July 2019 – The pups are so grown now and we continue to get great reports! Here is a picture of “Cardigan” doing well in Texas.
March 7, 2019 – It was a busy weekend of saying good-bye to this great litter of pups. We miss each of them: Flannel, Cardigan, Boots, Windy, Toasty, Cashmere, Cocoa and Jammies. All have new names, and are with great, loving families.
Because of this litter, we were able to donate $2,100.00 to Amazima Ministries. These pups, and their families helped children in Africa live another day. Maybe at least one more child was saved, educated and fed because of this litter. We also were able to give $300.00 in funds to our local animal shelter, Homeward Bound Pets, in McMinnville, Oregon. There are dogs there that don’t have a warm bed, a home or a forever family. Thank you to everyone involved! Including all the great Valley Vineyard helpers that work hard. (It’s not all sitting around and snuggling puppies!) xo to our pups and their families!
And they all lived happily ever after.
February 25, 2019 – Winnie’s puppies had their vet exams today and all went well. As with every litter, the only thing noted was some minor, common teeth notations while the teeth are still developing. The main thing we look for is overbites that could need correction, and all pups were clear. All is good! They had their nails trimmed, first set of vaccinations, and micro-chipping done today. They’re just a bit sore this evening. But not complaining and were romping around and eating well this afternoon.
We wanted to give you a little more detail on each pup concerning specific weights and temperament/personality scoring. Please know that pups personalities are just starting to show at this time. Though we can try and predict or determine personality traits, We find again and again that the pup’s personalities and energy levels continue to form as they get home with their forever families and feed off of the environment, energy level, attention and leadership of their new pack leaders. For example, we will see the most laid back pup go to a house of high energy kids and the pup becomes much more rambunctious, feeding off of the high-energy household. We have seen the most energetic and active pup in the litter go home to a quiet home with seniors that have slowed down and they become the easiest and most laid back pup. So keep that in mind. Here is what was revealed when a trainer scored each of them on personality and temperament:
Flannel, Boy: Weight is 8 lbs, 8 oz today. His scoring showed him to be outgoing and friendly and will adjust well in situations in which he receives regular training and exercise. He has a flexible temperament that adapts well to different types of environments, provided that he is handled correctly. We see Flannel as intelligent and adventurous. He figures things out (For example, for weeks, he is the only one who will notice if a toy or pillow is left in the pen giving him the ability to navigate his way out and over the wall.) Flannel will love outdoor activities and new experiences. He will not be as large as a couple of his sisters. Our guess is he will grow to be around 45 lbs.
Cardigan: Weight is 10.0 lbs today. (Cardigan is almost a full two pounds over other pups.) Cardigan’s temperament scoring shows her to be a pup that is extremely submissive. She will bond closely with her owner quickly and require regular companionship, and could become shy if not given ongoing socialization in her developing months. Cardigan is smart and quickly grasps our “manding” where she must be sitting for attention. She is loving and less independent as her brother Flannel. (Service dog trainers look more for a Flannel than a Cardigan because of his independence and willingness for adventure.)We see her as pretty laid back so far and wanting others to take the lead.
Toasty: Weight is 8 lbs, 3 oz and may grow close to sire’s size, about 40-45 lbs. Toasty scored almost identical to that of Cardigan in every category. Read Cardigan’s description.
Windy: Weight is 8 lbs, 1 oz and will grow close to sire’s size, about 40-45 lbs. Windy scored as self-assured and readily accepts human leadership that is firm and consistent. Windy is easily controlled and is an adaptable puppy whose submissive nature will make her continually look to her master for leadership. She should be easy to train and is self-assured. In her social scoring, she also scored as submissive, easily controlled and adaptable.
Cocoa: Weight is 9 lbs., 3 oz and will be closer to Winnie’s size of 55-60 lbs full grown. Cocoa scored more confident than Toasty, Cardigan and Windy. Cocoa scored as outgoing and friendly and self-assured. Cocoa scored similar to Flannel as more of a leader. If Cocoa and Flannel come home to other dogs, they probably will be the leader of the pack, rather than the follower. They are both more self-assured and confident than submissive.
Cashmere: Weight is 8 lbs, 2 oz. Cashmere will probably be closer to Basil’s size full grown: 40-45 lbs. Cashmere scored high at following and overall she scored as self-assured and confident and yet, was more of a follower than a leader. She is friendly and outgoing and very adaptable.
Jammies: Weight is 9 lbs, 8 oz today. Jammies is very close in size to her sister Cardigan and will grow to be Winnie’s size, around 55-60 lbs. Jammies is scored as outgoing and friendly and adaptable in most situations. She shows to have a flexible temperament, and is easily controlled with good training and the right amount of exercise. Her size and self-assurance could be hard for really young children to handle as she will grow quickly over the next several months.
