Puppies on the way!

It has been a while since I have used this forum to communicate anything of interest to the dog-lovers out there. The time has been spent focusing on home and work. It’s been crazy busy at the office, and on the home front I’ve had my hands full with arranging childcare for after Christmas and finding a housecleaner to keep things in hand, since my previous Nanny/ housekeeper gave notice in late September. I’ve had the chance to spend more time working with the kids on their reading and school work, and take Mo & Phoenix for training.

But all that will change soon enough.

Galena in heat

Our girl, DragonRam Galena, went into heat in late November. We did progesterone tests last Wednesday and Saturday and determined that Sunday and Monday would be the optimal mating dates. After deciding that Kodiak, my earlier choice of studs, would be too large for Galena to do a natural mating, I settled on Springville Spirit, a lovely caramel parti boy who lives not too far away from us.

(Pix of Galena & Spirit as younger pups.)

Galena came to us from her guardian home mid-afternoon on Sunday. Spirit showed up for a date later Sunday afternoon and again Monday evening. He got down to business right away each time, and Galena was a very cooperative and willing partner. This was a first for her but she knew just what to do and was very happy to let Spirit do his job, even encouraging him with her playful behaviour.

The mating was accomplished within about 20 minutes each time. Afterwards Galena was even more playful than before, bouncing and batting at Spirit like a little hot cookie! It was cute to watch. She went back home to her guardians (and her brother, Carny, who was pining in her absence) later Monday evening. Now we just let nature take its course and wait for the puppies to appear!

Next steps

We will be doing an ultrasound likely in early January to confirm pregnancy and get an initial puppy count, followed by an x-ray the last week of January so we know how many to expect. The expected whelping date is around February 1^st.

These puppies will delicious shades of chocolate and caramel, with some solid and some parti (white with coloured spots). There is a slight chance of a phantom or tri-colour, but it’s pretty slim.

Guess how many puppies contest

As for our previous litters, I invite people to submit guesses as to (1) how many puppies will be born and (2) what date/time the first one will arrive. The person who guesses the correct number of puppies and has the closest date/time to the actual arrival will win a $10 gift card to Tim Horton’s (or, if the winner is 15 or under, to Toys R Us).

Stay tuned for news of the ultrasound early in 2013!

Ariel is all settled in Nova Scotia

I received a lovely e-mail today from Rhonda of Scotia Doodles, who purchased Ariel as a breeder and welcomed her just two weeks ago. Here is what she had to say:

"Life is funny. I had posted an ad for (Ariel) and got many replies but none that jumped out at me as the right one. She is so easy to have around, I thought I'd just wait and make sure the right match was made. Then Friday night, a couple came to my house to pick up my friend’s Goldendoodle whom I was helping take care of while she is away. They were taking her for the weekend. They had lost their male Golden Retriever a few weeks ago.

"The wife asked if she could meet the other dogs I had in the family room behind the gate, so I let them all out. She was immediately taken with the smaller ones – Daisy and Ariel. I placed Ariel in her arms and she just sank in – it was LOVE! They stayed an hour, discussing the guardian situation and we made plans for me to bring her over the next morning to see how she did with their 2 cats.

"So Saturday morning I took her over, they live only a few streets away. As you might have guessed, she was perfect. The cats had no issue with her and she had none with them. I had to get (my son) to hockey so suggested they keep Ariel for the afternoon. I swear the wife was like a kid at Christmas at that suggestion!

"I called them later that day. They had already taken her shopping and bought sweaters, collars, feeder bowls and a raincoat for her. I met up with them again that night to deliver her crate and she was already bonding with both of them. They are lovely people in their early\mid 50's. Nice home with a large level lot for Ariel to play in and stretch her legs for some running. She is so fast!

"The best part is that because she lives so close, they are going to drop her off 1 day a week for playdates with my dogs so that she remains socialized and comfortable here when she delivers her pups. So I still get to see her  :)

 "Anyway, I just thought you'd want to know she is settled and doing great. She is such a sweet girl. Thanks again for sending her my way."

