Wednesday 26 February 2014

Second trimester: Phoenix

Phoenix's pregnancy has now made a lot of progress. The second "trimester" is now complete and the embryos have turned into foetuses - from blobs of cells to almost-formed pups.

During the fourth week, the spinal cord and nervous system complete their development and facial features are beginning to form. At the beginning of the foruth week an experienced person can feel the embryos by palpating the uterus; by the end of the fourth week the uterus has filled with amniotic fluid to protect the developing pups and nothing will be felt until the pups have grown much larger. The embryos grow from 5-10mm to 14-18mm in length. It is during the third and fourth week that the embryos are most susceptible to malformation. Embryos that are not developing properly may be resorbed by the bitch.
Puppy late embryo
  During week five, the sexual characteristics take shape and the eyes are formed, sealed by eyelids to protect their sensitive development. Whisker buds form on the face. The leg buds lengthen and toes and claws form. The internal organs begin to form. The foetuses almost double in size, from 18mm to 30mm. By now they are really beginning to resemble puppies, and they are more resistant to developmental problems.

Foetus at 39 days
 By the end of the sixth week, thepuppies have skin with colour pigmentation. They have grown to 45mm in length and weigh around 6g. The internal organs are well under development and the fetal heartbeat can be heard with a stethoscope.

By now, Pheonix's belly has started to swell - she no longer has a narrowing of the body below the ribs, but a fairly flat belly line. Her abdomen feels like a water balloon when you press it. With the pups getting bigger, she is eating smaller meals more frequently to get enough food to nourish both herself and the developing puppies.

Monday 24 February 2014

Phoenix: Ultrasound results

Phoenix had her ultrasound late this afternoon.

We had no doubts that she is pregnant, as her belly is already starting to swell very noticeably, and she is starting to eat more to feed those hungry little developing puppies. 

We are happy to report a preliminary count of SIX or SEVEN puppies!! They are a very good size and look very healthy.With pups of almost six weeks' gestation you can actually see some details on the ultrasound. We saw little waving feet, beating hearts, and tiny faces - too cute! It's actually a bit harder to count them when they're this big, as they won't all fit on the screen at once and some might be blocking others. But Dr. G. is pretty sure it's either six or seven, and he's usually almost spot-on. (Very possibly eight, but not likely.) We had lots of guesses for both six and seven, so it'll be down to the closest date/time to determine a winner of our contest!

Indeed, the countdown is now on as Phoenix's due date approaches in roughly three weeks.

We don't know yet what sex or colour these pups will be, but we are now accepting up to five deposits on this litter. (We are expecting to keep two of the pups ourselves as potential breeders.) If you're interested in one of Phoenix's pups, sign up now! The order in which we receive deposits will determine the order in which puppies will be allocated to families. They'll be ready to go home around May long weekend, just in time for spring fun.In

Saturday 22 February 2014

Last Saturday's Doodle Romp

A few days before the Romp I had thought it was going to be a very small gathering, with at most two or three dogs besides our own. Then I got a few more responses – and realized, going back through my e-mail trail, that I’d forgotten to note down a few of the dogs who were attending. In the end, it turned out to be a sizable bunch!

We welcomed two of Amore’s former pups – Carny & Galena with their human parents – and three of Galena’s pups – Matilda, who just turned a year old a few weeks ago, with her human parents, Nellie (from Galena’s August litter) with her four humans, and little Ophelia who still needs to find her forever family. Four of Amore’s grand-ups out of Garnet also joined the party: Cassie with her three people (including baby Aria, only nine months old!) and her sister Lyra, along with canine companion Skylar, and their human parents, along with their half-sibs Leo, with his four people, and Lily, with her mom (but I don’t think any of her boys came, unless I missed them!). And of course Amore and Phoenix rounded out the gang, for a total of twelve dogs and twenty humans.



We couldn’t have asked for a nicer day to be outside! After a long, cold winter, the first really nice day of the year gave us a mix of sun and cloud and temps rising to a few degrees below zero. (Of course we’ve had a few nicer days since then, with several days of plus temps this week – but hey, spring is on its way, that’s to be expected, right?!)



