Selection Sunday Is Here! and gone...(8/16)

Boom! Just like that, it is now Tuesday. While many of you will be wondering why I didn't post any info or pictures on Monday, well... you should be thankful! I was in the middle of posting a long, elaborate, and not overly clever update, when I was called away and then distracted all day. Since that leads us to today, its just the bare bones today! (You're welcome!)

On Sunday, our reservation families came over to play with the puppies and select their own fur-baby to adopt. Our puppies won't be ready to go to their new homes until Labor Day, but this allows people to follow a specific puppy in pictures and video, and helps other families not fall in love with a reserved puppy.

On Sunday, Miss Orange and Miss Red were selected, and then yesterday Mr. Black was selected. That leaves us with four available boy puppies for you to consider. I will be taking some new pictures today - another thing I didn't get done yesterday - and post them for all to see.

The puppies are finishing the weaning process, so they are spending almost all day outside, and out of site of mom, Penny - who knows they are still her puppies, even if she really doesn't want to nurse them anymore. 

The puppies are in a play yard and they have plenty of water and food to keep them going. I put one of our "igloo" houses out there so they can get out of the sun and nap in the shady grass. They love it!

More Pictures later - I mean it!

Puppies In The Grass (8/10)

Tuesday was a big day for the puppies. Not only was it the first time the puppies were outside to play in the grass, this was also the day we began the weaning process. The puppies are now 4 weeks old, so we have begun to slowly get them onto "real" dog food, and become less and less dependent on mom.

(Red and Orange collars are girls, and Blue, Green, Yellow, Purple, and Black are boys)

Today's "menu card" reads: A little bit of dry puppy food (Purina ProPlan Chicken and Rice) and a whole lot of water. Puree in blender and serve as desired. ✅ (Yumm!)

The puppies loved their lunch, and also loved playing in the sun and sleeping in the grass. 

Here are a handful of general pictures.

Friends and Puppies! (8/6)

Many of you know we have a handful of dogs in "Guardian Homes". You can read more about the idea here, but, basically, we have some of our Mommy dogs live in the loving homes of other families. This eases the burden on us, while placing wonderful dogs in wonderful homes. 

Anyway, some friends of ours have one of our guardian dogs, "Gemma". She is a Bernese Mountain dog and you can learn more about that side of our dog life at SherwoodFarms.dog 

The last time Gemma was at our house was just before she went to live with her guardian family. 

"Venti"  = Terra

 

 

 

 

 

"Grande" = Vesper

 

 

 

"Tall" = Gemma

 

 

 This is Gemma now! Our little girl is grown up!

Gemma sniffing my desk, Terra lying down, and Vesper wondering who this dog is.

Gemma is going to stay with us for a week while her family does "the most audacious parenting event we have ever tried". They are going camping with their 6 children - one of whom uses a wheelchair. Watching Gemma for them was the least we could do...

[That's a cute story, Art, but what does it have to do with the adorable Goldendoodle puppies you are raising?"]

Well...

Our friend, the mom, and her three girls got to hold Penny's puppies! The puppies are almost 4 weeks old. Red and Orange (collars) are girls and the rest are boys (Black, Blue, Green, Yellow, Purple)

"Can I pick one up?"

Miss Orange taking it all in stride

Another sister, another puppy to be held

Miss Red practicing being brave behind his back

Time to look serious. Miss Red going for the cute pose.

"Stop showing off!"

Penny supervising the whole process.

Obviously arguing over who's cuter

"Do I still have Puppy Breath?"

Penny keeping an eye out

She picked up Mr. Black within moments of seeing him and she wouldn't put him down!

Mr. Black in the snuggle of his life!

Don't worry, little one. She knows how to hold you.

Mr. Green, giving me the eyeball.

Then it was time to clean out their pool, again, so into the basket they go, while mom counts to make sure they are all still here.

More updates coming soon...

Individual Puppies (8/3)

Before I show you some pictures of the individual puppies, here is a recap for those just joining:

Penny (mom) is a 25 pound Moyen/Klein poodle. "Moyen" (French) and "Klein" (German) are terms for a pure bred poodle in a distinct class between "Miniature" and "Standard". This classification is not recognized by the AKC, but it is a commonly recognized class within Europe.

Due to availability, we had to find a new "dad" for Penny's litter. We found a wonderful, playful, and loving boy named "Charlie". Charlie is a 30-pound F1 Goldendoodle (one of his parents was a poodle, and the other was a golden retriever). That means the puppies in this litter will be F1b mini-Goldendoodles.

This is Penny's 5th, and final, litter, but since we had to use a new dad this time, we do NOT have pictures of past puppies. (Sorry!) Based upon all of Penny's litters, these will be beautiful puppies with curly hair and patches of white color. They should grow to about 25-35 pounds and will F1B mini-goldendoodles. That's big enough to run and play, and still small enough to sit on your lap.

 We have a total of 5 boys and 2 girls in this litter. We have 2 puppies reserved already. One family definitely wants a girl, and the other family hasn't quite decided yet. We will have "Selection Day" coming up in a few weeks, and we will know the availability, for sure, at that time. If you are interested in reserving a puppy, please contact me. If you want a girl, and one is NOT available when selection comes, I will gladly return your deposit to you.

At this age, there is still no describable personality to the puppies. That is normal. They are still learning how their body works, and spend most of the day eating, or sleeping, or wrestling with their siblings. 

Although I hold the puppies every day, Penny is always anxious when I do. She's a wonderful mom, and she wants to make sure her puppies are not hurt. She's never aggressive, but she does get anxious when I hold them - or when anyone holds them. Because of that, these pictures are not the best, but they are just a "hello" picture of the puppies. I frequently have to crop Penny out of the picture because she wants to climb up onto my lap with her puppies.

So, here we go!!

The Girls:

Miss Red:

Miss Orange: 

An example of Penny interrupting a picture.

The Boys:

Mr. Black: He is the lightest of color, and also has the most distinctive coloring. (The pink nose usually goes away in the first month or two)

He loves to be on top of the pile!

Mr. Green:

That's Penny's nose on the right side.

Mr. Yellow:

 Mr. Purple: 

Mr. Blue: