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.  

Black boy still available!

Our little Black Boy is the last pet puppy still in need of a forever home!

This little guy holds a special spot in my heart. He is a real neat pup, and it’s been evident since he was just a few weeks old that he was one of a kind.

He is a quiet and calm fella, not prone to much barking or whining. When the other pups – one or two in particular – would make it known that they wanted attention NOW, he would sit quietly by, playing with a toy or chewing on a treat.

When we would take the pups out to the field with the bigger dogs, this fella would be there ready to play, chasing after the bigger dogs as fast as his little legs would carry him, trying his darndest to keep up and be one of the big gang.

When the other pups would make messes on the floor, he would trot right over to the pee pads and do his business where he was supposed to (not that he never missed or did an “oops,” but his were/are a lot less frequent than the others).

When it’s time for snuggles, he just nestles right into the crook of your arm, happy for the warmth and attention. Or gives you a few kisses on the chin just to say Thanks!

So why hasn’t he been picked yet? Good question. Lots of people come with a preconceived notion of the pup they want, and it’s often based on colour – cream, red, gold… When they meet the pups, they might be taken with this fella, but their colour conceptions win out over temperament, which is a shame as this guy has one of the nicest temperaments you’ll find.

Still, I know his family is out there – so don’t take too long to come claim this little one-of-a-kind kinda guy!

And more news...

Last weekend was hectic but good. We said goodbye to PJ (red boy), Leo, Scarlett, and Pearl (cream girl). This coming weekend it's Banjo's turn (cream boy). Unfortunately, my camera was lost/stolen on the trip to deliver Scarlett to her new family, so the "going-home" pictures of PJ & Leo - which I had not yet downloaded - are likewise lost. But we did get a nice picture of Pearl with her new daddy. 

At her new home, Scarlett has a new older brother to play with and they seem to be getting on just great - here you can see them resting together after a romp outside. 

On the other hand, the family that appeared to be in line to be guardians for Topaz (red girl) decided in the end that taking on a new little puppy wasn`t the right thing for them at this time. So I am still in need of a guardian family. I`ve had another interested family contact me, so I am in contact with them and hoping that this one will work out. Keep you fingers crossed. And keep your fingers crossed that the minor issue the vet identified will be resolved at the July 10th vet re-check and she`ll be good to go.

If that works out, it leaves just Black Boy in need of his forever home. I'll post a write-up on him in the next couple days. He is a real sweetheart. I actually think he's the best pup of the five of them, but he has the misfortune of being black, with only a couple white spots. Other breeders say they have a hard time placing black puppies, but this is the first litter where it's been so evident to me. It's a real shame, as these black puppies are stunning, and this fella is a really neat dood.

News, news, news!!!

Well, I missed last week’s update owing to being too busy – with dogs, puppies, kids, etc etc. It was a super busy weekend, with taking the pups to the vet, meeting one of our puppy families who drove in from North Bay to meet the puppies and finalize their choice, going to a junior youth party with my daughter, my son’s soccer tournament on Sunday, and then taking in the last half of the Canadian Doodle Puppies' Doodle Romp with Phoenix (who came to us from Linda) and the rest of the big dogs (and little black boy came along too!) 

So, here is all the NEWS!

First off, I am very very VERY pleased to say that Scarlett has a family!!!!! Mindy & Neil and their daughters live about an hour outside New York City. Their dog walker found Scarlett online as a playmate for their other dog, and we connected and things fell into place over the past week. So tomorrow (Saturday) we are going to all meet in Syracuse and transfer Scarlett to them. We will be sad that Scarlett is going to live so far away that it’s unlikely we’ll see her again, except in pictures, but happy that she has found the right family.

Second, Leo also has a home!!! Carmel lives right here in Ottawa so we’ll be sure to see Leo again at a Doodle Romp down the road. Leo will be going home either tonight or first thing tomorrow morning. He will have 4 (yes four!!!) cats to keep him company – so his new owner will take the time to introduce them to each other carefully so that Leo – and the cats – have time to get used to each other. I’m sure they’ll become good friends in time, as Leo is such a sweet boy.

Third, we have homes now for:

Red Boy (PJ) who will also be going home tonight, 

Cream Boy (Banjo) who will head to his new home in North Bay next weekend,

 and I think Cream Girl (our name for her is Pearl) might end up being reserved later today, by a family here in Ottawa. (Keep your fingers crossed!) That leaves just Black Boy (our name for him: Obsidian or Sid for short) in need of a home.

As you might have guessed, that also means that we intend to keep Red Girl, Topaz, as a future breeder. I say “Intend to keep” as we still need to verify whether she’ll be suitable. To explain that I need to back up a little bit.

We took the five puppies to the vet last Saturday for their first checkup and vaccination. They are all healthy and in good shape. The only glitch was that when he listened to Topaz’s heart, our vet said he detected a slight heart murmur. He said this particular type of murmur is not uncommon among young puppies and very often they outgrow it by 12 or 16 weeks of age. However, it means we need to delay our final decision about Topaz until then.

We have a guardian family pretty much lined up for Topaz. They visited us earlier this week and just loved her! If all works out, Topaz will have a kitty friend too!

They were disappointed to hear that she isn’t ready to go to them quite yet, as I won’t place her until I know we can use her as a breeder. So the plan is to have her re-evaluated on July 10 – just shy of 12 weeks old. If everything is fine, she’ll go to her family. Otherwise I will have to foster her out for the next 5 weeks while we are on our summer holiday and then re-evaluate once we’re back, at 17 weeks old. If she passes then – great! Otherwise she will be sold as a pet and I will retain Ariel (Leo & Scarlett’s sister who is currently being fostered at her dam’s house in Cornwall) as our fourth breeding Mama. I decided to do that instead of keeping Pearl, Topaz’s sister.

So this past Wednesday the four pet puppies – PJ, Banjo, Cream Girl Pearl and Black Boy Obsidian – all went to the vet a second time for neutering. The procedure went well and by the evening all the boys were as lively as usual! Cream Girl Pearl took a bit longer, but within 24 hours she, too, was up and about as though nothing had happened. Ah, the resilience of the very young!

If you know anyone who’s thinking of getting a puppy this summer, let them know that Black Boy (Obsidian) is available!! He is a super sweet pup, in some ways the best of this litter in my opinion. He is calm, cool, collected and confident – eager to play but not demanding, inquisitive but not prone to stray, active but not hyper, independent and just an all-around great guy! 

 

Scarlett & Leo

We still have Scarlett (apricot girl) & Leo (black-and-white boy) from our November litter. They are now 6 months old!! I have had several inquiries in the pst few days and am hoping they both find homes in the next week - keep your fingers crossed. 

Scarlett is a big ball of play. Her favourite activity is tussling with Leo. Her second favourite is tussling with Phoenix. She doesn't tussle much with Mo as Mo would just beat her up (figuratively speaking). Or give chase - on Wednesday at the field they had a grand game of tag. Boy can Scarlett run!! She gave Mo a run for her money and Mo is fast herself.  She is getting a bit scraggly and is due for a haircut. We trimmed around her eyes the other day so you could see them (and she could see better, too).

Leo's favourite activity is snuggling. He is my love-bug, always asking for snuggles. And a couple of times, when I'm on the computer in the evening and can't give him enough of what he wants, he'll jump into piggy's cage (guinea pig) and see if she's available...