Topaz puppies - 3 weeks old!

So the puppies turned 3 weeks old on Thursday! It’s quite amazing the changes they go though at this young age. A week ago their eyes and ears were just opening and they still were crawling around like little crocodiles. Now their eyes and ears are fully open, they are toddling on their four legs – and getting etter at it daily! Though the vinyl floor can be challenging when they’re out of the whelping box – and even emitting the odd little high-pitched bark, as opposed to squeaks and squeals.

For up-to-date pix, check out our Facebook page. My daughter posted some photos there a day ot two ago. I’ll aim to get some on this blog on Monday, once my son’t soccer tournmanet is done with and I can focus on puppies again.

Topaz puppies - photos from 2 weeks

I know this comes a bit late - like a whole 8 days late! - but after sending all the puppies home over May long weekend, my attention was turned to organizing my son's soccer tournament, which I had somehow volunteered for without meaning to be the mainn organizer. So that has occupied my brain and time for the past two weeks. The tournament takes place tomorrow & Sunday, so then I'll have brain space to focus on this litter of puppies again!

Anyhow, here are some photos of the pups at two weeks old.
(For more up-to-date photos, go to our Facebook page, which my daughter keeps fairly up-to-date.)

DragonRam Chewy Zurry

Fifth of the six puppies to go home was Chewy Zurry, who joined her family last Saturday afternoon. Zurry is the pretty chocolate phantom female - but unlike her brother Cumin, Zurry's chocolate is dark and even all over. She may yet fade to a lighter cafe colour, but for now her tan points are very evident against her dark chocolate fur.

Zurry was the quiet, introspective female at our temperament test who "came alive" when a friendly other dog was introduced. This is how the testers describe her:

CAUTIOUS, SENSITIVE, DOG-SOCIAL
Zurry is a sensitive puppy who is cautious about all things new and unfamiliar. She is likely to flee and attempt to hide when frightened. Zurry is food motivated which will be very helpful in desensitizing and conditioning her to the world around her. Once stress is minimized, Zurry is highly trainable and enthusiastic to learn. She will need to be fed primarily by hand through training or by treat toys for the first 2-3 months to teach an association between humans and food and working for food. When with other dogs, Zurry becomes animated and excitable. She would benefit from the guidance and leadership of a calm, adult dog with good behaviour. Zurry’s ideal home would be with a patient and organized owner who has a balanced adult dog.

 Chewy Zurry's new family consits of mom and dad and three childre. They don't have another dog, but they will give her lots of love and care and she will learn to bond with them and find security in her new home.

Interestingly, they chose to call her Chewy - which is the same name her sire's family calls him! (Short for Chewbacca, not because he chews everything!)

Good luck to you, Chewy Zurry and family, and we hope to see you at a Doodle Romp some time!

DragonRam Nelly Iris

Puppy #4 from Phoenix's litter to go home was Nelly Iris. Just like her brother Tobey Lupin, Nelly will be making her new home in the Montreal area. She is the gold female with a black nose - again, just like Tobey!

Nelly was the "active" female at the temperament evaluation. Here is what the testers had to say about her:

ADVENTURER, INDEPENDENT, IMPULSIVE
Iris is an independent, take-action kind of puppy. She can be very affectionate, but on her own terms. She loves to explore and will not take kindly to being restrained or confined. She will bond very strongly to her owner and select others. She is not a social dog and will ignore most other people and dogs. She is highly distractible and will move impulsively towards objects, scents, sights or sounds of desire. She will need to learn impulse control and a solid recall in order to be given any freedom off-leash in uncontrolled environments (such as outdoors). She is very amusing and has an enthusiasm for life. She will need an active owner who can provide her with structure and routine.

 Nelly's new human mama has no human children and so Nelly will benefit from lots of attention when mama is around. She will get lots of walks and active time with mama, and will get to play outside and maybe, once she's grown, get to play dog sports to give her enthusiasm and energy an outlet. Mama expects to retire in a few years at which point Nelly will get even more fun play time together.

We wish you both lots of adventures together!

Topaz puppies: 2 weeks old

The little pups are now located in the puppy corner, aka (former) breakfast nook, right beside the kitchen and close to the action of the household. From  here - now that their eyes and ears are opening - they will be able to see and hear the action of our family's daily living, from sounds of kids chatting and the radio playing to the sights of people walking by and dogs free to roam in the rest of the hosue. And, of course, they will be close to all the tantalizing smells of supper cooking and - when we have the windows open, now that the weater is getting nicer - the grass and trees and cars outside.

We occasionally see one trying to stand on its little legs already. At this point they take a half-step and then flop back down as their bodies are still to heavy for their legs to support them. But it won't take much longer!

Mama Topaz is happy to be closer to the household action, too. It was a bit lonely at times tucked away in the bedroom. Now it's easier to take a few moments outside the "den" and interact with the other dogs when she feels like it.

Now that puppy eyes and ears are on the verge of oepning, we will be stopping the daily neural stimulation exercises we've done since they were 2 days old, and starting to do other things like play the radio, shake noisemakers, and so on to help get them used to the different types of sounds, sights, and actions they will face in the big wide world out there.

Happy birthday to Lyra, Cassie, Ziggy, Gatsby and Corona!

Can it be – they’re turning three!!

Garnet’s first litter is already three years old! (That means Garnet herself will be five in summer – where did the time go?!)

 

We’ve been fortunate to keep in touch with both Lyra and Cassie and their families since they went to their homes at the age of about five months, and also with Ziggy despite the fact he now lives in Montreal.

Unfortunately, neither Gatsby nor Corona has come to any of our Doodle Romps or sent recent updates, so we don’t know how things are with them, but we’re sure they’re just too busy enjoying life with their humans to miss us.

Happy third birthday all of you!

We wish you many new exciting adventures

in the coming year.

(Oh, and happy birthday to my daughter, too, who is a lot more than 3!)

DragonRam Katniss Alice Cloverdeen

Third of Phoenix's pups to say good-bye, Katniss Alice Cloverdeen is the gorgeous black phantom female that we are keeping as a breeding prospect. Like her brother, Cumin, she is expected to contribute to helping us produce lots of lovely phantom doodles. Of course, we will need to find another boy to use with her as we can't use her brother.

Katniss Alice went to a Guardian Home with a family that has one of our other pups, Leo de Janeiro. Leo is black and white with a scruffy coat as he has "improper coat" - but he's a gorgeous and lovely boy nonetheless. In fact, he's a big suck! We know he will be a good big brother to Katniss Alice.

The temperament evaluation on Katniss Alice had this to say:

BALANCED, SOCIAL, SENSIBLE, SMART
Katness is a balanced puppy with equal parts of social and independent characteristics. She is sensible and will take a moment to observe before reacting. She is very affectionate and will lick your face if allowed to do so. She will come to humans for direction and for comfort. She is curious about new environments and will explore with human permission. She enjoys toys and appears to ‘come alive’ with play. She is food motivated and easily trainable. She will quickly learn to settle and enjoy being in her crate for rest periods. Chew articles will be helpful to keep her occupied during quiet times.

As I mentioned after the evaluation, the three female pups went from one end of the "outgoing" scale to the other, and Katniss Alice was the puppy right in the middle of her two extreme sisters! "Balanced" is a good description indeed.

Katniss is going to a well-balanced home, with two human sisters to play with her and a mom and dad who will take good care of her and ensure she gets everything she needs but isn't spoiled.

We wish you well and we'll see you at our next Doodle Romp in June!

DragonRam Tobey Lupin

Second of Phoenix's pups to go home was Tobey Lupin, the gold male with a black nose. Tobey's family drove up from Montreal on Friday afternoon to pick him up. They arrived just after lunch, and everyone was excited to see their new puppy as they had not met him before.

The temperament evaluation on Tobey Lupin gave this assessment of his personality:

RESPECTFUL, AFFECTIONATE, SOCIAL
Lupin is an observant and curious puppy. He enjoys being close to people but could become very dependent and needy if allowed. He is highly food motivated and enjoys exploring the world nose first. He is apprehensive and cautious in new or unfamiliar situations but will look to his human for guidance and direction. Lupin does not like being alone and will need to learn how to self-soothe. Lupin will vocalize when seeking attention or when he becomes frustrated. Early crating and regular rest periods will be essential to avoid separation anxiety.

Tobey Lupin's family includes two children who are eager to teach him tricks and give him snuggles. His human mama mostly works from home so he will not be left alone for long periods of time, which will help him feel at ease. He was a little bit shy of these new people when they arrived but he should adjust soon with food, care, and loving attention, which I know he will get in spades!

Good luck to you, Tobey & family!

DragonRam Cumin Blackthorn ("Chino")

Cumin was the first of Phoenix's pups to go to his new home, on Tuesday May 13. Cumin is a very handsome chocolate phantom boy. While officially called chocolate phantom, his colouring is unique - he has a darker chocolate stripe down his back, but his sides are a lighter almost cinnamon-mocha-cappucino colour - so his new family intends to call him "Chino." As a result, the phantom markings on his eybrows, muzzle, paws and butt are not as distinct as on our other phantom pups. But he is still a handsome boy!

Cumin-Chino has been placed in a Guardian Home as we are keeping him as a stud prospect for our breeding program. Over the next year we will conduct health testing and hope that he passes and that we can use him as a stud to enable us to produce a line of phantom pups with select females.

This is the desciption of him from the temperament evaluation done a couple weeks ago:

FOCUSED, INTELLIGENT, CURIOUS
Cumin is a smart puppy with an excellent ability to focus on objects in his surroundings. He retains some very ‘Lab-like’ hunting and retrieving qualities. When in doubt, he will align himself with his owner side-by-side, He will not hide, but sit or stand confidently knowing he has a power alliance. Due to his heightened focus, it can be difficult to redirect him. He will need practice following and maintaing focus on his owner. Teaching the cue “look at me” will be helpful. He is not easily startled by his environment, but will move slowly and cautiously in new situations.

Cumin-Chino has gone to live not too far away from us. His Guardian, Laurie, has had dogs before and believes in good training, which will be very beneficial for a stud boy.

Good luck together, Cumin & Laurie!

And he's gone!

Wow! This morning, caramel boy Juniper was still available. Now, he's gone to his new home! The family contacted me mid-mornign, came to visit mid-aft, came again a short time later with brother-in-law vet in tow, and then called an hour or so later saying could they come pick him up tonight.

Once or twice I've had a single puppy go that fast, but I think this is the first time we've had an entire litter leave for new homes before 9 weeks of age.

It feels good!

And tomorrow a family is coming to check out 8-month-old Ophelia. Keep your fingers crossed!

Last Phoenix pup left - Sensitive, Cautious,Smart - and 8-month-old pup

Caramel boy

We have just one pup left from Phoenix's litter. He is the caramel boy with a brown nose. He is the biggest of the pups, and we expect him to mature to close to 30 lbs (maybe even a tad over - we'll see!) and around 17" at the shoulder

This is the description of him from the puppy temperament evaluation done when he was 7 weeks old:

This puppy is a gentle and non-confrontational puppy. He becomes very nervous in new situations and will attempt to remove himself and seek a ‘safe’ place to hide. He will bond strongly to his humans, learn to trust them and look to them for guidance. It will be important to encourage his confidence and not reward his insecurities. This puppy is excellent at reading body language and will need a soft approach to training. He is intelligent and food motivated, making him easily trainable, He will vocalize his emotions, be it excited and happy or uncertain and frustrated. Building his confidence and providing reliable rules and structure will help minimize his emotional extremes. Provide chew articles and encourage chewing as an outlet. This puppy will do well in a family setting as long as he is provided with regular rest periods and spacial respect.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

 

Ophelia Angel

In addition, little Ophelia Angel, our 8-month old from Galen'as August litter, is stil pining for her forever family. She is almost all white with pale caramel spots on her back and ears. She currently weighs 13 lbs and should gain a few more, maxing out at around 16 or so and 14-15" at the shoulder.

Here is a description of this lovely girl:

QUIET, GENTLE, ATTENTIVE
Ophelia is a friendly puppy who looks to her humans for affection, and guidance. She is extremely quiet and patient, and will only vocalize when in need or when playing with other dogs. She will be happy when she has plenty of chew articles to keep her occupied, or plenty of playtime with her friends. Ophelia is very comfortable with other dogs but not dominant. She is confident in new siutations, particularly if she has the support of her humans. She will bond strongly with her people. Ophelia will do well in a family situation where the household is not so busy that she gets overlooked. She will be equally happy to have another dog to play with or to have her people all to herself.

  If either of these sounds like the puppy for you, contact us at 613-552-3066 or e-mail roma@dragonramdoodles.com. Both of these puppies are friendly and attentive and will make some family very happy!

Topaz puppies: 1 week old!

Topaz's babies turned one week old yesterday. They are growing by leaps and bounds - all are now well over 300g, so have gained about 50% of their birth weight in the first week. Their eyes and ears are still closed, so they are still relying on smell and touch to find mama.

As the big pups are still in the puppy corner (for one more sleep!) the whelping box is still in my bedroom, where they occasionally wake me at night with their squeaking when they have lost their way and can't find mama or get tangled up in the blankets that line the box. Then I get out of bed, fish them out of their tangle and put them close to mama.

Tomorrow the last but one of the big pups are going to their new homes, so then we will move the whelping box into the puppy cornern and I will no longer have my sleep disturbed (I hope). Though occasionally in the past, when the babes are in distress and mama can't help them, she whines or yaps enough to wake me and then I have to head over to rescue the little ones.

Phoenix puppies: 8 weeks - the home stretch!

Today was the big snip for those puppies going as pets! They went to the vet first thing this morning to be "fixed" and came home mid-afternoon, a bit tired but not too done in. It is remarkable how quickly they recover at this young age - by the evening they were quite vocal and active, and tomorrow I'm sure you'd hardly guess they had anything done.

The first pup to leave will be Cumin, who will join his Guardian this Wednesday evening.
Next to go will be Katniss Alice and Tobey Lupin, who will follow on Friday evening.
Nelly Iris will join her new Mama on Saturday morning, and Chewy Zurry will follow on Saturday afternoon.
There remains only Juniper still in need of a family. Fingers crossed it won't take long!