I'm hoping to get a few photos to share too. It's always great to hear a dog has settled so well and has found just the right family!

Fall Doodle Romps

The date and time for the Doodle Romps for October and November have now been finalized. I got only a few votes on the scheduler but enough to pinpoint which dates were most popular (and which still fit into our rapidly filling-up calendar of events!). I figured it was best to finalize the dates now before our calendar got even busier, so we’d have them written in.

  October 20, 2:30pm (Saturday)

  @ Oak Park 

Since we have training class for Phoenix from 1-2, we will nstart the Romp at 2:30. Meet at the DragonRam Doodles home base, and we will proceed to promenade our pooches through the properties, fields and forest around the NDMC. If you haven’t signed up on the Doodle scheduler and would like to attend, send us an e-mail (roma@dragonramdoodles.com) or call.

  November 11, 3:00pm (Sunday)

  @ Bruce Pit 

Meet at the entrance to Bruce Pit. We hope a lot of our west-end doodles can join us, along with anyone else who doesn’t mind driving out to Bruce Pit. We hope the weather cooperates on this Remembrance Day and we will be able to enjoy a fine fall day. Again, if you would like to attend, drop a line to roma@dragonramdoodles.com so we know whom to expect.

A visit from Labradoodles by Design and good-bye to Ariel!

Sue Wilde, of Labradoodles by Design, paid us a visit over the Thanksgiving weekend. She is the breeder whose dog, Sunsethills Ranger, we used for Mo’s second litter, producing Sapphire, Zircon, Carnelian and Oliver Jasper (notice a naming theme?). These were all great pups and we have loved to keep us with the three boys who remained in the Ottawa area, as well as Sapphire who went to Holland.

Sue used to raise llamas in Alberta but moved to Nova Scotia about three years ago and began breeding Labradoodles instead. When we were there she was in Liverpool, but has since moved to a property in the Annapolis Valley with a great view of the Bay of Fundy. We’ll have to head back and see her new place some day!

Anyhow, Sue arrived Saturday morning and spent most of the day with Linda of Canadian Doodle Puppies before coming to our place for the night. Sunday afternoon and Monday morning we spent doing some touristy things in the area – visiting the Byward Market, hiking in the Gatineau Hills, and just enjoying the sights and scenes of the canal and downtown Ottawa.

Monday afternoon Sue, Linda, my family and Martin & Carole who are (Galena's Guardian family enjoyed a Thanksgiving dinner together with turkey and all the trimmings. We talked dogs and lots of other things too!

Early this morning, I took Sue to the airport along with Ariel. Sue is taking Ariel back to Nova Scotia and will pass her on to Rhonda of Scotia Doodles, Ariel’s new owner. There was a bit of a kerfuffle as Sue had thought she was on an 8am flight but it was actually 8pm - so she arranged for a different flight (via Toronto) so as to get home before too late in the day. Also, Ariel simply was not comfortable in the soft-sided zipper crate - it was a tad small for her - so we put her in cargo in the bigger plastic crate, which she was fine with. She will have a comfortable ride with lots of room to move around and not be bothered by all the sights, sounds and smell in the cabin.

We are so glad Sue's visit coincided with the timing for Ariel to go to Nova Scotia, as that facilitated things greatly for all of us - despite the flight mix-up.

Ariel is heading home on Tuesday!

Ariel will be flying to Nova Scotia this coming Tuesday to be a breeding mama at Scotia Doodles.  Rhonda contacted me about two weeks ago, asking about Ariel’s availability, and we worked out an agreement that will see Ariel joining her program as Rhonda’s second “micro-doodle” parti girl.

Since Ariel’s future hinged on whether Topaz passed her health screening (in other words, whether I would keep Ariel as a breeder myself or place her elsewhere), and I was just obtaining the last of Topaz’s results, the timing couldn’t have been better. Too, my goal had been, if possible, to have both Ariel and Topaz placed and gone by the end of September so I made it with just a bit of a delay.

During the month she’s been with us after coming back from her mama’s home where she’d been fostered since spring, Ariel has shown herself to be a loving, cuddly girl who is very active. She has been the smallest of the dogs in the house – even somewhat smaller than Topaz, despite being six months older, and a lot smaller than Phoenix – and not much into tussling likely because she’s the one who is most likely to end up on the bottom. She prefers to play chase as she is super-fast! She is used to sleeping in her crate at night and goes there readily during the day as well, but has recently – if we leave the crate door open at night – taken to jumping onto my bed and snuggling me for a good part of the night.

We wish Ariel all the best in her new home and hope she does well by Rhonda and produces some great pups.

Topaz is A-OK for breeding

I have now completed all of Topaz’s preliminary health screening and am pleased to announce that she has passed everything and is cleared to be a great breeding mama!

The hips & elbow tests were done at the end of August. She came back “Good” for hips and “Normal” for elbows – no sign of dysplasia or any condition that would predispose her to developing it later. This is just a preliminary report, as she is so young (barely 4 months at the time the tests were done) and still growing, but a good indication for things to come. I will have her hips and elbows certified once she turns two.

The CERF eye exam was done just this past Monday and everything checked out normal in both eyes. This test needs to be repeated every 12-18 months, so we will redo it in early 2014, probably shortly before we breed her for the first time. But we now have a baseline for comparison.

Genetic screening for Progressive Retinal Atophy (PRA), Improper Coat (IC), and von Willebrand’s disease (vWD – a bleeding disorder) were also done in late August. She is Normal for both Improper Coat and vWD, so she can be bred to any dog and not produce puppies affected by these conditions. She is, however, a Carrier for PRA. This does not affect her health, as she will never develop the disease herself, but it means I will need to take care not to breed her with another Carrier to avoid producing puppies that are affected.

We will wait to test thyroid until Topaz is over a year old. Pups’ thyroid levels can fluctuate so waiting until essentially full maturity should result in more definitive results. This is also a test that needs to be repeated every 12-18 months.

As far as coat colour genetics is concerned, Topaz is Bbee K^BK^B a^ta Ss^p which, for those of you interested in and/or knowledgeable about this arcane field, means she is cream (apricot-red) in colour (ee) with a black nose (not brown or liver) but does carry for chocolate (Bb), carries for parti (spotted) (Ss^p) and, while she carries the gene for phantom (tan points) (a^t), she has two copies of the “blocker” gene (K^B) meaning that none of her puppies will express phantom even if bred to a phantom male, since they will all inherit one copy of this blocker gene from Topaz. So our main strategy for breeding her will be to produce some lovely reds and parti pups, with our Zip being the primary stud of choice. Since we mated Mo to Moto for just that purpose – to obtain a female capable of producing nice reds and parti pups that we would use with Zip – she will be fulfilling our desired role for her to a tee.

I must also say that I think she has a super temperament for a breeding mama. She is calm, patient, attentive, smart… A few examples:

• About a month ago, after romping in the nearby fields, all the dogs came back covered in burrs. We put Topaz on the table and proceeded to pick the burrs out one by one. She just lay there patiently, not wriggling or struggling much at all, not even when I was working on burrs close to her eyes or muzzle. And she was only 4 months old at the time – pretty amazing! Even Mo wasn’t quite that patient! In contrast, we had to cut the burrs out of Sid’s coat as he just wasn’t willing to put up with the long laborious process of picking them out.
• We took her to two training sessions before she went to her new home, and she was a model pup each time. She sits on command, was attentive to my daughter and sat quietly when called for, and generally able to ignore most of the distractions around her. Phoenix, attending the same class, was not nearly as focused despite being six weeks older.
• When out in the fields, she comes when called quite readily. She also goes to almost any very readily and loves to be petted and stroked. Tummy rubs are a must! This type of sociability is ideal in breeding stock.

All in all we are very pleased with how Topaz has turned out. She is still young and developing, but things augur well for a stellar career as a Mama!

Topaz has a home!

It's been a while since I posted, but I have news!!