The kids climbed up and slid down the snow piles in the nearby parking lots, with the dogs chasing after them and having a blast. It’s always nice to meet up with our former pups and their people. We get a chance to see how the dogs have grown, how their characters have continued to develop since they left our home, and how well they get along together. All the dogs remember us and greet us happily – especially the ones who spent longer with us, but even those who left after only two months still remember their original people. Though I sometimes wonder if they remember their canine mama or grandma!! And we get a chance to chat with the humans and catch up on the interesting events in their lives.



Even with the nice weather, it did get a bit chilly after a time and we wrapped things up within an hour. Nellie and popped in to say hi to my son, who had stayed home with a bad cold (after playing soccer hard that afternoon).




Thanks to all who made it out, and we hope to see even more of you in March! (Tentative date: March 23, 4pm at DragonRam HQ.)

Friday 21 February 2014

Now we are six!


We would like to wish
a very happy (belated) birthday
to our beloved Mama Momo,
aka Amore, the Valentine’s girl!
 
We celebrated her birthday by taking her, Phoenix, and grand-pup Ophelia to Wag, a Posh Shop for Pampered Pets located not too far from home. In addition to the usual doggie (and kitty) gear, they offer doggy treats and human drinks and some simple desserts. Being Valentine’s Day, the place was quite busy with other dogs, humans, and a musician setting the mood. I’m not sure Mo actually like the evening that much, as we were seated right next to the musician and it was a bit loud for her. But she did enjoy her doggy treat and having some lap-time with her people.

Galena’s first pups also celebrated
their first birthday recently
= January 29th to be exact. I sent them all an individual e-card (hope you received it!) but would like to acknowledge them all here on the blog as well.

Cupcake Kiera, the chocolate parti, is a breeding prospect at Barksdale Labradoodles in Mississippi. The three solid chocolates, Hershey-Crispin, Apollo-Oscar, and Matilda-Nubia, all live in Ottawa, as does one of the caramel girls, Tara-Firefly. Sister Kacey-Lunette moved to Toronto, where she enjoys life with her two girls and mom and dad.

All the best to the six of you – many happy springs to come!

 

Wednesday 19 February 2014

Just a note [aka I (sometimes) hate technology]

You may have noticed a dearth of pictures on this blog of late. In part it's because recent posts haven't been so "picture-worthy" - no cute little pups to show off... But in very large part it's also because my computer has simply been refusing to recognize my camera since we got back from Christmas holidays.

I plus the camera in and turn it on - nothing. The automatic download window doesn't appear.
I go to the My Computer directory to directly copy the files from camera to computer and there is no camera showing in the list. As if it weren't connected.
I remove the memory card from the camera to plug it directly into our new notebook, and get an error message that the card isn't properly named, or some such nonsense.

So I'm left with taking pictures with my phone (or the notebook computer iteself) and then e-mailing them to myself (or using directly from the notebook computer). They both are a hassle and the former eats up my data transfer package so fast...

I hope to have this resolved byt the time Phoenix's pups are born - any suggestions?

Friday 14 February 2014

Guesses so far in our Guess How Many Puppies contest

Just 9 days to go in our Guess How Many Puppies contest for Phoenix.

Sor far, we have the following guesses:


Name
# of puppies
Date/time of first arrival
Beth D
4
21 Mar, 12:00
Karen P
5
16 Mar, 16:00
Monica S
5
17 Mar, 20:00
Sarah P
5
18 Mar, 20:30
Yolande
5
20 Mar, 21:00
Mary Q
6
15 Mar, 12:00
Calvin B
6
16 Mar, 06:42
Suzanne W
6
16 Mar, 10:20
Mathom
6
16 Mar, 12:30
Martin L
6
21 Mar, 15:00
Jojo TC
6
19 Mar, 09:30
Tristan
7
17 Mar, 19:00
Patrice P
7
17 Mar, 19:00
Amélie TC
7
18 Mar, 16:30
Wendy S
7
18 Mar, 19:00
Emma P
7
19 Mar, 14:00
Your name here!!

 
As you can see, the guesses are heavily weighted in favour of the 5, 6, and 7 puppy range. Just one each for 4 and 8!! I'd like to see some guesses for 3 and 8 or even 9!! 

