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!