It finally happened, and happened quickly in the end – Topaz found her forever family and went to join them last Saturday, 29 September! I was beginning to feel rather glum after so many families had not only expressed an interest but come and visited us and said they wanted to take her, only to decide against being Guardians for many different reasons. One begins to feel one is wasting one’s time dealing with people who are just going to say no...

But the family she went to is great – mom and dad with three kids similar in age to my two, they’ve had dogs before so know what having a dog is all about, and as a bonus, they live a mere 5-10 minutes’ drive from us! They contacted me early last week, came to visit us on Friday night, and called Saturday to say they were ready to proceed. Yay! Topaz lives in a nice older home with a backyard that backs onto a local off-leash area, so she’ll have lots of opportunities to play outside and meet other dogs and people. Her dad is working at home for the time being, so she will have company during the day, at least for now.

Congrats to Heather, Ed & kids on their wonderful new pup!

We are very pleased with Topaz’s home situation and glad that she has been placed. We’re now down to 3 dogs at home with the prospect of that going to two just after Thanksgiving – stay tuned!

The next few months

Given that the past two years have been very busy and full of dogs, with a fair few pups hanging around longer than the usual 9 weeks of age, I have decided that our family needs a bit of a break. (My kids might not agree with me at the moment, but even they have found it a bit overwhelming when we have multiple pups hanging around to 3, 4 or 5 months of age.)

So Amore gets a break, too, and will not be bred this heat (due any time now). That means this past litter may well have been her last, as I may retire her and let the younger dogs take over. This decision will be finalized next year. If so, she will be able to live out the rest of her days as a loving grandma, pack leader, and teacher for all the other pups that will eventually be born.

Our next litter, therefore, will be out of Galena, our lovely chocolate girl who lives with a Guardian family in Gatineau. The sire is yet to be finalized. If not Kodiak (who has matured much larger than expected, versus Galena who matured a bit smaller than expected), then probably Spirit, another Canadian Doodles stud.

For those of you (like me) interested in the arcane field of dog colour genetics, Galena is chocolate carrying cream, and she also carries parti and phantom (bbEe Ss^p K^Bk^y a^ta).

Kodiak is a solid dark chocolate who carries cream but not parti and does not have the ability for his offspring to express phantom (bbEe SS K^Bk^B a^ta). So Galena x Kodiak pups would be mostly solid chocolate (bbEe – 75%) with a few solid caramel (bbee – 25%).

Spirit is a caramel parti who carries phantom (bbee s^ps^p K^Bk^y a^ta). So Galena x Spirit pups would be quite varied: 25% caramel parti, 25% solid caramel, 15% chocolate parti, 15% solid chocolate, 10% chocolate phantom, and 10% chocolate parti/phantom (potentially tri-colour, though with extensive parti colouring they might look no different than the other chocolate parti). Of course the variety of colouring depends on how many pups are actually born and the chance factor of how the different genes happen to combine.

We expect Galena to go into heat in late November or early December. Breeding at that time would give us a whelp date of late January/early February, and the pups would be ready for their new homes in time to enjoy spring puddles, early crocuses, and the first barbecues of the year – late March or early April.

If we manage to place Topaz and Leo soon and finalize Ariel’s fate, that should give us a good four months with no pups or extra dogs in the house. (Say a little prayer for us that it so happens!)

A second 2013 litter would also be from Galena (breeding: June / whelp: August / home: October), possibly using Zip or a chocolate stud. Our girls Phoenix and Topaz will begin their breeding careers in 2014, when they are around 2 years old.

A home for Leo!

We sent Leo to his new home yesterday morning. He has a loving family living on a good-sized country property out near Embrun, with two girls age 5and almost 8 to play with, and a Mom and Dad who have always had dogs and whose last dog passed away sadly after they'd had her only 2 months.

We know Leo will be well-loved and cared for with this family. To help make sure he has a good transition we took him for a visit to his new home before he went there permanently, and other than taking off to chase a squirrel he was a well-behaved and boy out there. He spent some time investigating the yard and the house- bedrooms, living room and all. 