While Phoenix isn't displaying any real change in appetite - unlike all our other Mamas, who became very picky - she is seeming a bit more effectionate with us and aggressive towards little Angel. Her belly is swelling just a little bit already - so that's a good sign! And mama Momo seems to feel her place as queen of the household hierarchy is threatened, as she's started t pick on Phoenix more and more. She never did that with Galena or Garnet, but then they only ever arrived a day or two before their pups were born and left at weaning, so maybe she never had time to feel threatened before the pups were here and her maternal, protective instinct kicked in.

Wednesday 12 February 2014

Reminder - Doodle Romp this Saturday!

Just a reminder that the mid-winter DragonRam Doodle Romp will take place on Saturday 15 February at 4pm. Meet at DragonRam HQ for an hour or so jaunt around the nearby parking lots.

As long as the temperature is above -10 and it's not storming or pelting freezing rain, we will go ahead. If you haven't already done so, please confirm your attendance by e-mail so we know whom to expect.

Looking ahead:
March romp: Sunday 23 March at 4pm (Phoenix's puppsi should have arrived by then)
Easter romp: Friday 18 April at 4pm (Subject to change depending on anticipated arrival date of Topaz's puppis)
Tulip romp: Saturday 31 May (time TBC)

Sunday 9 February 2014

We're on Facebook!

Well, DragonRam Doodles is now (finally!) on FaceBook!! I've finally taken the time to figure out how to put up a page not just for myself, but for our breeding operation as well. You can find us by looking for "Dragon Ram Doodles" (with a space between Dragon and Ram, for now at least). If you can't fine us, send me an e-mail and I'll send you an invite.

The goal is primarily to stay in touch with our puppy families. You're welcome to add photos of your pups and give us the occasional update on how your Dood is doing.

I've also taken advantage of the Event app and created Events for each of our upcoming Doodle Romps (Feb through May). That will hopefully be a handy way for you to check out the dates and times of upcoming Romps.

Please "like" our page so we can stay connected more easily!

Wednesday 5 February 2014

First trimester (tri-weekster?)

Phoenix is one-third through gestation already! Three out of nine weeks have flown by (would that humans could get it over with so quickly!)

Puppy development starts quite slowly. It takes a couple of days just for fertilization to occur and another several days for the fertilized ova to reach the uterus where they will attach to the uternine wall. At seven days the ovum has divided only four times to make 16 cells. During the second week it divides only twice more, to form 64 cells, and will find a place in the uterine wall to embed itself. During the third week the placentas are formed and development of the basic structure of the puppy begins in earnest. At 20 days the ovules have finally changed shape, elongating to begin to form a puppy. The nervous system is the first part to form.
Puppy embryo
 By this time we often notice some changed behaviour in the mama-to-be - she gets picky about eating (it's not just a human trait!) and might be a bit moody. I can't say I've noticed much change with Phoenix - she seems to eat as much as ever - so I hope she really is pregnant. Within a few more weeks we should notice some breast tissue swelling and swelling in the abdomen if she is. (And the ultrasound in late Feb will be definite confirmation one way or the other).

Tuesday 4 February 2014

Happy birthday Phoenix!

Our Mama-to-be Phoenix celebrates her 2nd birthday today, just weeks before she whelps her first litter!

Phoenix is a very friendly and cuddly girl who loves to run outside and play chase with Amore. She is a lovely gold-apricot colour with a soft fleece coat. She loves her boy, helping to keep him warm on cold winter nights.

Phoenix is happy to be two, although she is a bit anxious about becoming a mama, especially as Amore seems to be a bit anxious herself about losing her status as Queen of the Puppy Corner and has been picking fights with Phoenix over the past six weeks. But we think that once the pups arrive, both girls will calm down and we can all enjoy the new little bundles of joy as we head into spring.

Guess How Many Puppies?

It's time for the latest round of our Guess How Many Puppies contest! This time it's for Phoenix's first litter due in mid-March.

The rules are simple: Send us a guess that indicates how many puppies you think Phoenix will have and the date and time of birth of the first puppy. The winner is the person who guesses the correct number of puppies and the date/time closest to the actual first birth.They win their choice of a $10 Timmy's or Chapters gift card.