Boots: Weight is 8 lbs, 6 oz and she will probably grow closer to Basil’s size, around 40-45 lbs. Boots has shown to be extremely submissive and even a little shy. She is super confident with people she knows and with her litter mates, but is unsure and untrusting at first in new situations. She needs a little time to become comfortable in a new setting with new people. She is gentle and loving and will bond quickly to her new owner, probably wanting to stay close by. A different personality at this point, than some of her more confident siblings that are eager to explore and learn new things. She would prefer just sitting in your lap to observe. She may become overwhelmed and become more shy in a busy home with young kids where she is not given the attention and encouragement to bring her out of herself.
Overall, all of the pups showed to be loving, gentle, and are bonding closely with their humans. They look to us for direction, make eye contact and “track” us . They love to be held and though rambunctious at times where they need 20 minutes or so to burn off that puppy energy, most of the time, they settle right down in our arms when we pick them up. They ALL love to be held.
February 21, 2019 – Winnie’s puppies are seven weeks old today. You know what that means.They’ll be leaving us soon! We’ve totally enjoyed these pups but we know their families are anxiously waiting and with a little sadness, we are ready to let go. They’re almost ready! They went through temperament testing today and all showed to be confident, relaxed when restrained, not sensitive to sounds or sights and all scored well on social attraction. They willingly went to our tester (a stranger to them). None showed aggression at all when elevated or restrained, or even react when pressure is put on paws. None showed excessive dominance. Pups will all be weighed before our phone calls for puppy selection so we’ll have accurate size information. At the vet’s office, we get them on a better, official scale so we can give you the most accurate information .
We’ve been leaving them in their crates for a couple of hours at a time while we run errands and all has gone well. No accidents. Only a little crying. We’ll keep up the crate training for small periods of time to help them get ready. There will still be an adjustment to a new home and leaving us and their siblings, but all of this is readying them for success after a brief transition time at home. We work on “sit” by what Puppy Culture calls “manding.” The pups are not picked up, pet, or given any attention unless they are sitting. The ones that are jumping up to get our attention are ignored as we reach for the pups sitting behind them and we tell them “good sitting.” The ones jumping catch on pretty quick and start sitting to get acknowledged. They thrive on human attention and interaction, and this is a good thing, as good labradoodles should be. Just a pet and and verbal affirmation seems to mean as much as a treat. For treats, we have been giving them “Bear Crunch” snacks we get at Trader Joes. They look like oyster crackers (but are filled with liver) and they are nice and small for training. You will use a lot of treats at home and we encourage you to keep up with the basics we are doing here: they must wait and sit for everything! It just takes a few moments (seconds really) of us being patient while we wait for them to sit instead of giving in. Remember, these are going to be pretty big dogs and they’ll grow quickly over the next several months. Nobody likes a big dog that is almost knocking them over with excitement. The whole family (and guests coming to your home!) needs to be consistent and your pup will get it! Here are the pictures we took of them at seven weeks old. We love them!
And some more random pictures…..
February 15, 2019 – And a few more pictures we didn’t get a chance to post yesterday……
February 14, 2019 – Winnie and Basil’s pups are six weeks old today and they’re doing so well. They are confident and so socialized already. They’ve started on crate training and so far, they’re pretty comfortable. Not alone in it yet, but we’ll be working on that. They love their play time outside of the pen and they just love human interaction. They wrestle and play a lot with their siblings, but mostly, they want the interaction of humans. This what they’re raised for. Here are the pictures we snapped of them today.
February 7, 2010 – The puppies are five weeks old today! They had a busy weekend with visitors Saturday and Sunday and they are not lacking socialization! We enjoyed meeting all that came to the open house. The pups are doing well and we had fun taking some group pictures of them today. We also took some video of them playing in the puppy room with their new toys and we’ll post that to Instagram soon. It’s fun to see them chase and romp around! They still love, more than anything, to be held and snuggled. Everyone continues to comment on how calm they are. They will have a rambunctious puppy phase (won’t last too long) when they get to their forever homes (normal!), but their temperaments are golden. Confident, loving and gentle. They’re becoming very focused on humans, tracking us and wanting our affection. Raised to be close companions and wanting to stay nearby. We have more work to do over the next few weeks, but take a look at these adorable pups! We’ll take individual pictures of them next week, at six weeks old, and post their weights.
January 31, 2019 – We seriously can’t believe these pups are four weeks old. We are enjoying this time with them so much! Their teeth are coming in today and mama is wanting to back away from nursing a bit so that means it’s time to start them on kibble. They had their first taste of “mush” today. Once they’re on kibble for a bit, we start to see their coats start to fill in more. Here they are at four weeks old!