Once again we forgot to take a going-home photo, but we hope to get some pictures of him soon so we can post something on this blog. 

Happy new family, Leo!

Topaz needs a Guardian Family

Topaz is our lovely red-apricot breeding prospect out of our Amore and Puppy Love’s Moto Moto. She just turned 4 months old and is essentially house-trained. We expect her to mature to about 25 lbs and 16-17” at the shoulder.

Topaz is a super cute, super friendly, outgoing and loving girl. She is confident, happy to make friends with new people or dogs, quite willing to rough-house with the best of them, and a generally all-around sweet and playful girl.  She is also very accepting and patient – witness the fact that she let my daughter and me spend a good half hour picking burrs out of her fur one day last week with nary a whimper and barely a squirm, even when the burrs in need of picking were right by her nose and eyes or on her legs and feet, two areas where many dogs do not care to be handled – not to mention having their fur pulled to get burrs out!!

Given that Topas is one of our up-and-coming Mamas (and we think she’ll be a great one, too!) we are looking for a Guardian Home to be her forever family. What this means is that the family who takes her needs to be willing and able to make her available to us for health screening and breeding until Topaz has had up to 3 litters (unless we decide to retire her early).

You, as Topaz’s family, will treat her just like you would your regular family dog – feed her the best quality food, give her lots of walks and playtime, train her in basic obedience, keep her coat nicely groomed, take her with you on outings, holidays, etc. You are responsible for normal vet care (annual check-up and any required vaccinations, summer heartworm and flea/tick treatment, any general health care).

Since she is not spayed, you do need to be careful when she is in heat that she does not get too friendly with any un-neutered males. Heat cycles come every 6-8 months on average, with the first cycle usually coming any time between age 6 and 12 months. A female in heat is normally not receptive to the attentions of a male unless she is actually fertile, which is a period of roughly 5-7 days in the cycle. Outside that period she will normally not allow a male to get overly friendly; during that period she will be happy for his attentions. Of course, each dog is different and some females are quite happy to let a male attend them outside “regular shopping hours” while others don’t care for his attentions even at the peak of their fertile cycle. You will quickly figure out where Topaz sits on that scale and need to treat her accordingly. It is always better to be safe than sorry, especially when unplanned puppies might result.

We plan to breed Topaz first in 2014, when she is about 2 years old. Before then she will likely have gone two or three heat cycles. When we breed her, we take her in for progesterone testing on 2-3 occasions to determine the optimum breeding date. Once that is pinpointed, she will be bred to the stud of choice. If she lives with a family close by, this can be accomplished without Topaz needing to be gone from your home for more than a few hours every second day. If the family lives farther away, she would come and stay with us for the 7-10 day breeding period and go home to you when it’s all done.

Then comes the fun part: puppy time! Nine weeks after ovulation the puppies are ready to enter the world. Normally Topaz would come to our house about 3-5 days prior to the expected whelp date. The puppies would be born at our house, where Topaz would care for them attentively as all new mothers do. Once the puppies are weaned, around age 6 weeks, Topaz would go back to her home. If you are a family keen to experience the joys of having little pups at your place, we would entertain the possibility of allowing Topaz to stay with you during the whelping and nursing period. We would provide necessary supplies (whelping box, etc), come for the birth, and visit the pups and mother from time to time. At age 7-8 weeks, after being weaned, the pups would come to our place for the final 1-2 weeks before going to their new homes.

As far as health screening goes, this is not onerous. It involves testing of hips on at least two occasions (age 4 months and 2 years), some genetic testing for colour and disease genes (each test done once normally at age 4 months), and eye and thyroid exams every 12-18 months. Since Topaz is already 4 months old, we will be having her hips done shortly along with all current genetic screening and an initial eye exam. The next required testing (thyroid) will only occur after her first birthday, in May 2013.

Being a Guardian does take a fair bit of commitment and cooperation, but it is rewarding as well when you see your dog’s little puppies and know that you are contributing to a quality breeding program where we take great care to ensure our dogs and puppies receive the best of care. In recognition of the extra commitment required from you, the terms for adopting a Guardian Dog are much different than a pet puppy (contact us for details).