Here is some info to help you make educated guesses.

Number of pups
  • Phoenix was one of a litter of 8 (if I recall correctly). Her mother, Cassonade, always had large litters (8-10) and they say doggy mamas often take after their dams, so she could have a good-sized litter. (Of course, then there's Mo who was one of 9 pups but only produce 3-5 herslef - go figure.)
  • This is Phoenix's first litter, and often the first litters are smaller  than subsequent ones.
  • Phoenix is 22 lbs or so. So she's likely to have more pups than a smaller dog. (Then again, tiny Garnet - 15 lbs - had 5 and 6, while Mo - 20 lbs) had as I already said, 3-5.)
Date / time of first birth
  • tPhoenix ovulated on 15 January. Gestation is normally 9 weeks from ovulation, which would put the due date at 19 March, but can happen as early as 8 weeks (12 Mar) or as late as 10 (26 Mar). In my experience, our dogs have usually whelped on the early side, between 6-1 day prior to the 9-week mark. This is Phoenix's first litter so we don't have a track record for her, but a rule of thumb is the due date give or take 3-4 days. So I'd recommend targetting dates between 15 and 23 March. 
  • Dogs can deliver any time of day or night. Of the 8 litters DragonRam Doodles has produced, one arrived in the wee hours of the morning (2-4am), three in the late afternoon (2-5pm), and the rest in the evening (6-9pm). So I'd recommend targeting afternoon or evening.
Deadline: Monday 24 Feb at 10pm

Phoenix's ultrasound is scheduled for Feb 24 at 4pm, at which time we will have a preliminary puppy count, so all guesses must reach me in advance of that (you have until 6pm as I won't get home and have a chance to post anything on the blog until at least that evening!) That gives you almost three weeks to get those guesses in!

Submit your guesses to me via e-mail or as a comment to this post. Once I've received a few I'll post them on the blog. (Limit of one guess per person!)


Monday 3 February 2014

Doolde romps

It's been a busy fall and a cold winter, so Doodle Romps haven't exactly been top-of-mind. Now that we are at last having some decent weather, however, and our fall puppies have (almost) all found homes, I have turned my thoughts to active dogs and spring. (Yes, early still for that, but one can hope!)

The mid-winter DragonRam Doodle Romp will take place on Saturday 15 February at 4pm. Meet here at DragonRam HQ and we will once again romp through the nearby fields and parking lot. (The "no dog" signs are still up but more people are ignoring them so I think we can return to those stomping grounds, since other locations are quite snowy.) This event will only be cancelled if the weather is below -10 or a snowstorm or freezing rain storm. If we have a nice day (warmer than -10) then come on out and join the fun!

Please confirm your attendance by e-mail so we know whom to expect.

Looking ahead:
March romp: Sunday 23 March at 4pm (Phoenix's puppsi should have arrived by then)
Easter romp: Friday 18 April at 4pm (Subject to change depending on anticipated arrival date of Topaz's puppis)
Tulip romp: Saturday 31 May (time TBC)

Sunday 2 February 2014

New litter on the way!

Our Phoenix, who turns 2 in early March, was bred a few weeks ago and is now (we expect) pregnant and due to deliver her first litter a few weeks after her second birthday. Phoenix is a light apricot girl with a black nose, about 22 lbs and 17" at the shoulder. She was bred to Brodie of Canadian Doodle Puppies, a chocolate phantom with white markings (tri-colour) who is a bit bigger than Pheonix. He carries the genes to produce cream puppies and parti puppies. Phoenix carries chocolate and phantom, but not parti. So with the two of them, we can expect a real rainbow litter - cream-caramel-apricot with brown or black noses, chocolate in solid or phantom, and black in solid or phantom. We expect these pups will be large minis or small mediums - 20-30 lbs, 15-17" at the shoulder.

We plan to keep both a male and a female back from this litter, so will be looking for guardian homes as well as pet puppy families. These pups are due around March 19, give or take 4 days. We have an ultrasound scheduled for February 24 to confirm pregnancy and get a preliminary puppy count. There is already some interest in this litter, so if you would like to get on our waiting list please contact me soon. Deposits will be accepted following confirmation of pregnancy in late February.