January 30, 2019 – Winnie and Basil’s pups are almost four weeks old. Time is going so fast over here! A lot has happened and we’ll post individual pictures of them soon but want to give you a quick update. This week they got their hearing and they are now much more engaging and attentive. They walk over when we come near the pen and are beginning to bond with us humans. Still totally attached to mama Winnie, but they’re realizing humans are good! Since they are now steady on their feet (even running a little bit as they begin to chase each other), we’ve started litter box training and it’s going well. This helps keep the pen really clean (it means a lot less laundry for us), and the pups are learning to respect their sleep and play areas and to go potty in a certain spot. This is good as it launches them into faster potty training at home. They’re smart and they’re catching on. They’re wrestling with each other more and noticing the toys we put in their pen. They’re more alert. Now that they can hear, we’ve started desensitizing them to various sounds and their socializing and emotional conditioning now steps up to a greater importance. Teaching them lots and introducing them to “scary” sights and sounds is important to do before fear sets in at around 6 weeks of age. They’re doing great. Super laid back, it seems, and incredibly cute. We’ve had lots of friends over and everyone seems to gravitate to the puppy room. We love it as much as they do because they are helping us socialize Winnie’s babies. Pictures will be posted of each puppy soon!
January 24, 2019 – The puppies are three weeks old today! They are much more alert, beginning to walk around and they are interacting with each other. They don’t seem to hear yet, not quite ready for toys, but that will come any day now. Once they start to hear, we begin desensitizing them to sounds. They’ve completed all their days of Bio-sensor steps, and now we are massaging them daily and trying to socialize them with lots of holding. They get baths regularly and they love being held under the warm running water, something we’ve been doing with them since they were only a few days old. We’re expecting to see lots of change this week. We’ll post more as things happen. We hope you’re watching the Instagram posts too! We did a group photo today, that was fun! Here they are. (At four weeks old, we’ll post individual pictures again with names.)
January 17, 2019 – The puppies are opening their eyes more and more. We did a photo shoot with each puppy today after we finished their massage and Bio-Sensor time. Now you get to see each one by name. Here they are at two weeks old!
January 16, 2019 – The puppies are doing great! We’re almost done with their daily Bio-sensor program and we can see how comfortable they are already with being held and touched in all areas. They are completely calm and relaxed in our hands, on their backs, in the air and even hung upside down (one of the Bio-sensor steps.) They’ve received lots of baths already, and they love the warm running water. All this is the start of conditioning them.
They are massaged daily to get really accustomed to being handled. This also helps stimulate them neurologically. At this age, they have no sight or hearing, so touch is our best way to connect with them. They’re already learning at this young age! They’ve all doubled their weights. They are now all weighing in around 2 pounds but we can see the size differences already that will probably stay with them as they grow. (Paw sizes are very different for some!) We can’t wait to take individual pictures and post them with each name so you know who is who. This will be done tomorrow at two weeks of age.
A few of them have started opening their eyes slightly and they are trying to stand and walk a bit. They’re very wobbly! We’ll get some video footage of that soon and post it on Instagram. We are loving this litter! Simply put: they’re adorable already. Here are some shots of what is happening in the pen each day. Today, as usual…. lots of sleeping. That’s what they do. We’re waiting for them to become more alert and engaging. It won’t be long now!
Here they are at almost two weeks old.
January 9, 2019 – Just a quick note on day seven to say that the puppies are doing well. They are all gaining weight daily and getting bigger in size as we adjust their collars each day. Their pigmentation (paw pads and nose) is starting to blacken from the pink color they’re born with. Here they are. Just a glimpse of what’s happening here (not much but eating and sleeping at this point!). Their eyes won’t open until next week. They’ll get their hearing at around three weeks old. We just watch them sleep! Ha, enjoying this quieter time for sure.
January 5, 2019 – Pups are in their third day of life and doing well. They are weighed regularly to make sure they are gaining weight and eating well. Everybody has continually been gaining. Yay! They are eager eaters – you can see the video post we put on Instagram today. Can’t wait to snuggle with these pups! Here they are in their third day of life, resting under a heat lamp (see below). With big mamas like Winnie, we need to keep the pen free of bedding so that the pups can have more chance of squirming away if mama accidentally lays on them when we’re not looking. A clean, sterile pen at this point is just better all around. Doesn’t look real cozy, but they are warm and safe!
January 3, 2019 – Winnie did great today and all went very well. She was relaxed and attentive and she got a yummy meat patty between each baby she delivered. She was happy. And I was happy too; always appreciative of the blessing of a day-time delivery.
All of the puppies are thriving and they seem strong and healthy and all are weighing in nicely. They’ve latched on and all seem to be nursing well. We have eight beautiful babies! Seven girls (I think this is a first) and one boy.
We’ve themed this litter our “Winter Litter,” and we welcome to our
world: Our boy, Flannel, and our girls: Jammies, Toasty, Cashmere, Boots, Windy, Cocoa and Cardigan.
Flannel is the darkest, and the girls range in colors of caramel, apricot and cream.
It’s been a while since we had pups in our home and it seems everyone is a bit excited about this litter. We’re all ready to hold puppies again!
We’ll post individual pictures at two weeks old and every two weeks after that, with periodic updates and group photos. Keep an eye on our Instagram posts too! That is where we try and post videos as they grow.