks now; where newborns show pink on their noses and feet I wait to watch the color grow in to see what God has in mind. J As a breeder, I also watch the “belly up to the bar” so to speak, to see the pack order start to emerge. Truly delightful to watch unfold.

Usually, we have the puppy cam up by now however a couple of weeks ago we started painting the inside of our home when I got sick and ended up going to the hospital to take my gallbladder (why anyone would want to take it is beyond me?)…

I am behind in the house reconstruction from painting. We currently have the puppies in our garage in a whelping box instead of the living room, not wanting to expose them to the paint fumes. This is a first as they are usually inside our home but the weather is great and Libby likes it there with the whole garage to herself and the puppies. Our garage is attached to the house and we leave the door open to the back hall so we can visit, which both Jeff and I do.

Chief, our stud, is visiting friends who have a puppy and playing and teaching the puppies all the joys of doghood. This is mostly because our Belle is in heat and she is getting a break this cycle; poor Chief, he has to wait for a bit so he is being distracted by playing with another puppy instead of mooning after Belle right now.

My puppy cam line has to reach my computer to stream out the video as well as get wireless network access so hopefully next week we can be up and running.

We are settling back into routine as we get the house back together (downstairs at least), I am feeling back to my old self, better in fact. Jeff gets a break from playing nurse, shopper and cook/cleaner (though he is a better cook then I am, perhaps I can fend illness a tad longer?)…

Summer is here; this morning Libby and Belle got their comb outs and baths and the puppies have clean blankets. The garden is watered, I have a tri tip out to BBQ tonight, laundry is going, I have care packages ready to send our son in Iraq, working on a thank you note to our daughter… and my coffee is waiting.

Soon, we will get the hustle and bustle of puppies running in the house, but right now I am going to enjoy a lazy Sunday and cuddle with chubby puppies and watch for their eyes to open.

June Litter Names Announced

Well, after much observation and deliberation we have decided on names for this litter for litter registration purposes. I don’t like to call them girl 1, girl 2; it seems so detached. I wanted to stick with the Liberty theme, although I was tempted to name them after wines; like Chablis or Pinot…Jeff was saying how about candy bars; like snickers, milky way…

We study their movements and ponder their already emerging personalities. And we wait for “inspiration”. Call me goofy, but I don’t take naming them lightly as it has to be right for the next 8 weeks or so; until their forever homes name them for registration purposes. Most of the names were easy, however I was stuck on the first girl until Connie (who owns other puppies of ours) wrote in an email how she loves to watch them blossom; and Yreka! That is perfect; she is a little blossom!

The first boy, who is the “mover” of the bunch we have named Liberty’s Spark; call name Sparkie.

The second boy born we have named Liberty’s Trust; call name Trustie.

The third puppy born and the first girl we have named Liberty’s Blossom.

The fourth puppy born and the lightest girl we have named Liberty’s Champagne Bubbles.

Liberty’s puppies arrive

Liberty’s Australian Labradoodle puppies arrived in the very early morning hours June 19, 2008; 2 boys and 2 girls. We stayed up through the morning and are dragging right now. Jeff and I slept in shifts to make sure all was well. I will add pictures to the flicker online site and work to update LibertyLabradoodles.com shortly; then follow up with the puppy cam. A good night sleep is in order but I could not help wanting to post a “Happy Birthday” to the June 2008 Litter.

Sydney Update

Hi Vicky,

How are you?  The weeks are flying by and I continue to hear from 
friends in the neighborhood “Sydney looks bigger than she did 2 days 
ago!”  I can see her growth as well, but also think that her moppy 
hairdo adds a few inches on her size   I think she will be happy to 
get her first trim in a couple of weeks, it will keep her a little 
cooler.  I’ll be sad to lose the mini sheepdog look.

She is becoming more and more reliable in the house.  She usually goes 
for her toys instead of the girls toys that have been left on the 
floor, and I think we’re over the hump on the potty training.  She is 
definitely my little buddy, following me around the house and 
searching for me if we’re not in the same room.  She also has a lot of 
fun playing with the girls.  We had our second puppy class last night 
and she is doing very well there.  She is so friendly with the other 
puppies and is all wiggles when the instructors turn their attention 
to her.

She loves to spend time in the backyard.  Her nose is often to the 
ground sniffing for bunnies and chipmunks.  We’ve had a ton of rain 
lately, so she comes in with a muddy drenched face (as seen in the 
below photo).

Hope all is well in Oregon
Michelle

Latte Gram

Hi Vicky,
Here are a couple of Latte pictures we took the other night.  Sorry, they
don’t really show her off but we will send you some more when we get some
good ones (she’s very photogenic).
In the first three, she is playing with one of her many toys (she has gone
through so many big furry balls from PETCO that we have lost count).  This
particular toy is her favorite to “bump” you with.  She follows you around
the house bumping you in the back of the legs – just in case you want to
play.  The last picture shows her in her favorite position when Jim is in
his office – asleep on “daddy’s” legs.
Take care,
Jim & Susan