We hope that the right Guardian Family is out there and shows up soon!

So far we have had four families express an interest and then change their minds:

Family 1 – originally interested in Aspen, decided they didn’t want to be guardians to a female

Family 2 – had just gotten a kitten and decided a puppy as well would be a bit much

Family 3 – no reason given

Family 4 – mother-in-law coming to live with them, meaning less space and time for another dog

We dearly want to Topaz to be placed soon so she can benefit from the love and attention of her own forever family. She is a super sweet and friendly girl who deserves a loving and playful family home.

Contact roma@dragonramdoodles.com if you are interested or know someone who might be. Guardians must live within a 100-km radius of Ottawa, ON.

Bye-bye Black Boy!

Our little Black Boy (Obsidian, or Sid for short) was the last pet puppy from our April litter who still hadn’t found a home before we left on holidays.

During our absence I was contacted by Adrienne & family who were looking for a pup. We arranged for them to visit Sid at the foster family’s home the day we returned from China. They then came to our place with their kids a few days later, so the kids could meet Sid and they could all see our set-up and meet Mama MoMo.

I am happy to report that all went well and the decision was made that they would adopt Sid. He was a bit shy with them, but not overly so and he showed his playful side too and his loving nature. They picked him up Thursday night so he will have several days of full attention before the end of holidays and back to work and school. Their older daughter was happy to tell all her friends about their new puppy and keen to take him out to meet the neighbours Friday morning!

Bye-bye, Sid - we love you and hope to see you at one of our upcoming Doodle Romps!!

WANTED: A family for Leo

Finding a forever home for Leo has become a priority now that little Obsidian has gone home.

  

Leo is a very sweet and loving dog. He is 9 months old so very close to full-grown. Right now he weighs about 17 lbs and stands about 15-16” at the shoulder, so should mature to about 20 lbs and just a tad taller. Leo has a mostly short, flat coat though since late June he has developed a bit more of a wave, giving him a rather ruffled appearance. His ears, legs, and tail have more fluff and when the white tip of his tail gets going (as it so often does) it looks like a little white flag flying through the air! His muzzle is half white, half black, and the colour of the whiskers matches the colour of his fur, giving him a cute but wise expression.

Leo has very soulful eyes with a hint of wistfulness to them – one glance and you just know he is full of love and gentleness, the desire to be close to you and to be reassured that you love him back as much as he loves you.

When we are out romping through the nearby forest and fields, Leo loves to run and give chase to the other dogs (or, occasionally, to a squirrel or bird who ventures too close). He loves to play ball or Frisbee, or just play tag with dogs or kids. Leo comes readily when called and doesn’t stray far from the pack or from his human.

Leo is a bit of a nervous dog. When strangers come to visit he may growl a bit and be a bit wary, but with a proper introduction and reassurance that all is well he will quieten down and eventually make friends. Likewise, when out for walks he is prone to barking at other dogs and sometimes people, but he can usually be distracted and usually comes when called. This is an area that will need some work.. He seems not necessarily to process all cues as readily as other dogs, which makes him more prone to being stressed out by new and unfamiliar situations, but with reassurance and guidance as to how he should behave, he will adapt and become more settled.

Despite the above description, in general Leo is quite a quiet dog, not prone to barking, whining, destructive behaviour (other than chewing, which he still does a fair bit – the favourites being books, magazines, and underwear, along with more acceptable things like Kongs, bones, and squeaky toys), or mess-making. He is normally calm and a bit “clingy” – he LOVES getting snuggles, tummy rubs, ear scratches, and the like.

The ideal situation for Leo would be a fairly quiet and calm environment where he can benefit from a fair bit of attention. This could be a senior couple / single where someone is home most of the day, a working couple / single where one person works part time, works from home, or can come home during the day to give him a walk and playtime, a family with older kids where someone is home a good part of the day. I would not recommend Leo going to a family with young children (under 6) unless the kids are exceptionally calm and quiet ones.