That's it for today's update - won't be long now and you'll be taking your new family member home!

P.S. For pix of the newborns, I recommend going on to Dragon Ram's Facebookpage. My daugher has posted some very nice photos there. I have yet to take/make the time to get them onto this blog.

Mother's Day Doodle Romp

This is a reminder that the next DragonRam Doodle Romp is to take place on Mother's Day - Sunday May 11 at 3pm. Meet at DragonRam HQ for a romp through the nearby open spaces. I am happy to report that the grass is green, the trees are leafing out, and the ground is mostly dry, so we will be able to expand our romp beyond the paved parking lots into the green and wooded areas. RSVP to roma@dragonramdoodles.com.

Guess How Many Puppies: Topaz Edition - And the winner is...!

The winner for the Topaz edition of our Guess How Many Puppies contest is...

Martin L, who guessed 6 puppies botn May 9 at 15:34 pm - so he had the nubmer right and was within 23 hours of the first birth. Jojo TC was also close - she guessed 6 puppies with the first born May 7 at 12:15, about 28 hours too early. Good try Jojo!!

Martin will receive a $10 Timmy's gift card (and I know there is a Timmy's a short distance from his home so he can put it to good use!)

(Note that, though there are only 5 living pups, 6 were indeed born, so a guess of 6 is the correct number. 

These were the final guesses:

Name	# of puppies	Date/time of first arrival
Patrice P	4	7 May, 17:07
Amélie TC	4	8 May, 16:45
Emma P	4	9 May, 18:00
Karen P	5	7 May, 19:00
Roma	5	7 May, 19:15
Tristan Q	5	7 May, 20:00
Sarah P	5	8 May, 17:00
Jojo TC	6	7 May, 12:15
Martin L	6	9 May, 15:34
Suzanne W	6	9 May, 16:20
Mathom Q	6	10 May, 00:01
Adrienne TC	6	10 May, 06:00
Mary Q	6	11 May, 20:00

Topaz babies have arrived!

We are pleased to report that Topaz gave birth to 6 beautiful babies this evening! Unfortunately one was stillborn, so we have 5 living puppies to enjoy.

Her temperature had dropped last night and was still low this morning, indicating whelping was likely to occur within 24 hours. But it usually isn't right away, so we went off to our daily activites leaving my father at home to keep an eye on Topaz (well, after he got home from breakfast out).

The kids got home from school around 2:40 and reported all was well and Topaz's temperature was still low. Once the temperature rises again it indicates whelping will occur within the hour. But of course then you need to monitor temperature hourly...

The kids took all the big dogs out for a walk around 4pm and decided to cme back after not too long as Topaz seemed to straining tas though to poop, but she wasn't popping - maybe a puppy was on its way.

Back at the house, Topaz went into her crate and lay there quietly, so nothing seemed to be happening after all. Half an hour later, they went to check on her - and lo and behold, there were two puppies!!She had made nary a peep and there they were!

After that things got quiet for a while. Quite a while in fact. I got home and we ate supper and still nothing was happening. Then the kids remarked that she seemed to be straining but nothing was happening... and this went on for a while. Finally I investigated and I could feel a puppy a ways back in the birth canal, ready to come out but Topaz wasn't straining any more. It seemed the sac might have broken which got me concerned as the puppy can soon suffocate if it can't get out and start breathing. But it was too far in for me to reach - so what to do?

I phoned Linda of Canadian Doodle puppies who has had at least twice as many litters as me and she checked one of her books and gave me a ffew tips. We started by giving Topaz some calcium in the form of Tums, to heolp stimulate contractions. Then we held her standing up on her hind legs, to let gravity ehlp get the puppy down, and I massaged the opening - and sure enough, within 10 minutes we had actio and the puppy was out. But unfortuantely it had geen stuck in the birth canal too long and was stillborn.

About 10 minutes later, nice and easy. Then there began another long period of waiting. Generally I don't get worked up easily, but after two hours I was getting concerned again as Topaz was occasionally straining but nothing was happening. This time, however, I could feel nothing in the birth canal. I was sure I could hear a heartbeat with my daughter's stethoscope, and we could feel some movement, so things seemed okay.

Finally at 10:06 out popped #5, followed within 15 minutes by #6, both healthy and hearty.

So we have:
- red male, born at about 16:40, 172g
- black parti female, about 16:50, 227g
- balck female, 19:26, 202g - stillborn
- red female, 19:40, 208g
- black male, 22:06, 165 g (the runt)
- gold male, 10:23, 185g

Over the next two months you can watch them grow and develop int o beautiful little dogs!

(Pictures to follow!)