November 28, 2022 – We fell a little behind in posting our final update for this litter! The Thanksgiving Litter is at home with their forever families now, and we’re hearing great reports. Our house is empty of puppies right now, and it feels a little weird. And quiet. But we are so thankful for the families that chose us and these pups! Because of these families and Sadie, we are able to donate $1,800 to Amazima Ministries so that some kids in Uganda can eat, learn and continue to live! Here are the wonderful people that are at home experiencing the throws of puppyhood right now! We’re thankful for each of them.
November 13, 2022 – Here are the personality notes of anything we can pick up on at this early age. Please know that their families will have a major influence on their personalities (personalities are just starting to form), based on the environment at home, consistency, continued crate training and socialization! Please know that EVERY pup did excellent at their temperament testing. All showed scoring that indicates they are easy to train, adaptable, flexible, smart, outgoing and friendly with a submissive nature that will look to his/her master for direction. (This is the labradoodle and a sign that one has been conditioned well!) They’re exactly where we want them to be. Here are some notes based on input from those of us that work with them daily:
Turkey – Playful, seems quite intelligent already. At times, he shows more confidence then the others. May just be a step ahead and perhaps the leader of the pack (alpha.) He is vocal when he wants his humans. Loves to play hard, but very affectionate and loves to be held.
Sauce – Very smart and usually the first to sit for attention. “PLEASE pick me first!” She understands a lot! She creatively figures out ways to scale a create or leap off a stuffed animal to find her way out of the pen. She is energetic and playful. Loves her humans.
Grace – Really balanced in that she loves play and is energetic and keeps up with the pack, but also settles quickly and loves to be in someone’s lap.
Pumpkin – Energetic and playful, but will always seek out a lap to snuggle with if she has the choice between play and snuggles. She doesn’t like the crate much still, and we’re working on that daily. Probably her preference to always wanting to be snuggling someone (us or another pup.) She has been creative and smart like Sauce in finding ways to get herself out of the puppy pen. No harm done, just like to explore the puppy room (while we’re sleeping!) 🙂
Sweet Potato – Very affectionate and also very playful and energetic. Plays hard, but also seems to be one of the first pups to settle down and find a quiet spot or settle in a crate.
R0lls – Seems kind of the mellow one. Settles quickly in a crate, first to wind down for a nap after playtime, and she’s a follower, not a leader. She’ll often survey from the sidelines first and observe the others before jumping in. Still very confident, just prefers to observe first, showing to be a little more cautious than the others.
November 12, 2022 – Sadie’s pups all did well at their litter exam appointment at the vet. All had a great report! We also completed temperament testing and made sure that we haven’t missed anything with any of them. All did well, as expected. We tried to make notes on personalities (still hard at this age) but we’ll note what we are seeing soon! Meanwhile, here are the weights and the pictures we took of each. You’ll see some may be slightly bigger or smaller than another, although we expect all to be around 25-30 lbs.
November 6, 2022 – It was fun meeting many of you at the puppy open house! The pups were worn out when everyone left and after each session of exercise and play, like that one, we get them to walk into a crate on their own, give them a treat and let them settle down for a nap alone. The crate training part of our program is so important and will be important to continue at home! The crate helps them learn to calm down, to be content by themselves and helps them learn to hold their bladder. A pup that isn’t crate trained can end up with lots of anxiety, a more hyper personality and overall, just more anxious, not having a truly safe place (a den) to themselves. We are now giving them two naps a day in a crate by themselves, and it’s helping them prepare to be apart from one another.
We started leash training them today. The pups are doing excellent in every way! All is well. Here are pictures of the puppies at six weeks old.
October 30, 2022 – Sadie’s puppies are doing so well. They are progressing just as we expect them to. Here are the pictures we took of them at five weeks old!
October 25, 2022 – This was a big week for Sadie’s pups. They started eating kibble, they’re using a litter box now and they are learning to play and wrestle with each other. They’re all doing very well. They are now totally non-reactive to loud fireworks or thunderstorms and other various “scary” sounds. Mama still won’t leave their side (she’s so devoted) but we pull them away from her now to have some playtime outside of their puppy pen. We’ll post a video on Instagram soon. Here are the pictures we took of them at four weeks old!
October 18, 2022 – Sadie’s litter is changing fast now! Eyes opened and active, hearing now and starting to bond a little more to us humans. Still completely focused on mama, and still sleeping a LOT, but things will change more in another week when we will see them transition to tracking us humans and actually getting out to play and interact outside of their pen with mama. They still sleep in a big “dog pile,” wanting to be always close to each other. They’ll begin to separate a little more very soon.
We completed the bio-sensor steps with them, and now we are focused on lots of “scary” sounds during the day to condition them to fireworks, thunderstorms, vacuums, blow dryers, traffic noises, etc. to prepare them to be puppies without anxieties. These first six weeks, especially, are critical to their temperaments for LIFE. This is a very important phase they’re in as we condition before their first fear phase sets in. We also give them lots of human interaction for important socialization that is critical for their young development.
Here are the pictures we took of them this week at three weeks old!
October 8, 2022 – Sadie’s litter is doing very well. They mostly just sleep and eat still, and we are massaging them and doing the bio-sensor steps with them daily as part of their important early conditioning. They have baths daily, and they love the feel of warm running water on their bellies. Their eyes opened this weekend! And in about a week, they’ll be able to hear and we can start them on “scary” sound conditioning. Mama is doing great and rarely leaves their side. We’ve themed this pack our Thanksgiving litter because they’ll be coming home to their families just in time for Thanksgiving. Here are the pictures we took of them today!
September 27, 2022 – We’re excited to announce sweet Sadie’s first litter. On Friday, September 23, Sadie had a peaceful delivery and brought us six healthy pups, five girls and one boy. Sadie is very good with them, doesn’t leave their side, and all of the pups are nursing well and thriving.
Here are the pictures of the pups at four days old! More announcements will come each week on this blog page. We’ll post pictures and updates, and as the pups get active (at around five weeks) we’ll post videos occasionally on Instagram and/or Facebook.