Leo is in excellent health. He is already neutered and has had all his vaccinations to date. He has been receiving heartworm and flea/tick treatment over the summer. He is registered with the Australian Labradoodle Association of America and comes with a health guarantee. Owing to the nature of his coat, he coat is prone to shedding slightly so he would not be suitable for a family where anyone has bad allergies to dogs or furry creatures. For this reason, the price on him is significantly reduced.

If you are interested in providing Leo with his forever home, or know someone who might be, please contact me at roma@dragonramdoodles.com.

Home again, home again!

Hello, we’re back! We were supposed to arrive Friday evening at 9:30 but instead didn’t make it into Ottawa until 7:00 on Saturday morning, owing first to a 2-hour unexplained delay in Shanghai and then a 9-hour delay in Vancouver apparently so all the people from the Shanghai flight could make the connection to Ottawa. (But why wait NINE hours, I ask you?)

We pretty much crashed for the better part of the weekend, especially as I had picked up a sinus infection about 8 days prior to our return and was feeling rather wretched. A visit to the doctor on Monday has helped to alleviate the situation and I am now feeling, if not 100%, at least much much better. We are all still coping with a bit of jet lag, but getting more energetic and more in sync with the rhythm here as the days go by.

We brought Sid & Topaz (black boy and red girl) home from their foster family’s place on Saturday (huge thanks to Beth, Erin & Doug!). Boy, they have both grown! At four months they will be about half their adult weight and 70-80% their adult height, which means both should mature to about 25 lbs and 16-17" at the shoulder. 

With the two puppies home, this means a house rather full of dogs again but the numbers should decline over the next couple weeks (fingers crossed). I’m eager to get it down to our “own” two: Amore & Phoenix.

So far the dogs have been enjoying the romps through the fields and forest near our home. We have taken them out at least twice a day for a good run and playtime, which they love. On Wednesday, after two romps and trip to the dog park, they were all exhausted and ready for bed by 7:30 (as were my son and daughter, too!).

In just two weeks it will be back to school routine – kids entering Grade 7 and Grade 4 (YIKES how do they get so old so quickly?!!?). Then we'll be doing occasional early morning romps either in the ball field or the dog park, and after school or evening walks/runs. Once September comes the nights start coming ever earlier, but we'll enjoy what daytime and lovely weather we have for at least another couple months!

Well, we're off!

We flew off early this morning for our summer holiday trip to China. It's been a lot of preparation but we finally made it and we are set to have fun!!

Unfortunately, Black Boy and Topaz didn't find their homes before we took off, so - given their young age - they are being generously fostered by Lyra's family for the duration of our holiday. (And I do mean generous - they are taking on these two little pups at what I consider to be the most challenging period: the house-training period, when they're old enough to want freedom and to run around but young enough that they haven't yet learned the appropriate place to "go" and don't yet have the ability to hold it for long stretches!!)

As for the bigger dogs, they are staying at our house where they will be ably looked after by our (and their) good friend, walked during the day by another young friend whome we are employing to walk dogs, clean guinea pig cage, water plants, etc, and maybe even given more love an attention by the visitor styaing in our basement for a month or their big sister Garnet's family who will be staying for a week, too.

So despite our absence, the house will be a busy place and we do hope Amore, Phoenix, and Leo (who, yes, is still with us and still in search of his own forever home too) will benefit from lots of attention, love, and snuggles.

If there is anyone interested in adopting Leo or Black Boy (known to us as Obsidian or Sid for short), or in being Guardians for Topaz, don't let our holiday stop you from sending me an e-mail. I will be checking in from time to time and we can always get the ball rolling for visits etc when we're back mid-August.

Phoenix - the other Princess

Topaz might be the new Princess, but Phoenix is still Princess Number 1! (Or maybe #2 if Galena insists on top ranking...)

Whatever the number, Phoenix doesn't mind having a little twerp following hard on her heels in the Princess department. She says she's going to be the big mama around here!!