Saturday 1 February 2014

One pup still needs a home!!

(This post was originally prepared way back in early December, but for some reason it didn't actually post but just stayed as a draft. I can't remember whether it's because I meant to come back to it and add a detail or two, or whether it was by accident. Anyhow, here it is.)

Well itès been a busy couple of days! Yesterday we sent Caramel girl, now known as Maggie, home to her family. This afternoon two moms came to visit and both left with a puppy! Chocolate girl went to the Hicks family with 3 children here in Ottawa, and her brother Big Active Boy went to their friend, the Donovan family, with one son. So the two siblings will get to see each other and play together for ages to come!

We also learned that Maggie is registered for training in a class with another Labradoodle puppy wit the same birthday - we think it might be Hazel. Would't that be cool if they could see each other again too?!


LAST PUP LEFT!

So it's our little angel who is the only pup still needing a home. She is a real little sweetheart, super friendly and good-natured, cuddly and lovable, playful and moderately active. She's one of our faves - don't see why she hasn't been taken yet, but the rigt people for her will show up sooner or later!


Little Angel i mostly all white, with one faint caramel splotch on her back and ears that are also light caramel-coloured. When we go walking in the snow, we're sure to put a jacket on her so she doesn't disappear! (These pix are obviously from fall, when we still had grass and leaves on the ground instead of snow!)


She's the smallest of the bunch - still (age 5 months) weighing slightly less than her big brothers did when they went home in early December at 3 months of age! We expect she will mature to about 15-18 lbs at the most.


This cutie is crate-trained, and goes willingly into her crate at night or for periods suring the day when we're not home. She isued used to having company most of the time - the other big dogs in the house play with her, so she's well-socialized to get along with other dogs, and she has been fortunate enough that for most of her life she's had people around during the better part of the day, too. So preferably she will find a home where she's not left alone for hours during the day, as she might find it hard to get used to.


If you're interested in this sweetheart, just e-mail me or call Roma at 613-552-3066. You can find info on price and adoption procedures on our website.

What's been happening...

Well, it's been a while since I posted. I am happy to say that all but one of the puppies from our last litter found homes before Christmas - we still have one beautiful little girl waiting for her forever home (more on her in another post). Our family spent the Christmas holidays in Mexico while some friends house- and dog-sat for us. It was a good year to go south, as the month of December had been cold and snowy - and the month of January snoyw, cold, and icy - the Monday after we returned from Mexico was so slippery outside it was dangerous walking, and just when it was about cleared up we had another freezing rain storm the following weekend, so Saturday we hardly dared to venture outside again. Thankfully, that was followed by several warm days that melted the ice and a bit of snow and streets and sidewalks cleared. But then of course we got more snow, and deep cold, and more snow and cold...

During all this time the dogs were getting rather cabin crazy, as we didn't take them out for more than a few minutes when it was so cold. Finally we set up our agility equipment in the basement rec roomso we'd have a means of giving them some exercise without having to face the -20 to -30 temps outside. It is a bit cramped, but we can just fit all the jumps and 3' tunnel and the weave poles (the largest item) in a tight course. Other than that, every so often they just start chasing each other back and forth on the main floor, and going around the kitchen-back hall-dining room circuit like mad little demons, so I know they're anxious to be able to get outside and run, run, run.

Finally this past week we've had some warmer temps without freezing rain, so one actually doesn't mind spending a bit of time outside. This morning we took all 3 dogs outside for a good half-hour romp and they had a blast. Of course,t he big problem now is all the salt on the roads and sidewalks that hurts their feet. Someday I hope someone invents some dog booties that actually stay on and the dogs don't mind - there, that's a challenge for you!! We've tried the rubber-balloon type ones and they're not too bad, they stay on better but the dogs still aren't keen on them.

So, happy February, everyone - spring is that much closer!! (We'll see what the groundhog predicts tomorrow...) And Happy Chinese New Year, too! Xin Nian Kuai Le!! The Year of the Horse is now here, and we'll gallop through the year with joy and abandon.