And BIG she will be - at barely over 4 months of age she is almost as heavy as our Amore (age 4 years!). At Tuesday's vet visit she weighed in at a hefty 8.2kg (18 lbs) - compared to Mo's 9.8kg (22 lbs) - which sets her on the path to mature to about 16kg (36 lbs) when she's full-grown.

Maybe she and Kodiak will be a good match down the road, to give us lots of lovely caramel and chocolate babies!

Topaz is good to go!!!

Topaz: The new up-and-coming star attraction!

Topaz had her recheck at the vet's last night, and he found no evidence of the heart murmur he detected at her first visit in June. So she has indeed grown out of it and is our new Princess-in-Waiting!!

Topaz is a beautiful, very sweet and friendly, playful and confident girl. She is a great kisser and snuggler, but also plays hard with her brother and tries valiantly to keep up with the bigger dogs in the household. She is (so far) a good listener, comes (mostly) when called and is eager to be around people. She has a lovely red wavy fleece coat with white markings on her chin, chest and toes.

Unfortunately she is still waiting for her Guardian Family to identify themselves. We've had two families now that said they were interested but changed their mind for various reasons (mostly "not ready for the commitment of a dog at this time").

Will YOU be the lucky family to take this great girl on and give her a forever home? If you're interested, just e-mail...!!!

Doodle Romps

July Doodle Romp

The July Doodle Romp will be held this coming Sunday, 8 July, from 4-5pm. For this one, we`ll meet at our house and then proceed to romp through the nearby forest and fields. It’s an “accepted” off-leash area (i.e. not official, but all the neighbourhood dogs go off-leash in that area). We likely won’t meet up with too many other dogs, and this way our two remaining little pups can tag along too. It will good for them to meet a number of other dogs and people while they’re still in their prime socialization period.

At this point we are expecting Cassi, Galaxy, Carny & Galena, and Kodiak, along with their people, to join us with our five (Mo, Phoenix, Leo, Topaz & Obsidian “Sid”). Should be a nice gang!

June Doodle Romp

(All photos courtesy of Martin L.)

The June Doodle Romp occurred on Saturday, 23 June at 9:30 at Conroy Pit. We met Galaxy, Lily, Lyra, Carny and Galena, and their people. Mo & Phoenix joined in from the DragonRam household. It was a fine morning – sunny and hot but not excessively sweltering.

We stuck as much as possible to the forest trails, where the trees offered some relief from the sun. Occasional breaks for water (dogs and people) and just to chat kept us all refreshed. As it was so nice and nobody was in a big rush, we walked all the way to the bottom of the sliding hill and then back up the north side of the Pit, taking a good almost two hours to finish the circuit.

The dogs started out with lots of energy, running like crazy, playing tag, doing the wild and crazy circle run, and just generally having a blast. By the end of the Romp they were all worn out, walking quietly by us and not indulging in too many wild chases.

And here are a couple of videos of the dogs in action!

Future Romps

After July, the next Romp likely won’t be until late August or sometime in September, after we’re back from our summer holiday. Watch for a Doodle Poll after August 18^th!

Sad news

Unfortunately, Leo's placement didn't work out. He was having trouble adapting to his new home and showing fear of strangers - something he never exhibited at our place. So he is back with us. He was happy to see us but obviously had already formed a connection to his new owner. She was sad to part with him, too, but didn't feel able to help him overcome this fear. 

He spent the evening playing with Amore and Phoenix. Come bedtime, he stayed close to me while the kids went to bed - which was his former routine. 

We hope to place him in a home with experienced dog people who will be able to help him transition and overcome this fear issue, if indeed it persists. He is a loving boy, very snuggable and generally friendly and playful. He is definitely a people dog who likes to be near his person. He isn't fond of other big dogs, but has normally (with us) been good with dogs his size. When we've had people over or taken him places he has been calm and friendly, so I think his fear issue was at root a transition issue. He has always been good with my kids and other children he's met. 

It would be ideal to find him a forever home in the next two weeks, before we leave on our summer holidays. But it needs to be the right home, so if it takes longer then so be it. 

If you know anyone who might be interested, then drop a line to roma@dragonramdoodles.com.